Shopping
Fine Consignement Shop
Consignees Of Fine Items, Furniture And Fun Finds, New And Gently Used Fashions
Shopping
This sunny week we stopped by the Rose Hill Chocolate Company for a truffle and some samples of their famous fudge. I liked the Chocolate Ammeretto, my son opted for the Walnut Chocolate Fudge. Probably the most decadent was the black current truffle 
with white chocolate! Dan Straub, the owner, was behind the counter and we learned a lot about where the world’s best cacao beans come from (Tierra del Fuego) and some chocolate making trivia. There were a lot of other temptations including gummy spiders and numerous Halloween goodies available. Yum! We thought next time we’ll leave the kids at home and stop by the Leely’s Day Spa & Wine Tasting next door to the Chocolate Factory to sip some local vintages.
Rose Hill Chocolate Company, 700 3rd Street, Mukilteo, WA, (425) 353-1183
Leely’s Day Spa & Wine: 700 Third St., Mukilteo; 425-268-6004, leely@ahanmail.net. Wine tasting available with spa services anytime; regular tasting 6 to 8 p.m. Thursdays, $5.
Shopping
The Ravenna neighborhood is a wonderful close-in place to live, near to and north of the University of Washington and all the stir and bustle that it provides. It is also, along Roosevelt Way NE, a wonderful place to shop for trendy clothes, have your hair done, enjoy some ethnic cuisine in a neighborhood eatery, find organic produce (Whole Foods is close), or find a book or two for that weekend getaway. The East West Bookshop is one of my favorite stop ins, not only for the books but because every single time I go there I get to hear the sound of the Gong Bowls.
At least, I think that is what they are called. Made of translucent glass, varied in size, uniformly
smooth and 
streamlined in shape, they glow, they seem to hum even before you tap them with the … pole, ringer, mallet? The stick thing. They call my name silently, and then when they are tapped and begin to ring, they call my name on various levels of being! Wow, talk about time travel all in a moment, these things are first class mystical musical treasures! (You know who you are, what better Christmas present could there be? I’ll wait!)
I don’t stop at the Gong Bowls forever, of course. The bookshop offers a veritable garden of titles to suit anyone’s exploratory mood. Three that caught my eye 
last time I was in are Comfortable with Uncertainty by Pema Chodron, Animal Speak by Ted Andrews, and Clear Your Clutter with Feng Shui by Karen Kingston. Now please don’t misunderstand, I’m not really recommending these particular books since I have not read them yet, just tossing them out as examples of what you may encounter as you browse the shelves. (But if you do happen to read them, do let me know how they are!!)
Books are not all you will find, there’s jewelry, bags, candles, and much more! There are also numerous events, readings, seminars and lectures held each month, enabling anyone interested to learn and explore some of the paths and disciplines available on the shelves. Just browse through the current calender of Store Events on their website to see the latest.
Pretty soon I’ll sign up for something and…why not, blog about it! Stay tuned for further development.
Edy Kizaki
Realtor & Team Leader
Shopping
It’s not every day a toystore has a birthday. When Snapdoodle, just turning one year old in Kenmore, announced the
Snapdoodle Toys in Kenmore provides brilliant fun!
festivities, my seven year old and I could not resist visiting on the big day. A toy store in Kemore, on the north end of Lake Washington, Snapdoole shows oodles of both heart and soul as it provides the high end of what’s available in the toy world for learning and fun. This is a shopping destination for anyone with kids in their life.
There are some very wonderful toy stores in the Seattle Metro area. How could it be otherwise with our highly educated
Welcome to Snapdoodle!
highly motivated kid population? After all, Seattle is not the “best educated city in the U.S.” for nothing. Still, with all the choice and variety, I would find it hard to choose any of them over Snapdoodle, our new favorite place to play and dream. There is a Doodle Zone art 
corner where classes and events are held during the summer, (why not go to the Snapdoodle Website for information on their art classes starting in May and their summer programs?) and other projects and festivities take place (including birthday parties complete with an art leader and a fun project and clean up provided).
