Exploring the Kitsap Peninsula

The Kitsap Peninsula is just a ferry ride away from the downtown waterfront of Seattle with two ports (Bremerton and Bainbridge).  Visitors have the option of either walking-on the ferry or driving their vehicle onto the ferry. If you want to explore the whole peninsula, then you definitely need to bring your car. When the weather is warmer, there is a trolley on Bainbridge Island that will take you from the ferry terminal to Lynnwood (mentioned in more details later in this post). The peninsula consists of over 250 miles of shoreline, picturesque towns with amazing scenery, and outdoor activities.

I have been to the peninsula a couple times already but my visits have been somewhat rushed. Recently, I took a daytrip with some friends and there was so much to see that we didn’t have enough time to visit everywhere….looks like another trip needs to be planned for the near future, oh darn..haha!

Our strategy for the trip was planned with an ongoing Kitsap Peninsula bucket list I have started and then one of my friends added to the list as well.  The plan was to visit Bainbridge Island, Hanesville, Indianola, Poulsbo, Silverdale, and Bremerton. There were not any outdoor activities planned during this trip because of the lovely Pacific Northwest rainy weather, but the day we went hiking could have been appropriate (in my opinion anyways, but I like hiking in cool weather); also because we wanted to explore the cities on the peninsula.

The trip began taking an early (7:55am) ferry from Seattle to Bainbridge Island.  Bainbridge Island has several small towns, and some have an interesting history. We drove first to Blackbird Bakery and enjoyed baked goods (recommend their scones and lavender cookies) and coffee in the small town of Winslow. Then we visited Lynnwood, which contains a 1930s era movie theatre (Nebraska was the movie showing), and the newly constructed Pleasant Beach Village that contains several shops and cafes. In the summer, the island’s farmer’s market is located across the street from Pleasant Beach Village. A unique and whimsical aspect of Pleasant Beach Village is dispersed throughout the area are sculptures and artwork. The main themes of the art incorporated frogs, cats, and mice. My favorite is a cat chugging a latte.

This is at Pleasant Beach Village, just a cat drinking a latte...no biggie

Then we made a visit to the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial. The motto of the memorial is “Nidota Nai Yoni” which translates to “Let It Not Happen Again”.  This memorial is symbolic of when 227 men, women and children were removed from their homes, rounded up by the US Army soldiers armed with rifles and boarded a ferry to Seattle. The memorial contains a Story Wall and there are homemade cranes hanging throughout the entire Story Wall.

The beginning of the memorial path

The story wall remembering the 227 Japanese

Cranes were hung all throughout the story wall

After the visit to the memorial we went back to Winslow and visited the newly constructed Bainbridge Art Museum, which can be completed in 30-60 minutes. Then we headed down the street to Streamliner Diner for brunch. Their biscuits and gravy is their well-known item; I enjoyed my Eggs Benedict (really good hollandaise sauce); however, I was not a fan of their hash browns (they weren’t crispy enough in my opinion).

Some of the artwork on the second floor of the Bainbridge Art Museum

Then we were off to visit Point No Point Lightstation in Hanesville. The lighthouse isn’t the most impressive that I have seen here in the Pacific Northwest; however, the area provided a trail that wrapped around and provided a scenic shoreline. We walked the trail a little bit and encountered a high density of bird watchers.

Next stop was Indianola’s 900 foot long pier. Walking the pier “can” provide sweeping views of the Sound, distant Seattle Skyline, Mount Rainier and the Olympic mountains. Needless to say, it was cloudy the Saturday that we visited so some of the views were not so “sweeping” but the clouds created an effect that made for dramatic photos.

The 900-ft pier located in Indianola.

This was on the side of the road and I thought it was so intriguing; inside the firepit was a palace figurine.

Poulsbo was the next stop and one could spend an entire day just exploring downtown Poulsbo. We ended up spending a few hours on Front Street. Poulsbo’s downtown buildings are infused with Norwegian influence. Two recommendations are to make sure you visit Liberty Bay Books and Sluys Poulsbo Bakery.

