A December spent holidaying in SF and Seattle

Another Christmas season has come and gone – and I’m wrapping up a December spent holidaying in San Francisco (SantaCon, a holiday lights tour via double decker bus, ice skating in Union Square and a Favorite Things party) and Seattle (12 days of Seattle Christmas, which included a fancy girls dinner and Snowflake Lane viewing, catch-up dinner with my Bali girls, 50s holiday party at a winery, two Taco Tuesdays, and the annual high school girls Christmas party gift exchange).

Ice skating in Union Square - a new annual
 tradition for me - so fun!

Posing with a rare, endangered
polar bear at Snowflake Lane in Bellevue

A 50s holiday gala at Matthew's Estate Winery

Phew! It’s been a busy, fun Christmas for me this year. And the first one I’ve been totally healthy for in three years, so that felt amazing.

Santa skipped our house this year because in less than one month, my sister, mom, dad and I will be flying to Maui to celebrate my 30th birthday (which is just two weeks away)!!! I was happy to spend Christmas with my friends and family, and I feel lucky to have pretty much everything I want, so skipping presents was all right by me.

Each year, my mom plays gracious host of a large family holiday extravaganza at our house on Christmas Eve. The party is full of traditions – “Cosmo Chi Chis” that my dad mixes for the drinkers, a Honey Baked Ham for our sit-down dinner, zero presents allowing for zero stress, and lots of laughs.

This year's holiday outfit = festive burgundy tights,
gold flats and feathers on my dress!

This year my mom threw together a new “Holiday Wreath Salad” from Icon Grill in Seattle. How gorgeous is this salad?! It includes dried cranberries, pomegranate seeds, toasted hazelnuts, apples, red pepper, and a pomegranate vinaigrette. I love the festive presentation of it!

I’m utterly exhausted after two awesome weeks spent catching up with my Seattle loved ones and am so ready to go home and see my beauty queen kitty and lie on my couch for 48 hours. I’m planning a few posts over the next two weeks, including:

• The homemade sugar scrubs I made for some of my friends this year (that were AMAZING)
• All about my latest obsession – my FitBit!
• The epic 2011 recap (by far the biggest and brightest year I’ve had yet)
• A night spent delivering newspapers the old fashioned way!
• And a few more Best of SFs and fun recipes I’ve tried off Pinterest

Hope everyone is enjoying their quiet week before we head into 2012… I’m full on ready to start my first full year in San Francisco!

Currently Feeling: Annoyed my flight is delayed for two hours! Happens to me every time I fly from Seattle to SFO.
Currently Anticipating: Seeing my friends and finishing out this week with some fun plans in SF.
Currently Loving: Marzipan! Each year I get a ton in my Christmas stocking, and it’s just too dang yummy for words.

This one goes out to the ones I love

How was everyone’s week of gluttony – the week where we stand up for everything America stands for by lying around and getting FAT on Thanksgiving comfort food?! So haute.

This past week, there were a LOT of posts on Facebook (as I’m sure everyone saw) about what people were thankful for… also a lot of quotes and comments about being thankful all year round instead of just one day, blah, blah, blah.

I know I’m very grateful for the gifts (and amazing talent ) I’ve been given. I frequently talk with my sister, friends, mom and dad about how lucky I feel. I really, really do. But I think because of the reason, season and time, we all give a few more thoughts during Thanksgiving week about what we’re especially grateful for.

I jokingly posted on the interwebs that I was thankful for spandex. Just to cut through the seriousness. But if we’re being serious (for serious, seriously), for me more this year than usual, I’m thankful for “each other.” Or more specifically, my friends and family. As cliche as that sounds, let me explain…

This is a lesson you learn even more so when you move away from home and relocate to a new city: Your 16 circles of people become two circles of people. The people who love you and take interest in your life, are those who call to randomly chat and check in (rather than just checking Facebook) and go out of their way to spend time with you because they love and appreciate your friendship just as much as you do theirs. Two way friendships stick around and one way friendships disappear. You stop taking advantage of the time you spend with those you love (because they are oh.so.missed), and your schedule becomes less spread super thin and more focused on those who just make you feel loved when you’re in their presence. This is what life is about.

