my new grocery heaven

last week was busy. i started many posts, but was unable to finish them. one was about how much i love my south mercer island QFC. i know most of the employee's by name and they all know my boy. it's so perfectly mayberry. every time i walk out i feel like i've been visiting with great friends. and here i am about to betray them!

i finally visited metropolitan market's newest (first to the eastside) store in kirkland which opened june 3rd. my jaw dropped. it is gorgeous. a foodie's mecca. it's all the best parts of whole foods, but better (meaning: they carry frosted mini wheats). impeccably designed, lots of beautiful helpful signage, and meticulously displayed products. they even carry my favorite sonoma restaurant's products - girl and the fig, and seattle's macrina bakery's bread (try the potato, so squishy-soft).

i didn't want to leave.

despite a time restriction, we were lured into the sidewalk sale, which fed us into their mini sur la table-type store. everything was 20%. it was like they were trying to get me addicted, and the first hit is free. side note, the bathroom in the shop area is beautiful, clean, and has a changing table.

upstairs for lunch, it was a hard task deciding what to try. we got two grilled sandwiches : salumi tornado and beechers' classic cheese and tomato with a side of peach and tomoato salad. yummy. they kindly put a water pitcher out with cups, and had keen modern high chairs.

ok, here are some photos, i'll shut up...

when you go, go hungry and don't skip the gelato. the three of us strolled the aisles dipping into a small bowl of stracciatella (chocolate chip) and took a pint of crème caramel home. oh dear lord it is good. the salmon we bought was just delivered fresh and tasted sweet and light. i got 9 cards from a favorite card company : positively green. they, too, were 20% off.

my QFC will never lose it's place as my most visited grocery store (it's 3 min from home) and they have a wonderful selection. but, i certainly will find errands to run that will bring me close to the shiny new met market.

now go eat something, i know you want to.
paulette

Metropolitan Market
(off exit 17 toward NE 70th Pl)

10611 NE 68th Street
Kirkland, WA 98033

Phone: 425-454-0085

i've got a milkman?!

some parents i know have trouble getting their kiddos to drink enough milk. my 2 year old boy has never really objected, but since we've started getting our milk delivered, he practically dances when he gets his "fresh milk!!"

i grew up in kirkland and remember at least 2 dairies we could visit to get super fresh milk. they have disappeared. although i was sad to see them go, i adapted and was very used to grocery store milk.

i first saw smith brothers' milk truck when we got new neighbors. they have three kids and i figured our family of three couldn't meet the required amount. recently i learned it is only one gallon per delivery, and costs the same as the grocery store, with no delivery fee. and their organic eggs are a dollar less!

at the tacoma farmer's market (post on that forthcoming) i met walt. he had a smith brothers' stand and burst my bubble, telling me how un-fresh grocery store milk can be. he told me milk can sit in the back of a store for 30 days before hitting the shelf. and that is after all the transportation time. bleck.

smith brothers' milk is pasteurized just once at a low temp, and has a shelf life of 18 days. it is delivered to my house 24-36 hours after leaving the washington farm where the open-pasture cows were milked. grocery store milk needs a much longer shelf life, so their milk is often pasteurized at a high temperature, often twice. this kills all the bad stuff, but also strips out much of the good stuff.

there are probably a lot of great ways to get fresh dairy products. so far i am super happy with this one. they sell a lot of other products, from cheeses (none organic), juices, vashon island coffee, bread, yogurt, and even cookie dough. their online system works well, and the people are very helpful. i say it's worth looking into.

now on thursdays when we hear the big cow-print truck roll up, we race down to our adorable porch milk box. my little guy starts shouting "we got fresh milk!" and proudly carries one of the 1/2 gallons into the kitchen. it feels so darned old fashioned, in a really really good way.

now we just need to create that chicken coop going i've been dreaming of!

paulette

Smith Brothers Farms
Located in the historic Kent Valley, Smith Brothers Farms is a locally owned and operated dairy farm that has been serving the local Puget Sound community for over four generations. Started in 1920 by Benjamin F. Smith with one cow and a few customers, the farm quickly flourished.

...do you like your dairy source?

a few things

i love a good deal on great food. i just found this list of bellevue happy hours and wanted to share. my favorite spot on the list is bis on main: best steak frites around ($19/$14). sit in the bar and have it with a glass or two of cabernet sauvignon 'reserve', moon mountain ($12). their happy hour is 9:00 p.m.-closing monday-saturday. 40% off bar menu items, $3 off all wines by the glass, $5 well drinks. we often hit this one after a good movie at lincoln square.