According to their website, during their first year, Snapdoodle “served over 3,300 free lattes,” sent over 600 birthday cards, donated over $5,000 to local schools and organizations, and (wow!) won Evening Magazine’s Best Children’s Store of Western Washington award for 2008!
Coming into the store you might think you’re entering an alpine chalet. That’s because this large two story building reminiscent of a Bavarian Village once housed a well-known German restaurant. Now home to a fairytale-like toy store with everything Santa ever created for the very best behaved little boys and girls, the building is a landmark along NE Bothell Way which circles the “top” or north end of Lake Washington.
Snapdoodle has so many sections and cubbys and shelves full of facinating games and toys and books that wherever
T Rex Wood Puzzle is taller than the kids
you look, you go. There is no way to methodically go through this shop, and I must confess I didn’t even try to find out everything that is there. I know when you enter you are in the first of four main rooms. Off to the left is a maze of shelves filled with goodies, but I don’t know what as I wandered straight ahead to the toy stuffed dragons. Off to the
The Train Corner
right an area of books and exquisite crafts. Entering the second room a bank of bins offers little thises and thats (dice, toy turtules, marbles) before opening out into an area with tables where kids can try out a selected craft or fiddle with some of the manipulatives or puzzles. There is an inviting island staffed with friendly folk and a cash register or two, with trees growing out of it. Behind that is a whole section devoted to trains and bouncy things.
Snapdoodle’s First Birthday Party was a rousing success, when we arrived the store was filled with parents and young children. When we came in the door we were offered a raffle ticket for a selection of toy boxes that were prepared in the Doodle Zone art
Happy Birthday Snapdoodle!
room. Each child is asked to drop his ticket into the bag attached to the box that he would like to win. There was face painting, coffee and cupcakes, birthday cake, and all kinds of craft and play activities to join into. My son joined a group that was doing ink
Go to the Register Island to check out
painting, and created a fish in a rainbow of warm colors. The lady conducting the activity was an artist that sometimes runs crafts for the store, and she explained to me that most kids don’t connect to making art because they are given poor materials to work with. Some of the crayons and so forth on the supermarket shelves these days just are not very inspiring, she explained. Part of making art for kids is the interaction 
between playing with the media and with the ideas that come to you as you explore what you can do with it. That doesn’t happen when you have a box of waxy crayons that don’t produce much color and snap too easily. I saw her point, and I think my next selection for a birthday present is going to involve some high quality art materials (they wrap!).
My son loves the little knights and horses figures which he started collection a couple years ago (perfect size for stocking stuffers if you don’t mind spending about a thousand dollars filling up a stocking) and found a rinocerous-headed warrior to add to his collection. But he had to choose between that and a box full of assorted card games, a bouncing horse ball (too young for him but enormous fun for the first 15 minutes) and several other beguiling choices.
birthday cupcakes
Thank you, Snapdoodle, for a fun party, yummy cupcakes, great company and conversation, and for the day-long 20% discount on a toy, which you offered to all who attended your celebration. We’ll be back way before you turn two!
Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
edy@seattlepowersearch.com
206-402-9155
Shopping
Sometimes Queen Anne can be an all day event, sometimes it’s enough just to go over to Silver Platters in jeans and a hoodie and stop by what’s arguably the city’s best fast food Sushi place, Sushi Land. Silver Platters is a great place for all kinds of shopping now that the holidays are approaching, as you are bound to find something for literally everyone on your list. This is not the downtown glitzy rush, it’s more an understated, laid back, Seattle cool kind of a twilight visit.
Silver Platters is a music and movie store with four locations in Seattle. The one in Queen Anne is where the old Tower Records used
to be. It’s a great store with so much atmosphere they should charge admission, but instead you find great stuff at reasonable prices, and that includes used DVDs and CDs, and they still do videos. Even more fun, 
take a few of your cast-offs (in good condition) and get part of what you’ll be spending in credit for the old DVDs and CDs that you no longer want on your shelves. They have great selections in every category you can think of, friendly staff and a great deal of knowledge if you have questions or are looking for something. They can also fill you in on various aspects of the Seattle music scene! 
