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We had a really good experience with this company. I was frustrated by all the hoops other firms had me jump through - and saved a ton of time with this one. We installed Hunter Douglas blinds in...
We had a really good experience with this company. I was frustrated by all the hoops other firms had me jump through - and saved a ton of time with this one. We installed Hunter Douglas blinds in the entire house and they are GREAT. Wonderful service and very reasonable.
I wrote a review on them back in Jan. Check this review out for more information.
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I went to a 4-year old's birthday party that was put on by this Roosevelt-area based group. It was fabulous and best of all, low on the "adult providing the action" and big on the kids creating...
I went to a 4-year old's birthday party that was put on by this Roosevelt-area based group. It was fabulous and best of all, low on the "adult providing the action" and big on the kids creating their own action. It was so creative and the kids were incredibly engaged and got to use ther imaginations. Every girl got to choose an "outfit" to wear at the beginning of the journey (they brought them) and each girl created keepsakes and "treasures" relating to the story/theme. It was really great to see these people weave stories and move the kids around the house and into the yard. Active and unique.
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Lara Simmons is a locally-trained reflexologist with a true gift for touch and healing. I felt levitated after my session with her and my energized feeling lasted for days!
Nice, soothing...
Lara Simmons is a locally-trained reflexologist with a true gift for touch and healing. I felt levitated after my session with her and my energized feeling lasted for days!
Nice, soothing "getaway" ambiance inside her studio/ office with easy access off Aurora (on the Wallingford side). She's $60/hour and $80/hour and a half. Plus, she occassionally has specials.
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After many bids and too much time wasted on the Smith & Noble website - I met Wayne of Design Display (Metro Blinds). He has a great artistic eye - better still, he came prepared with samples and...
After many bids and too much time wasted on the Smith & Noble website - I met Wayne of Design Display (Metro Blinds). He has a great artistic eye - better still, he came prepared with samples and ideas and it took ONE appointment to pick out my blinds, have him measure my windows and then order them (Hunter Douglas was the brand I chose). He didn't require any deposit and installed them himself.
I'm really pleased with them and his small company and encourage people with all types of aesthetics to use his services. By the way - we have a modern remodel (mid-century) so it was difficult to find the right person. Wayne was the best!
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Fournos
Category:
Food & Dining
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 618-9505
Try the brand spanking new "Fournos" Greek restaurant on the Ave. I'm not kidding - it's great. We stumbled in there after a haircut across the street at Rudy's (with two small children in tow) and...
Try the brand spanking new "Fournos" Greek restaurant on the Ave. I'm not kidding - it's great. We stumbled in there after a haircut across the street at Rudy's (with two small children in tow) and they were just as warm, friendly and attentive as we felt in Greece 'lo those many years ago.
The food, for essentially a college "bar" hangout, is excellent. Really. Try the baked feta with Kalamata olives and red peppers. Plenty of warm pita bread brought to the table with the kids in mind. Great beer to wash down those delicious hot pork souvlakia.
We lived in Greece for three years and were duly impressed with the food's authenticity - it was just like we remember it from the casual Greek tavernas and lively bar scenes. The owners are friendly 20-something Greek-American brothers (showing off the Greek's "philoxenia" or love of strangers). Giorgos and Christos - from the island of Mercer (OK, but both parents are Greek and they took all the requisite language and dance classes at St. Demitrios) have done their homework and made the place very welcoming for young, old, hip and not-so-hip alike. Our kids appreciated the big screen TVs (they turned it to Greek history documentaries for us) and the wide "roaming" space. Typically, I think it's tuned to sports.
Apparently, there is a big New Year's Eve Opening Party featuring DJ Pantazis in the works. Would be a good time to check it out (without the kiddies though).
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I've had questionable experiences, both in the prenatal classes and most recently with Aikido. I never felt comfortable in either situation and am finally unraveling why.
I'll try to make this...
