2850 miles away.

Early Spring

2009-04-26T17:30:00.000-07:00

Here are a selection of photos from March and April.

March started off with a visit from Mom and Dad C. for Brian's 30th birthday. We spent the weekend with them in Portland, and continued the celebration in Seattle during the week!

Portland.

Checking out one of the McMenamin's locations.

Dad at Multnomah Falls.

Old man Brian.

A shot from Brian's surprise party!

Seattle Cask Conditioned Beer Festival

Matt, Keith and Brian.

I pose with a random party hat while Keith is being very serious about the beer.

Keith's Birthday!

I cooked a fancy recipe for Keith from the Cafe Flora cookbook.
Portabello Wellingtons!

Jess made this delicious brownie cheescake!

Wallace Falls hike.

Still a lot of snow on the trees in early April.

Jess, Jess, and Michele come to visit!

We actually convinced Michele to go kayaking in Lake Washington.. on her birthday!

Happy 27th Birthday Michele!

OBC out celebrating!

Easter/Passover hang.

Visiting the Fremont Troll.

The deliciousness that is Cupcake Royale!

Walking around at Schmitz Park.
(Don't be fooled by Michele's umbrealla.. it wasn't actually raining!)

Hiking in Issaquah

4.5 miles each way was a little more than we were expecting, but it was worth it for this view.

Hang-gliding off the peak!

We will definitely need to go back for this!

The 1st BBQ of the season!

Keith breaking in his new camping grill.

Mark and Brian supervising.

Mmm.. veggie kelbasa and kabobs!

Another hike in Issaquah to Talus Rocks.

Little Si

2009-03-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

We finally got to check out a hiking trail that is a favorite of Seattlites. The 5 mile hike with 1,500 ft. altitude is one of the most popular hiking trails that is a close drive from the city. It's in the town of North Bend, which is in the foothills of the Cascades.

Luckily, being that it was February, the trail wasn't crowded at all.
Apparently in the summer it's packed.

Little Si

leaf skeleton

still mossy in the winter

the pay off!

a selection of february pictures.

2009-03-03T20:11:00.000-08:00

beautiful seattle evening in february.

authentic dumplings in the international district.

israel vs. palestine across pine street.

birds on a wire picture on a nice day.

more from the greenhouse at volunteer park.

i don't know if these insects are trying to get out of this carnivorous plant or just enjoying the time they have left!

the cascades are covered the morning after a snow storm.

Dear Seattle Pizzerias,

2009-02-20T15:48:00.001-08:00

I know that coming from the NJ/NY area we have very high standards when it comes to good pizza, and we certainly don't expect you to compare. But you could offer a decent slice for a cheap price. Sadly, you have failed to meet this meager expectation (it's not that the pizza is awful, it's just usually waaaay over-priced).. with the exception of yesterday.

Seattle chain Pagliacci's celebrated their 30th birthday by bringing it back to 1979 prices for one glorious day.

The cheese slice that usually goes for $2.09 was only $0.85. After waiting in a line that went out the door for about 10 minutes, we happily paid for our two cheese slices.

Sampling...

The Verdict: Not bad! The crust was crusty and the sauce tasted good (not sweet like some Seattle pizzerias). Definitely worth the $0.85.. but would it be worth the usual price of $2.09?? No Thanks.

Advice: Considering the crazy lines at all Pagliacci locations yesterday Seattle pizzerias need to seriously consider lowering their price for the slice!!

Random Thought: Does $0.85 even seem high for a price in the seventies? We paid $1.00 a slice in NJ until at least 2001.

woodinville, wa

2009-02-16T08:07:00.000-08:00

After reading this article in seattle times
we figured taking a trip to Woodinville was a good way to spend a sunny Saturday afternoon.

The town offers a nice river trail along the Sammamish River, is the home to Redhook Brewery, and boasts over 50 wineries/tasting rooms.

walking along the river trail.. about 2.5 miles to the brewery

Cows = Rural

the sun was asking for this picture

Visitng Redhook.. and what turned out to be the best brewery tour ever.

review of woodinville:
walking trail - nice and flat, definitely need to bike it next time
brewery - great tour, yumtastic nachos
wineries - will have to wait for next visit

a saturday in january.

2009-01-24T17:50:00.000-08:00

starts off grey and foggy at discovery park.

sandpipers & driftwood at the beach.

the bridge got stuck at the locks, but the sun came out!

sunset view of the cascades & space needle from outside our apartment.

photo update.

2009-01-18T11:01:00.000-08:00

images taken from dec, nov, oct 08.

new years eve, jersey city, nj.

east coasters holiday party, annandale, nj.

snow day, mid-december, seattle.

thanksgiving, seattle.

east coast weddings, november, nj.

election day, seattle.

halloween, seattle.

schmitz park, seattle.

pumpkin picking, seattle.

port townsend, wa.

