snack:urday - flying fish

a couple weeks ago, with the mom out of town and the rest of us working hard and not wanting to make dinner, we slowed down on a friday for some happy houring. when the dad calls and says beers are on him, we of course say okay. after picking up our finds from the nordstrom sale, we headed to flying fish on westlake to enjoy some drinks, food and the sun.

while it is a pretty fancy and somewhat pricey restaurant, their happy hour is totally affordable. they have draft beers for $3 and various priced small plates, all that sound delicious that it's hard to pick!

after giving it much thought we decided on three small plates that were very tasty that i wished they weren't small. the first one was a thai crab cake with a lemongrass mayonnaise and a citrus salad. the second is what they refer to as "zach's wing", large chicken wings that are marinated in lime juice and served crispy. the third is crispy calamari on top of a honey jalapeño mayonnaise. i can't get enough of seafood, so i loved the crab cake and calamari and both the mayos were so good, i wish i had the recipe. the wings were also delicious, but not something i normally eat because i don't like getting my hands dirty. but i sacrificed my pet peeve of sticky hands to eat these and it was worth it.

so next time you're in the south lake union neighborhood and are looking for a place to dive into happy hour, check out flying fish and dig in.

flashback friday

on this day in history:

     1908: around the world automobile race ends in paris (vrroooom)
     1909: wright brothers deliver the 1st military plane to the army (neeeeerrooooom)
     1935: 1st penguin book is published starting the paperback revolution (butterfly in the sky...)
     1956: us motto "in god we trust" authorized (in blog we trust)
     1989: chile amends its constitution (chi-chi-chi, le-le-le, viva chile!)
  

top three thursday: vacation countries

i often dream of traveling to foreign countries. and by dream, i mean think about it every day and look up plane ticket prices. this weeks top three is which countries in the world you want to visit most.

1. costa rica: the more and more i've been thinking about this, the more i want to go. after visiting south america, i've really wanted to visit more spanish speaking countries and immersing myself in their culture. i've heard so many good things about costa rica so i would love to go down there and spend a few months volunteering whether it be saving the turtles or building houses. plus the tropical parts of the country would be great to spend time in after the hard work. i can't wait to go here.

2. spain: again, another spanish speaking country for obvious reason. but it's not just that. spain is very well known for their architecture and i'm a huge fan of beautiful buildings and i really want to see them. not to mention, i want to sleep until 10:00am, drink wine all day, eat dinner at 11:00pm and listen to spanish guitar. it sounds like one of the best places ever. i could do it on a vacation or a long-term trip. either way, i'll be happy. (i think i may be there in less than a year!)

3. thailand: i can't say that many asian countries are high on my list for places to visit, but thailand is definitely one that is up there. one main reason i want to go here is to try the food. thai food is probably one of my most favorite cuisines and i really want to see how it's really prepared, how spicy it is and what it really tastes like. also, i'm really interested in the climate and the culture of this country. something about it just calls to me and i really want to live in a tree house and work on an elephant farm. it sounds very fun and humbling at the same time. i think i would love it.

where do you want to go most in the world? what draws you to these places?

words:day

given my current job this week on a jury, i decided to go with a courtroom themed word. because you never know when you might need to know this in a foreign country.

lawyer

spanish: abogado (ah-boh-gah-doh)

french: avocat (ah-voh-cya)

german: rechtsanwalt (rych-shan-walt)

chinese: 律师 (lu-shi)

hindi: वकील (vuh-keel)

views:day

seattle, aurora bridge

music monday: capitol hill block party

friday i braved the world of hipsters and oddballs to attend the capitol hill block party. now, don't get me wrong, i love hipsters and oddballs, it's just a rare occasion that i make time to party with them. but this block party turned out to be so rad and i felt bad for not dressing appropriately. the bummers of coming straight from work i guess. but despite what some may think, it's really about the music and not the outfits. i bought tickets to see mgmt, but was happy to see that yeasayer was also on the line-up for the evening.

yeasayer played first on the mainstage and my friend ms johnson and i really enjoyed them. we didn't have to be up in the crowded audience to get a good listen and we had some pretty sweet dance moves at our stand-up wooden cocktail table holding our $5 beers. it was a nice way to start off what was to be a hot, bruise filled evening. i was also introduced to a new band, holy f*ck, who actually made me say that...but in a good way. like "holy f*ck, these guys are awesome!" do you think that's how they got their name? their detailed description in the stranger's guide to block party (pictured above) got me interested, so i felt i had to give them a listen. i am definitely a person who connects with song lyrics, so to be presented a band that does not have lyrics to their songs is challenging, but i hardly noticed. all i knew is that i had a good time rocking to their tunes and left me wishing i had heard their whole set. and all from canadians. impressive. (jokes! we all know how much i love canadians.)

in between bands, ms johnson and i hit up the vitamin water social club. not gonna lie, the $3 pbr tall boys drew us in, but the atmosphere was perfect for people watching and general chatting. the bar set up was awesome and colorful and they had a wall that looked like one you'd see on a red carpet. we couldn't figure out if it was made just for this event, or if it's meant to stay there. it seemed like a lot of work for only three days, but who knows. i will say, when they came to pull the couches out from under us i was not all that stoked, but some nice guy pointed us in another direction to other couches. at that point we really needed to rest our feet for what was to come next.

