Ignore the date. Does anyone REALLY know what day it is in summer? We’re in the final countdown to school in Seattle. My guys are in camp this week and I’m remembering what it feels like to make lunches and dash out the door. I kind of feel like this is how our life in Seattle is a lot. DASHING OUT THE DOOR. But sometimes dashing makes life exciting. My husband and I come from tight-knit families who live about 10 minutes from each other near Vancouver, Canada about 3 hours north of our home in Seattle. So being the only family members down here, we miss out on a bunch of things and sometimes that’s a little bit sad. Birthdays. Spontaneous get-togethers. Everyday things we can’t get to if we don’t have 6-10 hours to spare. So I was really thankful I had a little time to get to a wedding shower my mom was throwing for a family friend and though it was during a soccer tournament, my guys let me leave the cheering section so I could attend. (You are going to hear a LOT about soccer this year, I think. Is anyone else out there a soccer mom? What do we wear to keep warm and dry in the winter? Brrrr!!!)
I even brought balloons. A few weeks ago, I saw an amazing balloon bouquet at an event called Style Lab put on by some fabulous ladies in Seattle. So that was the inspiration for our balloon cascade. I wasn’t sure when I blew up balloons late the night before if it would actually turn out or fit into my car or survive the drive but it ended up tying nicely into our all pink theme.
I love that my mom has been using her teacups. We last used them for my cousin’s shower and one for my sister who had twins too! I can’t believe I never shared these pictures of her sheep shower. As always, we had so much fun catching up and drinking tea and the fancy teacups make drinking tea just feel all that more special. I need to remember this as I get older and use my special dishes more often so they actually get used.
We have also made fascinators at a few showers now and my mom makes a template that looks like a teardrop with felt that we use to glue fancy decorations on and pin it to our hair. If you are thinking of doing this and need a template, just email me and I’ll try and get it for you, but you can probably find templates online too. It is so fun to see what everyone creates and when there is a group of ladies who don’t all know each other it’s something simple to make and wear and chat about. You just need glue guns, feathers and decorations and ‘tutu fabric’ (I have no idea what it is) and then you’re set.
And my mom saw macarons hanging on a tree once in a hotel dessert bar and we tried it and it makes them look so pretty. (I love any excuse for macarons anyways, why are they so tasty?!)
I find it amazing that you can go from Seattle to Vancouver and back and still have a fantastic day. It is a long drive but it’s worth seeing family and it’s nice to be included in events even though we live a little far. And if you live in Seattle and are thinking about day-tripping to Vancouver it is such a fabulous city to see-even if you only have a few hours to eat and shop. Next month, I’d love to head up even for the day for a big Lego event that is happening from September 30th to October 2nd. It is near one of my favorite Cactus Club restaurants and there is going to be a TON of Lego. I wish it was coming to Seattle too.
So even after a 6 hour drive I came home refreshed and my heart felt so full. Tired? Of course! But how worth it is the adventure? How often do we have an epic movie or Pinterest binge and lose a few hours stuck in the same spot. I sometimes forget how much we need to celebrate moments and get together with people we love. Taking time to celebrate life and all the milestones is refreshing to the soul and I was really thankful I got this invite in time to make it up for a fabulous event.
Do you live near your family? How do you keep connected? And do you have fun ideas for showers or parties? I’d love to hear! And I hope you have a fabulous last few weeks of summer. I’ve heard we need to look for our umbrellas in Seattle ASAP.
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)
Aww, I love that you just went for it, and joined your family and friends for the day! I feel like I would definitely do the same if we had family closer. And sounds like such a fun party!