"i heard seattle gets alot of rain"

2008-12-22T10:01:00.000-08:00

trying and failing to get home for the holidays.

our flight was at 4pm. we left our apartment at 10:30am, because of the roads, and we were relying on a bus to get us there. we had to drag our suitcases through the snow. we even put them on garbage can lids to push them down the hills.

apparently, seattle doesn't understand the concept of "plowing" and "salting" roads.

waiting for the bus, which surprisingly showed up!

the bus was jammed with hopeful travelers.

the bus pulled in to the airport at noon, just as it started to snow.
and it never stopped snowing.

at this point, the magical board of info is saying that our flight is on time, so we are still happily optimistic that we will get to nj.. despite the fact that other airlines were cancelling the rest of their flights that day.
since seattle never gets much winter weather each airline had 1 de-icing truck. as their trucks were breaking down or running out of de-icing fluid, they were calling it quits.

then they start changing the gate on us. three times. b11 to b3 to s12 (the satellite gate that we had to take the train to) then back to b9.
this is not a good sign.

contintental started cancelling flights, too. people who got stuck on friday were still stuck. however, they kept telling us that OUR plane was going to leave. we were told our deicing truch broke, but they said a new de-icing truck was showing up at 7.

meanwhile the giants game came on. we were third in line for the truck. then got bumped to second because another flight was called off. it's now 7:30 and we're going to be loading because the truck is working on the plane ahead of us. tie game! giants force overtime! we'll be boarding in half an hour. giants win! we're getting on the plane!

so we get on the plane. it's around 9:00.

buuuut.. how come we aren't going anywhere? where is that deicing truck??
we were told it went back to the shed for more fluid. bad sign. they put on the tvs, passed out water. then 10:50, our flight gets shut down. everyone out!

there's announcements in the airport that if you live in seattle to go home. there's already people camped out. our luggage doesn't come out until 1:00am.
they're dumping the luggage of the last eight flights on one carousel. there's no flights out until the 27th. by cancelling us so late, i think they killed our chances of getting home before christmas, as anything that was open got snatched up by people that got cancelled much earlier.

after the scariest taxi ride ever on the unplowed roads of seattle, we make it back to the apartment.. 16 hours later.

at least someone was happy that we were still in seattle.

and that is our long, dramatic way of saying see you after xmas nj!
we will be home the 27th and hope to see
as many friends and family as we can!!!

Huma Tour, also a Part 1

2008-07-30T08:27:00.000-07:00

Huma, with the fabulous Shenandoah Davis, began the first leg of their Stereo Summer tour with shows in Seattle, Olympia, Eugene and Portland. Cities to be played in August/September include Hoboken, NYC, New Brunswick, Philly, DC, and Boston.

Brian nervously drives the rental suv down I5. It literally came off the dealership floor and into the hands of us, yikes!

Directions to work the PA in Olympia..

What a beautiful room.

We are so excited!

*Following this show came the worst night sleep any of us had experienced in awhile.. we will spare you the details but I will just say that the kid whose floor we slept on also invited the other two bands we played with to crash. We all decided on our way to Eugene that we were definitely going to get a motel room that night.*

Chaarlie joins us on our way to Eugene, and unfortunately passes away on our way back from Portland.

Rocking out in Eugene, OR

Jess adding some clarinet for Shenandoah.

Brian getting carried away with the free drink tickets

And onto Portland! After spending the day in beeautiful park, we stopped for beers at Amnesia Brewery before going to the venue. Here you can also catch a glimpse of Shenandoah's iphone, that led us to food and prevented us from getting lost during the trip.

Relaxing after the show in Tim's backyard with a fire, friends, and some refreshments! Thank you Tim for letting us stay with you!

Huma and Shenandoah make their East Coast return/debut at Maxwell's in Hoboken on Sunday, August 31st!!!

West Coast Summer, Part 1

2008-07-29T11:00:00.001-07:00

Here are a collection of images from the start of our West Coast summer..

Fourth of July started off with the usual bbq.

We were excited to see the fireworks from a friend's rooftop deck that had a great view of the city.

This is a little dramatic.. but it is the first fourth of july that we needed to wear sweaters!

International Beer Festival. Brian, Jess, Keith, and I worked the day before to get free admission and that awesome t-shirt. Laura's parents arrived the next morning, and after dropping off their bags at the apartment we headed down to the festival!

Kayaking in Lake Washington.

Laura, Brian, Jess, and the fam went on a 10 night vacation to Mt. Rainier, the Olympic Peninsula, Victoria/Vancouver Island, and Vancouver. Sadly for Keith, he had to stay behind in Seattle and work.. wah wah. Buuut, he was happy to have the time to clean up and prepare for the arrival of his parents and brother the day before the other crew returned. July was a crazy month of visitors for us!

Mt. Rainier & the Cascades.

7.5 feet of snow in July.. how are we going to do this hiking trail?!

Lavender fields in Sequim, WA on our way to the Olympic Peninsula.

Hurricane Ridge - part of the Olympic mountain range.

Mountain Wild Flowers!!!

Well deserved relaxation after an 8+ mile hike.

A banana slug! (Banana provided for comparison purposes)

The Olympics have...

a temperate rainforest.

the tallest ferns ever.

glacial-fed rivers.

One of the surprisingly good Washington wineries we stopped at, Harbinger's.

The West Coast

Setting up a beach fort on Vancouver Island.. just outside of Victoria

Vancouver, Canada

Laura, Brian, and Jess owe Mom and Dad a huge thanks for taking them on such a fun and beautiful vacation!!!!

Sasquatch Festival

2008-05-30T22:37:00.000-07:00

We traveled east to George, WA to attend the seventh annual Sasquatch Festival. Sasquatch Fest takes place over three days at the Gorge Amphitheater, which has been voted the number one outdoor music venue year after year. The main stage is set on the edge of the gorge overlooking the Columbia River.. a phenomenal and surreal sight.

We arrived at 10am Saturday, pitched our tent, and began to enjoy ourselves. Highlights included the Flaming Lips, Built to Spill, Modest Mouse, R.E.M., M.I.A., Throw me the Statue, Fleet Foxes and Cave Singers. This year was also the first year they had a comedy tent. Former members of the State, Michael Ian Black and Michael Showalter, were dead-on hilarious, as well as the Upright Citizens Bridge: ASSSSCAT! featuring former SNL cast members Horatio Sanz and Tim Meadows.

