Fun In The Emerald City!

Well, I left Jackson Hole on Tuesday morning and after 13 hours of driving, arrived to my beloved cousin Lexi's house, where she lives with her wonderful husband, Nicholas! The drive was absolutely breathtaking! The Snake River wound through my road as I drove to Seattle and it is this same river I am trying to share with you in the picture!

Lexi has kept me moving from one fun-filled activity to the next from the moment I stepped through her door! Wednesday night we went into downtown Seattle and met her friend Sara at Dilettante's new Chocolate Martini Bar. It was amazingly delicious as I sampled their delectable chocolate martini specialties! On Thursday we journeyed to the Hothouse Spa and Sauna, which is exclusively for women (you walk around in the nude) and has a dry sauna, steam room, and a large whirlpool jacuzzi to lay in and relax in for as long as you like. We stayed there for about four hours, just lounging around in the heat and silence, feeling every drop of tension leave our bodies, and every worry and care evaporate from our minds. We also each got an hour massage and left the Hothouse in such a sublime state of euphoria, I think I will be able to instantly relax every time I remember that day, for the rest of my life!
Remember, this is only the second day! After the Hothouse experience, Nicholas joined Lexi and me as we drank champagne and watched the sing-along version to Mamma Mia! There was much singing at the top of our lungs, some dancing, even some very graceful leaping from Nick! Friday evening Lexi had her 33rd Birthday Spectacular! It involved good things in 3's: wine, chocolate, and cheese! Every guest brought a unique and wonderful assortment of each; we had wine from around the world, cheese of every flavor and consistency imaginable, and chocolates I have never even heard of before: coconut curry, fig with fennel and almonds, spicy chili, and truffles were some of the chocolates to be had! Not to be forgotten, the coupe de gras of the evening, if you will: Pin the Lips on Lexi! A game cleverly created by some friends consisting of a large poster of Lexi and pink cutouts of lips people try to stick in the right place while blindfolded. I am sorry you missed it! I was laughing so hard!

Saturday we traveled to Sonia's apartment and we all partook in the making of a great feast! We made homemade ravioli with Sonia's KitchenAide, Pumpkin Sage Ravioli in a Butter Pecan Sauce. It was soooo very delicious! From there, we walked down to Broadway and joined Adria's birthday party at Bill's Off Broadway. We didn't stay there very long and walked back to Sonia's to get the car. We parted ways with Sonia and met with some of Lexi's other friends near the Alibi Room at Pike's Place Market and we went to an audience-interactive Improv comedy show. It was a lot of fun! I'd never been to an Improv show before, and it is quite a different experience!

That brings us to today, which has been wonderfully relaxing thus far. We met Lon and Karen for lunch and I think that was the only time I have left the house! Yay for being a bum! I love it sometimes! I am planning on heading out Tuesday for Chico, California where Wendy and her family are expecting me! I have had SUCH and AMazing time here with Lexi! It is going to be hard to leave...but the good part of planning on moving someplace awesome like San Diego, people are going to want to visit me more frequently!! Right?!

XoXoX