Inside Liberty Bay Books

Mural located on Front Street in Poulsbo

Getting yummy desserts from Sluy's Bakery

Mural located on Front Avenue in Poulsbo

Waterfront in Poulsbo

During this visit we ended up not getting to explore the city of Silverdale. Our last stop was to the city of Bremerton. The majority of the items on the bucket list for Bremerton were already closed by the time we got to the city, but we ended up having dinner at Noah’s Ark since we were in the mood for a burger. The ambiance of the restaurant contains I can only guess of every single Noah knick-knack ever created. The food was only okay and I highly suggest sharing an order of fries (because it's a large order).

Our departure from the Kitsap Peninsula was out of Bremerton’s port, which is twice as long of a ferry ride as from Bainbridge back to Seattle. The cool thing about the ferry ride was that it was just before the Superbowl game (which the Seahawks were in) and the 12^th man was lit up on the Russell Investments Center. The 12 stretched across 18 floors of the 42-story building, and it makes for a stunning addition to the Seattle Skyline at night.

Coming back to Seattle from the Bremerton ferry

Adulting

It was graduate school that I started using blogs, and I created this blog. While in graduate school, one my friends was following Adulting Blog (http://adultingblog.com/) by Kelly Williams Brown, and my friend got me hooked as well. For a while now, I have been waiting patiently (my close friends are probably laughing at the idea of me being patient) for her book to be released, and then for me to find the time to read it.

I have finished reading Adulting: How to Become A Grown-up in 468 Easy(ish) Steps, and here's my review of the book: This is the perfect book for someone in their early twenties who just finished undergraduate school, is entering the workforce for the first time, and/or having to search for their first apartment. I am 27-years old and I definitely feel like 70% of the advice/steps were commonsense (I am currently living in my fifth apartment and have lived in four different cities away from my parents); however, I have always been overly independent and proactive. That being said, there were still a lot of advice that was helpful and especially in the "Friends and Neighbors" section, advice that I had some deep reflection. I love all of the discussion questions at the end of each chapter. I would purchase the book solely for the Discussion Questions and have a night with friends where we discuss our answers to the questions. Additionally, I LOVE her blog and LIKED the book. I love the "randomness" (and I mean that as an endearing adjective) of her blog and I find it to be more amusing; BUT the book is still humorous (just in smaller doses).

I thought I would share some of the advice in the book and some of my commentary on the advice, which will be in burgundy. So you aren't lost, "adulting" is a verb not a noun....aren't you glad I cleared that up for you!

