Seattle: The Food

Even though it’s been a few weeks, I do want to talk about our trip to Seattle. I only just got around to uploading the pictures from my camera and even that caused me undue stress, because I kept thinking that there were eighteen other things I should be doing. But tonight I am the sole adult in the house, and, though I wanted to get a bunch of cleaning done, I am instead doing what I feel like doing which is not much of anything really.

Heckler and Matt: Best Hosts Ever.

Speaking of adult time, our wonderful neighbors (with the help of Patty) watched the boys, so Josh could go to Seattle with me and it felt amazing to feel like just a couple again. Despite missing the kids deeply the first two days, I settled in and enjoyed our time. The food helped. How did I not know that Seattle has food to rival San Francisco? While I failed to get pictures at Pan Africa Market, Poppy, Japonessa, Wayward Cafe, and Pike Place Chowder, they were all well worth seeking out. Japonesse is in the heart of downtown and any visitor there should ask for the green roll. It’s not on the menu, but it’s vegan and absolutely delicious. My only complaint is that the roll is slightly too big, but it stayed together well, the rice was seasoned perfectly, and the proportion of veggies was great. Pike Place Chowder has one vegan option. It’s a coconut based chowder that’s filling (could use some lemongrass, but quibbles….) and hearty on a drizzly Seattle afternoon in the midst of Pike Place chaos. Poppy really deserves it’s own post, but without pictures I couldn’t do it justice. Poppy serves food thali-stlye, which is basically like Southern Indian tapas. The ingredients are seasonal and local and they happily accommodate vegans. What I really loved, though, were the simple flavors that were paired in unique ways. Each bite was a revelation. Seriously. And we have those two–yes, them, up there–to thank for the experience.

Despite our many failures, however, we did manage to get pictures of the brunch we had on our way out of town. After walking miles in many wrong directions, we managed to find Plum Bistro. I have to start by mentioning that they serve some of the best coffee I’ve ever had (hello, Stumptown Coffee!) in an individual french press. One of the great things about dining with Josh is that our tastes diverge greatly–especially when it comes to breakfast. He has a sweet tooth that is never satisfied, which means I can have one glorious bit that’ll do me just fine, and I can stick with the savory. Josh outdid himself this time and went with the tiramisu pancakes, while I decided on the tofu benedict. I can’t really explain this choice, since I never even liked eggs benedict, but it was a good choice:

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I can’t end this post, however, without mentioning what might just be my favorite bar. Ever. I thought the West End was nice with it’s bourbon selection and rooftop bar, but the grandaddy of whiskey bars has to be 9 Million in Unmarked Bills. It’s in the Fremont district of Seattle, across from the Lenin statue. As if that weren’t enough, they have elevated pub fare (hello, tempura brussels sprouts!), an impressive selection of whiskey (including two Japanese labels), a distinctly neighborly atmosphere, and the best bourbon recommendations I’ve ever gotten. The bar itself is dark, eclectic, and boasts a sit down Ms. Pac Man game. I would seriously live there if it were within commuting distance.

Home Sweet Home

Books of 2011: Reading Can Be Fun!

Fiction:

The Golden Compass: Phillip Pullman
Cryptonomicon: Neil Stephenson
The Walking Dead (Book 1): Robert Kirkman
The Walking Dead (Book 2): Robert Kirkman
Wise Man’s Fear: Patrick Rothfuss
The Crippled God (Book 10 of the Malazan Book of the Fallen): Stephen Erikson
Wonderstruck: Brian Selznick
A Dance with Dragons:George RR Martin

Books I Re-Read:

A Clash of Kings: George RR Martin
A Storm of Swords: George RR Martin
A Feast for Crows: George RR Martin

Non-Fiction

It’s All About the Bike: Robert Penn
Bicycle Diaries: David Byrne
The Nasty Bits: Anthony Bourdain
At Home: A Short History of Private Life: Bill Bryson

5 Months/29 Months

You know what happens when you only post two or three times a year? Shit changes. And, around here, boy does it ever.

At 5 months, Dashiell is growing into his nose. Seriously. Aside from the way his ears are tucked back noticeably close to his skull, the kid had a nose. But the rest of him is rounding out and growing rapidly (over 70th percentile in height and weight), while his nose stays the same.

