Just a Quickie

Change of Command Ceremony, Camp Pendleton

This has been a busy, busy week, but a good one.  I haven't been able to write as much lately-- for some reason I've been feeling a bit more functional than creative on the work front.  Must be the logistics officer creeping out in me-- you can take the gal out of the fight, but you can't take the fight out of the gal. Ok, dumb Marine Corps joke.  Moving on... 
                                                          
I am full-steam ahead for Shanghai the first week of November!  Patty Carroll will be exhibiting 30+ photographs at Shanghai University, and I will be her 1-woman entourage for the event.  Look out, China!  I promise to take a bunch of pictures and journal everything I possibly can-- all that remains on my list is figuring out what to wear.  Gammy MB will be sitting in with the 3 kiddos on the home front while Chris is working.  I've stocked the fridge with all of Seattle's best, to include several bottles of sanity (i.e. wine).  And Rorey Carroll will also be in town with her sweetie, Zebulon Bowles, as he will be touring with the Emmitt-Nershi Band (ever hear of String Cheese Incident or Leftover Salmon?  Wow.)  He will be playing on Friday, November 5th at The Tractor in Ballard.  Sadly I will miss this event, but will be there in spirit.  Check it out: http://www.emmittnershiband.com/.  Congrats, Zeb-- you are a rock star!

                                                                                                                                                                                                    

Rorey & Zeb

More Announcements-

Rorey Carroll will be hosting a CD release party at Gabe's Backstage Lounge on Saturday, December 18th.  More information to follow.  In fact, a ton of information will follow on this one, so stand by for the event of the year!  http://www.gabesbackstage.com/

Join the Ferrer Foundation on November 10th from 6-8 pm at Epic in Chicago (112 W. Hubbard) for a happy hour to benefit children with incarcerated parents.  This organization is a new client, and I am inspired by their commitment to helping these children shine.  Rock on, Ferrer Foundation: http://www.ferrerfoundation.org/

MB & Hank

Thanks again to all my friends and family for their continued support.  I'm amazed by how much I've grown from this experience.  

Artisan Hangover

Thermidor, San Francisco

Last weekend I escaped from my life in Seattle and headed out to San Francisco for a little getaway with a few of my besties. Every now and then, I have to ditch my kids and husband to stay sane, only to run home a day or two later because I miss them so much. Pathetic, I know.  When asked about my activities over the weekend, I kindly kept it vague because I knew my husband's reality was juggling bowls of macaroni and breaking up toddler brawls in Spiderman costumes.  We just had some dinner and did a little shopping; nothing crazy, really...   Well, I can't hold it in any longer, so here's my public confession.  During my domestic breakout, I had one of the best damn meals and nights out boozing ever!  Even better?  The ability to sleep off my artisan hangover in the morning.  The culprit: Thermidor, classic American cuisine, and really, really smooth handcrafted cocktails. 

Kathleen & Molly

Anyone who knows me will vouch that I like to have a good time, and it's not a stretch to say I'm an easy sell on a stiff cocktail.  Keeping in the spirit, I started my evening off with The Cordeliere, comprised of tequila, pineapple syrup, yellow chartreuse, lemon and soda.  Having lived in San Diego for 8 years, I normally don't like a bunch of crap in my margarita (my initial take), but this was absolute refreshment, and a perfect blend of kick, sour and sweet.  With no children to account for at sunrise, I moved on to the Warsaw Mule, which boasts bison grass vodka (I have no idea what that means), organic apple juice, lime, sunshine bitters and ginger beer.  Our server adamantly insisted we try this drink, and I must confess that I sampled this baby three times over just to make sure it was really that good.

Emily & Angelique

Dinner?  Well, my friends and I each ordered something different- sole, lobster, filet mignon and chicken kiev.  Anything stuffed with a stick of butter is usually pretty spectacular in my book, so it was a treat to find this old classic on the menu.  I don't have a lot to say about my friends' dishes because everyone devoured their heavenly meals before offering the opportunity to share (myself, included).  Absent of a taste, I got the absolute impression that my friends adored their main courses.  Dessert?  Well, we drank ours that night, and then some. 

Footnotes: 

-I grabbed a copy of the menu, which is the only reason why I'm able to recite the ingredients of my savory snifters.  Overconsumption does not typically fare well with my menu memory... 

-Don't feel too bad for my husband, as he is currently in Chicago while I write this blog, relishing in his 'Heavenly Bed' and uninterrupted ESPN debauchery, amidst steak dinners and deep dish pizzas. 


Thermidor
8 Mint Plaza
SF, CA 
http://www.thermidorsf.com/

Shanghai University to Exhibit Leading Chicago Photographer

Patty Carroll’s Anonymous Women series set to debut during Shanghai’s 2010 Biennale.

