Notre Dame Plays USC Tomorrow

I HEART SEATTLE (Part Two)

Surprise, Surprise...I couldn't fit all my "I heart Seattle" pics in the last post, so here goes round two. One of the things James and I always try to do when we visit the homeland is try to round up as many friends as possible, and this last trip we had dinner at Tutta Bella (amazing pizza) with Jay, Trisha, Evan, and Laura. Then Laura and I took off for capitol hill to meet up with Kristen at "The Garage," which is like an upscale bowling alley. Seem like an oxy-moron (upscale bowling)? It usually is, but not at the garage.

Here we are just outside The Garage with the neon sign in the background.

The girls at Tutta Bella.

And the boys.

One of our blessings on this last trip was the overbooked flight from Seattle to Philly - James and I volunteered our seats for flight voutures, a free night at a hotel, and one extra full day in Seattle. The day was sunny and glorious, and we spent it downtown at the Sculpture Park and Pioneer Square.

A silver tree in the sculpture park - I honestly walked right by it before James pointed out that it was a sculpture.

This piece here seems to be the most widely publisized. James doesn't care much for it, but I've grown somewhat fond of it.

This exhibit is called "waves" and is cool to walk through.

Here is James by his favorite sculpture. wink wink.

The gorgeous pier-side.

The interior of Elliot Bay Bookstore, a beloved Seattle landmark that I had never actually visited before. It was grand - I spent an hour looking through a book on Italian Architecture.

All of the buildings around Pioneer Square are so beatiful - rich, textured details that harken back to a grander era (aka pre-modern square cement cold architecture).

Pioneer Square

The Pioneer building

This is the headquarters to Tully's coffee--I actually love the way they transformed this brick building into a colorful and whimsical landscape. It used to be the old Rainier Brewery building.

I HEART SEATTLE

There is something special about Seattle that makes me love this city in a way that no other city could capture my heart. I’ve visited a fair number of big cities – New York, LA, London, Paris, Sydney, Tokyo, Rome, etc. and each city certainly has its own unique vibe. But there’s just something about the vibe in Seattle that speaks to me. I suppose part of my attachment to Seattle is that I lived there for 5 years, whereas I’ve only visited all of these other grand cities. But I’ve reflected on this before, and I think there are some intrinsic factors to Seattle independent of my time spent there that make it such a fabulous city. I am going to list five.

1. Small town city. Seattle is not a very large city on the scale of major world cities – it’s much smaller than New York, or Chicago, or Paris. And yet it’s place as a mid-size city allows one to get the best of both worlds – the breadth of arts and cultural events that usually only cities can offer, yet Seattle has almost a “small-town” feel to its space. It’s not too big; there is space to roam. After living in Tokyo for three months this summer, space is something that I’ve come to value quite highly.

2. Distinct neighborhoods. All cities have various neighborhoods—NYC has its boroughs, Tokyo has its “kus,” and so forth. But I do think that the neighborhoods in Seattle have such unique and distinctive flair. Take the artsy neighborhood of Freemont, with its eclectic sculptures and funky buildings. Or the Scandinavian mark on the seafaring neighborhood of Ballard. Then you’ve got Queen Anne, with its quiet yet regal homes and lamp-lined streets looking out over the water. Then, of course, there’s Belltown and Downtown spotted with fabulous restaurants, beloved happy-hour spots, and high-end shopping. What would Seattle be without Capitol Hill and the Hipsters whose pulse beats to the music scene? And we can’t forget Magnolia, or Greenlake, or Capitol Hill, or West Seattle…so many niches to carve your own space.

3. Geographical Diversity. I honestly do not know of any city that has the range and close proximity to such incredibly diverse landscapes. Seattle has the ocean, lakes, rivers, canals, boat locks, and the mountains that encircle the city. You can even take one of the many ferries out to explore the San Juan Islands or hop over to the Olympic Peninsula for a rainforest excursion. It’s no wonder Seattle is consistently ranked one of the most fit cities in America—with access to kayaking, swimming, sailing, reams of bike and running trials, mountain hikes, and skiing, there is no reason to stay at home and mope (one just has to learn to be active in the rain).

4. Industry and opportunity: Seattle is home to some of the world’s largest businesses, notably Microsoft and Starbucks at the top. Then of course there is Boeing (although I realize that it’s corporate office has moved), and Nordstrom’s, and Tully’s, and on and on. Also headquarters to several amazing NGO's, including World Vision and PATH. Seattle has imbibed the entrepreneurial spirit that keeps this country moving forward.

5. Coffee. Of course I cannot forget to mention the coffee culture that is pervasive in this city. Most people know about Starbucks, and Tully’s, and Seattle’s Best. But what most non-Seattlites do not know about is the local coffee shops that Seattlites consistenly frequent: the Ladros, and Zokas, and Verites, and many, many, more. I love the role that coffee shops play in Seattle: not only the best cups of coffee you’ll find in the world, but a place to meet with friends, to study, to play chess, to people-watch, to enjoy sumptuous baked goods, to journal, and to unwind on rainy days.

This last time that James and I were in WA we had the pleasure of hanging in Seattle for a few days and re-visiting some of our favorite stomping grounds. Here is a little photo-journal of our days of old (and hopefully our days of future). The pics from today’s post are all from Ballard, where James and I both lived the year before we got married. In the next few days I’ll try to put up some pics from our day spent downtown.

