Sunny Day in NJ

First Time for Everything

I was the first passenger on the plane. Just me! Very cool. Helped w shoving Rocco under the seat in front of me, which has become more difficult as airlines squeeze together seat rows. 

Travel Fox

Someone can't wait to travel! He really does like it. Although he doesn't yet know that we will be flying in a middle seat.

Exciting!

I was delighted to discover that there is a marbles brain store in Seattle! Back in NYC I had to rent a car and drive out to Garden state plaza in Paramus, NJ to go to one of these stores. 

Happy Holidays From The Cranes

The construction cranes are such a permanent fixture that they get decorated in Christmas lights. Here is one near 6th and Blanchard.

Lounging

Unexpectedly Delicious

Have you ever had these Hawaiian chips?? Sweet Maui onion. Wow.

Rainbows in Renton

Christmas Decor

The closest thing I'll have to a tree this year:

The flower ladies at the market are very talented. Only $10. And it smells great.

Sunday Funday

This is how we roll on Sundays in Seattle... All those 10am games mean beer for breakfast. Or, more awkwardly, beer and coffee for breakfast. Like so:

Post-Groom

Rocco just had his first grooming here in Seattle at City Dog. I think he liked it. He looks especially pretty:

How is the Grass Still Green?

It's December!

Advent Calendar

I was thrilled to get this in the mail today from my Mom!  Last year she gave it to me and then I returned it after Christmas. It was from Starbucks and had yummy caramels inside of the magnetic tins. This year she filled it with custom treats and...??? She knows how much I love advent calendars :) 

Pointy

Um, I think there is a Christmas tree at the top of the Space Needle...

It's freaking me out.

Thanksgiving Goings On

There is a lot going on here in Seattle over the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday weekend:

 the annual Turkey Trot on Thursday; Macy's Holiday Parade and Westlake Tree Lighting on Friday; the Seattle 5K Run and Kids' Marathon in the Seattle Center and downtown Seattle areas on Saturday, and the Seattle Marathon on Sunday.

I think I may check out the parade and tree lighting. Fact: I never attended the NYC Macy's Parade or the Rockefeller Center tree lighting. 

Bald Eagles!

Near La Conner, WA

They are large birds. 

Morning Car Accident

I was hit by a car this morning while walking to work. It was dark and rainy when it happened at 6am. There was a red light so I began to cross the street when a car turned right on red without looking in my direction. When the car hit me I rolled up over the hood and went flying onto the road. The impact was on my right shoulder and hip. I was able to stand up and walk, but I was definitely in a daze because I was worried about being late to work. There has been a "pins and needles" tingling sensation in my hand since it happened. 

Yes, I got his insurance information.

No, I didn't call the police. 

Yes, I sought medical attention.

No broken bones or obvious external injuries. 

Yes, the right side of my body is sore and will probably bruise.

Yes, I may have nerve damage. 

No, I didn't go to work. I did run off to catch the bus before a coworker I spoke with said that I should turn around and go see a doctor. 

The doctor said that I may have PTSD and I am definitely feeling uneasy about crossing streets now. I do not trust the cars. Why can't this city have a law preventing right on red turns?!

Bourbon

It took me a really long time to find a liquor store. Yes, there is beer and wine all over the place, but apparently spirits are only at special stores. 

Crisp Morning in Seattle-- from 11/11

It is a crisp 39 degrees today! But it is sunny. And I have a warm cinnamon cardamom braid from Piroshki Piroshki and a latte from Bedlam. Plus a nice view of the Puget Sound. Oh and there is no pay street parking today. Huzzah!

(And yes, that is green grass.)

Cinerama

The new Cinerama looks awesome! I was a bit nervous about the orange and blue thing, but the artists pulled it off. Really good mural design, albeit a little too "man's perspective" with regard to the content. Very high quality design and I am pretty sure this renovation was financed by Paul Allen or one of those guys. The Cinerama is a block away from me and has a grand reopening later this week :) I'm excited to check it out and feast on milk duds!

Cute Box

Cute box with the littlest white chocolate coconut cream pie!

