Good Eats

I thought I'd do a random post about Josh and his eats, or should I say Good Eats. My Good Eats is two fold - (1) I'm referring to the television show that Josh watches on the Food Network with Alton Brown called Good Eats - he has the cookbook, and (2) the big smile that comes across Josh's face when he chows down on good eats.

The thought came to blog about this today when we got some lunch. We didn't want anything big and it was already 2pm, so we thought we'd check out the food truck nearby in Ballard. Josh loves food trucks. Seattle loves food trucks. Portland excels at food trucks and stands. It's popular these days. Anyway, today's truck was a Josh paradise because it serves...wait for it...wait for it some more...Mexican food.

It's called El Camion. Josh's mouth watered when we saw words like gorditas, tamales, and burritos. Even more so when he saw chorizo.

Look at that smile. Isn't he cute? See how happy he is?



Look he's picking up the food. See his little head through the windows?



Actually, I have a confession. I like to surprise Josh while he's eating and take a quick photo. We get lots of random pictures of him eating. Check this one out. We're with my friend Irene at Three Girl Bakery at Pike Place Market. I think he's eating a reuben or meatloaf sandwich.



Or this shot of him eating a beignet at Where Ya At Matt food truck.



Some ice cream at Molly Moons (which also had a truck visiting Queen Anne last week - we ate it in the freezing cold).



He couldn't resist the BBQ at Ro Ro's. I had to get a shot of this one.



But in all fairness, I have photos eating too...(I make Josh take them - hehe)!

Official Washingtonian

Yup, it's official. I'm a Washingtonian and a Seattleite. I had today off and Josh was working, so I thought I'd take some time to go to all those places that we never want to visit...in this case, the DMV. I was pretty impressed with the experience though. I got to the DMV counter with only a 15 minute wait. The process was fairly simple. The only troublesome part was that the location I visited only did licensing, not license plates. I had to go to another place for that. The license plate wasn't hard either though. They got me in and out under 10 minutes. Overall, no the long lines and waiting I'm used to. Hurray. Points for Seattle.



Now that I'm a Washingtonian, I feel I should learn more about the state. I'm not a native, so I didn't learn all the state history and facts in elementary school. I know all about California (thanks Mom and 4th Grade), but Washington...not so much. I took it upon myself to do a bit of research.

I've shared some of my findings here on the post. I would like to say that I did learn a lot about Washington, true or not, on the Underground Tour I took when my friend Irene visited. Bill Speidel gives a pretty darn good history lesson.

Here's an abbreviated list of Washington State Symbols:

• Fruit: Apple


• Flower: Pacific Rhododendron


• Bird: Willow Goldfinch


• Fish: Steelhead Trout


• Bug: Green Darner Dragonfly


• Veggie: Walla Walla Sweet Onion

Learn more about Washington on Wikipedia or find out some fun facts.

You'll see Seattleite hyperlinked above. The definition there is pretty accurate and funny. I think #4, #5, and #8 are pretty true...Check them out:

1. Any person living in, or within ten miles of The city of Seattle, WA


2. Is easily agitated when tourist asks to see the original Starbucks, Microsoft or Kurt Cobain's house. True Seattleites do not care for these things.


3. Considers Seattle to be the best city on Earth.


4. Is a pretentious coffee snob due to the thousands of delicious coffee houses and rostaries that surround them.


5. Any person who knows not to visit Pike Place Market on a Saturday.


6. Any person who was disappointed by EMP (unlike the inbred hicks from across the country who come to visit it).


7. Anybody who knows that "eating dicks" means eating burgers.


8. Any person that hates it when Californians drive through Washington and cry about the rain and the cold.


9. Typically a city that is completely devoid of soccer moms.

Seattle Coffee Tour: Special 'At Home' Edition

From my coffee tour, you might have assumed that I only drink coffee at coffee shops. Untrue! How presumptuous of you! Just kidding you, but I do have to enlighten you. The truth is, Josh and I have brewed coffee at home almost every morning. There is something quite different to having a regular cup of joe at home than going out. First, there is the magical smell of coffee as you wake up. Second, you can enjoy a no-frills coffee to snap you into the reality of the day. Third, it gets you out the door (and perhaps to a coffee shop later).

For obvious reasons, we drink a ton of Starbucks coffees. Hmm, I wonder why? Perhaps because it's "free" for me. Sadly, we don't get the chance to get other beans because I get this guilty feeling of spending money on beans when I know I have some at home already. That's where an awesome gift comes in...

This weekend the mailman brought Josh and I a gift. Okay, it wasn't the mailman, but he was the bearer of good things. Our friends, Jeff and Melissa, sent us Blue Bottle Coffee beans from the Bay Area. Josh and I have been wanting to try this place forever. Now at last we can, and to top it off this week we've enjoyed something different than the usual!

We received two tasty picks: Mexico Chiapas and Ethiopia Sidamo Howolso, both single origin coffees (from Mexico and Ethiopia - get it). So far I've enjoyed the Sidamo Howolso the best and Josh the Chiapas. When we opened both, we could tell it was something different than what we've been drinking. Both had very distinct smells.



Mexico Chiapas - As I mentioned, this was Josh's preference so far. It has a smokiness to it. Josh said it was earthy. I think it was best when I added more creamer to it, and then I thought it was quite tasty. It's one that I think needs that milk to balance it out a bit more. As I read the description on the Blue Bottle website I understand why it's a favorite for Josh. It says it is "a bacon-and-eggs coffee. Big bowls of chilaquiles" and other foods go well with it.

Ethiopia Sidamo Howolso - This was my preference. It had almost a chocolately smoothness to it. The website says it is a "is a punchy, winey, fruity, leathery coffee." Hey, I like all that stuff. Well, maybe not the leather. Umm, I've never eaten leather, so perhaps I do like it and didn't know it. Either way, this one was quite nice too.

For this special edition, I wanted to take you through our coffee at home ritual. It all starts the night before...

--Chose your coffee.



--Measure out the right amount of beans and grind. The coffee-to-water ratio is important to making a good cup. Our system is to fill the beans to the blue sticker - see it there. We did the math a while back and just stick to it. Also, you should double check the type of grind you should use for your machine. Flat bottom filters, cone filters, etc all are different grinds. What do I mean? The size of the bean that you grind...is it fine, medium, course? This makes a difference too! Are you getting it? So much magic in the making!