The weather was perfect. Our camping neighbors were super cool. We're just worried if we were to go again, it wouldn't live up to the amazing experience we had this year.

We've been busy.

2008-05-30T21:44:00.000-07:00

Springtime in Seattle means less time indoors writing blog entries and more time experiencing real life. That being said, here is a quick look at our spring adventures thus far.

Oats peas beans and barley grow! We are taking full advantage of the communal garden space at our apartment building. (It's communal, but the only people who use it are us and the property manager). We're keeping our fingers crossed for a bountiful harvest of lettuce, tomatoes, cucumber, beans, squash, zucchini, eggplant, peppers, and herbs!

Take me out to the ball game... Our excellent neighbors, Mark and Kendal, bought Keith Mariners tickets for his birthday. We were fortunate enough to see one of their precious wins (currently 20-35, and only 12 games out of first place). Don't worry- Keith was still representing the East coast with his raggedy old Mets cap.

I don't think she ever thought the day would come. One of Laura's best friends graced us with her fabulous presence for five nights. Though the hills were a little much for Michele, we were able to prove that Seattle is a pretty all right town. She still wants us to move back to the "awesomer coast", but we're quite happy where we are thankyouverymuch!

Lismore played Seattle on their tour!!

Huma played their first Seattle show on May 9th at the Rendezvous in downtown Seattle. They were asked to open for a Seattle band's record release. Laura shredded it up making her debut on the bass on two songs (there was definitely more concentrating then shredding going on).

The Seattle Cheese Festival, Golden Gardens Park, a bbq at a friend's house, and the University District Street Fair = our first beautiful weekend of spring. Think 70-90s the whole weekend and sunny.

Keith finally met his match.. and Laura can't wait to cut up Mickey for dusting rags!

Vay-cay-shun

2008-04-19T08:02:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday, we flew down to spend some time with friends in the Bay area. Our first stop was with Laura's best buddy Patty in Berkeley. We had an incredible time riding bikes, having a picnic lunch with locally made Humboldt Fog goat cheese and visiting the Takara Sake Museum.

Worth every penny of its 20-something dollar/pound cost!

West coast sunset.

The next two nights we crashed with Nick & Emily in Oakland. We went to Buddhist brunch (a temple sets up an amazing outdoor thai brunch where you have to pay in tokens), rented paddle boats on Lake Merritt, checked out the local farmer's market scene, hung out in san fransisco for a night, and had a picnic sunset dinner.

Nick & Keith with the nicest weather in the background.

Buddhist Brunch!

With all three of our awesome hosts we also got a tour of the delicious local cuisine & drink. Our stops included: Herbivore, The Cheeseboard Collective, Bi-Rite Creamery, Cafe Colucci (delicious ethiopian), & the Trappist (Belgian and Specialty Beer Bar).

Patty & Keith enjoying a Belgian beer at Trappist.

Cheeseboard Collective's pizza of the day.. mmmmm.

We <3 our California buddies!

Check out some more of our vacation pictures at flickr.

36 hour vacation to portland!

2008-04-06T19:33:00.000-07:00

Early Saturday morning we took off for Portland equipped with bagels and coffee. Just after noon we arrived at one of Keith's oldest friend's house, Tim. It had been 3 years since Keith & I had been out to visit, and the first time seeing Portland for Brian & Jess.

Here are some pictures of Tim's yard. He lives in the Northeast quadrant of the city in a nice house with an awesome yard. There is a separate garden house (being used as a music room), a chicken coop (with actual chickens), plenty of room for a garden, and enough space for his huge dog Moses.

In our 36 hours we managed to: have a yummy lunch at Mississippi Pizza, check out the Laurelwood & Amnesia breweries, walk around downtown, play "classic" or 80s video games at Ground Kontrol, hit up a dance party, have a drink at McMenamin's Kennedy School, go for a hike at Forest Park, and visit two cafes. Kennedy School is an old school that was converted/preserved and turned into a facility with bars, a soaking pool, restaurant,etc.

fat tiger gallery, april 3rd.

2008-04-04T10:28:00.000-07:00

Laura, Jess & Brian played an improv. set (under the name Western Cup) at Fat Tiger Gallery, for their first Thursday open gallery night.

looks like a mac ad.

Jess was also the guest artist at the Fat Tiger Gallery.

"Looking towards the future, I see an eerie ambiguity as to what will become of the the natural state of our planet. This has caused me to take in natural forms and patterns with a complexion more curious than ever before. Through my works, I want to pass along my fascination and confront the waning stewardship for our environment." - Jess

Take a look at some of her work below. More examples of her work can be found at: www.heymustachio.org

keith birthday boy, part one

2008-03-30T18:08:00.000-07:00

the arrival of these amazon boxes throughout the week marked the beginning of keith's birthday celebration. he was excited.

keith's family hooked him (and me, yay!) up with camping essentials. paul bunyan is excited to use these things at the sasquatch festival in may!

a growler of the local brewery Ram's red IPA kicked off a fun night with friends!

laura was put to work, baking all afternoon, to provide their guests with some yummy chocolate peanut butter cupcakes & soft ginger cookies.

vegfest 2008

2008-03-30T18:01:00.000-07:00

the "vegetarians of washington" held their annual vegetarian food festival this weekend at seattle center. on sunday we went to check it out and gorge ourselves with free samples.

