SEATTLE STREET FASHION: #1

These girls posed reluctantly. They were very giggly and shy. I think their outfits are the epitome of simple elegance with that hint of spunk and flirtation. So chic!


This second girl was coming out of my friend's apartment building. She had two dragon tats (one on each foor) and I loved her hair. I stared at it wishing I would cut mine short again. She worked those stripes! Didn't catch her name, but she was stunning!

Coming Soon: Seattle Street Fashion Posts

walking on Capitol Hill yesterday I saw the sexiest and most well dressed gay man I'd ever seen. He was totally fine and he KNEW it! I almost stopped him to ask for his picture. I didn't. And I regret it.

From now on I will follow these impulses and the result will be a Seattle Street Fashion portion of this blog.

Maybe, by chance, I'll find that dapper boy again and get his photograph...

Daily Bread (No Gluten Allowed)

So now that I am out of college and actually have time to do things I like AND a kitchen in which to do them (yes, I refer specifically to baking) I am taking it upon myself to engross my culinary aspirations into the world of gluten free bread. Growing up I never ate bread. When we found out I was gluten intolerant/celiac (the doctors never really figured me out) at the tender age of 7, all bread products were out. Slowly we reintroduced rice products into my diet and it actually became the cornerstone of my daily eating. Rice, chicken, apples, carrots... I was like a toddler again. We introduced other foods in too, but after being tested the results showed that I was allergic to over 200 allergens and these included about 100 foods. We later came to realize that my body had been in a reactive state from the gluten I was unknowingly eating as well as lactose, peanut and soy products. After several years and lots of weekly allergy shots my system calmed down, and I began to live and eat like a normal person. Today, I'm practically balanced out in terms of food, though I will admit that while in France the gluten temptation overwhelmed me a few times, and I paid the price. But even now it's easy to say "no" to those "little" amounts: chocolate chip cookie dough ice cream (Why???! Why must this have gluten in it!?!?), restaurant breadsticks, ect. ect.

Now I live in Seattle. Home of organic food junkies (a funny paradox) and pretty much any and every gluten free product you can think of. I even found a Gluten Free French Bread/Pizza mix a few weeks ago. It is amazing. Today I am making rosemary bread with brown rice flour. Tomorrow I could potentially make Challah Bread... My opportunities are endless, and I intend to take advantage of the gluten free culture that exists so wonderfully in Seattle to make my "dreams" come true.

Hopefully, the next time you see me I will not have put on 20lbs....
One of the beauties of not eating gluten is that it eliminates all that food that can make you fat.

Tuesday: Yoga, Gourmet Popcorn and Dating in Seattle

We'll start with Yoga-

the class didn't destroy me this time! Though I am very very tired and will definitely be sore tomorrow and the next day, I found that I was able to keep up this time around and the instructor, Troy, looked pleased to see me back. The class was huge today with a few "regulars" from the last time I went, including an awesome indian dude with surprisingly sweet body odor that I kind of don't mind smelling as well as an awesome beard, a huge bald guy that looks like he could be in Hell's Angels but also loves to eat organic granola mix before class and share it, as well as the instructor's poodle whose name I don't know- he's chocolate colored and has a mop of hair on his head and the rest of his body is short haired. He has big floppy feet that glop glop across the floor when he comes in to greet everyone. He even sniffed my mat today! I'll take it as a good omen that I'l fall into a strong yoga practice and attend regularly.



and then....


I had three soft tacos at Chipotle. A bit salty, but carnitas is like that. Add a rootbeer and a park and sunshine. The Park at Pike's Place Market was crowded with weirdos and the homeless today. I can't use humor when talking about the poverty in downtown Seattle, but for most, including a friend I met in the park for lunch who lives just above the market, it's a reality that is no longer shocking. A couple sprawled on a makeshift cardboard "bed" spooned and ate popcorn from an enormous orange garbage bag, no doubt from the dumpster behind "Kukuruza" on Pike and 3rd, a gourmet popcorn shop. It's things like this I'm still getting used to living in Seattle, which is without a doubt one of the prettiest cities in the world, but like other cities with their bliss and beauty, there is always the underbelly.