--Put the freshly ground beans into the filter. Now, don't be lazy and grind them all at once. It's tempting, but ground beans only last about 24 hours max before they start losing their yumminess. We push the envelope by grinding the night before, but who wants to grind in the AM (I'm sure our downstairs neighbors would agree).

--Use some fresh, pure water. Using good, filtered water makes a difference! Are you catching the theme here...everything makes a difference! Everything. Everything. Mwahahaha.



--Now, prepare the coffee machine. This is a new machine, so we are grinding them medium-fine. We love our new coffee machine (I broke our other one, but it was a cheap one luckily--from just after college).



--Set the timer for a few minutes before you wake up. Remember, the best part of waking up, is <coffee> in your cup! Yes, we made coffee at 9:46pm. Auto On!



--Wake up, sleepy head! Get your coffee on!



--Go start your day! ---->>>

(and enjoy this cartoon on caffeine)

Seattle Coffee Tour: Fremont Coffee

On a nice Saturday afternoon together, Josh and I decided to enjoy some coffee. Why not add another review to my tour? Yea, let's do it...

Coffee Shop Name: Fremont Coffee Company

Location: 459 N 36th St, Seattle, WA 98103

The Order: Tall Sugar-Free Vanilla Latte for me and a Tall mocha for Josh.

General Babble: This place had great coffee, a great atmosphere, but okay service. It's amazing how service can "put you off" a bit on a place. When we walked in, there were a few other folks inside. Josh and I headed to what we thought was the end of the line. Another gal that walked in later we did also stood behind us. After a few minutes, the barista told us that the line went around another way. However, during that time span, two to three other groups had gotten in line in front of us even though they came in after. Err. When we got to the front, they moved us along quickly which was nice.

Josh and I chose to sit outside on the porch since it was actually a sunny day. A bit of sun in January in Seattle is uncommon so we seized the chance to catch some rays. The porch was quite pleasant. We enjoyed our coffee in some wicker chairs. The building itself was fun with several rooms to enjoy. There were also some quirky things inside that gave the place some spice. Overall, a very Fremont, funky feel. Here me talk about it on my video below.

Ratings:

Overall Visit: 4 - The coffee was really delicious. Smooth taste and lovely foam. Josh and I both were very pleased. The setting was nice on the porch and there was a good Fremont vibe to the place. The baristas weren't the friendliest - a bit barista snobby-ish. Perhaps they felt busy, or a bad day. I really just go for the coffee in the end I guess.

Latte Art: 3 - Now, I was disappointed here. I ready a few reviews before going here and a few folks talked up the latte art. How great it was and the cool designs such as this gal on Yelp. Sadly, I got a nice design, but nothing I haven't seen. I mean some have gotten hamster and pumpkin designs. The Yelp pictures are cool. Perhaps it's a barista that wasn't there on our visit. Sigh. I really want to see something cool someday. I'll keep trying! Until then, I'm happy with the flowers and hearts.

Atmosphere: 4.5 - Josh and I sat outside on a wrap around porch, which was great. They had plenty of sitting out there too. On sunny days, this is a great option. I'm not sure about the inside, but it seemed cozy enough. This might be a bit biased of a review because we sat outside on a day with some sun (sun which we haven't seen much lately...).

Drink Options: 4 - I stuck with my SF Vanilla latte and Josh to his mocha (you may notice these seem to be our default drinks), but they had a nice selection. I think I read a caramel latte or something too. Again, not much Sugar Free syrups, but who does?

Coffee Knowledge: 3.75 - Here's another point in the service that was disappointing (besides the line thing I mentioned above). I stopped to ask about they coffee they use and the barista didn't really want to give me the time of day. She simply said they roast their own and it was a type of espresso roast. I do think she really knew what she was talking about and you could tell they roasted it on their own (cool). Plus the taste of our drinks was great. That said, I could give them a 5 score here if they seemed more interested in talking to me.

Food: N/A - It seems they have croissants and a few muffins. There might be more earlier in the day. I might have had biscotti too. I just can't rate this because we didn't get anything to eat.

Don't agree with me? Check out Yelp reviews.

Coffee Tour - Fremont Coffee from Heather O'Neill on Vimeo.

January 22, 2011: As part of my Seattle Coffee Tour, Josh and I stopped over at Fremont Coffee in the early afternoon. We sat on the porch and enjoyed lattes and mochas. Hear more from me with this video!

The Rents

It's sad that my posts are getting less and less frequent...my bad. Life has been busy, busy in 2011 so far. There is always something going on. For instance, this past weekend my parents were in town.

Their trip was two fold: visiting us and work. It just so happened that my dad had a work conference downtown Seattle at the Fairmont Hotel. Luckily it was a Monday and Tuesday event, so my mom tagged along and they both headed up early to make a special weekend visit.

We had a jam packed weekend of fun. We started the festivities upon their arrival on Friday afternoon. We galavanted around town until Sunday evening. Sunday evening to Tuesday morning my dad had to get down to business and go to meetings and talk the insurance talk.

Back the the fun stuff. Here's our weekend in a nutshell:

Friday:

I woke up at the wee hours of the morning to open the store. During my shift, my parents were in transit from San Diego. They grabbed the Light Rail from the airport to the stop in front of my store. This is where the fun began.

With us all ravishingly hungry, we ventured off to a lace I've been wanting to return to since I first ate there in December...Citizen. We enjoyed some scrumptious crepes and sammies. It filled our grumpy tummies.

Then it was back to the hotel (for my parents) and my apartment (for me) for nappy time. And to await Josh's arrival home from work.

The day ended with a nice dinner together at Betty's restaurant in downtown Queen Anne. This was only after a crazy car chase by a gal with serious anger issues. I mean she honked her horn at me for about 30 seconds straight. She continued to follow me and when i pulled over, she blocked me in and started to yell. I moved on and she still followed me. Finally I got to a residential area and Josh got out and with her yelling managed to get her to calm down and move onward (without following us!). Crazy I tell you, crazy! I tell ya I felt like I was part of a "When Keeping it Real Goes Wrong" skit.

Saturday:

We started our day with a power breakfast at our favorite Macrina Bakery (you've heard this one several times on this blog already). My mom loves the fruit coffee cake and she sure let's you know it with her What About Bob hmmm ahhhhh's as she ate.

