Shake Shake Shake

It’s way more fun to go out to cool places with Jack now that he can enjoy them as a little kid. One of his new favorite spots is Shake Shake Shake in Tacoma’s stadium district. He doesn’t usually get much in the way of sweet treats so I think the milkshake may have blown his mind a little bit.

If you’re looking for a fun, family friendly spot to grab a classic burger, fries, and shake, Shake Shake Shake is definitely a perfect (and very instagrammable) spot that’s a must-try. It’s just a short walk from the historic Stadium High School which was featured in 10 Things I Hate About You, and there are tons of other great small businesses and restaurants to check out in the surrounding few blocks. I suspect I’ll find myself popping into Shake Shake Shake many more times this summer on the hot days when a shake sounds like the perfect antidote to the heat.

Photos by Amy Vaughn Photography

More Brunch!

Another day, another brunch!  This time we went down to the Downtown Tacoma Market at the old post office building and grabbed brunch at En Rama!  They don't usually do brunch, even on weekends, but every time there's a downtown market, they do brunch!  Luckily this time it fell on my friend Amy's birthday weekend so we got to head down for a special birthday brunch for her!

I love En Rama, and their drinks are amazing but the food is pricey and you don't get a lot of quantity.  Which is why typically I don't eat there, simply because even though it tastes seriously incredible, I just want to go eat an entire meal after having just eaten.  Which miiiight be what we ended up doing (tacos tho.  So, it was like... lunch, so a totally different meal. clearly). Anyway, my advice: don't miss En Rama.  But maybe eat first at home... and make sure you have a DD cuz the drinks are stiff (and amazing).

Brunch at Honey

One of our favorite things to do before we had Jack was to go out for coffee or brunch in the morning.  Nowadays our mornings are usually filled with feeding Jack breakfast, and Dan is at work, so most dates end up being evening dates, but today we got to go out in the morning to grab brunch at one of my new favorite Tacoma spots, Honey.  Honey is part of a larger creative space, Alma Mater, which has an amazing venue space, artist studio space, recording studio, and a really cool outdoor space, all located in an old Carpenters Union building in downtown Tacoma. I'm thrilled that someone finally created a place like this for Tacoma and I can't wait to see it thrive!  

I've been to Honey at Alma Mater a couple times before, but just for coffee and pastries, this was my first time grabbing "real" food there and daaaang was it good.  If you're in the area, be sure to stop in and check it out, it's definitely on my rotation of favorite Tacoma haunts now!

Shop The Look

Getting Inspired Around Town

When we moved back to Tacoma in October I was surprised to discover the MOST stunning new interior decor store had popped up in my absence, TREE!  On top of having the most incredible pieces, their stuff is sustainable and eco-friendly, and their flagship store in downtown Tacoma is in the most incredible building I've ever seen.  It's filled with new and reclaimed pieces, beautiful natural tones, the highest ceilings of all time, and the most enormous plants.  Like these plants wouldn't fit in my house even if I tried.  

I was recently able to head up to Bellevue to attend their launch party for their Bellevue store and it was so fun. It took me back to the blogger meet-up and conference days, back when I was a fashion blogger, schmoozing and meeting people you've only known online.  Plus Herban Feast treated us to a delicious spread, and I got to chat with Nicole, TREE's founder who has, wonderfully, made Tacoma her chosen home.  I can't wait to incorporate some of TREE's pieces into my own home and future projects!

Another spot here in Tacoma that is my go-to when I need both inspiration and items for projects is Earthwise Salvage.  Way back in the day during college I was introduced to the Habitat for Humanity ReStore which totally blew my mind.  At the time I was an art student so my interest in the ReStore was getting doors, cabinet doors, and other pieces to use as cheap canvases for my larger paintings and art pieces.  Earthwise is in a similar vein in that everything is reclaimed and salvaged, but I just love the unique and interesting selection they have.  I've gotten a few pieces from Earthwise so far that are for projects in the works and I can't wait to share the finished product once those are complete!

Two shops with a similar, reclaimed/eco-friendly/sustainable focus but in totally different venues.  I love both and am thrilled that we've got such awesome spots in Tacoma to feed my decor and DIY project obsessions!

camping

 

 



Photos from a rainy camping trip with friends from over a year ago.  I always meant to post these photos, but never got around to it.  Dusty's first camping trip, good friends, and being surrounded by nature.  I missed this year's friend-camping-excursion, so Dusty and I went on a solo camping adventure together instead.