What a weekend! This trip to Seattle has been everything I dreamed it might be, and for that I am so incredibly grateful. I feel like this event has been in the works forever but in reality it's just been a few months, and it's kind of surreal that it's over already.

I got in on Thursday and Kristan picked me up from the airport and we ran to IKEA to grab a few things before having the dreamiest lunch on a tiny little patio at Oddfellows (the weather has been amazing here these past few days and I'm so glad we were able to catch some of that elusive Seattle sunshine). That night I was able to meet up with my sweet friend Elena, who I never get to see--we had an amazing dinner at DERUmarket, where the slices of cake are as big as your head.

Annie was getting in the next afternoon so Kristan and I headed to the studio we had rented and set up until she landed. We showed her the space and hit Pike Place for lunch and coffee before a marathon grocery shopping session.

On Saturday we were up early and back at the studio chopping and cooking away until our guests arrived. We sliced leeks and chilled wine and deboned fish before arranging flowers and assembling the most beautiful charcuterie board of all time. (I seriously can't wait to show you guys all the photos we got later this month.) Our guests were lovely and gracious and I had so much fun.

Sunday was super relaxing and we slept in a bit before heading out for brunch and a few Seattle explorations. We walked through a farmers market and had a Bloody Mary on the water and ended up at Din Tai Fung for dinner, which I've heard crazy good things about. (It lived up to the hype. Soup dumplings forever.)

The whole trip was wonderful and Saturday was such an amazing day--we put in a good 12 hours of work to pull it off and I found myself tearing up multiple times throughout the afternoon. It was so amazing to see all of our dreaming and planning become a reality, and everyone had such a great time. I've always loved cooking and entertaining but there was something so foreign about feeding a room full of strangers, and yet it came so naturally to us that I guess food and wine really are the greatest connectors in the world after all.

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I hope you all had lovely weekends, as well. I'm flying home this afternoon and can't wait to get back to my sweet husband and pup, and then it's back to regular life again! Feeling really super thankful this Monday.

Months have passed since the last time I picked up my camera and walked around with it all weekend, snapping photos of my coffee and the street and all the things we eat and drink and do from Friday night to Sunday afternoon, so this weekend I announced that I was going to take pictures of everything, because it had been too long.

It was one of those weekends that just slowly unfolds--we had tickets to an oyster roast at one of our favorite breweries in the neighborhood, so our plan was to walk to the grocery store for a crab cracker and/or an oyster knife first. On our way to Publix we passed the new Anthropologie location which always lures me in "just to smell the candles;" so we made our rounds and checked on all the dresses that were 25% off even though the clothes there are very rarely my thing. Christmas decorations were out in full force and it made me forget that I'm generally anti-Christmas-before-Thanksgiving (although we will most likely be decorating our apartment sometime in the next 48 hours because hey, it's the most wonderful time of the year).

We walked out of Anthro and Rob said, "Do you want a coffee?" which is cute because I always want a coffee. We stopped by the Not Just Coffee at Atherton Mill and ordered one iced latte and one cold brew because it's almost Thanksgiving but down here it can feel like spring in the sunshine.

On Sunday I woke up early with Ender, walked around outside with him, drank a cup of coffee, and went to barre at 9:00. I came home and Rob was still in bed, so I ate leftover frittata from the day before and cleaned my desk. We walked the dog and came home to lounge and got in one of those arguments that come out of nowhere and I watched Grey's Anatomy and cried even though I'd seen it before.

The sun began to set and I made a quick dinner of steaks and broccoli and we ate at the coffee table like we always do, and after we ate, we cleaned the kitchen and returned to the couch where I sat with my head on Rob's shoulder and felt that deep, profound happiness that I think we all must dream about at some point or another. I keep saying that we aren't going home for Thanksgiving this year, which is a first; but what I really should be saying is that we are staying home for Thanksgiving this year, because that's finally what this feels like.

As I got in bed, I realized I still didn't pick up my camera even once.

Photos or not, these are the days I'll always remember.

Photo by Joshua Vasko for Freckled Italian.

Hi and happy Friday! We're finally catching up on sleep around here and my mom is feeling a lot better every day. Rob is coming to town for the weekend and I can't wait to see him.

I'll be in Roanoke through Wednesday and then I'm heading back home before catching a flight to Minneapolis for a long weekend--it's been a busy few weeks.

Just wanted to pop in and say hello. Hopefully things will calm down again soon, but until then I'll be in and out (but posting regularly on Instagram, as usual)!