Home again, home again. Our vacation felt like it went by so quickly. Saturday morning we were up early to pack up and hit the road. Cullen got in a few extra squeezes from people that love him so much.
What a wonderful treat to get to spend so much time together.
Casey, Cullen, and I made the very loooong trek back to Seattle. We discovered that flying with an 8 month old is a bit more complicated than flying with a teeny tiny baby. Cullen was not happy to be confined to a small airplane seat for 5+ hours, and Casey and I did a lot of frantic shushing, bouncing, and wrestling.
But eventually we made it home, and were happily reunited with Sarah, who has been watching our dogs this past week. Even though we had lots of work and unpacking to do the next day, we ignored all of that and headed out to enjoy a bit of Seattle.
First stop, Flying Apron Bakery. It had been WAY too long. And just as I announced that since vacation was over I’d get back to my usual healthy eating, I ordered a giant slice of vegan strawberry lemonade chocolate cake.
Sarah and I shared this monstrosity and we STILL couldn’t finish it. Casey got a gooey cinnamon roll. Sugar o.v.e.r.l.o.a.d.
Seriously, it was so much sugar that I felt like I could jump up and run ten miles right then and there. Instead, we decided to walk it off at our favorite markets. We wandered through Fremont and drooled over vintage furniture before heading to Ballard to scope out veggies and local treats.
Hard to believe it was 100+ degrees in Georgia last week, and we spent our whole time in bathing suits or under water. It’s in the 60’s here in Seattle, and we’re back to jeans, hoodies, and cozy nights in front of the fire. I’m actually serious.
Despite eating a large piece of cake for breakfast, I was already hungry for lunch by the time we were done browsing the markets. No trip to Ballard is complete without a Field Roast dog – topped with sauerkraut, relish, ketchup, and mustard. Perfection.
Oh sunshine, where are you? Didn’t you hear it is JULY?
We grabbed two big bags of cherries at the market – four pounds total – a mix of Bing and Ranier. One of the best parts of living up here is the access to absolutely amazing (and cheap!) cherries. We might not have sun, but we do have cherries. We put a hurting on this big bowl, all crowded around the sink spitting pits into the trash.
Followed up with a big plate of delicious dinner. Cheesy kale chips, salt and pepper tofu, and my new favorite roasted cauliflower salad.
As soon as I click publish, I’m off to type up that recipe. It’s a WINNER, and the leftovers have already been polished off.
Now that my half marathon and vacation are both over, I’m also ready to get back into figuring out what comes next with running and fitness. I mentioned before that I’m going to scale back a bit in mileage and work on increasing my speed for a bit. Yesterday marked the first of my 5K training runs. I forgot how brutal it is to run with the stroller.
This time around I have a bit of extra motivation too – a training partner! Sarah is going to do some of my runs with me, and I’m going to help her train for her first 5K. She’s done some running before, but mostly just treadmill intervals here and there, and nothing in a month or so. I’m having her (slowly) jump right in with me, and we covered 3.5 miles of walking and running yesterday – a good first run back for me, and an awesome start for her. More on my training plan to come!
We ended up meeting friends for a 3 mile walk later in the afternoon, bringing our daily mileage to 6.5. My legs are feeling it!
Cullen didn’t make a single peep during our entire run, so he was rewarded with a trip to the swings when we were done.
I’m sad that our vacation is over, but at the same time, it feels good to be back.
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That piece of cake looks beyond amazing….and there’s nothing wrong with eating cake for breakfast in moderation :)
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I can’t get over how cute Cullen is. He looks like such a happy, sweet little guy! He has the cutest grin!
This is off-topic, but I saw this recipe the other day and thought of you. I know Cullen might not be ready for that yet, but wanted to share: http://www.thespunkycoconut.com/2012/06/baby-food-pops.html
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Temps in the 60s sound absolutely divine to me!
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I’m completely jealous of your Seattle weather! CLT is HOT, ugh
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It’s amazing to hear the swing in temperatures from across the US. We are boiling here in the midwest. Could use a few 80 degree with less humidity for a few days.
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Cullen is such a smiley baby!
Good luck to Sarah on her first 5k! I just ran with a friend for her first and it was so cool to see her accomplish her goal!*
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That final picture of Cullen is absolutely adorable! And the cake looks delicious, even if it did lead to a sugar overload. Totally want some cake now!
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You have the best weather in the country right now–I’d enjoy it! I would love to be in jeans and fireplace weather, rather than living in a furnace.
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Cullen is just too cute. I love his smile!
Good luck to your sister in her racing journey. I love having a running partner because it makes running that much more fun!
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Mmmm I want some of that cake. =)
Glad you made it home safely, good luck with the new training plan.
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I’m excited to hear your training plans for your sister. My boyfriend and I are working on our first 5k and are running 3-4 miles a few times a week.
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Cullen is always smiling! He seems like he is truly the ‘happiest baby on the block!’ :)
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Sounds like you had a ball! Isn’t it wild to come back this “cooler” weather? One plus side- I can cook and bake all I want in this 60° weather.I would never dream of turning the oven on in MO in 100° weather!!!
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I’m so glad you had a great vacation here in Georgia with family! I’m super jealous of your weather right now…it is still incredibly hot here! Cullen is getting so big! He looks like such a happy baby!
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I love running with my sister but she is a lot faster than I am!
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Can’t wait for that cauliflower salad recipe! That cake looks incredible, we have no vegan restaurants, bakeries or coffee shops in Ireland…I’ll have to get making my own :)Oh and salt and pepper tofu? Recipe for how you make yours would be awesome!
