Congratulations Erin and Mike!

Last night we had the pleasure of celebrating the upcoming nuptials of Erin and Mike, two friends who are inspiring people and a lot of fun. Unfortunately, my pictures aren't that great, but hopefully you get a sense for how much fun we had!

The Happy Couple

Wine, food, and good company... what could be better?

The amazing spread made by Erin, Amy, Chris, and Byron.
Thanks for organizing such a fun night and for preparing incredible food!

Laughs Before Bundt Cake

I love this picture.
From left, Gena is laughing hysterically; Sara is striking a Hollywood pose; Erin is looking at God knows what; and Megan is concerned about her arm.

In lieu of traditional wedding gifts, the hosts asked guests to bring a nice bottle of wine to start a collection for Erin and Mike. What a great idea!

Byron "Birthday Boy" Kneller and his wife, Amy, toast the happy couple.

Sara get verklempt with the bride-to-be

Unfortunately, most of the pictures I took were blurry, so I don't have pictures for a few of the other great moments from the night. Host, Erin Glass, gave a wonderful toast to the couple-of-the-hour; the bride shared stories of her late grandmother and her paternal grandmother's relationship with football legend Vince Lombardi; and Sara made a strong case for why bundt cake is the perfect dessert.

Congratulations, Erin and Mike! We wish you nothing but the best and can't wait to celebrate with you once it's official!

Not a bad office view...

Most people get excited when they encounter celebrities like Brad Pitt or Halle Berry. Me? I get excited about the view from my office. I work in Fisherman's Terminal, a hub for commercial fishing boats. This week, I looked out my window and saw two boats from the Discovery Channel show, The Deadliest Catch. The boats were The Wizard and Time Bandit. Here's a picture:

The Wizard is the boat in front and the Time Bandit is docked behind it.

How is it that a vegetarian who doesn't even eat fish gets starry-eyed when she sees two boats from a show about crabbing? Who knows... I guess it's because I respect people who work hard and have to adapt to Mother Nature. It's also cool to think about where the fish and seafood come from when walking around Pike Place Market or other Seattle landmarks.

We're Baaaack!

So, the Nonerick blog has been silent for a few weeks following the announcement of Brett Favre's retirement. Ryan has been so upset by Brett's retirement that he just can't bring himself to face the blogosphere. The truth is that the blog has been silent because life in the Nonerick house has been pretty slow. The calm is a welcome break before a crazy summer -- we are preparing to buy a house (gulp), making travel plans, gearing up for triathlon season, and hoping to do a multi-day river trip with my coworkers.

As part of our R & R regime, we went to see The Black Keys at a venue in the SoDo District last night. Two days after we got married (September 2006), we had tickets to see The Black Keys, but we were so tired after driving back to Seattle and immediately returning to work and school that we skipped the show. Ever since that day, we've regretting staying home and missing one of our favorite bands. Last night, we finally corrected our mistake and enjoyed the Keys.

When we first heard The Black Keys, they were on the Fat Possum Records label. Fat Possum Records is dedicated to preserving raw and incredible southern blues music. However, the record company also has a few big acts, like The Black Keys and Dinosaur Jr. Although I haven't seen the film, You See Me Laughin' is a documentary about the record company and the original artists, RL Burnside, T Model Ford, Cedell Davis, and others.

Anyway, The Black Keys show was amazing and well worth the nearly two year wait. My only complaint would be that the show was too short (about an hour - perhaps a little longer with the 2-song encore). The energy and intensity of the performance was amazing and the duo from Akron, OH, played a number of songs in the set.

Here's a video for the song Your Touch that I found on YouTube:

And here's a link to my favorite song, Keep Me.

The Black Keys released their newest album under Nonesuch Records and not on Fat Possum Records. I don't think a change in record label is always a bad thing, and Nonesuch has some impressive artists (Ibrahim Ferrer, Gipsy Kings, Emmylou Harris, and others). Hopefully, the Keys keep putting out great tunes!