New York New York...

Time Square...at night.  The first night of our arrival.

Needless to say, Time Square is a bit more overstimulating than I remember it being.

OK.

A lot more stimulating.

The Plaza Hotel.

Incidentally, we were in New York the same time as Charlie Sheen.  We didn't stay at The Plaza Hotel, so we missed the whole crazy naked Charlie party.

Which may have been more overstimulating than Time Square.

Also?  There's an Eloise flag among the other flags.  I totally didn't realize it until I was walking by sometime later and I was just too hurried to snap another shot.

New York's like that.

It gets into your blood quick.

Tiffany's...and their clock.

Sigh.

Located on Fifth Ave. right next to Trump Tower.

New York Pizza.

I seem to eat very very well on my vacations.

And while this looks fantastic, it's right down the block from New York's top rated pizza...which I tried as well.

Of course.

Rockefeller Center.

Yes, the ice skating was all set up.  Although, the first day of our trip was the coldest...the rest of the days were in the 70's...which means yes, it was warmer than my little Arizona town.  Which also means that yes, I had too many warm clothes with me.

Sigh.

I did not in fact, ice skate.  This was purely Dina's dream...I did actually take a photo of her, but I chickened out.  While I'm young at heart, I all of a sudden worry about ridiculous things like:  If I fall?  What is the likelihood I will break my arm?  Or worse yet, my hip?

My pink cupcake from the Magnolia Bakery...from our Sex and the City tour.

Yes, a glorious three hour tour all over the city which plied me with so many fun facts it left me questioning if I'd ever even watched the series.

On a special note, we did drive by the Puck Building, which made a little special mention as our guide pointed out that the building was also part of another famous series and did anyone know what it was?  Which means that I yelled, "Will and Grace!!"

Because truth be known?

I would have been just as happy to be on a Will and Grace tour as a Sex and the City tour.

We three gals...

That would be me (left to right) Dina and Kari.

Balancing our cupcakes on top of our coffee...which was a special feat because I'd just been inside the Lulu Guiness store in The Village and was a bit over the moon about the entire experience.

Oh Lulu.

You were such a magnificent surprise!

This is a shot from inside Buddakan...the restaurant where Carrie and Big had their wedding rehearsal dinner in the first movie.  It was a pretty fantastic fusion restaurant that we really wanted to get back to...But I'm unsure of how spendy the menu was.

Our tour guide said we'd get a free drink if we went back.

I wonder why we never made it back there?

Good grief.

And some random tall buildings.

Because everything is so gloriously big in New York.

This would be Dina and I...all bundled up.

This also begs the question as I was going through photos...why does it look like I'm leaning in towards everyone?

Seriously.

At least she's not leaning away from me.

Also?

That is my FAO Shwarz bag which later went missing.  Oh, I know what you're thinking...some nasty person nabbed my bag.  They didn't.  All the New Yorkers we met were simply delightful...apparently, I'd left the bag to close to the trash can in our hotel and the maid threw it out.

With a special Barbie bag I'd bought Rozz and my Tiffany's boxes.

Drat.

Oh, I did buy a heart lock charm at Tiffany's by the way.  In case you were wondering.  Also?  In case you're wondering, my eye makeup is darker in New York.

I have no idea why this is...but both Dina and I noticed it.

I, for some reason, have not been able to replicate this in Arizona.

Maybe it's a city thing.

 

This is a shot of a famous church that I don't know the name of, but probably a hundred people will leave it in my comments.

That's fine.

This is Cartiers.

On Fifth Ave.

Cartiers currently houses the eternity bracelet I want.  But, I firmly believe this is not a gift for me to get myself.  I am very good to me, but this gift?  I'm holding out for someone else to give it to me.

Hear that universe!?

This is the very bracelet your lover locks onto your arm and they keep the key.

LeSigh.

Also?

I don't wear yellow gold...only white (or platinum I suppose...but there's no need to get greedy)

And I'll end this installment One on New York with this fabulous black and white photo.

Because New York looks so lovely in shades of gray.

And Home Again...

I'm back from my six day jaunt to The Big Apple.  Although to confess?  It seems like I was gone for so much longer than that.  It must be because we packed so many things into the days and nights we were there...

That has to be it.

