little black journal

I think Spring is nearly upon us, as evidenced by the cherry blossoms that are in bloom throughout Seattle. We took a nice stroll through the UW campus with my parents yesterday to admire the flowers as set against the beautiful brick facades of the old buildings there. The sun was shining, people were lounging on the grass, the sky was blue. And then… it started to rain, and gray skies ultimately prevailed. But at least we had a glimpse of what’s to come, hopefully in the near future.

For me, an ideal afternoon is one spent in a cozy cafe, sipping a latte and reading or writing or sketching. This pleasure harks back to my time in Paris, where I found that cafe-hopping is a reasonably affordable way to really experience the vibe of a street or neighborhood (I couldn’t afford to eat out very often, but for the bargain price of 2 euros, I could get a cup of espresso and a chance to sit and soak in a cafe’s ambiance for a couple of hours). And so when I moved to Seattle, coffee capitol, USA, I immediately started asking around about where to find the city’s best cafes. I was living in Capitol Hill at the time and frequented Bauhaus, Espresso Vivace, Cafe Vita, and Joe Bar. Then I did a bad thing. I started taking all this urban, espresso-filled goodness for granted. I started filling up my Saturday and Sunday afternoons with errands and house-cleaning and tv-watching and naps. But I’m back on the wagon and am sitting in Stumptown Coffee on Pine Street as I type. And I like it. It’s nice here – warmly lit with comfy seating and clean, modern decor. Fellow Seattle-ites: any suggestions on where to spend next Sunday afternoon?

The beauty of God’s creation astounds me sometimes. I was ecstatic to wake up to a sunshiny day this morning and so I jetted straight over to Seward Park for a jog. Is it really possible that we live just two miles away from all this? Glistening water, dense green forests, a view of snow-capped mountains in the distance, and lots of happy, happy people. Nothing unites Seattle-ites like a little sunshine. I saw 70-year-old couples strolling hand-in-hand, young families playing on the beach, people walking their dogs, people pushing strollers, people riding bikes… I even saw a couple of elderly gentlemen sweeping for valuables together along one of the trails with their matching metal detectors. And everyone was smiling, basking in the beauty around them (a stark contrast to way that people tend to retreat into themselves on rainy and windy days, putting their heads down and just focusing on getting from point A to B as quickly as possible). What a glorious day… Spring is so close I can smell it.

To counter-balance my Debbie-Downer post the other night about how much the weather sucks, I want to throw a little positivity Seattle’s way…

Went to “First Thursday” a few nights ago with a couple of girlfriends and had a fantastic time – the first Thursday of the month, the local art galleries stay open late and offer food and wine to celebrate the opening of new artist exhibitions. Started at Punch Gallery and admired the blobbish-but-intricate balance of Jen Erickson’s painting. From there, we wandered around the corner to what looked like just a small corridor lined with paintings. Turns out we had found our way into the TK Artist Lofts: a maze of artists’ studios and galleries. We went from room to room, each of them filled with all kinds of creative goodness: sketches, photos, paintings, sculptures. Yum. I went home that night giddy with inspiration. Not sure yet what to do with that inspiration, but for now I’m content to rest in the budding awesome-ness of Seattle’s local art scene.

Cool Seattle experience #2 came in the form of a super-good breakfast with Shane yesterday morning at Both Ways Cafe near Seward Park. A quick search on Yelp for breakfast places near our house led us to this gem in the midst of an otherwise quiet neighborhood. We grabbed one of only 6 or 7 tables in the cozy dining area and chowed down on eggs and biscuits that tasted wonderfully homemade – I kept peeking back towards the kitchen, wanting to confirm my expectation that some cute little old lady was back there in an apron with chickens all over it, lovingly forming each piece of biscuit dough. I saw no such thing, but was impressed with the friendliness of the hip young waitstaff, nonetheless. Once again, South Seattle proves that it rocks!

I anxiously await the dawn of summertime, but I’m also realizing there is still much wintertime fun to be had. And so I will stop my whining.