We found some cool t-shirts, a documentary about living with wolves, a classic Marilyn Monroe movie, a modern spy film I’ve been wanting to see, two kids’ movies (dragons and transformers, what else) and a kung fu moive…something for everyone! Checking out we got into a fun conversation with the woman at the register which ranged all across the board and included ways of saving bags, whether they still take and sell used videos (they do) and my friend’s son’s electric guitar. It felt a little strange to walk out without at least inviting her over for dinner some time, but that’s how Seattle is, laid back, friendly, eclectic, and people are just plain interesting and pleasant.
We walked down Roy Street there in lower Queen Anne where there are at least four Asian 
restaurants to choose from all in a row, Thai (Pahn Thai in an old Craftsman), Upscale Pho and Curry (Pho Viet Anh), a Vegetarian 
Chinese (Bamboo Garden), and another interesting looking Thai one (Thai Heaven) that served cocktails, but finally decided to go back to an old favorite, Sushi Land. It was so early there wasn’t even a wait, which there usually is. Three sushi chefs rapidly arranged delicious maki (rolls) and negiri (the sliced fish on rice), as well as edamame (salty boiled soy beans to pop out of the pods), fried wontons, octobus bites and rolls, and other little treats onto plates color 
coded as to price. Waitresses brought drinks, miso soup and whatever else we ordered from the 
kitchen. Perched on stools at the counter in front of the conveyor belt, we had a ringside seat!
The prices are really great too! The green plates are $1, the pink ones are $1.50, the blue ones are $2, and the purple ones (the really special stuff!) are $3. These include bowls of 
Udon (fat noodles in broth), small and tasty. Wow, unbeatable. We had 5 green plates, four pink plates, two blue plates, and my son had the Shrimp Tempura Udon on a purple plate. We also had a Sapporo and green tea, all for under $25.
How does it work? All the little plates are loaded onto a conveyor belt and they circle around in front of the delighted diners who are lined up on stools at a counter in front of the stream of passing sushi! There is the added pleasure of watching the sushi chefs prepare the different dishes and anticipating what’s coming around next. You just reach out and take whichever ones you decide you can’t resist. Great fun, easy on the pocketbook, and something for everyone!
Down 5th Avenue the other direction you will find Crow Restaurant and Bistro, well-known and well-beloved Seattle dining spot, but you’ll probably need a reservation several days or weeks in advance, although sometimes it’s possible to find an impromptu seat at the chef’s counter where you can watch them prepare and assemble the artful plates of heavenly fare.
Edy Kizaki
Realtor & Team Leader
edy@SeattlePowerSearch.com
206-402-9155
Shopping
Great book stores can be found all around the city. But if you are searching for a place where your dollar can stretch further than your typical stores, the buck stops here. Half Price Books, a University District landmark for as long as I can remember. Now, it has spread to Capitol Hill, Bellevue, Redmond, Lynnwood, Tukwila, Tacoma and in 17 states across the country. It still offers hardback and paperback books, music cd’s, and dvd’s having to do with almost any subject under the sun. And until Mother’s Day, they are offering a special bonus 
$5 coupon for every $25 gift card purchased until May 10. I must admit, I purchased myself an early Mother’s Day gift.
On each visit, it is mandatory that I browse through the extensive cookbook section just so that I can exercise my creative side. There are colorful picture books ranging from Italian to Mexican, Jewish to Japanese, Vegetarian to Vietnamese that adorn the shelves of a whole corner of the store. Most are previously owned books but in good shape and for a few dollars on up, the values are enormous.
Next to the cookbook quarter is the how to books on home improvement and gardening projects. What homeowner couldn’t use a helpful hint or two in that area? I recently picked up a general handyman’s guidebook and have enjoyed learning the ba
sics to from how to change an 
electrical outlet component to how to fix a leaky pipe and install a toilet. As my plumber says, most things in the home are quite logical and are put together so that anyone can repair or replace items. Well, not this college educated homeowner. I need a guideline for how to unclog a sink. Rest assured, all that and more can be found here.