As it is, our plane was late (by two hours) due to some rerouting over Georgia (something about tornadoes...)  (goodness)  (although I got to see a very cool tower lightening cloud from the window of the plane) So, we got in later than was expected...which made my mind resemble an overripe peach this morning, and by overripe peach I mean that it is all fuzzy and mushy, and here I was completely expecting to sort and edit photos today (if I had the time after playing catch up) and realized I can't do that without my external hard drive...

blah blah blah...

And obviously I forgot all of that because I was standing outside my house this morning desperately trying to hail a cab for a full 15 minutes and not one would stop for me!  Believe it or not...not one came up my road, so I decided I would just have to hop on the subway instead...and then I remembered that I was in a small town in northern Arizona and none of those things were going to happen, so I eased myself in my car and hoped I could remember how to drive myself.

It worked...but only just.

And now you'll have to wait for pictures from the trip...

Picture Credit

Just When You Thought...

I would be posting regularly.

Or maybe that's just what I was thinking...?  Halfheartedly.  Last week?  When I posted more than once.  Honestly...I had great hopes for myself.

Sigh.

I'm stepping off the self-whipping post now.

Honestly, it's the words of life.  They are still escaping me...someone recently told me maybe instead of talking about what is going on in my life, it was more of a feeling thing.

So, scuse me while I feel all over the place.

(that sounds illegal)

Ok...so here's the happs:

*I think I am mostly over my cold/allergy situation.  Just some residual coughing and spluttering here and there.  In fact, I made it to the gym today to walk on the treadmill for almost an hour.  Lifting weights almost made me collapse, and I was only thinking about it...imagine what would have happened if I would have actually done something more?

*Fall has arrived in my little corner of Arizona.  I also decorated my mantle for Halloween...and I know how much you adore seeing those pictures, and I will most certainly post them soon.  I promise.

*At one point not too long ago, I totally ran out of hangers at Snap! Snap!  and shortly thereafter, I ran out of room...and I still had a 4 foot pile of clothing to be priced and put away and more walking through the door every minute.  You'll be happy to know that this pricing/organizing/markingdown/rearranging has happened...and the shop is stocked and fabulous...I have a surplus of everything (which is just fantastic as the weather is about to change and it's time to start thinking of new wardrobe items)

*I have been keeping a secret.

*I know.

*Not fair.

(*It's a biggie too...)

*And, it kind of affects you directly (mostly) (mostly not because I've been so crazy quiet here as of late)

*The blog will be quiet for the rest of the week...because I'm going away.

*Again.

* This is a total spur/surprise trip for me (which means in between having my head in the clouds, I've been packing and repacking the perfect wardrobe...)

*Thursday will find me and two of my loveliest girlie friends boarding a plane to other places. You can follow me on facebook like my Seattle trip if you're so inclined (although, I'm borrowing a point and shoot so there will be scads of pictures and probably words when I get back)

...And here's a bit of a hint as to where I will be landing:

And yes, I am totally delirious.

Totally.

Achoo.

Is it starve a cold feed a fever, or is it the other way around?

Achoo.

I don't want to jinx myself either way...but after waking up with a telltale sore and dry right nostril last night and the inability to want to crawl out of bed and leap into my day with verve and gusto (it's been like this for a few days...I just thought I was being a space cadet) and after spending more than a few days intermittently sneezing, I have come to the conclusion that I either have a fall weather cold or allergies.

The fall weather cold occurs for me most every year due to the days being very warm and the nights being very cold.  It's been this way since I was a small tyke (according to my mother) and it seems like some years I can sneak into fall without being sniffled...I really should be more preventative, after all these years...but it's almost like I can't wrap my mind around the idea that this could happen.

Again.

(and I'm old)

(I should totally know better)

The allergy theory is coming about because of the rather large plume of billowing smoke that is ascending behind the mountains and settling on the town due to a prescribed burn.

I think they are trying to kill us.

I say this because more than 50% of the people I'm coming into contact with are sniffling, sneezing, and wiping their eyes.  I also totally stopped taking anything for my allergies a couple of months back.  Probably too soon...again in denial that they really aren't serious about their threat to burn the surrounding area for three months.

Three.  Months.

Roll that around on your tongue for a while and tell me how that feels.

It feels like I need to get my tush up to CostCo and invest in more Zyrtec, that's what.

Or soup.

Because I'm not sure which one of these it is:  Cold or allergies.

