176 - Theo Chocolate

If you're ever in Seattle, you must visit the Fremont neighborhood. It's a great place to wander around, filled with the unique stores, yummy restaurants, great coffee shops, and everything in between. For starters, there's a Belgian tavern and Theo Chocolate. Then, there's a drawbridge and a troll under the bridge. Need I say more? 

Well, I won't say more about Fremont, but I will say more about Theo Chocolate. My sister clued me in a number of years ago about Theo, and my oh my, is their chocolate delicious! Besides having pretty much the best chocolate around, Theo was the first organic chocolate factory in the US -- prior to their opening, all chocolate was imported from Europe. Now, Theo is the only organic, fair trade, bean-to-bar chocolate factory in the country. Pretty sweet, huh? 

When you go into the store, they have EVERY kind of chocolate available for sample on the floor. It's ridiculous. And amazing. And irresistible. You can pretty much make a meal of it! And don't forget to take the factory tour before you go! :)

175 - Zeus

I'd like to introduce you to someone very special. Someone very important to my little sister. Someone who will become a permanent part of her family come March. Meet Zeus:

Hmm, not quite what you were expecting? :) Well, my little sister, Gretchen, is engaged, and her fiance, Brett, is the owner of this cute, but not so little, guy named Zeus. And he's not really a cake. He's a living, breathing English bulldog who can easily knock you over as he's about 80 lbs of pure muscle. However, this was the cake for their engagement party -- pretty awesome, huh? It was very lifelike, for sure, and I especially love the details of the cupcake...

For some photos of the REAL Zeus -- when he actually WAS a cute, little, puppy -- check out the awesome shoot The Popes did when he was just a few weeks old!

174 - Vintage Fuchsia

Even though my middle name is Rose, I have yet to show signs of having a green thumb (remember, Josh is our main gardener). However, many members of my family, including my parents, have beautiful gardens and flowers, and I definitely make up for my own lack of growing with appreciation for their beauty.

When I was in Seattle in August, I found this fuchsia plant happily growing in a hanging basket on my parents' back porch. Now, I had to actually ask my parents what its name was... because I don't know anyone else who's ever had them! As it turns out, the fuchsia is a "vintage" flower breed, and my Gramma's favorite flower. When she was younger, she and her grandfather (my great-great-grandfather) would go to the nursery around Memorial Day to pick one out. I'm thinking it might be a good tradition to continue.

It was all I could do to not take photos of them everyday. I just couldn't take my eyes off of them. There is NO color enhancement whatsoever in these photos -- they are just that brilliant, that beautiful, and that intricately amazing all on their own. Pretty incredible, huh? 

173 - Drivers Beware!

I have many Seattle adventures in store for you. In addition to the Maltby Cafe and a playground date with Amelie, I also got to take my little brother Jacob on a looooong drive down to Renton, WA so he could take his driver's license test. And yes, he passed -- he's calling my mom to inform her of the "great" news. ;)

172 - Swinging Shoes

One of my favorite little people in the whole wide world is Miss Amelie. You might remember her from some photos I did back in March when her mommy was still pregnant with little sister, Lucy. 

Well, Amelie's back... and look how she's grown! She's 2 1/2, and trust me, she's just about ready to rule the world. We had a play date when we were in Seattle, and I just had so much fun running around with her and remembering the childhood joy of the playground -- the swings, in particular. =)

171 - Cinnamon Roll

Let me introduce you to the Maltby Cafe cinnamon roll -- a plateful of delicious, gooey goodness:

This is the first official "Seattle" photo that you'll be seeing. Due to some airline/flight complications, Josh and I had finally gotten in to my parents' house around, hmm, 4am, I think? Which given the time change, felt like about 7am for us. Translation? An all nighter! 

However, my dear friend Fritz (also known as Carolyn) was going to be flying out that same day, so we had one chance to connect, and connect we did! At the infamous Maltby Cafe, of course; over an infamous cinnamon roll, of course. And just so you can get a grasp on the size of this "roll", here's Fritz modeling it:

Yup, the thing is huge. The perfect treat for friends who live on opposite coasts to share and catch up over. =)

170 - Chris & Jack

You've already met our friend, Chris, and you've definitely met our kitten, Jack.... so here are a few of the two of them thrown together. It's probably pretty safe to say that Chris is one of Jack's favorite people. Following Josh and myself, of course. ;) Besides being at least a once-a-week visitor (and often more frequently), Chris watched our little cats a few times when we were away, thus endearing himself as one of the "feeders".