I've had questionable experiences, both in the prenatal classes and most recently with Aikido. I never felt comfortable in either situation and am finally unraveling why.
I'll try to make this succinct.
I took the prenatal classes with Colette - who I found alternately comforting and patronizing. In the end, I discontinued the class as I found the general mood intolerant (esp. to those who do not favor natural birth and "breathing" over prescription drugs for post-partum depression, as one example). My husband and I also saw Colette in a counseling session where we were astonished to feel more ill-at-ease than when we came in to talk with her (I won't go into the more personal details but we slunk away feeling reprimanded like teenagers).
A couple of years later we joined some friends' kids at the Aikido classes for kids. The instructor was wonderful with the kids, esp. the wiggly set; appropriately firm and clear with expectations. The "sensei", however (and don't you dare call anyone else by this title) is an arrogant megalomaniac. I've seen him move 4-year olds to tears (and outraged a mother in the process) and, when my husband and I changed our minds about our daughter continuing after a year (after some miscommunication with the instructor and just, well...time to move on as our daughter is more of a "free spirit" playing-type of 5-year old and we're OK with that), he refused to even consider refunding our tuition (we had paid just the previous day for a 5-month package and hadn't even started the classes yet!) because "That's the policy." Furthermore, he told my husband "you're just upset because you can't get what you want," among other choice statements, interrupting my husband and being basically incredibly rude. So much for being a good customer!
While the instructor was capable and there were fun games and activities to keep the class exciting and fast-paced, the place felt like a scary boot camp (parents were even reprimanded for their wandering toddlers - which, again, I understand, but the way in which it was done felt uncomfortable and embarrassing - and could have been done much differently). There was not "soft touch", in other words. I'm certain some kids and their parents would love this kind of paternalistic ass-whopping, but not us. We learned the hard way.
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We just finished up a large modern remodel and used Dell Wade to supplement our team. We wish we had him sooner! He finished an attic space we had into a great children's play area with recessed...
We just finished up a large modern remodel and used Dell Wade to supplement our team. We wish we had him sooner! He finished an attic space we had into a great children's play area with recessed book/art nooks, recessed lighing, and a barn door to storage space. He's incredibly detailed, prefers the smooth wall look (as opposed to spraying that icky orange peel stuff over drywall) and gets the job done quickly! Plus, he's reasonable, friendly, experienced (28 years doing this stuff), clean (vacuums afterwards!), and is a symphony composer in his freetime! A true Renaissance Man.
He was also happy to work around small children who were VERY interested in his fine work.Licensed, bonded, etc.
I highly recommend him for projects big and small. He'll give free (honest) estimates, too.
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Hot Dish
Category:
Food & Dining
2255 NE 65th Street
Seattle, Washington 98115
(206) 524-5555
I love this new restaurant tucked in the Ravenna main street (65th). It's one of those places that is always warm (the ambience is cushy, arty and fun), friendly, self-assured and consistently tasty...
I love this new restaurant tucked in the Ravenna main street (65th). It's one of those places that is always warm (the ambience is cushy, arty and fun), friendly, self-assured and consistently tasty good. The big plus is that they are welcoming to everyone - even the little toddling table destroyers we like to haul around with us (paper tablecloths and crayons keep 'em busy).
I absolutely love their mac and cheese. It's always perfect. Brunches are especially memorable (dutch babies slathered in butter and lemon) as is a couple hours hanging out at their bar munching all sorts of goodies. Like mom's - only with alcohol - and much sexier.
Nice outdoor patio for those global warming days. Free Wi-Fi and they are opening up a private dining space and catering business right next door.
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Hell on Earth. I love the IDEA of IKEA as much as the next person. They are geniuses there. Seriously, I love wandering around their uber-hip, creative life-sized doll houses...and their food is...
