Something Better Than Nothing

I've been pondering what to write about the past week. Nothing awesome is coming to mind though. Life it just chugging along. And by chugging, I mean super fast. I'm shocked it's already mid-October already. What? Wait! Huh? How'd we get here?

With time flying, I'm realizing my blog posts are becoming more infrequent. I promised more frequency, and here I am going the opposite direction. I'd give you a lame excuse like I'm tired when I find free time (I do get up at the crack of dawn often, i.e. 4-something) or I've been busy with this or that. Now I've just reached the point where I shrug and say, "something's better than nothing." Perhaps I'll write about my shampoo (which is Aveeno). Nahh, I'll just do some random factoids and updates.

Special Days: Josh and I will have been together for 7 years this month. Crazy right? We finish each other's sentences, act like dorks together (correction, I'm the dork & he's the nerd), and explore together.

Yummies: I've come to enjoy some new stuff to accomodate the fact that there is no froyo here in Seattle. Seriously, it's a shame, but it does open the doors to other things. For instance, biscotti. There is this cranberry biscotti at my  new favorite bakery, Marcina. There is also a delcious roasted apple, fig, and walnut crepe at Miro. Delish! Drooling now.

Tea: Miro gets two points, one for crepes, and another for their tea. I've really been downing the tea these days. Chai, chai, chai. There is Miro, but there is also a place in Queen Anne called Tea Cup. I've enjoyed their Hazelnut Mocha tea and Vanilla Mint tea. Another favorite is down by Pike Place Market called World Spice Merchants. We (Josh is in the tea mode too) love the Northwest Chai. Did you know to steep chai you should really use black tea and chai tea? Yup, it's true. I get the royal treatment too since Josh makes me tea and I sit on the couch with it cupped in my hands. So nice. I might write about the World Spice Merchants more some other time - it's an interesting business/store.

Songs: I went and bought a few songs on iTunes recently that I'm enjoying. To name a few: Shine by Black Gold, Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros, The Only Exception by Paramore, Little Lion Man by Mumford & Sons, Tighten Up by The Black Keys, and Crystalized by The xx. Go check them out. It's a different mix than my usual picks, but I'm lovin' them. I'm listening to them as I type!

Coming Up: There are a few upcoming things that you'll see blog posts about. The first, and most important is that my parents are coming to town! They are coming the last weekend of October. My mom visited briefly with me on our whirlwind apartment tour, but besides that they haven't been to Seattle since I was young. Not to mention we were only in the city for a day or so (at least that's what I remember). We're going to have some fun activities and good food!

The other stuff to look forward to include: Harry Potter, Twilight, and Thanksgiving. Let's throw in Christmas while we're at it too.

Call Outs: Happy Birthday Caroline! Happy Anniversary Don & Nada! Love you guys.

A picture of us after 7 years. Smiling at one of our favorite Seattle views, Kerry Park.

Going Dutch

This post is not about splitting something, but about sharing. Last week Josh and I shared Seattle with my great friend Irene. Irene is one of my far, far away friends and lives in Holland, hence the "Going Dutch."

Irene arrived Sunday afternoon (to be clear it was 10/10 since this is a bit of a delayed post) at SeaTac Airport. I was finishing up my work day when she arrived, so Josh picked her up. We all meet up at our little place and had a happy reunion.

By the time we all meet up, our favorite Ballard Farmer's Market had closed. We wanted to give Irene a taste of Seattle's Farmer's Markets, so we headed to the other big, year-round market in Fremont. This market is a bit more on trinkets, antiques, and crafts whereas Ballard is more veggies, fruits, and bakeries/treats. It was fun to walk around though and see some local crafts (and some old stuff). Plus I got to grab a crepe which always makes me happy.

After some local flavor, we headed over to Ballard. First, we decided to see verify the authenticity of the Dutch Bike Co. After perusing the bikes, Irene confirmed that the bikes were indeed very true to Dutch style. It even carried the baby box accessory that goes in the front of the bike to cart the kiddies around. However, we all agreed that the best part was the conference bike. Yes, a bike used to hold a conference. This bike is circular and rides around. As were were observing, the bike guy said, "hey do you want to ride it?" We all chuckled. He was serious, so I pipped up, "Sure!"

I think the three of us were all thinking, "who's going to drive this thing?" Luckily, the bike guy hopped on the driver's seat and got us rolling. It was actually hard work to ride the bike with just the three of us. I was definitely huffing and puffing and a wee bit sore afterwards. It was fun though - and fun to see the people in cars looking at us and thinking, "what the...?"



After our ride around town, we needed some nourishment from the excitement and decided to grab some dinner at Tutta Bella. Tutta Bella is one of our new favorite places for pizza - true Italian-like pizza. Then, we topped the evening off with some Molly Moon's ice cream and sorbet.

Monday morning we started out with a breakfast of champions at Macrina - this means we got muffins. Don't forget, the next food in line after froyo on the Heather list is muffins. Macrina has great bakery goodies. We enjoyed and then headed out for our big day about town.

