Good Things...A Mainly Pictoral Exploration

After a few days... okay, a few weeks, months, and maybe even years of me going "W-T-EFFFF?" I was planning on titling this entry "Dudes Be Dumb" and elaborating on this statement.  For the sake of time and my sanity I decided to save my breath and instead post on a few good things that have been going on as of late...

1.  This past weekend was almost impossibly beautiful... like I could be brought to tears just reminiscing over the sun and warmth!

I was dog sitting in South Seattle and on Saturday morning decided to grab my camera and explore nearby Georgetown.Unfortunately my camera was without its SD card (wretch! blast!) and so my iPhone had to suffice. Luckily I had just downloaded a bundle of new photo apps and so this was the perfect opportunity to play around and pretend like I'm artistically gifted (side note: I really need to learn how to use my DSLR and stop relying on cool photo editing software... but that's for another time).  Here's a glimpse at my sunny (and industrial) explorations...

 

The Corson Building. I have yet to eat there ($$$$) but was charmed when I stumbled upon in my wanderings.

... Oh the humanity!

Apparently heaven is a place on earth and it's called Useful Vintage Goods in Georgetown, Seattle.  I could have stayed in there all day basking in the splendor of the hopelessly unaffordable found objects.

Came across the Georgetown Trailer Park Market.  Like a flea market... ... ... but in trailers.  Rest assured, I'll be back!

2.   After a stellar Saturday the weekend just kept getting better.  Easter Sunday looked a little something like this...

7 AM

10 AM

11 AM - 12 PM

1 PM

After 1 PM the photos stopped.  Mimosa + Bloody Mary = Extended lunch time nap (on my new memory foam mattress topper).  Basically I was a happy camper.

I have more "good things" to post but this is getting a little lengthy, I am getting hungry, and I want to save something to post another time!

I hope my billions of trillions of zillions of readers also had a splendidly sunny weekend filled with sandal wearing, naps, walks, friends, and foods!

I'm going to leave you with the lead track from my newest impulse iTunes purchase... yeah, that's right I bought Fleetwood Mac's Rumours... what about it?

A Pictoral Ode to Sunny Seattle

The past few days, weather-wise, have been stereotypical Seattle... i.e. oppressively gloomy and damp.  I was originally going to write today's post on my upcoming trip to Florida and how beyond thrilled I am to be getting away to a warmer, sunnier locale.

But then something wonderful happened.  The sun came out to play!

I know Seattle's weather is frequently a topic on this here blog and that's because it really impacts my day to day mood.  Weirdly enough, it seems that the longer I live here the more the weather gets to me and usually at this time of year I try to just hunker down and numb myself to the constant gray.  But February 2012 has been rather exceptional.  We had a string of not only sunny but also warm days a few weeks ago.  And when that gift left us I had resigned myself to a sunless existence for a few weeks.  But no!  The sun is back!!

I thought to illustrate the point that when Seattle is sunny it is quite possibly the most beautiful city in the entire country, I would post a few of my favorite snapshots of Seattle in all its sun drenched glory...

Thank you sunshine. Come again soon!

Of Hair, Bad Dates, and Sunshine In Seattle...

I got my hair done last Saturday and everyone who knows me has had to suffer as a result. I went to the salon with images of auburn/red locks with flecks of gold high lights.  I left with brown/brown hair and yellow stripes.

After several hours/days of unadulterated vanity (i.e. frowning in the mirror, taking pictures of the horror, complaining to friends, texting aforementioned horror-filled pictures to my sister) I decided to call my stylist and see what we could do about the situation.

She was more than happy to oblige and now I've got some hairs that I can live with for a couple months before I go back in and radically change things up. (A note: When I say "radically change things up" I actually mean "make minor tweaks that nobody else but me will notice").

... ...
 
After getting my hair squared away I met with soon to be former coworkers at Clever Bottle which is where those candlelit pictures were snapped.  Sadly I could only enjoy the company, ambiance, beverages, and delicious soft pretzels for a brief moment.  I had to jet early because...

Last night I had a date...


A pathetic date. 

An oh so very pathetic date.

Let me tell you, if the use of bold and italic letters didn't give it away, I'm not using the words "very pathetic" lightly here.  The entire two hours were just plain sad.

Unbeknownst to me, my suitor was in the middle of a divorce which he was clearly not over and definitely wanted to talk about.  I had hoped he got his ranting out of his system after the first time he mentioned the "D-word" and gave met the low-down (that I did not ask for).  So, when it appeared he was done, and in an effort to change the subject, I asked a seriously innocuous question...

Me:  So do you have a kindle you're bringing on your long plane flight tomorrow?
Him:  Ugh... ... I don't have custody of the kindle.

... ... A simple "no" would have sufficed.  Instead this innocent e-reader question prompted him to spill his  entire sob story to me... again.  But this time with more feeling (a.k.a. swear words).

Oh yeah, he then asked for a ride home.  Fine.  Whatever.  It's cold out.  I'll give the poor guy a ride home.  In the car he proceeded to point out his ex-wife's place of employment before asking if I'd like to go out again.  Dummy.  

Oh well.  I got a free beer out of it.  I win?

... ...

Which brings me to my next point... all of Seattle wins today.  It's SUNNY!  A sunny day in January is, in my humblest of all opinions, the most precious gift there is!  In celebration I made a mix o' music that I so cleverly entitled  "Sunny Day in January".  Listen and enjoy!

When They Fight, They Fight - Generationals
Shangri-La - YACHT
Ivy & Gold - Bombay Bicycle Club
Afternoon - Youth Lagoon
Please - Nellie McKay
Folding Chair - Regina Spektor
Two Shoes - The Cat Empire
Waiting For My Chance to Come - Noah And the Whale

Celebrate Monday!

So yesterday was Sunday but today is SUNday. See what I did there? Did you see it? Miracle of miracles! It is bright enough outside that I actually put forth the effort required to locate my sunglasses (i.e. digging through the mess on the floor of my car)!

Moving on from bad "puns"... As I've mentioned before I don't mind Mondays as much as most people do. In fact I find them pleasant as they are the one day in the work week that I am not held captive by my cubicle. Today's been particularly pleasure inducing and here's a brief list of why:

• I visited a client today who is 91 years old. She is the youngest of three children and both of her older siblings (ages 96 and 100) are still alive, kicking, and living down the block!
• In between client visits I got to hang out at The Ridgeback Cafe on 65th in Ballard. I had a delicious wrap with roasted yams, black beans, cheese (yikes!), peppers, and spinach (leafy greens for the day... CHECK!)

• My friend sent me a list of The 20 Best New Bands of 2011. Since I only know 5 of the bands listed I have some serious music listening to keep me busy for awhile.
• I am going to go on a quick jaunt around the neighborhood this evening in my new hot pink runners (I'm speaking Australian today)!
  
• The jaunt is going to be short because I'll be getting a workout at the Tractor Tavern where I will be square dancing the night away!

Leaving you with a video I'm loving of the Portland, OR band Typhoon. I'm a little bummed. They were just playing in Portland last week down the street from my friend's apartment. A friend who I am actually staying with a week from now. If only they could have scheduled around my overnight in PDX!


K.I.T. (no seriously, keep in touch... write a comment or something! pretty please?),
Amanda

An update: I had really better plan on cutting a rug tonight because my run lasted all of 10 minutes. I always forget that "sunshine" and "warmth" are not necessarily synonymous. My lungs are still burning and I am waiting for feeling to return to my finger tips. At least I got this picture?