moms who vashon together

a few months ago, my group of mom friends and i booked a two night stay at a house on vashon island, which is a 20 minute ferry ride from seattle. this past weekend it was finally here! we had two new friends join us this time (to make up for our two friends who moved away over the summer). it was really fun to get to know them better and all of us had such a good time together.

liz picked up vanessa and me and we caught an 11am ferry from the fauntleroy terminal in west seattle.

 it was my first time visiting vashon and it was such a cute island. the downtown had lots of restaurants and shops. our first stop was "the hardware store" for lunch. it wasn't actually a hardware store, just a cute name for a restaurant :) the other 3 ladies in our group drove together and met us shortly after we got there. i had a delicious burger/fries and we had a great time kicking off our weekend of freedom. after lunch we walked to some of the shops. i didn't buy anything, but it was fun to look. i think the shops are pretty slow in the winter, the employees acted thrilled to see us. ha!

meredith and me sportin' some super fabulous hats

after shopping, we headed to the house, which was about a 25 minute drive. it was so beautiful! huge cathedral ceilings, gourmet kitchen, hot tub, and a gorgeous view of the sound. 

 

we had some appetizers and drinks and then headed out to the hot tub. it was in the 40's and raining, but there was a gazebo over the hot tub, so our heads didn't get wet. we spent a long time out there chatting, no one wanted to get out. when we came back in, liz made us the most delicious (late) dinner: chicken tikka masala, roasted carrots, and naan. we hung out in our pajamas the rest of the night and stayed up way too late.

saturday morning i was awake by 7:30 and couldn't fall back asleep. arg. i got up with meredith and we made coffee and chatted while she prepped everyone's breakfast. she made a baked egg dish with butternut squash, spinach, and bacon in it. it was so good! i was spoiled all weekend never having to cook. i made sure to help clean up after meals, so i wasn't a total load. haha. we pretty much spent all day saturday at the house relaxing in comfy clothes. we ate, drank, read books, chatted, took naps. it was heaven! 

around 5:00 we decided to call a couple restaurants on the island to make a reservation. turns out the restaurants are really busy year round because some people take the ferry over from seattle for dinner on a saturday night. two places were totally booked for the night. luckily one of our choices called "bramble house" was able to squeeze us in at 8pm. we all got dressed and presentable and headed out for dinner, but not before taking a picture for proof:

 "bramble house" is located in an old house, which was cool. the food was amazing, but the service was pretty terrible. we probably sat at our table for 25 minutes before anyone came over and greeted us. and the food took almost an hour. but we had a great time. we decided to skip the dessert menu in favor of bringing ice cream back to the house. well, since it was after 9pm the one grocery store in town was already closed. oops. we were able to find some ice cream at the gas station, so we were happy campers. it was another late night, but so much fun.

sunday morning i managed to sleep until 8am. ha! i'll take it. liz had planned to make us breakfast, but she slept til after 11, so we decided to just grab brunch on our way to the ferry. we got the house cleaned and packed up. 

vanessa and me slacking off on cleaning duty

 we headed back into town and had brunch at a cafe called "snapdragon". it was seriously the most delicious brunch i've ever had. herbed egg scramble, roasted potatoes, and super thick sliced toast. even the butter was heavenly. i can't even do it justice. the place was super funky and eclectic too with beautiful stained glass everywhere. if you ever find yourself on vashon island, you must go!

 we stopped into a couple other shops and then it was time to head to the ferry. the weekend flew by, but it really was the perfect mix of fun and relaxation.

it will probably be a year before we do it again (if i'll even still live here in a year, who knows). i'm so thankful to have made these friendships. i always remind myself i could have easily felt isolated living here not knowing anyone, but i got so lucky meeting (most) of these ladies within months of our move and we've stayed close the entire time. i don't know what i'd do without them!