At the Marina Park is a sandy beach, a boat launch, walking trail, and benches to take in the sights.  There are picnic tables and a pavilion, and in general a very nice little beach and strolling spot at the foot of Market Street.  Since there is a nice parking lot there, and all kinds of shopping and restaurants within a minute or two strolling, it can be your main destination or it can be a shorter pause in a busy afternoon.  Lake Washington is so wide that you have a distant vista of water stretching away and this means some serenity in a busy day.  Any time you stop by you will see people enjoying the sights and conversing, whether they are sitting on the benches, the lawn, the sand, or strolling along.  There are bronze sculptures on permanant display on the park and you will also find them thoughout the downtown area as you stroll along.

Events, such as the Wednesday Afternoon Farmer’s Market (3-7 p.m. May to October) are plentiful.  They also include Art Walks every other Thursday, the Kirkland Street Scramble on August 14th this year (on foot or by bike, how many checkpoints marked on the Kirkland map can you visit in 3 hours?), both a children’s concert series and an evening concert series for the Summer Concerts, and the renowned Kirkland Uncorked, this year July 15-17, a regional showcase of art, food and wine at Marina Park, with everything from a dog modeling show, tasting garden, boat show, and music!

Even with all that goes on here, in my opinion some of your best moments may be just relaxing with a friend and watching the sunset.  Enjoy!

Downtown Kirkland opens its doors to romantic couples, their friends and family for a very special event on Valentine’s Day 2010.  Special Celebration will be held on Valentine’s Day February 14th 2010 in Historic Hall in the heart of Kirkland, WA

Couples will hold their wedding, renewal of vows or commitment ceremonies. The event is held by www.KirklandWeddings.com is a membership organization of Kirkland based business’ collaboration. Kirkland based companies provide product and services to support weddings so couples may save money for Honeymoon and Reception. Local Kirkland Restaurants are available for Reception celebrations. Make sure to book in advance!

All participants must register before Feb 1^st, 2010 and are offered $350 package. Ceremonies will be held on Sunday, February 14^th 2010 for 24 hours on each hour of the day.  Marriage license must be obtained by each couple from State of Washington and submitted to KirklandWeddings.com before February 5^th, 2010

Below are the services included in the package:

• Seating for up to 30 guests with the use of Heritage Hall in Kirkland, WA
• Decorations and fresh flowers
• Ceremony Text available
• Service of the Wedding officiate
• Traditional Wedding Music
• On-site Wedding Coordinator
• Bride’s fresh flower bouquet
• 30 minutes of professional photographer’s time
• One photo 5×7 and other pictures are available to purchase

Here are several more details to be aware of:

• Music could be provided if the musicians are available. Early registry could be helpful to reserve the musician.
• Witnesses could be provided upon request.

To get more information an details of the event, please contact www.KirklandWeddings.com

Recently I have been looking for a fully furnished apartment for my clients. They just bought a house here in Seattle and need some place else to stay while they are freshening up paint and buying furniture. When you have a little kid, anything that does not have  a washer and dryer unit, or a kitchen is not going to work and can make your move quite a disaster.

Fortunately,

Seattle and its suburbs have quite a choice. There are a few companies who specialize in providing short-term furnished housing like Oakwood , or Marriott Executive Suites. In terms of availability or lease term, they offer more flexibility and can accommodate you quite soon for any period of time, including a month-to-month stay. However, if you are looking for a more exquisite place, or you have special demands, like the view or certain style of furniture, you are better off checking in with private owners. You will be surprised to find some really gorgeous apartments. The last one I was looking at was a 2’000 sq ft 2 bedroom condominium with gorgeous views of downtown Seattle and designer’s furniture. The price tag was just as high as the quality, and the minimum lease term is 3 months. If this does not fit you, don’t give up. With private rentals, the price depends a lot on the owner’s needs and urgency to rent. And with private owners you can negotiate pretty much on anything. There was a one-bedroom apartment I was able to find for just half the price of what a few other home owners were hoping to get. They were counting on a longer lease term, but were offering a really sweet deal on the monthly price. So in this case, you can offer a bigger deposit or increase in monthly rent to compensate for a shorter stay. 

In general, if you are curious what average furnished housing is going for in Seattle area, I would say $85-$150 for a day. If you are planning to make this move, my advice is: start looking at least a month in advance. It might be a tedious process especially if you are a picky individual. You might want to go and see each place in person because the pictures are not always true to life. Before you do that, however, make sure to discuss all the details with the home owner or their agent, like: what is the lease term; is it fully furnished; does it have a fully equipped kitchen; washer and dryer in unit; assigned parking…

GOOD LUCK!

Kirkland Coffee Mecca

especially when there’s free wifi (even a laptop bar with lots of places to plug in), oversized chairs and sofas around a fire, and friendly skilled baristas who delight in coffee art. This is Kahili Coffee, where there is a

Oversized sofas by the fire at Kahili

featured monthly artist, and a mix of high tech business, couples, friends, students, many with laptops and piles of books or briefcases full of projects stacked on the round cafe tables. If I’m not careful I sink into the friendly comfort, perhaps even indulge in a homemade almond poppyseed muffin, and stay the whole three hours I am alotted in the city parking around the corner.

It’s a great place to meet friends, or clients, or just sit down and catch up on your email and…blogging! Once you go

Friends Relax at Kahili

there, you will return again and again. Eventually I predict you will venture out to the shops, galleries, eateries that Lake Street, Park Place, Central Avenue, and the Lakeside Plaza offer. For a while. Before it’s time for another mocha!

Kona Coffee on Lake Street in Kirkland

Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader
edy@seattlepowersearch.com
206.249-2914  (cell)

follow me on Twitter.com:  http://twitter.com/edykizaki

Downtown Kirkland is located along the lakefront and is filled with restraunts, art gallereies and performing arts center, among parks, beaches and public art.

Kirkland is the home of the Seattle Seahawks training facility. Warehouse chain Costco previously had its headquarters in Kirkland (now in Issaquah), hence the “Kirkland Signature” store brand. Several prominent companies like Bungie Studios (developer of the Halo, Marathon, Myth and Oni video game series) have headquarters in Kirkland. It serves as a residence for many Microsoft and Amazon.com employees.

Based on per capita income, one of the more reliable measures of affluence, Kirkland ranks 13th of 522 areas in the state of Washington to be ranked.