Our first stop was at the infamous Pike Place Market. Since it's fall and no longer the big tourist season, there wasn't huge crowds. We meandered through all the booths tasting the fruits and looking at the speciality, local crafts. Along the way, I pointed out the original Starbucks and the famous fish throwing shop. We also ran into (not literally, ick) the gum wall. Yes, a wall of gum. Check out my face, it says, "gross!" Lastly, to get a true taste of the market, we picked up lunch at Three Sister's Bakery and moved along.



In the afternoon, we took the long elevator ride up for an exceptional view at the Columbia Tower. This is a cheaper view than the Space Needle, yet higher. Plus you can see the Space Needle as part of the view (I mean, part of the Seattle skyline is the needle and if you're on it, you can't really see it!). Good deal. We lucked out with a clear, sunny afternoon with 360 views. "Oh! Beautiful! Gorgeous! Wish you were here," stuff (that's a French Kiss reference).



(I can see my house from here!)

We wrapped up the day with a quick tour of the Seattle Library (cool building) and some downtown retail shopping. Plus a quick stop at my Starbucks. And dinner at Monkey Bridge in Ballard.

Tuesday to Thursday Irene took a side trip up to Vancouver to visit another friend from her days up in Canada. She returned Thursday night and then spent Friday with us.

Friday was another day full of fun tourist stuff. Isn't doing tourist stuff great? It's like being on vacation in your own city. Plus, being a resident here makes it harder to do tourist stuff, so visitors are great for getting out and exploring. Since I visited Seattle as a little girl (yes, I was here on a family trip years and years ago), I've been wanted to check out the Underground Tour. Underground you say? Yes, part of Seattle is actually the second level. It was rebuilt after a big fire and they built up due to some sewage issues. It's a long story, but you can learn it on the tour or from Bill Speidel. It was great to learn some history of the city we now reside in, plus it was funny. This Bill must be quite the joker. We learned about Pioneer Square and the Richardsonian Romanesque architecture of the area.



After the tour, we picked up a few "must take home to Holland" items for Irene and headed back home for some relaxation. Whew, what fun!

Irene - It was great to have you here! Glad you made it home safely. :-p

Been Busy

Every day I groan thinking, "man, I neeeeed to write a blog post. It's been ages." I think I haven't written at all in October yet. Yikes! So let me apologize for not writing. I've got all these great things to post, but just haven't had the time. I only have a likely excuse: I've been BUSY. I just have been busy doing one thing after another. Like what? Well, here's a Busy Item List for you:

1. Promotion: I've been quiet about this since I didn't want to tell you all about it and then have to come back with a "yea, well...(cough cough), umm yea" type post. Anyway, I interviewed a few weeks ago with a couple managers - coffee tasting, interview interrogation, the usual. After that, things started moving quickly. It got announced at our quarterly team meeting and the next week I was training. This past week was my first week managing the floor on my own. It's actually takes quite a bit of thinking. Breaks (which have to be timed wisely), cash management, keeping the customers happy, and dealing with the "crazies" that come in (note: "crazies" is the word we all use for crazy people that we have to deal with regularly). For instance, my first day running the floor I had to kick someone out for bad behavior. The next day, I had to call the police. It's not as bad as it sounds, but it's testing me for my best mean face (can you picture it?).


2. Josh's Birthday: Josh turned the big 29 Tuesday. Sadly, I had to close the store on his birthday, but we celebrated for sure. Monday our family friends, Vince and Jonita, treated the both of us to a delicious meal at The Palace Kitchen. This is a Tom Douglas restaurant which I've been wanting to try and it did not disappoint. We went all out too with drinks, appetizers, entrees, and dessert. I had lavender goat cheese fondue to start and a succulent halibut entree. Josh has some pork & pear terrine and a lamb sirloin. Then some coconut cream pie to cap off (this pie is famous). For his actual birthday, I made a chicken tamale casserole before work and ate it after work. He also got a pair of Clark Desert shoes from yours truly. Oh, and lots of Bacon stuff (thanks Jeff & Melissa!). The last bit of celebration was this morning which was breakfast at Julia's in Wallingford. Yes, I know you're thinking: wow, what a celebration of food.


3. Dining Next Door: I think I just came up with a cute restaurant name. But no; it was really dining next door with our neighbors, Matt and Meghan. It was great to get to know our neighbors. We know we'll get along too since they too are Rick Steve followers.


4. Val in Town: Valerie, whom we all know and love as Val came to Seattle to visit. Val is a friend from U of O law school. She's in Montana now, but had a long weekend and decided to head west to visit. We spent a lovely, rainy evening with her and catching up.

That's not the end of the list, but I'll end it there. I just think it'd start to get too long to go through. Plus it's smaller stuff, like church, groceries, and the likes. But now you know I'm still here. Still writing. Still taking photos. Still thinking of you all. I'll try to write more often now.



Bacon and Birthday Boy Above.

