Sunny Seattle Saturday- we took advantage of the rarity!

We had a rockin' Saturday - it was beautiful, Josh even put on shorts for the first time in Seattle. We went to our community farmer's market- got some great foccaicia bread and then made muenster grilled cheese with and basil from our plant. So heavenly!

Then we biked to the locks and watched the salmon climb up the fish ladder- they jump up the steps!
And then biked through sweet trails and wood bridges to Discovery Park. We got a little lost. Josh velcroed wildflowers to my bike we found, it was so cute. Then we found a beachy trail that we walked around on and had a snack. It felt like we were on an island. It was so great to be able to escape the city. It felt so peaceful and relaxing. Then we biked to Ballard and got Vietnamese coffee and espresso beans (which we then later went and bought more of at the store :). It was the sweetest coffee shop, we sat in the window on pillows, so fun. Then we biked back home. We biked 16 miles Saturday.
Therefore on Sunday we were pooped. We bought a couch then brought it home, made brownies, watched season 2 of Big Bang theory, and layed on our couch ALL day! Oh yeah!
We hope you guys had a great, not too hot, weekend. We love you all!

1 month anniversary = homeade Skyline Chili

 We made it 1 month down! Josh had to work late and since it was my first day at my job I got home early. I made us Skyline- which meant a really expensive trip to the grocery store. Spices'll rob ya.
But it tasted pretty close to the real thing and it made us feel all happy and Cincinnati-ish. Then we went to the second closest food place to us- Full Tilt which makes homeade ice cream (Dangerous? Of course!) Lemon marshmallow, maple, oreo coffee, and chocolate orange. One month- we think it has gone by fast. But we sill miss everyone a lot and ask you to keep us in your prayers that we can find community and listen to God to see what he wants us to be for his kingdom in Seattle.
I sifted through many! skyline recipe's online until I found this one. I made it on one of my co-ops for a chili competition. Now I'm so glad I found this one because it is so close! We are gonna make some and make skyline dip sometime to convince the west coast that it is deserving as Best Chili Ever!

This is the recipe, I don't remember where it is from- promise it's the best one!!!:

1 onion chopped, 1 lb. ground beef, 1 clove garlic minced, 1 tbs. chili powder, 1 tsp. ground allspice, 1 tsp. cinnamon, 1 tsp. cumin, 1/2 tsp. red cayenne pepper, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 1/2 tsp. cocoa powder, 15 oz. tomato sauce, 1 tbs. cider vinegar, 1/2 cup water, 16 oz. spaghetti, cheese

1. In large frying pan saute onion, ground beef, chili powder until slightly cooked.

2. Add everything else.

3. Reduce heat to low & simmer uncovered 1 1/2 hours.

4. serve over cooked spaghetti.

5. enjoy a little taste of Cincinnati.

Rainy Weekend

 

Josh and I had big plans to go hiking at Mt Rainer this Saturday. Alas it turned out to be a pretty rainy day so we decided to save it for a nicer day. We actually ended up having one of our favorite day in Seattle so far. We sat around and read Brave New World together. Really great thought provoking book too. Josh doesn't like fiction but there was a lot to talk about with it. We went biking to a few parks and down to a beach where we looked out at Seattle skyline and then packed a picnic dinner and ate it on a log watching the ocean and sailboats. There is a really great bike trail that goes all along the coast and we ended up getting quite a bit of exercise. Then on our way back we biked to Ballard and had some caramel fudge, rum hazelnut, chocolate hazelnut, and dark coffee gelato. It was so amazing. Then we searched the grocery for something else to eat, it's 24 hours. We came out with cooking spray and condensed milk :) Then came home and at tons of Joe Joes (Trader Joe's oreos) I just think it's so great that when you're with someone you love rain doesn't matter. And on the beach there were tons of bonfires- so cool that in Seattle the weather doesn't factor into your plans as much as in Cincinnati.

Chris Marshall, who did our marriage counseling in Cincinnati, emailed some people in Seattle for us and we met for coffee with Jim Henderson today. We are so excited to get plugged in and make some friends and he offered to email some people to have lunch with us. We feel so blessed to have people so willing to help
us connect already!

I start my work at a real architecture firm, ZGF, downtown tomorrow. Can't wait- guess we're big kids now :)

Apartment things

Some things in our apartment have already begun to mean a lot to us. We posted overall photos on facebook but these are some pieces in our place that have made it feel like it's just ours and that it's special

The chalkboard cloth thing has Washington painted on it. We love that we can write a note on it whenever, the chalk is attached. But also it's a cool place to write down where we want to explore.
It feels like we're living life because parts of it and the things we want to do are displayed for us every day 

This is a library catalogish furniture piece that we were dying to buy with our target gift cards, thank you to all who contributed. We love that we can store everything in it so that nothing is just lying around. I love to organize so it makes me happy. Also it's so fun to have the little labels. We feel like it fits our personalities.
Also on top of it is a cloiter wood cut out that my grandparents made us. We have another wood box from them that sits below it.
We love having things that our friends and family made surround us and because we have so many awesome people that care about us we have stuff like that everywhere.

The stuff on the left sits on our kitchen counter. The recipe box is full of recipes from my friends at home that they made and gave to me at my bachelorette party, the bottles that look like a bottle are from my sister because she knows I collect them. I love that I can think of her when I see that. And the flour and sugar holder is from my Aunt Florence who is not passed away. Finally the cow creamer :) is from people at my new job here in Seattle. They threw me a shower before I left and it reminds us that there are people here in Seattle who already care about us.

And the final picture on the left is by our bookshelf. The poster is something I made for Joshua for our wedding. It is a poster composed of iconographic images of our relationship and how we came to be together. I can't help but smile when I see it. We have done and been to so many places together and Seattle is just another one. We can't wait to see what else we can add to what we've done together and this is a constant reminder of that to us.
Also the whiskey tray just makes us feel classy. One bottle is from our friend Zac Nelson, I found a sweet decantur at the thrift store here for $4, and the clay turquoise piece is from one of my best friend Jessica Griese's. She actually designed and created it. It means so much to Joshua and I that she gave this to us and we cherish it deeply.

So that's it, that's our little place. We had a cookout with our neighbors over the 4th of July and we've shared baked goods with them so we're excited to keep hanging out with them.
They are really great and our neighbor's 2 cats wander around which we like to pretend are our pets since we don't have any. We live within walking distance to a beautiful lake with a trail around it. We feel truly blessed everyday that God has brought us here and we are continually amazed at how he provides for us! We've been going to a church and next weekend they are having a cookout, Josh actually works with a few of the people that go there and I had lunch with a girl from Epic Life this week. Our desire for friendship in Seattle is being heard by God and we can't wait to meet more!
Plus go US women's soccer!! We're skipping church to watch it Sunday :)

SO we thought we'd give it a try

We really want to be able to keep in touch with people and update the people we love on our lives out here in Seattle. Facebook works for some of that but we think this will be more personal and allow us to let you guys in on more details.

We already miss all of you. We talk about and pray for our family and friends a lot.
We love phone calls and skype dates so don't ever hesitate or think you'd be bothering us.

It was really hard for us to leave Cincinnati, we almost backed out a few times, because our friends and family mean so much to us. We hope that this blog can make you feel a little bit closer.
So check back in we'll try our best to figure out this blog thing and keep you updated.

with love, the Elrod's