Gardening, one of my all time passions, just became a bit easier for me once I thumbed through the how manuals for the beginners. Yes, there is a science to most things in and around our home and gardening is one of them. So much useful information to be absorbed, it is a shame not to use it all. I planted a vegetable garden one spring and excelled in planting an growing the sweetest and most delicious tomatoes, lettuce, beans, and parsley. There is something wonderful about being one with nature and being able to grow
your own organic greens
right in your back yard.
For children, there is a vast section devoted to my childhood favorites from Curious George to Nancy Drew, Aesops Fables to Huckleberry Finn. Heck, I still love sitting in the section with my kids and reminiscing of my early days where I really learned what joys come with reading. My daughter picked up a copy of Wuthering Heights and a Geisha story and I thumbed through the $3 dollar bargain dvd’s and cd collection. Not bad for an affordable night of home entertainment. For less than $20, we bought two books for me, two for my daughter, and a few dvd’s and cd’s to boot! Now that is what I call a fun and day of bargain shopping. So many books to read and so little time…don’t miss out on this one!
Realtor
Helen@SeattlePowerSearch.com
Direct:
Shopping
Bellevue Square
There are times when nothing else will do, and then it’s better not to fight it. Put on something newish, something that goes
glittering levels
with your favorite shoes, and a little flair. Check to make sure you have your credit card. And head out to Bellevue Square for some serious shopping.
We hear it’s Vibrant, Urban, Sophisticated and Adventurous. I tend to agree. Not only is there Everything, but there is room and time to enjoy it. The mix works. The levels and the spaces are up down and sideways, like an amusement park for adults. Every conceivable fashion choice is available in it’s 180 stores, anchored by Macy’s and Nordstroms, and including Mercer, Tiffany and Co, the Apple Store, LEGO, Armani Exchange, Williams-Sonoma, Lascoste, to name only a few.
urban, sophisticated, yummyworlds of play
Restaurants like P.F. Chang’s China Bistro, The Cheesecake Facotry, Red Robin, and Ruth’s Cris Steak House are scattered throughout. Bellevue Square also has concierge services, a local shuttle bus, valet parking, children’s play areas, and miles of tiled indoor shopping streets, staircases, elevators, and shiny shiny artlike plate glass windows into your future…if you buy and bring home some of the goodies.
Don’t let me forget to mention the huge covered parking garage…yes, it’s free…which
Bellevue Art Museum
will get you in and out without getting wet, even on the wettest of Northwest days. And if you get tired of extreme materialism, there’s always the Bellevue Art Museum just across the street which invites you into the eternal world of images and smoky memories found only in the land of untouchable art.
Once you have begun to wish you’d worn your other favorite shoes, the ones that are good for walking, it may be time to 
cross the bridge to Lincoln Square and settle down in the three story atrium in front of one of the gigantic fireplaces with a cup of some coffee beverage from one of the nearby venues, open up your laptop, and zone for a while. Or at least check your email before you
Glass Art in Atrium
take your first load of packages to the car and head back for another round, passing under the wiggly fun humongous glass sculpture that is the crown jewel of the vaulted space at the east end of the bridge. Some may say it’s not quirky enough to be as fun as the Seattle shopping, but for those days when you know what you want, it’s nice to know where to get it.
April brings a whole new pallate and lots of pizzaz, so plan an afternoon enjoying the fun! There isn’t a better time to go and see what’s really new and bring the best home, tastes, sounds, sights, and of course, the lovely spring colors blooming everywhere.
Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
edy@seattlepowersearch.com
206.402.9155 cell
Shopping
Sometimes you want a break from the high energy shopping taking place nonstop at Bellevue Square, and that’s the day you head for Old Main, only just a block away but taking you away from the rush into the eternal. This is shopping as it used to be, and as it always should be, both dreamy and sparkley, timeless and very now.
