Fashion Friday

Okay, I know that is a hilarious title because I am certainly no fashionista! And no, Fashion Friday will not be a regular column on my blog. ;)

However, I just read about a new movie called Bill Cunningham New York. I AM SO EXCITED TO SEE THIS! This guy is amazing — for like 50 years he has been photographing people on the streets of New York, so he has basically been archiving fashion trends for half a century. And he doesn't just photograph models, he photographs everyone! Check out the movie poster for a smattering of his photographs:

And here's why I care: In the movie trailer, Bill Cunningham says this: "Fashion is the armour to survive the reality of every day life."

Can't you say that when you put on a shirt or a pair of pants that fit right and flatter you in all the right places, you feel like you can conquer the world?? (Or, at the very least, walk down the street with your head held high and a little swagger in your step!) Even a pretty pair of undies can make a woman feel like a million bucks, whether or not anyone else is seeing them. So whether you are high fashion, thrift fashion, anti-fashion, or somewhere in between, learn what makes you feel like a champion, and wear it!! (I mean come on, that guy in the bottom left corner of the poster is feeling good about himself today!)

Our Hood

So we were at a housewarming party last night, and I was talking to this girl about buying a house in Seattle, and she said she would never buy a house in Beacon Hill because it's such a shady area. Ahem.

Okay, I realize we don't live in fancy-shmancy Queen Anne or Ballard, and our neighborhood definitely has some areas that could use a little TLC, but things are looking up for us folks on the hill! Read a few entries from our neighborhood blog, and tell me if this doesn't sound like a pretty awesome place to live. Note in particular this article, which is the plan for our North Beacon Hill Town Center. I don't actually expect you to read all that, but it's pretty awesome. There are so many great things happening in our area to make it beautiful, safe, walkable and bike-able, and family-friendly. It's a great time to live in Beacon Hill, I tell you!


Besides what you see on the blog, here's what else I love about our neighborhood:

+  We're in walking distance of fabulous Georgetown, with it's old, rustic buildings, artist studios, breweries, bars (including the oldest standing saloon in Seattle!), and it's very own (second annual!) farmer's market. Glorious!

+  We are super close to Columbia City, another up-and-coming neighborhood. We've found a bunch of great places to eat there, and my favorite new place to shop: the used bookstore! I could spend hours in there!

+  There are some pretty amazing restaurants and cafes near the Town Center, and even more moving in. Here's a sampling: Bar del Corso, a new branch of Travelers Tea Bar, Tippe and Drague Alehouse, The Station, El Quetzal, and Victrola Coffee. So much to consume, so little time! ;)

+  McPherson's — a small produce market less than a mile away, where I can fill a HUGE bag of fruits and veggies for under 20 buck-a-roonies. Which is a good thing, because between the four residents in our house, we go through fruit like there's no tomorrow!

+  Traffic is awesome on the south side, as in, there isn't any.

+  On a similar note, there are bus and Light Rail stops close-by, we can hop on I-5 or 99 super fast, and we just realized we can bike to the Green River Trail fairly easily, so transportation is a breeze!

+  They filled the potholes on Lucile by the train tracks! It is smoooooth sailing through that intersection nowadays!

+  Beacon Hill is really diverse. It's important for me to learn how to be a good neighbor to people from such varying cultural backgrounds. Yay for personal growth!

+  There are people doing awesome things in our community. Like Urban Impact, for example. People who live here really do care about this neighborhood.

+ And lastly, Darrick and I live here. What else could you ask for?!?


What about you guys? What do you love about where you live?

Wonderful Saturday

I had the best freaking day today. The hubby accompanied me on my FIRST ride outside with my new bike — clip-ins and everything! It was a blast! After awhile I felt super comfortable clipping in and out, and just comfortable on my bike in general. Thank the Lord for big 'ol padded spandex and an italian made butterfly seat! Anywho, we went 40 miles because we're training for the STP. The farthest I have gone since even deciding I was interested in owning a bike was 20 miles. That being said, I was pooped when we were done. So we stopped for coffee afterward. :) Then for lunch we made dElicIOus chicken spinach salads with strawberries, apples, avocado, and mango dressing. Yummers! Then we headed over to our neighborhood nursery, Rosso Gardens, which is huge and amazing and the guy who helped us was awesome. We picked out the ground cover we want to use around the path we're putting in (plans below!). After Darrick left for work, I took Biscuits (one of Day-Z's many nicknames, in case you didn't know) on a walk, came home and started digging up grass to prepare for our path / vegetable garden. And now I have continued my mango-themed dinner with whole wheat couscous, mango-chicken sausage, sauteed vegetables, topped with a sauce made from my mango dressing mixed with olive oil, cardamom, and rosemary. It'll be nice to have fresh herbs for this kind of thing… hopefully soon! Oh, and a glass of wine. I can't leave out the wine. :)

Here are my garden plans!

This is the path from the back door to the patio, with the veggie/herb garden between the path and the fence.

Here's my plan. I think we'll do beets in the blank spot on the right. I've been researching a lot, but if you have suggestions, don't be shy!

For the ground cover that will grow around the path and into the garden area (they're raised beds, so don't worry!), we decided to mix this sedum with blue star creeper (below).

Ooooo. Pretty! :)

Hope you had a lovely Saturday too. And if not, there's always Sunday. :)

Spring stinks

I used to think Seattle had the perfect weather. Now I think I hate Seattle in late spring. I might have SAD. According to the map below (today's weather), I think I'd like to move to Southern California or anywhere on the East Coast. I always thought I'd love to live in San Diego, Boston, or even Virginia, for some reason. OR, if I could actually be Betsy Eby (but keep my husband, of course!) I would love to live [here] and spend all day creating insanely gorgeous works of art. So, what do you guys think? When Darrick and I are no longer grounded because of work, where should we move? (And it has to be a place you REALLY think we'd love, not just a place where you might happen to be living!)

Vacation, all I ever wanted!

Vacation, had to get away!

I hope you all sung that out loud and now have it stuck in your heads like I do. :) :)

Here is a glimpse of our Hawaii trip. Our main purpose for being there was Darrick's triathlon — which he loved and ROCKED at! His time is actually 10 minutes faster than whatever the clock says (he was in the second wave). He's officially hooked and is already signed up for three more in the area — a Sprint, another Olympic, and a half ironman. And it's rubbing off — I did a bike/run combo workout yesterday and loved it!

On to the picts! 

Mayhem in the race day transition area!

The morning sun.

Start of the race! It was COLD before the sun came up. And I was nervous!

Darrick at the finish line! He's so cute. :)

Since Darrick had workouts every morning (early!), I would sit and read and watch the sunrise everyday. That was one of my favorite parts of the day!

Always wanted a picture smooching under a waterfall!

Watching the sunrise on our last morning. So glorious.

Glimpse of Heaven

It's 6:30am, and while Darrick is at practice, I'm sitting on our lanai drinking coffee and reading. It's my glimpse of Heaven this morning. They're easy to come by in paradise. ;)

Pictures to come when I get home!