baking + books, a friend in town, kid movie night

it was nice to get back to a normal week of school/life around here again. and temps in the 50s! :) 

i've already read 4 books this year, (which i'm super proud of) and i wanted to share the one i just finished, because i loved it so much. "me elton john" is an autobiography that came out recently and it was fantastic! i was familiar with elton john (especially from the 1990's on), but it was so interesting to learn about his childhood and early career in the 70s and 80s. i found myself looking up many of the performances he referenced on youtube to see the outfit he was describing, the size of the crowd, hear his voice back then, etc. it made it a really interactive way to experience the book. 

one morning before school, i came in the living room and they were watching tv like this. sometimes they forget to fight and they snuggle instead ;) 

i can't take any credit for this (except for purchasing one of the pots) but thatcher has been growing our "plant window" and i love it! 

on friday i got to see my friend teresa who is one of the first friends i made our first summer in seattle. she is originally from the Philippines, but lived in seattle for 5 years after marrying her husband. they have 2 boys and have been in the Philippines for the past 2 years working for amazon, but came to seattle to visit. teresa, our friend heather, and i all had brunch together at vanessa's. i made this apple brie puff pastry, which was good, but i should have added more apples and brie because it didn't look like enough once it puffed up. 

here we all are. love these ladies! 

friday night we relaxed at home. saturday morning thatcher met up with a couple friends at cafe mox (game store/cafe). the kids and i went to northgate mall to have lunch at chipotle and to get ashford's hair cut at ulta salon. the mall itself is super pathetic right now and is on track to be totally redeveloped, but they still have a game store, which the kids loved going into. 

saturday evening the kids and i were invited to some friends' for dinner + a movie night. the kids all wore their jammies and watched "the lion, the witch, and the wardrobe" after having pasta for dinner. the other mom (megan) and i drank wine, served the kids popcorn and chocolate chip cookies, and chatted. it was a fun night. 

sunday morning i went to the gym in the morning and thatcher made banana bread with the kids. in the afternoon i took the kids to playdate seattle (indoor playground) to meet some friends from ashford's class. they had fun running around for a couple hours and i had fun hanging with the moms. we grilled burgers for dinner and the kids played some video games to end the weekend. 

i can't believe february is almost here (finally!). january is always such a long month.