In the words of the vow's, "Vegfest is produced by Vegetarians of Washington, an independent, volunteer based nonprofit organization. It's that largest event of this kind in the US, with free food samples for you to taste from over 200 companies, cooking demonstrations by renowedned chefs from around the country, and many veg. nutrition and cookcooks. You'll also be able to talk with medical doctors about every aspect of the vegetarian diet & how it benefits your health."

cask conditioned beer festival

2008-03-30T17:45:00.001-07:00

For Brian's birthday, we took him to the washington cask beer festival on march 22nd at seattle center. it featured the delicious brew from 60 local breweries

(mostly from washington and oregon state).
all of the beers were cask conditioned which is the term for unfiltered beer which is conditioned and served from a cask, without any additional carbon dioxide/nitrogen pressure.

we finished up the present with zeitgeist coffee and dinner
at a vietnamese restaurant called Tamarind Tree.

birthday weekend!

2008-03-30T17:16:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures from Brian's (extended) birthday celebration

during the weekend of March 14th-17th.

Using the st. patty's beer sleeves sent in the "party in a box" from mom.

this guy made his annual appearance.

bryn & brian enjoy an irish car bomb.

Spring...

2008-03-16T12:20:00.000-07:00

...has officially arrived in Seattle. The cherry blossoms are one of the many that have already started blooming.

Keith Dry-Hops his Pilsner!

2008-03-16T10:27:00.000-07:00

This week Keith transferred his beer to the secondary fermenter.
He added some whole, fresh Hop Flowers!
(what is floating on the top)

Cheers to the Huma's new studio space!

2008-03-08T14:41:00.000-08:00

Keith's Seattle Brew, Part II

2008-03-08T14:32:00.000-08:00

His Pilsner is currently in the primary fermenter. It should be a nice and hoppy, yet light-bodied ale just in time for Spring! Laura's critique will be up as soon as the ale is deemed drinkable. =)

so far in 2008..

2008-03-02T09:18:00.000-08:00

We know that it has been awhile since we have done any updating.. so here is a brief written account of our past 2 months and a random photo display of them.

After spending the holidays in jersey Keith began his new permanent job (yay, health benefits for both of us!) on january 2nd with Impact Capital. Impact Capital is a non-profit organization that helps get funding for other non-profits that build low-income, tribal, and artist housing. Laura continues to work with the child who has Asperger's Syndrome. She is also scheduled to take the West-B next saturday, which is a general knowledge test for Washington State educators. Once the results are in, Laura will be able to get her Washington teaching license.

In Huma news, we have been practicing with our new bassist (Keith) and our new drummer (Mark). For the past few months we have struggled with scheduling practice time at an hourly space that was 25 minutes away. However, we are happy to report that we have just found a monthly rental that is much closer! This colorful building will be the home of our new 24-hour access, secure, practice space! Brian-Jess-Laura Huma has also been working on recording some of the final "trio" songs, and are anticipating releasing them in the near future.
A summer west coast tour is also in the works!

So what else has filled the past two months? We had 3 weeks/weekends of visitors, a surprising amount of blue sky beautiful weather, Laura has hosted a couple Ladies ArtsNCrafts nights, Keith hosted a victorious Superbowl party, we have of course continued to plan the wedding, and in general are having fun in our new city.

huma.

bainbridge island, while mrs. c was visiting!

Shrinky Dinks at artsNcrafts night

Meller visits!

checking out mt. rainier from the volunteer park water tower.

flying apron bakery in ballard = the yummiest

Spring!

All Apologies

2008-01-06T19:57:00.000-08:00

Keith and Laura apologize for their lack of blogging in the past month. With their trip back to Jersey and the holidays, it has been a hectic month for them! Check back later in the week for an update blog with a random display of pictures from their trip home and return to Seattle.

<3

People Doing Strange Things with Electricity

2007-12-09T13:06:00.000-08:00

Last night we checked out the Opening Night of an electricity-based exhibit.

The exhibit was being shown at a gallery in lower Queen Anne.

Some of the pieces were hands-on installations, while others demonstrated the many uses of electricity.. from sound manipulation to temperature control. Here is a piece that is completely powered by solar energy!

The keys of this "organ" were different circuits that when pressed made sparks.

Keith leans in for a listen!

One of the interactive exhibits was Metamorphosis. Participants became insects through the manipulation of their senses. They explored a "backyard" and hunted for nectar. The artist manipulated our vision, hearing, touch to be that of either a bee or butterfly. Laura, Tom, Jess, and Brian all took part in this exhibit and felt it was a very interesting and disorienting experience. Take a look at the slide show of their experience!

A view from our Apartment..

2007-12-09T13:00:00.000-08:00

..of the Olympic mountains on an incredibly clear afternoon.

The Belmont.

2007-12-02T10:54:00.000-08:00

"Beerly Deloved, We Are Gathered Here Today to Mourn the Death of the 500 Block of East Pine Street ...a friend, a loved one, taken from this life too soon. Through three decades, this block was a hub for Seattle music, nightlife, art, fashion, and small business." Continue reading at The Stranger.

The 500 block of East Pine will be demolished to allow for another condo/retail/whatever structure. Among the many places that are currently located on the block is the Belmont, an apartment building. This building has been known to house many artists, musicians, and bands throughout the decades.

"On the night of the eviction, the Belmont will become The Belmont, with murals on every wall (outside and inside), installations in every apartment, and a performance by Implied Violence on the roof. Nobody will be able to get into The Belmont without tickets, which can be procured on the day of the event at a downtown crepe stand."

Other people's pictures are at The Seattlest.

It doesn't just rain in Seattle..

2007-12-02T10:22:00.000-08:00

it also snows! Yesterday we had our 1st (and probably last) snowfall of the year.

A view of the street from our foggy window. We actually saw people trying to have a snowball fight in the 1-2 inches of snow. Oh Seattle, you have no idea what a real snowfall looks like.

Looking into the courtyard:

Cheshire perceived the snow as invading her turf, and was quite perturbed when the flakes kept landing on the windowsill.