Likes: Eames (he beams at him every time he sees him), faux-hawks, babbling, sitting in the high chair, laughing at Eames, sucking his thumb, rolling over, sleeping in late with Mommy, and his new teeth!

At 29 months, Eames is…still not really talking. Or, more accurately, only speaking in questions/exclamations: Whoa! Where is? Uh-oh! Wha’s that? Where! Tractor! Corri! Who’s that! Sit? Sit! He is also pretty much a holy terror each and every day. He has fallen 6 feet off a play structure, broken a window, broken a glass tabletop, torn the covers from several books, drawn on the walls, tackled the cats, and challenged us every chance he gets.

BUT, THE LOVE. Eames asks about Dashiell first thing every morning. he stops to kiss him constantly throughout the day. He says, “hiiiiiiiiiiiiii!” about 2 inches from Dashiell’s face every time he walks by. He tries to give him toys and teach him to not suck his thumb. He lays down on the ground face-to-face with Dashiell and laughs until Dashiell laughs and they simply lay there laughing at each other. When Dashiell cries, he makes monkey sounds at him, trying to soothe him and make him laugh. He is a good big brother.

Oh, and have I mentioned he likes to ride his bike? Sometimes just a block and sometimes he goes for miles…..

9 Weeks/26 Months

Time is going by so fast and having Dashiell around has made me realize how much I’ve forgotten about Eames (and let’s not even talk about Aspen) when he was this age–and it’s only been 2 years (maybe I should’ve treated my brain better!). So, I wanted to post a little update about all the fun/cute/amazing/annoying stuff the boys are up to in this month of July 2011:

Dashiell is getting bigger everyday. Sometimes I swear he’s noticeably bigger by the time night rolls around. He wasn’t into the pacifier, so we stopped trying to force it on him and he just recently has started to find his own hands. You can hear him slurping on his fingers from across the room. He’s holding up his head like a champ and I can now carry him on my hip facing outward, though he’s still a bit of a bobble head. And, he loves to be cuddled and talked to, rewarding me with a big smile when I lean in and say hi.

He's already used to having his picture taken.

Speaking of greetings, Eames likes to lean in, putting all his weight on Dashiell, and say in a breathy voice, “hiiiiiii….”, which I suspect is his imitation of me. Then he gives Dashiell a kiss. Often these kisses are uncomfortably long. We like to say he’s making out with his brother. And, he can’t walk by Dashiell without stopping to give him a kiss.

A kissing break at the park.

Luckily for Eames, he is unbelievably sweet and cute sometimes, because he’s often also a terror. I didn’t know that being two was quite so hard. On parents. He throws some spectacular tantrums, including the one in the middle of a super hip vegan restaurant in LA–the one with only 7 tables. Said tantrums always include screaming and crying, but my favorite part is when he back-dives on to the ground (I can’t believe he hasn’t cracked open his head yet) and then uses his legs to propel himself across the floor with every scream. It’s awesome.

I’m hoping the tantrums will be improved by the fact that Eames is FINALLY starting to talk. In addition to “mommy”, “daddy”, Dashiell (or dash-dash), and “NO”, he says “bye” to everything and everyone, stares longingly out the door saying “Korri” (our neighbor whom he loves), shouts “trash truck” and runs to the window when he hears a big truck outside, and uses about 10 other words here and there (done, down, kitty, shoe, Simi, shower, where is it?, that one…). He also has about 15 signs now, the best of which is “love”. Perhaps the all-time best word–verbal or sign–is when he heard me say “shit” one day and proceeded to repeat it under his breath about 10 times, while he walked around in circles.

Making love to the camera.

Last, we took both boys to their very first drive-in movie: Cars 2. The movie itself left much to be desired, but the whole experience was amazing. The vanagon is the best drive-in movie car ever. Eames stayed awake for the whole thing, before promptly falling asleep as soon as we headed home. It made a nice start to the Colorado Drive-in Tour of 2011.

Waiting for sunset...

Being ever so patient.

9 Weeks/26 Months in short:

Dashiell LOVES cuddling with mommy, falling asleep on daddy, Eames’s bedtime, sleeping through the night (10-4ish), long walks, showers, and intimate conversation. He DOES NOT like having his head touched or being left in the basement.

