Finally some links...
Get your Monday started off right and make sure to turn up the volume.
Shingo Mama No Oha!
Check out this awesome brush and make sure to watch the video.
I/O Brush
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Ballard Spots
Ballard is becoming quite the hot neighborhood in Seattle and it’s easy to forget what Ballard use to be like. Get a taste of the old and new Ballard by starting your evening with dinner at La Carta de Oaxaca then head next door for drinks at The People’s Pub.
La Carta is my favorite Mexican restaurant. Unlike the typical Azteca or Jalisco’s, La Carta is a super comfy, casual restaurant located in Ballard creating authentic Oaxacan cuisine that’s fresh, delicious, and inexpensive to boot. This contemporary spot has beautiful photos lining the walls, a large communal table, simple yet stylish furniture, and a small bar in back.
There’s always a long wait but the super fresh salsa bar and Pozole is so worth the wait. And although the wait can be painful when you’re starving, once you’re seated, the owners provide fast, friendly service.
The People’s Pub has the feel of an old divvy bar minus the smoke… wood paneling, round back oak chairs, and a jukebox. The waitresses are friendly and don’t cop the usual attitude that you find in neighborhood bars. A nice bonus is thier diverse selection of German beers.
I’m headed to Germany in June for the World Cup and I’ve been regularly hitting Die Bier Stube to brush up on German culture. Die Bire Stube offers 14 German beers poured in authentic glassware and every visit I try a new beer. I’ve now added The People’s Pub to my list of German Pubs to get me ready for my upcoming trip!
The British Invasion...
Jaclyn and I co-hosted Rachel’s 30th Birthday party. Everyone asked, “Why the British theme?”... Giles Peterson, of course. Rachel loves Giles and who wouldn’t?
A Union Jack decorated my porch and inside I had plenty of posh nosh pub food and an endless supply of Bass, New Castle Brown Ale, Woodpecker Cider, and Boddington Ale to wash it all down.
The British theme was a hit and so was our ‘Awkward Wall Flower” photos. Before every guest left, they posed with Rachel to reenact awkward moments from our youth. If you need to hire and an awkward model, call Rachel. She mastered the awkward pose by the end of the evening
Rachel makes Andrew uncomfortable.
Helen doesn't understand Tom.
Rachel has a crush on Izaak.
Rachel, get away from my man!
Is Rachel's bling better than my bling? Jaclyn couldn't believe that Rachel's bling is bigger than her bling.
After we finished our grub on, we moved on to the Baltic Room for the Jazzanova show. Jazzanova is a German DJ/ producer collective big on the underground nu-jazz/ future jazz scene and best know for their remixes. Their sound ranges from jazz to dub to Brazilian to hip-hop and beyond. But I’m not so sure if they still deserve to be classified as underground considering The Seattle Weekly featured Jazzanova in their Weekly Notable Show column. I wonder if this is the reason why there were so many bald heads at Baltic Room?
The Baltic Room was chalked full and you had to fight to get an inch of the dance floor. We managed to claim some ground and dance to Alex’s solid set. The best I’ve heard in a long time… How else could I dance for 2 hours straight in 4 in. heels?
Rachel and I with Alex.
January 2006 S&B
Helen hosted this month’s Stitch and Bitch. We used dollies, plastic cupids, rubber stamps, beautiful paper, wood blocks, acrylic paints, and more to create Valentine’s Day cards and crafts. Larry is a machine… he is super efficient and just like last month when he created a ton of Christmas tags in no time, he cranked out a bunch of cute cards tonight.
Every Stitch & Bitch I’ve hosted involves some form of glue because I’m addicted to it. I got carried away with the plastic cupids and glued them to woodblocks that I painted pink. I also glued little shapes that I cut out of dollies.
It’s always fun to look at everyone’s crafts at the end of the night. The finished crafts are so different even though we all use the same materials. Some people use the materials in its original form and others deconstruct the material to create something totally different and new forms.
This isn't the best picture but it kind of captures a few samples from tonight.
Lonely Nights
This past weekend, Rachel and I checked out Amsterdam based company, Kassys’ KOMMER show at On The Boards. This great show about grief, stress, and loneliness is split into two parts – the first part is performed live, and portrays a group of 6 actors as they respond to the news of the death of a loved one.
The second part is a video performance of the actors in their ‘real life’. The camera follows the actors after they have finished the performance that we have just watched. We observe them in their ‘private’ lives, and witness their loneliness.
Watching the actors in their ‘private’ lives was really disturbing…
the frustrated stewardess destroying objects around her and finally passed out on the bed, in the depressing hotel room…
the lonely guy sitting on his bed, binging on anything and everything he found in his room….
and the older gentleman climbing the cluttered stairs to his living room, drinking tea, surround by piles of unpacked boxes, unopened mail, and more junk. I walked away from the show feeling sad, lonely, and depressed.
After KOMMER, Rachel and I headed to BalMar, a comfortable and stylish bar located in the heart of downtown Ballard at the intersection of Ballard Avenue and NW Market. BalMar serves yummy small plates in a two-story building with exposed brick walls. Both floors have a bar along with two pool tables on the top floor. The huge picture window on the top floor makes the BalMar an ideal spot to people watch.
Everything we ordered was delicious and prepared simply with the freshest ingredients. We shared slices of prosciutto on apricot bread with spicy olives, a house salad, spinach with golden raisins and garlic, crispy chicken breast served with vegetables, and persimmon flan.
The bottom floor was comfortably packed but the upstairs was chocked full. This place definitely is a hot spot on the weekends and caters to an older crowd. I won’t hang out here on the weekends but I’ll come back for happy hour during the week.
