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February 12th, 2010
This year, we have resolved not to do the whole feeling-sorry-for-ourselves-thing just because we don’t have a date for Valentine’s Day or a special someone to share the weekend with. We don’t want to be those bitter singletons who complain about this totally artificial Hallmark-holiday, and we don’t want to pretend that we never even really liked Valentine’s Day anyway—because anyone who has a Valentine knows that it can be great—what with the chocolate and flowers and sexy-time and all. This year, we will celebrate our singledom and love for our friends and families. We will spend the weekend bonding with our girlfriends, making sure everyone in our family knows how much we love them, and loving life in general. All our lovin’ this year goes out to those irreplaceable, supportive people in our lives—and everything in our lives that is going fabulously at the moment. And if all else fails, we might just ask our dog to be our Valentine—at least her love is always unconditional. |
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Seattle Picks: |
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| 1 | Yes, Please Much as we try, our endeavors in the kitchen have never turned out quite the way we would like. It seems to require a lot of planning and stress to pull off a culinary feat that would make Martha proud, so normally we like to and have someone else pick out the artisan cheese and pour us a worldly glass of wine. While we were on our way out to be wined and dined in Ballard recently, we passed Savour, a new specialty food shop. The free wine tastings lured us in, but we ended up staying for a while, sampling cheese, olives, green-tea mints, and Iberico jamon. This little shop carries all kinds of goodies, like friendship fortune cookies, gourmet kitchen supplies, and hard-to-find exotics like French Toast chocolate bars. Plus extras that are guaranteed to mask our cooking skills, like the salt block used for cooking and serving. The gals that own this place love trying new things, so every time we visit there will be something fresh to keep us coming back. Thanks to Savour, we can still let our domestic goddess slumber a little longer. Savour |
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| 2 | Shelter from the Storm It was a dark and stormy night in the shopping mini-Mecca we lovingly call Ballard… All right—sorry to resort to cliché. Is it just us or has it been ridiculously gloomy out lately? On a particularly drippy day not long ago, we gave our umbrellas a break and escaped into Ballard's new and aptly named restaurant and bar, Shelter. Located on what we thought was a doomed corner of Leary and 17th, Shelter is certainly in a spot that has needed a fashionista-friendly fortress for quite some time. We can't figure out what we love the most—the amiable staff or the lovely atmosphere keeping pretty patrons cozy, warm and dry. Or could it possibly be the fancifully inventive appetizers that make us drool our lipstick off just thinking about? Whatever it may be, we love chatting it up with the (cute!) bartenders, comforted from the rain with why-didn't-we-think-of-that treats such as Avocado Fries and Peanut Butter Jalapeño Poppers. And yes, they're more amazing than they sound! Shelter will warm you and your wet socks right up... and maybe you can nab yourself a cute rocker-hunk with your sultry rain ravished hair. Hey, we're here to help! Shelter Lounge |
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| 3 | Shop Around the Clock Pop, surf, mod, glam, goth, soul, jam… not only did each genre of retro beats have its own name, they had their own cultural movement. And as we know, with every movement comes great style. Whether it’s shoes, knick knacks, home décor or attitude, we love the surprising ways that music impacts our world… especially our clothes! Hello? Lady Gaga and Michael Jackson, anyone? So what do records, cowboy boots, lunch boxes, pleated wool skirts, original 1940’s Coca-Cola posters, comic books, and plaid furniture have in common? Not much, but you’ll find them (and much, much more) at Damaged Goods in Belltown. It’s like a museum of retro-awesome and oddities. Islands of lost treasures and memorabilia are carefully organized and displayed in clusters of cool randoms, each united by a respective rock movement. Totally brilliant concept, right? Ah the memories we have (and the ones we inherited from our parents) of decades past… we love to revisit the glorious trends and styles of back in the day. Especially when they look so good! Damaged Goods |
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| Chick Picks: | |||
| 1 | Style Icons We can’t remember the last time we wanted something as bad as the pieces from Noir Jewelry. These cheeky, fresh, glamorous designs not only have a unique point of view, but they’re stylish with an edge. We love the glittery animal designs like Goldie the Elephant, Fig the Flying Pig and Gilda the Goldfish—we want one for every finger. No wonder style-setters like Rihanna, Lady Gaga and Madonna all wear this line—it rocks our world. |
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| 2 | Start Your Day off Right We happen to be those kinds of girls who can’t carry on a conversation before noon without coffee. And with Valentine’s Day only days away, we are suckers for all things cute and kitschy, so the Coffeestencil designs are right up our alley. They decorate your latte or cappuccino with pretty designs and sweet messages like “you are hot” and “marry me,” and racier ones as well, like “let’s do it tonight.” Loves! |
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| 3 | Everything’s Coming up Roses Remember a few years ago when Carrie Bradshaw was rocking the whole giant flower-pin trend on SATC? Well, prepare yourself, because we are bringing it back—but in a slightly different way. The hand-dyed and hand-stitched blooms and accessories from Emersonmade make our hearts flutter. Someday we hope to receive our very own Love Letter flower with its personalized ribbon asking “marry me?” … but this year we’ll settle for the St. Valentine Rose—and anything else from this brilliant design-duo. |
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| Cocktail of the Week! | |||
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We love a good theme party, theme drinks… anything with a theme, really. Drinks that are created especially for holidays get us every time, and this inventive love potion from Tulio is no exception to the rule. Check it out! Sugar and Spice Rim a martini glass with the chili-pepper sugar. Muddle the fruit, and add 2 parts cachaca and 1 part simple syrup. (Cachaca is a Brazilian spirit made from sugarcane, just FYI.) Serve this up to your BFFs—or that guy you’re trying to seduce. Ole! Tulio |
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Hip Happenings: |
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| 1 | Red Hot If anything calls for a spicy-hot evening away from home, it’s Valentine’s Day. The Valentine package at the Hotel Max has everything you could possibly need for a romantic and sexy evening. Red rose petals, red candles, red wine, and red velvet cupcakes. Plus, enjoy an in-room movie (naughty or nice). The rest is up to you. Wink, wink. What: Valentine’s Day at the Hotel Max |
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Sweet as Sugar If you have a hot date planned for this weekend, we suggest you high-tail it over to Sugar Sugar Spa immediately to take advantage of their Valentine’s Day specials. They are celebrating the opening of their new Green Lake space with 30% off all bikini services and special pricing on customized sunless tans for you and a friend! What: Valentine’s Day Specials at Sugar Sugar |
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| 3 | All You Need For Valentine’s Day If you haven’t made all your Valentine’s Day preparations and shopping yet, never fear—you can do it all in one place tonight at the Theo Chocolate Valentine’s Day Event. Check out sweet gift ideas, get “tips” from the people at Babeland, peruse lingerie from Belle Fleur, and of course, taste chocolate. We’re going—date or no date! What: Valentine’s Day Event at Theo Chocolate |
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Enjoy your weekend, ladies! Whether you have a special someone to spend it with or not, there is plenty of love to go around. Just remember—we love you the most! xoxo |
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