Why I Will Never Drive in Upper Queen Anne Again

Upper Queen Anne is like its own universe.  Driving through it was a nightmare. Most of the streets are one-lane, but two-way. Cars are parked along both sides, which only leaves room for one lane of traffic. This is pretty scary when you are driving and are half-way down the block and another car approaches. It is briefly something of a standoff. One car will have to back up to the previous street or park if there is a spot. I had two of these situations and luckily for me, the approaching car backed up. To make matters more complicated, not only do cars park on both sides of the street, they sometimes park on the opposite side of the street. That makes it tricky to tell if there are one-way streets. Now throw in some steep hills and a ton of leaves littering the streets. Madness! Utter madness! 

Four words: Alternate side street parking.

Best Pizza in Portland

The fennel sausage onion pizza at Pizza Maria in Portland. Very tasty. I'll certainly be back :)

Wrong Turn

Last night I was driving back from Portland and I stopped for gas. I made a wrong turn out of Love's and ended up in the Port of Tacoma. We're talking totally desolate and dark. No other cars. Stacks of shipping containers everywhere. Oh and the signs had american flags on them like I was entering a different country. So I made a probably illegal U-turn and got the hell out of there. 

Powell's

Powell's Books is a dangerous, dangerous place. I could easily spend 12 hours perusing that place. 

Peppers, Anyone?

They pack and ship!

Found Rocco's Cousin

The salt shaker.

Rocco in the Dog Park

Not into the big dogs. But didn't run away from the French bulldogs! He mostly just swept up leaves with his tail.

The Sun

This afternoon the clouds faded away and it became sunny. I felt disappointed when I walked outside and was blindsided by the brightness. It got me thinking about why I prefer gray, overcast days. So I asked myself, When is the sun good?

My mind immediately went to images of sunny meadows with yellow flowers and wild grass along with the buzzing sound of crickets. Key detail: no people or buildings. 

I wonder if I associate urban environments with cloudy skies and country settings with sunny skies? What would a therapist say?

Getting Real On the Bus

These two guys from West Seattle--who got on at my stop--started getting really loud on the bus. The bus had to make a short detour so one of the guys yelled to the driver to open the back door. When the driver did not, the guy started yelling that he was "not playin." The door still didn't open so the guy screamed that he needed to get out and was going to open the emergency window. Since he wasn't playin, this guy actually reached over the head of another passenger and pulled that red handle to push the window out. The window didn't fall out. Instead, it was on a hinge to swing open like a doggie door. I have always kind of wondered how those windows worked.

Eventually the bus stopped and the guy got off. 

Another fun bus incident! This guy in the back, right behind wherein was sitting, kept spitting these gross globs right onto the floor of the bus. He must have done this at least 10 times. I could not wait for him to get off. He was wearing Converse...thug disguise? It's pretty gross back here right now. 

A few minutes later the bus pulled over and the driver walked back to deal with the flapping, open window. Pulling the red handle back doesn't close it. Apparently what you have to do is give it a hard push so it swings back to close. Then you can pull the handle back down. 

Okay, now back to Words with friends with Shane and Shawn.

More FitBit

I like how the data tells a story. 6-6:15am very intense .59 miles. That was me rushing to Westlake to catch the bus! 

That Buzzfeed List

So a few days ago I read a Buzzfeed article that popped up on my newsfeed because it is titled something like "110 reasons not to leave NYC." Since I just left NYC, I was curious to know what could change my mind. While reading I kept thinking, ok this is one perspective from one person who is probably 22 and lives in Murray Hill. Many of the reasons were redundant. Some were just not true... Streetcart coffee? $1 pizza? And several just served to highlight the reasons why you should, in fact, leave NYC... The pretty snowfall before it gets brown and gross, the crazy people on the train, etc.

Someone over at Brooklyn Magazine felt similarly and actually put together a rebuttal list. Hahahahah.

http://www.bkmag.com/2014/10/20/110-reasons-you-should-probably-definitely-leave-new-york-city-a-point-by-point-takedown-of-a-buzzfeed-list/

Walking

My daily commute+workday comes out to 4 miles. Thank you, FitBit. Makes me not feel so bad about that chowder :)

German Food Store

I found a really good German food store called Bavarian Meats near pike place market. They have everything from Prince cookies to sauce packets to frozen pretzel bread to beer to bloodwurst to curry ketchup to Haribo everything to dumplings to rouladen. No gingerbread cookies in yet, but you can count me in for several boxes :) They should be getting in Black Forest ham soon, too.  