Old Bellevue
10213 Main Street
(425) 455-2033
bisonmain.com

we watched a single man this weekend. i found it captivating. it is honest, showing beauty and pain in everyday life and love. colin firth plays a british professor living in l.a. devastated by the death of his partner. it is directed by tom ford of the fashion world (gucci and yves saint laurent). most of the supporting rolls are filled with shockingly gorgeous people. many scenes look like fashion spreads. i loved it.

while watching the credits i was startled when i saw "paulette" roll by! i rarely see my name anywhere. the only 2 paulettes i've found in movies was the old maid from 'ever after' and jennifer coolidge in 'legally blonde'. neither very flattering. i got my hopes up that this paulette was the actor playing the super-model-esque 'lois' character. no such luck. of course it was the woman playing colin firth's maid.

lastly, on this grey seattle summer day, i am sleepy. i saw this photo and wanted to somehow rally my energy and be this adorable preppy farm chic with chicks. skirt from emerson made :

toodaloo,

paulette

p.s. i am terribly annoyed with blogger's editor, so i maybe moving this blog. stay tuned.

mama's got a brand new bag

i am in love with my new diaper bag. though we are about to see if we can break jack of the nappy way of life, i'll be keeping this bag for a while. a year ago i bought myself a gorgeous l.a.m.b. bag that was $$$. it was a present to myself for making it through the first year of motherhood with everyone still alive. it was ruined in no time by a leaky sippy cup (with everything they have created and improved, where is the truly spill-proof cup??).

i vowed never to spend more than $100 on a bag and that it would be wipe-able. i've found the bag of my dreams! the j.j. cole technique bag, which i got on babiesrus.com for $79.

it's roomy, has tons of pockets inside and out to keep me organized. also it comes with some great accessories, like a big changing pad, and stroller grips that work much better than my old ones. i love the wide zip pocket on the outside, i can keep all diaper paraphernalia in one spot.

this bag is a little large and doesn't fit easily into the basket of my maclaren volo stroller. however, it's super lightweight, so i don't mind having it on my shoulder.

now back to chores...

p

travel : long beach, wa

last week we headed out to the cloudy and cool washington coast caravaning with my mom to long beach. we never seem to leave on time for things, but this is why i love road trips - it doesn't really matter! that's not to say i wasn't running about trying to hurry everything along. but hey, you can pull over whenever you need a coffee or to change a diaper. and if your kid ain't happy, no one suffers but you.

our boy is a great little traveler. he always has been, and we are unbelievably grateful. with stu not technically employed since january, we have been trying to dash off as often as we can. this trip was really special to me. we visited the same spot one year and one month earlier which gave us a side-by-side comparison to how much our boy has changed. last year he was one and barely walking, this year he was running, digging, "swimming", building sand castles, flying a kite, riding carousel and real horses, and holding his own ice cream cone (a big milestone in our family).

ok, i can't help it. the boy had so much fun, i can't resist sharing :

alright, i think i have that out of my system.

highlights of long beach... it's a dinky town, let's be honest, filled with tchotchke shops and greasy food. the beach is flat and cars can drive on it. but, there are some gems to be found. if you want tide pools, go to the seaview beach entrance, hang a left and DRIVE on the beach (yes i felt terribly guilty, then elated, nearly doing doughnuts in the sand!) for about 5 minutes to the end of long beach. go at LOW TIDE but watch your clock, people can get stuck out here. you'll see lots of muscles, barnacles and anemones, and have great big rocks to climb on. no star fish on our visit.

we loved our time out at cape disappointment. there is a well-designed museum depicting life at the time of lewis and clark. it has a gorgeous view, an old fort, big fatty eagles, and the lighthouse is just a semi-challenging hike away.

just below cape disappointment is waikiki beach, where we waited and waited for lunch at 'serious pizza'. the owner seriously oversold his product. it was good, but he said his was better than veraci's, and that is a big claim. veraci is my favorite, and serious pizza didn't come close.

waikiki beach is fantastic. i've never seen anything like it. for a while i have been so sad about how everyone today has an iphone stuck to their face, but here... imagination abounds. drift wood covers the beach, and all around are the beginnings of structures waiting for kids to build upon them. in one area there was a ship's mast with sail and teens and tween were scouting around for the perfect piece of wood to complete their design. it filled me with hope.

