tacoma, wa: legendary doughnuts

{2602 6th ave}

this place, legendary doughnuts, definitely lives up to its name. i could not believe it when i walked in!

they have everything in a doughnut that you could ever dream up. 

doughnuts with a ton of toppings, drizzles, flavors, stuffed doughnuts, raised doughnuts, filled doughnuts, doughnut cakes. literally a million doughnut type things to choose from. and they all looked amazing. but, since we couldn't take home one of everything, we chose a couple to start with. i plan on going down the menu over the next few months. 

{caramel sea salt pretzel}

we tried the caramel sea salt pretzel which is a huge glazed doughnut folded in the shape of a pretzel drizzled with caramel & sprinkles of sea salt. talk about heaven in your mouth. 

calories? what are those?

we tried the carrot cake doughnut as well- also amazing.  

if you like doughnuts, go,

LK

tacoma, wa: duke's

{duke's chowder house: 3327 ruston way}

it doesn't happen often but husband had a day off the other day. we spent most of the afternoon in seattle & decided to try duke's on the way home. we made it in time for happy hour! - thank goodness because it's voted the best in town. 

i was pleasantly surprised by their happy hour menu, it had quite a variety of food & bevy's.

he drank beer. i had a moscow mule (it was aight) & orange mojito which i loved. 

we tried calamari steak strips for the first time & basically died because they were so good. why do restaurants even sell regular calamari? it should be a crime. the calamari steak strips are just what they sound like. tender not chewy strips of a calamari steak. i'm going back just for these. 

oh, and the chowder was pretty good too. 

{rowdy was ready for a drink}

cheers bitches,

LK

tacoma, wa: neighborhood walk

rowdy & i have been walking a lot since we've been here in tacoma. especially when the sun is out. i am still fascinated by the cherry blossoms. they are everywhere. i can't help but take pictures because they are so beautiful. the street below is not where we live but it's a few blocks away. the cherry blossoms line one side of the street all the way to the end. i love how the pink petals cover the ground as if it lightly snowed.

tulip festival: iphone pics

tacoma, wa: hilltop kitchen

{913 mlk jr way}

i know, i know... when you see martin luther king blvd, way, st you automatically think this establishment is in the ghetto. we live downtown so it can be a little questionable in certain areas but i'm tellin' ya, hilltop kitchen is not ghetto. it's a little hipster & a lot fab. this is the last time i'm allowed to say this becasue i've said it too much but, i love this place. i'm really excited that we found this hidden gem.  it's literally a hidden gem. it does not say 'hilltop kitchen' out front. no huge marquee sign letting you know it's here. they're modest. the only indication that lets you know you're at the right place is the number 913 outside. 

the music lively. the drinks will get you tipsy. the first drink i had was the 'surfboard'- delish, the second drink i had was also delish but i'm a little unclear on the name... i believe it was the 'xoxo'

i also believe the mixoligist is a beyonce/sean carter fan... check out the drink menu & you'll understand why. 

for dinner, i had the 48 hour pork. i'd try it if i were you.

LK

tacoma, wa: cafe' elite

{cafe' elite: drive-thru coffee}

so, now that i'm here in tacoma with husband my daily routine has changed slightly. or completely.

we only have one car here so i drop him off at the stadium everyday & i'm usually there after the game to go home with him. 

so far, i have found a lot of little coffee places that i want to try. because ... coffee is the thing out here in the pacific northwest, didn't you know that? 

being from florida, i'm used to having mostly starbucks & dunkin donuts on every corner. every now-and-then we throw in a small little wi-fi coffee cafe'. 

here, in washington! ... small little coffee houses everywhere. and they all look different. this morning, after dropping husband off at work, i tried my first little drive-thru coffee house. since the coffee du jour was a banana hazelnut latte i figured why the heck not?... it was delicious & not super sweet which made me really happy. 

if ever in the area look 'em up!

tacoma, wa: cheney stadium

{cheney stadium}

this is where i will be spending a lot of time over the next few months. annnnd, i couldn't be more excited about that!

i went to my first baseball game this season a few nights ago & the little butterflies i felt in my stomach made me feel even more happy about our decision for me to be here this season. there is no doubt in my mind that this is where i need to be but these amazing little signs i keep getting are making it harder & harder for me to feel homesick. 

i always get asked the question, "are you a huge baseball fan since your husband plays?!" my response usually goes something like this... "i'm a really huge fan of my husband, his biggest fan to be exact. but, i'm not the kind of chick that knows all the players stats & everything going on with every team in mlb & milb. i have a great appreciation for baseball & respect the game but i think you become a different kind of fan when you're involved in it like we are."

i love watching baseball. i thoroughly enjoy sitting in the stands at the stadium watching a game. a game that goes without rain delays is ideal, please & thank you- we've already experienced a few of those here. it's really fun to watch the game when you know the guys on the line-up. i watch a game & can understand everything going on. but... occasionally i have questions about a call or a play. i still have a lot to learn & i'm okay with that. 