I shall just take a Zyrtec with a soup chaser.

That should totally help.

I think...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

I left these horrible little white chocolate and raspberry covered cherries I brought back with me from Seattle at my mother's last night accidentally.

Naughty little things...

I do miss their red cheeriness though.

LeSigh.

Decoupage Art...Sort of.

A while ago (although I think it was only two or three posts ago, because I'm suffering from ICan'tFindTheWordsToWriteButYouCouldProbablyCallMeOnThePhone and have not been very chatty...in the writey form) I mentioned my new little robot piece I had made for Foolsewoode...?  It's so very sweet, so if you'd like to scroll down I'll wait.

OK.

Isn't it just darling?

Well, take my word for it, it is even better in person and sadly, not big enough to take up the entire wall above the mantel, although I'm not sure I'd want a piece quite that large (only I have one, but I can't remember if my father has it, or if I have it...and it needs to be framed.  Anywho...) I decided it was floating around on the wall all sad like, so it needed some kind of art companions.

Now, I happen to live with a lot of art.  I love art...and it mostly loves me back, in the fact that it hangs on the wall and is beautiful just for me.  Well, and my guests.  And my cat.  And my lovely house mate DaNece...you get the picture.  But sadly, none of the art I posses was quite right in that spot.  Either it was the wrong size or the wrong subject matter...so I had to really think about this.

Which led me to finally do something with the stack of windows I have that lean against the wall by the mantle.  They originally came from an estate sale in town and are a light pink with green showing through all the crackled paint.  The have their original green glass knobs, and some 1920's looking hinges.  They used to live outside all individually leaning against the house under the picture window (for lack of a better place to put them) and when I had the house repainted, they clashed and had to find a new place to live.

Which really means that they sat in a stack leaning against the wall...and trapped dust, dirt, and spiders behind them.  Every once in a while I would trip over them and then think they needed to go elsewhere, leave them there, and go on my merry way.

Luckily, along came Robot and Sock Monkey and I was finally forced inspired to do something with these windows, because I couldn't possibly get rid of them, and tripping over them wasn't doing anyone any good!

I took the rather shiny and glaring hinges off of them exposing the dark unpainted wood underneath, and proceeded to clean them up (because I'd just hauled them in out of the elements and commenced to stacking, so they were dirty.  While that made the paint age and crackle even more...it made the glass quite dirty.  Ahem...)  Because the knobs were still on the windows, and they were connected to their original hardware, which basically means there's a hook extending from the windows about an inch...which then basically means to us, that they won't lay flat against the wall when hung...it was off to the hardware to figure out the best way to hang them so they would remain mostly stable.

Since they were being hung by a canvas, I decided to use round hooks (is that fish eye?) and attach some random wire I happened to have in the junk drawer to them and then hang them on picture hangers nailed to the wall.  They are stable, and don't extend any more than the canvas they hang next to, so problem solved!

But now what to do with clean shiny blank windows to make them look like art?

Well...I guess you could run hither and fro and gather all the little pieces of mail, art, cards, prints, fortunes, souvenirs...and all those little sweet things that you can't possibly bring yourself to throw away or get rid of, and use them to create seasonal and sweet little displays (with tape ThankYouVeryMuch) on that clean shiny glass of those beautiful little windows that are finally serving a greater purpose than an obstacle to jump over whenever you walk through the room.

I just adore these little thrown together pieces of art and happy reminders of things I adore, and have absolutely no idea how I did not have them hanging there all along?

Of course, this whole wall art overhaul started with me taking down the three pieces of art that had previously hung on that wall and moving them somewhere else entirely...I will take a few quick snapshots and show you how that all ended up soon...

It's For the Children...

Last Friday evening found a whole group of us, including people I knew and don't know...which is saying something in this little town, out and about.

On the town.

Having breakfast for dinner at Sue Ann's Apple Pan, a favorite haunt here in town...In our PJs.

It was for a good cause, and we all brought a new pair of PJs for a child in the Foster Care System through Arizona's Childrens Association and Hickmans Eggs, who gave each of us a whole dozen eggs free when we dropped off our PJs.