The snow melted as quickly as it came, and we are now back to the Seattle rain that we all know and love. Get ready East Coast, it sounds like you have a storm coming your way today!

Gobble, Gobble!

2007-11-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Laura & Keith and Jess & Brian hosted their first west coast Thanksgiving this year! We started the day with a traditional Cervino hike at a park in West Seattle.

The variety of ferns and vegetation throughout our hike was pretty amazing.

Keith's J-Crew shot!

The Puget Sound with a clear view of the Olympic Mountains.

Chesh welcomed all of our guests (Tom, Nicolai, and Liz in addition to ourselves) with a holiday message.

The annual toast (they are drinkin' Maker's Mark) kicked of our festivities!

A sneak peak at the birds!

Keith carves the "turkey."

Thanksgiving flowers (compliments of my mom) and Apple Cake (baked by Jess!).

Half of our table.

The lone, remaining slice of pumpkin pie..

Cheers to a successful, tasty, and fun West Coast Thanksgiving!!

Snapshots from the Week

2007-11-25T10:38:00.000-08:00

Enjoying a home-cooked meal.

Laura, Jess, Mom, & Dad enjoy the Arboretum (while Keith & Brian work, hah!)

The Rhododendrum's still have flowers!

A lone pair of Groucho Marx glasses on a park bench set us up for the obvious photo opportunity!

We met up with Brian in the University District on Wednesday night for a yummy dinner at Araya's Vegetarian Place, a vegan thai restaurant. We then of course had to sample the local brews!

a dose of culture..

2007-11-25T10:04:00.000-08:00

Sunday we got an early start and headed back downtown to check out the acclaimed Seattle "Central" Public Library. In 1998, the city decided to double the size of the existing library. Award-winning Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas was selected to design the structure. The 11-floor building contains an innovative "Books Spiral," which allows patrons unprecedented access to the Library collection. The crystalline steel-and-glass structure contains five platforms — each devoted to a specific program cluster. Four open spaces are housed among the platforms.

After visiting the library, we checked out the Seattle Art Museum (SAM). Keith had been anticipating the Japan envisions the West exhibit.

Finally, while downtown we had to check out another Seattle brewery!

Mom & Dad C. come to visit!

2007-11-25T09:54:00.000-08:00

On Saturday the 17th, mom & dad flew into SeaTac airport at noon. They were greeted with the typical Seattle rain.. although this was to be their only rainy afternoon, as the weather for the rest of the week was unseasonably beautiful and clear! By the time Keith packed them into his Fit and had them settled back at the apartment, the rain was already clearing and we (laura, keith, brian, jess) took them down to Pike St. Market. After checking out downtown, we went to a delicious dinner at the Elysian Brewery which offers Field Roast Veggie products AND great micro-brews all in one place!

Keith bottles his Amber!

2007-11-20T08:18:00.000-08:00

Empty bottles

Filling the bottles

The sanitized caps

Capping the bottles

The Proud Brewer!!

Keith's beer should be carbonated and ready to drink around Thanksgiving, so stay tuned for some reviews.

A night with...

2007-11-20T07:49:00.000-08:00

...our state's capitol, Olympia.

The port that has been at the root of recent anti-war protests.

Though Olympia resembles a cute town more than a city, it still had a lot to offer. Considering that our last capitol was Trenton, we knew it could only be better.

A park by the port:

The usual dome:

We were happy to find some nice parks both inside and right outside of the city.

A Temperate Rainforest & Mud Flats along the Inlet

The Local Brewery

The Olympia Film Society was holding their annual film festival during our visit. We popped into the nice, old theater see 'Amongst White Clouds,' a film about Chinese Buddhist monks living/practicing alone in the Zhongnan mountains.

We ended our night in Olympia at a yummy Thai restaurant, and with some drinks at a fun bar. The next morning we checked at the local coffee scene and recommended thrift stores before heading back to Seattle.

Sunday, Sunday

2007-11-06T20:51:00.000-08:00

Sunday morning we took a trip downtown to check out the...

Some of the Sculptures

Stopping to take a look at the Puget Sound, which marked the end of the park.

And finally, on our walk back to Capitol Hill we checked out the rummage/craft sale that is hosted by the Crocodile Cafe every 1st Sunday.

Keith's friend Tim..

2007-11-06T20:48:00.000-08:00

..came up from Portland to visit on Saturday night! We took him out to our new friend Ally's birthday party, which was at a bar called Silo in Queen Anne.

We were all psyched to see they had Wii set up!

We also have to thank Ally for the delicious cupcakes,

and free drink tickets!

Local Venues

2007-11-03T16:42:00.000-07:00

Friday night we checked out another popular music venue in Seattle called Nectar's, which is located in the Fremont neighborhood. We were excited to see in the Seattle Weekly that UK-based band Tunng was having a free "happy hour" show, and decided to check it out.

Our review: We were impressed with both the venue and the band. Tunng had some awesome four-part vocals while the venue had good sound in an intimate space. Also, if you can find a table, they serve tasty looking food (pizza, calzones, sandwiches, etc.) at a cheap price.

Keith's Brew

2007-11-03T16:35:00.000-07:00

On Wednesday night, Keith transfered his latest brew from its' primary fermenter to a secondary fermenter. The beer is an amber consisting of Cascade, Mt. Hood, and Willamette Hops - all native to the pacific northwest. After 10 days, the beer will be ready for bottling and consumption. This is his first 5 gallon batch!

Come out and visit us for a taste!

Working with kids on Halloween...

2007-11-03T16:33:00.000-07:00

...looks like this.

h-a-double l-o-double u-double e-n...

