Secret Seattle Side Trip

Two weekends ago, Lyle and I took a secret trip to Seattle. "Secret" because I didn't tell anyone about it much in advance, and I didn't write about it here for all the world to see.

I also had a hidden agenda. It's been a year since my uncle passed away. I know that grief comes in cycles and "a year" was going to be a hard weekend to go through, for me, for my family and especially for my dad. I thought I would be so clever and change the weekend from being a down and funky feeling to a fabulous and fun feeling, just by showing up in town. So we all made plans.

As the trip approached and I started to pack, I did not realize that I was "on edge". The night before we were to leave for Seattle I snapped at Lyle and he very kindly returned the favor and we stomped off in opposite directions. Then he came back and very quietly said, "I think I know what's going on. I think you are little stressed because it's been a year since your uncle passed away." Since I still had my angry face on I responded, "Well if you're so smart and know that, why don't you just give me a WIDE PATH and stay the hell OUT OF MY WAY!" I can be a joy to live with. But I did finally calm down.

We made it Seattle and I the last time I was in Seattle was in the summer. And the reason I was there was to go to Yakima in Eastern Washington to place my uncle's ashes in a cemetery. Grief, death, mourning... I was kind of a wreck.

Lyle and I had decided to treat this visit like a mini-vacation and we did manage to see friends and dine out at restaurants we wanted to. We stayed in a hotel downtown and slept in. Lyle was more relaxed than I was. I walked around while he napped. He suggested I have a glass of champagne at lunch and I obliged. It took some of the edge off.

A year of grief. It's been a hard last year. After my uncle passed away, I've had friends who have lost parents, and our little baby Dalmatian Lola last November. I would say that I am doing well. I am happy often. I make the most of my day. But in the back of my head I feel tired. I appreciate staying home with our remaining dog Cooper and just being quiet. So unlike me. But then that is also a part of grief.

On Saturday night the whole family descended on my brother Gary's house and we had one of those consummate family nights where everyone was too loud, everything was hilarious, and stories were shared and created.

The next morning we all went to breakfast and were surprised to find my cousins who were in the middle of moving to Seattle had arrived two days early. They said when they heard we were all going to be in the same place at once the had to be there too. They drove 26 hours non-stop to make it to breakfast Sunday morning.

In the end my clever plan worked. I still had to move through the grief that demanded my attention, but we turned what could have been a maudlin anniversary into a joyful memory. When my uncle was sick he would say over and over again, "Be good to your family. Everything else comes and goes, but in the end family is all you got." Through a clever plan, once again, he brought us all together again.

I am in excellent company

About five years ago, Lyle and I discovered Fran's Sea Salt Caramels at Christmastime at Sur La Table in Los Angeles. Blissfully for my waistline, they were only available during the holiday frenzy. TO be completely honest, we bought two boxes, ate them, and went back for more before Christmas had even arrived. Believe me when I say, I was glad I couldn't get them more often.

The next year, we went back for more holiday deliciousness and we were horrified to find out they were not carrying them that year. But in a evil twist of genius, they told me where to find them... Seattle.

Fran's Chocolates is located in Seattle. There is a location in University Village that is quite accessible when I am in Seattle visiting family and friends. On my next visit North, I went in and was delighted to find my holy grail of chocolates, and so much more!

Lately, I seem to be flying over Seattle to get to my parents in Bellingham. At first I considered stopping in Seattle, renting a car and driving the hour and half to Bellingham so I would be able to stop at Fran's and get my fix. Schedules and timing and exiting off the freeway just to get chocolates wouldn't always permit this plan and seriously, I hate that drive due to worse traffic than we have in Los Angeles.

I will now reveal all that is perfect in the world. There is a shop in the SeaTac airport called Made In Washington and they carry both grey salt and smoked salt caramels. I pick up one box of each kind and bring them home.

Now i am thrilled to let you in on another tidbit about my favorite chocolate, someone else is a fan.

Fran's Smoked Salt Caramels are President Obama's Favorite Candy

Great. Now they're going to be harder to come by!

Seattle snippets

I uploaded some photos out of my camera (finally!) and here are some late photos from our quick tour of Seattle at the end of May.

From our room at the Fairmont Olympic,
we could see the Olympic mountains.

Cupcakes from the Yellow Leaf Bakery.