CHICAGO, IL, October 12, 2010— The Fine Arts College of Shanghai University will feature the artwork of renowned Chicago photographer, Patty Carroll, during the 2010 Shanghai Biennale.  Carroll’s series, “Anonymous Women,” includes 33 photographs of faceless figures draped in striking fabrics, and will be on display from November 6-18, 2010.  Carroll currently teaches digital photography at The School of the Art Institute of Chicago and Columbia College Chicago.  Her work is well known for her visual play on domestic objects and their relationships to women.  Shanghai University’s main gallery space is located in the arts and cultural epicenter of Shanghai at M50, a converted industrial complex home to China’s most influential galleries and innovative exhibition spaces.  An opening reception is scheduled for Saturday, November 6 at 6 pm; admission is free.

 “Making a home, whether through physical renovation or an internal sense of comfort, remains a constant, universal issue for many women. As a woman artist, I am addressing the double edge of domesticity; the home as a place of comfort, or a place where decoration becomes an obsession, and the woman merges with her domestic interior to become almost invisible,” Carroll comments.  Carroll artistically plays with ideas behind home decor, providing humor, solace and dread.  “Although the trappings shown here are specifically western-style textiles from various eras, I am hoping that they will translate into all cultures,” Carroll adds. “Perhaps this work will offer the chance for women anywhere to both laugh and cry at their domestic situations.”

LibraKnits- Now That's Brilliant!

Amanda Tobin Sawyer knows babies. In fact, she is somehow surviving and thriving in the "mommy hurricane" of parenting 3 little ones under the age of 2, all the while running a successful and unique business in her spare time. Amanda's knitting adventure, LibraKnits, launched amongst the trials and triumphs of conceiving her miracle babies, which makes it all the more extraordinary as a true testament of love's labor. LibraKnits features beautiful, hand-made baby hats and mittens, perfect for any bundle of joy.  "LibraKnits has allowed me the opportunity to turn one of the most difficult times in my life into one of the most rewarding and wonderful things I've ever done," Amanda says. "Life has a funny way of working out. My infertility crisis truly changed my life in every way."

So jump on the baby wagon and don your mini in a luxurious LibraKnit hat. Don't just take my word for it! Open any mag for Tinseltown street cred-- Sarah Jessica's twinsies and Jessica's bambina sport the Re sa cap, to name a few. With the Fall chill in the air, now is the perfect time to take your posh tot to the next level of paparazzi worthiness.

LibraKnits was recently named by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of 2010's 100 Most Brilliant Ideas.

Congrats, Amanda. You are on my radar as one multitasking mama!

Check it out: http://www.libraknits.com/

Lecosho-- Tasty Pork I Like

I've lived in Seattle for about 6 months, and I have to say the food scene is a force to be reckoned with-- bar none to any other city I've visited in the world. Seattleites are REALLY into their local cuisine and market, which is such a refreshing turn from living in Southern California for 8 years. Not that San Diego and Los Angeles don't have pockets that eat local, support local, but I have been blown away by the real-deal community culture in the Pacific Northwest. Alas, another Californian invades Washington!

So over the past 6 months, I have been eating my way through this city. Yes, I've taken my kids to the Locks and Gasworks Parks and so on, but my real passion has been discovering the food and wine so readily available in Seattle. Amen for the hills and landscape to balance my love of calories-- living here is really that satisfying.

It's difficult to know where to begin a commentary of good food in a city filled with great food, so here's my first crack at it: Lecosho, a Chinook term for swine. My interpretation? Really tasty pork I like. 

Matt Janke and Jill Buchanan 

Chris (my husband) and I were recently invited to have dinner with some new friends at this new restaurant on the "Harbor Steps." Finding the location, let alone any real scoop on this restaurant, was initially challenging-- I was intrigued by the mystery of it all. The only obvious ticket was the "Matt" factor, but I am still so junior to the food scene in Seattle to even know what that's all about (other than eating at Matt's in the Market once and really liking it). The restaurant's location is sort of removed from the main thoroughfare and bustle, which makes it unique in an area championed by the varsity chain of Pike's matriarchs.

We started with cocktails and wine-- the wine graciously selected by our server, and perfectly suited to our taste. Chris had an "old fashioned," and he was far from disappointed in his old stand-by. Our table shared the pate and almond appetizer-- one word: YUM. There wasn't a speck left over to speak of. I later had the chicken dish, which was wonderfully enhanced by generous touches of pork, and my husband had the chop with polenta. I'm still upset with him that he didn't share much-- by the time I asked for a second taste, he had inhaled his plate. For dessert, our table shared the flour-less chocolate cake, which was rich and a perfect end to a perfect pot belly.

What will I do different when I return to Lecosho? Order more food, wear looser fitting pants, and jump quicker on the draw of my fork. Check it out: http://www.lecosho.com/