it's baaaaaack: a shoutout to kyle karmell

i know you'll all be glad to know that my crazy left-eye eyelash is back. it's grown a little longer since this photo was taken and has developed an interesting stretch-like quality. this time around it seems to weigh a bit more than previous lashes; i can't seem to curl it into an upright position and, therefore, it is continuously stuck to my bottom lashes. glad some things in life are reliable....like my eyelash.....and seattle not getting snow. ever.

explicit language

Dear Seattle,

Buy a fucking plow. And buy some fucking shovels while you're at it.

Sincerly,

Brianna

it's winter, but it's not quite a wonderland

thank god we moved out of wisconsin before the winter hit. thank god we chose a city where it never snows and, accordingly, when it does snow, the city shuts down. thank god.
(this picture was taken 3 inches before it stopped snowing.)

on to something i never thought i'd say - i miss wisconsin winters. here are a couple reasons:

+ businesses and homes are required to take care of the sidewalks in front of their property. people in seattle look at shovels like they might be new-age space travel machines.

+ wisconsin has more than one plow. and they use them.

+ seattle has yet to discover the magic that happens when you put salt (and dirt) on ice. i can't wait to see their reaction!

+ people here feel the same way about snow as they do acid falling from the sky; a walk up the block is a terrifying ordeal. these deadly white flakes have forced me to miss multiple nights off work - despite being more than willing to walk/drive there.

celebrity waiting #1

everyone at zoe likes to tell me all about the famous people that eat there. i think they are a) trying to intimidate me and b) brag. i would brag too - as i'm about to do......

we made eye contact and it was amazing.

i would consider this a B-list celebrity experience but i think it helped me prepare for further encounters (perhaps the likes of robin williams, dave matthews and bill gates? all who i've been told frequent the spot?). btw, catherine got to see the "real housewives of orange county" at lola last week. i'm quite jealous.

off the topic.
i have today and tomorrow off and i have nothing planned. nothing except the activity of watching joss watch me. she just charged my face because of the glare on my glasses. this is gonna be a great two days.

ain't no turkey like a west coast turkey

i'll start with some scenic photos as i don't think i've given enough attention to our magnificant view yet.

sunset over elliot bay (view from our deck). not the worst thing i've ever had to look at.

this is another view of elliot bay. the mountains in the back are the olympics. the picture does no justice as, on most days, the mountains appear much much much closer.

on to thanksgiving......

the weather was incredible!

i let jake own the 7-layer salad and he was quite proud. i'm not sure if he was feeling equally proud of the visor placement, but...

despite all contradictory opinion, i went ahead and brined the turkey the night before....after a couple beers. i think it really helped the turkey situation and was probably the easiest step of the

whole cooking situation.

jake said the turkey was delicious. i thought it tasted like every other turkey i'd ever eaten but the leftovers were gone by saturday, so i'll let the facts support themselves. sadly, all the "leftovers" were gone by saturday. needless to say, i've been upping my workout routine.

clockwise starting at the turkey:

pancetta sage turkey, pancetta sage gravy, coors light, biscuits, grape walnut salad (courtesy of angie), 7-layer salad (made by jake! even the dressing!), stuffing (courtesy of jude), green been caserole, goat cheese and carmelized shallot mashed potatoes. and one bottle of french chardonnay.

the two highlights: jake's seven layer salad and my turkey.

oh yeah, i also made pumpkin cheesecake with gingercrumb crust and marshmellow sour cream glaze. delish.

in all, the day was a huge success.

despite being so far away from friends and family we both had a pretty great time cooking, drinking bloody mary's, and watching The Office all day.

there is a very large amount to be thankful for this year.

we went over to my friend jen's house later that night for drinks and poker. i won everyone's money and stumbled across this fun little community memo. happy holidays!

mingling with seattle's elite

i finaggled my way into the annual nordstrom -"invite only"- earn 10 points for every dollar spent - shopping extravaganza - thingy. i went with two goals: to drink as much free champagne as possible and buy as much stuff as possible (i really wanted to maximize the point earning potential).

this is what i learned:
1-3 glasses of champagne = free time spent in search of more champagne instead of looking at things to buy.
4 glasses of champagne = a noticeably increased desire to buy things, accompianed by an increased level of chit chat with catherine, thus interfering with any efforts put forth to sort through the racks.
5+ glasses of champagne = a slight fixation on finding something to eat. far too dizzy and distracted to try anything on.

in conclusion, the champagne was delicious but i didn't buy nearly as much as i'd anticipated (which is probably a good thing). and i have a wicked headache today. and i think i made some more friends with the nordstrom staff (which is how i got into the dang thing in the first place). oh, i did purchase some really specatular lotion, so that'll be nice.