Two things that make this more interesting. I found out about this via the Seattle Stranger "Slog". My family in Seattle found it funny that I know more about what's going on in Seattle than they do, because I read the Slog every day.

The other interesting tidbit is I am a bit of an experienced cupcake hunter. A friend of mine in Los Angeles wrote an article on the cupcake craze and where to find great cupcakes in Los Angeles. It took a lot of dedication, but I helped her sample many, many cupcakes.

My verdict is, DELICIOUS. I would go back. They are not over the top, huge, or overly fancy. They taste like the BEST cupcake you ever had in grade school when someone's mom brought them in for a birthday. Cake-light and airy. Frosting-Italian butter cream that literally melts on your tongue.

Working the outdoor runway on our way to the airport.

The weekend was overly filled with way too many things and I regret not being able to call friends and fit in more visits. I apologize. Lyle and I were both really drained by the end of the weekend. I remember taking more naps than usual at the hotel. On the plus side, I was really working that Hermes belt.

Last weekend

So uh, it was quite the rollercoaster.

We had planned to go to Seattle for my (MUCH) older brother's 50th birthday party. Weekends with the family always get too packed so on purpose I try to leave a lot of "free time" that automatically gets eaten up with lunches, brunches and driving from place to place.

As we were packing I got word that my great aunt passed away. And now I would be taking something to wear to the memorial service.

It's one of those awful Broadway reviews, "I laughed! I cried! I ran the gamut of emotions!"

I was going to to do a dodge on all this and just post a very funny story about myself involving the church where the service was held. However, my iPhone did a big poopy crash and I lost whatever photos I had recently taken, so that story will have to come later.

I guess this post is here to share why I may be a little less wordy this week and to remind you to appreciate your family.
Uh, we don't normally all wear tropical wardrobe, but my (MUCH) older brother's birthday was themed, "Gary Five-O."

Happy Halloween!

What? It's not Halloween anymore? Where has the time gone...

In any case, I still have Halloween to share and I forge ahead. We spent Halloween in Seattle. On our way to my parents 50th anniversary in Bellingham. I never had a Halloween growing up that didn't include rain. It rained in Seattle on Halloween this year as well.

Here is my brother all dressed up for Halloween as a wet Seattlite.

When I discovered that I would be in Seattle for the auspicious occasion, I called my nieces ans asked them if they knew any good parties to go to. They are 11 and 15. They told me the coolest thing was to go trick-or-treating with them. Since I had to be up early the next day for the anniversary party I decided an early night might be a good idea.

"Uncle Jim," they asked in unison over the speaker phone, "What are you going to wear!?"

Hmmmm, I replied, I'm not certain, but the one word that comes to mind is.... HOTPANTS!

"Noooooooo! You can't wear Hotpants! You'll freeze!"

I'll be fine, the pants, you see, are HOT!

"Uncle Jim! You're crazy!"

Crazy for HOTPANTS!!!

And so I was stuck. I now had to come up with a costume wearing hotpants, that wouldn't embarrass myself, my husband or my nieces. But it still had to be good. I began my search early and found the answer!
OK, technically not hotpants, but that is a swimsuit. Lyle decided to dress as someone who is easily annoyed by me. As I say every year, "It's not a costume if you wear it every day, it's just an outfit."

My brother's family lives in a pleasant neighborhood in Seattle that seems to have an abundance of Range Rovers, BMWs, Mercedes and Volvos in every driveway. Suffice it to say, they get a lot of trick-or-treaters. To illustrate, by the time I got there at 7, my brother's house had already run out of over 100 candy bars. To contrast, at my house in Los Angeles, we've never had one trick-or-treater in three years.

We did the walk. And walk. And walk. I guess it seemed long to me because a) I wasn't getting any candy and b) I was in hotpants. I guess it seemed long to my niece and her friends because they wore super high heels to go trick-or-treating in the rain.

Janie, Sage, Madeleine (as Rachel Zoe) Allie (as a street sign) Darlene, Nicole and Nicole.

For me, the best costume of the night were the three young guys who were dressed in prisoner stripes carrying swords with cereal boxes skewered on them. The notice on the front and back of their shirts read: Convicted Cereal Killer. I screamed and hid behind my brother. The guys ran away laughing and about two houses away I saw them stop, turn around and look at me in my GIANT CEREAL costume and say, "Oh wait a minute, I get it... HE'S CEREAL!!!"

Trade you an Almond Joy for a Sugar Daddy?