2007-10-30T20:13:00.000-07:00

...spells Halloween. Thanks to Mrs. Bard, my elementary school music teacher, for teaching me that song in 1st grade. Anyway.. anyone who has spent a Halloween with us should know that we love group costumes and this year was no different.

Thanks to Tracey and Leah for their fun parties this weekend, and check back for some Halloween day pictures later in the week!

Pumpkin Carving Contest

2007-10-23T21:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday night our property managers threw a pumpkin carving party and contest in the courtyard of our building. We were eager to show off our knife skills and creativity. We picked up our pumpkins at the local farmer's market for a steal of 5 pounds for $1. Unfortunately the competition snuck up on us before we could find a pick-your-own patch.

Here are Jess and Brian working on their pumpkins.

A shot of Keith and Laura carving their pumpkin heads.

The final products...

Laura & Keith's "Fisher Price Little Laura and Keith"

Jess's unofficially named Spider and Web

Brian's Johnny McCool pumpkin

Some of the other competition

Hanging out enjoying homemade cookies and some refreshments before the judging commenced.

The results are in and...

3rd Place... with a prize of a fancy pumpkin soap and a gift certificate to Bliss Soaps goes to... Laura & Keith!

2nd Place... with a prize of a gift certificate to Anthony's (supposedly one of Seattle's best restaurants) goes to Jess!

A high five for effort goes to Brian!

Not bad considering the 12 total pumpkins entered, NJ represent!

The Great Pumpkin..

2007-10-23T20:35:00.000-07:00

..Beer Festival took place at the Elysian Brewery this Saturday. If Linus and Charlie Brown were 21 they would have been there enjoying the thirteen different pumpkin beers (plus 1 butternut squash beer) alongside us.

At least half of the beers were made at the Elysian specifically for the occasion. Some of the other breweries included Glacier Brewhouse from Anchorage, AK, Elliott Bay Brewing from Seattle, Snoqualmie Falls Brewing from Washington, and Dogfish Head. Beers were served individually or as a sampler.

The Great Pumpkin itself arose not over the pumpkin patch, but over the many beer enthusiasts. The brewmasters used their "Night Owl" original pumpkin beer recipe and brewed the beer inside the pumpkin seen below. Given the brewing conditions it was not the most carbonated of beers, but it did have an incredibly distinct pumpkin flavor.

One of the Yummiest Beers:

Most Unique Beer:

"It's all happening at the zoo.."

2007-10-17T21:03:00.000-07:00

The Woodland Park Zoo that is. We have to start our blog by thanking the fabulous Jess, Jess, & Michele (and their significant others) for their awesome engagement present: Seattle City Passes! These passes get us admission to the zoo, aquarium, museums, and a ferry ride!

This past Saturday we drove over to the zoo on a bee-u-tiful day. That's right, bee-u-tiful. For all of you who think that it is always raining here and that we have no fall.. take a look at this:

The first attraction we visited was the jaguar. We heard him (her?) before we actually saw him and instantly knew that this jaguar was a distant cousin of Cheshire. The racket that he was making trying to cough up a hairball was audible from 25 yards away and immediately made us think of Cheshire only a few nights earlier. Cheshire has taken to eating the carpet off her new scratching post and shockingly had her first hairball... gross! Anyway, the jaguar was working on coughing up this hairball for a good ten minutes.

As we worked our way through the many regionally-named exhibits we got to see a plethora of animals. We were fortunate enough to come upon the gorillas at feeding time. We were happy to see our own distant cousins munching away on a feast of fruits and veggies. It's funny how the gorilla mothers are never pestering the gorilla sons about getting enough protein.

This guy looked like he was either pondering the possibility of escape or mourning the loss of the almighty New York Metropolitans (this revelation came only from Keith, Laura just didn't see it).

We also got to see a Grizzly Bear catch live fish and splash around in all his glory.

Disclaimer: Sometimes Laura & Keith have mixed feelings about zoos. It can often be depressing seeing animals in such tight quarters. On the other hand, the conservation effort on the part of zoos and the educational opportunities they provide are both extremely beneficial. We did not let these mixed feelings interfere with the enjoyment of our day.

Where have we been?

2007-10-17T20:59:00.000-07:00

Well now that we are both working full time it has proven to be slightly more difficult to keep up with the blog. We no longer have full days free to fill without spending too much money. However, now that we have adjusted back to the "working" routine, we promise to be more devoted to updating the blog.

What do you get...

2007-10-07T10:22:00.000-07:00

...when you cross a monster truck with an Oregon-based brewery? A Giant Keg on Wheels!

Yes, it actually was a mobile keg.

Keith & Laura enjoyed the fresh-hopped IPA. The brewers actually went into the Cascades with a pick-up truck, cut a lot of fresh hops off the vine, and had them in the vats in just a few hours.

Everyone also sipped on an Organic Ale.

There is definitely not a lack of great micro-brews in Seattle! Stay tuned for some news on a homemade brew from Keith, as he picked up his supplies this past weekend.

Local Galleries.

2007-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00

Last night we went downtown to check out the First Thursday open galleries. We met some friends at 619 western ave., by pioneer square, which is a big old building that offers six floors of gallery spaces.

Today, Brian, Jess and Laura checked out the Frye Art Museum and among other exhibits saw Patricia Piccinini's "Hug."

Volunteer Park

2007-10-04T13:29:00.000-07:00

Taking advantage of one of our last unemployed, completely free days Brian, Jess, and Laura took a walk to Volunteer Park to check out Conservatory/Greenhouse.

The park, which is a ten? block walk from our apartment, is a little more than 48 acres. Along with the Conservatory it is also home to the Seattle Asian Art Museum, a water tower that offers lots of views, picnic areas, etc. etc.