It’s not easy to move away from all your life-long friends and family and sometimes sit in your house by yourself when it’s your nature to be social, to see everything your friends are doing at home and wishing with every bone in your being that you could cab to their house and go together, to explore new neighborhoods and lunch spots alone, or to not have a group to plan a camping trip with. I realized more so than ever that my personal relationships are more important to me than anything else in my life. I’m growing and learning and changing and having SOO much fun in a new city, exploring a new side to Jeanna. But I just don’t like being away from the people I love. I don’t at all.

But this is another lesson you learn when you move away from home: You work really hard in a new city to make your “family” – your home away from home – which might be 5 people instead of 30. Five very, very special people. In my new city, I’m surrounded by new friends, new people I’m quickly beginning to love, and a small circle of people who are becoming my family and my home away from home. And now, when I’m home in Seattle, I miss them and the fun they’re having. I want to take a cab to their house and go together. They’re my people to explore new neighborhoods and lunch spots as we navigate a big city together. As we miss our “homes” but choose to make a new home together.

What I learned this year is that I’ll never be able to stay in one spot anymore and not miss someone – this is what happens when you can call two places home… or three… or four.

But, I can go everywhere and find people who will love me, and love everyone back just as much, or even more, regardless of my location.

That’s what I’m thankful for.

Currently Feeling: Annoyed my flight is delayed two hours (again!). Damn you, SFO fog!
Currently Anticipating: Sleeping in my own bed tonight and cuddling Miss Stella!
Currently Loving: My new Kindle Touch! (I totes bought it, even though I totes didn’t need it. Whoopsie. But, I love it so much better than the keyboard one!)

How to Throw a Roaring Twenties Party

As one of my blog tags suggest, I am totally a theme party whore. I loooove them. I love going to them; I love throwing them.

Throughout my 20s, I’ve thrown some pretty good theme parties, including but not limited to: a silver birthday party for my silver 25th birthday party, a Dirty 30 party for my ex-boyfriend’s 30th with a boob cake and dirty mustaches, a Mustache and Sombrero birthday party (what party is complete without mustaches?!), a Sexual Chocolate party (Passion Party + chocolate fondue)… and now a Roaring 20s theme for my 29th Birthday!

Since 29 is the last year of my magnificent 20s, I decided to celebrate it with a Roaring 20s theme. I researched decorations, food, costumes and all the details. Here’s what I did, and how you can throw your own Roaring 20s Party.

Location:

I chose a private party space in Seattle called The Upstairs, which had a “speakeasy” vibe. The entrance was a nondescript door in the city, and guests had to walk upstairs to what looked like an underground bar during Prohibition… lights were strung across the ceiling, handmade art adorned all the walls and guests could dance or sit on velvet couches and chairs to chat. (If you live in Seattle, seriously have your party here! It’s owned by Cory, the brain behind Pinxto – and he is AWESOME at accommodating needs and wants to make your party special!)

Invite:

To get the guests into the Prohibition mindset, I sent an invite with an address that said the party was at “a door next to” a popular bar in Seattle, and gave them each a password to give at the door to get in (something that was often done during Prohibition for entrance into underground bars). Then I hired a door guy to ask guests what their password was at the door. (Gin Fizz!)

Decorations:

Tall vases of feathers and Cali lilies were on tables, feathers adorned bar and tabletops, and I purchased boxes of candy cigarettes to set around the party too. I also had glass candy dishes with gummy bears and Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups – candies that were both invented in the 1920s, and bowls of nuts on the bar top – another popular snack food in the 20s.

Food:

My mom catered the party, and we researched popular party foods in the 20s, and dishes invented in the 20s. The menu included:

Shrimp cocktail (popular party food in the 20s)

Zucchini chips (zucchinis came to the U.S. in the 20s)

Deviled eggs (egg creams were popular in the 20s)

Waldorf Salad (served to President Coolidge in 1924 at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in NYC)

Brie cheese platter (popular party food in the 20s)

Olives (popular party snack in the 20s)

Mini Pineapple Upside Down Cakes (dessert invented in 1925 after Dole’s pineapple recipe contest)

Then I created and printed little tags with rhinestones that said the food, the year it was invented and were displayed using photo holders I bought at Michael’s Crafts for $1!

