Seattle Spotlight: Paseo Caribbean

While in Seattle a weekend ago, sister and I loaded up on food before starting our planned Bellevue shopathon. I am fan of

a) always trying something new

b) having it not be a traditional chain restaurant

(Note: I can't help it, I love Specialties and the Counter and must have them everytime I come to Seattle. It is my only exception.)

Sister recommended Paseo Caribbean Restaurant for amazing sandwiches and I am now hooked.

There are two locations: Fremont and Ballard. Our first attempt was to Fremont but were thwarted by a street festival. Instead, driving to the Ballard location took us on a scenic journey through the hills and let us peak at Sister's soon to be first home with future brother.

The sandwiches are described as:

All sandwiches are on a lightly toasted baguette slathered with aioli (seasoned mayo) , fresh cilantro, pickled jalapeños, crisp romaine lettuce & crowned with caramelized onions.

While Sister got the Cuban:

Cuban Roast *MOST POPULAR*

 

Pork shoulder coated in Paseo marinade & slow roasted 'til falling into succulent morsels.

 

I tried the Chicken:

Grilled Chicken Breast

 

Plump chicken breast drugged in marinade & fire grilled to perfection.

 

True story: Both were fantastic. And messy. And fantastically messy.

 Jake approved too...

Cherry On Top

Weekend Recap: Expanding Circles

I have been so good about carrying my camera with me everywhere. It may weigh as much as a small child but the pictures and memories I have been saving have been worth it.

With that said… I used it only once this weekend!

This weekend was all about new friends, new experiences, and expanding my circles.

It included a bit of work, movies, concerts, cocktail drinks, parties, and a book club. I only have a few pictures that were stolen from facebook or quickly taken with my iphone, but they will do for now.

Weekend Recap: Good Morning Seattle!

I spent this past weekend in my car... Well, not quite...

I had Saturday and Sunday off from work and an early day on Friday. With two days off in a row, it made absolute sense to drive to Seattle. What else was I going to do?

For 3+ hours, (thank you traffic), it was just me, Little Bit, and the Fur Baby. 

I am still on my 5am wake up call schedule... turns out Sister is not the biggest fan. Since I was up and not allowed to make a sound at her place, I made the most of the quietness by going on a morning walk. I quickly learned that not even the local coffee shops within a 5 block radius approve of the 5am wake up call.

From 5am - 6am: I walked.

From 6am - 6:30am: I read a book.

From 6:30am - 10am: I realized Sister and Seattle were not waking up anytime soon, so I crawled my boot back into bed. All the while completely forgetting I had to move my car by 8am.

Love you too, Seattle. Love. You. Too.

Until next time,

Dani

 

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Cleaning Out The Clutter

"Leave room in your life for something new..."

I am extremely sentimental....just looking around my room I see:

old sorority shirts and memorabilia,

notes from boyfriends,

a textbook from a class that I got the highest grade,

trinkets from travels,

clothes that I swear will come back in style,

an empty wine bottle from a night I will never forget,

empty notebooks that I hope to fill but have had for years....

All of these items collecting dust.

My drawers are full. My bookshelf is full. Don't even get me started on the fullness capacity that is my closet.

It is time for spring cleaning. I am getting rid of the clutter so I can make room for whatever new is right around the corner.

If I haven't worn it in 6 months, I'm getting rid of it.

If I haven't used it, looked at it, or thought about it in 6 months, I'm getting rid of it.

Some items may stay but they are moving into a box in my attic. But truth be told, I am really hoping I find my leather pants from when I was 16... I would really like to wear them again.

Season. Reason. Lifetime.

A season.

A reason.

A lifetime.

A former boss always use to tell me, “Dani, people are in your life for one of three things: a season, a reason, a lifetime.”

I have come to treasure her advice. It helps me to love the relationships I have, learn from the ones that didn’t work out, and just let some go.

The hardest part is knowing which one you are in while in the middle of the relationship. With family, friends, significant others, we all start with hoping for a lifetime of happiness only to find they were there for a season or a significant reason.

I once dated a young man whose digital history was a catalog of his former relationships. Tagged pictures, status updates, and public conversations between his Loves at the time. He got caught up in the moment and years later it stood as proof that the moments he and I shared were eerily similar to what was once posted.

My mom loves pictures of her girls. Can you blame her for being proud of us? She will post them in her facebook and print them for her walls. But they too have become a public scrapbook of people who were a part of her daughters’ lives for only a season or reason. It was my sister’s fiancé that pointed this out… my mom had pictures of all of my sister’s little boyfriends and none of the man she was about to marry.

What I am getting at here… I made a promise to myself to be open. It is my digital mission to be the same person I am online that I am offline. But at the end of the day, I don’t want my blog, twitter, facebook, or next fad to be the thing that makes the people who come into my life for a lifetime stop and feel they aren’t special or significant.

What is the balance? How can I invite you in to the digital adventure of my life and still protect myself and others from the moments that don’t work out?

 

Do You Smell A Project?

I love my current job but one area that I continue to struggle is with its lack of consistency. It has its benefits… fast paced, keeps me on my toes, and the days go by quickly. But the lack of routine is leaving me constantly drained.