The main part of our day was over at Whidbey Island. Our route had us take a ferry (woohoo, Seattle ferry land -- another check on our chalkboard. Remember? Look at our progress!).



We explored Langley, which was was a cute-as-a-button town. We stopped in little shops and such - shops, florists, crafts, random stuff, etc. Plus the view was gorgeous. We stopped here for lunch at Primo Bistro and then continued onward up the island.

Here is the route...I did a LOT of driving. Point A & D is home. B is Langley and C is Oak Harbor. You'll notice we didn't take the ferry back, but instead drove up and over to the bridge at Deception Pass. The drive at that part was deceiving because it took much longer than expected. However, it was a beautiful drive through the island. We even passed by a national reserve. Beautiful. Simply Beautiful, and even in the rain.



Oak Harbor was a bit of a  disappointment and wasn't nearly as cute as Langley. However, our dinner back home was a delight at Portage -- definitely a new favorite. If you visit, perhaps we'll take you!

Sunday:

Sunday was a bit more local and low key. We went back to Macrina for breakfast, but it was crowded for the big game (Seahawks were playing that day).Yes, we went to Marcina a second time; I'm serious when I say it was like What About Bob. This is dad and me enjoying Macrina's:



Mom and I went to Ballard for some R&R, specially pedicures and manicures at Hoa Salon. The chairs were great - the kind that massage your back, neck, and hips. Ahhh. Afterwards my mom and I walked around the farmer's market a bit - got some honey, a muffin, and just looked at the veggies. Meanwhile, Josh and dad were on the couch at home watching the big game.

The rest of the afternoon we spent walking downtown a bit. Then we rounded off the evening at the first work event - the introduction cocktail hour. There were a bunch of Burger King and vendors and such.

My parents stayed around Monday for the work stuff and took off Tuesday morning. Luckily I had the chance to hang out in the afternoon with them after my opening shift. We went to Pike Market and wondered around town a bit more. And that wrapped up a lovely weekend with the 'rents (aka parents).



Now, do I have to remind you every time to go to my Flickr album to see all the pictures? Sheesh!

The Little Honda That Could

"I think I can I think I can!" That was my motto trying to drive up a steep hill in SNOW last night.

Last night it started snowing again while I was merrily closing the store. Somehow I had forgotten the past snow storm and was like a little girl marveling at the snow. My coworker and I were happy since it was a so evening and we got the store closed on time. I should have connected the dots - snow = people go home early slash don't go out.

After closing the store, I wanted to my car that was safely parked in a covered spot. La la la la. I thought to myself, "oh it's not really sticking to the ground. It's so pretty." La la la la. Snap a shot of it falling with my iPhone:



I get into my car and call Josh to let him know to start heating dinner up. I say, "Hey, it's snowing!" Josh replied, "What?!?" Apparently he hadn't gotten up from his work desk in a while. "Yea, it's been coming down for a while now, but it's not really sticking." Josh warns, "be careful going up the big hill (that we must take to get home - it's Queen Anne for ya)." Nonchalantly, I promise, "oh yea, I'll be careful. It's not that bad."

My first taste of the snow driving comes when I go to brake. By the way, the snow is actually sticking now that I'm not right dab in the center of downtown. I apply the brakes since the light is red. However, the car is not stopping! What! Ahh! I press harder hoping to stop. No-oo! Staring to panic, but luckily I had given myself enough space that it finally stopped without hitting the car in front of me. Whew! I think to myself, "That was too close. I better drive slower!"

So I chug along the route home going about 20 - 30 miles an hour. I realize that it's really quite slippery. I start to worry about the hill. I approach my turn off and see that there are not that many tire marks in the snow. I worry about traction since I have no chains. I wonder, "How is this going to go?"

I get to the light that I turn to go up. I stop and think, "I think I can I think I can. Here goes nothing." I start up the hill slowly. I make it a fourth of the way up and then my car starts resisting and making a roaring sound without going anywhere. Flashes of my car sliding backwards or spinning race through my head. I start to sweat in my large jacket. I apply more to the gas. I start to crunch up some more, then I get stuck again. I put my car in park and call Josh frantically. "I'm stuck, I don't know what to do. I'm stuck. What do I do? What do I do?" Josh calmly talks to me and we decide I should park. I put him on speaker and go to give it a try.

My foot is shaking. And not just a tremor, but it's actually moving back and forth and I can't control it. I can barely keep it on the gas petal. The adrenaline is coursing through me. I start to turn to the side of the road, but I only get partially there. Josh asks if it's a safe spot. And it's really not. We decide to try to get the rest of the 3/4 of the way up the hill to park on level ground.

To help with traction, I get out of the car and shuffle my feet to melt the snow and create a path for my wheels. I get back in to give it a try. Again my foot is spasming. I put my car in low, low gear, and gently apply the gas. My car starts to go super fast towards the curb (and tree). Luckily, by some random spark of intelligence, I decide to let the car roll and then it settled and I turn the wheels upward and try. It crunches, it resists, it makes crazy sounds. A guy walking down the hill stops to watch me. But I make it. I make it to the top! I put around the corner and park. Deep breath!

Although I only made it up the first part of the hill (note: the hill goes up, levels off for a few feet at 12th St, and then goes up again and levels at 13th St, and so on and so forth). I made it up to 12th Street. I consider briefly about going for the win, but decide it's too risky. I get out and walk the way home in the snow.

Now it's the next morning and I'm typing this post. The rain has returned and the snow is slowly melting. I'm not looking forward to walking back to my car to go to work. Sigh. At least I go home.

What now? I'm going to buy some chains, and there is a back up plan for getting home. We will by pass the hill and go around to the other side of the hill and park in the gravel lot.

This is the hill taken today as I walked back to my car. The snow was practically gone since it started to rain in the wee hours of the morning...