Drinks:

The bar created a custom cocktail list for me, which included:

Mint Julep (whiskey, mint, soda water)

Gin Fizz (gin, lemon, powered sugar & soda water)

French 75 (gin, lemon & Cava champagne)

Roaring Jeanna (whipped cream vodka & soda water – my fav drink!!)

Costumes:

All my guests dressed in 1920s costumes! What do these look like, you ask?! Mostly flappers in fishnets, black wigs, feather headbands and garter belts for the ladies – but also slip dresses with a low hemline, pin curls and pearls. For the boys – gangster gear or just plain suits, suspenders and fedoras.

Party Details:

I hired a photographer and set up a “photo booth” area for my guests with 1920s props such as feather boas, a fake cigar, pearl necklaces, a martini glass and a chalkboard to write fun messages on for the pics. I also created a box and a sign that said, “What Should I Do the Last Year of My 20s?” and asked guests to write their advice for me on little white cards and place them in the box. I’m going to spend this year actually trying to accomplish all the advice from my friends (another post coming on that soon!)

And now… all the photos! My favorite part of the whole shebang because it shows how AWESOME my friends are, who are the “detail” that really made my whole party:

Expensive heels and priceless moments

• $24.95 for a cobalt blue, tafetta strapless dress (Forever 21)
• $5.50 for a rhinestone belt (Forever 21)
• $9.50 for a crystal and rhinestone flower ring (Wet Seal)
• $7.50 for silver, rhinestone dangle earrings (Forever 21)
• $2.50 for gold and silver glitter, coconut-scented nailpolish (Forever 21)
• $89 for the most fabulous pair of Enzo Angiolini gold platform, disco glitter heels (Nordstroms)

Le Sigh

• $35 + $7 tip to get my hair curled and styled at Habitude Salon in Fremont (they did a great job)
• $28 for a custom airbrush tan from Tropical Tan (seriously, once you go airbrush, you’ll never go back)
• $10 for a bottle of Chateau St. Michelle Sauvignon Blanc for prefunking (Sav Blanc is my all-time fav white wine)
• $65 for tickets to a silly expensive party at a waterfront cruise terminal event center in Seattle, featuring Jermaine Duprie (Ha!)
• $15 for town car trips to the party and back
• $18 for two whipped cream vodkas and soda water + $3 for a bottle of water (I drank a lot before the party)

= The most ridiculously overpriced evening of my entire life

Not paying a single dime to hear a crush of mine tell me sometime after midnight that “I’m good at life”?

PRICELESS.

Currently Feeling: In love with new restaurants and wine. I’ve been trying to be good and tone down the meals out, but I tried Ravish in the Eastlake neighborhood of Seattle tonight, and it was FABULOUS. Worth every calorie.
Currently Anticipating: First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square tomorrow with my family to celebrate my dad’s birthday.
Currently Reading: The Hangman’s Daughter by Oliver Potzsch. (Only $3.99 for the Kindle!)

Looking back and forward on my year of total happiness

Wednesday night I went to dinner with an old college roommate. We ordered two crepes, split a bottle of red wine, and discussed our upcoming New Years Eve plans. At sometime during the night I said, “2010 has been the best year of my life,” and she responded with – “Really?!”

Yes, really.

I have said more times than I can remember this year – I am SO happy right now. Happy with where I’m at with my life, happy with who’s in it (and who isn’t). Happy with my career, my apartment, my friends. If I could pick one word to sum up this year for me – it’s simply been, Happy. I could only hope 2011 lives up to the year I’ve had in 2010.

Below are just a few of the reasons that have made 2010 “my best year yet.” In no particular order, this year I…