restaurants :

go to ole bob's fish market in ilwako (just 5 min from town) for fresh dungeness crab. we also got their perfectly delicious shrimp cocktail with homemade sauce. we did not try the house special - crab cakes. i steamed the crabs for a couple of minutes and melted some butter with garlic, then poured some very cold sauvignon blanc. YUM. it really was the most flavorful dungeness crab i've had, it almost compared to alaskan king: the most devine thing in the universe.

doogers isn't bad and so noisy your child could scream non-stop and no one would bat an eyelash. a big fish tank in the waiting area kept the boy very entertained.

the ice cream shop & candy shop at the end of town is just what you'd want. kids eyes bug out, and so do my husband's, every time.

my favorite place to eat is a lovely restaurant called pelicano. it's 5 min away in ilwako. you get to stare at the harbor, something i love to do, enjoy their perfect light delicious food, desserts, and dreamy cocktails. plus, the people working there are beyond sweet. the chef even gave me tips for pan searing halibut.

my mom babysat and sent us out to dinner at the shelbourne. we were underwhelmed. our server was the most lovely woman, but the owner seemed a little arrogant and after boasting about his fantabulous wine collection, brought us a bottle of ice cold syrah. he also offered to have us sleep in his wine closet. odd guy.

lodging :

we are super lucky. my parents belong to a time share that has condos all over the place. they always invite us along, which for us mean free vaca! (thanks mom and dad). here is a peek inside the long beach trend west unit we stayed in. this is the presidential suite, which has a huge kitchen and a hot tub on the deck. you can see why we extended our stay.

up the street is two last things i must mention. the organic market is like a tiny whole foods, and if you're a little food snobby like me, it is a necessary complement to the grocery store on the main drag.

we loved the people and horses at back country wilderness. they have a little pony, annie, that was slow and gentle for our boy to practice on. two days later we came back and did a full hour ride. little man and stu rode together on their biggest horse, mandingo.

it's a tourist town. it's 4 hours from seattle. if you go, i hope these tips will be useful, and that you can have fun in all the silliness.

happy trails,

p

home : sprucing up the boy's room

our boy's room has pretty-much looked the same as the day he moved in, 2+ years ago. with a mild blue and green palette and a hint of sea life all around, it was a lovely place. now that my babe is becoming a boy, i feel the need for some bolder colors. maybe my little guy was telling me something when he accidentally knocked down his lamp and tore the shade.

after a loong nap (thank you sweet boy for allowing your mama to unpack!) i coerced stu into getting the ladder and helping me hang up the nautical flags from our boy's first "cracker jack" sailor birthday.

the change was inspiring. so i hit the worlds most amazing non-existent place.
etsy, i love you, your wonders can rob hours from my day!

check out what i found. i haven't ordered anything yet. i always need to think things over for a while. hopefully what i want is still available when i finally pull the trigger :

or

both from bexpert for $20 unframed, i love the quirky wording.

from my sparow $89

she lives in paris and also makes this for $39
(shouldn't mama get a little something for all her hard work?)

vinyl wall sticker from circle line studio for $36

created by black baroque for $10 unframed

now, in all honesty, my little guy is less into boats than he is into rockets, planes, guitars, pianos, and any power tool. but hey, i love all things stripey and nauti, so while i still get to pick, i'm going with what i like.

how say ye?
p

work : larissa's wedding invitation

one of my longest friendships is with a sweet girl who shares my birth day, just two years earlier than mine. we met when i was around 13 in civil air patrol and formed a safety net to survive the tumultuous teen years with two others: camille and mariah. we were the
"74 girls" (fun story), and we will always be connected.

anywho, our little lala is getting married! i adore her fiance, chris, and love seeing how happy they are together. they asked me to design their wedding papers for their gift (woohoo, a no cost gift!). so far i have done a save the date card and the invitation, and am pleased with how they look. i had to guess what they'd like as they didn't even give me colors they like :) i picked an orchid for the invite. to me it is both sophisticated and playful, just like the couple.

(click to enlarge)

i blurred out the important info so you can't crash the party. they are keeping the wedding small, so if you don't receive one, you probably should have called them more often.

cheers to the bride and groom!

p