Weddings in Woodinville

Today's post is intentionally a day behind so I could recap my visit to a local wedding show/wine tour, Weddings in Woodinville.  The tour was recommended by my venue coordinator and I'm so glad we attended since it was tons of fun!  Unfortunately, I only snagged pics at Novelty Hill - Januik so use your imagination for the others!

We started our day at Woodhouse Wine Estates to register.  I love that they provided me with a nice tote to carry around brochures/magazines/cards/etc.  We went inside and looked around, picked up some delicious small plates, and visited a bakery to taste some cake(super delicious).

Next we headed to DeLille Cellars.  We picked up some uber tasty mini baked goods and met a potential invitation designer before heading out to see the table set up.  It was grand and green... perhaps to match the amazing green pea soup shooter stand next to it.

We traveled on to Willows Lodge where I once again admired the beautiful gazebo space for an outdoor ceremony(again, 1st runner up in our wedding venue race) before heading inside for more delicious mini desserts, amazing fried cauliflower by Barking Frog Mobile, and finding a really neat arch made of books.

Next up was Columbia Winery and it had a theme that I adored:  geometric dreams.  It was bright and beautiful and oh so me.  They had draped the space with white and used uplighting of all kinds.  The tables were covered in eye-catching colors and they offered fruity cocktails that were delicious.  There was even a fully dressed bride and groom on site!

For our fifth stop, we were off to JM Cellars.  It had a secluded and woodsy feel.  They offered a ton of delicious food inside and had a beautiful table set up in shades of orange outside.  My favorite part of this venue was the s'mores bar outside.  It was basically a simple fire pit with roasting sticks and jars of graham crackers, marshmallows, and chocolate bars.  I definitely wouldn't think of something like this for a wedding(mostly because I'm a klutz and would probably light my dress on fire), but it was super fun!

We finished off our tour at our venue, Novelty Hill - Januik Winery.  I was very excited to see the color scheme was similar to mine(orange/navy vs aqua/coral).  The tables inside were decked out to the nines!  We sampled some super tasty mini tiramisu and other desserts from a potential vendor before heading downstairs.  Here I found one of the most delightful things I saw all day:  a Seahawks Minion cake by Midori Bakery.  I was so pleased to see our venue all decked out... it gave me quite a bit of inspiration!

All in all, it was a fun and informative day.  I would definitely recommend the tour to other brides looking for venues, vendors, or wedding ideas in general.

Ear Flap Hat

Jeff and I carpool since we work in buildings that are very close to each other.  I have been in deep need of a hat to keep me warm on my walk between buildings.  I found this ear flap hat pattern by DreamerOnCloud9 on Ravelry and decided to venture out of my amigurumi comfort zone to make it because I thought it was really cute.  Unfortunately, the pattern turned out to be more of a guideline and it took me quite a while to figure out what was going to work.  I probably used a smaller hook(H) than I should have, but I like that there aren't big holes to let cold air in.

I ended up increasing to round 6 instead of 5 as the pattern suggests and it barely fits my head(but it clearly too big for Sydney Bear).  If I try this pattern again, I'll use a larger hook and try to crochet more loosely.  I'm still pleased that it turned out nicely and may give it to a friend with a smaller head.

Save the Dates

There are a little over seven months until the big day and I'm happy to report Save the Dates are out!  It took me forever to figure out what I wanted to do.  I scoured Pinterest as well as many of the sites with templates where you add your own picture and write your own blurb and couldn't find anything that I loved.  In the end, a dear friend mocked up some designs from which to choose.  Here they are:

After much debate, we chose the option on the right.  I love that it has my favorite font (Calamity Jane) and my favorite engagement picture(photo by JennyGG Photography).  We found a deal on Vistaprint and had them made up.  It didn't take long for them to arrive and they looked great.  All in all, I'm very pleased with how they turned out.  And now, back to the life of a busy bride!

African Grey Parrot Amigurumi

After I gave my friend the amigurumi raichu, another friend decided he wanted an amigurumi too.  We scoured Ravelry for something he might like, but couldn't find anything.  He has an African Grey parrot, so I decided to make one.  After looking around on Ravelry, no such parrot pattern exists.  The only patterns I found looked way too cartoony, so I decided to make my own.  That was at the end of June.  It took me six months, lots of iterations, and lots of "frustration breaks" to finish this bird.  I'm happy to announce she is complete and I'm going to share my first ever crochet pattern so others can make less cartoony parrots.  Here she is: