72 hours in Seattle
+ nostalgia for a past life
I don’t have time to write this, but it’s been a weird week and I’m feeling a little down on the state of community + culture + I need to remove myself from the weeds of Project Elevate with all it’s highs and lows for a hot second.1 The orders that are due, the bills that need to be paid, the unhoused guy who came in and swiped a couple pairs of shorts off our table yesterday (that somehow disappeared in the 1/2 a block between our store + where the police found him.) I would like to disassociate for a moment + marinate in the lovely weekend that was last weekend, where this cynic left the store (yet again) to fly up to Seattle for a wedding.
An aside on weddings : this is going to make me sound like a terrible person, but I don’t love them. Unless I know both bride + groom really well, I’m just not that invested. Give me the dress up moment, a cocktail + then I’m ready for bed. I don’t drink (enough) to ride out an entire dance party and by the time I can finally Irish goodbye I’m tired and my feet hurt.
My own wedding was unconventional as one would expect. We got married on a random Wednesday at City Hall (it was all that was available) in front of our parents + Matt’s brother followed by dinner at one of our favorite restaurants. We threw a party for all our friends + extended family a few months later and it was an absolute riot of a good time. Literally no one told us they’d wished they could have seen us get married; a few wished they could have seen my dress. Everyone woke up the next morning with a hang over and the fuzzy memories of a very good time.
When the calendar invite came through for a wedding in Seattle in July, a week after Paris, I had assumed (wrongly) that it was merely informative, a reminder that I would be solo parenting that weekend. Once I realized I was included as the +1, I panicked and began scouring the depths of the internet (ie : The Real Real) for a dress that would suffice for the dress code (formal) but also be unique enough that I would want to wear it again.
Our time in the PNW was limited, and contained to mostly wedding stuff: welcoming drinks the night we arrived, wedding the following day + then we flew back. In hindsight it could have been nice to have one free night for dinner + to relax but hindsight is always 20/20 and both my husband + I are very tired of airports. LOL because we just booked a trip to Hawaii in two weeks for the mister’s summer break.
Stay : 1 Hotel
The location was a little weird, tucked behind a Whole Foods + in a residential complex but every 1 Hotel I’ve been to is always a lovely experience. The food is decent, the vibe leans wellness but not too try hard. The bed was comfortable, the room service delicious.
Run : Lake Union, a loop that I may or may not have gotten lost on + overshot my route by about three miles the first morning I went out. I missed a bridge2 and ended up on the University of Washington’s campus, which while gorgeous was not where I wanted to be. I ended up running 9 miles that morning + went out again the next day looking for lake redemption. Google told me it was a 10k loop but somehow finished at 7.5 miles. Again, not sure where I went wrong but it was pretty and I’ve only run a couple times since then so not mad about it.
There reviews online were mixed, mostly from people expecting the idyllic + pristine image the idea of a ‘lake’ conjures up.3 One of the things I love about Seattle is its grittiness; it’s a city surrounded by water but they’re all working waterways. I ran through shipyards where massive container ships were under repair + past tiny outposts offering seaplane rides.
I love being around water, even if I don’t love being in water4. I spent a few of my formative childhood years in a house at the bottom of a hill, on a creek next to a river. The lot across the street was too narrow to house a home, a mere strip of grass between the road + the water. We used to feed the ducks (Gertrude + Lester; all female + male mallards went by this name) and occasionally the Canada Geese would also roll through. My memories of the geese much less fond than my memory of the ducks; apparently one chased me across the street back to our house. I don’t remember this, however, I do have a severe distrust of them as a result and there were a lot on the route I ran.
Shopping : These were recommendations I crowdsourced off Substack (thank you!) and we only made it to Windthrow on our way to Clare V.
Glasswing (on my list / didn’t make it)
Editor Consignment (FYI : vintage is v. good in Seattle)
Creature Consignment
Faris Jewelry
Atelier
Frida
Les Amis (wanted to go but didn’t need to shop so didn’t)
Thistle & Poppy.
I wanted to go to Clare V because I wanted to pick up the mini version of a bag i already have because I apparently do not own enough bags (as paris showed me, it’s all about the shoulder bag + my hand held mini totes just won’t cut it anymore). I made the case to my husband that Washington is a tax free state so I would, in fact, be saving 10% on my purchase. LOL because that is actually Oregon and I ended up spending more than I would have in SF because it’s income tax that isn’t a thing and the sales tax is actually higher. Good thing she’s cute.