This was a low key day weather wise, but the streets felt dressed up and holiday excitement was in the air as I browsed my way down Main Street in the Bellevue downtown, known for it’s ambiance and flair. Old Main is a two block prominade between Bellevue Way and 100th Avenue NE. There are quaint, delightful shops and upscale eateries, as well as day spas, Shakti East Yoga Studio (Vinyasa), and even creative energy bodywork (at Health Wise), in fact more than 40 business’s signs bedeck the streets. (Anyone who knows where the apostrophe goes in that, don’t hold back, by all means let me know at your first opportunity!)
Ladies, you will want to stop in Posh on Main for shoes, especially if you like fluffy pink trees and yummy 
accessories. The rich perfume scented air will transport you to a distinct fashion flash and that is, as you know, often better than a 10 day vacation, especially at this time of year when no one can leave anyway, as we’re all too busy wrapping packages. But wait, what about Christi’s on Main, La Ree Boutique where you find.beautiful.style, Newport House for “more mature attitudes and figures,” or Title 9 where Sporty is so seductive
you’ll fill your entire closet with chocolate-and-leaf-green or misty-blue outerwear with an edge and the ultimate running-around running shoes, mandatory to go with your SUV, and equally at home with your lime green superbeetle. And don’t forget Ottica, eyewear was never this delicious on other streets, and I love their little snowmen gazing wistfully through the glass onto the wet streets (but wait, I’m told we’ll have snow tomorrow…).
And speaking of delicious, there’s restaurants you won’t want to miss. Like Bis on Main, Salute of 
Bellevue Restaurante, 520 Bar and Grill, and the popular La 
Cocina del Puerco (try the carnitas) with the amazing colorfulful flags, streamers, signs, and fun stuff hanging in the ceiling space…how to chose? I guess it’s what you’re in the mood for. Or for coffee and desert it could be Belle Pastry with a scrumptious selection in a bakery case, or it could be Amore Chocolate for Italian coffee and the best Espresso Dark Truffles I’VE personally ever had. The propriator explained that the freshness makes the difference…wow! This calls for some serious Christmas shopping NOW. They will soon have a website where you can order these goodies, too, I’m told.
You may also want to consider your table’s desire to be elegant and drop in at The Sophisticated
Swine for silver, antiques and collectables. Next door is Patina Collections (for the home) with amazing can’t-leave-without-it everythings. Or Veritables Decor…fantastic furniture. Or 
Ming’s Asian Gallery. Or Villa for “fine kitchen and bath cabinets.” Or the Oriental Rug Gallery. And you will certainly spend time at the windows of several fine jewelry stores…ok, you get the idea! Let me know how you like it…
Edy Kizaki
Realtor & Team Leader
206.402-9155 (cell)
Labels: Bellevue, Old Main, restaurants, shopping
Shopping
Shoreline, the city just north of Seattle, is convenient to all the city has to offer. Shoreline starts at about 145
th, and it only takes a few minutes on I-5 to be in the Seattle city center, which explains some of it’s popularity and high property values. In fact, it used to be an unincorporated part of Seattle before it became a city in 1995. You can also easily go around the top of Lake Washington and be in Kirkland/Redmond/Bellevue in a half hour. This is great news for some househunting couples when one person will be working in Redmond or Kirkland, and the other will be commuting to a workplace in Seattle. There’s an old saying here, “never cross the water for your commute” and this solves that little problem nicely!
The city’s website says, “Covering 11.74 square miles, Shoreline is Washington’s 15th largest city with more than 53,000 residents. It is primarily residential with more than 70 percent of the households being single-family residences. Over the years, the Shoreline community has developed a reputation for strong neighborhoods, excellent schools and abundant parks.”
Neighborhoods include Ballenger, Briarcrest, Echo Lake, Highland Terrace, The Highlands (gated), Hillwood, Innis Arden, Meridian Park, North City, Richmond Beach, Richmond Highlands, Ridgecrest and Westminster. Most of these have their own little shopping areas and character.