It's Magnetic

Yes, magnets are magnetic. Surprise! Last Thursday at the Farmer's Market I made a magnet. It's pretty dang cool and I just happened upon it. However, before we get into the thick of this craftiness, let's back track a bit to give you some background first.

It was a cloudy, looks-like-rain type of evening and Josh and I were at the Queen Anne Farmer's Market. You may recall, my saying that we try to go to the Farmer's Market every Thursday (or at least until rainy season comes and it closes). Remember? It's a great dinner because A- it's cheap(er) and B- there are usually a few booths there to accomodate both of our tastes. This time around I had a yummy fresh mushroom pizza from Veraci Pizza and Josh had some soul food at Where Ya At Matt (specifically steaming hot jambalaya). After chowing down on these delectable food items, I was headed for a crepe for dessert. As I was headed over, I walked by the Queen Anne Bookstore booth and looked over. I saw a girl making something crafty. Crafty. Cool. I said, "I want to do one of those!" The lady replied, "come on over!"

The lady turned out to be Jennifer Worick the author of Simple Gifts, a craft book with directions (simple directions hence the book title) on how to make all sorts of arts and crafts. One of these particular crafts was making personal magnets, just like I was about to create.

With some easy instructions, I was on my way to some magnetic fun. To start, I shuffled through all sorts of cards, maps, old calendars, and whatnot, After a sorting through everything, I settled on a cupcake design for my magnetic - it was a tough decision for me (the I-Don't-Know girl). To find the exact look, I put the glass stone over the design and then traced around the stone with a pencil. After the tracing, I cut out the picture. With some sort of crafty glue, I attached the picture to the stone followed by a magnet. Voila, a hand-picked, personally made magnet.



I was very proud of my magnet. What great fun too! Maybe I should do this as gifts or even wedding favors (when that day comes). I was very inspired and the craftiness and browsed through the Simple Gifts book on display. All sorts of fun ideas. In retrospect, I wish I had bought the book and had Jennifer sign it. Sigh. I always do that "if only" stuff. Next time I'm at the bookstore, I should purchase it.



Now the magnet happily resides on my refrigerator. Every time I look at it I think of the Farmer's Market and then of delicious cupcakes. What a lovely day at the Farmer's Market.

Are you feeling crafty? Share you're crafty ideas!



P.S. We also got some beautiful dahlias and Josh enjoyed (or devoured I should say) some beignets.

The Do

I hope I'm not the only one who uses the word "do" on occasion to mean hair style. If so, then you may have picked up the meaning of my title. If not, then let me clue you in on my terminology...I got a new hair cut and style.

I ventured into the hair salons of Seattle. After some walk-by viewing, some walk-in investigation, and research on Yelp, I decided on Vain Salon in Ballard. Okay, c'mon, sing it, "You're so Vain, you wish that this post was about you." Naww, it's a nice place in Ballard and had decent pricing and isn't vain. The people were quite friendly in fact.

Emily was my hair stylist. We got along well and chatted about Chicago, Starbucks, TV, and whatnot. After some time, I walked out a new girl.

Before - This is from June, so it has grown since. However, all recent photos I have my hair back in a ponytail or bun. I guess it got too long.



During - I was waiting for my highlights to dry and sneaked in a photo.



After: The new hair!

Discovering Discovery

Last week Josh and I ventured out to discover Discovery Park. This is a nearby park - just about five minutes away from our home. It has some nice walking and/or hiking trails through some of Seattle's best wildlife and also some beautiful sites (didn't that sentence sound like an article of some sort?!



According to Wikipedia, "Discovery Park is a 534 acre park in the peninsular Magnolia neighborhood of Seattle, Washington. It is the city's largest public park and contains 11.81 miles of walking trails." The trail we took, while circumferences the peninsula was about 3 miles.

We saw a mix of trees, grassy areas, coast, and wildlife. In fact, along the way, I stopped in my tracks. Was that a bat? No way...scary. Yes, I wanted to know. I back tracked and squinted. I took a step closer. And closer. Then it struck me. It was a strategically placed toy of some crazy looking bat werewolf.



It was a typical, misty Seattle day (rained later that day) and the site off the coast was awesome. We could see Mount Rainer in the distance. If only I could truly capture the site on film.



And that was yet another check mark on our Seattle Life Chalkboard.

Josh says, "yes, that's right. Deal with it." And I say, "heck, yea."

A Personal Tour

Josh and I proudly invite you to take a personal, guided tour of our new place. This should give you a good feel of the layout and setup we have going here in the good ole Pacific NW. Now, please sit down, relax, and enjoy the show:

Seattle Home Tour from Heather O'Neill on Vimeo.

Take a personal tour of our new home!

This one's for you Caroline...

Ketchup

Ketchup is just a play on words - Shakespeare style. What I'm really getting at here is catch-up as in I'm catching up on my entries. I could write separate posts for each topic, but some are from a while ago and it seems lame to write them now pretending they just happened. For this post, I'm reverting back to my favorite bullet style update.