But, the chance to wear my PJs out and be totally accepted outside was too much of a lure to leave me sitting idly on the couch.  The place was packed the entire time we were there and the PJ collection box was already overflowing by the time we got there...and we were only there an hour after Sue Ann opened for the event!  It was so wonderful to see the outpouring of love in the community...and I hope there were enough PJs collected for the children...not to mention, we got to happily clutch our dozen eggs as we left the table.  Our waitress also informed us she was donating all of her tips to the organization that evening.  Just fantastic.


I have to tell you how thrilling it was to rush home, put on my PJs, brush my hair...readjust my makeup and run out the door again.  I shall note here that I did iron my PJs previously that day (insert eye roll here) and since I was wearing my sock monkey floating in clouds patterned PJs, I decided to don my red striped socks and sock monkey slippers.

Yes, this girl dresses up when she's in her Pjs.

In public that is.

Which I rarely am.

I'm not one to subscribe to the I Like to Wear My PJ pants Outside the House craze...unless I'm not getting out of the car.  Because, while I do love my own PJs, I don't necessarily want to subject the rest of the town to them...

I am also sorely sorry that I did not take a picture of my feet.  Because they were festive.

So...if you didn't happen to get out for the event, I suppose the only way to see me in my PJs would be to sneak over to Foolsewoode and either look through my windows (which I suggest you don't do, because not only would it scare me...but I think that it is illegal) or knock on the door...and see if I answer it.

Of course there's no guarantee that I will be in those particular PJs, but mostly I'm festive when I dress for bed so you're probably pretty safe.

PS.  I stole all these photos from Andrew.  Because I still can. not. find. my. point and shoot.

NaNoWriMo...

So.

I just signed up for NoMoWriMo, otherwise known as National Novel Writing Month.

What?

Stop laughing.

Seriously.

I can totally hear you.

I know that the blog has been rather, ummm...quiet lately?  But you'll remember that before all this quiet there was a whole slew of wordy pontification (Bear with me, I have to write a 50,000 word novel during the month of November...I'm gonna have to start bringing out the big words.)  Like years and years of wordy.  It's only been recently that it's been more quiet around these parts.

And that's only because I lost my point and shoot...or rather, misplaced it.  I hate to think I lost it.  I know it's going to show up somewhere, and if I was a teenager I'd start by looking under the bed...which is exactly where I found a missing and errant purse years ago (after a week of searching.  What?  There was a lot of mess under my bed.)  (Wait.)  (I totally haven't looked under the bed OR the couch at home) And besides, did it occur to you that perhaps I am going through a whole lot of weird emotional baggage stuff that I've been carrying around for many years now?  Well.  It occurred to me when I burst into tears 3 times in as many days.  I'm still hip deep wading through this particular set of stuffed emotions of my life...but, I'm getting used to the tension.

Perhaps getting used to is too strong of a phrase.  I'm cried out  practicing fake it till I make it  running away   giving up feeling happy 100% of the time  Regrouping...taking a deep breath and getting on with it in spite of feeling uncomfortable (I also scheduled a massage in about a week to help my battered sore body.)  I'm also realizing that no matter what...it's never too late to run a line through things that have happened in my life and replace them with something else.

A better story
Cupcakes
Chocolate
Wisdom.

Wait.

At some point up there did I say that I just signed up for a challenge to write a 50,000 word novel in November?

Ahhh.  I thought so.

50,000 words, eh?

No problem.

New Art...

Created especially for me by one fantastic C. S. Fritz.

I had originally seen his work at a show at The Raven Cafe quite a bit ago and had totally fallen in love with his whimsical style, fantastic colors, and totally incredible robots.

The idea of "Robot Meets Sock Monkey"  popped into my mind almost immediately as I stood in The Raven and looked at all of his pieces (which were all sold the minute they were hung)  and has stuck in there until I could find him and ask when he could put this vision onto canvas.

Mr. Fritz has an upcoming show at The Ian Russell Gallery tomorrow night for our Prescott Fourth Friday Art Walk...and I have had the privilege to see his new pieces hung in the gallery this week.  I am planning to head down to the gallery during my Tour De Fourth Friday tomorrow night as well.

I was able to talk to him about this piece about a month ago, right before I left for Seattle.  I really had no preconceived notions about what I wanted other than a robot and a sock monkey.

He came up with the rest and I absolutely adore it.

Adore it.

(perhaps more so than this seasons ruffled clothing)

I've had to reorganize my art once again at Foolsewoode so I could feature this wonderful robot who is running through the forest, kicking up the trees as a sock monkey flies along behind him...

