5 Things

We were collectively saddened by the horrific events that took place last Friday at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut when a gunman entered the school and killed twenty young students and six staff members. There's been much discussion in the days that have followed, including a solemn address from our President, proposed legislation from our Senate, and as of this morning a press conference by the NRA advocating for armed guards in schools.

I don't profess to have the answers as to how this tragedy and many others like it could have been prevented. I am in support of stricter gun laws and I would advocate that more needs to be done to help the mentally ill. It's not one thing or the other; a myriad of issues need to be addressed for all of us to be safer. My heart aches for those parents, friends, and loved ones. I cannot fathom what losing a child, mother or sibling is like. If you're interested in helping the victims, read here.


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I was working on the below post last Friday when I heard the news about Sandy Hook. I was still working on 4. and 5. For now I'm going to circle back to 1. and 2. and just say that I'm extra thankful this Christmas for family and friends.

1. I rounded up some fabulous girlfriends (pictured below) for champagne Drinking Lessons at The Sorrento Hotel on Wednesday night. Seating was limited to 12 and it was hard to choose who to invite, but I'm thankful that I even have 11 girlfriends to invite and many more that I would have loved to invite!

We enjoyed ample pours of a Prosecco (I forget which one), Veuve Clicquot, and the Blanc de Blancs and Rosé from Ruinart— the oldest established champagne house. The Blanc de Blancs was my favorite.

2. I'll be home for Christmas (read in a singsong voice). I'm sad I will miss seeing my little sister this Christmas because she left for Navy boot camp on Tuesday, but I'm ecstatic to see the rest of my family and to have some time off from work.

3. I joined a gym about a month ago. I'm happy and thankful that I could afford to do so and to report that I've been consistently going at least three times a week. I've also become a fan of Zumba classes. Have you tried them?

Lately

It's been a while, friends. Lots going on and lots to report. First up, I got a new job! After five years of working at my current job, an exciting opportunity literally landed in my inbox about a month ago.

I'm pretty passionate about the arts. I stared this blog three years ago (are you my fan?). I've been on the board of The Crew at Seattle Repertory for most of that time as well. And this past year I volunteered as an Associate for an organization called ArtsFund. I landed a position on the executive side of a nonprofit arts org and I couldn't be happier. It wasn't an easier decision however; the pay is significantly less, I have to be in the office by 8:00am, and my commute is going to be about 15 extra minutes.

I'm leaving the comforts of a decent salary, nice coworkers, 20 vacation days per year, a free buss pass and plenty of other perks that come with my gig for what I think deep down is what I should really be doing: working in the arts. I start one week from Monday and my last day at my current job is this Friday.

In other good news, I'm going to BARCELONA next month and I can't hardly wait. I'm staying mum on the details for now, but if you know me at all then you should know the likelihood of a man factoring into this equation is relatively high.

What else. My birthday is this coming Monday. I'm not much for celebrating my own self, but some wonderful friends have reached out to me this year and I've got mini-celebrations happening all over the place! An awesome dinner at Revel last night with gal friends K and Lu. A lovely new friend picked up the check today at lunch. A floating and camping trip planned for this weekend with about 12 friends. A happy hour with a surprise location planned on my actual b-day, plus my boss's annual birthday lunch—I picked Seastar—coupled with a going away party for me at work (with cake!), I will have certainly been properly fêted come the actual day. I love my friends.


About that pic above, K and I ran into three, middle-aged ladies when we were leaving the Sunset Supper at The Market earlier tonight. They asked us to take their picture while donning silly poses in front of an illuminated Pike Place Market Sign, then they wanted us in the pic with them. We never got a clear answer as to why they were wearing the gowns or where the heck they were going. All they said was you shouldn't wear a wedding dress only once. I can't argue with that.