•   Chapter: Get Your Mind Righ
• Step 11: Recognize six-month problems
• When one gets upset about something, step back and ask yourself if you will remember it in six months; if the answer is no, then find a way to move on.
• As I get older, the less I seem to be holding grudges; however, I am still guilty of worrying, being frustrated, getting mad at things that will eventually run their course and be forgotten in six months (even though I have an excellent memory).  "Life is too short to be living somebody else's dream" -Hugh Hefner.....and yes I realize I just quoted Hugh Hefner.
• Chapter: Domesticity
• Step 28: Buy tools. Five should be sufficient, for now
• The recommendations are hammer, adjustable screwdriver set, crescent wrench, tape measure, and cordless drill.
• I have 2 out 5 (hammer and tape measure), and I think it's a good thing that I don't have a cordless drill; I would do more damage than good. I do have a phillips and flat-head screwdriver. My mantra is that if it can't be fixed or put together by a hammer or those two screwdrivers then A) I wasn't meant to have it or B) I will gladly pay someone to use the necessary tools to put it together. 
• Step 30: Make two copies of your keys, then give one to a friend, and hide one somewhere  near your house
• Hiding an unmarked key somewhere near your apt is GENIUS! I don't know why I didn't think of this while I lived in Omaha. My Omaha apartment would lock automatically as soon as the door shut, and I got locked out of my apartment quite often (less than 10 times during those 3 years). I gave my  extra key to a friend and she had to let me in to my apartment before, but then there were times when she would be asleep or not in town and there went my way into my locked apartment.  
• Step 33: Make your bed, every morning
• The longest sheets should go without washing is two weeks. Try to have at least three sets of sheets.
• Making my bed every morning is NEVER going to happen for me and I am not ashamed of it. I agree, it's the best feeling when you freshly changed your bed but it's a feeling I will easily forfeit, because I am lazy and find the chore of making one's bed everyday pointless. However, I thought I was being very "adult" by changing my sheets every 3-4 weeks, but apparently I should do it a week earlier. I feel like I should change my toothbrush sooner than I currently do as well. The book recommends that you have three sets of sheets (didn't indicate for each bed though). I have two sets of sheets for my queen bed and one set of sheets for my full mattress...so 2+1=3...yah me!
• Step 36: Be mindful about your garbage
• There is a list of basic cleaning supplies that everyone should own.
• I do not own a mop and bucket (I used a Swifter wetjet),  cloth diapers, toothbrush for little crevices (my days of having to follow sterile techniques in a lab are over and so no toothbrush cleaning for me), knee pads (I guess I should have kept my volleyball pads), and Goo Gone. I liked the advice for the cloth diapers; you use them for mirrors and windows.
• Chapter: Cooking
• Step 70: Store and freeze things properly
• Things in a freezer should be eaten within six months, and that is a maximum, one should shoot for three months.
• I enjoy cooking and the majority of my meals are those that I prepare; some are made from scratch, others are semi-homemade. Since I am usually cooking for just myself, I either reduce the given recipe by half or I end up freezing the leftovers. I am definitely guilty of keeping food  in the freezer for more than six months. Soups and ice cream are my most common violators. I am one of those people that do not eat a "bowl" of ice cream but rather just have a teaspoon or two; therefore, ice cream sits in my freezer for a while. I currently have a quart of Pumpkin ice cream from Trader Joes in my freezer from October and it's barely half gone.
• Step 72: Buy the Joy of Cooking
• Recipes for everything.
• The main criteria for me to purchase a cookbook is that it MUST have a picture for every recipe featured in the book. Joy of Cooking does not meet this criteria; therefore, I will not make room for it on my bookshelf. 
• I like how the author gives essential recipes throughout the book, such as: Chicken Noodle Soup, Salad Dressing, Mashed Potatoes, Baked Potatoes, Chicken, Steak, and Whipped Cream.
• I realized that I have been making grilled cheese sandwiches wrong MY WHOLE LIFE; I blame my dad, because I picked up my technique from him.
• My (I mean my dad's) technique: Assemble the sandwich. Place in skillet, and then place a small saucer plate on top on the sandwich. The purpose of the saucer plate is to add pressure to the sandwich so it compresses and browns quicker. And you put the saucer on the sandwich during the entire cooking process.
• Adulting technique: Assemble the sandwich. Place on a griddle. Put a lid on the top for the first half, but leave it off after you flip the sandwich.
• Step 80: Make a decent steak
• One can tell if the steak is ready by using nothing but a hand. For well-done one just needs a pinkie finger. Once the steak is done it needs to rest (loosely covered in aluminum foil).
• I eat steak maybe twice a year but I will definitely implement this technique next time and see if I can tell a difference. 
• Step 83: Make a dope cheese plate
• Components
• One soft cheese (Brie, Camembert, Roquefort, Muenster)
• One hard cheese (pecorino, Manchego, Emmentaler)
• One orange cheese (cheddar, Cotswold, Gouda)
• Bread or crackers (one for two cheeses, two for three cheeses)
• One accent (strawberries, olives, pickled asparagus, sauteed mushrooms, artichoke hearts, et cetera)
• I am a big fan of red apples with cheeses. And when eating cheeses I prefer to eat them with crackers. I use bread more for dipping in oils.
• Chapter: Fake It Til You Make It
• Step 89: Be aware of local, national, and world events
• Grown-ups should know who the prime minister of Germany is, what NATO stands for, how a bill becomes a law, and why they vote Democrat or Republican, who are their presidents, senators, representatives, and local officials. Most importantly be registered to vote.
• Prime Minister of Germany: Angela Dorothea Merkel
• NATO= North Atlantic Treaty Organization
• Bill becomes a law
• Immediately watch the episode of Schoolhouse Rock
• Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tyeJ55o3El0
