Happy Monday Things

I’ve been celebrating Mondays recently.  Not only do they give me a chance to settle down and unwind after a weekend they also give me a chance to shop after a weekend of buying withdrawl while hanging out with the family.  And that is probably the sweetest thing ever.  So I love happy Monday things and I love sharing them with you!

This Monday was extra-special because it was the royal birthday for a little baby boy in England and we were still celebrating our own royal babies’ big 5th.  (And this is something that’s turned me into a super-sentimental ball of mush!)

No birthday celebration in our household is complete without a dinner at Red Robin and we especially love the one on the Seattle Pier. They have a really decent kids meal.  (Hello-salads and GRILLED chicken sticks, and maybe 7 different kinds of burgers??!!)  And we love their “Happy Happy Birthday Song.”

I always get the Terriyaki chicken burger wrapped in lettuce so the fries don’t feel so guilty.

And with a window seat, this restaurant just feels magically kitschy and delightful.

Today I also learned how to mash my own pinto beans into something the kids thought they could get at Cactus Taco. (Taco Time)  Yes, the rest of the world might have already known how to do this, but I was oh so proud.  My immersion blender met cooked beans.  Who would have thought this was so simple.

My sweet souvenirs from San Francisco arrived in the mail.  I fell in love with Heath Ceramics at the Ferry Building and I really hope to go to their factory the next time we’re in San Francisco.  I love that they have a shipping option from their store so I didn’t have to worry about everything on the airplane.  I simply picked them out.

Then they sent them to my home.  Almost instantly.

I love the packing peanuts they used.  I’ve never seen anything like them and they’re so easy to recycle.

I also bought a bunch of things at the Nordstrom Anniversary sale to conglomerate with the stuff I’ve already purchased. My favorite thing that recently arrived from my online splurges is this Olivia Moon knit blazer.  I bought it in grey and I’m tempted to get it in a whole bunch of colors because it was quite reasonable and I can tell it will get a lot of use.  Today I couldn’t help but pick up a few of the Antica Farmista Hand soaps. They are great hostess gifts and you can never have enough fancy hand soap.  A pair of boots might also have begged me to buy them so I’m going to pretend I bought them tomorrow to even these purchases out.

Moorea Seal, a lovely Seattle jewelry designer/jack of all trades in lovely designs opened a brand new online store today.  As if I didn’t need anything more to covet, I’ve been putting this gorgeous bag in and out of my cart all day.

And I’ve been editing the guys’ birthday party pictures.  We celebrated at the Seattle Children’s Museum this weekend and it was oh so fun.  Here’s a little sneak peak but there are way more pictures where that one came from.

I do hope you had a royally wonderful Monday as well.  Any guesses as to what the little prince in England will be named?

Terumi

Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys.  She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live.  She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)