Stylish Me

This Friday I got a new style. Nothing totally crazy
because (A) I have to keep it long-ish to put it up in a cool "do"
at my wedding, and (B) I'm a bit of a wuss. However, to jazz it up
I added a few copper highlights. With some framing cuts on the
sides and layers all around, I came out looking shiny and new. I
tried a new place this time - my second visit to a hairdresser here
in Seattle - called Source. It's in trendy Ballard area. The al
that did my hair was nice (although not the super talkative hair
dresser type), but the best part was her rates were super and she
did a great job. Big Puntos! Anyhow, here's a self portrait: class="tt-flickr tt-flickr-Small" title="Heather's New Hair Cut"
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeill/5337299685/">class="alignnone"
src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5290/5337299685_0ae8e3953f_m.jpg"
alt="Heather's New Hair Cut" width="240" height="180"
/> title="Heather's New Hair Cut"
href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/honeill/5337299685/">

Snack Time

Top Pot...a popular Seattle treat. How could you go wrong: rain, coffee, doughnuts. It's like peas and carrots; they just go together. Everyone raves about this Seattle establishment. "Oh, those doughnuts are so good." I've direct several Starbucks customers from out of town to the Top Pot location downtown. In fact, Rachel Ray even recommends it as a best bet for java. I believe it was $40 a Day or some show of her's like that. Oh, and President Obama visited it on his Seattle travels too.

After living in Seattle for about six months now, I thought "this place is popular, I better give it a try!" Today was the day. I haven't eaten a doughnut in FOREVER. Seriously, I don't think I have since elementary school (ok, maybe a bit of one in college late, late at night - just a bit though!).

So as Josh and I were having a lovely Saturday afternoon (yes, I had off work!) in Bellevue, we decided to stop by Top Pot. We shared a delicious pumpkin spice old fashioned doughnut. Then I had a cappuccino and Josh a regular old joe.

The snack:



Here's me eating:



Part of the reason that they are so tasty is that these donuts are hand craved, and you can see them working away in the kitchen:



Not to mention some cool logos:



Other donuts places that are pretty famous around the Pacific NW are Mighty-O Donuts, Pink's, and Voodoo Doughnut.

I'll end on some "food for thought"...what is the difference between doughnut and donut?

1.1.11

A cool date, right? All ones = 1.1.11. Not to mention, yesterday marked the end of a decade. A whole decade; that's nuts! 2000 and Y2K seems like just yesterday. I must be getting old. This is my "I can't believe it's 2011" face:



New Year's wasn't anything too exciting for Josh and I. Picture this: couch, warm blanket, movie, and cupcakes. Then going to bed early. That was our New Year.

I have to say, the cupcake was special though. The owner of the Yellow Leaf Cupcake came into my store and we started talking and he offered me a free cupcake. I decided to get two cupcakes for Josh and I to celebrate the end of 2010 and the start of 2011. I picked up a fig and fennel as well as a classic red velvet cupcake. Yum! I'll return. I think it's better than the Cupcake Royal and Trophy Cupcake places that are so popular up here. Will 2011 still have the cupcake mania we saw in 2010?



Back to New Years, we watched two Netflix movies, so now we'll start 2011 with all new, fresh Netflix (as soon as the mailman comes that is). Then we just had a nice relaxing evening. At midnight, I woke up very briefly to the sound of horns and fireworks. I mumbled "happy new year" to Josh and fell back to sleep.

Part of the reason for the low key New Year was that I had to open our Starbucks store today. It wasn't as early as usual, but still I had to be there at 6:30am which means waking at 5:30am. An early start to 2011! The store was slow for the most part though.

On an ending note, this year started off cold. As in freezing. As in I had to scrape ice off my car and avoid ice patches on the road. ICE! The same thing for the end of 2010, there was ice. How shall I battle this ice and cold? A new jacket!

Post-Christmas Depression

No more stockings at work and just plain, ordinary cups.

No more Christmas movies or music.

No more Christmas lights or garland on houses.

No more Christmas cheer.

No more holidays until February.

I'm depressed.

What do you do about this kind of depression?
Go do stuff.

See a Movie...Check.

While we were down in Encinitas visiting my family, we took an afternoon and saw The King's Speech. I had been waiting to see this movie from the previews and I was not disappointed. Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush do a great job. Trying to do a stutter would be a hard role to play and Colin Firth pulls it off excellently. Not to mention, he ranks up there with my favorite actors (see Pride & Prejudice or Bridget Jones). I just found out it's nominated for 7 Golden Globes too. Go see it!



Go out to Dinner with the family. Check.

We all went out to dinner the day after Christmas in Del Mar. We tried a new restaurant called Prep Kitchen. It was quite tasty, although the portions were a tad bit small. Next time I'd be sure to add a salad or extra side dish. I was thrilled when my dad mentioned it should go on "the rotation," which means he really enjoyed it and it was reasonably priced. It's tough to get one dad likes...bravo to me for finding a new place!



Brunch in La Jolla in the sun. Check.

Who doesn't like to sit outside on a nice sunny San Diego winter day and eat yummy breakfast? We all enjoyed our french toast and pancakes, while Josh, the outsider, enjoyed his chilequitas. I just love downtown La Jolla.



More coffee (in the sun too!). Check.

And nothings quite beats a coffee stop on the Encinitas coast at Pannikin. It's a funky coffee shop with surfer dudes, soccer moms, college hangouts, and all sorts of other folks. The coffee and bakery goods are tasty too. You'll hear more about this place when my Coffee Tour takes a look at the Pannikin as a side review.

Christmas Whirlwind

Christmas Day was a whirlwind: Presents, Packing, Driving, Family, Presents, Eat, Stockings, Friends, Presents, Dinner, Cleaning, Relax. Whew!

Josh and I started Christmas in Indio with the Browns. We woke up and immediately started presents. We spent a good hour and a half with lots of laughter and fun while opening. Then we noticed the time. The rush began. We races to eat, pack, and get on the road.

A few highlights during the Brown Christmas:

• The Prank: Nada did the best prank ever. Apparently there are boxes at Bed, Bath, and Beyond that show Infomercial type products on the box. Well, she found one that was a family snuggie and another that was a Dream griddle. The snuggie had two head holes and four arm holes. The griddle also had a alarm clock and showed pictures of a guy making breakfast in bed at his hotel. Quite believable actually. Don and Josh fell for it. They seriously couldn't believe Nada would gives these things to them. Then Don tossed the box to me. It seemed awfully light. Wait a second...that's not right! Hmm, let's see. Oh my, it opens to something else...a nice sweater and work shirt. Bamboozled. Gotcha! Well done Nada!


