Belles of the Sound

In an effort to start planning ahead more often – I present to you, Arcade Lights taking place NEXT Friday, April 20 at the Pike Place Market. Arcade Lights is a celebration of local artisan foods and beverages and live music all in the name of a good cause: The Market Foundation.

What/Why:

At this fun festival of culinary delights for guests 21 and over, more than 60 local artisan food and beverage purveyors will sample a variety of sweet or savory foods, including seafood and sausage, doughnuts and ice cream—and tasty beverages including beer, wine, coffee, hard cider and sodas. Enjoy live performances of jazz, acappella gospel, folk and rock, performed by Market buskers. Ticket includes 10 tokens event-goers redeem as they choose. Proceeds benefit the Market Foundation and the preschool, senior center, food bank, and medical clinic that serve those who need a helping hand.

There will be no shortage of delightful establishments on hand. Check out the full listing of participating wineries, breweries, coffee roasters, sweet treats and big bites here.

Tickets are $25 in advance (this is where the planning ahead part comes into play) and $30 at the door. Proceeds benefit the Market Foundation and the preschool, senior center, food bank, and medical clinic that serve those who need a helping hand.

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Photo courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/adobemac/161301489/

When it comes to Easter I am such a kid at heart. I love a strategically-colored, perfect bowl of hard boiled eggs the night before (call me OCD). I love the colors of bunnies, baked goods and treasures that stocks the shelves immediately following Valentine’s day. I love myself a good Easter dinner. And I love, love LOVE myself some Easter candy – I seriously can’t get enough and have tried and love them all.

But for a lot of folks kids, Easter is about that magical race to the egg hunt. So your Belles posts this week would just not be complete without a short and snappy guide to the hunts for all kinds come this Sunday.

Don’t ask me about specifics, I just do the research.

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Photo via Redmond Athletic Club

So I joined an exercise boot camp. Me, the girl who hates mornings and all things push-up related, signed up for a boot camp with a 6 a.m. start time and a litany of push-up related exercises. What can I say? The stars aligned, the time was right, the cool kids were doing it, my skinny pants still don’t fit. And so there I was yesterday morning, standing in the early morning dark with a group of men and women at Gasworks Park, hoping upon hope that it wasn’t going to rain, and awaiting the instructions of Sgt. Mike, of Sgt. Mike’s Boot Camp.

Sgt. Mike is whistle-wielding, big teddy bear of a man (if teddy bears were tough, burly, ex-NATO Commandos) with a Boston accent and an easy laugh. And you know… I hate the phrase “run to the top of Sundial Hill.” I very much dislike doing push ups for 45 seconds straight. I fear the term “torture tube” that I will apparently become acquainted with tomorrow morning. But I like Sgt. Mike. If I’m going to be yelled while running uphill through muddy grass or wall sitting for an impossibly long time, I want it to be by him. Of course, we’ll see if I have the same sentiment in a few weeks, but for now, I’m giving him two thumbs up.

The boot camp combines real military basic training and old school gym class to whip participants into shape. The sessions run for two months, either in the evenings on Monday and Wednesday, or in the mornings (with me!) on Tuesday and Thursday. You can drop in on a class for $10 — super cheap in the land of $60 yoga classes! I think The Seattle Times put it best when it said “You jog, sprint, wall sit, weight lift, lunge and wield 4-foot-long foam-covered weights which [Sgt. Mike] matter-of-factly calls ‘torture bars.’ And remember, you’re paying for the pleasure of enduring this pain.”

So, have I convinced you? Are you going to join me bright and early on some Tuesday or Thursday morning? You should! I’ll bring the ibuprofen.

The latest in the our ongoing series “Belles’ Man on the Street,” profiling new Seattleite Henry Fitzgerald’s adventures in getting to know our great city.

Are you new to the Seattle area and trying to meet friends? Like many college grads, Seattle may have offered the perfect career opportunity for you, but moving hours from friends and family has probably been taxing. However, just as you and your guys spent every free minute during college watching March Madness, the NFL season, and Opening Day and on in the Spring, the guys in Seattle obsess over sports as well. With the young MLB season, throwing a Mariners viewing party for co-workers and maybe some guys from the gym could be your first step to finding a group for weekly poker nights and after-work drinks.

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Congrats to the Mariners! Today the team won it’s Opening Day game versus the Oakland Athletics. And get this, the first pitch was at 3 a.m. PST! Wowza. This was due to the fact that both teams traveled to Tokyo for the game. I know some of you are hardcore and were up for the game, but I still love the M’s, even if I couldn’t get myself out of bed that early! Sorry team.

