Belles of the Sound

Thirty locations. One map. One Compass (yes the real kind). And 90 minutes to scramble.

The Columbia City Street Scramble begins at 10am on Saturday, April 28 at the Southside Commons, 3518 S Edmunds Street, Seattle, WA.

Score points by visiting up to 30 checkpoints in any order, and answer a simple question to prove you were there. Those who visit the most are the winners! Be competitive or casual. Go in a team or solo.

Fun for families, runners, cyclists, and anyone who likes to explore. Awards and refreshments at the finish.

This is your chance to be an “Amazing Race” super star in your own city.

Here’s the dish on the full Street Scramble experience.

Be sure to register in advance for you and your team.

Okay. I’ll admit it. I’m addicted to shoes. I have two closets packed with shoes, and that’s AFTER I got rid of a bunch of them during my move last year. I can’t help it, I see a cute wedge or a sexy little peep-toe and I fall in love! So I got super excited when I heard that Cole Haan is giving away a pair of shoes every month for a year to a lucky winner at Fashion’s Night Out at UVillage next Thursday!

On Thursday, September 8, University Village is hosting Fashion’s Night Out as part of the global initiative to celebrate and support the fashion and retail industry. Cole Haan isn’t the only store that will have a giveaway that night, merchants will offer fashion demonstrations, giveaways, gifts with purchases, discounts and other in-store events. Events, giveaways and deals will run from 3-9pm. You can find the whole list of events and store promotions on the Fashion’s Night Out website. U Village is even giving away 200 swag bags to the first 200 shoppers!

It’s a perfect night to grab your girlfriends for a night out of shopping! This is a fantastic event for every fashionista out there, however there will be events for everyone. There will even be a “Man Cave Destination” at Sony with sports and PlayStation for the guys who need a shopping break.

Not only can you score some great deals for yourself, but you can also give back to a child in need. U Village will be hosting a children’s coat drive for Wellspring Family Services. Wellspring helps homeless families in King County get back on their feet. If you donate a new or slightly used coat, you will be entered to win a $500 U Village Shopping Spree.

You can RSVP and invite your friends on Facebook and on Twtvite. You can also follow U Village on Facebook and Twitter. U Village is making Fashion’s Night Out social by using the #UVFNO hashtag.

I can’t wait to go and check out the shoes and the other deals! Hope to see you there!

Leave me a comment and tell me which promotion or deal is most interesting to you.

Now I’d love to be a judge for that contest!

The Seattle Cheese Festival is conducting a recipe search for the best grilled cheese sandwich recipe.  The winner of the contest will appear during the Seattle Cheese Festival, which takes place May 14-15, 2011, to give a live demo on the chef’s stage.  The winning sandwich will also be on sale at the festival. 

Deadline:
The deadline for entry is May 1, 2011.  To enter your recipe, please email it to info@seattlecheesefestival.com.

Finalist and winners will be notified by May 5, 2011.

Recipe Guidelines:

• It must contain a readily available cheese and bread.
• The recipe can contain up to 6 ingredients
• Include a brief description (75 words or less) of the inspiration for the sandwich

Judging:
The recipes will be judged based on creative use of cheese, flavor profile and relative ease to make.

A little inspiration?

2010 Winner – Stefany Dybeck with Fonduta Fettunta Grilled Cheese
2009 Winner – Crystal Ortiz with Grilled Suds N’ Cheese
2008 Winner – Jeff Bergman with Grilled Stichelton and Black Forest Ham Sandwich

(photo via Nyike)

Ok folks… this is it! One of Seattle music lovers’ favorite weekends: LABOR DAY WEEKEND! There is no lack of great music to enjoy with Bumbershoot (Weezer, Bob Dylan, Dandy Warhols, Edward Sharpe) and Dave Matthews (+Ben Harper!) in the area. Personally, I will be heading out to the Gorge on Saturday to see Dave and Ben, then back to Seattle on Sunday to catch Weezer at Bumbershoot.

Now back to the title of this post… CONTEST! I was recently given a $150 gift certificate to Gene Juarez*, and the giver requested that I come up with a great reason to give it away on this blog. So here it is: I want anyone attending a concert this weekend to snap photos of the craziest, wackiest hairdos they can find and send them into this blog. Next Wednesday, we’ll pick our top three favorites and let you all vote for the winner. Sound like fun?

