Date night: kayak and dinner at Agua Verde

When I share fun things to do or places to go, I don't write about so I have something to blog about, but because I truly think they are great. Last week, the forecast looked promising, so I picked Cameron up from work and we headed out for a paddle on Lake Union. We arrived at Agua Verde within minutes and hopped in a double kayak. For a Friday evening, I was surprised at how uncrowded the waterways were.  When you are kayaking, boats can create the most unwelcome waves, so we were pleasantly surprised at the lack of boat traffic.  We spent a lovely couple of hours talking, paddling through the houseboats, watching the seaplanes take off and land and dreaming of a life filled with daily water activities. I marveled at the idea of picking Cameron up from work in a little boat or jumping off the dock into a kayak at a moment's notice. When good weather rolls around, life on a houseboat sure looks dreamy.

Eating out at Lunchbox Laboratory

Every once and awhile I get a hankering for a cheeseburger and milkshake. Now I am not talking about a greasy, cheap burger or a mediocre milkshake, but the likes of Lunchbox Laboratory. They offer the most delicious shakes on the planet, (I would highly recommend the Nutella milkshake) and Bleu Marble burger with a side of sweet potato fries. Oh man, now I am making myself hungry. 

Date night: Bistro Turkuaz, Molly Moon's and Madrona neighborhood walk

In an ongoing effort to have more planned date nights, I showed up to Cameron's work one Friday evening without a plan. Needless to say, there are many perks to your husband working at a magazine, in particular having a good source on hand to locate a great new restaurant to try. As I waited for him, I quickly flipped through the magazine and came across a Turkish restaurant, Bistro Turkuaz. Since I could not recall any Turkish restaurants we have been to in Seattle, I thought it was a good a fit for something new.

Favorite romantic restaurant: Ray's Boathouse

How many places can you simultaneously watch seals, tug boats and eat delicious seafood? Almost eight years ago, Cameron and I had our wedding reception at Ray's boathouse and it is the perfect place to visit on our anniversary and remember all our fond memories made here.

Water view dining

Date night: Agua Verde dinner + kayak

I know dinner and a movie is a classic date combination, but I would much prefer to go kayaking and then to dinner. One of my favorite places to do both in Seattle is Agua Verde. One of the best parts of Agua Verde is the location, it is on the Montlake Cut at the mouth of Lake Union. Once you leave the dock, within minutes you are paddling past house boats and watching seaplanes land and take off. On a warm, sunny day I can think of no better place to be than on the water in Seattle. After you have worked up an appetite, lunch or dinner back at Agua Verde is a sheer delight. I am a big fan of their Bagre (spicy catfish) tacos, but everything I have eaten there is delicious.

Date night: Paseo and Golden Gardens

As of late, I have been making a conscious effort to make our date nights less spontaneous and more planned. Not that there is anything wrong with being spontaneous, but it is easy to end up at the same place time and time again or do the same things. My husband takes a very relaxed approach to our time together, so he is happy to sit back while I decide what we do. As it stays lighter and the nights are getting longer, I love spending more and more time outside. On this particular night, I thought it would be fun to go for Caribbean sandwiches at Paseo and then take a walk on the beach. The great thing with a little planning is it not only gives you something to look forward to, but is a great way to break out of your routine.

Paseo has amazing caribbean sandwiches.

Date night: dinner and the theater

Sunset from Elliott's. 

I simply adore the movie The Music Man. When we found out it was coming to the 5th Avenue, we knew it was a must see. A musical of this stature is oftentimes hard to replicate, but this theater production from the cast to the singing was first rate. 

We started our evening out with a salmon dinner at Elliott's and then made our way a few blocks up to the theater. From the moment the curtain opened on the train scene I was smitten. The costumes and sets further added to the charm of this timeless story in River City, Iowa. My only regret, is I only wished we would have seen it sooner so we could recommend it to all our friends. Unfortunately, it leaves Seattle this weekend, but if you find yourself with some spare time it would make the perfect evening out. 

Life is meant to be shared

Food, germs, time, you name it we like to share it with each other. Based upon the fact colds have plagued our little family, we had a pretty low key weekend. You know when you have grand ideas, but simply do not have the energy to execute any of them? Well, that was us this weekend. We spent an inordinate amount of time downtown exploring every nook and cranny of the city and popping into a shop or two as the mood struck us. Most notably, I was temporarily astonished when I found myself indulging in a doughnut right before eating dinner. At times like this I have to remind myself I am adult and I can simply do whatever I like. Cameron who scoffs at any such notion of calorie counting is oh so good for me and my self esteem. Life is meant to be enjoyed and my husband is just plain good at it.