• Josh's Big Gifts: Josh received every piece of technology he wanted this year. His lovely fiancee gave him the Kindle for reading on all his upcoming business travels. Don and Nada gave him the PS2 - with BlueRay and Netflix capability (I gain from this one too).


• Don and Nada Gifts: Don got some great photography items and Nada got a trip for both of them to Hawaii (I'm jealous on this one!).

By 10:45am we were on the road to Encinitas. Josh's parents drove us since they were going to visit a family member in Orange County after dropping us off. We arrived to the O'Neill household at one o'clock. We hugged and got right to the circle of unwrapping. I say circle because that's how it works every year. We all sit in a circle (well, we all have our spots that are almost in a circle) and then we unwrap presents clockwise, one at a time.

The Browns joined us for a few rounds, but they were soon off on the road. The rest of stayed behind and  continued the circle of unwrapping. We tore through the presents, pressed for time. Then we quickly ate some food, but then got right back to unwrapping stockings with the "don't look, just unwrap" mentality. Go. Go. Go.

We finished at 3:50pm, just in time for guests to arrive at 4pm. We had quite a few guests: John, Jan, Lindsay, Heather, Josh, Johan, Don, Sue, Jessica, Dave, Jon, Nikki, Judy, Bill, Dorothy. You counted right - 15 guests. We enjoyed turkey, ham, cauliflower (this was delicious - Judy gave me the recipe), mashed potatoes, green beans, jell-0, stuffing, and some vegetarian version of some too. A feast indeed. Then to top it with dessert: apple spice cake, cookies, kahlua cake, and glogg.

A few highlights from the O'Neill Christmas:

• Heather Gifts: Fossil purse, boots, warm clothes, and well plenty of other great stuff - practically everything that I asked Santa for...and more including the awesome camera from Josh.


• Swedish Visitor: Johan is staying with my parents for a few months and joined us this year. Based off his good, Swedish judgement, I can offically say my pepparkakor is authentic. He also introduced drinking glogg, a classic Scandinavian hot spiced wine punch, after our decadent Christmas dinner.


• Mom's Big Gift: Kindle. Josh and mom are Kindle twins.


• Stockings: Over flowing with goodies. Can they really be stockings stuffers still if they don't fit into the stocking? This is my mom's favorite part of gift giving.

With family and friends all together, we had a great Christmas. We were all pooped at the end, but with smiles on our faces and sugar fairies dancing in our heads.

Eve in the Desert

Surprisingly enough, we started Christmas Eve by heading to El Paseo, the shopping district of Palm Springs. Not because we were behind on gifts, but to go to the Apple Store for some urgent computer help. Don bought a new computer and Josh was helping him get it setup; however, it wasn't going so swell...long story short, they got it fixed after a visit to Apple.

While the guys were talking the tech talk, Nada and I did some pre-Christmas shopping. It seems the sales started before Christmas and went straight through the holidays. With nails yesterday, and shopping today...it was a nice girly, bonding time for Nada and me.

Afterward we met up with the guys again and grabbed some grub at Sammy's. For those of you that don't know, Sammy's is similar to California Pizza Kitchen (CPK). There is a battle within the O'Neill household as to which is preferred. My thoughts: CPK for pizza and Sammy's for pasta or salad.

The afternoon was random errands and then the holidays officially began at 4:30pm. We headed over to Southwest Community Church for the Christmas Eve Service. Now, we went to a service here last Christmas Eve and it was nice, but the skit was, well, it was lame (I was afraid to use lame and church in the same sentence...but it's the truth, and I'm sure it's best to be truthful). This year the service was great. There was singing and more singing. Christmas carols old and new. The sermon was short and sweet and we all enjoyed the service. The only crazy part: they brought in a singing Elvis for Blue Christmas. HA!

In the spirit of A Christmas Story, we had Chinese food for Christmas Eve at P.F. Changs. Don't you remember the part with the goose head and the "ra ra ra ra" for "Fa la la la" - too funny. If you don't remember now, I insist that you go re-watch it right now. Now. I mean it. Now.

After a satisfying dinner, we headed back home for some stocking action. Time is limited Christmas morning since we have to drive out to Encinitas, so we wanted to get the gifts going. Plus, little did I know, Josh had a reason to give me his give to me early on in the Christmas celebrations. You'll see.

So we unwrapped the stockings and received a years worth of chocolate. In fact, we decided the theme was chocolate. Candy bars, truffles, hot chocolate, chocolate jelly bellys. Chocolate. We even had chocolate lava cakes for dessert as we opened chocolates (the others did, I had a huge bowl of gingerbread frozen yogurt - could live get any better?). We also got some handy items like travel size soaps and baggies.

In addition, Josh gave me his big gift to me. Now, this gift covers Christmas, Valentines Day, St Patrick's Day, Easter, and maybe even part of my birthday. Drum roll please...I got an shiny new, small, professional quality camera called a Panasonic Lumix GF1 (the link has some example photos and video - one word, awesome). Now, I can take awesome pictures for the rest of the holiday! (yes, I use the word awesome a lot - it's an awesome word).

After stockings and one gift each, we all went to bed to dream of santa and the day to come.

Eve Before the Eve

Josh and I are following the same schedule for the Christmas holiday as last year...desert then coast. We arrived to the desert, specifically Indio, CA the night of Wednesday the 22nd. The flight was on time and smooth. Upon arriving, we were greeted with hugs and kisses from the Browns, Josh's parents (and my soon-to-be parent-in-laws). We actually flew into Long Beach since pricing was better, so we arrived late in the evening and had a semi-long drive out to Indio. Good catch-up time though.

Our first day began in total relaxation mode. What better way to start a vacation than relaxing? I have been waiting for so long for the holiday and having several days off with family and fun. Nada and I headed over to Prestige Nails for some pampering. I sat in a magical chair that not only massaged your back and neck, but your hips. Not to mention, my pedicure was heavenly. Tom, the technician, must have been a physical therapist because he was so good. I may have drooled and fallen asleep (not in that order). My feet were so pretty - a fun dark blue, metallic color. The color was so cool that Nada saw the color and had to have it too. The fun didn't stop there, I also got a manicure. Working at Starbucks has destroyed my hands - they were a mess. Now, they are cleaned up, shaped, and beautiful with a sparkly, light pink color. Very girly...love it.