• Why one should vote Democrat or Republican
• Vote DEMOCRAT, duh
• President= Barack Obama
• Washington State Senators= Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell
• Don't live in Washington, looks like you have some googling to do
• Washington State Representatives= 49 State Representatives
• Seattle's (all democrats): Bob Hasegawa, Jeanne Kohl-Welles, Adam Kline, Jamie Pederson, and David Frockt
• Local Officials: State Governor= Jay Inslee
• Registered Voter: You betcha!
• Step 115: Send a thank-you note
• Provides a template for a thank you note
• This is something I want to consciously make a better effort of doing with friends and family. I still regularly send holiday cards to my parents and I have a postcard graduate friend that I keep in contact with monthly. But I definitely do not send enough thank you cards/notes.
• First thank you note you should send is to me for answering all the questions in Step 89.
• Chapter: Get a Job
• Step 176: Do not steal more than three dollars' worth of office supplies per quarter
• Never steal scissors.
• But what truly is three dollars"?
• Chapter: Money
• Step 203: Develop your anti-shopping mantra
• Inner monologue "You don't need that." Repeat as many times as necessary.
• There is only one store that this is a problem for me, and that is The Container Store. I definitely have to talk myself out of buying things during my entire shopping trip in The Container Store. I will say to myself while looking at for instance the Snap'n Stack Egg Tainer used to carry devils eggs in "I don't like or eat devil eggs but maybe if I had an Egg Tainer I would make them and like them." I can almost talk myself into buying anything and everything in The Container Store; it's a talent.
• Advanced Adulting
• What is a 401(k)?
• My parents set one of these up for me when I was in high school and I am not ashamed to say that they still help with managing this and my other investments. Additionally, I still use my parents' accountant to do my taxes; there is a reason I didn't go to business school. Although, I did like the money-themed music recommendations that she gives for when you are filing your own taxes (Step 229). I can manage my savings and checking accounts, no problem. 
• Chapter: Maintenance
• Step 255: Store jewelry like the expensive thing it is
• Pearls should never, ever have anything (perfume, lotion) near them, because they lose their luster and sulk.
• I do not own or care for pearls but found this very interesting that pearls are very finicky.
• Step 258: Before you write it off as ruined, take it to the dry cleaners
• Dry cleaners are magical. They are sorcerers.
• I am very low maintenance; therefore, I have never taken anything to the dry cleaners. But found this advice to be something that could benefit me in the future.
• Step 271: Pay some attention to your fridge
• If a dollar bill falls down when you close the refrigerator door on it, then the seals aren't working well.
• My refrigerator passed this test.
• Step 280: Consider taking vitamins and probiotics daily
• Recommendations: Omega-3, Probiotics, and Prenatal Vitamins (even if not trying to get pregnant).
• I failed miserably at this step. I take 0/3...and the real zinger is that I am a health professional.
• Chapter: Friends and Neighbors
• Step 300: Tell the people you love why you love them
• Try to once a year, to write a letter to each of your closest friends and let them know why they mean so much to you. Everyone wants to be acknowledged.
• I tend to group together this letter with my holiday card; however, I should send a letter out in the summer too. Therefore, my friends are reminded twice a year how lucky I feel to have them as a friend. Between this and sending more thank you notes I definitely will need to buy more stamps.
• Step 312: When faced with a frienemy, determine which type it is
• Categories: flaky, flirty, boasty, crabby, backstabby, underminey, and doc
• Being "flaky" is a capital offense in my friendship book. I can tolerate "doc" friends, but definitely in small doses and only in certain contexts. 
• Chapter: Times Were Tough
• You learn what the acronym AFGO (pronounced aff-go) means and I love it!!!!!!!!!
• Hint: if you are googling the acronym because the suspense is killing you, it doesn't not stand for "Another Freaking Growth Opportunity" or "As Families Grow Older". So just go get the book to find out what it means.
• Step 391: Keep a few items always available for wardrobe malfunctions
• Three items recommended: stain-removing pen, clothing tape, and safety pins
• I have needed safety pins before but have not used the others. Since I am vertically-challenged (aka short), my jeans are using longer than they are suppose to be (and no I don't go and have them tailored, but really should). And this becomes a problem when it starts raining unexpectedly (and not wearing rainboots) and I need to roll-up my jeans and keep them in place so they do not get sopping drench and I become immediately an unhappy camper. This described circumstance is when I have used a safety pin.
• Advanced Adulting: have some serious provisions in your car
• Recommendations: fold-up shovel, pocketknife, ice scraper, windex wipes, jumper cables, tire gauge, commercial window breaker, paper goods (toilet paper and towels), and cell phone charger.
• I currently have 2/9 items. The two items I have are ice scraper and cell phone charger. When living in the midwest I did have a fold-up shovel. However, while living in Omaha there was a time that I did not have a fold-up shovel or regular shovel, and this led to a snow-removal story involving me using a 12-inch kitchen skillet to dig out my car from my apartment parking space so I could go to school. Needless to say on my way home from school that day I bought a shovel from ACE Hardware.
• After reading the list recommended I am definitely going to grab some jumper cables and a commercial window breaker.
• Recommendations for numbers one should have programed into their phone
• List of numbers include: non-emergency number for police department, insurance company's phone number, someone labeled IN CASE OF EMERGENCY, poison control, local animal hospital if you have a pet, doctor's number, and pharmacy.
• I currently have 0/7 numbers programed in my cell phone.....looks like I am not prepared for an emergency...yikes!

