Our Long Beach Babymoon

I have to start this post by saying I use to think a babymoon was a super silly idea, but after taking one I will admit they're wonderful and every expecting couple so make time for. For Scott and I, the idea of a babymoon became appealing when we hadn't had a weekend away, just the two of us in almost a year. And that it wouldn't ever just be the "two of us" again so why not use the excuse to get away!

We wanted to go someplace we hadn't been before but was close enough for just one night away from home. After much deliberation we landed on Long Beach! If you haven't been, you should plan a weekend there now.

Scott and I also hadn't spent much time in Astoria, so we decided we'd take the long way to Long Beach and make a pit stop for some lunch and sight seeing. Note to any other folks like myself who aren't big fans of bridges... The Astoria bridge is SUPER long, like miles long. It made me a bit nervous both times we crossed over, but it really is beautiful.

Once in Astoria we used our handy Urban Spoon app and ended up at Bridgewater Bistro for lunch and a great view. A BLT for me and a burger with cajun fries for Scott filled our tummies and fueled us for a walk along the water.

We visited the Goonies house, the elementary school featured on Kindergarten Cop, and stopped at the marina to visit some vocal (and smelly) sea lions.

After all of our exploring it was time to head towards Long Beach!

We stayed at a super eco-friendly, modern yet rustic place called Adrift and would highly recommend it. They have bikes available for free use, fun games, movies, fresh hot cocoa and coffee and cold beer, all right in the lobby. Plus, they're super doggy friendly so we'll be going back with Lucy in the new future! Here's a few pics of our room:

The view wasn't too bad either!

Adrift is walking distance from town (even if you're pregnant) and even closer to the boardwalk, discovery trail and beach front. They also have a restaurant in the hotel (Pickled Fish) with live music, great food, fun beer and a phenomenal weekend brunch. I still dream about this oatmeal...

The little town of Long Beach seriously has something fun for everyone. Every place seemed to be dog friendly, there's a big arcade, go-karts, horses, mopeds, miniature golf, and great shops. We enjoyed a chocolate cookie from a little bakery, then overindulged a bit more with a scoop of ice cream from Scoopers (who can say no to 64 + flavors?). I could've easily sampled 10 different types but I tried to practice a bit of self control. As you can see, my hubby gets pretty happy whenever he gets ice cream!

After lots of walking around town we headed back to the room to relax. After a nice nap, we started getting ready when I quickly realized I had forgot the string for my dress that makes it look more like a maternity dress and less like a moo-moo. I was super bummed and started thinking of what I could possibly use to gather the dress, when I looked down and noticed Scott's shoelaces were black (the color I needed). Off they came and around my dress they went. It worked great and no one even noticed!

The highlight of our trip was definitely our dinner at The Depot Restaurant in Seaview (thanks again for the recommendation Megan!), a super small and quaint restaurant with the sweetest owners who treated us like family.

We made reservations for the Chefs table and got watch the Chef and Sous Chef work their magic.

I ordered the Southern Comfort Pork served with yam mashers and jalapeno cream corn and Scott opted for the Rib-eye. We both savored every bite of our meals and couldn't believe how good it was. The Depot is seriously a hidden gem, if you leave town without having dinner there you're missing out.

Blue cheese drizzled with balsamic reduction = delicious.

Seriously I'm drooling just looking at those pics... Aren't you?!

The rest of the weekend was lots of beach walking, laying around in the hotel doing a lot of nothing and talking a lot about the next few months to come and how excited we are for Baby Girl Slusser to join our family. This weekend was just what we needed before a busy Summer and before becoming a family of three!

This more accurately sums us up.. Total goofs

Sunny Weekend Recap

If you live in Washington state, you can agree that this weekend and last were absolutely gorgeous and unlike our normal February weather. It was over 50 degrees both days with loads of sunshine. And seriously, who doesn't get motivated by sunshine?

Saturday morning Scott and I both got up early to start our day. Scott had to go into work for a couple of hours so I met my friend Justine (who's also prego, in fact she's exactly 4 weeks ahead of me) for a 30 minute walk. It was a bit chilly but the fresh, crisp air felt amazing and it was good to get my legs going. I then picked up my Blissfully Organic Co-op (BOCO) Basket. If you live in the Puyallup or Lacey area I highly recommend you check out BOCO. I usually buy a full share every other week and I've yet to be disappointed. I use the veggies and fruit to inspire my weekly meal planning and love being able to get all of my grocery shopping done early on Saturdays!

After picking up my basket I met my friend Ashley who I haven't seen in years for breakfast at the Buttered Biscuit in Sumner. I have to say, it's not really worth the hype. I ordered a breakfast burrito and it was just ok. Ashley got the "Kim Kardashian" which is eggs benedict but includes bacon, ham and sausage. Her meal looked pretty good so I may have to go back and try something different. They give you HUGE portions that are definitely perfect for sharing!

Saturday afternoon Scott and I made a trip to Home Depot to get some bark for the yard and laid it in our front flower beds. I seriously LOVE the look of fresh bark and it makes a world of difference. Oh and I can't forget the awesome new area rug and table lamps I got on clearance at Fred Meyer! I got a $200 rug for only $67, can you say bargain? Love finding new stuff for our home on sale!

We capped off Saturday with a fun dinner at Samurais with our good friends where I ate ridiculous amounts of fried rice, and I don't even feel bad about it.

Sunday morning I woke up bright and early (without an alarm clock) and decided to do some baking. I had some blueberries I needed to use and found this "lightened-up" blueberry coffee cake recipe on Pinterest. It turned out DELICIOUS and our house smelled so good while it was baking!

The rest of the day included some much needed R&R, cleaning up around the house, a walk with our Pup, and the much anticipated Oscar awards!

What did you do this weekend? Did the sunshine make you more productive than you'd normally be?