The main plaza in Ballard, with its funky Scandinavian statues.

A great music spot that James loved to chill in on Sat. mornings.

La Carta de Oaxaca, amazing Mexican food in the best designed Mexican restaurant you will ever find:

Great Harvest Bread - enough said.

The High Life - a restaurant in an old firehouse that has the best Happy Hour on Planet Earth: $3 woodfire pizzas, $3 Ceasar salads, and $3 wine, beer and well drinks. How in the world can you beat that?

Ballard Sip-N-Ship - great coffee.

Cafe Verite - great coffee and cupcakes.

Cafe Fiore - another great coffee stop. (see, Seattlites really do spend loads and loads of time in coffee shops.)

Bel Mar - a lovely swank little bar.

King's Hardware - a regular stop on the ol' pubcrawls.

The Lock and Keel - a definite favorite for James and his room-mates (BJ and BJ). Many a night's spent here chillin' out after a busy day serving at Maggie Bluff's.

Another great bar on the pub-crawl route.

Home, Sweet Home

Upon our return from Japan, James and I were oh-so-happy to spend over two weeks with our wonderful families in the spacious and quiet town of Lynden. It was a stark contrast from Tokyo, and we were quite ready for the change. Our families loved up on us and spoiled us, and we had a fabulous time!

Here are some pics from a joint family BBQ:

James manning the grill with Alaskan salmon, compliments of Jessica:

Kris and Jennifer trying to play some kind of poker game:

The fam sitting around the BBQ pit:

And more BBQ pit...

And more BBQ pit.

Breakfast at Dutch Mothers with Leisha and Carly, and their babes - Avery and Noah

Blackberry pickin' - always a summertime favorite in the Pacific NW:

Silpada Jewelry Party:

Grandma Jean and I, sippin' some white.

Jennifer and Kris chillin' by the fire pit.

Lois and Shirley looking through the jewelry magazine.

The jewelry table:

Thanks, family, for the great two weeks at home!

Omotesando Break-Feast

Every once in awhile you have to take a “break” from your usual yogurt, English muffins, or cereal, and you need to indulge in a true gastronomic morning feast. The other day James and I did just this – we went to my favorite breakfast stops in Omotesando (neighborhood where we work).

First we went to Anderson's Bakery, which is filled with so many perfect pastries that I can never pick one in under 5 minutes. I usually circle around multiple times, observing and smelling and guessing what the fillings are. James loves this. :0) Eventually I pick two pastries, which I do not feel guilty about because all of the Japanese women pick two or three and because they are all "petite" sized pastries. This last time I picked a cranberry streusel muffin and an orange tart.

I almost went for one of these adorable creme puff swans - next time!

Then we looped over to our favorite little coffee shop - the yellow van! Remember how I said that little vans are quite common here in Tokyo as food stands, like the curry van. They also serve coffee, and this espresso happens to be the best we've found in Tokyo for the best price. Can't argue with that!

And the van stand has a the cutest little punch-card - I will miss this coffee place.

2nd Anniversary

James and I celebrated our 2^nd anniversary yesterday. Hard to believe two years have flown by so quickly, and yet we have done so much together in these two short years. Most of our day yesterday was spent at church, with the morning being filled by the craziness of Vacation Bible School. But we did make a wonderful dinner last night: salmon, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes, wine, and a delectable peach cobbler for dessert. This dinner was really a labor of love, as it took four different stores to gather all of these ingredients.

But as we sat over dinner chatting about the day, and about this and that, I realized something very wonderful about our marriage. We have spent most of our days together the last two years as fellow students, and now we’ve spent every single day together this summer for our internship. And we work really well together. We never get tired of being around one another, and even at the end of a long day at work or in classes together – we still have loads to talk about. I think that really is the definition of a soul-mate, and we continue to praise the Lord that “the boundary lines have fallen upon pleasant places.”

Tokyo Bay Fireworks

This last Saturday, James and I were invited to watch the Tokyo Bay Fireworks show from the apartment of a family here at TUC. Japan has a great love for summer fireworks shows, and they occur all throughout the summer in various neighborhoods of Tokyo. But this show is apparently the biggest show of the summer, and there were thousands of people that showed up to watch. Japanese people dress in traditional apparel, kimonos and wooden sandels, and it is a beautiful array of human origami that lines the streets. I must say, we were very glad to be watching from an apartment balcony and not down amongst the masses. The party we were at was full of food and festivities –over 50 people crowded into the apartment. Little children ran around in their own mini-kimonos, anxiously waiting for the big show to start.

And when the show finally did start, boy was it a show! I have never seen a fireworks display that came even close to this one – 80 full minutes of spectacular colors, shapes, and sparks filling the sky! Be sure to press play on the last photo - it's a little video clip of the show.

James and Isaku-san, the host of this grand party.

This little girl was adorable - spent the whole night running around and waving her fan, shouting out "butterfly fireworks" in Japanese.

The view from the apartment deck.

The sky turned a luscious shade of pink as the sun began to set.

And the fireworks were magnificent!

Here is a little video clip of the show - you can see the rainbow bridge in the background, which is the biggest bridge in Tokyo.