Equipo S: November Fun!

Happy December! It's hard to believe that we're in the throes of the holiday season. Sergio and I are online-shopping like nobody's business. I know we'll break down and head to the mall eventually.

Diwali
I love love love dressing up. One of my coworkers had only gotten as far as "Would you like to dress up for --" before I cut her off and said "Yes!" And I'm glad I did, as that dress-up opportunity was for a Diwali celebration at work! There was an afternoon celebration that included henna tattoos and amazing Indian food!

I'm 30!
It's hard to believe that I turned 30 this year, but on November 7th I did! It was a very exciting birthday and I'm thrilled to be starting my 30s! Yes, the 20s have been great and came with many firsts. I have a good feeling about this upcoming decade, though. I really do.  To celebrate, Sergio and I went to Maui, and then when we got back I had a world traveler-themed game night with friends.

I don't have the photos from Maui yet, so I'll do a photo post once I do. S took some new headshots for me and I can't wait to see them!

Hunger Games + Dinner
Okay, normally I don't spend a lot of time talking about basic things like going to movies and whatnot, but this night was so much fun! We started by browsing through Crate and Barrel (they have so many cute holiday decorations!) and then had an early dinner at Black Bottle in Bellevue. I have a soft spot in my heart for the spice-rubbed boar ribs! We had tickets reserved for the Hunger Games: Catching Fire, but we didn't expect the theater to be so busy! The movie was fantastic (I cried for about half of it, so whenever Sergio looked my way, he would squeeze my hand extra hard) and a perfect date for us. We rarely see movies in the theater so it was a nice treat!

Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving is almost as big as Christmas in my family -- in fact, it marks the beginning of the Christmas season! This year I was hosting, so my parents arrived the night before and we started prepping the vegetables, the stuffing, and made the homemade cranberry sauce. Unfortunately we had a bit of an oven crisis (again!) and the turkey started burning! We whisked it out of the oven and drove it over to Sergio's house, where Dad and Barry babysat it while the rest of us finished making food at my house. Thankfully there was no serious damage done, so we were able to enjoy a fantastic, mostly dairy-free dinner together!

Sergio carving the turkey! 

My wonderful family -- Dad, Mom, and Barry

In related news, I am now shopping for a new oven.

Museum of Flight + Tapas
I'm always on the lookout for interesting dates for us to do (I have a fun date board to keep all the ideas in one place!), and because it's not exactly hiking weather, I figured it would be nice to start tackling the indoor ideas. I had visited the Museum of Flight six years ago on a scouting event for a work party but I never had the chance to actually visit it properly. Since we spend so much time on planes, might as well learn a bit more about them, right?

Sergio in the grand gallery

I was very pleasantly surprised with the museum. My favorite part was probably the large gallery, filled with planes from all different eras.  They had one of Alaska's original planes, supersonic fighter jets, and Vietnam-era helicopters all on display. It was fascinating to see how the engines changed, as well as how they continued to modify the shapes of the fuselage or the wings as they understood more about flight. There were also two large galleries filled with planes from WWI and WWII, and as I have a curiosity about WWII in particular, we spent some time there. That was what I most appreciated about the museum, though -- not only was it geared towards scientific minds who wanted to learn more about the mechanics of flight, but it enticed history buffs like myself who wanted to understand the stories -- and the people -- behind the planes. I was also interested in the exhibit explaining air traffic control. I have a new appreciation for the work it takes to keep an airport running smoothly.

Former Air Force One! 

Afterwards we headed across the street to the newest exhibit, focused on space as well as a host of planes outside. We were able to tour the plane that served as Air Force One for Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Ford, Carter, and Reagan! Did I mention that I love history? It is humbling to think you are walking through a plane that Johnson boarded after Kennedy was assassinated! I think Sergio was a little less excited than I was. We also got to tour one of the Concord jets. It felt tiny, compact, and like it was for transport to space instead of across the atlantic. They also had many of the early Boeing prototypes, including Boeing's first 747, number 001. The new building across the street also housed a training shuttle for astronauts, completed with a huge open bay and a cockpit. Astronauts would learn basic maneuvers here, and the museum acquired it after the current shuttle program was ended. We had a heated discussion about space exploration over a brownie in the museum cafe -- I found the exhibits boring and the amount of money the government has spent on space exploration wasteful. I'm generally supportive of private spaceflight and think that private money and innovation can fundamentally change the way we think of space exploration. Sergio argued that some important research wouldn't happen and science wouldn't be advanced if not for current ideas and projects. What an interesting debate! I don't think we ever came to agreement, so it made sense to do what we always do -- eat! We visited Ocho in Ballard, and I was very impressed. It is a small little tapas bar and the food was phenomenal. They don't take reservations and only have a handful of tables, so I'd recommend showing up early to avoid waiting out in the cold. Their spicy prawns were excellent, and so was their chorizo! It was a little trip down memory lane as we discussed all of our favorite tapas from Spain.

In the faux-shuttle

December is going to be a busy month for us! We're visiting my parents, heading to the Google holiday party, starting some new Christmas traditions, and spending Christmas in Mexico with Sergio's family!

xo
Sarah