A couple girlfriends and I took a short trip to Leavenworth, WA last weekend.  We left early Saturday morning in an effort to avoid traffic & hairy weather.  Guess what we ran into?  A lot of traffic & horrible driving conditions!  It took us awhile to get there, but we had a lot of fun once we got into town!  

This was after Snoqualmie Pass, so the roads were much better.  The scenery on the drive was gorgeous, even with the snow.  

If you haven't been to Leavenworth, it's definitely worth the visit.  The town has is completely Bavarian theme; including the hotels, restaurants, & shops.  

This was our hotel, called the Bavarian Lodge, right in the center of downtown.  It was great, I would definitely suggest staying there if you're going to visit.  

Although the trip was short, I did make it home with a few souvenirs.  Jalapeno infused oil for cooking, so delish.  Chipotle mustard for tailgates, spicy and full of flavor.  A port wine made in Washington & extremely delicious.  Then, my absolute favorite, a cherry chocolate dessert wine.  The lady suggested drizzling over vanilla icecream...so I'll definitely be doing that.  It tastes like you're drinking chocolate syrup with cherries, it was by far my favorite!

Tom gave me the iPhone 4S for Christmas this year.  I had wanted an iPhone for awhile and was very excited to open it on Christmas morning.  It took me awhile to figure out Siri.  I heard people talk about Siri, but hadn't a clue what it meant.  In fact, I had my phone for a couple weeks before I discovered her!  Since then I've been asking her all kinds of questions.  She's programmed with some witty responses, but most of the time she's actually helpful.  I captured the screen on a couple of impressive responses she's had so far.  At one point I asked, "How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?"  You can see her answer below...impressed?  Another time I asked her my name and she came back with a witty response, "You're asking me, Marissa?", but then pulled up all my contact information (which I've blocked out some in case I get some creepos looking at my posts...probably not likely though.)

Siri has also remembered that Tom is my husband, and if I say "call husband", she brings up Tom's number.  Pretty amazing if you ask me.  

 

Tom's sister, Cecelia, is getting married this September.  We've made a big event out of wedding dress shopping for the last two weddings, mine included.  The dress shopping is happening this weekend, so I put together gift bags for each person in our group.  They turned out better than I had anticipated, and I can't wait for the weekend so we can dig into the goodies!  

Her wedding colors are black & champagne with a touch of red.  So everything in the bag coordinates with the wedding colors.  The sheets on the front have our appointment times, places, and addresses with driving directions from each spot.  This way no one will get lost and hopefully cuts down on any stress.  The bags are filled with treats, tissues, sparkling cider, and games with cute red pens for each person.  We're going to play Bingo and Tom picked out the prizes for each winner.

You can imagine my surprise when he came running from the back of Target with these little gems.  First, how perfect are the prizes!?  Second, can you believe Tom picked these out on his own?!  Hopefully everyone has a good time.  More importantly, hopefully Cecelia finds "The Perfect Dress"!!!

Snowmageden!

We made it to the MSN front page!  

That's right folks, it's snowing in the PNW.  Not only is it snowing, but it's a "Major Snowstorm."  I do get a little amusement out of the commotion of the snow.  It's not something we see every year, and when we do, it's generally a couple inches, definitely not 10-12!  

Snow/Slush/Ice

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Inexperienced snow drivers

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Disaster on the roads!

So, today I'm dreaming of a sunnier, warmer, more relaxing place...