Absolutely perfect.

The pieces featured on each side of this new canvas are vintage windows I've saved for quite some time...they've been sitting waiting for the perfect opportunity to be displayed.  I really needed something more to balance out the canvas on the large wall and I came up with the idea of using them as a place to display other art, sayings, stickers...other things I love and don't have a place for (I will photograph them soon)  I figured that I could change out my little art collages for each season...or whatever whim comes along.

See?

Totally perfect.

A Well Placed Ruffle...

There seem to be a multitude of ruffles everywhere you look this season.  It's as if someone has sampled the fabled potato chips and you know, no one can eat just one (sorry for putting that jingle into your head, you may lambaste me in the comments) Apparently you can neither eat just one, or put just one on a top.  Or pants, jackets, shoes, pants...or like the special frock I'm wearing today...a dress.

I would love to show myself off, but darned if I can find my little point and shoot.  She is indeed lost at the moment, and I am scouring around thinking that she'll pop back in or is staring at me from somewhere, honestly I am at a total loss here.

As it is, picture this in your mind:  A black cotton knee lenght dress with a high pleated stand up collar cascading into ruffles down the front on either side of a buttoned front.  Pleated skirt with a tie belt around the waistline.  It is pretty awesome.  Pretty classic.  And looks great with my straight hair.  I am also wearing it in honor of Arthur's Birthday.

Happy Birthday Sweet Arthur...

But really, this seasons obsessions with ruffles is sweet...if it wasn't so, well...ruffly.  I tried on many a top this weekend (and mostly all at Anthropologie) and while they were cut lovely with some of the most fantastic patterned fabric...there were these crazy ruffles, and ones that were usually placed right at the chest area.  Which is cute as a bugs ear on the hanger, but makes one look a little boobalicious when you put them on and they stand straight out, launching themselves off the girls and arriving a full minute before the rest of you does.

We all laughed a bit.

I mean, I have been known to take a fashion risk or two in my day, but seriously?

Ruffles.

I quickly realized that need to be pleated just so, and not too many inches thick or you've got problems.

Serious problems.

A small cluster of ruffles is feminine and fun...a large one makes you look like Austin Powers.  In a bad way, not the shagadellic way you want to look.  (If that is what one is after...)  I saw garments with huge ruffles on the chest of course, but what got me was the ones down by the stomach and hips.  Unless you are a serious stick insect, ruffles on your tummy or sticking out from your hips is not a flattering look.  Nor is the whole other style we noticed of weird scraps of fabric just sewn willy nilly to the front of a tee-shirt...all crazy like.  I kept thinking they were just large pieces of lint that had attached themselves to these garments by mistake and kept trying to pick them off.

Although now I think all of us who sew now have ideas of what to do with our scrap bags.

Testing...1 2 3

Is this thing on??

Oh dear.

I've neglected this space something fierce haven't I?  I'm so very sorry...I have been thinking of the blog fondly as I run full speed around in my life though, and I'm sure that has to count for something.

Although, maybe not.

Probably not.

I have actually been very busy.  There has been truckloads coming into the shop which takes up a lot of the time I reserve to write in this space...but more importantly?  I haven't felt very chatty.  In fact, I have been saying to myself, "Self?  This is not even that interesting to write about...and besides, what would it be like to just jump ship for a bit?"  Which is a very odd thought indeed.  I have had just enough energy to wake up before the sun, go to the gym, get ready for my day, work my tail off, come home and vibrate in a chair for a while...call it relaxation, and then do errands (in my off moments).  It was in fact, the other day whilst driving home from CostCo that I thought to myself, "Self?  We could totally go away...somewhere tropical.  We could do that you know.  There's not much other than the obvious responsibilities that is holding us back"

Then I realized I was probably being dramatic and mostly sounded a little like Stella, and perhaps all I need to do is try to get my groove back.

So here I am...groovin' away.

I did have a bit of an opportunity for an escape this last weekend however which entailed getting in DaNece's car and riding down the mountain and into The Valley of the Sun...and participating in some long time coming boot shopping.  We went to Last Chance and oddly enough, boots were 40% off...so I nabbed a couple of pairs (seeing as that was my focus after all)  Needless to say they were both lovely and quite a steal at less than $24.00 a piece (Steve Madden short red cowboy boots and Michael Kors tall dark brown suede boots)  I also found a wool cream colored pea coat (which I totally didn't need because I adore jackets and I honestly don't have room in my jacket closet, but it looked so lovely on me...and into the basket it went) and a Michael Kors long black over-sweater thing...oh, and the most fantastic black dress with a stand up collar and ruffles running down the front of it.

