oh la la glassblowing

recently, thanks to livingsocial, i got the chance to go glassblowing at the seattle glassblowing studio. it's a bit expensive usually but with the deal, husband and i both got to go for $40 instead of $170 (also thanks to our friends david and rebecca and livingsocials buy three get one free policy). it was a really fun experience and i definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance! with the class we took we got to make our own ornament or seafloat. we chose seafloats so we can enjoy them all year long.

the process is very guided. they give you a lengthy (but necessary) safety talk. but you get to chose your colors and take part in each step. like coloring the glass and holding it in the furnace which burns at nearly 2000°F.

you also get to actually blow the glass. your breath gets trapped in the glass forever! which is really cool if you think about it. my sunglasses are for safety and not fashion - as cool as they make me seem. 

the outside layer of the glass hardens almost instantly, but the glass actually takes about 48 hours to completely cool. it goes in this cooling cabinet called an annealer which slowly lowers the temperature and allows the glass to cool slowly so that the glass doesn't crack.

and finally, the finished products! mine is all the way on the right and husband's is the second to the right. apparently we went with a fire and ice theme. which somehow suits us.

you can read a little bit about the history of glassblowing here and how the pacific northwest plays into that.

Happy (Belated) Holidays

I hope your holidays with friends and family were filled with smiles and wonderful memories. 

We spent 10 days visiting our families on the east coast:

As per annual tradition, my best friend Katie, my sister Robin, Katie's sister Marianne, and Jon had our gingerbread making contest. And as per usual, it got a little messy. 

Although, I think our house-making skills have come a long way in the past few years. 

My friend Michelle gave me a brilliant present - a polaroid camera! Thanks, Michelle! 

Some of the best pictures from our trip were captured on polaroid film.

 We had a lovely dinner at a Japanese restaurant with our friend Beatrix.

We spent some time in Pennsylvania visiting Kristin.

We celebrated my Mom's birthday by going out to dinner with the whole family.

And we went to lunch with my former bosses, both of whom I miss so much! 

We enjoyed a lovely evening in the company of two close friends, Michelle and Chardon.

We got to spend NYE with my birthday twin Gina and her boyfriend Zach!

Happy 2013!