The Cascadians get covered.

2007-10-04T13:21:00.000-07:00

Last night, October 3rd (!!!), the Cascadian mountain range (from Oregon to the Canadian border) had its' first snowfall of the season! Take a look at a picture from a web cam:

We are happy to know that it's a quick drive to reach snow.. but that it doesn't typically get that cold or snowy in the city!

A day at the races.

2007-09-29T20:58:00.000-07:00

Gentlemen, start your momentum! Today we ventured out to the Red Bull Soapbox Derby in the Fremont neighborhood of Seattle. Thousands of Seattlites had the same idea, and crowded the barricades to watch the antics. The entries were very creative and funny, and those that didn't crash into the hay bales hit some pretty impressive high speeds. Before being able to handle the action, we of course needed to check out the concessions! We were thrilled to find a vendor selling Field Roast Veggie Sausages! Yumm!

Blink, and you could have missed the Rainier beer soapbox racing down Fremont Ave!

Just a few of the 37 soapbox mobiles parked after completing their run.

Two of our favorites, for obvious reasons, the Rollaroid.....

and the Crapster!

Disclaimer: We were not forced to drink any Red Bull to attend this event, or to pay any $.

Workin' Girl

2007-09-29T20:50:00.000-07:00

Now Laura can contribute her fair share to the bacon that is brought home every week (uh... veggie bacon?). Laura heard the good news Friday, and she starts Monday! In case you missed the previous post, Laura will be a shadow for a kindergarten student with Asperger's Syndrome (psst.. if you have no idea what that is click here to find out). To celebrate, we all went out Friday for some delicious vegan Asian cuisine at Teapot.

Tuesday Trivia Night!

2007-09-27T16:31:00.000-07:00

So while perusing the weekly local Seattle paper, the Stranger, Keith noticed that there was a trivia night at a local bar called Clever Dunnes. We decided try our luck (especially with the $0 cover to play) and compete against the Seattlites. Much to our own surprise, we placed second out of twelve teams competing! We even got 3 out of 10 questions correct during the Washington state trivia round. Beginners luck, or are we just that damn good? Only time will tell.

We also got a free pitcher for the best team name. Can you fill in the blank? (Hint: Yeehaw!)

Keith embracing Manny's Pale Ale (a really good Seattle area brew)

$30 for second place! We're going for gold and the $40 next time.

They celebrate Halloween in Seattle too!

2007-09-24T17:47:00.000-07:00

Here we thought that by leaving the suburbs behind we would also rid ourselves of those horrible inflated monstrosities known as "decorations." Well, as you can see below, we thought wrong. We do have to give these people some points for their creative use of a small, outdoor balcony space.

Fatticus Maximus (a.k.a. Cheshire) has a big day!

2007-09-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

Chesh was elated by the latest piece of furniture brought to the apartment today by her generous owner. Keith came home from work to see the oh-so-gracious feline sprawled out enjoying her new throne. He's still waiting for his present, but not holding his breath.

We <3 farmer's markets!

2007-09-23T15:33:00.000-07:00

After some searching we stumbled upon an awesome farmer's market in Beacon Hill. We read some great reviews of MacPherson's Frut & Produce but we weren't convinced until we made our first voyage there this morning. It was all we could have hoped for! Check out all we got for a mere $19.28. Also, organic and conventional were priced the same, or had a difference of only a few cents. Yum! Weekly trips will be a necessity, and luckily it's only minutes away!!

we went, we saw, we conquered

2007-09-22T17:22:00.000-07:00

Today we (laura, keith, brian, jess, and tom) took a drive out to Snoqualmie to check out the second largest natural attraction in the state of Washington (second to Mt. Rainier). The waterfall is also famous for its debut in the classic tv show Twin Peaks.

Thank you Polaroid for including a timer on your fabulous camera. We blatantly ignored the Cautions signs warning us about sudden rises in the the water level and climbed down the base of the falls. This beautiful sight was only a 30 minute drive outside of the city.

TGIF!

2007-09-22T17:06:00.000-07:00

Keith had his first day of work today. He's working in the office of a property management company, that manages very very large office buildings in the city. He's a little disappointed that it's not like "The Office," but for a paycheck and all the down time to internet to his nerdy desire he's not complaining. Thanks temp agency for paying our bills! (Laura will probably be posting some good job news later this week, as she has been interviewing to be a shadow for a kindergarten student with Asperger's syndrome.)

After an exhausting week of working an entire day (his first one since school got out in June, three months to the day) some cold ones were in order. We decided to expand our horizons and to check out some new bars in the neighborhood. Six Arms Brewery had some delicious IPA and ESBs. An even better find was Linda's, which had a great selection of microbrews, all at $11 a pitcher. We have found our new favorite bar.

So there is definitely NO need for scarves in Seattle in September, but fashion over function. Keith, very high and mightily, refused to join Team Scarf.

A random picture from a random spot in Seattle that we chanced upon, when driving through the city with Nick & Emily. It took a little coaxing, but Keith finally conquered his fear and posed for a picture with The Fremont Troll (located under the Fremont bridge)!

Our first show in Seattle was...

2007-09-22T16:22:00.000-07:00

...The Flaming Lips!

It was at the Paramount (walking distance from the apartment), which is a cool old theater that first opened on March 21, 1928. The architecture was very impressive! The opener Black Moth Super Rainbow was pretty good, and they had even better entertaining video clips playing behind them (such as richard simmons sweating to the oldies).

Pike St. Market..

