Seattle Neighborhood Tour - South Lake Union

Last night we walked down through South Lake Union from our condo. What a spectacular Seattle summer night it was – and for those of you who don’t know Seattle, we don’t get nights like this often. It was warm! WARM!

We cruised east on Virginia past the construction site for the new Amazon buildings at 6^th, then we headed North up Westlake toward Lake Union. There are so many new buildings going up, so many new restaurants, shops and businesses – it’s pretty fun to see all the changes in so few years. If you haven’t been down there, you should make time to go. There is still a LOT of construction going on (road and building), but it’s nice to see so many people walking around, eating in the restaurants, shopping, running and riding bikes. We passed by Mistral Kitchen, Barolo, Whole Foods, Flying Fish, Re:public, Serious Pie, Serious Biscuit, and other little cute spots to eat and drink.  

 We walked up to the park at the end of Lake Union, where the new Mohai (old) building is, and where the new park area has been developed. Getting across Mercer is a little bit of a mess – but it’s pretty well marked and there are pedestrian traffic guards set up to get you across without getting run over by heavy equipment. We went down to the new natural beach that’s now there, watched a gal and her dog set out paddle boarding, then watched a bunch of kids jumping off the pedestrian bridge into the lake. So fun.  Then we walked around Mohai, past the old historic boats, and then across to the Center for Wooden Boats, and back up Terry toward town. 

Terry has loads of little restaurants that are good. We passed by Shanik, Cactus, Cuoco, Bravehorse and then crossed back over to Westlake to stop at Flying Fish for dinner. We sat at the bar for a glass of wine and some apps for a nice little birthday dinner – and walked home as it was getting dark. Perfect way to spend the first day of 50!

 For more info about South Lake Union and everything that is going on there, check out http://www.discoverslu.com/# and http://www.slucommunitycouncil.org/. 

Best Husband Ever

It's here, the big one. And lucky me, I have the best husband ever!

It's going to be a great year!

Makes you think all the world's a sunny day, oh yeah!

I got a Nikon camera - I love to take a photograph.....so mama don't take my Kodachrome away....

(thanks Paul Simon for the flashback!)

Nikon D3200

For my "jubilee" birthday, my lovely husband got me this - a few days early! I'm so excited to learn every little feature so this weekend I'm all Nikon all the time (between cocktails). I did some research about camera's in advance, and while over the years I've been a Canon fan, this time I wanted to give Nikon a try. This model seems a step up from the "beginner" one that Nikon sells, and I knew I didn't need the super advanced camera - this baby seemed just right. Look for awesome shots in the future and yes, there will be video - as soon as I figure it out.

Have a great weekend, learn something new will ya!

Turning 50 – How to Feel Great Instantly

I just googled all the celebrities and famous people that are turning 50 in 2013, and suddenly I feel like a million bucks. If you’re turning 50 this year, you should try this for a little “pick me up”. You are seriously going to want to step back and kiss yourself! Some of these celebs are not looking too swell –  I think it mostly has to do with the way too sophisticated  HD camera’s and telephoto lenses these days. But, hey, not my problem! I still feel great. The list of 50’s includes Brad Pitt, Michael Jordan, Mike Myers, Helen Hunt, Vanessa Williams and many more. I think I’m doing pretty well after seeing some of these people. Except, EXCEPT, get a load of John Stamos – he looks better than EVERYBODY at 50. Better. Than. Everybody.

John Stamos 

So, bring it 50. I'm not scared of you. On Monday I will be sure to post a photo of what 50 looks like on me!

What????? Really?

Under the subheading of things I cant get over......

UK Telegraph photo of Asiana plane crash at SFO

Did these people really think first that they needed to get their luggage before leaving a plane crash? What the hell? I can't get over it, and keep seeing photos of these people walking away from the burning plane (Asiana Flight 214 at SFO) with their rolling luggage right behind them. I wonder what in the hell is so important in their luggage that they think they needed to take the time to rescue their bags instead of helping other people get off the plane. I'm having trouble deciding how disgusted to be - and so far I'm just a little thankful that I don't have more details or I would probably be more bothered. Who is looking out for the 180 or so people who were injured? Did these people and their luggage just climb right over them to get out. I sure hope it was a situation of complete "daze and confusion" that made them react this way. And, I certainly hope that I would be more interested in getting the hell out of there safely and helping others to get out too before I started thinking about rescuing a bag full of dirty clothes. 

Look for Liave Online

Hey shoppers! This shop in Seattle called Liave is closing it's retail location - but have no fear. They will re-open with a fabulous on-line store in October. If you never got a chance to go in, they carry the greatest little things for the home - glass and ceramic pieces from Japan and Spain and loads of charming European housewares. I loved shopping there for gifts for friends and I'm super excited about them going online. If you don't already know about them, make sure you look for them in October or ask to be included on their email list. The woman that owns the shop has a great eye for nice quality and lovely things, and their gift wrapping is beautiful.

In the meantime, if you have a chance before the end of the month, get down there for great deals on the things left in her store inventory. Really good markdowns on what's left. Hurry - I might get there before you!

Really Good vs. Really Affordable

We are in major major need of new patio furniture at the farm. Right now we have a mishmash of old teak folding chairs and old director's chairs - plus an old Ikea table that has now been recovered with a large piece of plywood. Sounds super classy, I know - you're not going to see old Martha running this kind of shit-show are ya?!

We've been checking out some options, the first REALLY GOOD one being the Thos. Baker Furniture Outlet near us in Poulsbo. We've driven by it every weekend for years, and finally went in and let me tell you, it is fabulous. I had no idea. Also, this company is based on Bainbridge Island, so it would be great to support a local business. The furniture is great quality and there are beautiful things to choose from, and not cheap in any sense of the word. We are currently admiring the huge Craftsman Teak table that has a butterfly extension, and the Veranda chair - which is really comfortable and looks great with this table. The Craftsman table does have chairs that match but we prefer the Veranda chair. 

Thos. Baker Craftsman Table - now $1295

Thos. Baker Veranda Chair - $395

The outlet store has great pricing (often some reduction from regular retail), and there is also a ding-and-dent room with some sets and sometimes onesies of various items in various states of damage, sometimes so little that you can't find the problem. That's a great little room, worth checking out again and again!

The other option is the REALLY AFFORDABLE one - straight from Cost Plus World Market. Their outdoor furniture is all on sale now, and it's so well priced - I'm wondering if maybe we should save a bunch of money and go that route - even though the table I like below doesn't match the chair I like. I think I could fix that with a quick paint or restain - but take a look and see what you think. Good looking and pretty great pricing - 

World Market Laguna Chair - now $79.99

World Market Laguna Pool Lounger - now $199.99

World Market Bali Table - $149.99

Obviously the Thos. Baker furniture is more sturdy and will probably last the rest of our adult lives. But, in thinking about having a full dining set and what that would cost, and then thinking that in the next few years we will expand our patio to add more lounge area, etc.... should we wait on the expensive and go for the affordable now, and then when we have the "perfect" patio - go for the really good quality later? I'm kind of leaning that way, but ahhhhhh, I love the nice nice quality. 

The bigger question - does anybody care? I think the less expensive can look just as charming as the fancy, and I probably wont have a fit if someone spills on it or stabs it with a knife or lights it on fire..... so that is probably the smart move. Thoughts?