take comfort in rituals

Some weekends are great because they're new and exciting. Other weekends are great because they're comforting and familiar. This past weekend was a combination of the two - on one hand, I tried a few new things like oyster shucking (harder than it seems) and rock climbing (easier than I had imagined). But I also fell back on my tried & true weekend rituals of brunch & coffee, albeit in a slightly more unfamiliar part of town.

On the topic of familiarity, I'm trying to do at least one thing a week at work that's a little out of my comfort zone. It doesn't have to be big, but I think continually challenging myself helps me overcome my natural inhibitions & fears, and it also keeps me from stagnating. Sometimes the hardest part of change is just gathering enough momentum to overcome inertia. Like a worn-in pair of jeans or a PB&J sandwich, familiar things are soothing in their very banality and it's hard to give up that comfort. Pushing the boundaries of my comfort zone can be stressful, but I'm often surprised at how easy things can be once you get past the initial uncertainty. It's like breaking the ice with a stranger - the conversation might be awkward at first, but wouldn't you rather have a chance at making a great connection than never knowing what could have been? 

 

Terribly slow service, somewhat redeemed by great brunch food.

Coffee break at Victrola (great pour-over coffee). We also found a coffee table book on NYC storefronts that made us nostalgic...

Couldn't resist getting salted caramel & olive oil this time, but definitely want to return for balsamic strawberry.

happy hour

What do you do when it's 75 degrees, sunny and you're done with work at 5:30? You head to happy hour, naturally. Seattle is apparently known as a happy hour town, and it was a perfect day to sit outside with a glass of wine.  Luckily, my roommate was equally non-busy and in the mood to soak up the sun (and some wine), so we headed to an area of Pike Place Market known as Post Alley. 2 glasses of wine and 2 1/2 hours later, I felt like we had sufficiently taken advantage of the beautiful indian summer day. There's definitely something to be said for work-life balance, and Seattle has been great for making the most of it.

lazy days

Seattle was graced with unseasonably warm weather this past weekend, so we headed outdoors to the sculpture park for a lazy afternoon picnic. Some of the best times are the times when you doing nothing much at all...

Sunday's weather was more of a mixed bag, but my roommate and I moseyed over to Pike Place where we ate our way through the free samples at an artisan food festival that we stumbled upon.  We then spent a relaxing few hours tasting local wines while keeping a wary eye on the ominous rainclouds above. Not a bad way to pass the day considering that we didn't have anything planned to begin with.

I look forward to Sunday nights right now because both Mad Men and Boardwalk Empire are on. The cinematography in both is great, and I guess I'm a sucker for well-done period shows too. I'm especially in love with the opening credits for Boardwalk - the surreal imagery and the music are spot on, as is the visual allusion to Magritte's Son of Man.

weekend perfection

Having visitors gives me a good excuse to check out places in the city that I normally wouldn't go to. With an old coworker in town for the long weekend, I managed to hit up Kerry Park, Golden Gardens, and Discovery Park, as well as a few good restaurants.

Of course, no visit to Seattle would be complete without a round of food grazing at Pike Place Market. I've been there many times now, but it still retains its charm. With three people, we were able to try a few interesting places without exceeding our stomach capacity. Perfect! Last time I was at the market, I kept ogling all the people who were walking around with these enormous, delicious bread/bun-looking things.  Turns out they were piroshkys, which are indeed delicious bread creations. Other highlights included Japanese-style hot dogs and grilled sandwiches from Three Sisters Cafe (yes, we like our carbs). We finished with an espresso from the Chocolate Box to wake us up from our carb-induced stupor.

We took a break from being foodies to see the scenic side of Seattle. The view from Kerry Park was pretty stellar - I would love to go back at sunrise or sunset, or even with just a zoom lens (I only had my 35mm) to get some more shots. And I think we were all pleasantly surprised to find out that Golden Gardens is neither a Chinese restaurant nor a garden, but a rather nice beach.

The day ended with dinner at Shiro's, a great Japanese restaurant just a few blocks away. The unassuming decor and location belie the quality of the food - the sushi was incredibly fresh and the service was impeccable, if a little fobby (herro!).

If all visits are this perfect, I'm looking forward to hosting more guests :)

good till the last drop

This past weekend was one of those that leave you feeling like you need another weekend to recover. There was certainly a pleasant whirlwind of activity.  Saturday's urban wine tour gave me an excuse to start drinking at 2 pm, and I continued to imbibe various forms of alcohol up until 2 am. A good 12 hours of drinking made for a slow start the next morning, but I still managed to cover a lot of ground until Monday evening. I'll save those adventures for next time though - can't fit too much fun into one post!

I've been to a few wineries in the past, including ones in Napa and Tuscany which are obviously more established. The ones we went to in Seattle were much smaller, but I really loved seeing the enthusiasm and passion of the winery owners. It is clearly tough to succeed in this business, but they've taken a risk to pursue something that interests them. I'm continually drawing inspiration from these kinds of stories - the entrepreneurs, the people with the little side projects, the bloggers - anyone who has an idea and has enough passion to follow through with it.

A stop at the Wine Outlet included a food pairing which was quite interesting. For example, we first tried both a red and a white wine alone, then the cherries alone (really sweet), then cherries + white wine (the cherries make the white wine taste much less sweet), then cherries + red wine (great combination). Repeat with salami and smoked blue cheese.

We got somewhat distracted by an adorable dog at the Stomani Cellars... 

We ended the tour at 106 Pine, which is an adorable wine shop/bar by Pike Place. They actually own the chocolate store next door as well, so we finished with a pairing of subtly spicy chocolate + framboise wine. You really can't go wrong with wine & chocolate...

Weekend adventures to be continued...

stop and smell the flowers

Having lived in Manhattan for the past 2 years, and been on an urban campus for 4 years before that, I have taken walking for granted. It sounds ridiculous, but after moving to Seattle, I realized that it is entirely possible to go a whole day without walking more than 100 steps or so (I think they recommend 10,000 for an "active lifestyle"). How sad! One of my major gripes is the lack of walkable cities in the US. Why have we created communities where the only logical form of transportation is a personal car? There are a lot of reasons why, I know, but I really think if people were able to walk more places, they would be a little healthier, and maybe a little happier too.

I took public transportation to work for the first time today, so I got to enjoy a leisurely stroll back home just as it was reaching that rosy glow time of the day. I love having those 20 minutes or so at the beginning and end of the day to be alone with my thoughts - I don't even know what I think about, really, but it gives my mind time to process, absorb, mull over, and sort through all the things that are running through my brain at any given moment. They say the brain consolidates memories during sleep, but I think I do that during my walking time. Maybe some people can do the same thing while driving home, but I know I'm more concerned about not accidentally breaking any major traffic rules and making it home without getting honked at. Give me some nice weather, a halfway decent sidewalk, and my iPhone and I'll be content :)