Emeralds for an Emerald City Girl

Pantone decided (scientifically, I'm sure) that the 2013 color of the year is Emerald 17-5641.

On their website they describe it as:

"Lively. Radiant. Lush… A color of elegance and beauty
that enhances our sense of well-being, balance and harmony."

It just so happens that I live in the Emerald City so I know a little bit about the color green. And it's true that all the greens in the flora and foliage really do enhance my sense of well-being, balance and harmony. What I don't know, however, is how the heck to wear the darn color. Quite honestly, green has never been one of my favorites, and the hue closest to green in my closet is khaki. However, last year I came across this photo of Angelina Jolie wearing a stunning emerald pendant and earrings (of her own design) and I suddenly became obsessed.

I love how the emerald color adds a burst of interestingness to an otherwise very simple outfit. A few months later, my favorite local jewelry designer, Mrs. Robinson's Affair, posted these emerald green jade earrings on her Etsy page and I just had to snatch them up.

Armed with my first official emerald acquisition, I set out to explore how to integrate more of it into my closet. Lucky for me, I'm also a Pinterest addict so I started squirreling away green outfits on my Style board and here are some ideas I found:

1. Urban summer chic. I'd wear those pants in a heartbeat but I might be a little too old to rock the tube top.

 

2. Easy weekend wear. Last month I found a pair of pants this color at the Gap. I chickened out the first time I tried them on but once I decided to take the risk and get them, I could NOT find them in my size. Anywhere. I decided that was a sign and gave up, but I still ache for them.

 

The leopard print belt really ties the look together, n'est-ce pas?

 3. Romantic. The look below is a good example of how details like color or an oversized keyhole back opening can spice up a dress that could easily sway matronly.

 

 

4. Flirty and feminine. In the past I would've gagged at the mention of emerald lace, but hey, it works on the dress Miranda Kerr is wearing. Let's just try to forget that she's a Victoria's Secret model and could make a burlap poncho look chic.

 

 

5. The perfect dress. The stripey number Zoe Saldana is wearing is definitely one of my faves of the bunch. It's modern, yet retro. It can be dressed up or down. And it looks pretty comfy to boot.

 

 

6. Runway ready. Oscar de la Renta has been dabbling in emerald as well and this little number was spotted on a runway in some fabulous city. It's perfect for an heiress or Duchess, or one of those ladies who "lunch".

 

 

7. Elegantly fabulous. This is another winner in my book and perfect for weddings, graduations, dinner parties and any other summertime event that calls for a pretty dress. And who needs ruby slippers when you can have emerald stilettos? Meow.

 

 

8. Shoe addict. If you're a shoe hoarder or if you prefer just a splash of color, Jimmy Choo's got the emerald sandal for you.

 

 

In addition to the jade earrings, I've picked up a few green pieces to integrate into my wardrobe. Once it's warm enough to wear them I'll start experimenting and I just might post what I come up with.

An Epic Wander

After being hunched over a computer all week and breathing stale indoor air, I had the "brilliant" idea to go for a long wander this weekend along a route I have previously only driven. My S.O. runs it pretty regularly so I (mistakenly) wasn't too daunted by its length. We started off with an always delicious breakfast at Cafe Flora and then made a quick stop next door at City People, my favorite Seattle garden store. Every time we pop in there I leave wanting to take ALL the plants and flowers with me (which is the same reaction I have when I see kittens).

The route would take us from Madison Park to Seward Park and would run mostly along Lake Washington and the swanky Madison Park, Leschi, Madrona and Mount Baker neighborhoods.

We were off to an auspicious start when we spied this couple looking for a lunch spot...

We stopped to say hello and had a brief chat...

And then off they went. In retrospect I think we should have recommended that they try a vegetarian restaurant.

Several blocks later I sensed we were being watched and I looked up to see this Cyclops giving us the hairy eyeball.

While his tentacles were otherwise occupied, we quickly scurried away. Now if you're going to have mythical woodland creatures in your neighborhood, you're gonna have to have a few castles. Here's one of those swanky places I was referring to.

The Madrona and Leschi neighborhoods began as settlements in the mid-1800's and hunting and fishing had been popular in these areas due to their abundance of wild game, bear, deer and salmon. The wild game are long gone but Sockeye Salmon still make their way into Lake Washington to spawn. Boating is a popular pastime in Seattle and Lake Washington is the gateway to tours of the estates of the rich and famous. (For example, from the water you can see the compounds belonging to Bill Gates and Jeffrey Brotman, the co-founder of Costco.) In the summer the lake is packed with party boats during celebrations such as the Fourth of July and Seafair. But since the season hasn't quite yet kicked in, the lake and small marinas were pretty quiet.

Seattle is mostly known for Boeing and Microsoft, but I'll bet you didn't know that it has another claim to fame; Lake Washington is home to the longest floating bridge on Earth. We locals call it the 520 Bridge and it's total length is approximately 15,580 ft with a 7,580 ft floating section. Every so often, if you're not paying attention to the road like you should be, you can spot Bill Gates in the car next to you on his way home across the bridge. But wait, if that wasn't enough, the second longest floating bridge on Earth is also located on this very same lake. Formally known as the Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, we usually just refer to it as the I-90 bridge, and if after crossing it you wanted to keep heading East along I-90, you would eventually end up in Boston, Massachusetts.

Why are we so special that we need floating bridges, you ask, well, Wikipedia has that answer. Apparently Lake Washington's depth (108-214 ft) and muddy bottom prevent the placement of the pilings or towers necessary for the construction of a causeway or suspension bridge. Both bridges consist of hollow concrete pontoons that float atop the lake and are anchored with cables to each other and to weights on the lake bottom. The roadway is constructed atop these concrete pontoons. So how about that, you learned something new today.