Dinner Needs

I really, really, really miss seamless web! Maybe once the Amazon towers are built and 13,000 people move in the mobile app delivery thing will take root. Until then... Maybe I'll lose a few pounds? 

Avian Rumble

There was a rumble between a group of crows and a large seagull in Renton today. The fight was over a rather large scrap of pizza crust. Sh*t was about to get real before a bus pulled up and caused the angry birds to fly away.

Mmm, Donuts

Damn you Top Pot with your delicious sugary cinnamon flavors filling the air! 

Bagels?

I knew it was a bad idea, but went ahead getting a Sunday morning bagel anyway...

Not even close. I miss court street bagels!

Hazards

In the morning when I walk from the bus stop to work, I have to be mindful of a new hazard: worms on the sidewalk. Lots and lots of worms. I guess after it rains the worms get flooded from the grass. It really is a challenge to avoid stepping on them when it is still very dark outside. 

Birthday Goodies

Picked up an eclair and apple date thing from the yummy Dahlia Bakery. 

Birthday

It's a double tall soy no whip no sprinkle kids temp pumpkin spice latte kind of morning! Made all the better because it is my free birthday drink at Starbucks :)

Sunday Funday

My teams be slumping! Giants and Seahawks need to get it together. Back when I did my fantasy draft I was kind of bummed that I wasn't able to get any players from those teams (except Cruz, who is now out for the season), but now I am not so bummed. Still sucks from non-fantasy standpoint, though. 

Mini Victory

On my walk home from Westlake today I didn't even realize that it was raining lightly until I saw someone with an umbrella. #notmelting

First Delivery

I made my first food delivery here. Seamless Web isn't really that popular. Instead, there is something called Bite Squad. It seems to be a third party that goes to the restaurant and drives the food to you. They have a nice logo! Below is a screenshot of what you see after you place an order.

I was craving Thai green curry. Only problem is that most places have at least a $20 minimum. I ended up ordering some Pad See Ew that I don't even really want but hope to eat tomorrow :)

Jus' Sayin

The high temperature in NYC is cooler than in Seattle today. Oh you just wait until winter.... You'll be totally jeals :) It's a "half inch of snow shuts down the city" type of thing. Whereas a foot of snow doesn't even close schools in NYC.

Shitty Bike

Uh oh. These Pronto bike share racks just popped up on 2nd Avenue. I'm curious to find out if people here will react  similarly to New Yorkers and citibike.

It's Cloudy

If the sky starts to break and it looks like the sun will come out, I find that to be a bummer. Yep, I'm the right city. 

Sunday in Seattle

Just another beautiful Sunday in Seattle!

3rd Avenue in Belltown. 10:54am

Come Here, Food!

Dear Seattle,

Please use Seamless web. 

Sincerely,

Hungry and Tired 

Living Room Coming Together

(Side note: organizing books by color is very difficult)

One of my favorite easy dinners

An Amy's soup and half a bag of spinach. #superfood

Smiling (before 6am)

I love that when I left my apartment this nmorning I smelled the sea :)

Foggy Morning

This morning on my walk to Westlake I witnessed a cool weather event. The fog was rolling up from the water, but just along the streets perpendicular to the bay. So at the end of each block I would get hit with a thick cloud of fog. It was pretty cool. 

Space Needle

Despite living in my apartment for about a month, I just now realized that I can see the Space Needle from my window. At an angle, but there it is:

IKEA

The Ikea shipment finally came! Wish me luck putting it all together. 

You Know it's the Weekend When

You know it's the weekend when this is in my fridge! 

It is so nice to be able to swing by pike place market on my way home from work. 

There is this Italian gourmet market called DeLaurenti that has a ton of imported specialty foods. And lots of pasta. There was so much pasta that I couldn't decide between several and ended up not getting any. It is good to know that this place carries my priest stranglers. The selection of ravioli is fun with items like lemon ricotta; goat cheese and carmelized onion; and carmelized Anjou pear and goat cheese. This is the place to go if you want to struggle with things like a choice of mustard. They even have an authentic Bavarian mustard (first ingredient is sugar). Apparently there is a wine selection upstairs, but I avoided it for the sake of time. You know, so I could swing by Ellenos yogurt before closing :)

When Shopping for a Mattress

Never ever ever ever ever ever buy a Mattess from Macy's. 