Now for the rules:

1. Photos must be sent to giveaways@bellesofthesound.com.
2. Photos don’t must be under 1MB each, but there is no minimum for quality. Cellphone photos are welcome!
3. Deadline to send in photos is Tuesday, September 7 at 7pm PT. No exceptions!
4. If you take a picture with someone’s face in it, please ask them first! We’ll blur out faces anyway, but we don’t want to make fun of anyone here. All in good fun folks!
5. Have fun and be creative! This can be a picture of your own hair.
6. Maximun of three (3) photo entries per person.
7. Top three (3) photos will be chosen by the Belles of the Sound writers and posted on the website on Wednesday, September 8.
8. Voting on the top three (3) will be open on Wednesday, September 8 and remain open until Tuesday, September 14 at 11:59pm PT.
9. Winner will be announced on Wednesday, September 15 and notified via email.
10. The winner will receive a $150 gift certificate to any Gene Juarez spa in Seattle.
11. Questions? Contact me at jeanine at bellesofthesound dot com.

So that’s it! I can hardly wait to see some of the photos you all can come up with. Have a great time this weekend!

*Disclaimer: Gene Juarez is not sponsoring this promotion, nor did they provide the gift certificate.*

So, I know we’re supposed to be the “all-knowing” ladies of Seattle here at the Belles, but humor me for a minute and let me reverse the roles. I’m curious to hear about ways you’ve found to beat the heat this summer. You see, I’m not really one to enjoy the heat, even if it only lasts for two days. I’m more likely to hole up in my townhome, cover all the weekends with blankets and sweat in front of my fan. Everyone tells me, “go to the movies,” which I can’t always afford to do (or am not interested in what is playing in theatres). I’m trying to learn how to get more enjoyment out of the weather, so I’d love to hear your ideas. I’ll even bribe you a bit… leave a comment below with your favorite hot weather activity, and we’ll pick two answers at random and give each person a pair of movie tickets to the SIFF cinema in the Seattle Center, good for any movie showing there. AND, if you retweet this on Twitter, you’ll get an extra entry.

How Do You Beat the Heat?

Okay, not really.  But if you’re not above winning a little somethin’-somethin’ for doing a little clicky-clicky with your mouse, this is an event for you.

In 2006, American Express, together with the National Trust for Historic Preservation, pledged $5.5 million dollars towards preserving historic landmarks in the United States.  This year, the Seattle-Puget Sound area gets its cut:  $125,000 in grant money to save one of our once-grand, presently-crumbling historic sites.

Woohoo!

Out of over 100 different candidates, 25 have been chosen to vie for the grant, which will be given to the site that wins the most votes in a run-off poll that is open to the public. Rules are that you can vote here once a day, every day, until May 12th.

Of the 25 grant contenders, which include the Point No Point Lighthouse, the Theodore Jacobsen Observatory, and the 5th Avenue Theatre, Town Hall Seattle is the only I’ve noticed has stooped to bribery to obtain its votes.

Naturally, that’s the one I voted for.

In exchange for your vote, Town Hall Seattle is offering:

1. A one-year pass for two people to attend all Town Hall events;
2. A Kindle and gift card, presumably to buy stupidly electronic books for that devil’s device; and
3. A set of books by Town Hall authors, which will be given to you gladly by the University Bookstore and the Elliott Bay Bookstore.

Now you know how I feel about Kindles, but 2 out of 3 ain’t bad.  The process for winning is simple:  Vote for Town Hall at the Partners of Preservation website, return to the Town Hall website to let them know you voted, and your name gets entered into the contest.  You can enter as many times as you vote.  Should Town Hall win the vote, the funds will go to repairing their stained glass window and shoring up the terracotta tile walls.

Despite this sudden and shocking move towards U.S. Congress-like behavior, Town Hall Seattle has more to offer the community than a (book-murdering) Kindle.  Madeleine Albright, Chuck Pahlaniuk, and Lemony Snicket, among many others, have spoken at Town Hall.  Our Town Hall is a vital nexus for the community to gather and discuss current events, scientific studies, cultural diversity, Fight Club, and A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I strongly urge you to cast your vote for this building.

And to not enter yourself into the corresponding contest, because I’d really love a set of tickets for me and whoever I happen to like that week to attend the events that are being offered this year.  Just this week, the Seattle public is invited to see journalists holding forth on climate change, a slew of local music artists, and a former Colbert Report guest.  Six degrees of separation and you are practically shaking the hand of Stephen Colbert – how can you not go?