Swoon.

I just got my hair cut with a lot more choppy layers in it last week, and I have been doing it straight for a total change so these things look fantastic with my new hair.

Isn't that just the way of it?

Well that and I'm not enamored of anything in my closet and drawers at the moment.  I think it's about time to invite my sister home for a once over...she's so good about going through my stuff and making me part with things I think I can't live without (mostly she makes fun of me, but it seems to do the trick quite well)

But, in all actuality I owe her a trip and she's right by the seaside...so maybe I should just scrap it and get my groove back after all...

Mostly Wordless Wednesday...

Last Friday night marked the anniversary of 100 years of football at Prescott High School.

I went to the game with Dina...

Someone managed to bring along a very old football player who was in his 80's to be honored on the field before the game started.

I wore my letterman's sweater that I received while attending PHS after lettering in band for two years.

I was a flag girl.

While I'm not actually in my 80's, I did attend PHS in the 80's and thought it was rather bold of me to wear a sweater that if you did some quick subtraction, you could pretty much pin point my age after reading my left front pocket.

(which also happens to house a pin that says "I survived the graduation party of 1988")

(duh.)

I still treasure my letterman's sweater and felt a whole lot nostalgic after I dug it out of the cedar chest, and blew the layer of dust off of it.

(well, nostalgic for the parts of High School I could remember anyway...hee-hee!)

It feels all sorts of special to be a part of Prescott's history...that doesn't include a mug shot or nasty write-up in the local paper.

Dina's lovely and talented niece is in the band as well, and she did an outstanding job marching all over the field.

(they played songs from Wicked...which I thought was very cool)

Of course, I had to critique the current flag line...who was wearing some pretty crazy make-up and hair colors.  Dina's mother leaned over at one point and said, "Wouldn't you have loved to do your face up like that?" and I looked at her horrified and said, "Um.  NO!  I was much too cool to do that ThankYouVeryMuch!"

Although, with age I may be remembering that all wrong too.

Seattle :: Day 4 AND 5 :: Because It's Taken Me Longer To Re-Cap The Vacation Than Actually Take The Vacation...

You've been so good.

Hanging in there with me, as I recap this vacation (to be truthful, I've lost a bit of interest myself, but I'm not sleeping well lately so that could be contributing to my sudden apathy...)  At any rate, I thought I'd reward you with this double rainbow.

We happened to see it when we went to the waterfall on our fourth trip day, who's name escapes me at the moment.

Isn't that horrible?

(the fact I can't remember the name, not the falls...they're quite lovely)

It was very misty from all the falling water, so we got wet...which made me wonder why I'd taken so long to do my hair.  Only it takes me about 10 minutes to do my hair, so I wasn't that put out.

There's a very cool lodge up on the left side of the falls that's been there since the 30's or 40's or something like that.  I couldn't get as good of shot with the Elph that Claudine got with her Droid...go figure, but I think it's the lodge in Twin Peaks.  There was going to be a wedding there that day, which made me a bit jealous because we don't have any waterfalls in Prescott to get married next to.

Then again, I think I read somewhere that Washington has more waterfalls than any other state.

I have no idea if this is true or not...

If I sound a bit confused it sets us up perfectly for what happened next on our trip.

We got lost.

We were trying to get to the Japanese Gardens and we ended up in the most lovely residential neighborhood on the water instead...which is exactly where I posted on facebook that I was looking for my new dream house and scared a few people.

Looking.

I can't imagine I could afford to buy, much less rent something in this zip-code.

And if I did, I would most likely get lost...because our GPS told us our destination was 100 feet on the right and Claudine grabbed my arm as I lept out to knock on the big mansions door and ask if we could see their backyard.

What?

They may have Japanese plants.

We lucked out though because not only was I not arrested for trespassing, but the neighborhood mail carrier was out and he pointed over our heads towards the right direction.

We took the scenic route back by the water and passed the place where Niles moved out when he divorced his wife on Frasier.