With the home opener just over two weeks away (April 13, FTW!), it’s time to change your gears and start purchasing tickets! I already have my opening day seats (I’m going with ex-Belle Cathy), and I have blocked a few weekends throughout the summer. Pick up you tix here. Don’t forget that there will be King Felix days too…

This year, the M’s are testing out a new dynamic pricing system, as outlined in this Seattle Times article. Basically, this means that tickets in the same seats may not cost the same on different game days. Tickets will be priced according to popularity of the day, opponents, and several other factors. I love this idea! It makes the tickets much more accessible to a broader group of people, and it will encourage folks to attend the mid-week games. Afterall, is it fair for people who go to a Tuesday game to pay the same as people who go to the Saturday Yankees game?

All in all, I’m excited for another season of baseball. I love this team and I can’t wait to see how we look this year! For those of you who love the Mariners’ commercials, here is my personal favorite:

Last night as I was perusing Facebook in an effort to avoid my laundry basket, I came across the following video, which totally made my night. The video, created by online comedy show, Local Brew, pokes fun at Seattle neighborhood stereotypes and the city’s infamous social freeze to the tune of  Will Smith’s “Welcome to Miami.” And I have to say, it’s pretty genius. I mean, c’mon! Will Smith?! Seattle stereotypes?! White guy hip hop parody?!  The lyric “party in the city where the Freeze is on”?! We’re talking comedic procrastination gold here, people.

I hadn’t heard of Local Brew before, but after watching the “Welcome to Seattle“ video, I checked out the website (effectively delaying my laundry even further) and am now a huge fan. Check it out and let me know what you think!

For my first formal weekly feature on the Belle’s, lets not waste any time and dive right in.  This is Fashion Fridays.  Not only does everyone LOVE Fridays, but I like to think everyone has love (whether it be a little, a lot, or more of a love/hate) for fashion – besides, it’s a necessity, you have to wear clothes.

So, in the spirit of spring (which hasn’t officially graced us Seattleites with its presence, yet) lets talk about optimal weekend wear for these transitional times.  Here are a few key pieces to take you through the inevitable showers and sun-breaks ahead:

Burberry vest, H&M sweater, Joes jeans, Tod's loafers, Michael Kors watch

Stay tuned and stay stylish!

With a mid-twentieth century American feel, The Gerald opens tomorrow, March 23 in Ballard joining the row of restaurants and bars that make up the hopping Old Ballard Ave. scene.

Simple, American, comfort and booze is what you’ll get at the Gerald (located in the old Elephants Gerald T-shirt shop at 5210 Ballard Ave NW) which brings a modern-day twist on the Seattle of the 50s and 60s. The menu looks amazing and I for one can’t wait to try the mac & cheese – also featured are casseroles, truffle popcorn (yum), Swedish meatballs and a deconstructed home-made chicken pot pie. You can’t go wrong.

Even the drinks will transport you to a different era – The Gerald offers a 16-drink specialty cocktail list, mixing updated takes on highballs, gimlets, sidecars and vespers with newer creations.

I can’t decide if I want to eat or drink my dinner. No, really.

Personally, I think The Gerald and its owners have picked the perfect home – Ballard’s throw-back atmosphere provides the ideal back drop for a little time travel and “mid-century modern inspired” nightlife.

What do you say, Belles? Next meeting at The Gerald?

Don Quichote image via Frybooks.com

Do you like to literally DEVOUR your books? If you answer is yes, the 7th Annual Edible Book Festival in Wallingford may be for you. I was unaware of this event until I read it on the Wallyhood blog, and it sounds absolutely fantastic. Creative people think of hilarious ways to combine their favorite books into a pun and then cook it up. For example, Don Quixote was turned into a lovely quiche called Don Quichote! Ha. I love it.

There are awards for: Most Pun-derful, Most Drop-dead Gorgeous, Most Delectably Appetizing, Best Young Edible Artist (K-12), and Best in Show (voted on by attendees). And, for those of you who are wondering, you do can to eat the edible art after judging at 2pm.

The event takes place on Saturday, March 31 from 12-3pm at the Good Shepherd Center. Admission is free for entrants and $10 for all other visitors.

For more information on the event, visit Wallyhood’s post here.

I learned the hard way that not all cities have coffee shops on every block like Seattle. And I’m talking two hours of dragging a giant suitcase around Brooklyn at 6 a.m. “hard way.” Damn you, Seattle. Damn you for keeping me in a sheltered, caffeine-infused cocoon of coffee shop couches,  low-fat bran muffins and ceramic “for here” mugs. The real world is hard and without free wifi and easily accessible electrical outlets! You should have prepared me.

#FirstWorldProblems #NewYorkisHotandSmellyintheMorning #Aren’tHashTagsFun?