• Made regular workouts a part of my life all year, for the first time ever. This included starting Sassy Fit boot camp, which I did for six months, and then starting my yoga practice! (Which began with a 30-day hot yoga challenge in June). Me + yoga = LOVE.
• Gave up consumerism for 30 days (as part of my 30-day yoga challenge).
• Paid of a ton of parking tickets that prevented me from buying tabs, bought new tabs to replace the previous ones that were expired for two years AND paid off my car loan. Booyah. What up responsibility.
• Took a bacon cooking class (where I learned to make a Bacon Explosion!)
• Traveled to New York, San Francisco twice and Miami (where we partied at a bar with the Jersey Shore cast. I was at a bar with Snookie in 2010. Enough said).
• Spent many fun cabin weekends with friends, including Chelan multiple times over the spring and summer, and Leavenworth for Oktoberfest.
• Booked my first trip to Hawaii!
• Co-hosted (with other Power Team members) at least a dozen Girl Power Hour networking events for women, which allowed me to meet tons of empowering, smart girls and be a leader in my community!
• Found $100 bill on the ground on Halloween night (dressed as Cruella DeVille).
• Bought an ice cream making machine and learned how to make ice cream for the first time!
• Started a “Good Friends and a Glass of Wine” dining group, where I met with four girl friends of mine once a month to try a rotating selection of some of Seattle’s most critically acclaimed and talked about restaurants. We met 10 out of the 12 months in 2010 – pretty great record, and lots of great food! We ate at Spring Hill, Root Table, Lark, Union, Mistral Kitchen, anchovies & olives, Spinasse, Osteria La Spiga and more.
• Coached a kickball team with friends.
• Took a long blog break, transferred my blog from Blogger to WordPress and redesigned my blog. Took another long blog break, redesigned my blog again. Discovered that part of my happiness IS blogging, and I feel weird when I leave it behind. Completed NaBloPoMo (without missing a single post!) to gain my blog mojo back.
• Crossed a few fun things off my Bucket List, including riding my bike to work (and walking to work most of the summer!), going to Teatro Zinzanni for the first time, meeting a blog friend in real life, planting an herb and veggie garden – and making recipes with my homegrown plants, cooking my first turkey and buying satin sheets for my bed (for ME, no one else).
• Spent a LOT, a lot, a lot of time with girl friends – made a ton of new friends (Hi loves, if you’re reading!), and became closer to my roommate and some of my best friends, who mean the world to me.
• Had my first career-related speaking gig on a panel at the Social Fresh conference in Portland, OR.
• Attended BlogHer and BlogHer Food for the first time (excellent, nerdy blogging conferences – right up my alley).
• Said goodbye to my trusty Sidekick (my friends called me Sidekick Sally for years) and bought an iPhone 4! Also was able to purchase a Kindle this year – something I’ve had on my “want” list for at least 2-3 years – and have read so many great books. I’m hoping to pull together a list of my top books of 2010, for those interested.
• Hosted a Girls Thanksgiving, and cooked my first turkey (and sweet potato pie).
• Repaired my own vacuum after it broke! lol. Pretty proud of myself for that one – I’m an independent woman!
• Moved offices from downtown to Pioneer Square.
• Threw a big, successful party – without a hitch – for work with more than 150 people in the Seattle tech community in attendance! Then received a raise a week later, and a new part time contract work for an awesome company two months after that! My career kicked major ass in 2010. I can’t believe I can say that I’m exactly where I want to be at 29, and love, love my job and industry every day. For THAT, I consider myself extremely lucky.
• Made giant steps toward a BIG life change that I’ve wanted to do, and have talked about, for years. 2011 looks like it could be my year!

As far as looking forward to 2011, I decided to not make a “New Years Resolution” for this year. Rather, I scrolled through my Bucket List and marked a number of them that I want to cross off, work on, or know I’m already on my way to completing in 2011. Some of them are a bit ridiculous, some trivial, some large – but all are realistic. It’s a hefty list this year with lots to work toward, but what is life but without high goals!

My Bucket List items I’m going to try to complete in 2011 are:

• Live in another city for at least one year
• Keep a savings account – with a balance – for more than one year 
• Swim with dolphins (Planned for Hawaii.)
• Get my teeth whitened, professionally 
• Teach myself to video edit (My job might depend on it. Kidding. But no, really.)
• Visit Bali and wear flowers around my neck 
• Take a yoga retreat (Just so happens I’m planning a yoga retreat to Bali for August 2011. Two birds. One stone.)
• Buy a Mini Cooper (Currently on wait-lists for a black one.)
• Own a license plate with my name on it (As silly as this is, figured might look all right on new Mini.)
• Take a shower by candlelight
• Give up fast food for a year (Eh – why not. Thought I’d try this, starting January 1st. This could be considered a mini resolution, I suppose.)
  