Please don't leave me in the basement.

Eames LOVES tomatoes, anything with wheels, the neighbor kids–especially Korri, chipotle ranch dressing, playing in the water, being naked, the Christmas cat, poop scooping, pretending to shoot anyone or anything, and sleeping in his big boy bed. He DOES NOT like getting his diaper changed, hipster restaurants, the vacuum, or staying in bed past 7am (though putting a fan in his room has worked wonders for his morning wake up time).

He can now reach the counter, which means it's open season on tomatoes.

Happy Father’s Day…

…because I never even imagined a life like this:

Justice League of Street Food Bash; Or, Dalyn meets Hosea

Yesterday we went to the Justice League of Street Food Bash in Denver. Mostly, for me, it was an excuse to feel like an adult and eat some good food–both of which were easily accomplished. The Bash included 10 food trucks (only one of which was vegan friendly), wine and beer, music, a play area for kids, and lots and lots of hipsters. I loved every second of it.

The whole thing took place in a parking lot behind some crazy modern lofts in an old industrial part of Denver. The play area was open courtesy of Open Air Academy–a school I would love to go despite being about 32 years too old. The toys are wooden, the furniture is reclaimed and handmade in Scandinavian style, and the floors are concrete so dirt and water are welcome inside. So. Sweet. Eames had a blast playing at their water tables and being THAT KID, who splashed and soaked all the other good little girls and boys.

Notice the difference in color between his front and back? Yeah...

But the highlight, of course, was the food and a celebrity food meet and greet. The Steamin’ Demon food cart is run by the folks at Watercourse and provided the only real choice of vegan eats. They had two choices but we went with the Loco Moco:

The creaminess of the gravy (which I think is soymilk based) paired perfectly with the hot sauce. And the quinoa patty was tender but held together well–a tough combination in veggie patties. Apparently, this bowl is a veganized version of a popular Hawaiian breakfast dish. A fact I only know because I was schooled by Hosea Rosenberg, winner of season 5 of Top Chef, during our interview. He’s putting together a show on food trucks that he’ll be shopping around. So, if it ever makes it on TV, I’ll get my 15 minutes of vegan fame.

First day on the job.

Most first days at a new job are racked with awkward getting-to-know the coworkers, the bosses, your desk, breaktimes, the flow of the workplace.
My first day at being a stay-at-home parent wasn’t quite so awkward since I already knew the boss pretty well, and the coworkers/clients were people I had known for all of their lives.

Now that I’ve had a week to let it all sink in, and differentiate some of what was the first day jitters and what’s the norm, the list of thoughts I had that first afternoon are more obvious with a little bit of hindsight:

1. The day goes by so much quicker than I expected. I’m not sure where the days go, but I must be having fun because every time I look it’s time for lunch, or a nap or it’s already 4:30.

2. I need a to do list. Obviously, there are daily chores that need doing. Dishes, laundry, putting toys away (the kids and mine, mind you,) feeding/cleaning up after the animals, etc. And then there are the bigger projects that need to happen: weeding the garden, organizing the office, making room for a craft area, filling out various paperwork, travel plans and arrangements, etc. Without a list of what those things are, I fear I’ll never get to them for the daily chores.

3. I’m going to need some ideas for things to do with the kids that are free, cheap, easy, and/or close by. At this point, I think I’ll settle for  three of the four. I’m pretty sure I’m going to be doing some exploring of local parks in the near future.
Dalyn pointed out that I’m lucky I’m starting this stay-at-home gig in the summer, when it’s nice out most of the time, and easy to take the boys out to a park for a few hours.  I’m not sure what we’ll be doing for outings come fall and winter, but I’m sure we’ll find something.

4. I really love being at home with my family all day.  I can definitely see why people have trouble going to work at an office or something after staying at home all the time with their kids and family.

5. This isn’t really something I learned on my first day home with Eames, but I did spend a bit of time thinking about it this week and it seems to fit here.
I tend to want to do too many of my own projects. Even without the kids around I suffered from this. I hope having them around and being forced to become more organized with my time will help me get to some of those things I’ve been putting off for years