After our pampering, we headed to lunch with the guys at The Jackalope. The restaurant atmosphere is fun with pig statues and adobe secco style. We enjoyed sharing roasted chicken, salads, and yummies.

The boys took off for some quality time shooting birds. Sheesh, not shooting bird (you have an evil mind), but rather photographing birds at the Salton Sea. By the way, Don has some absolutely great photos from there. He ventures out there often for photographs. This time was to test out a new lens. Meanwhile the girls stayed home to do some wrapping, chatting, and enjoying pictures.

That evening we headed to La Quinta Resort's Adobe Grill for a Feliz Navidad experience. The resort is all decked out of the holidays. Lights and trees and ribbons and poinsettias. Gorgeous! The resort was built around 1926 and still has a classic feel about it...very Waldorf Astoria. Wait a second, it is part of the Waldorf Astoria Collection. Go figure.

Our dinner was delicious. Josh and I both had chicken fajitas while Don and Nada had tacos. We laughed and had a good time. It was nice to sit out on the patio in December and still be comfortable. As we left, I said "Feliz Navidad" to our waitress and she relied, "prospero un ano nuevo!" Spanish. Awesome.

To finish our day Josh and I headed to Josh's good friend's house, Kevin and Genny, for the Annual Christmas Game Night. We played Catch Phrase, Apples to Apples (the writer of this blog was the winner - not bragging, just stating fact), and Would You Rather (which we all decided was quite boring). It was fun to hangout with friends and enjoy some games and giggles.

So far we're off to a good start on a very wonderful SoCal Christmas - warm temperatures, flip flops, sunshine, palm trees with lights, family, etc. Did I mention frozen yogurt without having to wrap myself in blankets? Yay back to froyo land.

Seattle Coffee Tour: Zoka

I was starting to worry about my coffee tour postings. I was sure giving out quite a few good scores - lots of 4 somethings. Am I being too nice? Should I be more critical? Are people really going to keep reading if I only give good reviews. In reality don't I want to give just good because then I'm not enjoying my coffee experience? Also, we must keep in mind that at the start of this tour I'm going to all the popular places, so of course they'll be good. However, something different for you today.

Another thought before I begin. I'm sitting here in Indio, CA Christmas vacation and realized that Seattle really is quite special when it comes to coffee. Here you'll find Starbucks, Coffee Bean, and It's a Grind, but these are all bigger chains. There isn't a whole lots of small, independent coffee shops. Startle is unique when it comes to coffee. It truly is the coffee capital. And another realization...I'm turning into a coffee snob.

On that note, let's launch into my next review.

Coffee Shop Name: Zoka Coffee Roasters

Location: 2200 North 56th Street

The Order: I got a cappuccino. Josh got a mocha.

General Babble: This has been my least favorite experience so far while on this tour. Josh found Zoka online after typing "Seattle coffee roasters." he wanted to go to a place that roasted their own coffee. When we walked into the store, we found it to be very spacious, but somewhat stark. For instance, Their were bookshelves in the back of the store, but they were empty. Why have book shelves with no books?

There were a few kickers for me: (1) The price. Now I know coffee is expensive, especially the fluffy kind I get, but this seemed more than others, even Starbucks. (2) The wait. We were only the second in line but we waited quite a while for our drinks. Then, when ours was finally ready some guy the came in way after us grabbed the drink - probably Thinking he had waited the normalfor drink waiting time, not realizing they were just that behind. He was nice about it and gave. It to Josh when he realized. (3) The quality. After points #1 and #2 I just made, you'd think the drink would be awesome. No. My cappuccino was a sad little sight to see. There was also hardly any foam. The taste..ugh. Burnt! Being that I paid for this drink, I decided to bring it back. When i approached the barista guy, i could tell he was struggling. Newbie. When I returned it, the guy. A was at register had left the customers in line to help out. He whipped out my cappuccino in no time. Much, much better.

Was that review harsh and unforgiving? No, but it was the most negative thus far.

Ratings:

Overall Visit: 2.5 - I hate having to bring coffee back to be remade. Worse having it remade and and then still being slightly disappointed (the foam is key to the cappuccino). Or perhaps the cappuccino from Aster the day before, which I l-o-v-e-d, made this one pale in comparison.

Latte Art: 2.75 - The first cap I got was just sad. The second was good which is why this score got the .75 added to the 2.

Atmosphere: 3 - It was just a bit cold (not as in the temp), but the feel.

Drink Options: 3 - Just the standard options. Nothing more, nothing less.

Coffee Knowledge: 3 - I didn't get the chance to ask the guys very many questions about the coffee, but the website is full of information. They roast their own beans, but you couldn't see any of the roasting at the store we visited. They use their Espresso Paladino on their lattes. It was smooth, but the coffee wasn't singing in cup. Good but nothing to rave about later.

Food: The food was pretty good. Nothing to remember. It was Essential Bread Co. Which I usually really enjoy. However, their goodies seemed to lack the EBC umph of flavor, or maybe it was that they were day-old pastries. Who knows. It was good, but not spectacular.

The first cappuccino and then the re-make...

Yearly Commitment

Every year I am committed to making one Christmas Cookie. If can only make one cookie, this is the one. It's a family tradition. It's heritage; our Swedish roots. These are a cookie tradition I've carried on from my Grandma Norma. She taught me how to make these cookies. Plus, they have a fun name: Pepparkakor! (Pronounced Peppa-Kaka). It is my understanding that "kaka" means cookie in Swedish.

To make these cookies, you must dedicate an afternoon. They are similar to the classic gingerbread and sugar cookie, but a bit thinner and crispy. They are best eaten with a cup of tea or coffee!

How do I make them? Well, let's go through it together.

You start with some dough...



Mix it up. I wish my Cuisinart mixer wasn't broken. It's perfect for this tough dough. Make sure you wear an apron with these bad boys, they get flour everywhere!



Then you roll out the dough, and start going to town with the cookie cutters.



Then you bake. Roll, cut, put on pan, bake. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat. Then pile them all up.



Voila! The cookies are done three hours later. Now, I'll just put on a pot of tea and have myself a little snack.

Seattle Coffee Tour: Aster Coffee

Today has been a great day. It's only the morning, but I'm in the best mood. Perhaps it's because it's my day off and I have no obligations and slept in. Perhaps it's the beautiful sun shining outside. Perhaps it's that I met a cute dog. Or that the ice spray worked perfectly on my windshield. I know, it's that I talked to my best friend on iChat. Or that I got a lovely mocha and pumpkin muffin...

