2017 in Review

2017 was quite an adventure for us. Our biggest adventure was, of course, moving to Seattle. In March, Josh and I unburdened ourselves of half of our stuff and packed up the other half to ship in a packing cube across the country. It was freeing. I was very sentimental once, hoarding treasures to remind me of all my past lives, but giving them away makes space for new memories. Plus we didn’t know where we were going to live and wanted to downsize to a small apartment so we could save up for a house.

In my parents’ old Honda CRV, we packed essentials: clothes for a week, champagne, and my fancy ironing board. We took a route that added a day to our trip so we could visit some of my old friends from DC. It was lovely to see them, if only for an evening. When you’re trying to build a career in your late twenties and early thirties, it’s hard to see the people you love, except for maybe the few with whom you live or work. Lots of people are much better at this than I am. One friend sends cards for special occasions or just to say hi. Another texts every few weeks just to check in. And a couple of friends call and actually leave voicemails. I love getting those because I get to hear their voices. One of my New Year’s resolutions is just to keep in touch better.

We sent Christmas cards for the first time this year, but I know we didn’t get to reach everyone. And while most people do a recap of their year, which I always look forward to reading, we are rookies and hand-wrote every card. So to update everyone, especially our East Coast friends, here are highlights from 2017.

January

In January, we fled D.C. on inauguration weekend with our friend Dan to explore New York City. Mostly we ate good food and walked around Brooklyn. And when we got back home, we recreated an easy-to-make recipe for ricotta dip with honey, rosemary, and cayenne from the Ides Bar (similar recipe here) with Dan and his wife Whitney.

February

February is big for birthdays. For Josh's 31st, we printed photos from his travels and turned our apartment into a photo gallery. Later that month, we made a trip to New York for Paulo’s brother's birthday at a karaoke bar in Koreatown. While we were there, I got to check out the New York Public Library, pictured above.

March

In March, we moved to Seattle and made a home in a studio apartment on Lake Union. This is our "dining room."

April

Josh’s mom visited in April to do some wedding planning with Josh’s brother and (now) sister-in-law, and while she was here, we took her to Discovery Park. We also went on a day hike with our friend Lyle to Deception Pass State Park and on the way back stumbled on the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival.

May

The West Coast has really opened up some easy travel and outdoor adventures. In May, we drove down to Portand to go backpacking with our friends Tyler and Travis in the John Day Wilderness in Eastern Oregon. Paulo hopped down to San Francisco to see Immanuel and his girlfriend Brittany at the end of their trip to California. And we went to Lake Sinissippi for Josh’s annual trip with his grad school friends.

June

In June, Paulo started a job at Seattle Parks Foundation as the Deputy Director. Josh’s brother Jason completed his surgical residency at University of Washington and began his fellowship in vascular surgery, so his family came down for graduation. We also car camped in the North Cascades at Diablo Lake and visited the nearby Skagit River Hydroelectric Project, which provides 20% of Seattle’s electricity.

July

Whitney and Dan came to visit their friends in Portland for the Fourth of July, so we drove down to see them. We also saw the Yayoi Kusama exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum and took a day trip on bike to Bainbridge Island.

August

We had several visitors in August so we did lots of sightseeing, including the Ballard Locks, pictured above. My parents came for a week and wanted to see salmon, so we went to Ballard Locks and ogled the salmon through the viewing deck. Our friend’s parents Lisa and David were in town so we made them a rooftop dinner. Our friend Luke visited the PNW for the eclipse, so we met him at Discovery Park. And our friend Adrian stopped in Seattle on his way home to Los Angeles so we drove him to Portland. Josh also went back to the North Cascades again, organized his brother's bachelor party at a cabin in the San Juan islands, and saw the solar eclipse in Sisters, Oregon, with our friends Tyler and Travis.

September

We did some big things in September. For my birthday, we got library cards from the Seattle Central Library. Josh's brother Jason got married (rehearsal pictured above). And right after the wedding, Josh took off for China with his friends for two weeks. 

October

In October, we went to Boston for a friend's wedding and took a couple extra days to spend some time in Provincetown. We also camped overnight on the Ancient Lakes trail near Quincy, Washington, which was a really nice escape to the sunshine just across the Columbia River.

November

In November, I went to London for the first time for my friend Clay's 30th birthday. The weather has been fairly mild in Seattle, so we went on an adventure to Wallace Falls, pictured in the cover photo at the top. For Thanksgiving, we drove out to Missoula to see Josh's mom Jean and stepdad and went hiking with Jean to check out a nearby trail to ride her horse. It's so nice to be close to them and it's an easy half-day trip to see them.

December

In December, Josh went down to Sisters, Oregon, to spend the weekend with our friend Travis on his birthday. We also saw the new Star Wars on opening weekend at the Pacific Science Center with lots of people in costume and lego robots of R2D2 and BB8 rolling around. We got there a little early so we could register our memberships and hang out in the butterfly room, an early Christmas present from Josh's mom. And finally, for Christmas we rented a house in Palm Springs with my family. This is an early-morning shot of the pool at the Ace Hotel. I love Palm Springs because it has secluded desert oases with the glamour of old Hollywood, but the San Jacinto mountains rise up out of the western edge of the city and Joshua Tree to the northeast, so it's clutch for hiking and amazing views too. All in all, it's been a great year, and we are thankful to all of our friends and family for your love and support.