Eat : Din Tai Fung
We ate here both days for lunch although we did at least visit two different locations. I thought we had a good dim sum place in SF but after revisiting the magic that is DTF Xiao Long Bao I am no longer convinced. There was a lovely matcha place around the corner from our hotel that I indulged in each morning post run (I love when there’s an option to add an extra gram of matcha to my drink!) and that was the extent of our Seattle culinary adventures. Tragic, however I will say the food at the wedding was unexpectedly good and the gelato truck was the perfect post dance floor palette cleanser.
Because this is a Seattle themed article, home of plaid + grunge I feel like it’s also an appropriate place to sing my praises of the new Literary Sport Fall collection. I’m on the Media list because I attended their fashion week event in lieu of Lee Glandorf and was sent the lookbook this week and I’m obsessed. It was the only showroom I didn’t make it to back in January and was my one regret. It all looks so good I’m about to charge a very expensive ‘work expense’.5
We’re in the final countdown leading up to SF Marathon weekend and as per above, I’m feeling a little defeated. I didn’t think it would be easy to get people engaged, however, I didn’t think it would be this difficult either. So far we have two confirmed cheer stations and I’m working on a third. We have a ‘shakeout’ on Friday but there are also two other big events that we’re competing with. Last year we had nearly 200 signed up, so far we’re at 70. Because of the huge turn out the store was busting at the seams (+ smelled like tacos + fitvine wine for days) so this year we’re closing off the street next to the store + throwing a block party. Quikdog, the fast casual restaurant opened by Trickdog specializing in hotdogs + their famous kale salad, will be serving up dogs + cocktails (shhh on that last part).
Originally I was stoked but now I’m anxious because we also had Quikdog as the only food vendor at Track Night this week and the response was underwhelming. There were nearly 500 people signed up to run and even more spectating and only FIFTY people bought food from them. I watched as the guys at the registration table next to where Quikdog was stationed carry boxes of pizza from Whole Foods back to their table. They weren’t alone; as I scanned the crowds I saw other people with take out as well.
Post event I sent an email apologizing to the team6, and reassured them the crowd we’d be bringing to The Race Before The Race will be a crowd of hotdog eating, cocktail drinking runners. Eager to support community because community means buying the fucking hotdog to support the local restaurant that came out to support your track meet.7 We need to spend our money at the establishments we want to see thrive. Whole Foods might’ve been a small business changing the grocery landscape ten years ago, but now it’s just an extension of Amazon + I have a whole season of moldy peaches to prove it.
Speaking of Amazon, even they have tapped into the run club scene via Heylo, a sign up platform and several of our larger local clubs have suddenly started promoting their Amazon sponsorship. While I’m at it because they are too making a huge push in running right now, reminder that Zappos is also owned by Amazon. Somewhere along the way in all of the ‘shopping blackouts’ and ‘no spend’ days we have confused capitalism with consumerism. Consumerism is not bad; it’s what makes the economy flourish. Where you spend your hard earned cash however, is where the power lies. Spend it at the businesses you want to see exist in the world because these are the ones that will shape the community in which you live.
Back to the real world. I promised the mister I’d take him for a run this morning selfishly because I didn’t run yesterday + I need to practice parking our new car in our very tiny garage. On a whim we purchased an Audi Q4 E-Tron the day before we flew to Seattle (would recommend the car/not the impulse purchase) but another story for another time. I miss my 2008 rabbit, its metric system + never quite knowing what the temperature or tire pressure was but the Audi is an annoyingly nice ride. Even if I can’t park it yet.8
*k
It has been incredibly challenging to get community engagement for the race Sunday morning. The early start time being one of the largest but also the disconnect between the event itself an the city has never been so obvious.
As someone who hates bridges and hates heights this was my own IRL Fear Factor.
I always google routes as I am a female running alone in a city that is unfamiliar.
Public pools, unless they are outside and attached to a hotel that has ‘resort’ in the description with multiple stars next to it, give me the ick.
i actually do purchase samples from brands I’m interested in to test out before I bring them in so that i know that they’re good and worth the spot on the wall.
who had come out free of charge to support
Guarantee it’s healthier than whatever Whole Foods uses in their Amazon laced pizzas these days and if you’re really that hard up about eating processed meat there’s a kale salad that is epic.
update : i finally parked it in our garage and it only took like 5 tries.