Hell on Earth. I love the IDEA of IKEA as much as the next person. They are geniuses there. Seriously, I love wandering around their uber-hip, creative life-sized doll houses...and their food is rich and buttery...and kids can play for an hour (though big kids have been banned from the ball court)...BUT...
we are FOOLS to think that spending $3.00 plus on a gallon of gas to drive to Auburn (assuming you live in Seattle...or Oregon) = 1 hour min., wander in and out of the displays oooing and ahhing = 1.5 hours min., retrieving every damn piece of particle board and tiny screw for every item you want (careful not to drop on your foot) = 1 hour min., checking out (30 min. if you're lucky), stuffing the heavy Wasa cracker material into your car in a very negligible and unsafe way (scratching and denting as you go) = 30 min., driving back home tired and stressed (but probably not hungry since you bought the discount softserve and latte on the way out) = 1 hour, unpacking and then ASSEMBLING = 5 hours IF you have an engineering degree. That's ten and a half hours, folks. I don't know about you...but my time is worth more than that.
Next time I'm going to Dania where the furniture is just as bad but you can get purchase it and have it delivered without having to make a field trip out of the event.
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Lowe's
Category:
Home & Garden
Seattle, Washington 98101
(206) 366-0365
So we're doing a major mid-century modern remodel and we need to find Dwell and HenryBuilt stuff at Fred Meyer prices. Tried IKEA and felt as though we were part of some nightmarish reality TV show...
So we're doing a major mid-century modern remodel and we need to find Dwell and HenryBuilt stuff at Fred Meyer prices. Tried IKEA and felt as though we were part of some nightmarish reality TV show that turned people into lunatics and jackasses after prolonged exposure to flourescent lighting and Swedish meatballs. Tried Earthwise, Second Use, Environmental Home Center and other secondhand hipster places for some inspiration - but it seems to be Craftsman-heavy and prices no longer make it seem like a bargain. I even ducked into Home Depot and, after I finally tugged on someone's orange apron long enough, I was looked up and down disapprovingly (I swear - could it have been the unshaven legs and dirty toes?) and told that I needed to pay their people $100 to measure everything we just paid an architect a gazillion dollars to do! I loved our experience at Area 51 but they have mostly furniture and we needed help with cabinetry. A local cabinetmaker got lost and never showed up at our house after much rearranging with two small children. We even went so far as to purchase our own CAD program at home and spent hours and hours and hours trying to piece together a kitchen. I have no spatial ability, I quickly learned.
Then, my MOM says, "Honey, why don't you go to...what's that place on Aurora? Lowe's?" I reverted to my teenage sneer and said something like, "Yeah, right mom. They have total CRAP there!" So, me and my attitude found ourselves picking up potting soil or a water filter or something at Lowe's no long after and I breezed past the kitchen design center area snickering at the mere idea of engaging one of the "salespeople"...when all of a sudden, a spotlight hit the Venicia line - a sleek, modern cabinet display and small angels started to sing.
I - had - to - have - that - kitchen! I was dumbstruck. My husband and I made an appointment - to see if this was all just smoke and mirrors. My expectations were riding pretty low but I was hopeful in a "everyone has a chance at a winning ticket" kind of way. I'll call it Charlie Bucket hopeful.
And, guess what? I got the golden ticket!!! We met Paul Lintault, "Sales Specialist" and he sat down and immediately set to work designing the kitchen on his computer. He was knowledgeable, friendly, professional, fast and after two hours we bought our entire kitchen from him (and Lowe's) and LOVE it! He was able to figure out how to do everything we wanted (and more) and then helped us save money and reconfigure and take some chances. He knows his cabinets, by god. It's like he has a PhD in cabinetry!! And he's so NICE! I want to sing it from the mountaintops. (Honestly, I'm not related to this guy).
I just finished another appointment with him this evening to create our bathroom vanities. I'm thrilled. Again, I walked away in one hour with a print-out of what it looks like and was able to pick out bad ass colors and features...amazing.
I told him he should open his own business, so while he's still being pimped by Lowe's on Aurora (at 125th), you'd better get him QUICK!
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