Take Me Down to Tinsel Town

It's starting to get all Christmasy in our lives. With a baby on the way I think things are even more homey and cozy at the apartment.

Lydia's been having a lot of fun deciding which baby gear to put on her gift registry. This has been a pretty eye opening reminder about exactly how much time has passed since we were infants. There's a baby monitor that measure's your baby's body movements to ensure that he's still breathing at all times, and you can watch him on it from anywhere on your phone. The future is now!

Belly! We got geared up in some ugly Christmas sweaters and ventured forth for fun jolly times.

There was a Christmas event in Kirkland by Lake Washington complete with a tree lighting ceremony.

We were in the Green Lake area for a Christmas pop up and needed to kill some time, so we first went to Spud for some fish and chips.

So fish. So chip.

We also killed some time at Latona Pub.

We were then finally able to get a table at Tinsel Town, a holiday pop up at Shelter Lounge.

I think they did a decent job decorating. These sort of photo op areas are less common and a fun addition.

"Feliz Navidad

tequila, Kahlua, spiced orange syrup, spiced Mexican hot chocolate, cream cayenne served in a Fa La La La La barrel."

Holiday Poppin' in STL

We went to Lydia's Aunt Sarah's house to watch her cousin play in a televised football game, which I must admit was pretty fancy. After that at the same house we attended a little wedding anniversary party for Lydia's grandparents.

In between we took a little intermission and went to Top Golf with Sam and Andrea.

This was my first Top Golf experience and I had heard good things so was excited. I'm not a big golf person generally so I need a little extra pizazz to get myself in the mood.

I let Lydia know that despite the fact she is carrying my baby, I will show her no mercy when it comes to competition.

Later that night we went out with Zoe and Emily for one of our favorite holiday season pastimes: Christmas pop up bars boozin'. This one in particular was Lit, which had popped up like a festive pimple in Molly's in Soulard. I thought they did a pretty good job decorating the place.

I'm sure I ordered more than one, but my first strike was a:

"Gingerbread Man, bird dog gingerbread whiskey, rumchata, eggnog"

A Christmas Rampage

We got Christmasy all over town today.

My skin was not excited about the transition from Guyana heat to Seattle cold and it politely turned in its resignation.

We had a few slices at Pagliacci Pizza to start things off.

We started at the Garden d' Lights event at Bellevue Botanical Garden.

I think my favorite part were the lights that looked like plants.

We quickly popped by the Rosebud Motel someone set up in front of their house, and homage to Schitt's Creek.

Next we headed to Kringle's Filling Station. It was a very cool holiday themed pop-up that answers the age old question "what if Santa worked at a gas station?"

The pièce de résistance was a friggin gas pump that dispensed hot cocoa instead of petrol. Genius! They didn't have any booze at this place which was definitely negative points but overall was pretty cool.

We really decided to do every Christmas thing in town today. This time we went to Seattle's Miracle pop-up bar. It's funny because this is a chain thing, and they must've set the drink prices to be the same at every location because I remember them being outrageous in St. Louis but not that abnormal for Seattle. St. Louis is unexpectedly walking away with the win on decorations though.

Back at home I festively sharpened my Guyanese machete like a normal, non murderer type person.

A Poppin' Mardi Gras Bar

If there's one thing me and my crew cannot resist it's a friggin pop-up bar. Sure they're expensive but they are like a delicate cherry blossom: even more beautiful because they aren't destined to last. (Is bar poet a job?) This time the venue was Molly's in Soulard, and the theme was Mardi Gras. It was appropriately named Carnival.

I went for the "Bourbon Street Smash: rye Bulleit bourbon, brown sugar simple syrup, bitters, muddled luxardo cherries and oranges garnished with candied pecans and a music note." As far as $12 old fashioneds go it was good.

I also ordered a plate of "Cajun fried deviled eggs: breaded and fried eggs topped with deviled yolks."

Lydia ordered a "King Cake Martini: vanilla Stoli, Rumchata, and amaretto with a sprinkle of cinnamon, a green sugar rim and a party crown." I borrowed the party crown to cover up my bald spot.

We then quickly walked to a place where drinks are not $12. The end.