Sofa

My sofa has finally arrived! 

90.3 KEXP

I listened to KEXP a lot when I was living in NYC. Now that I am here in Seattle and can tune to it on my radio, KEXP is on all of the time. It's kind of like my life soundtrack. I hope Rocco is cool with it as he hears it all day long!

Good Riddens Time Warner

So far after one month I have not had one issue with my internet connection on Wave. Had this have been time warner, I'm sure I would have had to call them several times by now. Oh no, wait: I would still be waiting to set up an installation appointment!

Pizza!

Found some good pizza* (thank god) at Serious Pie: Fennel sausage, roasted pepper, pecorino:

* good but not as good as Pizza Maria in Portland!!! 

A Beautiful Day in Seattle

One More Week

Until my alleged mattress delivery. In the meantime I assembled my bed frame. I am actually kind of proud of my box hauling skills. 

Oh also: Still excited about the dishwasher. 

Three Things I'm Missing

Three things I am really missing about New York right now:

1. Speedball (and its host equinox)

2. LREI

3. Cafe Pedlar

Wardrobe Issues

Figuring out what to wear today has been quite the challenge. In the morning when I leave it is 53 degrees. There is a high of 90 today. A 40 degree difference! I am going to freeze on my way to work and sweat on my way home :/

Airport Security

The TSA totally missed the giant kitchen knife I forgot that I had in the outside pocket of my carry-on suitcase (both ways). 

You Get What You Give

One of the things I regret leaving behind is my clothing iron. It was pretty awesome, but since I hardly ever used it, I thought it wouldn't be worth bringing. Yesterday I was wishing I had it so that I could wear a certain blouse that became wrinkled in my suitcase. 

I did laundry this evening and what did I find in the laundry room? A sign saying "free" next to a bag of three random items: a bird house, wind chimes and the same exact damn iron I left behind! I gleefully scooped it up :) As for the wind chimes and bird house... Huh? 

Good-bye Storage Unit

Today was moving day part two. I managed to get all of my stuff out of my storage unit by carrying it or granny carting it three long blocks. It took about four hours and I have a few bruises and broken nails. Note to self: Always cut nails before moving. 

I planned on riding my bike from the storage place to my apartment but I, being in a rush to empty my unit, forgot to put more air in my bike tires. Oh well. 

Moving wasn't my only big project of the day. I also had to pick up my bed frame from West Elm. This frame came in three awkward, heavy boxes. Needless to say, there was no way they would fit in my granny cart. So what is a city gal to do? Call an Uber! My UberXL SUV came and the driver was kind enough to help me load up the car with my boxes. When he dropped me off, I was a bit concerned about getting them from the street up to my apartment. Guess I packed on the muscle from my move because I was somehow able to get these boxes upstairs all by myself. As for putting the bed together... There are better thing to do on a Saturday night. Like laundry and drinking wine. It is seriously fun to do laundry here.

Weather Wow

And here I was thinking the weather out here wouldn't be exciting...

Dinner

I am so excited to finally have a real kitchen! That was a big downside to living in a hotel for a month. 

For my first dinner I am making salmon crusted with horseradish, parsley and shallots.

Before photo:

Random

I was walking down 2nd avenue yesterday and this guy coming at me from the other direction held out his fist and I fist bumped him. No idea who he was or what that was all about, but it just felt like the right thing to do. So random (in a good way).

Home :)

I finally moved into my new place! It's pretty rad. You can tell there was a woman involved in the design or construction of the building because there is a TON of closet and storage space. I'm pretty sure that my walk-in closet is just about the same size as my bedroom on 43rd Street back in NYC. After living in a hotel for a month, it feels great to be in a place where I can move around (hello Speedball!) and have natural light. Rocco seems pretty excited, too. He exhausted himself with all those chin spins and is now passed out on my aerobed.*

This evening I called the rep at Wave (the main cable provider here) and not only did he answer his phone at 6pm on a Saturday, but he was able to set up an installation appointment right away on Monday. In the evening after work. This sort of thing would never in a million years happen with Time Warner Cable. 

*Mattress is supposed to arrive in 5 days and furniture will slowly arrive over the next month or so.