Good stuff for Cheap

Here it is, the middle of summer, places to go, people to see - and damn it - I needed something(s) cute to get me through the last stretch toward fall. Check out these super cheap and super awesome nuggets I picked up last week.

1. These Old Navy Women's The Diva Skinny Jeans for $15.97. So, A month or so ago, I got this linen blend navy tunic at J.Crew that looks slightly Tory Burch, slightly 70's Elizabeth Taylor - anyway, awesome but needed something good on the bottom that wasn't baggy, because you are going to look like a blob if you mix a loose tunic with baggy pants. These are the perfect white jeans for cuff up and wear with the tunic and espadrilles or with the Blue Superga's that I just got at Nordstrom. I would show you the tunic but it has mysteriously disappeared from the J.Crew website. Oh well. Anyway, these jeans have just the right amount of stiff and right amount of stretchy so they don't bag up and they look really cute. Get some immediately before they are gone.

This super cute Target Xhilaration Fedora Had with Band - $3.99 Ok, so the price online says $10 bucks or something like that, but it's $3.99 in the store. I went in to look at cheap sunglasses and came out with this. I've been coveting the J. Crew white fedora - which I might still really want - but c'mon, the price is right at Target, and now maybe I'll end up with more than one. Super cute.

And, last but not least. Check out this this pair (sort of - if you combined the colors - the website doesnt show the exact ones) of Havaiana's at Nordstrom Rack for $12.99. Again, the price is not $26.00, it's $12.99 at the Rack and they are blue with cute neon green. 

So, now i have a few new things, and I didn't really spend anything - and I'm taking all these things to Croatia - which by the way - is just ONE MONTH AWAY! Whoohooooo! 

Big Dig - Seattle Style

Photo credit: King TV

Today is the big day! Big Bertha starts chewing her way through the underground of downtown Seattle - and eventually we will have a car tunnel along the waterfront and we'll finally be able to take down the eyesore that is known as the Alaskan Way Viaduct. We've been watching the preparation for this for a while now, Big Bertha has been parked down near Pioneer Square for the past months getting assembled and ready to go. Here's to a great success, and here's hoping it's nothing like Boston's Big Dig. Yikes.

This marks the beginning of what will eventually be an incredible and well deserved waterfront renovation in Seattle. We have lived for so long with a "working" waterfront and waited patiently while idiotic Seattle government types have spent endless amounts of money on consultants to FINALLY after 40 years get moving and get something going. 

I've mentioned before that the plans for the new waterfront are fantastic, and as a Seattle downtowner, I'm super super excited to see it all come together. Check out Friends of Waterfront Seattle for more information about the plans. Take a look at the core projects in this brochure, there is an excellent explanation of what the segments of the plan are and why. A lot of really involved Seattleites have worked really long and hard on this plan, and I have to say it feels like they have thought of all the things that are important to make Seatte a great waterfront city to live in and a great waterfront city for people to visit. 

Good luck Big Bertha - and Buon Appetito!

Field Trip - Port Ludlow

We have been spending a lot of time on golf courses this summer. I can't say it's helping my game very much (because it's not!), but the scenery has been awesome. I thought I would start including some of our favorite courses as potential field trips for you.

This weeks field trip post is lovely Port Ludlow, Washington. It's just a short ferry and drive from Seattle, and from the farm it's only about a 20 minute drive - so pretty convenient for us. We played golf at 11 - on the Tides and Timber courses. Originally, there were 3 nines at the course; the Tides, Timber and Trail courses. They closed the Trail course for the time being  - I don't think they are getting enough activity to keep all three open now. The Tide and Timber courses are completely gorgeous though, and well maintained... oh, and don't let the score card fool you. This course might seem like it would be easy because it's shorter than most - ha, this course will beat your ass! Seriously! Especially the greens - they are deadly! Oh, and the narrow fairways and the enormous trees all over the place! 

 After the beating on the course, we drove down to the Resort at Port Ludlow, (right at the Marina), and had lunch and cocktails and enjoyed the view. The weather was perfect as you can see from the pics. Next nice weekend, get out there - play a round of golf, stay at the resort - walk around the Marina. So much fun. I actually think we'll go back in the winter too, I think the Inn and the beach would be really cozy that time of year. Port Ludlow is a little gem!

Field Trip - West Seattle

Last night we took a field trip to West Seattle. For a while now we've been thinking that it would be fun to jump on the water taxi to West Seattle and go to dinner at Marination and last night the weather was again PERFECT, so we did it. We walked down from the condo, met friends at the dock, hopped on and in 10 beautifully picturesque minutes, we were in West Seattle drinking Sangria and stuffing our faces. We liked Marination, the food was good, super casual vibe, and only a few steps from the water taxi dock. We sat on the patio, had fish tacos, pork sliders, fries - yum!

You should do it too, but keep in mind that the water taxi doesn't run late every night, just Friday nights and weeknights only if there is a sporting event. So, check the schedule to make sure it's running. We got lucky, there was a Mariners game last night, so it worked out for us. Also, there is a Vashon water taxi too, so that will be a future field trip - how fun would that be!!

