One of my absolutely favorite places to spend time is Edmonds. In the old, quaint village near the Ferry Teminal there are so many choices a day is much too short to see everything, but I like to gallery hop and fill up a whole day with art, and a little lunch of course. This means saving the Travel Bookstore and numerous other shops for "next time", but anticipation is a good thing, right? The Chamber's website features several "Spend the Day" theamed iteneries...all enticing!

Recently a client and I discoverd a mutual love of art and took a few hours away from house hunting to visit several of the Edmonds downtown galleries and antique shops. Each one has such a distinct flavor that we felt like children being led through the streets by a pied piper, but the temptation was visual. She was down from Alaska to relocate and trying to find the area that felt best, I couldn't resist showing Edmonds off!


First we went to Aria Studio Gallery, where proprietor Joan Archer paints and teaches art. Next door was the Fabric of Life Foundation, which teaches young women in Mali, West Africa, to be artisan-entropeneurs and create a craft business allowing them to support themselves and their families financially. What a wonderful place to go when you need a gift...or a gift for yourself. After that we found we couldn't resist le Palmier Antiques, full of atmosphere and splindid delights from bygone eras.



We looked and looked and enjoyed chatting with the shop owners about the various goodies. And then it was time for lunch! We walked over to Chantrelle, one of the most beloved of Edmonds eateries, where we were lucky enough to find a table for two and enjoyed specialties from the grill.


After lunch we visited a very wonderful little art/craft gallery, don't miss it if you have a chance to drop by. Semantics Gallery (at the moment exhibiting the work of Marcio Diaz) is just off the main street, so you have to make sure to walk over there, but it is well worth the extra few minutes. The owner/artist used to own the largest gem and fossell store in Pike's Place Market, but gave that up to open this splendid gallery. Many fine craft artists are represented, including a facinating case of the owner's sculptures with stone and other natural elements in intricate designs. He also has a great knowledge of the rocks and gemstones displayed in his cases, and we found it hard to tear ourselves away from the interesting stories. I will be sure to bring my little boy with me next time, there is so much to learn there.

That day we didn't get to the Waterfront Antique Mall where there are auctions held weekly and a truly amazing assortment of displays of every imaginable antique, books, furniture, jewelry, just for a start, we had to leave that for another day...not to mention a good many other galleries in the town, the Edmonds Center for the Arts (recently built and quite impressive, with a variety of exciting performances scheduled during the season) and other very rewarding aspects of this special small town close enough to Seattle for a comfortable commute, with excellent schools, numerous community events year round (like the Taste of Edmonds Festival and the Edmonds Art Festival) and the proximity to Puget Sound that makes life seem just that little bit more special.









Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
206-331-0152

Labels: Edmonds, Edmonds Art Galleries, Edmonds Restaurants

Being from Japan, I have a love for authentic Asian foods...lucky for me, Seattle happens to be a very Cosmopolitan city. And hands down, one of the best supermarkets that carries all kinds of Asian foods from mochi to kimchi is located in Edmonds, on Aurora Avenue and 228th Street SW. Ranch 99 is a Chinese-owned Asian market and is a destination for several Asian families in the area. I've found sauces, candies, pickles and noodles that I thought I'd never find again here! They carry everything from produce to dim sum, fresh seafood to baked goods, carbs, drinks, and even some Asian household products. They only have two locations in Washington State, the other being in Kent; most of their locations are in California where the first store was opened and they now have several locations all over the state.

Surrounding the market are little Asian restaurants, including a little Vietnamese pho noodle restaurant and a larger Chinese restaurant. Around the corner from it is one of my favorite bubble tea places, Pochi. Pochi serves all kinds of bubble teas, including fruit smoothies, milk teas, normal teas and slushies. You can get them to add "bubbles" (they're little tapioca balls, like the kind you find in tapioca pudding, but much bigger) in your tea...hence the name bubble tea, aka boba tea. Other goodies are available as well, such as lychee jelly, apple jelly, passion fruit jelly, coffee jelly...the list goes on. Personally my fave is the mango fruit smoothie with the tapioca bubbles, but it runs high on the calories so it's really a treat...usually I stick with normal unsweetened green tea, with bubbles.













Amy Kizaki
Buyer's Agent
206.384.7169
amy@seattlepowersearch.com

Labels: Asian foods, Chinese, Edmonds