Seabrook, Washington

More on the lovely houses we saw during our anniversary getaway at Seabrook earlier this week...

The development is based on principles of New Urbanism, which basically means that it's meant to replicate a town rather than a subdivision or housing development. You are meant to be able to walk everywhere - there is a town centre with a restaurant and shops, streets have sidewalks on both sides, green spaces with park benches are on every corner it seems, and back lane access means that cars are tucked out of sight.

The restaurant was pleasant (loved the interior), although at lunch at least there weren't a lot of grain-free options and the hostess was less than hospitable.

Our house had beach cruiser bikes in the shed, which we used one afternoon to cruise around and check out the area.

This courtyard was similar to the one in front of our cottage (which I didn't get a good picture of, but this gives you the idea). The firepit would be a nice place to do s'mores with the kids in the summer.

Liam couldn't understand why we would have left him behind when there was two bedrooms in our cottage. I think we'll definitely head back next year with the whole family, perhaps in the spring.

17 years

On October 6, 1995 Quinn and I were married in the Seattle LDS Temple.

Fast forward 17 years and we have four kids, a dog, a couple of businesses and lots of hard work and great memories both behind and ahead of us. It has gone by in the blink of an eye, and it keeps getting better and better.

We managed to get away for a couple of nights together, a feat that I wasn't sure we would be able to pull off between kids and work and a myriad of obligations. Our requirements were that it had to be within a reasonable distance to drive, didn't involve a ferry or plane, was relaxing and quiet, and was near the beach. Remember, I need the beach in my life.

I discovered Seabrook during an online search, a lovely little new beach town on the central Washington coast. It's a five hour drive from our house, doesn't involve a ferry or plane and is right on the beach. From Olympia, it's a straight shot west to Aberdeen, and then winding north up to Seabrook.

Seabrook is patterned after Seaside, Florida and was built on the principles of New Urbanism. It's hard to tell how long the town has been here. Every house is different and there isn't a vinyl home in sight. Instead there is a lot of natural materials - cedar shakes, board and batten, wood siding. Most of the houses are built on a small footprint and the gardens are low maintenance. In fact, the only grass we've seen is in central parks and greenspaces, and on the side of the roads. Many of the houses feature rear lane access and almost all feature some kind of porch or deck.

In other words, I'm in heaven.

We are staying in a two bedroom cottage that is one of ten identical buildings that face onto the same green space which features a communal fire pit.

It is adorable - outside it is white board and batten with a front and rear porch, and inside it's beadboard ceilings, mullioned windows, gorgeous white trim everywhere.

I'll be posting some pictures tomorrow of some of my favorite cottages at Seabrook - much like the Maple Beach post here.