and finally....


this is an actual text conversation I had with a guy I met who asked me out. When I made it clear I wasn't interested (after he said that it was valid if I wasn't interested since I was stalling a bit and trying to turn him down politely), this was his response:

Guy: :(
Guy: *cries*
Me: Hey now. I usually have a hard time turning guys down. It's not easy. I worry about hurt feelings. But your comment (about it being ok to turn him down if I wasn't interested) made me feel like I could be honest.
Guy: But why turn me down? I'm a nice guy
Guy: U don't know anything about me yet and I'm attractive. Makes no sense.
Me: Look I'm not the only girl in Bellevue and this isn't personal
Guy: U should at least meet me for coffee and hear my story.
Me: Hey, you put the ball in my court
Guy: I wanted u to be after me
Guy: Well, your mom thought I was nice. Anyway. Your loss. Not gonna keep bothering you.
Me: OK. Bye.
Guy: Deleting your number. Rejection really hurts.
Me: I know. I've felt it before too...

SERIOUSLY!?!?!?!!!?!!?!??!

For the men of Seattle and the greater Universe: THIS KIND OF BEHAVIOR IS NEVER ATTRACTIVE! Sure, I turn down dates. AND THERE'S NOTHING WRONG WITH IT AND IT HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH YOU! I'M NOT INTERESTED, BUT YOU SHOULDN'T FEEL LIKE IT REFLECTS ON YOU SO DEEPLY!

I mean, I met this guy once. ONCE! And I gave him my business card because I started talking about my art (after he asked me what I do)- a professional gesture in my book (especially because it was an an open house in an apartment complex and he was a real estate agent and I could be a potential client). So he shows some interest the next day, and the day after that. And I turn down a date and it's like I told him I thought he was a rotten man and I didn't want to be around him. NO. I just didn't want to go on a date with him. Why? Because when I'm on the date it tells him that he's already sparked my interest. If I'm not sure I want to be on a date, I'm probably not really wanting to be there. Thus, I shouldn't go on dates that I'm not interested in. Did he catch my eye? No, not really. Yeah, he was nice and he was handsome. But I felt no heart pounding pleasure at the sound of his name (or the sound of my phone receiving another text from him). In fact, it became annoying. And quickly.

Men: Don't do this. Don't be "the girl". Don't ask why we aren't attracted to you. Don't tell us you wish we would "be after you" (honestly, who says that!? and in a text message!) and DON'T push. Pushy men don't get dates (unless they're asking someone who is very docile and perhaps even prone to giving into pressure).

You know who you are, you pushy men. Push someone else.

B is for Ballard

My future home:

Ballard, WA.
Sweet Sweet Haven and suburb of Seattle.
Folkish, warm, little shops,
and the smell of the harbor.
My happy place.
Perfect.


Only one more month until I move there! The apartment even has a patio (ground level) and planting beds! Green thumb time! I love Ballard and can't wait to be there and call it home. My mom, my future roomate and I perused the Ballard market yesterday and enjoyed its sights, sounds and smells. We even saw someone attack a tree (we think he was tripping on acid or something...) and Ballard is dog central of Seattle. I have never seen more pooches in such a concentrated area! Pups everywhere, and of every sort! French Bulldog, Pug, Lab, Akita, Chihuahua, Daschund, Laberdoodle, Yorkie... the list goes on! They're everywhere! The market is as much a place for human interaction as it is for canine flirtation! So cute!

We then went to the Ballard Locks and Salmon Ladder- it's one of my favorite things about being near the water. The smell is so full seaweed odor and gull feathers! There is no escaping the mist that wafts off the dam. Tourists snap pictures and gawk at boats as they wait for the equalization of the water levels to pass through the locks. The sun was shining. A perfect day to be near the water. We even saw a blue heron... oh, and more dogs.

