Narragansett, Past and Present.

Not much has changed in the past five years. We still use the self-timer and shamelessly smooch in public. And I hope that never changes. 

^^PAST - 2008 We awoke for the sunrise and a self-timer shot^^

^^PRESENT - 2013 We did not awake for the sunrise, but still rocked a self-timer shot^^

^^PAST - Cheek smoochies with the Olympus point and shoot^^

^^PRESENT - cheek smoochies with the iPhone^^

^^PAST - Lip locked^^

^^PRESENT (and future) - Lip locked^^

A weekend in Narragansett, RI

This past weekend JG and I packed up our swimsuits and headed north to the beautiful seaside town of Narragansett, RI. Jake's amazing Aunt Sue and Uncle Stan live just a stone's throw from the beach. The first time Jake and I went to Narragansett just the two of us - back in 2008, we had only be dating for four months! Fast forward five years and now we were sitting on the beach married for four months! Pretty cute, no?

We spent our two days catching up with Sue and Stan, lounging on the beach, reading and sleeping, walking around town and eating waaaay too much delicious food. Also, nothing beats coming home from the beach and taking a refreshing out-door shower - my favorite! It was a perfect weekend!

^^My husband^^

^^My favorite RRR sarong (going on six years) // JG's spanking new, neon swim trunks^^

^^My $9.95 H&M actually stays on my head when it's windy.^^

^^Posing after lunch. See more of these shots here.^^

^^Beautiful flowers on our walk down to the beach^^

^^One of my favorite places in Narragansett is the wall that stretches along the perimeter of the beach. You can sit there for hours gazing out across the sea; feeling salt water spritz your toes as the waves crash against the rocks.

^^Luckily someone passed by and offered to take a picture of us!^^

^^Clearly I'm fron "the south" aka Pennsylvania, since I was the only one on the beach bundled up with two sweaters!^^

^^Don't be fooled by the sunshine on that clear blue sea - it was freezing!^^

Some people are born to be hosts. And Sue and Stan have mastered the art of hosting. When we arrived they had stocked the fridge with all the essentials for an incredible cookout, breakfast must-haves and the fixings for packed lunches and snacks for the beach. I am still having dreams of the chopped salad and cheeseburgers we had on Friday. Oh I almost forgot Sue's Red-Zinger and fresh spearmint iced tea! Yum!!

^^Thanks a million Sue & Stan - we love you guys!!^^

^^Fresh garlic chives from the garden on a pumpernickel bagel with lox and cream cheese!^^

^^Delicious juicy grapes^^

^^Seriously the best lobster roll I've ever had.^^

^^Morning coffee date at the cove^^ 

Seattle: Surprise I'm here and oh, it's Jamie's Graduation!

Back in May I emailed my best friend Jamie's main squeeze, Weston, a super secret email about surprising said best friend in Seattle for her graduation weekend. Are you lost yet? Ok, good. Being the amazing guy that he is, Weston was immediately on board! We spent the next few weeks ironing out the details; plane tickets, graduation tickets and of course, the element of how exactly to unveil our surprise. After discussing a half dozen scenarios where I appear randomly on streets and restaurants where Jamie also just happened to be, we decided to keep it simple and just show up at her apartment. I'd keep it casual, like "hey - I'm here, what's up?"

That's exactly what we did. Well, Weston's exact quote was "Hey Jame, I brought lunch... and Kate" This was my cue to jump out from behind the wall and yell "Surprise!" It worked. She screamed! I screamed! She cried! I cried! I won't go into all the details (like how Jamie's Mom practically exploded with anticipation as she waited for us to appear or how I was forced to check my luggage instead of carry it on!) but you can trust me when I tell you - it was a big success and a huge surprise!

I arrived on Thursday at the perfect moment - right in time for an incredible pre-graduation cookout at Jamie's house! Weston and I were in charge of assembling the mozzarella, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil skewers drizzled with a balsamic vinegar reduction - holy yum! I not only devoured delicious food but was also finally able to meet all of Jamie's amazing room mates and fellow class mates in person. 

On top of all that I got to hoot and holler for Jamie as she walked across the stage to receive her Master's Degree - with honors from the Evans School of Public Affairs at University of Washington. By the time we got to bed I had been awake for 24 hours straight! Right before I passed out cold next to my best (whom I haven't had a sleep-over with in quite some time) I remember thinking, wow this was an epic day. 

^^Weston and Jamie// Jamie and me! Surprise!^^

^^No joke, there was home made bread and a serious fruit platter^^

^^Fresh, crispy, doughy, delicious, home-made bread - yum!^^

^^The graduates!^^

^^Kili, the sweetest pooch// Katie and Jamie^^

^^Sister-in-laws!^^

^^Jamie and Diane// Dan and Katie^^

^^I didn't miss a second of JRowe's graduation. I had it covered over all aspects of social media^^

^^The Rowe Family with the Graduate!^^

^^Meet Master Jamie GaGa^^

^^Still over the moon that I was able to celebrate with one of my best friends in the whole wide world! So proud of you, Jamie. You've always been smarter than me... and somethings remain the same! ^^