I guarantee that I wasn't contemplating concrete pontoons during this point in our walk. My feet were starting to hurt and at about 5 miles in, we hadn't even reached our destination. We were now in the Mt. Baker neighborhood heading to Seward Park and to keep myself from giving up I focused on the fantastic clouds over the lake and how tiny we humans and our cities are in comparison.

If you look closely in the photo above, you can see the end of the east side span of the I-90 bridge, the growing city of Bellevue, and two tiny kayakers.

Finally, at around 7 miles, we made it to Seward Park. As a reward we shared a can of root beer, turned around, and started heading back. I seriously thought my legs were going to fall off so I dug into my deepest Zen to keep going.

 
The scenery helped too.

Six hours and fifteen miles later, we stopped walking. We were back in Madison Park and lucky for us, we immediately got outdoor seating at Cactus, a great little Southwestern restaurant. Although my feet were screaming and my knees were aching, I was happy. I love exploring new neighborhoods and taking in the scenery of this beautiful city we call home. And although today is Memorial Day and it's wet and miserable outside, I know that we owe all our lush gardens and remarkable trees to these rainy days. Grow on green things, grow on.

Photo Inspiration

Alas, I can't claim this photo as my own. But I find it quite lovely.

Giving Nature the Bird... and other fun things to do in Las Vegas

I'll admit that my work trip to Vegas went much better than expected because:

1. It was great to shed damp Seattle and let the hot sun and dry air zap some of the mold which must surely have been blooming on me.

2. I really enjoy my co-workers and we got to do a Very Fun Thing.

3. Our client is very cool.

But before I completely let go of the anti-Vegas bent from my previous post, I'd like to show you one very dirty and deeply offensive thing...

...a golf course in the desert.

Now that I got that off my chest, let me tell you about my week.

For those of you never having had the pleasure of landing in Sin City, the airport is right around the corner from its infamous Strip. The gold building next to the wing is Mandalay Bay, and the pyramid thingy is Luxor.

We were staying at Aria, one of the relatively newer hotels in the middle of The Strip. Although I wouldn't be in my room much, I was happy to have a view considering I would be waking up to it for a week.

And the other side...

The Very Fun Thing
Since my co-worker and I arrived a little earlier than necessary for the conference we were managing, my S.O. decided to join me for the weekend (I'm pretty sure it was mostly because he was desperate for some desert Vitamin D). Boy was I glad that he had, because otherwise I would have had to make a very difficult decision. The artist formerly and currently known as Prince had performed in Seattle the previous month. The tickets had been too expensive for us, but lo and behold we discovered he was performing at the Hard Rock that night, for half the price. Sold! It definitely would have been a bummer if I'd had to see Prince with the guilty conscience of not sharing the experience with my honey. Instead, we had double the fun because one of my most favorite co-workers was singing and dancing right along with us.

The next day, hoarse from screaming our fool heads off at the concert, our work duties kicked into high gear and we didn't see much daylight except through the windows of the Convention Center. I won't bore you or myself with photos of the conference, so let's move on instead to Sin City itself.

Nothing says 'Vegas' quite like a pair of Showgirls. Clearly these guys agree. Once the program was over I had a day to myself to sleep in and then take in the sights. Here's a quick tour:

1. View of The Strip with New York-New York on the left, MGM on the right and the Eiffel Tower of Paris in the distance.

2. New York-New York...

...which had the only mention I ever saw of any sort of conservation effort.

3. The Disney-like Excalibur with Mandalay Bay peeping out from a turret. 

4. Street performer with a New York-New York backdrop

5. I'll bet you'll guess this next one.

6. How about a couple more Showgirls just for fun? And look, there's Caesar's Palace in the background.

7. Aria, my home away from home.

8. Billboards as big as buildings.

9. The famous fountains in front of Bellagio with the newer Cosmopolitan on the left.

10. It's never dark in Vegas

Morning finally brings a soft reprieve.

I won't deny that I was pretty happy to return to the soothing blues and greens of my lush adopted city. Next time, I think I'll road-trip down to the desert and snub Sin City instead.

What happens in Vegas... is a big F**k You to Mother Nature

I don't recall if it was on my first or second trip to Las Vegas, but I remember driving down to the desert from Seattle, and spending 5 days in Death Valley before finding myself on The Strip. Although the eerie nothingness of the desert was a little unnerving at times, I fell in love with its barren beauty, and the quiet. When I finally drove down into Las Vegas after communing deeply with the canyons and dunes, my head began to throb with the glaring lights, the pollution, the inescapable noise, and the stench of human arrogance. Now with each visit to this so-called oasis, I feel that I'm missing out on something much bigger than the vast hotels, more beautiful than the ornate fountains and decor, and more meaningful than, well, anything you could possibly experience in a place that pushes fast and fleeting moments of ecstasy.

As I flew into Vegas two weeks ago for a business engagement, I looked down from my perch into the desert and tried to ignore the beckoning dusty roads. It's frustrating when an adventure is at your fingertips, and you have no choice but to let it go.

Road or run-off?

You know you're getting close to Vegas when the plane descends bumpily over this ridge.



 

The vast nothing... and the invasion of man.

This turned into a scenic flight as we flew right past the Vegas Strip and the airport and circled around for landing. I certainly didn't mind taking in the view.



There's The Strip in the above photo, smack dab in the middle and conveniently located next to the airport.

And now for a view of the other side.