I had the joy of receiving an early birthday present this weekend (on the left side of the photo). Isn’t she gorgeous?! Oh, and the scenery isn’t too bad either.

Taken at Lincoln Park in West Seattle.

I know you have voted already, RIGHT?!

Well, you can bring your ballot stub or “I Voted!” sticker to locations all around town for freebies ranging from coffee to cupcakes to um, toys.

It sure sucks to be working today! Read the rest of this entry »

You’ve probably never heard of Edith Macefield but she’s a local hero around here. She turned down a million dollar plus offer from developers for her 108 year old home in Ballard. High rise development rose all around her but her last wish was granted when she passed away on Sunday, at 86, in her own home.

It’s rumored that, having no family, she left the property to a construction superintendent who had been taking care of her. There’s no news yet on what will happen to the property or if she left a will.

Her longtime friend, Charlie Peck, had a wonderful idea: Read the rest of this entry »

I found myself starving before lunchtime today and decided it would be easier to pick something up. I didn’t have cash so I turned to Yelp for some assistance. As I was looking through the neighborhood joints I came across one that I’ve passed by a hundred times before. Near where I work, in our funky industrial area, is a tiny little building (less than 300sq ft) that proudly proclaims to be the Georgetown Truck Stop.

I had a good feeling when I saw that all 18 reviews were 5 stars and even better when I began reading them. Read the rest of this entry »

Amazon Fresh now has a beer and wine aisle! Excuse me while I return to the 22 pages of alcohol-flavored delight…

Some days I really love my job. This statement rarely occurs on a Monday however. I have mentioned before that my company is a small one and the owners are avid sports and music fans. Quite often throughout the year I get perk tickets to concerts, occasionally a football game and today- a Mariner’s baseball game.

They are killer seats, in the terrace club, and the food up there is like no other ballpark fare I’ve ever seen. I can taste that gourmet cotton candy already. It’s a good thing too, I had my last box of TJ’s mac & cheese for lunch.

I got worried at first because I couldn’t find a date. I was just about to email Jen & Sara to see if they were interested when I got a text message from my friend Texass. The M’s just happen to be playing the Texas Rangers tonight so she was ready to go. Hopefully we can refrain from getting into too much trouble while the wives are away. *whistles innocently*

Before last night, I’d never had Vietnamese cuisine other than pho noodles. I met up with a couple of friends (whose initials become the Acronym T.W.A.T.) and headed into “Little Saigon”. It had been a while since I’d last dined in the international district but the Tamarind Tree was by far the best foodie experience I’ve had there.

It’s a hidden jewel in a parking lot surrounded with various markets and stores. I wondered how many people drove by each day, not knowing the treasure that was snuggled in the back corner of the lot. It was a nice spring afternoon, sunny with just a slight breeze and we were early (and lucky) enough to snag a table outside. The smell of spices and herbs danced around me and made my stomach shout loudly in protest… I was hungrier than I had anticipated. The TWAT Team started out with Café s?a (Vietnamese coffee) and I had a Trà Thái Tea. It was heaven to the senses after the past weeks consisting on mostly frozen meals.

The appetizers were mouthwatering concoctions of freshness. First we had chicken skewers with a mango salsa. It was obvious how good it was because only a few sprigs of herbs were left after we were done. Next up, we had prawn spring rolls with a tasty peanut sauce before our main dishes made it to the table. The menu is so extensive that I don’t recall exactly what TWAT ordered. TW had a variety plate with several different things and AT had a DIY dish with steamed rice paper and a large helping of fresh herbs and I had a garlic shrimp dish. We manage to fit a sampling of 4-mini scoops of their homemade ice cream in afterwards. The really amazing part is that our tab only came to $65 (trust me, it was a lot of food)- for three drinks, two apps, three meals and a dessert! I guess it goes without saying that I will certainly be heading back to the Tamarind Tree.

As we were leaving, I confessed that I felt a little guilty having such a fine meal when I knew my love was living on room service. At least I have another nice place to take her once she’s back home. In just a few more days I’ll have my arms around her again and the sun shines brighter with that thought.