Running with the pushchair is some feat! Go on superwoman :)
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I think you need to recreate the strawberry lemonade chocolate cake for your loyal readers! Yum!
I’ll be waiting! ;-)
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Ohhh just looking at your eats makes me so excited to be visiting Seattle again late July!!! :) Great job on the running. I’m in my second trimester and so sick just trying to stay as active as i can right now. I already can’t wait to be running again someday after the baby arrives!!!
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I’ll trade weather with you!! I’d love to have Seattle weather over this oppressive heat.
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I love Cullen’s little shoes! Where did you get them? I think my son needs a pair like that!
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I love the picture of Cullen on the swings. He looks so adorable.
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Emily, would you mind sharing the cheesy Kale recipe too? We’re huge Kale fans in this household! Thank you and a squish to Cullen! :)
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Your sister is gorgeous!!!! I’m glad to hear you had an amazing vacation. Happy 4th!
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Strawberry. Lemonade. Chocolate. Cake. *Dies*
That sounds too amazing!
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I may dream about that strawberry lemonade chocolate cake tonight – it looks absolutely out of this world!!!
Glad you had such a wonderful and refreshing vacation. That’s exactly the way a vacation should be!
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Always good to be home no matter how great a vacation was.
Cullen seems to be the happiest baby!
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I finally tried a Field Roast dog for the first time with my non-Vegan/Veg boyfriend and we both LOVED them! If it weren’t for you mentioning them on your blog I never would have tried them but I am so glad I did, so thank you!
Glad to hear you had a good run!
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I’m so glad I’m not the only one living in pants and sweatshirts this summer. After spending 3 weeks in Minnesota where it was in the 80s and 90s, I’m freezing back here in Alaska!! I also am missing the sunshine!
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Have you given Cullen tofu yet? Any tips on how to make it so it is baby friendly? I am trying to offer it to my 10 month old and she has made it clear it is currently the only unacceptable food…immediately gets tossed on the ground.
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
We haven’t done tofu just yet! I’ll probably start at nine months.
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Emily! I am relocating to Seattle and I love hearing about all these places you go! Would you mine telling me some more specifics on location? I love Fremont and haven’t yet seen Ballard, but I hear it’s beautiful!
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Omg Cullen is growing up!! He’s such a handsome little boy! I’m so glad you had such a nice vacation, the pictures looked beautiful!
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Ahh Seattle summer. The saying goes, summer doesn’t start till after the 4th of July. Looks like this year it’s coming a day early though! It’s rather appropriate when I look at the ten day forcast – 70′s and sunny!!!
Looks like you guys had a great trip. Good luck with the training runs! Perhaps I’ll see you ladies out and about on one of my runs… One side note about summer weather and running: in Seattle you can do you training runs at any time of the day, which definitely beats the rest of the country!
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Strawberry lemonade cake sounds perfectly awesome for breakfast :)
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I would very happily take cherries over sunshine as well! ;)
Glad you were happy to return home. I am sure it must feel so nice to have your sister at home. It looks like you guys all have so much fun together.
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So hard to believe how cool it is out there! I can’t wait for the cauliflower recipe :) It looks so tasty!
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How often would you say you and your hubby eat out ?:)
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 1:17 pm
Not very often now that we moved and don’t have restaurants right outside of front door. Usually on weekends we go out to breakfast or lunch!
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That cake looks amazing!! Does your sister go to William and mary?
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 1:16 pm
No a good friend of mine went there. She borrowed my hoodie. :)
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Cullen’s smiles are amazing!
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So jealous of your weather!
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Cullen is beyond cute!
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I was just telling my family (we were away together for the holiday) that when I took a cruise out of Seattle to Alaska the one thing we smuggled on board was the local cherries! LOVE!
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Emily, have you ever considered changing your blog name to “weekly garnish” rather than “daily garnish”? I started reading your blog a little over a year ago, and it’s something I look forward to daily. I had a child in Feb. (a little boy!) and I often enjoy reading about your schedules and such for baby C. I have been disappointed lately when I open your page, only to see the same post from days past. Please let me know if this is something to expect going forward, so I will only access the site weekly rather than daily. Thank you.
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 5th, 2012 at 4:36 pm
Hi Jenny. I don’t plan to change the blog name. :) I appreciate you reading, and it’s nice to hear it’s something you look forward to each day! I apologize that you’ve felt disappointed recently. My goal is always to publish each weekday (and take weekends off to spend with my family). As a mom to a young baby yourself (congrats!), I would hope that you can understand that sometimes even the best intentions are not enough to make everything happen. I do a lot of work outside of this blog, as well as on Babble. That said, I try to make DG my daily priority. Occasionally, when there are holidays or we are traveling, a day will get missed. I guess my thought is that it’s better to sometimes miss a post because I’m out living life (and writing about it when I return!), than to produce stale content because I’m tied to my desk all day. I do try to plan ahead, like having my Babble posts and recipes pre-written when we were traveling last week. I hope that makes sense. So my long answer to your question is — no, not changing the blog name. And yes, I do try to post every weekday – some days will be later in the day than others, and occasionally one will get missed, but that is what you can expect going forward. I hope you stick around!
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Cullen seriously has THE best smile. I love that he looks so happy in every picture!
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Love your checked top in the farmer’s market picture. Where did you get it?
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Emily Malone Reply:
July 9th, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Sorry so late! It’s from Gap. :)
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