Here's to the Nanas that love us...
and the scarves they make us that keep us warm and loved on nights like these when they are states (too far) away.
(I'm so glad I share a name with this woman)
Love,
Dana Rae
Saturday, December 12, 2009
Thursday, December 10, 2009
things made of paper that you should know about 11:00 PM
Ever get tired of the same old holiday cards? I'm in love with these items from more of my favorite Etsy sellers...
Monday, December 7, 2009
obsessed pt. 3 Etsy edition! 11:53 AM
I cruise Etsy for new, incredible, handmade things almost as much as I cruise blogger for new (to me), incredible, digitally-made musings of interesting people. It is December 7th, 2009. It is dangerously/excitingly (you will probably pick your adverb based on what side of the bed you woke up on, whether your feet were warm enough last night or your lasting/newfound feelings on this time of year) close to the gift giving holidays. This year my list has become more concise, more meaningful, less associated with life-sucking malls and more in support of the nice, talented individuals who bless me and Etsy with their love filled craft. In case you haven't noticed, it's a tough time for small businesses of every kind. And realistically and sadly, this holiday season will be a make or break time for many of them. I don't have a lot (well, monetarily speaking of course) but this year I know that I need some gifts, that Macy's doesn't need too much more money, and that these sellers are fabulous. And now!...the Etsy loves of my life! Or...well, like a millionth of them:
Anne Kiel
Elegant, handcrafted and simple.
Black Bird Tees
A local company that does all screen printing on American Apparel cotton!
Tortoise Loves Donkey
Quirky yet stylish terrariums and other interesting botany for the plant lover who has everything or the plant admirer who kills everything. (thanks Renai for turning me on to this seller!)
L'ape Zoppa
zany with a classic touch, simply beautiful!
Sypria
no words for this shop! come on...sushi necklace? I love it!
I feel like the reasons these sellers are so incredible are pretty self-explanatory. If I've peaked your interest check out the links below the pictures! Coming later...holiday textiles (cards, paper etc).
Sunday, December 6, 2009
post secret 3:30 PM
PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God from Frank Warren on Vimeo.
I'm sure many of you have run into Post Secret. It's a weekly blog started several years ago. The author Frank started it as a community art project. He handed out blank postcards addressed to himself and asked that people write/draw or in some way reveal a secret on the back side of the card and mail them in. He began posting about 10 per week. Over the years it has taken off. He has published books, collections of the secrets, and does speaking tours. I have loved this site and have been following it for about 5 years now, before I really even knew what blogger was. Anyway!...they just released this wonderful video, a trailer for the next book. Check out the blog, check out the video, they will make you check out yourself.
ALSO!...I just realized that comments weren't working on my blog. That is all fixed now, so please comment away! I love hearing what people think about the things I'm writing about and am so in love with this blogging community. I hope to become even more embedded (ha. get it??).
Saturday, December 5, 2009
I got soul 11:24 AM
Sorry for my several week long hiatus! I took a hint from this lady and decided it was a good time to step out and smell the roses (REAL roses, not ones on other peoples blogs or cute felt ones on Etsy). She is a blogger who I lovingly follow and she says:
"Does anyone else bore of the endless blogger/twitter/flickr cycle? Don't you want to just, oh I don't know, chuck the macbook out the window and take a walk around the block?"
What an idea! Anyway, I am back! It's an icy Saturday morning and sitting on this blue couch with my blog feels juuuuust right. There are so many things to catch up on but I think I'll stick to just a few...As promised a review of the Thomas Street Bistro as discussed here.
WELL, my mom and I made the trip here on a Friday night. We made reservations because I heard that this place is really tiny and fills up quite fast on weekends, as it definitely did. We got there at about 6:45 and were promptly seated by the owner (who is also the only host/busser/server and apparently also helps with cooking). I ordered the bolognese, as I always like to try this dish wherever it is offered. I am on the hunt for my favorite and right now (and I can't see this really ever changing) it is here. My mom ordered the Poulet Poupon, a grilled chicken breast served with a dijon sauce, side of linguini and sauteed vegetables. For wine, I ordered a glass of the house red and my mom, a glass of the house white. The house wines were the only glass pours offered and the menu didn't say exactly the type of wine we would be getting which indicated to me that it must be ever-changing. Adam (the owner/everything man) brought us our wine and told me that I would be drinking a Malbec (very tasty!) and didn't tell us the specifics of my mom's white. She seemed to enjoy it though!...and she was DD so that one glass better have been good! Soup comes with dinner. We enjoyed a yellow lentil soup. It was perfectly seasoned and even tasted like it had a little curry powder in there. We were next presented with little crackers with hummus and tomato. While they were perhaps not Top Chef material, they tasted nice. And finally, our entrees!! My bolognese (or bolognaise as those silly French spell it) was quite traditional except for the large pieces of bell pepper and zucchini in the mix. Zucchini is perhaps my favorite vegetable so I loved this little touch. The dish was perfectly seasoned and while perhaps a tiny bit dry, quite good. My moms dish was pretty self explanatory. Also well seasoned, nicely cooked and included zucchini! While both were good they lacked a sort of "wow factor" that I find in some of my favorite European restaurants, a sort of refinement that makes a meal in a restaurant somehow different from one cooked at home. The meal was topped off with some Tiramisu. It was the perfect balance of rum, cream and espresso which is, for me, kind of hard to find. My favorite is here.