Coffee Shop Name: Aster Coffee Lounge

Location: 5615 24th Avenue NW, Ballard, WA

The Order: I got a tall mocha. Eventually adding in Sugar Free Vanilla.

General Babble: Puntos (points = fun to say in Spanish) for the cool interior and logo. The Aster logo is well done. By the way, appreciating cool logos is something I picked up from the Brown family. They are big decorators and have an eye for good design. Anyway, that got me into the store. Plus it was close to home and easy parking (at least for a Friday morning). Then the lady behind the counter was very sweet. I found out her name was Beth. When I told her about my blog, she gladly fielded my questions. I was on the fence about getting a pastry, but then I saw a pumpkin muffin and better yet that they were homemade at the store. Sold!

Ratings:

Overall Visit: 4.5 - The seating was plentiful. The people were nice. The coffee smooth and tasty. The mocha was a darker chocolate that they make at the store. At first, I thought it was a bit too dark for me; however, she graciously added some vanilla. With a bit of a stir, it was heavenly. Nice and sweet, but not overpowering.  I've found with mochas that you definitely need to give it a bit of a stir to get the chocolate permeating throughout the drink. I enjoyed sitting by the window, eating my muffins, drinking my mocha, and enjoying the sun rays.

Latte Art: 4 - Beth made this seem so easy. I'm sure she could have done a more complex design, but her rosetta was quite pretty. I wonder what it'd look like on a latte. Next time!

Atmosphere: 4 - Like I said, the interior was quite nice. Lots of seating, and a nice, comfortable temperature. The stars in the window were fun. The clocks with the different time zones of popular coffee growing regions was a fun idea. People were chill just reading the paper or talking with friends. It was not a total hipster place which was a nice to see, but normal everyday people.

Drink Options: 4.5 - Besides Starbucks, this is the first place I've come across on my tour that had Clover brew available. I'll have to try it there next time. Clover is a great way to enjoy a cup of coffee. It's like a mix between a french press and a vacuum pot. You can really taste the type of coffee with the Clover. If you like french press, you must give Clover a try. There are not a whole lot of the brewers out there, so get it when you can. Otherwise, they had the normal coffee menu. I noticed a few holidays drinks on the sign out front - eggnog and peppermint mocha. However, they do offer beer and wine in the evenings. Now, I want to return at night!

Coffee Knowledge: The espresso drinks use Intelligentsia, which is what was in my mocha. They also Stumptown for single origin coffees. Apparently they invite guest roasters every few months as well.

Food: You can't beat freshly made onsite bakery goodies. They even offered waffles there, something I'm sure Josh would spring for if he were with me (he's traveling for work today). My pumpkin muffin was tasty and the hard sugar on top was a good touch. I wouldn't say they are comparable to my pumpkin muffin from Full City / Palace Bakery in Eugene, but a nice decent muffin. The other stuff looked good, like the cookies. I'll have to try an afternoon or evening treat there sometime.

I haven't mentioned it yet, but I'm going to be using the Disloyalty Card as I tour around. It's a good start for where to go...Get it? Disloyalty? You're going to different coffee shops (so you're not loyal). HA! It's cute.



P.S. I really enjoyed my visit, and will definitely return with Josh. Next time, I might come in the evening for a coffee and cookie and Josh can get a beer. Sounds fun! Oh, and sorry my pictures are a bit blurry. I forgot my camera...again. I need to get better about that. The iPhone is handy though! And sorry, the muffin picture has a bit in it -- I was hungry.



P.P.S. On some online research On Intelligentsia, I came across another coffee blogger. Check it out. He's probably more coffee knowledgable than me. Mine are more just for fun than anything. If I keep going though, I'm sure I'll get more knowledgable. Or if I become a Coffee Master...

Seattle Coffee Tour: Victrola

Although I haven't posted to the Coffee Tour in a while, I have actually been drinking coffee. I guess that happens when you work in a coffee shop. Or maybe it's just the grey Seattle weather that forces the coffee habit. Either way, I have a bit of catching up to do on my coffee tour series.

Today Josh and I headed into Capitol Hill where there is a plethora of coffee joints. I had a hard time deciding on which to visit. We ended up at a place that Josh's parents went to with some friends a couple years ago. We have little espresso cups at home actually, so we thought we should give it a try. Not to mention, some great raves on Yelp.

Coffee Shop Name: Victrola Coffee Roasters

Location: 310 E Pike St (between Bellevue Ave & Minor Ave)

The Order: I ordered a sugar free vanilla, 2% latte, and Josh got a mocha.

General Babble: Like I said, we have cups from this place, so we thought we should taste it to be able to speak to the cups that we own. Also, I've heard good talk about this place. They roast their own coffee in shop. When I asked, they roast it during the week and you can see the roasting machine in the back. There are also free cupping (tastings) on Wednesdays. Perhaps something to try someday. The place was quiet and parking easy to find (a plus in downtown). There wasn't a ton of people, so I didn't have to wait hungrily in line.

Ratings:

Overall Visit: 3.75 - I know this looks funny with the below ratings, but Josh's mocha wasn't our favorite. The chocolate was different and we couldn't quite pin-point the taste. It could have been made wrong or it's just how it tastes. Perhaps it is the kind of chocolate they use. Who knows. I think he wished he got my drink. However, we liked it enough to go say we'd go back and re-try it though. I enjoyed my latte; it was very smooth and even balanced. I did go back and add some more vanilla (but that's just me liking it on the sweeter side). The food adds some points too. I liked the place very much, I just docked a few for the mocha. I revised visit sometime in the future.

Latte Art: 4 - there wasn't anything brilliant about it. A fun little design like a tree flower. It was the same design in both of our drinks. The color contrast was cool though.

Atmosphere: 4 - The missing point is for hard seats & strange art. However, the plus is for the ease of finding a seat, openness (tall ceilings), quiet and easy to hear each other talk, and it was a nice temperature inside.

Drink Options: 4 - the typical drink options. No current specials or store specials. There was only one sugar free flavor option. Points for doing the drinks they do have well though. The had french press, pour over, and other options too.