I know.

The GPS wanted us to see that so much more than the Japanese Gardens.

Which we found eventually after only getting lost once more.

They are lovely gardens...built around a large center pond, in which lives a whole lot of Koi, and a turtle.  In fact, there was a little boy shrieking at the top of his lungs "Turtle!!" the entire time he was there.  He's lucky he didn't get pushed in by anyone.

What?

There was no railing on the little bridges.  That could be dangerous.

There was also a very cool Heron.

Who was very itchy.

He actually stood there most of the time itching himself.

Poor guy.

All in all it was mostly serene when I couldn't hear the constant shrieking or worry about the poor itchy bird, because I'm not sure how stressed out I was supposed to be walking around this property.

The bird did stop itching about the time we decided to meander on our way.

Thank heavens.

That was one less thing I needed to worry about as we kept getting lost all day.

It was then off to The Smith Tower for a little tour and quick zip up to the top of the tower, and the observation deck.

We've already covered my fear of heights, I know...but there was something special I was after at the top floor of this building.

The Wishing Chair.

After boarding the Otis elevator (and only a few of those are in operation anymore) complete with an elevator operator...and a totally see through door (behind the ornate brass designs) which meant you could see all the office floors we were passing...we were at the top in a very Oriental decorated room.

We spied the chair first thing...

The lore of the chair is that it's a wishing chair...so your wishes come true if you sit in it, and if you're single and you sit in it, you should be married within the year.  So we both plunked down in the chair and sat there wondering if there was any sort of chanting or sayings we were supposed to repeat.

Mostly I just sat there and drank my coffee.

And I wished.

You'll be happy to know that I walked along the entire observation sidewalk on the outside of the building, which Claudine informed me was much scarier than the Space Needle.

Oh well.

Maybe it's the age of the building I was in?  I just happen to feel a lot more comfortable in old buildings.

And then it was on to Theo Chocolate for a tour I'd set up.  They are a very popular place and tours need to be booked in advance.  Luckily I scored the last two openings on Saturday the week before and we jumped in for our tour.

(after missing our turn on the freeway and almost making us late)

It was awesome.

(the tour, not the 9 point turn that would take us down the shady alley to get onto the freeway...that was just confusing)

They talk to you all about their Organic Fair Trade beans and let you sample chocolate.

For an entire hour.

They are also certified as Fair Trade, so their business practices are watched carefully too.

We toured their whole facility...

I know...it would be more interesting if I remembered what everything did.

I had eaten a whole lot of chocolate by that point.

Those are large bins of chocolate hulls, or nibs, or seeds...

Whatever.

It smelled divine!

It was somewhat hard to concentrate because there was this German guy who kept asking the most detailed and scientific questions of our tour guide.  She did a lovely job answering him, even though it must have been hard because we were all rolling our eyes at this point.

That's him on the right side of the frame.

We also got to sample some confections...which they don't usually ship too far from their factory as they only have a 2.5 week shelf life.

(I brought some home for my mother:  Green Tea and Ginger, Chai and Pumpkin Spice, A Salted Lavender Caramel, and my favorite...Dark chocolate with a Chocolate and Basil Ganache.  Which I have vowed to recreate because it was so of the hook delicious.)

Also?

I think that was a chocolate Buddha head, but Mr. German Guy had taken up all of our question time, so I didn't get to ask.

In their front room, they have all their chocolates out for sale and sample.

We won't go into the specific amount I spent, but let's just say...

I have some great chocolate at home.

That night we went to the Microsoft building in Bellevue and went bowling.  I know...I'm a horrible bowler, but the whole place mostly up and turned into a dance club, so I was pretty much in heaven after that.

And I've decided to wind it up and let you know that we went out to the wine country before leaving on the plane the next day.

To go on the Red Hook Brewery Tour.

$1, 1 hour, 8 beers.

In a small tasting glass, but still...

Very good.

And oddly enough, the original Red Hook Brewery is now the Theo Chocolate building.

It is indeed a very small world.

 After all.

And people are seriously in to riding their bikes all around, which made me panic about not being able to ride a bike.  I mean, if I moved there I would obviously have to learn how to ride a bike.

Not that I have any plans to move, but I had to feel panicked nonetheless.

(it could have been all the beer I had just recently drank as well)

Then I noticed all these bikers were sitting around drinking pitchers of beer.

