seattle square market

saturday july 17th was a big morning. we got up semi-early, ate light, then headed for a family bus trip to pioneer square. i wanted to be the first to arrive for opening day, and make it back home for nap time.

(we took the 550 bus from mercer island's park and ride. made it there in less than 20 min.)

reading the buzz about a new market in occidental park made me eager to check out the local artists - and of course - SKILLET [the best burger you will ever eat]. this new market did not disappoint, we had to hit the ATM twice! everything we got was under $30, but a lot of $10 and $20 goodies adds up.

the seattle square : keep up with the changing line-up of vendors on their fun blog (if you're out of town, this is a perfect way to not miss a thing).

ilee papergoods : one of my FAVORITE letterpress people in the universe. and now she puts her designs on kids tees. my wallet didn't stand a chance...

tako fibers : cute kits with templates to create your own embroidery projects.

i learned a little about "steam punk" from tin plate studios. beyond unique. it was all so strange i couldn't look away. very nice vendors.

my favorite new find : slide sideways. they are extra-special nice ;) i got their "let the sun shine in poster" and wish i got the water slide one. and some journals. i hope they'll be there again.

love my new $20 earings from carlotta valdes made from vintage 70s brass.

up-cycle kids clothes and $3 patches that you can sew onto your own threads : kitchen ink. see the boy's new vintage bicycle shirt below.

more up-cycle awesomeness, many vendors within one booth : the green chair project

our boy's new friend from the green chair project. he named him "fa fa fa po bo," but he could have been singing along with the beat of the open-air D.J.

skillet. skillet. i want more skillet. stu got the lamb sloppy joe for a change and it was intensely good with indian spices, pickled cucumber, and pecans. on this visit they had the best iced tea i've had for just a buck, laced with basil. oh i hope they come back to the mercer island farmers' market... they have BACON JAM. you must experience this.

the next truck down the line is sweet treats. stu flipped when he saw the sandwich cookies. we tried the chocolate chip sandwich cookie (too sweet for me) and the peanut butter one, which was SUBLIME. stu, who makes a lot of homemade ice cream) was pleased with parfait's creamy subtle flavors. their logo is cute enough to make me visit again.

ok, here is everything we bought - yikes.

i don't think you can see my tiny earrings on the hollyhocks image... sorry carlotta. you can click on the image to enlarge.

i found a cow to replace the one i couldn't get in paris 4 years ago.

The Seattle Square
From now until the end of September, Pioneer Square will be featuring a new outdoor market from 11am – 5pm every Saturday. The Seattle Square, located in Occidental Park, features a wide range of vintage and craft vendors; selling everything from locally designed clothing, to handmade housewares and accessories, to mid-century furniture. A rotating selection of Seattle’s mobile food vendors serve up a variety of fantastic eats set to a live soundtrack, hand crafted by a rotating cast of local DJ’s. Come take a stroll through Seattle’s newest outdoor market in its oldest neighborhood.


the vendors will be rotating, and perhaps the food too, which will keep me coming back. you MUST check out this market! ride the bus and don't forget to bring plenty of cash.


have fun!
paulette


...did you go? what did you think?

mercer island : mostly music in the park 2010

it is about time i finally do a post on my home town of mercer island. what kind of resident would i be if i didn't promote my own community? it is a wonderful, supportive, quirky, familyfamilyfamily place, and we've loved all of our 4 years here. (we feel much more accepted now that we have a child of course, but that is another story!)

2010 marks the 50th anniversary of mercer island being "mercer island", i guess, and this city loves to celebrate. earlier this month there was the mercer island annual summer celebration, with tons of bounce houses,
a train ride, and a stellar fireworks show. after seeing that, we knew we should finally check out mostly music in the park.

sunday july 18 : we arrived just too late to enjoy the free-for-all birthday cake, but were wowed by the huge turn out of smiling people on blankets and camping chairs enjoying the band. kids ran about. lines lingered for hawaiian shaved ice and turns in the bounce house. and dozens of people were hoola hooping.

for the first night of 9 outdoor concerts, crowds, how do i put this, boogied to a beatle's cover band "nowhere men". the band was lively and their sound was good. i don't know the beatle's catalog by heart, but i didn't really recognize most songs, until they played "yellow submarine". you could see memories of youth sparkling across the faces of dancers in front of the stage.

luckily we brought our own dessert - amazing cookies from street treats we picked up the day before at the seattle square market (review to come soon on that new seattle treasure). it was nearly impossible to hear the music while giving our boy some play time at opposite end of mercerdale park's train playground. eventually, we made our way back to the show.

i don't know if we'll attend more shows this season, maybe the brazilian music show on thursday 29th. follow the link below to the full schedule. but really, isn't it great to have free activities for kids on these savoury summer nights? thank you mercer island, i think we'll stay a little longer.


