Nuts & Dates

Date Numero Uno (the unofficial start of our alternating "dates")

B took me to a neighborhood last night that I have been wanting to meander through - Madison Park. From what I was told, Madison Park is one of the older and more affluent parts of Seattle - with large, beautiful homes abound - "Old Money," if you will.

We went to this AMAZING restaurant called Cactus where we shared the carnitas tacos and (drum roll, please) the BUTTERNUT SQUASH ENCHILADAS (O.M.G.)!!!! It was truly phenomenal...I mean..."Crisp white corn tortillas with Jack and goat cheeses, sautéed spinach, roasted butternut squash, caramelized onions, manchamanteles mole and guacamole." The perfect combination of tastes - and I don't even like mole all that much (Eric, aren't you proud!?).

B, who isn't the most adventurous eater, was blown away by the taste and is inspired to turn over a new leaf and try out more new food options! In the spirit of adventure, he even ventured out with me and ordered a "three-ingredient" margarita - the Agave Margarita - made up of fresh squeezed lime juice, tequila and fresh agave juice. Just when we thought we couldn't eat any more, one of the managers came out and gave us a FREE three cheese flan for being first-timers!! That too was extremely good! I can't wait to take my out-of-towner visitors here!

Most of the shops were closed, but we wandered down to the park that hugs the water and got to catch the beautiful pinks and blues of the dusk sky. With the 520 to the left (excuse my use of "the" it's a California thing) and the 90 (ok, ok, I-90) to the right, we were situated in the perfect viewing spot of many events which will take place at the Seattle Seafair (imagine two weeks of Havasu in Washington). According to Cody it's a great people-watching spot in the summer as all kinds come out to bask in the sun...speaking of sun, I hope summer gets here quick! My brief trip down to Cali, complete with beach house lounging, sun soaking, stand up paddling fun, has me desperately yearning for the days of summer...

Seattle Tidbits (Discounts & Things to Do!)

Stealing the idea from a couple of friends in California (thanks Cory and Farah!), B and I have decided to start doing monthly "dates" where he chooses the activity one month (or every other week, we're not sure yet) and then I pick the next month (Trapeze Lessons Anyone?!). I was inspired (or reminded of C&F's idea) by last night's date night at Cactus in Madison Park.

Here are a few sites I LOVE that give me ideas for new things to try, eat, do, hear, you name it!

Daily Candy - Seattle

Groupon - Seattle - Coupon meets the masses!

• My first Groupon purchase was for a 12-pack (or three, 4-packs) of cupcakes from this awesome cupcakery called Cupcake Royale in the neighborhood of Capitol Hill. My first 4-pack included Red Velvet (OMG), Lemon Drop, Carrot Cake and the Triple Threat (chocolate, chocolate, chocolate!).
• I'm sad that I missed out on the two-hour TRAPEZE LESSONS deal!

Living Social - Seattle - awesome deals on all things Seattle!

Seattle Magazine

365inSeattle

Urban Spoils - This newer website combines a bunch of one-day deals into one neat, little package.

ell.el.p meets Seattle

2010 is here and I've coined it as my year of trying new things...check, check and check! In February I packed up my stuff and my sunny Huntington Beach, CA life and moved to the "Great Northwest!" A two-day journey with my wonderful mom and dad and two awesome freindy-friends, Umba and Vero (as I affectionately like to call them), landed me in Bellevue, WA (or the Eastside as they like to call it - dance-off brawl, anybody?) where I share a house with my two "white-bread, Bellevue boys" Bill and Cody. ;)

I've been here for three months now and can't believe how the time has flown. I was fortunate to have a job lined up as a contract event planner for a local non-profit in Seattle called The Greater King County Police Activities League. It's been a whirlwind, but we are about a month away from putting on their first fundraising event and so far we are having a good turnout! We are fortunate to have the backing of an amazing lady, King County Sheriff Sue Rahr who has been a great supporter of the organization. This is my first time as a contract employee - I have done freelance PR in the past for a friend, Peter Brandon, Huntington Beach country singer and songwriter, but this is my first gig as a contract event planner and the experience has been amazing!

Once this is over, I'm not really sure what I will do next...maybe become a dog walker or pick up some crazy craft and try to sell it at a farmers market somewhere ;) Soy candles, organic dog treats? Paper mache underoos!...Seattle is booming with opportunity! But really, who knows.

I seriously LOVE taking the bus to work and have traded in my beach cruiser for a road bike (OK, I forgot to bring it from HB - otherwise I would totally have rocked it here...but not on the streets of Seattle - that would be more disastrous than the time I decided to ride it from HB to Yorba Linda - about 26 miles on a beach cruiser made for a real pain in the arse - literally).

About a month ago, I was initiated as a "real Washingtonian" when I got my WA license plates (I literally got them on the day my CA plates expired) and also took the dogs to the dog park - in the rain. I also got a dose of what it's like to live here when our soccer game wasn't cancelled because of rain...in OC, if there was so much as a steady drizzle, our games were cancelled....here, not so much...

All in all, I have been enjoying it here - and all the clouds and rain that come with it (which is actually much more mild than I was expecting). I love that I get to drive over a beautiful body of water (Lake Washington) to get to work everyday and that I am surrounded by an immense amount of trees and nature - just coming home from Target!

For my next feat, I am hoping to take a trip to Greece and try my hand at "woofing" for a couple weeks. I'm also looking forward to visiting my little Umba who is taking the plunge into the Peace Corps and heading off to Bulgaria!

In the meantime, there are still a million things I want to see and do in Washington and I'm looking forward to the adventures that await me....

ell.el.p meet Seattle, Seattle, meet ell.el.p... I think we're off to a beautiful friendship!