• Make a cookbook of my grandmother’s recipes before she passes 
• Go to dim sum for breakfast
• Dine in the dark at San Francisco’s Opaque restaurant
• Feel great in a T-shirt again (My tummy is my trouble area, and it’s been a long time since I could just wear jeans and a T-shirt and feel comfortable. I’d really like to change this.)
• Make a wine corkboard from bottles of wine I’ve actually drank myself (Been saving for nearly two years – almost there!)
• Go to Toastmasters and kick my anxiety with public speaking (This is a must. must.)
• Wine taste in Napa Valley

Happy  New Years everyone!

Currently Feeling: Phew exhausted! This took all night.
Currently Anticipating: Getting my hair did and all fancy for the big NYE party I have planned tomorrow with a super fun group of friends from my neighborhood. Happy NYE!
Currently Loving: A cute new consignment shop in my neighborhood that has brand new designer jeans – tags on – for $70 and less! Pshhh. I’m totally not sharing the name.

Psquare is where all the boyzzz are

Last week, my work relocated our offices to one of Seattle’s oldest neighborhoods – Pioneer Square. In ALL the years I’ve spent in Seattle – growing up in a Suburb my entire life, and living all of my 20s in Seattle proper – I’ve never spent much time in what I’ve affectionately come to call P.Square. South of all the neighborhoods and downtown, P.Square has a bit of an interesting reputation for being a not-so-nice neighborhood, populated with shady peeps. It seems it has never really shed its character from the early 1900s when the streets were filled with brothels and “an ungodly mixture of dives, dumps… pawnshops, hash houses, dope parlors and… the et cetera that kept the police guessing.” P.Square is where the term “Skid Row” (a run-down or dilapidated urban area with a large, impoverished population) originated, if that tells you anything.

Now, there’s certainly a larger homeless population, but it’s also become a popular spot for startups in Seattle’s prosperous technology scene, so my company decided to jump into the mix of them. We moved from a stodgy, corporate skyscraper into a four story, old building with exposed brick, hardwood floors and bright blue, orange and red walls. Our new office is amazing – and fun and quirky, just like our startup culture.

Since we’ve been down here, I’ve absolutely loved it! I’ve been excited to get to know one of the only Seattle neighborhood’s I’m not familiar with… and it’s neat to be where so much of our city’s history started. P.Square is actually quite pretty – with old ornate brick and stone buildings, from the Victorian and Romanesque Revival eras; a TON of cute startup and Amazon.com boys who keeps smiling at me on my way to work; super cool graffiti and street art on the sides of a lot of the buildings; amazing places to eat lunch like Tat’s Deli, which has the best sandwich I’ve ever eaten; a ton of galleries that open their doors every month on First Thursday for wine and art; and tons of parks, including Occidental Park, which holds a farmer’s market in the summers and has tons of trees, tables to eat lunch at, and a bocce ball park!

Oh, and did I mention – P.Square has a ton of cute startup and Amazon.com boys who keeps smiling at me on my way to work. Yeah that.

I think I’m going to like it a lot down here.

Currently Feeling: Releived to have a big meeting and a 15 hour day behind me this week! Now – on to the weekend…
Currently Anticipating: A weekend in Bellingham, my alma mater town this weekend for my roommate’s birthday!
Currently Loving: That my fav yoga teacher is planning a yoga retreat to Bali in September 2011. I’m totally going!! Marking things off the Bucket List. Oh yeah.

Queen Anne Winter Playground

The snow has kept dumping in Seattle, resulting in road closures, accidents and general chaos all over our city. It rains here a lot, it doesn’t snow. So we tend to be the most unprepared, ridiculous city when we get a couple inches. I happen to love it though because our shotty bus rerouting system means I get to work from home and enjoy snow days in my neighborhood.

I live off one of the biggest hills in Seattle – Queen Anne’s Counterbalance Hill, named in memory of the cable cars that used to run up and down it. As soon as it snows, the entire hill shuts down – inaccessible to cars and buses.

Then it becomes a snow playground for all of us who live near – at least a hundred people gather on the hill for sledding, snowboarding, skiing, and snowball fights. It’s completely awesome, and makes me love my neighborhood even more than I already do.

Currently Feeling: A little sore – I fell while trying to snowboard down the hill today. I think I broke my tailbone. No joke.
Currently Anticipating: Starting my work week on Monday in a brand new, super cool office in the Pioneer Square neighborhood of Seattle.
Currently Watching: The new season of Millionaire Matchmaker – I’m catching up on my DVR. Patty Stanger is so sassy. This season is great!

