Happy Memorial Day! I’m not an American citizen by birth, but I’m so grateful for the sacrifices of the American soldiers. Freedom is not Free! So many gave their lives so we can enjoy the lives we have right now. I love living in this country and what it stands for! Land of the free because of the Brave. (picture courtesy from www.memorialdayusa.com)
We had BBQ tonight because aside from Memorial day, we are having late birthday celebrations for my In laws. They were on vacation during their actual birthdays. We had burgers….sooo good, chicken wings, chips, homemade guacamole, and cake. It was a simple but special time with my In laws.
I made caramelized onionssweet corn with parsley (lots of butter!)chicken kaboobschicken wingsso flavorful!
monster burgerLexy napping!Oh my goodness, Riley so spoiled! I think he’s enjoying a belly rub from his Auntie
Hello Everyone! A couple of weeks ago, the Hubs and I and Sis In Law Julia had dinner at Daniel’s Broiler at Lake Union. We’ve been here twice already and we like the place, food was decent but when it comes to steaks we still prefer John Howie in Bellevue (the best steakhouse for us ) near Seattle. The restaurant was kinda pricey for the quality of the food we had, and they messed up Zach’s steak order but they we’re quick to offer a solution (great customer service there!). The waiter felt bad for him and ended giving us free dessert. So that was nice. Although we had a good experience, we think it’s going to be a while that we will visit Daniel’s again!
How big is this lobster tail?!Oysters RockefellerSteak TartareCrispy Artichoke heart ( we really liked this one)Beets,Goat cheese saladFilet Mignon (my order) I really enjoyed my steak! Delicious but not as good as John HowieSIL’s order:Lobster Cub saladZach’s Ribeye
Julia you feeling full?heheHis “they messed up my steak” look!
This weekend, the Hubs and I (together with my In laws) attended a family friend’s wedding and it was such a nice event. It’s one of the best weddings we’ve attended in a long time. The Ceremony was beautiful, the place was cozy, and the food was delicious! The Bride is a childhood friend of Zach’s and both their parents knew each other for a long time. Congratulations to Dan and Noelle! The Best is yet to come…
Pretty Bride! And how cute is this little peonyCeremony
Zach’s Parents and Noelle’s (Bride) mom
Noelle and my In LawsCutting of the cake!with my In Lawsso much fun! s’mores table
Hello everyone! It’s been a while since my last post but I’m still here doing the usual “wifey” stuff. I hope you guys had a great weekend (Mother’s Day weekend). We invited my In Law’s last Sunday to have dinner with us and celebrate Mothers Day for my MIL. It was a nice and quite one, we ordered sushi from our favorite local sushi place and got some shrimp and crab cakes from our local fish market (we are so lucky to live in this area because we have a lot of good, quality markets around, we don’t have to go to Seattle for that). I’m so grateful for my Mom (she’s in the Philippines now) for raising me and my siblings well. She’s so selfless. I’m also thankful for my MIL who has treated me like her own since I met her. I’m so blessed in that department.
sushiSushi Plate#2crab cakes and roast shrimp with umami sauceStrawberry,feta,candied walnuts,apple saladwith my MIL and SIL JuliaBates Family
The last Island that we visited was Nassau, Bahamas! It was our least favorite just because it was too crowded and the weather was too hot for us (like the sun eating your skin). We checked out Paradise Point, some parts of the Atlantis Resort (that’s opened to the public) and spent the rest of our time at Cabbage Beach (which was gorgeous but too wavey for me!).
Almost there!
little selfie while waiting to get out of the cruise shipdeath to my hat!Crowds galore!
was excited to see starbucks bahamas so I can buy their “you are here collection” but they didn’t have it
Cabbage Beach
we had drinks and conch fritters before going back to the shipC fritter
Our 2nd Island to visit was St. Thomas, US Virgin Island! This was another beautiful Island, I only wanted to do 2 things here and that was to see Magens Beach Bay (I heard that it’s voted one of the best beaches in the world; National Geographic Magazine!), second thing to do was visit Paradise Point to get a good of view the Island. After getting off from the cruise ship, we got a taxi right away going to Magens Beach because it can be so crowded and I wanted to take pictures when it’s less busy. When we got there, it didn’t disappoint! My goodness the water was so calm surrounded by a lagoon, crystal clear blue water! If you get to visit St. Thomas and have limited time, you gotta see Magens Beach, it’s one of the best beaches in the Caribbean in my opinion! *I’ve read somewhere that Bella and Edward (Twilight series) shot some scenes here in their honeymoon part of the movie. I can’t confirm that though because I don’t think I’ve seen all the movie/series.*
Good morning from St. ThomasMagens Beach
having a moment!hehe
Hubs
water is co clear!
Hubs enjoying strawberry margarita!I took this pic inside the taxi, I can’t get over how pretty the color is!