The wonderful thing about moving to Ballard is the sense of community and the comfortable quiet of the neighborhoods. Right off of the main avenues it's so calm and the birds are audible. There's everything you need and a place to hang your hat at the end of the day. And my rent is the lowest I think I'll ever pay in my entire life, and for an apartment that is absolutely worth SO MUCH MORE but the rent is low, low low!! Yes, there are fancy apartments all around, and apartments with their swanky views and amenities.. but all I want for now is a comfortable bed, a good kitchen and a garden to get my hands dirty. And, of course, a caserole dish full of jellybeans.

Driving in Seattle is the Worst F*%#@!!!** idea Since Parallel Parking...... AND a pleasant update on the Job Hunt

Let me get this out:

WHY does it need to take me 20 MINUTES to drive 6 BLOCKS??? Also these situations make people SO DAMN PISSY! No, blonde chick, it is NOT my fault that I have NO ROOM to turn around and reposition my car so I DON'T hit for super shiny "status" mobile!! I'm sorry, why don't you use your massive boob job to honk the horn so you don't even have to take your hands off the wheel. It would be safer for all of us, really. Oh, and by the way- that shade of lipstick looks awful on you.

WHY OH WHY do we do this to ourselves? Statistics show that Americans have some of the highest stress of world citizens (as well as obesity, sleep disorders, ect.... but this isn't THAT kind of rant, I swear) and it seems that this whole traffic uselessness just ADDS to these numbers.

SEATTLE- you have the worst traffic I've ever driven in. Yes, I've traveled to Europe and 'witnessed' bad drivers/traffic, and even NYC has its 'nasty spots' in the city, but you, Seattle, the 405 makes Les Champs Elysées in Paris look like a f*%$#@*!! hot wheels track (in a good, organized, fun wholesome way). And don't even get me started on the 520 bridge... because it sucks.

END RANT.


JOB UPDATE:

I am happily employed...X2!!! I have a snappy, chic fun creative position as a "Customer Service Associate" at Paper Source- your one stop shop for pretty much ANYTHING creative involving paper products or stamps. I am blissfully employed there. I am fortunate to have found such an incredible employer that provides the means for me to be creative as I work.

My luck only continued to get better the following week when I had an "experiential" interview at BCBGMAXAZRIA (I basically 'pretended' or acted as if I were a sales associate and conducted myself accordingly- making sales, helping customers, ect). After the interview, the manager surprised me with a job offer. I took it instantly. I now have such an amazing balance of creative and fashion work between my two jobs- AND I GET TO DRESS UP FOR BOTH OF THEM!

Anthropologie never got back to me... so sad. Perhaps in the future. But for now, I have no reasons to complain and every reason to celebrate the beginnings of my still new life here in Seattle.

MORE TO COME ON THE BALLARD MOVE IN JULY...

Pooping in Public Potties- For a Friend: You Know Who you ARE

It has recently been brought to my attention by a close friend of mine that pooping in public places is somewhat of a strange choice, even detestable. She can't understand why one would choose to defecate in a public restroom, but my thoughts on the matter are quite simple and straight forward. I fully support Public Restroom Pooping. I am not ashamed.

I can understand the discomfort one would feel experiencing the private functions of nature in a place where most activity could potentially be audible. But who hasn't passed wind in a bookstore? Personally I just wander away slowly and quietly, leaving the stink behind to its own destiny. We are no longer a part of each other, the wind and I. This is not to say that I wish to impose my bodily functions on other people. No. I don't believe in making a spectacle of myself or my gastric tendencies. One must be courteous.

The truth of the matter is: if your on a crowded bus (as I often am) or browsing Historical Fiction at Barnes & Noble, you must give yourself grace. And lest "the call" becomes urgent and you are required to use the public (shudder) restroom... well, it's your choice- sweet relief or potential gastric complications from holding yourself back. Don't suffer- it isn't necessary. Chances are NO ONE will even trace the flush to you. I think I have better things to do that peg "the pooper" in the public restroom. Wondering "who done it?" won't make the smell go away, nor will it stop YOU from being "the pooper" next time.


When nature calls, there is no voicemail.