Tonight was the night of the Ryan Adams concert at the Paramount (wanted to jot down my thoughts while I’m still on this post-concert high). I knew the show was going to be good when Ryan lit a cigarette and sat down at the piano to play “Rescue Blues”. But I had no idea it was going to be sooooo good. Whenever Shane and I are in the car and Led Zeppelin comes on the radio, Shane starts drumming on the steering wheel and says that he can “feel the music in his bones”. I usually just laugh at him for being silly, but when Ryan busted out the harmonica for “Oh My Sweet Carolina”, I knew exactly what Shane was talking about. I felt the music in my bones, my gut, my head, everywhere. Sooooo good. There were several times during the night where I caught myself grinning stupidly (the sure sign of a good show). And I hate to be one of those people that goes “Woooo!!!” at the beginning of every song, but tonight I just couldn’t help myself… It’s rare that I sit down and just listen to music; music is something I listen to while I’m cleaning the house or reading on the bus.  It was such a treat tonight to sit back for 2 1/2 hours and do nothing but soak up the songs. The concert was a reminder that listening to music can be an action in and of itself – I should pop in an album once in awhile and commit to doing nothing but closing my eyes and opening my ears.

After re-reading my last post, I realized that while it’s fun to dream of faraway lands, I should not take for granted the city in which I live. So I made it my mission this weekend to embrace the offerings of Seattle. And God smiled on this plan by giving us a bout of sunshine!

My adventures began Saturday morning with a trip up to Fusion Beads. Shane had given me a gift certificate that was burning a hole in my pocket. I walked in and was immediately overwhelmed. This place is stocked with all kinds of shiny little treasures – glass beads, metal beads, plastic beads, wood beads, etc. Below is some of my loot (don’t know yet what I’ll do with any of this, but there’s some definite potential here):

From Fusion, I headed over to Irwin’s Cafe in on N. 40th to enjoy a latte do a little reading. I scored a table by the window and enjoyed the comfy-cozy, slightly funky, laid-back vibe. This place has a great neighborhood feel to it – flower pots and Adirondack chairs out front, people walking by with their dogs, newspapers strewn on the tables… I’m still waiting for a fantastic cafe like this to open Columbia City. Patience.

That evening, Shane and I met some friends up in Maple Leaf for dinner at Judy Fu’s Snappy Dragon (how could you not want to eat at a place that has a name like that?). Kind of a hole-in-the-wall, but clean and super-delicious. Juicy dumplings, broccoli beef, prawns with veggies, sweet and sour chicken, Szechuan green beans, mmmmm… I walked out of this place about 4 pounds heavier, but it was worth it.

Got up bright and early Sunday morning (is 9 a.m. early?) and headed to Joe Bar in Capitol Hill to grab a cup of coffee, a scone, and a table where I could get some studying done (I take my first architectural licensing exam next month – yikes!). I used to frequent this place back when Shane and I lived in the ‘hood and have really missed it. Great rotating art on the walls, good espresso, wonderfully varied clientele, and a little mezzanine which serves as the perfect perch from which to take this all in:

From Joe Bar, I walked over to Volunteer Park, where I could fully revel in the sunshine. Good Lord, this city is beautiful:

Some further wandering around the park led me to this completely amazing greenhouse, open to the public and stocked with everything from tropical, jungly plants like Birds of Paradise to all kinds of cacti. I opened the doors and when the warm, moist air hit me in the face it was like I was in a different world. Talk about an urban oasis!

My final stop on Sunday was the Frye Art Museum, to take in some art. This place is great – it’s not large by any means, but the work is beautifully displayed and most of the galleries have comfy chairs where you can sit back and just absorb the paintings around you (I’m a big fan of seating in art galleries). I usually gloss over the paintings of cattle and many of the landscapes, but some of the portraits here are stunning. I was drawn to this one in particular (love the contrast of the dark, foreboding snake with her pale, glowing skin). It’s called “Sin” and was painted by Franz von Stuck around 1900:

And thus, my appreciation for Seattle is replenished…