What does your low key weekend look like?

Sunsets are grand, especially in the dead of Winter.

Friendly competition

Do you have a tendency to be competitive or do you not mind loosing? As much as I like to win, I do not think I am overly competitive with people. One Summer at college I enrolled in a class and by the first day I had a big crush on this guy. Rather than let him be a distraction we spent the Summer being competitive over who had better grades and test scores. Now that is what I call healthy competition!

However, I do prefer assignments, games and events where there is a clear winner.....take mini golf for example. You either get the ball in the hole or you don't. Now I must admit I might just double check the score if I loose, but I still can smile nonetheless.

We all gotta eat

Food is easily the tie which bonds our human existence. We all have to eat, so why not eat well? Cameron has had a hankering a couple weeks now for biscuits and gravy, so we thought we would head to Serious Biscuit and see if they are worth all the hype. I enjoyed the many options, like fennel sausage, arugula and other grown up toppings, while Cameron stuck with the classic. Two different styles, two happy people, two full stomaches.

Alki Night Walk

On a cold, crisp, Friday night Alki Beach was dotted with a sea of headlamps and flashlights. The Seattle Aquarium provided over twenty naturalists when the tide was at a record low to go on a rare late  night beach walk. It was a fantastic evening under the stars and we were lucky enough to see shrimp, sea stars, sea cucumbers and sea anemones. I realize these are not the best photos, but all I had was my cell phone.

Elf

Last week we attended Elf the musical at the 5th Avenue theatre. We love the holiday movie, it is amongst one of our favorites, so were eager to see how the musical would measure up. Unfortunately, the combination of awesome seats and free tickets wasn't enough to sway us into walking away impressed with the performance. We always enjoy an evening out together, we were grateful for the free tickets, but the performance was lackluster and the best part of the musical was the giant snow globe which was onstage before it started. Musicals are best left to the classics or a totally original idea.

Happy are we

One of my favorite days of the week is Friday. I look forward to meeting up with Cameron after work and enjoying an evening out together. Cameron is not much for planning, so usually we create what I like to call impromptu fun. It is the only night we do not have to be somewhere early the next day, so we do our best to make the most of this carefree evening. Cameron provides such a source of strength and happiness to my everyday life. I thought I loved him before, but after what we have been through I love and appreciate him a trillion times more. I still get excited when I see him and I try to remember each day what a precious thing we have. On this particular Friday evening we finally were able to ride The Seattle Great Wheel. We enjoyed our ride and only wished it was something we could buy an annual pass for.

Appropriately the wheel of the Emerald City is green.

Anyone who knows Cameron, knowns he can be the life of party. He is great at bringing out a playful, carefree side of me. It is hard to be unhappy when you are around Cameron.

Impromptu dates

The best kind of dates are the unexpected ones prompted by extra bad traffic or a last minute change in plans. The other evening we went on a little impromptu dinner date to Japonessa. I have wanted to eat here for a very long time and we were pleasantly surprised not only by the artful presentation, the delicious flavors, but the great ambiance and reasonable prices. We will definitely be heading back here sometime in the near future.

Opening Night

Life sometimes has a way of making you busy while allowing you to forget about some of the things you enjoy the most. It had been far too long since Cameron and I have attended a play or musical, so we jumped at the chance to see Memphis when it came to the 5th Avenue. We always enjoy a mid week date night, it breaks up the monotony of the week and makes it feel like the weekend.

Date night

With a child on the way, the idea of scheduling a regular date night has come up. I feel strongly about retaining a sense of self independent of our child in addition to getting some quality time in with my husband. I know every couple is different, but how often do you schedule a date night?

Photos from a recent date night to How to Cook A Wolf and Chocolopolis.

Keeping with tradition

In keeping with tradition the last few years we have gone to Ray's boathouse for our anniversary dinner. We had our wedding reception here and so it seems fitting to visit here and relive those memories. We are lucky, our wedding day was truly one of the best days of our lives, but I am happy to report we are happier and more in love now than we were on that day.

It is always fun to dress up and go out to dinner, it makes it feel extra special. However, I am fortunate to be married to someone who always looks polished and put together on a day to day basis.

Fish is where it is at for Ray's.

Sometimes I think we are a little like old people. We like to eat dinner early, have the place to ourselves and then have the rest of the night to enjoy.

 The seafood sampler: crab cake, sable fish and sockeye salmon.