Dennis Reed: It rains nine months a year in Seattle.
Annie Reed: I know! -Sleepless in Seattle

Today I’m daydreamin’ of the first trip Match and I ever went on that wasn’t to visit family. It was February of 2009, and for Match’s birthday, his parents had given us plane tickets to Seattle in this adorable invitationbox.com birthday invitations. For some crazy reason, we decided to go in February, even though we could have waited, forgetting that the weather would be terrible. It was incredibly cold and drizzled every day. What I wouldn’t give for some of that weather right about now! It’s currently 90 degrees and HOT. So over it.

The city was beautiful, and we loved that there were hardly any people. I guess they had better sense than us and stayed indoors.

Wow, we look really different there. I think both of us have leaned out a bit.

The only problem with that trip was that Match got the flu.  Oh and the ATM ate his debit card. Whoops! I’m not daydreamin’ about that.

I would love to redo the trip, spring for a nicer hotel, a rental car and a healthy husband. Still, I love that we made the best of our trip. We spent the last night snuggled up in our crappy hotel room with the threadbare blankets, eating hot soup from the Chinese place across the street. It was one of those just starting out vacations that only young people in love have, where you really only have each other.

Barney: I am not a smoker. I only smoke in certain situations: post-coital, when I’m with Germans — sometimes those two overlap — coital, birthdays, to annoy my mom, pre-coital, on a sailboat, the day The Mets are mathematically eliminated every year, and, of course — wait for it, ’cause Lord knows I have — pregnancy scares.
Ted: Why are you smoking right now?
Barney: I’m always pre-coital, Ted. -How I Met Your Mother

Hosted by Impulsive Addict, Janette, Mamarazzi and Seriously Shawn

My sugar addiction is a pretty bad habit. I’ve gotten better about not eating dessert every single night, and I don’t put sugar in my coffee anymore. I still have to have something sweet every day, but it’s better than my days of eating rainbow chip frosting out of the jar. Oh and I used to smoke for about a year or so but it wasn’t hard to quit. I’m very sensitive to smoke and I wheeze from campfires, so I’m surprised I even started!

Frasier: I would like to nominate as the stupidest creature on earth: the one who awakens each day to drive through gridlocked traffic, to sit in a window less office breathing recirculated air, then returns home and collapses into a stupor, only to do the same damn thing all over again every day until he dies.

Norm: Looking forward to that vacation, hey Frase?

Frasier: You bet. We’re going to Maui. -Cheers

Here’s the long overdue recap of my second year going to Carmel with Match and his parents.

We had such a great time. We walked every day, and most importantly Match and I spent quality time together. We kicked back, we read, we explored, we vacationed.

Doesn’t this rock look like a heart?

We ended almost every night with chocolate, a little drink, and dominoes. We’re such 60 year olds!

One of the days we decided to explore Monterey a little bit. We hit up an outdoor mall to look for a dress for me for the reception dinner Future MIL is hosting for us to meet the out of town guests the night before the wedding.

Here’s the dress I found-isn’t it adorable? And with a gift card I’ve had forever and a huge sale the store was having, I bought my brand new dress for a whopping $13.45! Such a steal.

After my amazing shopping find we were famished. We stumbled across a sushi restaurant that advertised $5.99 lunches. We were skeptical but thought we’d give it a try.

Not only was the Teriyaki chicken lunch $5.99 but all of the sushi rolls were half price. It was some of the best sushi I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot. My mouth is watering just looking at the picture. I can’t wait to go back!

We also explored Cannery Row and did the little touristy thing.

Here I got proof of my talents on an old school kissing machine.

Match practicing for his sheriff job. You can’t see it but he’s totally making the same face as the statue.

I think my favorite night was our last night there. We built a bonfire and sipped Irish Coffees.

Match’s parents and their pup on one side, me, Match and Monkey on the other. It was so relaxing listening to the waves and watching the fire. It was the perfect end to a wonderful vacation. Just think-next year Match and I will be there as husband and wife. I can already picture us going there with our kids someday. Nothing like a little beach weather as a natural baby eczema treatment. But not just yet. I think we have a few years left of it just being the four of us, or hopefully five when Match’s sister moves back to the states!

Dorothy: [in Rose's dream, about the wedding] You can’t disappoint your guests.

Rose: The guests? But I have to think about what’s best for me!

Dorothy: That’s only in real life, Rose. In a dream, you do what’s best for the guests. -The Golden Girls

E at The Adventures of Starting Over

Brittany at Diary of B

Michelle at Things I Said and Meant to Say

Match and I are hitting the road tonight! We’re driving 6.5 hours to Oregon to see one of my cousins graduate from high school. It also happens to be our 2 year anniversary on Saturday so I sprung for a cottage for us to stay in tomorrow and Saturday night. We’ll squeeze in a romantic getaway in between the family visiting. We’re packing a nice bottle of bubbly, some wine, and I think I may pack some lingerie to wear.  Match and I haven’t been able to spend very much time together these past few months, and I’m so excited we’re able to get away together this weekend.

Check out this photo of the cottage I found us. I hope the real deal lives up to the picture!

Tonight we’re going to drive up halfway and stay somewhere cheap. That way we can get the most out of our short weekend getaway. My OCDness is having a rough time with the whole “winging it” thing and not having every leg of the trip planned out. I am attempting to unwind and not be all, well, ME about the trip. I may even turn off my phone and not go online. I may.