But seriously, our cats are awesome, and while they love everyone, Jack especially loved Chris. So we took some photos before Chris left for Milwaukee. And abandoned us forever. And broke poor Jack's heart.I'm not sure how he'll ever recover...

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Are you on your way back yet, Chris? ;)

169 - Succession Shots

On August 1st, Josh and I flew to Seattle. However, our flight didn't leave until late afternoon, and so before church we invited two dear friends, Joanna and Chris, over for breakfast. As Joanna was heading back to law school (Duke), and Chris was moving to Milwaukee to work for InterVarsity, it was our last chance to see the two for an undetermined amount of time. (We're still waiting for Chris to decide it's time to move back to Philly). 

As we were trying to grab a quick group shot with my camera perched precariously on our porch steps, I discovered I could have my camera do timed, multiple shots (in very quick succession). Meaning, we all acted very grown up. Enjoy the following results!

168 - Mexican Tomatoes

Well, they aren't actually from Mexico... but the bowl is (from our honeymoon in Puerto Vallarta). And the tomatoes are just super happy, super cute, super delicious ones from our backyard. Did I mention we ate tons of tomatoes this year? Almost every meal? And that we still have some? And that I already made multiple batches of spaghetti sauce? Mmm, it was a bountiful tomato crop for us this year! All grown in our teeny tiny urban backyard garden. Hooray!

P.S. This photo is from when Josh was "harvesting" one afternoon. We were picking tomatoes about every other day -- this bowl was only about half of what he brought in that day. For more of our harvest, check out these posts.

167 - Rainbow Cake, II

Oh. Maybe I should have warned you that there's quite a bit of bright, non-natural, non-organic, non-politically correct coloring in this post. Oops! :)

I don't know how much you know about me, color, swirls, or cake batter, but here's the deal: when they're all combined I am one happy camper. Or, um, eater. Let's just say it's really quite alright to have all those "non" things listed above, because the result is deliciously colorful and wonderfully fantastic. And really good to eat, too!

Welcome, once again, to the world of rainbow cake!

For more information on what this rainbow cake thing is all about, visit my other blog. It has the full details, recipes, and more photos. These photos are just from a rainbow cake whipped together very quickly for a friend's going-away party. While I don't have as many photos as on the (older) rainbow cake post, I just couldn't resist taking, and sharing, a few. After all: colors! swirls! cake batter!  :)

166 - Sunset Silhouettes

Collegeville, PA

165 - Night Lights

I think all I can say with this one is that we live in a pretty amazing time when this is what we can do with electricity, water, lights, and gels. And of course, it's also pretty great when you have friends who invite you over to enjoy all the above mentioned inventions. =)

164 - "I shall call him Squishy, and he shall be mine, and he shall be my Squishy!"

Now, if you don't know what that quote is from, you need to go rent (or buy) Finding Nemo. Right now. Because it's wonderful and a necessary part of life and happiness. =)  Plus, this next post is all about Dory, so you need a little background.


Everyone knows how friendly Dory is, right? Well, when we were having our pool party with Silvija, everyone got to meet Dory. Except, as friendly as Dory is, there was an awful lot of falling off. However, the last photo shows you who Dory loves the most (though Josh did come in 2nd, as witnessed here)...

 

 

163 - Pool Party!

I have some fantastic friends. Seriously. And I love when life's paths bring some friends back around. Like, moving them from Seattle, WA to Philadelphia, PA.

Silvija & Greg are two such people. I met them about 12 years ago when I was in some theatre shows with their daughter and came to know and love their whole family well. I haven't lived in WA in about 8 years now... but last year, Silvija came to me! 

While Greg stays in WA while their youngest son finishes high school, Silvija is managing their new bed and breakfast. Ok, so it's not officially a B&B (yet), but their hospitality makes it about as much! 

One Sunday this summer, Silvija called and invited Josh and I up for "a swim in the pool". Well, four friends later we were in the midst of an awesome pool party, delicious BBQ, and the perfect night for the hot tub.


Now, most of these were just the "for fun" photos, because, let's be honest, I spent most of my time IN the pool, NOT with my camera. However, I figured you had to see some of the fun stuff. 

There were a number of cannonballs done, but as an objective judge, Chris' entry, hurdle, form, and splash won the event (though Carolyn's came a close 2nd).

And Josh became friends with Dory, but quickly discovered she wasn't very good in regards to water fight defense... the back splash is a bit strong, don't ya think?

And while I can't take photo credit for this, let this be a warning: don't mess with me in the water. I will win. :) 

162 - Construction Site

Here are a few more photos of the construction site for Esperanza's new health and wellness center. And, oh my goodness, I know it's just a building site being razed... but oh, how I love all the angles!