• One Year with Starbucks - Tuesday, 9/21 marked my one year anniversary with Starbucks. A whole year! Crazy to think how quickly this year has gone by. I remember my first few months as a barista and how nervous I was trying to learn everything, especially the drink recipes. Did you know that about 85% of Starbucks customers customize their drinks? Did you know that there is roughly over 100 recipes to learn as a Starbucks barista? Now, I'm right up there debating the correct recipes with partners (we call all Starbucks employees partners). When I go in to work tomorrow I should be receiving a beautiful 1 year pin.


• Starbucks HQ - Wednesday last week, that would be 9/15, I headed off to Starbucks world to get some live, on-site training. I was the lucky chosen one to be trained to be a Learning Coach. This means I'm Starbucks certified to train new partners. It was next door to the headquarters. The training was fun, and a nice change of pace. The better part was heading over to HQ afterwards to check out the Partner Store. This is a store in HQ that is cool stuff just for us to purchase - t-shirts, sweaters, pens, keychains, etc. First you have to check in with the receptionist on the 8th floor. Then you are personally escorted to the store on the 5th floor. It felt like a secret society. I went a little crazy and bought too much probably. I did get myself a black polo with the Starbucks logo, which I can wear at work and feel professional.


• The Bus Chase - Just as the bullet title says, I chased a bus last week. I was standing there waiting for my bus #3 17, when I saw it taking off. Where did it come from? Did it even stop? I think it must have stopped behind some buses way down at the end of the block. Two other guys were banging the bus, but it just drove onward. I said to myself, "screw this, I'm getting on that bus. I'm not waiting any long. I want to get HOME!" So I grabbed hold of my Timbuk2 bag on my shoulder and sprinted off after it. I tried to think ahead like, "which bus stop is next?" I just missed it at two stops, but then I knew where I could intersect it. And by golly, I caught up. It was a decenter 6 blocks of running, but I got on that bus. I think one of the passengers knew that I ran because he gave me a little smile as I sat breathing deeply, catching my breath. I conquered!

Buy Me Some Peanuts

"Take me out to the ball game,
Take me out with the crowd.
Buy me some peanuts and cracker jack,
I don't care if I never get back,
Let me root, root, root for the home team,
If they don't win it's a shame.
For it's one, two, three strikes, you're out,
At the old ball game."

Josh and I sung this song Tuesday night during the 7th Inning Stretch at the Mariner's Game at Safeco Field. (Yea, this is a late post - sorry!). We didn't actually buy any peanuts, although I think Josh secretly wanted some; however, he was persuaded otherwise not wanting to pay a billion dollars for a bag of nuts.

We set out for the game because it was an SCU Alumni event. I heard about it from a former SCU Ambassador (aka tour guide) that came into my Starbucks store earlier. She mentioned the game and possibly meeting people. Josh and I thought it would be fun. Perhaps we'd meet some new people, or maybe network. We bought the tickets from the Alumni Office and off we went to see the Mariners.

We got there right on time and headed to the "Will Call" window. They had my ticket, but no Josh's ticket. Sad. The guy was very nice and helpful though, and took us to customer service. With my handy iPhone, I was able to show that we paid for both tickets. This got us in the doors and up to the SCU area.

We arrived to the SCU area, which was basically just a few rows that SCU had bought out. There were some other younger people there, but nobody familiar. In fact, it was really hard to know who was from SCU and who was there just for the game. Well, there goes the friend and networking idea. Oh well, we shrugged our shoulders and decided to just enjoy the game.

It had been a while since I'd been to a baseball game. We were a bit spoiled since our last one was at Petco Park in San Diego for Josh's cousin's Cody's graduation. They had a entire section blocked off and everything; it was quite nice. Even though we didn't get a special section, we still left the park with smiles and an enjoyable evening. And I know you're thinking...did they stay to the end? Naww, I got cold and the game wasn't the closest of scores. We did get to the 7th Inning Stretch though.

P.S. I finally figured out who Ichiro was on the Starbucks Rewards Cards - everyone talks about them and how special they are,  yada yada. Don't know either? Check it out.

Apples to Apples

While Apples to Apples is an excellent game, it's also my clever blog name for all the Farmer's Markets here in Seattle. Josh and I have been enjoying all the flavors at the Farmers Markets. In fact, we've been going to the Queen Anne Farmer's Market Market each Thursday. We missed today's though because of the rain and not wanting to spend money.

These Farmers Markets are all over the place. There is a market in each little part of town - Queen Anne, Fremont, Ballard, Wallingford, Capitol Hill, Magnolia, etc. And each of these fall on different days of the week. This means you can go to one  practically every day of the week. By going to different markets you get to see other areas around town. There are some vendors that travel to each market, so you sometimes see the same vendors. However, there are definitely vendors specific to some markets. Generally there are similar items - apples, pears, peaches, veggies, bread, honey, pasta, jewelry, musicians, and more. Of course, they have all seasonal foods, so come fall and enter many will probably change.