Now for the exciting news! According to Seattle Magazine, Shoreline is the hottest neighborhood in the Seattle area! A couple months ago, Seattle Magazine looked at the top 84 neighborhoods and based their selection on median home price, percentage change in median, average days on the market, crime rate, % of students passing the fourth grade WASL test, park acreage, diversity, and commute time (to Redmond and Seattle).
Shoreline Community College is around 150th, west of Aurora Avenue (Hwy 99). The shopping 
around there is great, lots of both little and big stores, and of course restaurants, including a rainbow of ethnic fare. One of the crown jewels is Central Market, and what better place to stop in for a last-minute Thanksgiving run? We needed canned chestnuts (for the stuffing), which none of the other markets I tried had, 
organic Italian black kale and smoked ham for our “Black Kale and Ham” dish, and crab for the crab cakes. I also wanted grits to replicate the Kentucky Derby traditional breakfast Friday brunch… Turkey Hash and Fried Grit Cakes, and we needed some extra mushrooms for the Wild Mushroom soup. And of course flowers for the holiday table.
Central Market goes far beyond the ordinary with fresh fish, including tanks of live crabs, clams etc., knowledgeable staff in chef’s whites sprinkled throughout the store giving last minute advice and dispensing samples, amply staffed checkout to keep the lines short, and even an antique 
tractor out front to delight the kids and keep things fun. I also 
recommend stopping in and checking out their extensive cooking products and utensil section if you’re holiday shopping for those committed gourmet chefs on your list, as they have tons of really special items that make perfect gifts. And there’s a large Asian and ethnic food section, we picked up mango mochi ice cream balls for our post-shopping snack!
Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
Sometimes Queen Anne can be an all day event, sometimes it’s enough just to go over to Silver Platters in jeans and a hoodie and stop by what’s arguably the city’s best fast food Sushi place, Sushi Land. Silver Platters is a great place for all kinds of shopping now that the holidays are approaching, as you are bound to find something for literally everyone on your list. This is not the downtown glitzy rush, it’s more an understated, laid back, Seattle cool kind of a twilight visit.
to be. It’s a great store with so much atmosphere they should charge admission, but instead you find great stuff at reasonable prices, and that includes used DVDs and CDs, and they still do videos. Even more fun, 
take a few of your cast-offs (in good condition) and get part of what you’ll be spending in credit for the old DVDs and CDs that you no longer want on your shelves. They have great selections in every category you can think of, friendly staff and a great deal of knowledge if you have questions or are looking for something. They can also fill you in on various aspects of the Seattle music scene! 
restaurants to choose from all in a row, Thai (Pahn Thai in an old Craftsman), Upscale Pho and Curry (Pho Viet Anh), a Vegetarian 
Chinese (Bamboo Garden), and another interesting looking Thai one (Thai Heaven) that served cocktails, but finally decided to go back to an old favorite, Sushi Land. It was so early there wasn’t even a wait, which there usually is. Three sushi chefs rapidly arranged delicious maki (rolls) and negiri (the sliced fish on rice), as well as edamame (salty boiled soy beans to pop out of the pods), fried wontons, octobus bites and rolls, and other little treats onto plates color 
coded as to price. Waitresses brought drinks, miso soup and whatever else we ordered from the 
kitchen. Perched on stools at the counter in front of the conveyor belt, we had a ringside seat!
Udon (fat noodles in broth), small and tasty. Wow, unbeatable. We had 5 green plates, four pink plates, two blue plates, and my son had the Shrimp Tempura Udon on a purple plate. We also had a Sapporo and green tea, all for under $25. 
How does it work? All the little plates are loaded onto a conveyor belt and they circle around in front of the delighted diners who are lined up on stools at a counter in front of the stream of passing sushi! There is the added pleasure of watching the sushi chefs prepare the different dishes and anticipating what’s coming around next. You just reach out and take whichever ones you decide you can’t resist. Great fun, easy on the pocketbook, and something for everyone!