The ambience? The people were great and the attitude of the place, very simply, felt like home. Two musicians playing jazz on guitars were seated in the corner. We were seated next to a little old Greek lady named Dora and her friend Karen. Dora sweetly insisted on filling my glass from her bottle of Malbec every time it was near empty. Really, you have no heart if you write a rant on Yelp about this place. While I can't put my finger on why the food isn't my absolute favorite, there was no shortage of soul in that place. And soul in a restaurant, my friends, is something to cling to with both arms and legs. This one was frustrating. I wanted SO badly to say that the Thomas Street Bistro was my new favorite place. I wanted to want to go back weekly for the rest of my life, bring my babies there (when I have some many years down the line, of course), become a fixture there, drinking wine in the corner! You know, I will go back. I'll try different dishes (and certainly let you know what I think about them!). YOU should go there, without a doubt. The food is good but also importantly it's the kind of place that reminds you that people are nice and that new dining experiences are great.
With that said, we're right in the thick of the holiday season so I'm excited for many more new places to write about this month! My family has always prioritized good eatin' at new places together over lots of other stilly stuff. Man, I like those people!
Thursday, November 19, 2009
only as long as you're cooking... 1:38 PM
So, I follow a sort of obscene amount of blogs. I always admire people who are amazing cooks who share fabulous recipes and then post pictures of the final results. While I would say that I can make a mean bolognese and some pretty decent sandwiches of the top of my head, AND follow some pretty wonderful recipes from my Nana, I don't experience that joy that some people feel when they are cooking. I do know a fair amount about food. I dine out as much as I can. I read a lot about restaurants and food. I work in in a restaurant. Heck, I even watch Top Chef! But honestly, I much prefer enjoying the fruits of someone else's labor. For me it's like experiencing a work of art (oh YES, I DID just go there). I like to enjoy the visual of a dish. I like to enjoy how it relates to a classical culinary concept and how it diverges from this idea. I like to think about how the dish and menu fits in with the concept of the restaurant on the whole. Also, I just plain like to eat. So really, I am jealous of all you recipe finders, you roasters and grillers, you sauce makers and cake bakers. But it's just not me. I'll stick to what I know.
On an exciting note, this Friday my mom and I will be dining at the Thomas Street Bistro. We happened to come across a really nice review in the Seattle Times. It sounds eclectic and charming. I'll let you know how it goes. (Dates with my mom, unlike other dates, are surefire successes no matter where we eat.) I have made it my goal to support as many small business as I can these days. Working in a small restaurant myself, I can say that we have definitely noticed the economy. We are alive because of our amazing regulars and those people who decide to just give us a chance like we will be doing at Thomas Street on Friday. More times than not, small restaurants taste better than Red Robin and have a great deal of heart to go with the culinary delights. Don't you think? What are your favorite small restaurants in Seattle?
And one more restaurant thing to get off my chest. A few weeks ago we dined at Daniel's Broiler for my parents anniversary. While I wouldn't say that the company that owns the Daniel's is necessarily small, they are local and an institution in this city. I'd be lying here if I didn't admit that the steak (apparently the best you can get anywhere) was really good. My mom, dad and sister got filet mignon in a black peppercorn sauce with sauteed mushrooms and mashed potatoes. The wine was solid. I started with a Chateau St. Michelle Brut, had an Oregon Pinot Noir with dinner and finished with a delightful 10 year tawny. My Alaskan king salmon served with a corn salsa and asparagus was very over cooked and tasted a little fishy. And while they made it again for me and thoughtfully brought me a little sorbet to cleanse my palate, it turned out that even when perfectly executed the dish wasn't all that impressive to begin with. We shared a chocolate lava cake type dessert, key lime pie and a chocolate mousse they brought out for the special occasion. My dad (who is not the best dessert sharer on the planet) bogarted his raspberry sorbet and cookies. All in all, our server was great. She perfectly gaged our expectations for the meal and our moods and adjusted her service accordingly. My family is pretty low key when it comes to dining and always loves to chat with a server. The interior is gorgeous. We went to the Leschi location which has enormous windows and a panoramic view of Lake Washington. Also, their chandelier was unbelievably wonderful and enormous. It was a very nice dining experience to match the special occasion. Moral of the story: Daniel's is definitely a spot that every meat lover should try at least once. When you go there, don't be a silly person like me and get salmon. Just get the freakin' beef people, it's what they're known for, and when you do you wont be sorry. Also, start saving now for this occasion. No one ever said it was cheap. Don't be expecting me to take you on a date there anytime soon!
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
obsessed pt. 2 2:17 PM
On this fine, blustery, tuesday afternoon, I present to you: things I am obsessed with pt 2.
Found Magazine
The first is a little website entitled Found Magazine. I actually came across the site through Post Secret, another one of my favorite blogs which has exploded over the years. The whole idea of the website, which has published actual magazines and books in addition to the daily posts online, is quite obviously found objects. People all over the world find notes, photos, telegrams, illustrations, (really anything that is relatively flat) that is interesting in some way, send it in and the good people at Found Magazine post the good ones. Here are some of my personal favorites: [note: all photos above and below in relation to found magazine were found here: photo credit]
[FOUND by John in Connecticut elementary school, found on a playground.]
[FOUND by Chris and Lorena in Toronto, Ontario, Canada "We found this in a free box on someone's yard. It originally came in a broken frame, which someone tried to fix with peanut butter."]
[FOUND by Jeff in Madison, Wisconsin]
[FOUND by Eli in Berkeley, California]
I don't know that very much more explanation is required. I love, love, love this site and I hope you do too.
Next on the list:
Movie night and Mo the black dog
[and Creme Brulee from Metropolitan Market]
That's all I've got. Hope you are having a good week as well. And I hope that you also have fun things to have [healthy, I swear!] obsessions about.
Followers