Our next stop was Paradise Point (it was just walking distance from our cruise). They have an entrance fee of $21,kinda pricey but the gondola ride was nice and quick (the view was worth it).
Our first port on our Caribbean cruise is the Island of St. Maarten, Philipsburg (Dutch side). We’re really excited to be out of the ship after 2 and half days being on the sea. I really liked St. Maarten because it was clean and really tourist friendly. We visited Maho beach. We spent a good amount of time there (it’s also called the “airport” beach) because it’s so close to the airport (Princess Juliana International Airport). It is a must if you visit St. Maarten, I mean how often do you experience having a huge plane just above your head?! We got to see the big commercial plane KML ( looks like everybody was waiting for it too). It was so much fun for me, but the Hubs wasn’t as excited to see this whole thing. He’d rather drink at the bar and lounge! The beach was so nice too, clear and powdery white sand (my kind of beach!).
Good Morning St. Maarten🙂Hubs🙂Love St. MaartenGreat Bay Beach🙂🙂On our way to Maho Beach (we took the taxi, paid $9 each)🙂Maho Beach
Here comes a plane!Photo from online (but this is the same plane we saw) that made me super excited!Hubby swimming
Smile Hubs smile!enjoying some fruity drink at Sunset Bar and Grill
back to the Great Bay beach
Boat ride going back to our Cruisethe famous Guavaberry (it was OK for us)
We had our Anniversary dinner at the Ocean Blue (Norwegian Getaway cruise) and it was one of the best times on our cruise vacation. The food was superb and the service was amazing ( always anticipating your needs yet not in your face kind of attitude). Although it was a bit pricey because this place is not part of any “free dining” that the cruise offers. The Hubs went all out with the appetizers! He really likes his apps:) They offer seafoods and have selections of raw items like oysters and hamachi. If you find yourself on a cruise and they have an Ocean Blue restaurant, you must try it at least because you will not regret it! The Hubs and I had a great experience in this restaurant.
Ocean Bluemascarpone bread and cheesescrab toast (this was really good!)different types of oysters
yellow tail (hamachi)salmon tartarebeet salad with caviar (the food presentation is just lovely)steak tartare (this was Ok for me, had better steak tartare here in Seattle)Lobster Mushroom Risotto (rich and decadent!) love the flavors!hubs about to enjoy his dinnerI had the snapper with some fancy ingredients that I’m not familiar with! hehehe
complimentary cake! that we end up not eating because we’re too full. we had some in our cabin the next day though
Hello everyone! I’ve been MIA for the last couple of weeks because the Hubs and I celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary with an Eastern Caribbean cruise (Norwegian Getaway). It’s our first time cruising and we had so much fun! It was such a relaxing time with my Hubs. We visited St. Maartens Philipsburg (Netherlands,dutch side), St. Thomas US Virgin Islands, and Nassau Bahamas. We really liked our cruise ship because there’s always something going on, lots of options/activities so we were never bored and the food was great too. I will be posting more of our amazing dinner experiences in the coming days. Enjoy the pics!
enjoying the view(Miami port) from our balcony roomour Balcony staterooma little selfie action
Pretty Chandelier from the ships main lobby
replica of our cruise shipenjoying our lunch with a viewAtlantic Oceananimal towel prepared by the housekeeperSt. MaartensFruit and Veggie carving demonstration (this is such a pretty watermelon flower)Hubs doing crazy things (rope course)The cast of Legally Blonde (we did watch it but preferred the real “broadway show)
watched Fireworks on the 4th night!St Thomas US Virgin Islands
My hat has a life of its own..lasted for 6 days and I had to throw it out because it was pretty useless.Atlantis Resort BahamasCabbage Beach Bahamas
Farewell showPort of Miamilast selfie before going back to Seattle
Today we are celebrating the Resurrection of Jesus Christ! One of the most important events in the Christian world. I’m just so grateful for what Jesus did on the Cross, the unconditional love He gave to all of us. The perfect, sinless Son of God suffered and died for all of us, despite our unworthiness. Thank You Jesus for what you’ve done for our sake.
Yes He did!
Aside from Easter Sunday celebration, we are also celebrating our 7th wedding Anniversary! We are thankful to God for blessing our marriage for the last 7 years. We cannot wait to see what is in store for us in the coming years! The Best is yet to come:) We took a couple of pictures before going to church this morning. We had brunch after with my In laws in one of the restaurants here in Issaquah. The Hubs and I plan to have a little getaway somewhere to celebrate and we are so excited! I hope you had a great Easter weekend all:)
so blessed to have my Hubs in my life!someone was forced to have a solo picture!hehe🙂with my Bunny Riley!with my Sis-In-Law JuliaSiblings!Sip Restaurant in Issaquahbrunchmy lovely In laws! love them..Yum!