after drinking our classy cans, and then finding a can to relieve ourselves, we headed into the crowd to prepare for mgmt to come on stage. they came out with a bang and were definitely up to par live. the outdoor environment made them slightly hard to hear, but it was still enjoyable without the ear ringing post-concert. we were pretty bummed that they played so much from their new album and not enough from their old one because it is definitely superior. however, when the more familiar songs came on, the crowd was way into it and it was a good time. it wasn't the best view you could have at a concert. it was unfortunate there was no slanting to the street, but i managed to get some shots by holding my hands all the way up. there were a few rude dudes around as well, yelling and pushing when not necessary and poor little ms johnson is a bit smaller and therefore can't handle the toe crunching and elbow waving as much, but it's all part of the experience. we still had a really good time.

they're a quality live band so take the chance to see them if you can. my favorite song of theirs is still 'kids'. it's the one that got the crowd going the most and is still very exciting to me every time i hear it. have you heard it? if not, listen below!

fun:day - the week in review

i have to say, my week was packed with activities. here are some highlights.

a bit of a shoe splurge at the nordstrom anniversary sale. ok, so i had these picked out at the preview, but i finally got them. each pair is so tasty. i don't think i'll wait til fall to wear them. by the way, i think suede is in this year...

an embarrassing first time golf practice after being away for two years. here is a tip, don't take two years off. you might find it difficult to return. p.s. if you want to get my golfing look, just combine a pair of $6 target leggings and a free long-sleeved beer t-shirt you won from a bar. viola! my classy driving range outfit.

beer. and lots of it. tuesday night i said goodbye to an old friend, but hello to a new bar that i had never visited before. the ltd bar and grill in fremont. let's just say i'll definitely be going back on account of the $5 giant mugs of rainier. plus, it's within walking distance of my house. double win. unfortunately it wasn't at all a win at work the next day.

capitol hill block party to be highlighted tomorrow on music monday. in the mean time, let me sleep to get rejuvenated for nothing other than.....jury duty. that's right. i'm starting this week off at the court house. i object!

snack:urday - sully's bar

my dad introduced me to this bar a couple years ago because he knows the owner's dad. we haven't stopped going back since. every time we're struggling to find a place to eat, we go here. and i've continued taking my friends here because i love it so much. they have great deals on beer and food, and let me just say, they're food will not disappoint.

if you want to get the best philly cheese steak outside of philly, come here. it is loaded with tender steak bits, so much cheese, red peppers, onions and the option to add jalapeños. (i always choose yes, of course.) it's served open-face style on top of a soft sourdough baguette and just makes my insides feel good. not to mention, you can add a side of the best sweet potato fries i have ever tasted for just a little extra. and the extra is totally worth it. both in money and calories. so next time you're at a loss of ideas for a place to eat, just pick sully's. and say hi to the owner for me.

flashback friday

on this day in history:

     1840: union act passed by british parliament, uniting upper and lower canada (oh, canadaaaa)
     1903: ford motor sells first model a car (did they make it all the way to model z?)
     1904: ice cream cone created by charles e menches during la purchase expo (yay!)
     1989: daniel radcliffe of harry potter fame was born (but without magical powers)
     1994: all 40,000 ceiling tiles in kingdome must be replaced (six years later it went kaboom)
    
   

top three thursday: favorite food

i'm starting out with an easy one. just name your three favorite foods!

1. sandwiches. in all form. there is something about pieces of bread surrounding meat, cheese, veggies and condiments that is just so delicious. the more things packed in between the bread, the better. yum. i could eat them every day.

2. french fries. i can never resist the crispy, salty deliciousness that is a french fry. i love them in all ways; seasoned, steak, shoestring (why do these all start with s?). i am very rarely disappointed with a fry.

3. ice cream. i love to eat it. i love to drink it. i just love it.

can anyone guess what my favorite meal is? ha ha. definitely the cheeseburger, fries and a shake. i'm so american. what are your favorite foods!?

words:day

in celebration of top chef wednesdays, i decided the first word to feature in my words blog is one that is essential to know in all languages.

food

spanish: comida (coh-mee-dah)

french: nourriture (nu-ri-tyr)

german: speise (spy-zeh)

chinese: 食物 (shee-wu)
hindi: भोजन (puzsh)

views:day

seattle, metropolitain park west tower, 18th floor

music monday: brandon boyd

since age 14, i've been one of the biggest fans of incubus that you could ever find on this planet. seriously, their music had a huge impact on me and literally changed the way i listen to artists and songs. so you can imagine my surprise and immense delight to find out that brandon boyd (lead singer, for those who don't know) came out with a solo album. on a random day i am browsing the itunes store and this baby comes up. yes. buy. i didn't even have to preview.

one of the things that makes incubus so dynamic is their ability to perform both fast and slow songs. for me, their ballads always got me the most. i was slightly disappointed with their most recent album as it lacked some of the familiar ballad sounds that they usually put forth, but i knew if brandon was by himself, he'd make up for that. and boy did he. his new album is full of the same meaningful lyrics and musicality that an incubus album does, but with a very personal and heartfelt touch.

the song i immediately clung to is titled "courage and control". it brings back the ballad. take a listen and let it sink in.

fun:day - introduction

this is me. 

my life pretty much consists of music, sporting events, traveling and good food. it's pretty awesome. here's my opportunity to share some of these things with you in hopes that you'll enjoy them as much as i do. each day of the week has a different theme, so get ready to learn new things, hear new tunes and generally get a glimpse of some pretty sweet stuff.

fun:day - starting off the week with a free write about anything that strikes.
music monday - bringing you a lot of hot songs and artists that provoke musical genius.
views:day - a collection of photos from wherever i might have been.
words:day - want to learn another language? i'll help you by giving you a word to learn.
top three thursday - giving you my top three of a topic and hoping you will join in as well!
flashback friday - revisiting the past, be it my own or someone else's.
snack:urday - all about food. tasty, delicious food.