Mostly Music in the Park
The Mostly Music in the Park program provides nine free community concerts on Sunday and Thursday evenings in July and August each summer. Each concert is an hour and a half in length and all performances are held in Mercerdale Park under the Veteran's Pergola. This great program is brought to you by the Mercer Island Arts Council and the Mercer Island Parks and Recreation Department. CONCERT TIMES: 7pm to 8:30pm

night night,
paulette

...does your community have lots of activites? have you been to mercer island's?

restaurant : mod pizza

bellevue's mod pizza is a great spot for a fast meal. MOD = made on demand, and our lunch was very quick and reasonably priced. after running around at the downtown bellevue park we were ready to eat!

you can mix and match their toppings or choose off the menu. every personal sized pizza is about 8" and $5.88. they offer salads, sweets, milk shakes ($2.85), fountain soda, beer, wine, and milk. our pizzas were very "american pizza" with the usual meats and cheese, and mod pizza made it delicious.

my friend gasped at the beautiful design within reach-type chairs everywhere. this location has a great amount of seating, both indoor and outdoor, and they have lots of high chairs. the cool garage doors were open even on the less-than-hot summer day. and you know i was sold once i saw the striped plates!

go enjoy some fast cheap pizza,

paulette

M.O.D. pizza Bellevue (2 seattle locations)
317 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, Washington 98004
425-455-014
Hours:
11:00-9:00 Sunday - Thursday
11:00-11:00 Friday & Saturday


leave a comment... what is your favorite pizza place? i am crushed that the rooster adorned artisanal table in the bravern has shut down. that was one of the best happy hours in town.

park : lewis creek

bellevue claims this park, but it's on the border of issaquah : I-90 exit 13 (lakemont).

reasons to go : two great play structures, one for toddlers, one for bigger kids : soccer fields above : a perfect little walk around the marshland with a boardwalk, and more trails to explore beyond that : architecturally impressive visitors center with decent bathrooms, wildlife info and friendly 'park ranger' types manning the desk.

on this visit, i met a friend at the starbucks along the way and picked up everything we needed for a picnic. when some bigger kids came to the playground, we headed to the trail, stopped at the picnic table along the boardwalk, and ate in the sun. a lovely day. 

Lewis Creek Park 
5808 Lakemont Blvd. 
Bellevue, WA 98009 
Business Hours: Dawn to dusk

grumpy morning at woodland park zoo

with no plans for the day, i greeted my smiling boy in his crib with a question: what do you want to do today? his first response was "go to gramma grampa's house!" then "ride the carousel at the zoo!" we picked the second. being a cloudy weekday, i thought we'd have run of the place - not so much.

it was chilly, and i wanted coffee. i had bypassed starbucks, really the only option on mercer island, in favor of trying out my favorite bean, cafe vita, at the zoo. bad choice! big lines and a burned, over chocolate-ed mocha. lots of camps were getting their zoo field trips in today, and kids were running or crying everywhere. our boy was a champ through the chaos, gripping his first big lollipop with determination and patience, knowing he had to wait until after lunch to taste it.

we got turned around feeling torn between the gorillas and the carousel, then just went with it seeing whatever animals happened along our zigging and zagging. the jaguar laid right by the glass in all it's magnificence. the orangutan gazed at us with soulful eyes. three elephants were out, including the one i suspect has tragically gone mad, always "dancing" alone in the corner. (please tell me if i'm wrong!)

we shared an "impressive for zoo food" lunch of salmon salad with strawberries and feta ($9) and a grilled salmon sandwich ($9) at the new pacific blue. there are lots of tables, but watch the booster seats/patio chair combo on the gravel, mr. two-year-old who kept pushing his feet against the table fell over backwards. keep vigilant waiting for your food, one woman had her lunch swiped from the pick-up counter before she could get to it. if you're the nefarious type, you could use this to your advantage and score a free meal ;)

despite the grumbly start, the morning ended in a happy place. the sun came out. we ran into a good friend and her sweet kids, whom our boy loves. the big lollipop was a hit, although my boy kept asking "how does it work?" maybe he wanted it to not be so hard to bite? and the biggest bonus for me, he stayed awake the whole drive home then took a big nap before gramma and grampa arrived to babysit!

if you frequent the zoo with young kids, you must get a membership. the cost of admission isn't piddly, and with the $$ ringing in your head, you will be disappointed to find there is no way to see all of the spectacularly large zoo in one trip. if you get in for "free" you don't feel so bad if your kid (or you) just wants to see the giraffes and go.

woodland park zoo
Woodland Park Zoo, located just minutes north of downtown Seattle, Washington, in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood, is a beautiful 92-acre zoo featuring more than 300 different animal species.

