happy birthday maxi baby.

he and i rescued each other six years ago.

he is stinky and occasionally whiny.

he has been known to eat some ridiculously disgusting things

and is notorious for sneaking up on the sofa.

but he is incredibly sweet, gentle, loving, genuine, loyal.

he is handsome too. (i am pretty sure he knows it - he gets compliments every time we are out).

he was my first baby boy,

my first true love.

it did not take long for ryan to fall for him too.

max is seven today and every bit as youthful as the first time I laid eyes on him 

(p.s. i was absolutely terrified).

we have had so much fun together.

max had a big adjustment to make when baby brother came along.

he was jealous at first - but patient and curious.

and after oliver started eating on his own, dropping half of his food to the floor, max and his baby brother became fast friends. i love it when he sneaks into oliver's room at night to sleep on the rug next to the crib. it is the sweetest.

happy birthday to a very loved baby boy.

cheers!

nik

"In a houseful of toddlers and pets, you can start out having a bad day, but you keep getting detoured."   - Robert Brault

foodie weekend - in review

i realize that we are already on to a new weekend. but..., foodie weekend was simply too remarkable to not be blogged about - even if blogger is a wee bit tardy.

i love nothing more than the combination of good company, good food and good wine. last weekend was jam packed full of this combo.

saturday night:

belles dinner number 2.

maria is fabulous at everything she does. it was no surprise that she hosted an amazing belles dinner. the table scape. the food. the wine. the company. absolutely perfect.

(look at miss scarlett bean! crawling all over the place!

 the three kiddos had a blast together while maria prepped dinner...)

this salad was crazy awesome. find the recipe here.

(move over martha, right?! gorgeous.)

i couldn't resist an opportunity to shoot my favorite mini belles:

belles dinner was LOVELY. i love my girls and their hubbies and their babes. always fun.

my turn to host next. yikes. going to have to sharpen my martha skills a lot in an attempt to be as cool as 

jen and maria.

sunday:

tyler and eddie hosted brunch. simply delish! of course eddie had created a table scape that put martha to shame as well. unfortunately, i only snapped one pic of the centerpiece... 

thank you so much for brunch boys! you're the best.

sunday evening, we were spoiled with yet more amazing food at ben and queenie's wedding reception, hosted by mario and carl. mario is from peru. he is an incredible chef. my favorite was the peruvian chicken. and omg the cake - red velvet.

 we did of course find time, in between foodie events, to toast to the great dads in our lives. i am blessed with the most incredible dad. he is one of my very best friends. i am also blessed to be married to an amazing dad. ryan loves nothing more than being a father and it shows in all he does. 

i am a very lucky girl.

xoxoxoxo,

nik

"the world knows little about its greatest heroes" - dan zadra

(our first pic - 1979)

p.s. romantical date night last night. saw panic at the disco play at the showbox sodo. amazing music. great venue. if you haven't been there, check out their event calendar here and go to a show this summer. 

a ton of fun.

p.s.s. sunset magazine (best mag on the planet) ran an article this month comparing seattle vs. portland for title of the west's best food city. even though i am a huge fan of portland and it is really the only only other place i can see myself living, i am verrry proud to say seattle won! read it right here.

Remy & Ari

i have been waiting months to get my lens in front of these two littles.

they are precious - as are mama and mimi.

ari shared her apple lollipop with me. rem shared some killer ninja moves. we had so much fun.

are they GORGEOUS or what?!

i love them.

happy friday tomorrow! whoop whoop!

nik

"treat your friends as you do pictures, and place them in their best light" - jennie jerome churchill