Ok.

Now there's something I can get behind.

Drunk people on bikes.

That way no one would notice if I couldn't ride or not, they'd just think I was pushing my bike because I was too tipsy to ride.

One of the great things about eating at the brewery was not only did they hand pull from the kegs before the beer was bottled, but they had organic locally raised pumpkin seeds on the appetizer menu.

Which were lovely.

OK.

That's pretty much it and I would think it's going to be back to mostly normal around here now.

Phew, eh?

Seattle :: Day 3 :: Driving...

Day three found us hopping a ferry in search of vampires and werewolves on the Olympic Peninsula.

OK.

Not really...but we were close to Forks, so it totally could have happened.  Then again, I suppose I was about as close to Forks that day as I'm as close to SanDiego when I'm home...I mean yes, I can drive there in a day...but do I have the time?

After landing in Kingston, we drove for miles until we hit Port Townsend.  Which was actually a 21 mile detour out of our way, but Port Townsend is one of my most favorite places in Washington and Claudine drove me all the way there so I could have a cuppa at my third most favorite coffee house in the world (that and I kept going on and on about it...so it could have been a defense mechanism...)

(My first favorite coffee house being Macys in Flagstaff, followed by The Caffe Florian...the oldest coffee house in the world who is situated in Venice Italy)

Port Townsend happens to be an epically wonderful Victorian town right on the tip of the Olympic Peninsula...which means you have forest all around you and then Canada right across the water.

Fabulous, no?

A 30 minute pit stop just for a cuppa.

Cause' that's how we roll.

Also?  The local architecture is off the hook.

Look at that pretty heart design (you can sort of see it) it's proof they love me too.

And then it was on to Hurricane Ridge.

Claudine had a few stops planned to make, but I think the guide she saw these places on was overestimating the amount of time we had...or underestimating the time it takes to drive between each of these locations.  You see, Washington while things are often close together in miles...are on very curvy roads so it takes twice as long to get where you're going.

Which is fine.

Unless you want to go to the Polar Ice Caps, The Rain Forest, and The Beach all in one day (while making a coffee detour and a stop to have lavender sorbet in Sequim...oh, and there's totally a road there called "Kitchen-Dick"  Um...yeah.  I would LOVE to have my address on that road!)

But we made it at least to Hurricane Ridge...and I just know that all those vampires and werewolves were just over the other side (that's where Forks is actually.)  Heck...we could have used a couple of vampires or werewolves and we could have climbed on their backs and they could have run us around to all the places we were trying to get to lickety split.

Maybe the guidebook should have mentioned that?!

Sheesh!

And we saw some awesome wildlife...

A mommy and baby deer.

Actually there were deer all over the place once you started really looking...

This is a picture of a mommy deer teaching a baby deer to lick the pavement:

I was all, "Hey!!  I got a great deer tongue in action shot!!  Oh gosh.  I hope that's not antifreeze!"

This is most likely why people look at me weird and move in a far different direction when I'm at a national park.

Well, except for The Grand Canyon...the Germans just try to push me in when I'm there.

After our 12 mile hike, and by 12 mile hike I mean 2 mile stroll...we went into the gift shop and browsed around.  There I found a book about a lady they found in a lake who met with foul play like a million years ago, but her body had been perfectly preserved in its cool Victorian clothing.  And now looking back, I wish I wouldn't have picked the book up because I can't get the whole thing out of my head.

Seriously.

The only links I can find look like this:  http://www.ladyofthelake.com/  And they're all cheery and pretty and you can have weddings out there, and all I can remember is all these horrible pictures of this poor woman they found all frozen.

I'm not sure what they're doing up there, but I may reserve my marriage for somewhere else thank you.

Why DO I do things like this to myself?

At any rate...as we were leaving we saw a sign posted on the door that announced there was an especially aggressive mountain goat in the area and if you saw it that you should yell and throw rocks at it.

Well good grief.

I hate to throw rocks at wildlife, and if it's particularly aggressive and it saw me throwing rocks at it and it heard me yelling, I would think that it would then know exactly whom it should express its aggression towards.

Although, it was cold up there due to all the glaciers so I'm sure that the run would have warmed me up, but I would have probably tripped over a deer or something.

The Pacific Northwest can sometimes be dangerous.

Apparently.

To be continued...