My workday can range from starting at 7am or as late as 2pm and days off are hardly on the weekends. At times I have worked 8 straight days in a row to have a single day off.

These pieces of my job are out of my control and they come with the territory of retail management but I do have the ability to create a routine around the inconsistent.

Do you smell a project?

Schedule:

Alarm Clock – 5:15am

Morning routine – Make bed, drink glass of water, brush teeth, dance to one song (better than coffee)

Evening walk – Lately one of my favorite activities: regardless if I’m at work on a break or at home enjoying the neighborhood

Bedtime routine – Wash face, comb hair, brush teeth, read chapter in book

I am starting today, June 14th, 2011, and I am committing to this until the end of the month. Will I survive?

YES!

 

Weekend Recap: 9 Weeks

My big sister and bride to be was in town as we continue her wedding planning madness.

Her upcoming wedding consumed the weekend.

We had dress fittings...

Wedding planner meetings...

We picked out songs....

This one was cut, thankfully. 

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CmALA8miQY8]

We laid out the schematic for her dinner...

We talked rehearsal dinner...

And my list of requirements grew:

Do not cut your hair

Get a tan

Do not talk to any of Vik's single friends

Wrangle the crowd

Start the dancing

Finish the dancing

And a few others I am not allowed to mention.

As the weeks inch closer, my excitement only continues to grow. I apologize ahead of time to anyone with an earshot, digital or tangible... I just can't stop talking about it!

Fingers crossed that next weekend won't be so under-wraps with a mini roadtrip and party.

Until next time.

$5 Limit: The Outcome

This has to be one of my favorite activities to date.

Finding activities was easy as well as finding people to share them with (that is what makes it more fun) but making it a priority was the hard part. Thankfully, I set my mind to it and had some of the best two weeks...

 

 

All images unless otherwise noted are copyright of Danielle Noah

This Will One Day Be Us

Unceasing Selflessness

Portland Spotlight: Multnomah Falls

My parents moved to Portland from San Francisco in the spring of 2008 and it was shortly after that that I started having annual visits...

You know... once they had found a house, packed their old house, moved into the new house, and set up a room for me. Priorities!

During a weekend visit in 2009, my sister and I decided to explore this new place they called home.

First on the agenda: Multnomah Falls.

On the website we were told it was a family friendly and easy 2 mile hike with outstanding views. So we came with jeans, flats and a raincoat.

The hike is marked by 11 switchbacks to reach the top the waterfall at roughly 700 feet of elevation.

Easy, right?

We made it to switchback 7. Blame it on the weather. Blame it on the poor choice of clothes. Mostly blame it on me. But don't worry, I blame it on their misleading signage that makes it seem hopeless.

Fast forward to June 2011 and this waterfall was conquered.

I had planned to revisit the falls for sometime and knew it would be the perfect addition to my $5 Limit challenge.

I dressed a bit sportier this time and had a water bottle and camera to boot. The incline was tough but I saw families doing it with strollers so I stopped complaining. Soon I hit switchback 7 and quickly found that at switchback 9 it was downhill. See, misleading!

Ultimately, the views are worth it.

Before heading back, I found a little area that is off of the lookout point but still near the gushing water where I stayed for quite some time.

IMG_1248.MOV
Watch on Posterous

I also found a GINORMOUS snake. He totally wanted to bite me but I said no.

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Watch on Posterous

All in a days work, right?

Diane Sawyer

Can we please take a moment to appreciate the hotness that is Diane Sawyer.

Thank you @Instagram and @ABCWorldNews for reminding us that smart women can look foxy too!

Weekend Recap: Life's What You Make It

I was determined to have a fantastic weekend and nothing would stop me.

Turns out, if you want something enough you can totally get it.

In a nutshell my weekend... new friends, old friends, secret twitter accounts, vintage shopping, pub crawl, watching the sunrise, church, family, sunshine, ice cold drinks, movies, and picnics.

All of this wrapped tightly around one day of work that ended an hour early. Win!

If words aren't enough... pictures will help

As you may be guessing... this is me right now. Writing my weekend recap while it's still the weekend, totally cheating right? It's worth the risk. Plus, work is calling my name at 5am tomorrow and I have X-Men in an hour to catch. I hope you had a fantastic weekend...

$5 Limit

I don't care what Jenny from the Block says...

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W0EvXnRxl0w]

Nothing is free.

Bitter, much?

But it's true! Even the times you think you are not spending money, the gas or the groceries or roof over your head is coming to you at a cost. 

< / rant >

For these next two weeks I am seeking out experiences that bring joy but don't cost a thing. Except, I am tweaking this objective but not by much. I am adding a $5 limit because sometimes a good cup of coffee can just add to the experience.

It is my goal to be...

- Creative

- Playful

- Low maintenance (I have low expectations on this one!)

- Play it by ear

- And repeat

I must admit that I started this objective already and it's my fault that the blog post is going up so late. I promise I am getting a full 2 weeks of don't-cost-a-thing-fun into my life! Wild.

Take Everything As a Lesson For The Future