Happy 4th of July!

Happy birthday America! Matt and I had a very low key 4th of July. Well, I had a low key day off, and Matt had a normal day at work. It was one of the first really nice days over here, and believe it or not I spent the whole day inside! Don't feel bad though, I don't. It was a nice relaxing day filled with catching up on TV shows, a nap, and a little light housework.

When Matt got home, we cooked an amazing dinner. We had to do SOMETHING to celebrate! We had some BBQ pork ribs slow cooking in the oven, warmed up the grill outside and made corn and french bread. After the ribs slow cooked for 2 hours in the oven, we finished them off on the grill. I can't remember the last time I ate that much!

The finished product- yes I cleaned my plate.

I could have had a few more- too bad you don't get the 5th of July off too!

Finishing off the ribs- corn is in the foil.

If you've never had bread that's been grilled on a BBQ, you're missing out! Just put a little butter and garlic powder on it, and lay it right on the grill- it doesn't take long though!

Playing a little chess in the nice evening weather- Matt used a pot to heat up the coals before putting them in the BBQ (that scared me but he insisted he knew what he was doing).

Our deck- it's small, and a little messy, but it's great to have!

Struggling Artists

Matt and I have been taking our art experimentation to the next level. Well, not really, but we've been interested in painting more since our wine/paint class date. While I was shopping for summer camp supplies, we hit up Michael's and grabbed just the bare essentials to help our new hobby along. This isn't a long post, but I just wanted to share our most recent creations.

Brooke's Bird

Brooke's Flowers

Matt's Abstract

Painting On The Vine: Our Experimental Date Night

I am not an artistic person (says Brooke). There is a reason we only did 1 art project in my classroom this year, and that was with some convincing from my teammate! I am, however, a wine drinker. Not a snobbish, vino-know-it-all, but a casual connoisseur. So, a few weeks back when I happened upon a Groupon from a company called Painting On The Vine, I jumped on the opportunity.(http://paintingonthevine.com/june.html) For $39, we received a 2-hour painting class, all supplies included, snacks and a glass of wine. The most important part was that we were able to BYOB (bring your own bottle) and continue the festive beverage consumption throughout the class. Matt is pretty artistic, so for me, the opportunity to get my buzz on during this creative outlet, was necessary.

My BYOB wine of choice

 So yesterday after Matt got off work, we hurried ourselves over to West Seattle for the class. That was the best part, we absolutely love that area. I have always told him, I never want to live IN the city, but if I was absolutely forced to, it would be West Seattle/Alki area. (Not that we could ever afford it, as was reaffirmed for us when we looked at home prices on our real estate app while over there). Before the class, we decided to have a little dinner. We didn't have a ton of time, so we were thrilled to realize our favorite market was right by the studio. Matt and I ADORE Metropolitan Market, however we could never afford to regularly shop there. They have the most amazing deli and salad bar!

After our dinner, we headed down California Ave to our class. The art studio was one of the neatest spaces I've been in. It was a small building that had two businesses; the studio and a little craft shop next door. This was the kind of space that Matt and I would DIE to live in. Poor Matty was the only guy in the 9 person class. I could tell he was really enjoying the evening however, and I was really enjoying the vino. The theme for the night was Seattle Skyline from Alki, so we watched and tried to recreate as the instructor painted an example.

 

Downtown Seattle from Alki Beach (painting inspiration)

Matt and I

My Masterpiece

Matt's Masterpiece

All in all, we had a really great time (even though you wont be seeing our work displayed in any galleries any time soon). We are always looking for fun, relatively inexpensive, ways to go out and enjoy eachother's company, and this was the perfect setting.

Boy Meets Girl...and Barbara Anne: A Synopsis of How Three Came to Be.

Let's take a little trip down memory lane shall we? It's 2001 at Lincoln Middle School, and for most of us, middle school wouldn't really be classified as the best years of our lives. I (Brooke) was an insecure, semi-popular (on a good day), 8th grader. Matt was a shy but well liked 7th grader....who was also dating my cute cheerleader best friend. As much dating as dating can be when you're 13. Despite this, our paths never did cross, even though we walked the same halls each and every day. Matt ended up moving away at the end of that year, and he and my best friend broke up, as is the result of many young relationships. They were young, and I don't think either were too terribly devastated.

Fast forward to September 2010. I'm checking my Facebook, as I often do. I notice that a friend from high school, Megan, is having a birthday (gotta' love Facebook for remembering those things for us). As I leave the typical, "Happy Birthday! Have a great one!" comment on her profile, I noticed a comment made by her younger brother, who I always thought was cute. In fact, I used to notice his picture in a scrap book that my best friend made from middle school, and always think, "Man, that Matthew Perry was adorable." So I figured, what the hell, I'll be a creeper and friend him. Fast forward 7 minutes...."ping"....I get a message.....

Our (actual) first conversation. Matt still had it in his inbox!

It's still a running inside joke between us that the first thing he asked me was, "Do we know each other?" Awkward. Anyway, it went on like that for a few minutes....and that night we had our first date. I haven't been able to get rid of him since! This blog is meant to be a chronicle of our lives together, so I figured it would be most helpful to document how we met. I always hesitate telling people, "We met on Facebook!"...I really did know OF him in middle school :)

Fast forward again. Remember, I'm just trying to "catch you up" in case you didn't know how our little family came to be; so I apologize for the skipping around. In January 2012 we came across the third member of our family. While browsing the classifieds I stumbled upon a darling 3 year old American Shorthair named Robin. She was living in a home a few towns away, where she was being bullied by the other cats in the family. She spent her days hiding under the bed or in the sink (she still spends time in these places, but no longer out of fear! I promise she enjoys them now!) trying to stay away from the feline meanies that she lived with. 

Que Brooke, "Maaaaaaaaatttttt. Plleeeeaaassseeeeeee. She needs us!!!"

Barbara Anne's Craigslist Ad. Doesn't she look miserable? A lizard??

And that's how the duo became a trio. Barbara Anne was born with a heart defect. Her heart beats with an irregular rhythm, and most kitties with this ailment don't live past kitten-hood. That's how we know she's special :) And if you've ever seen a picture, you'll agree. She has quite the following on Instagram as well, even has her own hashtag #barbarantics

I make no promises that this blog won't turn into the Barbara Anne show! We're pretty obsessed. Anyway, Matt and I are living our lives in Renton, WA. We have a quaint (code word for small) apartment but it's home to us. I'm currently working as a 5th grade teacher, however my position for next year is very much in the air! No idea at the moment where, or even if, I'll be teaching. Matt is working as a merchandising manager at a Hyundai dealership, and is hoping to go back to school in the fall. We are very good at living our lives day by day, and enjoying them along the way.

Our hope is that this blog is a good way to document events in our life, share our experiences, and provide us with a fun, creative thing to do together! So stay tuned, and enjoy :)

-Brooke (author of blog) and Matt (had some input)