Coffee Knowledge: The espresso drinks used a single origin coffee. It was their Ethiopia Nekisse. I think I like cofees from Ehiopia because an old favorite was Ethiopia Sidamo at Starbucks. Just smooth, silky, and slightly sweet. The board menu was pretty descriptive too.

Food: Well, it was Macrina's. Enough said. I love Macrinas. It would have been cool if they made their own and I found some awesomely delicious new muffin or something, but at least it was Macrina. If you're going to purchase the food, that's the best way to go. Macrina's coffee isn't stellar, so at least I can get great coffee with my favorite squash harvest bread (just have to drive further). Josh had a yogurt parfait. He got a day-old discount, which is nice. He said it was alright, but the granola on top got a little too soft. He could imagine it being tasty if it were a tad bit fresher.

Tis the Season

The day after Thanksgiving my Christmas music was playing. The season had finally begun!

Every season I start worrying how fast time is going. I only get to celebrate this season once a year! I must make the most of it. So far I'm doing good, but there is so much more to be done and we're already through the first week of December.

Last week Josh and I got our Christmas tree. It's so tiny and cute. Almost a Charlie Brown tree, but not quiet so barren. And by tiny, I mean we could both carry the tree. Easily. It's perfect for the apartment though.



Josh had this great idea for decorating the tree  - we added fresh baby breath flowers. Apparently his parents have done this for years (and looking back at pictures from last year - he's right, I see it on their tree!). Then I added poinsettias, which is something my family does with our tree. Together it's quite a beautiful, little tree.



As I said at the start of the entry, the Christmas music has begun. Today I opted to add to my Christmas music collection. I need to keep it updated and fun. I bought the Glee Cast Christmas album (here's a song). That was inspired by the Glee show that aired this week. It was themed after the Grinch with Sue as the Grinch. HA! Then I bought Owl City's Peppermint Winter. (Did you know Owl City if from Seattle?). I took all these songs and burned a CD for my car. I added some Straight No Chaser songs too since they are my favorite. If you don't know them, listen to the 12 Days of Christmas song they have - it's awesome.

I've also made huge progress with Christmas shopping. I'm *almost* done. Just a few odds and ends for stockings stuffers. I might help my parents with stocking stuffers too - they ask for help each year, haha. Here's a pictures of Josh and I shopping downtown:



We've also decorated our little home. Their are Christmas lights over the door and a wreath. I put out the Christmas decorations too. I cut out some snowflakes and taped them up. It's looking very festive in here.



There is still much to be done though. I need to watch more Christmas movies. I've only watched the Muppets Christmas Carol so far. So many to watch! I should just plop on the couch for a day and do a Christmas movie marathon. That'd be sweet. If only there were time to do so. Josh will be out of town for work, so perhaps I'll fill time with movie watching.

Not to mention, I need to get into the kitchen for cookie baking. I do like to get a bit closer to Christmas though because the cookies are best fresh on Christmas. However, who says we can't just enjoy them all month? That's a self appointed rule I made up though. It's fun to have all the cookies on display on Christmas day. Just something special about it. I will make pepparkakor and biscotti soon though because they last a while. Plus pepparkakor takes a long time to put together. They're like sugar cookies. Rolling and cutting, and rolling and cutting, and baking and cooling. Repeat and repeat. Delicious though!

The season celebration is not limited to home either. Our store has decorated too. Starbucks is great at Christmas time. The drinks, the merchandise, the music - it's great. As a barista though, it's busy. We've had parades, tree lightings, Santa across the street, and caroling contests all outside our front door. We've also made stockings with our names (using puff paint at our last store meeting) and hung them over our fireplace with care.



Oh my, the season is here!

All I Want For Christmas

Today I witnessed a Christmas miracle. It was early in the season, but wonderful. As I went to downtown Queen Anne this afternoon to get some odds and ends at Bartell Drugs, Josh noticed some balloons near the sidewalk where i knew the building of a frozen yogurt store was being built. Could it be? Is it true? Is the frozen yogurt store open?

Yes, indeed! Frozen yogurt is now just 5 minutes from home! I'm thrilled. I'm estatic! Now Seattle is complete. And I'm lucky that the one store they decided to built is in the part of town right near home.

The store is called Menchies. I first tasted it in Federal Way, which is just south of the SeaTac airport. Apparently this chain is growing fast because my sister mentioned one opened near her a couple months ago. Feed the masses sweet froyo.

To the important stuff, my first taste of frozen yogurt in months. It was superb. I had so many choices - there are about 5 machines (=10 flavors). I picked two all time favorites: cookies and cream & pumpkin. I guess I'll have to going back to try the others.

Come visit and I'll take you to Menchies.

The Return of the Turkey

PART 1: Gooble Gooble Goodness


Since I was sick the days leading up to Thanksgiving, and the fact I had to work a long shift the next day, Josh and I opted to go out for Thanksgiving dinner. Not to mention, we received a gift certificate to help fund the restaurant experience as well (thanks - you know who you are!). Luckily, the snow and ice had mostly melted and we could venture out of the hose at last and drive downtown. And aren't we glad we did...dinner was delicious. The turkey so moist; probably some of the moistest I've ever eaten. The sides were scrumptious and plentiful. All and all, it was a fabulous night. The best part of it all...no dishes or clean-up involved!

We ate at a Tom Douglas restaurant called Lolas (side note: Tom is a famous Seattle chef). Here's the Thanksgiving menu:

• Free range Washington turkey


• Caramelized onion-thyme gravy


• Liam's Thanksgiving stuffing


• Creamy fennel mashed potatoes


• Brussels sprouts, pearl onion, bacon


• Yams, metaxa, hazelnuts


• Cranberries, orange, apple


• Dahlia bakery pumpkin pie, whipped cream

PART 2: The Turkey Strikes Back


But the above was not it. Oh no. After eating Thanksgiving dinner, Josh and I began to crave more turkey. No turkey leftovers. Ahhh. We did have leftover sides though. I asked Josh to pick up some pre-cooked turkey at Wholefoods so we could enjoy the leftovers. However, when I returned home from my 10 hour shift on Black Friday, Josh had a bone-in turkey breast cooking away in the oven. Hurray for turkey. He also bought us some spiced autumn cake from Macrina. It was like Thanksgiving all over again.

Now, we have leftover turkey but no leftover sides. Make more sides? Just kidding. It's turkey soup time. Oh yea!