Sadly, most of the markers close down for the winter. Two do stay open - they are the biggest - and these are the Ballard and Fremont Farmer's Markets. These are the best ones though, so I'm happy. As for the others, it makes sense for them to close because, surprise surprise, it rains here. Today is a good example. It was pouring rain and Josh and I decided to stay in (well, we did go to the Wallingford one yesterday, but that doesn't help my point here).

And here is a list with links of some of the foods we've enjoyed at the markets (yes, there is cooked food too & it's been a favorite dinner option for us):

• Tall Grass - Bread, we had the Oat and Honey Wheat Bread


• Anita's Crepes - Nutella & Banana, Ham & Cheese, Spinach & Feta


• Veraci Pizza - New Yorker, Farmer's Feast


• Grateful Bread - Pumpkin Muffins!!


• Columbia City Bakery - Everything But the Kitchen Sink cookies


• Where Ya At Matt - New Orleans Cuisine (ask Josh)


• Maximus Minimus - Pork BBQ sandwiches

Lastly, I've shared some photos on my Flickr site of our Farmers Market experiences. Enjoy!

Red Alert

Last night around 1:55am, I awoke to sirens. A few minutes later I was still listening to sirens. And it kept up what seemed like forever. Eventually I rolled out of bed to see what was happening. I peeked through the window screens, but saw nothing. More research - after a snack  that is. I hate when you get super hungry when waking up in the middle of the night.

Josh started investigating online and found that it was a ship fire. I looked out again to see if I could locate the fire. I thought I saw some flames, but it was just lights. Apparently it was just around the corner though. It was a ship fire on the docks near our apartment. This article shares some photos and details of the fire.

Apparently 100 fire fighters were out there fighting. The smoke was blowing the other direction, so we weren't affected. Plus nobody was hurt. All ends well, just an hour less of sleep for us.

Eureka!

I found it! Oh come on, you know what I'm talking about. What else could it be other than the fabulously delicious frozen yogurt. It's good as gold (reference to eureka).

As you may recall, I've mentioned that the frozen yogurt scene here in Seattle is pretty dang lacking. I've only come across the tart, fruity stuff. No cookie, chocolatey desserty froyo. So very disappointing. The only real place I had found was the little cafe around the corner from my Starbucks that served chocolate and vanilla, which never changes flavors but at least it was YoCream brand. I've been surviving off Red Mango. Don't get me wrong, I like Red Mango, it's good; however, it's not dessert and the creamy I'm looking for (oh all right, obsessed with). There apparently is a TCBY in Bellevue and Shoreline somewhere, but that's not very close to us here in the city. Tear.

The other day I was researching on the Internet and came across a place way down in Federal Way. Who knows where the heck that is! The colorfulness and flavors did catch my attention though so I continued onward. Out of curiosity I went to the locations and looked up Washington. Low and behold there was a coming soon for Queen Anne and Capitol Hill. WHAT?!? Josh and I drove to scope out the location it listed. The place looked like it wasn't very far along. Hmm, how much longer? I took it a step further and emailed them and asked about the projected opening. They replied in one day saying it would be late December. Oh boy! I wish it were sooner, but beggars can't be choosers.

Then my sister and I were talking on the phone and she said she thought of me, a new froyo store opened in Pasadena called Menchies. What?! That's the place I was coming here. Get out of here. It's true though.

And another sign...Josh and I were down in Gig Harbor for the day on Sunday. On the way there I saw a sign on the freeway saying Federal Way. Well, my froyo radar went to red alert. Must. Go. Get. Froyo. Deprived. On the way home we set the navigation and hit up some froyo goodness. Menchies didn't disappoint. It was self-serve and also a cute decor. Oh, and I asked and cookies 'n cream is a regular flavor. They didn't have it that day, but I enjoyed some Peanut Butter, Dulce de Leche, and Banana. Yum.

Can't wait until December! Hurry Menchies. Hurry.

Sunday's Gig

Check number two on the chalkboard: Gig Harbor. [View Larger Map]

Gig Harbor is just about an hour drive from Seattle, so it made the perfect little day trip for us. We set out around noon after trying out a new church in our neighborhood. It was a nice day, mostly sunny and mid-60s, so it was perfect for exploring.

When we reached Gig Harbor, we were both quite hungry. I spotted a little cafe around the corner called Kelly's Cafe, so we headed in for some nourishment. We were satisfied after our meal -- Josh was happy with his chicken fried steak treat and I with my Mediterranean quesadilla.

After lunch, we walked around the town's harbor. There were a few shops, but mostly just a cute area with a nice harbor. We decided to hop in the car and drive to the other side of the harbor. There we found the Finholm View Climb. This gave us a great overview of the harbor. Josh gave a little narrative for us here.

Next, we found the Wilkinson Park and Barn. We talked to a lady and petted her two dogs. We saw a lady picking wild blackberries. And saw a few more dogs. There was also a barn that we looked at and took a few photos.