{inspiration in the summit club}

{look closely: mt. rainier}

happy earth day

tacoma, wa: the rock pizza

{the rock wood fired pizza}

in florida, we have coal fired pizza places all over town. i never knew that wood fired pizza actually existed, but then again, i guess i never really thought about it that much. i prefer coal/wood fired pizza to just regular oven pizza mostly because i like my crust crispy. i love pizza & it's definitely one of my favorite foods. 

i try not to eat it too often because apparently it's not healthy for you?... i'm little confused on that & still not convinced. i'm a healthy eater, so when i see a food that offers me grains, a little bit of dairy (who doesn't love cheese?!), vegetables & protein that just screams all things greatness! ya know what else is great? leftover's for breakfast. 

i love pizza & hell yes!, the rock pizza in tacoma is pretty damn good. i'm so glad we have this little gem close by. 

tacoma, wa: rain, rain

{car window}

this has been my view for the past few days here in tacoma. rain, rain and more rain. it's funny to me, the people here are so used to it drizzling all day, every day that they barely use umbrellas. 

my friend, who lives in seattle, told me that i need to invest in some vitamin d pills. i laughed. "what?! people actually have to take vitamin d here?" coming from florida that just sounds foreign to me. and scares me a little. don't get me wrong, everyone is 100% correct about the flowers & trees being beautiful here, everything is green & so many gorgeous flowers. i'm in awe of the cherry blossoms & tulips. they're beautiful. 

but, i will always be a beach girl. 

getting to where we're going

"stress is casued by giving a f*ck"
-it's unclear to me who quoted this but i'm pretty sure someone did

{^ this is just the beginning of this situation}

right when i thought i was handling everything okay, i thought i was completely organized & i wasn't going to get stressed, i began giving a fuck. i was hungry but couldn't eat. i was in a daze.

the tahoe was full & i still had things that needed to be out of the house. but, i stuck to my rule- if it can't fit in the tahoe, it can't come. so, i ended up leaving a bunch of clothes at my parents house. not what i planned on doing but such is life. 

my sweet mom helped me clean the house & pack the tahoe as full as i could get it. 

 i had everything i needed for rowdy. but i was worried about him being in the car for 24 hours. 

i already had my stuff packed for washington but do i have enough?

the drive to texas was a long one. my dad donated 24 hours of his life to me that he will never get back and i'm so thankful for that. i tried to make the drive as fast as possible, taking most of the driving responsibility while he comforted the pup. 

all along, it still feels as if i'm going on vacation.

i still feel like i'm going back to work.

we get to texas before the sun came up on saturday morning, which was my goal. rowdy adjusted surprisingly well to being in the texas house. which made my heart happy & eased a little of my stress. as soon as we get to texas & unpack the tahoe i immediately begin to think about our (rowdy & i) flight to washington. 

the few days spent with my dad in texas were very special & went by very fast. blink-of-an-eye fast. 

i know my dog is just a dog but he's a living being. and i worry about him, i worry that he's going to be okay flying for the first time, okay in a new state with a completely new environment & weather change. he's a puppy so it's a little hard to tell him what's going on & know that he understands. more importantly, forgives me for putting him through hell for the last few days. it's stressful. 

rowdy did not travel well at all. he had a panic attack on the flight. bit through his travel bag. i stood in the back of the plane with the flight attendants the entire flight. they let me hold him on my lap for the landing because he refused to get back in his bag. it was 100% miserable for him & it broke my heart a little. i am beyond thankful that the staff on alaska airlines were so sweet & understanding. i will fly that airline every time i can because of their unbelievable customer service!

but... we made it to seattle and we are so happy to be here! rowdy & i were both crazy excited to see our favorite guy! hugging husband for the first time in two months reminded me why i give a fuck & made the stress go away instantly. 

xoxo,

LK

home is...

home is wherever i'm with you. 

today, i left my job & will be packing up our florida home to head out west to be with my husband. i can not wait! and, when i say west, i mean as far west as you can get in the united states- tacoma/seattle, washington.

since 2006, when we met, every year, we have always spent some period of time apart from each other. last year, our first year as husband & wife we spent most of the year apart. it was a tough gig. now that we have a puppy involved... rowdy needs to see his dad, right?!

husband tends to be a little more spontanious than me (ok, fine, a lot more spontaneous!) ... which is why practically, the day before he left for baseball season he asked me to quit my job, pack up my life as i currently know it, pup too & travel with him this season. as awesome as it sounded it took me a moment (or a while) to make the final decision: the date i was going to move. 

the thought of moving stuff from the florida house, so that it can be rented furnished, to the texas house, sounded so overwhelming at first. packing up a house full of stuff & driving it 24 hours across a few states, with a puppy, in a jacked-up tahoe that gets 10 miles to the gallon on a good day, pulling a u-haul, to get to texas, unpack everything, return this u-haul situation & then fly to washington state with 6 months worth of stuff. 

fast-forward 2 months & i'm packing/taking the bare minimun. if it doesn't fit in the tahoe, it ain't comin'. 

i'm a little sad to leave my home in florida. but, i am so excited to start this new chapter in our lives & marriage.

cheers to new adventures,

LK