: note :
my pics today were disappointing, so these are from previous visits.


...where is your favorite zoo? we are heading to point defiance zoo next week, i'll let you know how it compares.

recipe : steak with béarnaise

yesterday was bastille day and, as a francophile, i honored france's national celebration with food. tuesday i picked up very acceptable pastries at the french bakery in crossroads mall. my two croissants, one raspberry, one marionberry with cream cheese, were still fluffy-flaky even day old. the dark chocolate dipped coconut macaroons, however, were too dense. i abandoned mine mid-munch.

for dinner i attempted something new. i turned to my generation's julia child, the great barefoot contessa, and opened up her cookbook barefoot in paris. steak with béarnaise looked the best, and i knew with ina's guidance, all would taste splendid. i had two simple sides: grilled artichoke and fresh radishes in a bowl of kosher salt. i chose a viognier for the "white wine" in ina's recipe.

i made some changes. stu (hubby) grilled the new york steaks (grocer was out of rib eye) instead of pan searing. since i dislike tarragon, i subbed basil which i have lots of right now.

it was one of the best steaks i've ever had. the béarnaise, with it's 2 sticks of butter, flawlessly accompanied our garden-grown grilled artichokes. anything left was sopped up with grilled baguette. YUM. it was fast and easy, can't beat that.

original recipe : steak with béarnaise
(please excuse the capitol letters)

Ingredients

For the sauce:

1/4 cup Champagne vinegar

1/4 cup good white wine

2 tablespoons minced shallots

3 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon leaves, divided

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

3 extra-large egg yolks

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted

6 (1-inch thick) rib eye steaks

Olive Oil

Coarsely ground black pepper

Directions

For the sauce, put the Champagne vinegar, white wine, shallots, 1 tablespoon tarragon leaves, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, until the mixture is reduced to a few tablespoons. Cool slightly.

Place the cooled mixture with the egg yolks and 1 teaspoon salt in the jar of a blender and blend for 30 seconds. With blender on, slowly pour the hot butter through the opening in the lid. Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of tarragon leaves and blend only for a second. If the sauce is too thick, add a tablespoon of white wine to thin. Keep at room temperature until serving.

Season the steaks liberally with salt and coarsely ground black pepper on both sides. Heat a thin layer of olive oil in a large saute pan over high heat until it's almost smoking, then sear the steaks on each side for 1 minute. Lower the heat to low and cook the steaks for about 7 to 10 minutes, turning once, until very rare in the middle. Remove to a plate, cover tightly with aluminum foil and allow to sit for 10 minutes. Serve with the Bearnaise sauce on the side.

Note: To make the sauce in advance, prepare an hour before serving and allow it to sit in the blender. Before serving, add 1 tablespoon of the hottest tap water and blend for a few seconds.

thinking of paris,

paulette

...did you try this recipe? how did it go?

project : beautiful scraps

this super simple project produces a personalize present in less than five painfree minutes. added bonus - using up scraps of thick gorgeous gift wrap you hate to throw away, especially when one sheet can run $5!

: materials :

glue stick
exacto knife
scraps of pretty paper
magazine or catalog to cut letters from
cutting mat or cuttable surface

you can make these bookmarks any shape you like: super thin and long, wide, square and tiny. if you are feeling gutsy, try circles, ovals, stars or hearts, but i recommend sticking to shapes with square corners as you have to get both sides to match up.

i prefer to either start with a square-ish shape and fold the sides in to meet in the middle of the bookmark's backside rather than having the seam on the edge. if you have a long scrap you can fold it over like a vertical greeting card.

: tips :

make strong creases before you start gluing
don't move the letters around much after gluing, it will mess up the paper
dry under some books sandwiched between paper
(so it won't become glued to your favorite novel)
once dry, use exacto knife or sharp scissors to trim excess paper

try this at home!
p