On the way to and from Gig Harbor, we had to cross the Tacoma Narrow Bridges. Josh told me the story of how this bridge collapsed because the engineers didn't account for the winds that went through this area. It did a gumby type of swing and then collapsed. Scary. Check out the video footage. Now check out our scary trip across. Don't worry, nobody was hurt during this video.

That's a wrap on our Sunday gig. We got in the car and headed home with a special side trip which I will post separate (it's deserving of it's own post). P.S. Sorry I forgot both cameras, so the ones you see are just with my iPhone.

Theobroma Cacao

A.K.A. Theo, some pretty dang good chocolate. (if you're curious in the title, go here, it's the name of the cacao plant that sprouts the bean for the chocolate).

Did you guess right? I mean, did you guess which option we chose for our first checkmark off the kitchen chalkboard? I asked you in my 365 post. Yea, go back and read it. I can't believe you forgot already. Sheesh. J/K (<--Did you know a guy at my work actually just says the letters J/K. Annoying).

The answer: Theo Chocolate Factory. You should have guessed it from the title name. Clever little name. We learned this on the tour we took on Thursday. It was a great tour actually. It was an hour long and we got a brief outline of the process of making chocolate from the bean to the bar. Then the lady took us through the factory, as it was running, and explained the machines and flow of the factory. It was cool to see everything in progress and the workers. We also went into their chocolate confectioners room. Along the way, she also fed us chocolate - started with really dark to milk.

The flavors of chocolate they have there are pretty interesting. There is Hazelnut Crunch, Chai, Coconut Curry, Mint, Chili, and more. Then all those delicious chocolate smells waft through the air of Fremont.

Another fact we learned on the tour was that their machines are more old fashioned, and they apparently got them in an auction in Germany, Switzerland, a few other European countries. Neato. They had to go with smaller machines because of costs and production.

Well, that's really about it. The shop also has tons of tasters too. It's a good place to visit. If you visit, perhaps you'll be taken here for a tour. Wink Wink.

Toffee, Not Coffee

Actually, it's both. Toffee + Coffee = Goodness. Starbucks came out with a few new drinks this week, and I'm not going to lie, they are delicious. Plus there is whole new set of flavors and syrups for experimentation. One of the new drinks is a Toffee Mocha. It's a new mocha sauce that is sweeter than the normal mocha and has a hint of toffee butteriness. Another is a Salted Caramel Hot Chocolate (or mocha). This has some special salt we sprinkle plus the new sauce and the usual mocha. Crazy. With all this, I of course must put my own spin to a drink. This is how I came up with my latest drink. It's one pump of the toffee mocha, plus some sugar free vanilla, espresso, milk, and a sprinkle of salt. How to “call it” (order it)? Double Tall, One-Pump Toffee Mocha, 2-Pumps Sugar-free vanilla, Non-fat, Add Salt, Latte.

Lend me some Suga'

I am your neighbor. Shake it, shake, shake it, shake it (OHH OH)

Hey ya! I got some bread yo.

Okay, being serious now. It was so nice today. This evening our neighbors downstairs (see there was a point to everything above), came to our door and gave us some homemade, still warm challah bread. How awesome is that?! Nom Nom Nom. <- Sound of eating.

They seems like a pretty nice couple. It was great to start getting to know the neighbors. Who knows, maybe we will need to borrow some sugar.

365

Hurray! Congrats to me! Throw the confetti! Why? Because today is the one year (or 365 days) anniversary of beginning my blog. Calm down now, I know you're excited.

3 - Three Reasons Why I Started

1. An easier way to keep in touch


2. A way to share my photos


3. Josh was bugging me to do it

6 - Six Reasons Why I Love It

1. Keep in Touch


2. A conversation piece


3. Allows me to be creative


4. Able to learn new technology and improve writing skills


5. I love it because you love it (I hope)

5 - Five Things You Can Expect To Come

1. More photos (yes, more)


2. Reviews of books and music (if I can get through this one book...)


3. Seattle life


4. Things that will make you laugh


5. New topics (this is a given...I was running out of ideas for this one)

And in regards to my last #5, below are some posts you might see coming up. This is a board that is in our kitchen which I've created a list of things we're interested in doing here in Seattle. We were hoping to check one of each month. The first is coming this Thursday. Can you guess which one?

Now, Celebrate!

Round and Round

This is a Seattle bus.



This is a Seattle bus not to ride - the Express Bus.



Okay, I should rephrase that; the bus above is the bus I (Heather) should not ride. Express seems great - fast, convenient, & whatnot. However, when I was on this bus, I saw my stop fly past as we headed over the Ballard Bridge. Then I had to call up my hero, Josh, to pick me up. Luckily, the first stop is just over the bridge near Trader Joes (oh darn) and just a few minutes from our home. Let's just hope it doesn't happen again when Josh isn't around. Imagine poor me walking in the rain over a bridge in the cold, dark evening. Pathetic image right!?!

Not that I'm proud to admit this, but the express bus experience has happened twice. Yes, twice. I know one should learn after the first time, but I guess I'm a slow learner. It was after the second time that I realized the express bus actually has a little green sign on the front that reads, "express." Doh!