From Fall to Winter

Fall has officially left the building – Seattle received her first winter snow a lot earlier than years gone past! We’re expecting to get one of the best ski seasons to date!

I took a “snow day” today and worked from home, cranking the heat, lighting candles, eating sweet potato pie leftovers from the Girlsgiving I hosted last night (pics coming soon), and watching the snow fall outside. When weather like this hits the city, I thank my lucky stars I have a warm place to hideout. Let’s take a minute to think about all the people who aren’t as lucky!

Currently Feeling: Excited for sledding in my neighborhood! I live off one of the biggest hills in the city, and during snowstorms everyone comes outside to play!
Currently Anticipating: My monthly Girls Who Dine Out at Rover’s tomorrow – a famous, Seattle french restaurant. Hopefully we can make it there in the snow.
Currently Loving: That so many people found my Kindle post useful – I’ll have to do a few more gadget reviews here. I’m full of them!

Starvation Heights

In my post about Seattle’s gum wall, I mentioned I went on the Market Ghost Tour. It was a low-key, spooky way to spend Halloween night since it was on a Sunday this year. I’d heard most of the stories on the tour before since I’m morbidly interested in the supernatural, especially Seattle’s ghostly history since we’re supposedly one of the most haunted cities in the nation. But there was one story I’d actually never heard anyone mention before…

The tour guide told us the tale of “Seattle’s First Serial Killer,” who was actually not The Green River Killer nor Ted Bundy – it was Dr. Linda Hazzard, a female doctor who used “natural healing methods” in the early 1900s to starve her patients to death. She’d then take possession of their expensive jewelry, estates, clothing and other worldly purchases.

She started her practice in the old hotel, located in the middle of Pike Place Market, the La Salle Hotel (photographed in the top left corner to the left of the Public Market sign):

Dr. Hazzard eventually opened a sanitarium in Ollala, Washington and supposedly killed more than 40 people in her time. A Washington-based author wrote a book about the history of Ollala and Dr. Hazzard called, Starvation Heights, and apparently they’re making it into a movie (so they told us on the tour). I can’t wait to watch the ghostly tale of Seattle’s oldest serial killer!

Currently Feeling: Over America’s Next Top Model. It used to be one of my favorite shows, but it’s kinda tired and sad now. I feel like I can name five friends who are more talented and pretty than the girls they choose.
Currently Anticipating: A girls Thanksgiving dinner I’m hosting tomorrow at my house!
Currently Needing: To clear my social calendar to make time for yoga and working out. I’ve been too busy for my own good lately!

Illuminating Seattle

I live in a really spectacular city, yet I rarely share Seattle and all of her sparkle and candid lore here with you. I know there are at least a few of you who read, who aren’t locals or have never visited, so I’m going to occasionally share with you the features I love most about the city that I’ve spent all of my 20s in, loving, dancing and living. I’m doing it in the hopes that I can illuminate Seattle for you…even if for three minutes…because it sure has illuminated me.

If you visit The Pike Place Market, turn left, and walk down the stairs into an alley below the market called Post Alley, you’ll find doors to a hidden theater that has some of the best improv acts in Seattle. You’ll also find The Gum Wall – a 50-foot wall, from top to bottom, covered in gum, in all colors of the rainbow.

Next to The Blarney Stone in Ireland, it’s deemed the second germiest tourist attraction in the world. Seattle lore will tell you it started when theater performers weren’t allowed to chew their gum on stage, so they started to stick it to the wall outside in spite. Now, it’s the most popular spot in the city for wedding photographers.

I stopped by there recently since it’s where the Market Ghost Tour starts (which I took on Halloween night), and couldn’t walk away with snapping a few of my own pics. As gross as it is, it’s actually quite breathtaking in it’s own little quirky way, don’t you think?

Currently Feeling: Bummed I can’t find a partner to go to the 20-Something Wine Event with me on Saturday. It’s my favorite event of the year, and alas, no partner in crime. Bummerooski dudeski.
Currently Anticipating: Making it through my all-day work meeting tomorrow. I have a seriously hard time sitting still that long without multitasking!
Currently Loving: My happy kitty who’s just been purring all night and lying on my belly – must be nice to be so cozy, spoiled and loved.