I love celebrating our anniversary! So far I think we are 6 for 6 in pulling off a getaway each year come March (thanks to the help of loving grandparents and friends these past 4 kid-filled years!) We've never ventured very far from home (well, except for year 1-Italy is pretty far...) In fact, usually we just play tourist in our own city which has turned out to be really fun. Every year I leave the weekend feeling rested and refreshed and grateful that this man and I are best friends. We really do enjoy each others' company! This year we traveled all the way across the bridge to SEATTLE.
We started out midday on Friday and went straight to our very favorite weekday lunch spot near Pioneer Square. If you have not yet experienced Salumi, you must find an open weekday to do so. Their sandwiches cannot be beat. I ordered their spiciest option-smoked paprika salami with Gorgonzola-and Graham had the mole salami with mozzarella. They served their meats on delicious crusty bread with a pesto spread and onions and peppers. The place is TINY and if you are lucky, you can get a seat at the communal table but the food is so worth the wait and the tight squeeze.
Random raccoon art outside Salumi
After stuffing our faces with Italian goodness, we proceeded a couple blocks over to Cafe Umbria for some chocolate and pistachio gelato (long live Italy!)
Graham "surprised" me and booked us a weekend at Hotel 1000, a gorgeous hotel right on 1st Ave. He doesn't believe me but at some point he said the name of where we were going out loud but I tried to act super surprised nonetheless. The room was super swanky with a clear glass wall into the large soaking tub (it fills in a straight stream from the ceiling!)
It's tradition-Graham always has to break in the bed this way:
Our room was on the 10th floor and had this wonderful water view!
Upon arrival, I was handed a rose by the valet and Graham, a glass of champagne.
Graham had exciting dinner plans in store for me which involved walking the 2 blocks from our hotel down to the ferry terminal and scooting across the water to Bainbridge Island. I must say, I love the Seattle skyline with the new wheel!
He took me to Hitchcock which has been on my restaurant bucket list for a while now and keeps getting written up in magazines. They pride themselves in serving local, organic dishes with handmade charcuterie and craft cocktails. YUM! We arrived just in time to order 3 of their regular dishes for half price off the happy hour menu: a big bowl of Castelvetrano olives swimming in rosemary-infused olive oil (seriously, where have olives been all my life!?), a plate of baby greens with Danish blue cheese and pickled shallots and a duck liver and quince parfait (pictured in the center) served with flatbread. Graham had is new favorite drink-an old fashioned Manhattan-and I went all crazy and ordered an orange San Pellegrino.
We followed our heavy appetizers with a brined and wood-fire grilled pork chop served with roasted potatoes and apple puree. So good. A few weeks ago at MOPS, I was given a "how well do you know your spouse" quiz put together by John Gottman so much of our dinner conversation revolved around making sure we know each others' current hopes and dreams and stresses and challenges (it may sound mechanical but it was really a very lovely talk!) By this time, we were both stuffed and happy and we made it out of there for $48 flat. Mighty fine for fancy food if I do say so myself. Our sail back into Seattle provided us with this gorgeous view (as well as the free entertainment of watching some early high schoolers figure out how to tease and flirt...)
After a night of good, solid sleep, we kicked off day 2 at Sweet Iron Waffles where we sipped Stumptown Coffee and dined on fancy waffles.
Graham ordered a savory one with prosciutto, creme fraiche and green onions. My waffle was literally swimming in nutella. Yummmmmm.
Graham had hoped to get into the SAM art museum for free (he always has tricks up his sleeve) but it turns out the special deal he'd found was only applicable on the first weekend of the month. Being that we are too cheap to spend $40 at an art museum, we proceed on to Pike Place for some Saturday morning browsing.
The flowers this time of year are AMAZING! When we were planning for our wedding, we actually talked about getting our flowers from Pikes the day before the wedding and doing sort of a take-whatever-they-have sort of deal. It was fun to be there on what would have been the day before our wedding 6 years later to see what our bouquets might have looked like. I don't think I would have been disappointed!
What this girl needs is her very own Shamrock plant!
It took us a while to work up an appetite after our heavy breakfast but after spending some relaxing time reading back at our hotel room, we popped downstairs to the hotel restaurant Boka for a burger and some truffle fries (I blame pregnancy!) I'd actually been wanting to come to Boka for these famous fries for quite some time but had no idea it was paired with the hotel. For the record, the fries were worth it!
Graham told me to pick an activity that I'd been wanting to do for a while but that I couldn't do easily with kids. Believe it or not, I chose shopping (unlike me I know but it turns out my body is different AGAIN this pregnancy and my other maternity pants don't fit right...) So off we went to the Gap! I bought the first pair of pants I tried on and even found a sweater and some leggings. And we finally found Graham his very first pair of sunglasses. EVER!
Graham really scored with his restaurant picks this weekend! For dinner, he took me to The Whale Wins, a newer place in Fremont that has been getting rave reviews. We were thrilled to walk in and get a table with no wait. The sun even decided to pop out and provide gorgeous lighting for our meal.
We ordered roasted beets with sheepsmilk feta, served with a parsley hazelnut relish. It was SO good. The restaurant was mostly white with navy and white accents-a combination I love. The plate our water pitcher rested on is the same pattern my Grandma Wilson used to have. It brought back such warm memories! Next we had a roasted king oyster mushroom gratin with cream and breadcrumbs. It was so rich and delicious. Graham is on a mussel kick and so wanted to try their mussels with curry and potatoes. After a few attempts at eating them, I think I can make an official statement now: I do not care for mussels.
The waitress informed us that their roasted mad hatcher half chicken was one of their top selling items so we went ahead and tried it. It was served with a parsnip and rutabaga puree and preserved lemon. I felt like we needed to order the chicken because we never, ever order chicken and everyone should do it at least once. Now I can say I've done it and I do not feel the need to do it again. It was a deliciously flavored roast chicken but honestly, a chicken tastes like chicken. There were so many options on the menu that we can't wait to go back and try some of the other dishes (we've already decided what we will order!)
Following dinner, I got a real hankering for a peanut butter milkshake. The concierge back at our hotel (who was also pregnant) understood the urgency of my request and made it happen in less than 20 minutes. I love hotels like this that can pull off anything and everything!!! We opted to close our evening by seeing a movie (another activity it's hard to do with kids!)
What a fun, perfect, relaxing weekend! I'll close with this beautiful picture of sunset from our room with the wheel all lit up for the Sounders game.
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