Anyway, now that my mistakes are out of the way, let's talk some more about buses. Orca, the Seattle public transportation system, has been an interesting experience thus far. It's convenient enough, yes, but interesting (fyi - interesting is my favorite descriptor word for the bus). The bus is necessary here in the city. It's just the way people get around town. It's just too hard to find parking and too expensive to park once you find a spot. In fact, it seems most people take the bus. All sorts of folks take the bus including some curious characters.

Some experiences:

• Minding my own business, leaning on a light post for my bus, when some homeless guy bumps into me as he was falling down. I yelped in surprise and stood there clueless for a few seconds while nearby bus waiters rushed to the guy. One lady was a hospital worker of some sort and took charge, but the homeless guy's friend lifted him and he yelled about wanting to get on the bus. So off on the bus he went. The people around were nice though - one made sure the bus driver knew and the hospital gal called (the police?) to make sure they knew what was going on...


• I was standing once again at the busy stop home when I struck up a conversation with a gal next to me. She was super nice and we talked for about 10 minutes waiting for our bus. She used to work for Starbucks and is in the process of starting her own business. Nice people at the bus station.


• On the bus last week, I was sitting in the back playing on my iPhone (like most bus-riders do), when the lady next to me asked, "is that a phone?" I look at her and reply, "uhh, yea." She continues, "oh, could I borrow it to make a call?" Me, "uhhhhh, ummm, ohhhh, hmmm (looking around at other passengers, accessing the situation - people know she's doing this, there are others on the bus so it wouldn't be an easy steal, she looks harmless). I don't know." She says, "I need to call 911." And I'm like, "oh my gosh, are you okay?" Lady says, "yes, I just need to make a non-emergency call to the police." "Oh, well, hmmm (thinking to self: why 911 then?), I guess." So I hand over the phone. She didn't know how to use it so I set it up for her. I listen to her conversation - I mean it's my phone and I'm sitting next to her, it's kind of difficult not to eavesdrop - and apparently some homeless lady was screaming obscenities at passerby's on the hill near her house. Geeez. I got my phone back and got to hear the rest of the ride about this homeless lady (who apparently had fine, flowing, blond hair).


• The bus driver had to kick off a homeless guy once we went out of the free-zone. I think being a bus driver is hard work having to deal with some of these people. I have big respect for the bus driver since it's strange people they deal with daily. Strange.

I'm sure there are plenty more of these stories to come. In fact, there are more little things I'm sure I could include, but thought this would do for now. I'm curious as to how this bus thing will go in rainy weather too. And don't freak out for me, there aren't that many homeless people on the bus, mostly just business people going to work downtown or tourists. Just the occasional, interesting homeless person (or I assume homeless).

Lucky for me, it's straight forward one bus to my store. The bus stop near my home, is just down some steep stairs, and the stop near work is just 3 blocks away at 3rd and Pine (fyi - my store is on 5th and Pine). It is a bit more pricey than I though, but again better than driving. All and all, it's a learning experience for me!

Now go ahead and sing...the wheels on the bus go round and round, round and round, round and round. The wheels on the bus go round and round, all day long.

Make it Work

Let's talk about our new home. It's definitely smaller than our Eugene home. We miss our garage. We miss the extra storage space. However, we love our new home. It's so cute and nicely located. All we needed was some clever thinking to make everything fit.

We put four minds together (Don, Nada, Josh, and me) and we came up with some great fixes. Don was great at helping us figure out the furniture layout, hanging photos, and overall feel. Nada helped us figure out the bathroom and kitchen situation (i.e. ok, we got the dishes and appliance in the kitchen, but what about food). Josh and I did the office and bedroom, and lots of unpacking. And all together, we got a place where everything fits! Whoopie!

We would like to thank IKEA, World Market Cost Plus, the Container Store, and Bed, Bath, & Beyond for all their products. We would like to send a big thanks to Don and Nada for all their help!

P.S. Tim Gunn always says, "make it work" in Project Runway. Love that phrase & you may here me say it often...





Photo 1: IKEA curtains. Don and Josh put it up, and I hemmed the length (using an iron and ruler).

Photo 2: Bedroom Closet. I put in a small shoe rack, Rubbermaid drawers (below which you can't see), and sweater slots.

Photo 3: Kitchen Stand. We had the table from our Eugene home, but this time we added baskets for supplies and a little basket drawer system for even more supplies.

Photo 4: Dishes. We used an old bookcase to store our dishes so we could use the kitchen cabinets for food storage.

Photo 5: Coat Closet. More shelves were created by putting a piece of wood on top of two little baskets.

Photo 6: Kitchen Sink. A neat discovery by Nada, a little stand to go over the sink for soaps and other storage. I added a faucet too that does circular spraying and different spray types (rather than just one flow downward).

And that's not all of it! I'll take a video of our home and post once I feel it's totally presentable (almost there!)