Bookshelf Addiction

A side effect of loving to read books is my obsession with bookshelves. I think my obsession truely began when I saw the library in Disney's Beauty and the Beast and became incredibly jealous of Belle. Thanks to Pinterest, I have been able to feed my addiction on a daily basis if needed, by creating a "library" board. In my opinion, everyone should have a "library" board on Pinterest; I use mine to pin books I want to read and also interesting bookshelves for my future library room.

It should be noted that I have one teeny tiny bookshelf in my apt to hold my books (see below pictures as proof), and it truely cannot fit any more books; therefore, I have been forced to borrow from the library and buy ebooks. I have over 300 books in my electronic library on my nook. All of my children's and most of my young adult books are still at my parents' house in Missouri.

Through my search for new books to read, I stumbled across Bookshelf by Alex Johnson. I enjoyed flipping through the various pictures of bookshelves. Also, I appreciated the organization of the book;  the author separated the bookselves into categories: A Medley of Bookcases, Single Shelves, Bookshelf Furniture, Unusual Bookshelves, Bookshelves as Art, Outside the Box, and Bijou Bookshelves. Additionally, on each bookshelf, the author has provided dimensions, short summary of the bookshelf's background, and most importantly a website that you can go to view the awesome bookshelf in more details. While reading and flipping through the pages of this book, one thing that I wished was included was the price of the bookshelf. Therefore, I took it upon myself to find the prices...... and I failed miserably. I went to the websites that were given in the book and none of the websites had the prices of the bookshelf or how to go about ordering one of them. Therefore, this book is basically is just bookshelf porn. I booked 40 bookshelves that I WANT, and this book has just taunted me with all the bookshelves awesomeness, which is incredibly inhumane and there should be a big font disclaimer on the cover.

After I shed a few tears over not being able to order any of the bookshelves in this book, I pulled myself together and glanced over at my unimpressive, common, mass-produced, miniscule bookshelf and grabbed a book to read to fill the void.....and I am still recovering.

This is a great coffee table book but since I don't have a coffee table (I have a storage ottoman), it will be shooved on my bookcase for a later day when I want to make myself miserable again by flipping through pages of things that I want but cannot have...why is the world so cruel?!?! Okay...literary rant over! Definitely go and buy this book!

My $15 bookcase that holds my book collection.  I have had it since undergrad, and I am really surprised that it's still in one piece because I put it together myself. And my assembling skills are not stellar. It may look as if I do not have many books but the top shelf has three rows of books (two are unseen in photo), and the bottom two shelves have two rows of books each.

Ta-Da and more books appear