Here are some pics from our adventure. Good times with good friends - 

Why We Love Seattle

This was our view on the way home from the farm on Sunday. Yes, rest of the country, it always rains in Seattle, always!

Product I love

Have you gotten a Soda Stream yet? We did, in fact we got two of them. One for the condo and one for the farm. The lovely husband was in charge of the choosing, there are many choices as far a design and price point – so these are the ones we (he) got.

Here’s why I love this product. I get so bugged by all the plastic water bottles all over the place. The soda stream will save us all from having a zillion plastic bottles to recycle or throw away.  And yes, there are still some people who just chuck their plastic into the trash – because they are too lazy to recycle. Speaking of that, have you heard of that huge mass of floating garbage  in the Pacific Ocean. I think it’s mostly made up of plastic water bottles and it’s something like twice the size of freaking Texas. So…. Let’s avoid adding to that fiasco, shall we.

Here’s another reason why I love it. No more flat sparkly water or tonic. Just make enough to drink, use it. Make more. You don’t have to buy liters of sparkly water and then waste what doesn’t get used.

And…..there are flavors. We’re not very much of a “soda” family, so we go for the plain sparkling water, but………they have TONIC. So, when you are making your summer Gin and Tonic’s, you can make enough tonic this way and you won’t have old tonic laying around getting bad. I was sort of suspicious of the Soda Stream Tonic mix, what if it wasn’t as good as “real” tonic…. But IT IS!  I’m happy to report, you won’t even notice a difference, and now you’ve just saved more cans and bottle recycling. Awesome!

Other flavors are basically all the flavors of soda and juices, so you can pretty much find whatever you need. And they are sold in the same place as the Soda Stream.  Notice, they are at all the stores, so you should get out there and take a look. And…. The last great part is that the CO2 refills are at the same places – and you can just bring your old cartridges back there too.

Ah, sooooooo thirsty!

Advice You Need #857

It’s true, I’m known for a few things. Listen up; this one might be the most important.

It’s just poor manners not to have a well-stocked bar! This is pretty much my motto! And everyone should live by it. I think I came up with this motto after about the 100^th grown up adult party where the bar offerings just sucked. If you are going to invite friends over for cocktails, or dinner, or cocktails and dinner – get with the program man! Put your bar in order. Here’s what you need. And this isn’t for the super fancy; this is for regular people – people that you know, for regular occasions. If you want to embellish for a special occasion like Thanksgiving or Christmas or if you’re serving a specialty cocktail that’s fine, but here is what you need for a good solid proper bar:

1. Top shelf booze, not the shitty cheapest stuff you can find. You want your friends to like you, right? Don’t serve them crap that doesn’t taste good. Get a good gin, vodka, rum, scotch, bourbon, tequila. That should cover you for basics. I have faves, but you should pick what you like - but just make sure it’s good stuff. I get Tanqueray, Stoli, a good rum, I let my husband pick out the scotch since he likes it more than I do, we always have Maker’s Mark on hand for bourbon, and then I try to get a decent tequila.
2. Mixers! Club soda, tonic, maybe diet also, ginger ale, coke, maybe diet coke too, simple syrup, Roses lime juice, triple sec, vermouth and maybe bitters. Also, don’t forget that some of your friends don’t drink or don’t drink anymore – make sure you have enough sparkling water, juice or soda to make them a nice non-alcoholic drink too.
3.  Extras! Lemons, limes, olives, maraschino cherries.
4. Proper bar glasses and bar gear – high balls and DOF’s and martini glasses, wine glasses and have a good muddler, martini shaker, bar towel, shot pourers, stirrer and toothpicks or whatever else.
5. Bar book – learn now to make the standards. And make them well; don’t make your guests a messy shitshow of a drink. This is a reflection of your good taste, get it together!

That’s pretty much it for the basic bar. Now you’ll be ready for all people who want a proper drink. You now have at least one drink available that pleases everyone. Again, if you are planning something special, you can add more, like if you want to serve Bloody Mary’s at a brunch, or Aviation’s (see earlier post on Aviation!) or whatever else. You’ll eventually end up with all the additional liqueurs, Kahlua, all that stuff, but you don’t need that to get started.

Ok, I can hear you yelling! How much freaking money do I have to dole out to get this thing up and running? Here’s how to do that. If you are, say 26 years old, and this is your first foray into the large quantity purchase of hard “A” – think about throwing a “BUILD MY BAR” party. Ask guests to bring something bar related to drink and to share. You’ll end up with just about everything you need to make drinks and have semi-full bottles of stuff leftover – unless your friends are total alcoholics and drink the place dry.

Last but not least. Beer and wine. Have some real beer (good stuff – like Manny's) and some light beer like Coors or Bud Heavy or Light – lots of people like crappy beer. And have white and red wine. Maybe a nice sauvignon blanc for summer, and a pinot noir or cabernet or something that the wino’s will like. Now you are covered completely and people will say nice things about you behind your back. And that’s what it’s all about! Happy Boozing!