We invaded Canada

I'm a wee bit behind, what with all the excitement of my waning slump to talk about (I need a "sarcasm" font), but I went to Victoria, British Columbia recently with my seester Amy and cousin Steph and a bunch of friends to celebrate her upcoming nuptials!  We ate, we drank, we walked, we shopped, we tea-d, we danced, we smelled the flowers, we got VIP access to the bar, we got asked to model for a fashion photographer, we got legit food and drink recommendations from Wiley, we learned it's nearly impossible to get a pedicure in Victoria, and all had a pretty fantastic time.  Cheers to Amy!!  (All photos courtesy of Steph!  Woot!  And are in no particular order...)

AMAZING dinner and drinks at Venuto (sp?)

Walking into the Fairmont Empress for high tea

Wind!  Water!  Heart!  Gooo planet!

The bachelorette doing her thang to the country/rock cover band

Butchart Gardens' Sunken Garden (my favorite)

Mid dance photo opp!

Look how fancy and classy we are during high tea

Yup, that seems about right...

Butchart

I heart the china they use at the Fairmont!

It was a really great long weekend and I think everyone had a blast!!  Woo hoo!

Your weekend sendoff

I have a 3-day weekend, which started today at 5pm, as I'm headed up to Victoria early tomorrow morning with my sister Amy, cousin Steph, and a handful of other friends of Amy's to celebrate her bachelorette weekend!  Should be fun but laid back.  It'll involve the Victoria Clipper (a passenger only ferry between Seattle and Victoria), high tea, maybe a spa appointment, Butchart Gardens, and likely some dancing to 80s cover bands.  I'm excited.  :)

To help you prepare for a great weekend (and Friday), please enjoy the ridiculously cool cover of Gotye's "Somebody That I Used To Know" (a song I am Obsessed with a capital O with) by Walk off the Earth.

(Thanks, Mindy and Casey Teachers!)

Have a great Friday and weekend, friends!

Victoria!

This weekend Jeff and I took a little trip to Victoria, BC for his last weekend in Seattle before moving to San Diego... this week!  But anyway, we stayed in Port Angeles on Friday night and then caught the ferry into Victoria early on Saturday.  And it was sooo cute and charming!!  I highly recommend it for a great nearby weekend trip from Seattle.

The Empress, our castle for the weekend

We wandered around the city (although it feels more like a town) and enjoyed delicious lunch at Red Fish Blue Fish (thanks for the rec, Sam!).  Then we attended a surprise afternoon tea at the Empress, and it was AWESOME.  I love high tea, and this was probably the best I've had.  

This pic cracks me up... you still look quite rugged, Jeff ;)

Wonderful black tea (minus the gnat that temporarily went swimming in my cup, ha), savory sandwiches, AMAZING scones and strawberry jam, and the tastiest little desserts.  Mmmmmmmmm.

YUM

After tea, we headed to Butchart Gardens for a picnic dinner, wandering through the really beautiful gardens, and enjoying some of the best fireworks.  If you ever go to Butchart, definitely stick around for summer Saturday fireworks, then check out the Sunken Garden after, when it's dark out but the garden is lit.  It is MAGICAL.  Seriously.  So beautiful.  

Today we enjoyed free breakfast at the Empress, which was part of our complimentary upgrade upon arriving yesterday.  Don't mind if we do!  We hit the road, took a ferry ride, took a scenic drive, took another ferry ride, and then made it back to Seattle.

My 2 main cities, wrapped up in 1 nice little life-preserving package

All in all, Jeff and I had an awesome weekend.  Sun, great food, lovely flowers, a pretty sweet hotel, time on the water (via ferry, but still).  And a visit to a crazy foreign country!  Oh, Canada...

I felt pretty good and it was nice to give my eyes a break for the weekend.  I have 2 days of work this week, then am off for a leisurely little scenic drive with Jeff down the West Coast.  We're taking off after work on Tuesday and get to Los Angeles on Sunday, so I'll likely be off the blogging radar.  I fly from L.A. to Springfield, Missouri on Sunday and will definitely update then.  As there's nothing else to do in Springfield, so I hear.  :)