Hello Seattle

I'm alive! I'm connected! I'm in Seattle!

Sorry for the long delay in posts. Life had been, well, hectic lately. Time is flying. I can't believe it's mid-August. Josh and I have really had some big changes in the past 11 days.

Timeline Highlights:

• Thursday, 8/5 - The movers pack the truck


• Friday, 8/6 - Josh and I drive up to Seattle, and the movers unload


• Monday, 8/9 - My first day at work


• Tuesday, 8/10 - Don and Nada arrive to town


• Monday, 8/16 - Comcast finally & Internet/Cable Established


• Sunday, 8/15 - Dinner with Manuel and Katy

Things to Know:

• We live in West Queen Anne


• Our place is a four-unit complex on a hill


• Our new view is the Ballard Locks, a hill, and the sunset


• We're a 5-10 minute car drive or 20-30 minute bus ride to downtown


• We've had a range of weather since our arrival - rain, cloudy, hot (i.e. 90s), and pleasant


• Seattle is the Emerald City, and Washington the Evergreen State


• There is no dishwasher or garbage disposal in our house (booo!)

Now, some more recaps. I'm going to start with the sad, then launch into the happy...and then some more...

The Sad:

• Friends - It's tough being in a new city where you don't really know that many people. I miss my Eugene buddies. If you're reading this, I miss you!


• Ease of Commute - I'm definitely learning the city life - living an working in a city. Where you have to deal with traffic, hard parking (and paying for it), and can't get from one end of town to the other in 20 minutes.


• Froyo Situation - This is definitely sad. The frozen yogurt scene isn't quite wonderful. It's not totally void of froyo stores, but it's lacking. The best I've found thus far is Red Mango and a little store that has YoCream chocolate and vanilla. Luckily, both of these are near my store (nothing near home though). There is hope though, see "The Happy" section below.


• Taxes - Oregon had no sale tax, but Washington has probably one of the highest sale tax rates. I'm finding getting to the register to pay tough. Suddenly the price jumps up and what seemed reasonably priced (for a city) becomes a bit of a shocker.

The Happy:

• City - Ahh yes, the city. Besides the above, it's great. The benefits definitely out weigh "the sad" mentioned above. Finally, a Nordstorms, a Sephora (that's not inside a JC Pennies), actual malls, the retail is endless. Not to mention, good food, more activities, bigger airports, etc. Let's face it, just much more options.


• Views - All I have to say is that we live in a beautiful city. Wait, no. A gorgeous city. I don't think I'll get tired of looking at the city skyline and needle nor the ferries and nature. My new favorite sight, is the view from Kerry Park (which is only minutes from our home).


• New Camera - The photographer inside of me will soon be unleashed. The Browns were the nicest ever and gave me a new, very nifty camera - a Canon Digital Rebel (Don got a even niftier new camera, very professional). More pictures to come now! Get ready to be tired of all the pictures.


• Foodie - Yum. Mouth-watering. Drooling. Variety. These all describe the food. Some favorites (so far - much more to try): Zaw, Macrina Bakery, Tutta Bella, 5 Spot, Bricco, Hi-Life, and a past-favorite, The Counter. Yeah, for good food.


• Frozen Goodness - The froyo might not be ultra-plentiful, but the gelato and ice cream is delicious. Our two favorites are Molly Moons, and D'Ambrosio Gelato. There was also a gelato place downtown that my mom and I ran into on our search, so the frozen delights are here.

The B's (or Other Stuff, but all start with B):

• Bus - This is city life to the extreme. I am now having to use public transportation to work. The parking is tough to find and expensive to pay, so I've opted to take the bus to work. Now, Im learning to navigate the bus system. So far not too many blips, just took the express bus which pasted my stop on my commute home (Josh picked me up thank goodness). On the bright side, I just have to take one bus route (no stops or switches), and the 17. The bus does take longer, which means factoring in more time for commute (blah). However, I do get some monthly mulla from Uncle Bux (aka Starbucks) for the transportation troubles. I'm sure I'll have bus adventures to share in the future (the good, the bad, and the ugly).


• Browns - Shortly after our arrival, Josh's parents, Don and Nada, arrived. It was so great to have them here. They were former interior designers and were able to help setup the place so that we could fit everything (our new place is a wee bit smaller and no garage storage). They helped us unpack, shop, and get settled. We are so grateful for there assistance - the best soon-to-be-parent-in-laws ever. Not to mention, fabulous mani-pedi outing with Nada (my nails needed it)!


• Block Party - Our first community adventure. Queen Anne had a block party that we attended (it was free). Plus, our Eugene-law-friend, Katherine was there too. She lives in Queen Anne too (for now, she's moving). We got some shaved ice, watermelon, bubbles (yes, bubbles. They were handed out for kids, we count), and some community fun in the sun.


• Busy - Needless to say, I’ve been busy. I’ll do my best to keep up the posts though especially now that we have Internet.

I'm loving loving Seattle. Please visit! And my new address will be sent via email soon.