View From My New Window at Sunset

Exploration - Part 1

On my way to the bus stop from my new place this morning I saw this interesting little church hidden amongst the other residential houses. Turns out it is a Russian Orthodox Church although I didn't see the tell-tale double-parked cars lining the street on Sunday.

Stumptown

Last day of coffee drinking and I head to Stumptown for deliciousness. The woman behind the counter looks like a Ritual barista but she's way more friendly.

Holler Mountain is the takeaway for my co-workers and boy am I satisfied!

Seattle Love

Hanging out in Seattle makes me want to move here. Even though much of my time has been spent in the Grand Hyatt, networking and learning about Grants Management. I just love the art that is very casually thrown all over the city, the delicious coffee, and the amazing local and sustainable food. Here are some places I've gone over the past few days and some of my new favorite parts of Seattle:

1) Caffe Ladro: one of their stores is right outside the hotel; not only do they have soy milk but, also rice! And, the coffee is sustainably harvested. And, tasty!

2) Elliott Bay Book Company: this is probably one of my very favorite bookstores of all time. Not unlike the Tattered Cover in Denver and Cody's formerly in Berkeley, Elliott Bay has creaky wooden floors, quiet aisles, and an excellent selection of local books.

3) Random Art: As I said, it's all over the city. Here's just one highlight that was right near my hotel:

4) Local 360: When they seated our group of 10 upstairs in the warm, less noisy corner, I liked what I was seeing. When the waiter had the bar create a fruit juice that could have passed for a fancy cocktail for a fellow Grants Manager, I was impressed. When they brought out my plate-sized pork chop atop pureed parsnips, I was in heaven. When my pregnant colleague got the last few bites of the crazy chocolate dessert, she was in heaven. So friggin' good!

5) Victrola Coffee Roasters: Kind of a funny set up and a bit of a wait for my standard issue Americano but, well worth the wait. Not to be repetitive but, Seattle has so much good coffee.

6) Sitka and Spruce: For the night of dine-arounds, I picked this place because it appeared in the fancy Where guide to Seattle in my hotel room. I was not disappointed. Our group of 8 walked into the Melrose Market and found it at the very back, tucked behind the flower shop with a wall of windows and an open kitchen. Our awesome waitress offered to just bring us out a selection of items from their minimal menu full of locally grown and sourced food full of flavor and made in such interesting combinations. My favorites may have been the chicken cooked two ways and the pork belly. Maybe...

 

Absolutely Haight Street

From my spot on the 43 bus ride home, I could see a usual band of merry pranksters sitting on the ledges on the side of the shop at Haight and Masonic, with blankets, backpacks, Olde English forties in hands. But this time was different... I couldn't make out what I saw at first. Mostly because it did not "compute". But, as I stared longer and the bus rounded the corner, it finally became clear that the twenty something girl - sitting with her pit bull mutt, pulling blankets around her as the rain clouds hung heavily overhead - was typing away on a laptop... And that the older man just a few feet away was talking on a cellphone. Being "homeless" has never been so ... appealing?...

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Bouquets to Art

A friend and I met up in the big long line to check out the Members Only Bouquets to Art exhibit at the de Young. While it was a bit more of a hustle and bustle than I usually like in a museum, the works we saw were absolutely amazing! Each artist takes their bouquet and designs a work of art wholly out of cut flowers that represents a painting, sculpture or photograph from the museum.

Check out the likeness of the carved dog from this mantle:

 And these other fabulous works:

Celebrate?...

Mid-day a friend sent me an email pronouncing that I must celebrate from noon until noon tomorrow, as proclaimed by one of her gurus. It's the New Moon and also the ending of a critical time has past. I was looking forward to going out with a new friend for dinner and a movie, in the Richmond.

We started off eating delicious Indian at India Clay Oven, on Clement and 25th Avenue. The service was a little over the top but, we were also there quite early and the fairly large staff probably didn't have anything else to do with only one other table seated. We got bhindi bhaji (yummy okra with spices) and thick and rich chicken coconut curry. Likely, this will not be a one time visit, it was so tasty.

After good conversation and food, we rushed over to the 4 Star Theater on Clement and 23rd to catch the movie Blue Valentine. First, I love the 4 Star which I'd only been to one other time. The theaters are small and cozy and the guy at the ticket counter was a real neighborhood character. The movie was very well-acted by Ryan Gosling and Michelle Williams (so deserving of her Oscar nod) and its structure and visual aspects were very interesting so, I'd highly recommend people go see it. But, it was antithetical to the idea of celebrating that I'd had in mind, at the start of the evening. Walking out, I noticed the many couples in the audience and wondered how many of them would break up later in the week...