2007-09-19T20:23:00.000-07:00

After a good walk from capitol hill to pike street market, we first stopped at the Russian bakery "Piroshky, Piroshky" for some nourishment (and because it's one of Keith's new favorite foods). We are assuming that the name piroshky comes from a mix between a pirogi and a knish...?

We then stopped in at Market Spice so Brian could pick up some Matcha Green Tea. Matcha (抹茶) is a fine, powdered green tea, used particularly in Japanese tea ceremony. More info about Matcha's production and history at Wikipedia.

Before heading back up the hill, we checked out the local farm and produce stands, and picked up some purple and gold fingerling potatoes to roast for dinner!

not quite seattle related...

2007-09-19T10:33:00.000-07:00

...but i had to share this yummy pumpkin pasta sauce recipe! I followed some of the comments and added red bell pepper and substituted the soy milk powder thing for soy creamer. Next time maybe we will try adding curry powder.

the ingredients

the final product (with the addition of trader joe's meatless meatballs)

The best cappuccino in seattle...

2007-09-18T16:44:00.000-07:00

... Cafe Vivace!! They roast their own espresso beans, make fancy designs with your froth, and are cheaper than starbucks! And, they are a quick walk down the street.. can it get any better?

did we mention it was a full apartment?

2007-09-17T22:48:00.000-07:00

But seriously, aside from moving all of these boxes and Brian & Jess checking out some apartments that haven't quite met their expectations yet.. (well duh it's only been a day of looking!) we have been having some fun....

a full apartment.

2007-09-17T11:54:00.000-07:00

Jess, Brian, & Chesh all arrived safely to Seattle last night after a long trip with heavy suitcases (Jess had to pay extra for her oversized bag). We introduced them to Seattle this morning with a stop at the delicious Mighty-o Donuts. If we continue on this donut path, Keith and I are going to be huge. They are just sooo good though!

While Brian & Jess are scouring Craigslist and setting up appointments to look at apartments...

Chesh has settled in really quickly (once her kitty tranquilizers wore off) and has made herself at home. She is back to her normal ways: kicking her litter out of the box, eating the house plants, and sitting on (getting her cat hair on) everything.
She looks so innocent sitting next to her latest victim...

a general update.

2007-09-16T16:45:00.000-07:00

So we have obviously been pretty bad at keeping up with the blog, but now that we have our own internet up and (mostly) running we will try our best to post more often. Making the apartment feel like home took 3 trips to Bed, Bath and Beyond, 2 trips to Ikea, 4 trips to our local (amazing) thrift store, and too many trips to the grocery store to count (Laura was quick to learn that the Trader Joe's & Madison Market Co-op are only a block apart)! We also had some pretty crucial finds on Craigslist, that once Keith got his (new) car, were easily hauled in at a decent price.
Here is Keith with his shnazzzy, ridiculously efficient, "it fit in the fit!" Honda Fit.

So our first week? Was spent doing all of the above, and hanging out with Laura's two friends from home (Tom and Kevin) who also live in Seattle. Some fun things? We went to the gallery openings at Pioneer Square (first thursday nights), of course checked out the local beer scene, and ate some yummy vegetarian food.

Our second week here had an exciting start, as our good pals Nick & Emily arrived at our place on Wednesday night, the first of their three nights with us. We will post more about what we did with them (especialy once we get their pics, hint, hint)! Some highlights though were checking out the ferry ride to Bainbridge Island, Gasworks Park in Fremont, Mighty-o Donuts for some amazing vegan, organic donuts, and of course more of the local beer scene! Check out their fancy shmancy blog for more info about their trip and better pictures then we took.

Finally, we are really excited today because in only a few hours Brian, Jess, & Cheshire will arrive in Seattle! We both hope that lil' Chesh is behaving herself on the plane ride as she earns her first wings.

Well, that is all for now, but check back again soon for more pictures and better updates.

ps- if you didn't get a chance to see keith's new tatto, check it out!

(comes from crayon rosary's first, self-released cd - artwork by brendan)
www.iknowashortcut.com/crayonrosary - to hear some of their latest recordings

a less empty apartment.

2007-09-16T16:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some pictures of the apartment after a week and a half of living.

living in the lap of luxury.

2007-09-16T16:02:00.000-07:00

The progression of our first couple dinners and the furnishing of our apartment.

Wednesday evening, our first night in seattle, was our urban apartment picnic. The blanket was the only piece of furniture we had in our apartment.

Saturday, september 8th... we ate like kings off our new coffee table and sofa. thanks to tom for taking us on an ikea run. We still owe him beers after stuffing the couch into his outback sport (which went from the rear window to the windshield - over laura's head in the passenger seat)!

Finalamente, after much craigslisting we acquired a dining room table. We had our first dinner on it last night, the 15th, and are ready to host a dinner party.

empty apartment.

2007-09-16T11:00:00.000-07:00

So it's been awhile since I've posted anything, and most people have seen these pictures in person. But after going out to Seattle for 3 nights, we were very successful in finding an apartment. Here are some pictures of the empty apartment.. the one that we were greeted with on September 5th.

the outside of our building. we have one of the apartments with the awesome bay windows!

here is looking from the living room into the dining room and kitchen.

and the kitchen, where the magic happens.

purpose.

2007-07-25T07:12:00.000-07:00

this blog was created to keep my friends updated about our west coast adventure. my first update, is that after our car accident in July, keith and i will no longer be driving across the country to seattle. we have officially booked one-way flights for september 5th, and plan to get a car once we are out there.

also.. huma is having a goodbye new jersey show on august 16th. it's at maxwell's, and we are hoping that everyone can come out!

yup. thats it for now. hopefully keith and i will find an apartment when we go looking aug 8th-11th and i will be able to post some pics up here!

.laura