Welcome to Day #2 of my website’s birthday month of giveaways! There is a bit more information here.

I’m very pleased to have a One Day pass to the School House Craft conference happening here in Seattle Sept. 23rd to the 25th to give to a lucky somebody. School House Craft grew from the Conference for Creative Entrepreneurs that happened here last summer, and which was amazing and packed full of hard learned helpful information from small business owners. It’s happening in the Phinney Neighborhood Center here, a charming community space in an old school which happens to be a favorite spot for a lot of the locals. More about the conference:

School House Craft is a dynamic new three day conference for people wanting to gain the skills to run a successful creative small business.

Are you considering staring your own business or do you already own your own business that focuses on craft, art or design? Do you have a shop on etsy, sell to shops and galleries, sell at craft fairs or want to start a new venture turning your passion into a business? If the answer is yes this is the conference for you!

Do you have or want to set up a craft business and can you get yourself to Seattle in September? This is for you! To enter please leave a comment with this post, you have until Wednesday, May 4th at 10 a.m. PST to enter, the fine print applies. If you’d like please answer this question: If you could spend your days doing any craft at all what would it be? I’ll go first: After my recent work on the Papier-Mache Easter Eggs I think I would love to spend all day creating delicate pinatas while surrounded by colorful and cheerful tissue papers. OK, good luck everybody! Closed, thanks so much to all who entered! #48 is our winner and she’s been contacted.

A nationwide Bakesale for Japan is being held and here in Seattle it will be at the Cakespy Shop. They are currently looking for “bakers, artists, volunteers, and lots and lots of customers”, if you think you can help see more details and get in touch here. See you there!

We went to Uneeda Burger here in Seattle to try to see if we could tell the difference between the regular patty and the grass-fed patty. We couldn’t. But Lindy West could and her hilarious review is worth reading even if you don’t live close enough to try this place: “This cow ate only sweet grasses and sunshine. This cow was massaged daily by sexy cow concubines. This cow slept each night on a feather bed, spooning with the emperor of Whidbey Island himself. This cow moos rainbows.”

Ok, so this photo is from yesterday when we were at the Emerald City Comicon, but today didn’t have much going on and I wanted to take a moment to say how I enjoyed wandering around ECCC, and to give a shoutout to the organizers for taking the time to give me a visitors badge (my husband Scott plays bass for the awesome nerd rock band Kirby Krackle, and one half of the songwriters for Kirby Krackle is Jim Demonakos, who founded ECCC and does an awesome job of making it better each year, thus the badge). I mostly wanted to note something that The Stranger also noticed: there were a lot of girls there. I saw women of all ages, some with their daughters, all there because they love comic books. Yay!

Today we went to the Emerald City Comicon and R2D2 came over to say hi. This robot was very impressive, it chirped and whistled at us and even appeared to have Tatooine dust on it. The guy controlling it was sitting very nonchalantly off to one side and hid the controller behind a newspaper. It was really fun to watch the kids who came through go a little crazy with joy.

Here in Seattle we have a grocery delivery service called Amazon Fresh. Yup, from Amazon. Grocery delivery is pretty normal but the only other one we used was Peapod in San Francisco which closed down a few weeks after we started using it. We never get our grocery delivery choices quite right, this time we accidentally ordered a giant box of baking soda and an itty bitty tube of toothpaste. Our own faults, the weight of what we ordered was clearly listed, but we had gotten a little click happy. We live in a neighborhood that is outside the delivery areas for any pizza places so I’m just thrilled we can at least get groceries.

Gifts & crafts | Get crafty at these five local picks for fabric shopping | NWsource.

Gawker Finally Discovers Charles Mudede, Does It Wrong | Slog | The Stranger, Seattle’s Only Newspaper. Truth: For a while Charles Mudede’s posts drove me so crazy that I had Scott write me a Mudede Filter for Firefox. Any posts by him simply didn’t appear, and I was completely unaware of their absence. It was nice.

When Art Becomes a Dog Park by Jen Graves – Visual Art – The Stranger. I had no idea it was there, I feel like a bad resident for being unaware of large outdoor art.

Cupcake Royale Announces an Eastside Opening Date – Voracious. It’s opening in the old A-frame building that used to be an IHOP, excellent!

Please Calm Down by Lindy West. Hahaha, the local paper takes on the new local xiao long bao restaurant frenzy.

Now Open – Seattle Restaurants | Slog. Yay! My local St. Dames gets a mention. Their food and cocktails are exceptional.

First thing you should know is that this restaurant is owned by my awesome neighbors so I admit to being biased. St. Dames is new restaurant in Rainier Valley, to be more specific it’s half a block north of the Columbia City light rail stop. They’re open for dinner and brunch on weekends. They have big booths, a full bar and really delicious food. A confession: I didn’t realize it was a vegetarian place until we were half finished with our meal. Many of the menu offerings were vegan.

We stopped for a Sunday brunch and I had biscuits and mushroom gravy, a hangover worthy breakfast, and Scott had a breakfast burrito which I had to stop myself from stealing too much of. Most of the food, from chorizo to breads, is made in house and that mimosa you see there had fresh squeezed juice and it was like being on a little vacation. I’ve seen the restaurant described as cozy and I’d like to add that it’s not cozy in a cute way, but cozy in that it is a welcoming place to spend a rainy evening.

The above is a photo of the hot dogs Scott and I split at Po Dog here in Seattle last week. We had a Chicago Dog (all sorts of traditional toppings and yum), a Seattle Dog (cream cheese and chives, better than you might suspect), and a something dog with bbq sauce and crispy onions (interesting but not my thing). They were having an anniversary special so all the hot dogs were $1 each, a happy surprise. But the hot dogs is not why this particular Sunday night was neat.

Quick set up: A beloved Seattle restaurant, Canlis, has been celebrating their 60th birthday by hiding menus with 1950s prices ($4 broiled lobster, $4.25 filet mignon) all around Seattle, one per day for 50 days, and putting hints on Twitter. The person who finds the menu gets to eat cheap. (p.s. Canlis was were we went for our first anniversary.) Ok, back to the hot dogs.

We were sitting there checking Twitter (not our normal MO but we’d spent all day together on an epic area rug quest and we’d mutually and contentedly agreed we had nothing more to talk about, also the music was very very loud, also I was hangry) and the Canlis hint appeared on Twitter. It said “Annie Reed follows her heart. 1:07:22″. So I Googled Annie Reed and IMDB informed me it was the main female character in Sleepless In Seattle. Obviously the numbers are a point in the film. I thought we were done for but then we remembered that we have Netflix streaming on my phone. So we loaded the movie, fast forwarded to 1:07:22 and found the scene where Meg Ryan is fake-driving into Seattle then turning a corner at Western and Broad, which was of course where the menu was hidden. We’d found the menu without even getting up from our booth at the hot dog place! Yay for living in the future! By then the menu had been found by somebody living really close to the hiding place. The $1 hot dogs were a nice consolation prize.

Scott and I spent last Saturday doing Autumn-y things here in Seattle. First we stopped at Minea Farms, they have a hundred year old apple press and make a variety of ciders. You can taste each variety, and they even have some hot spiced cider for you to try. They also have local honey, syrups, fruit butters and apples for sale. The place is tiny but well worth a visit, they owners are really enthusiastic about what they do. The nearby South 47 farm is very popular, they have a large produce market and lots of u-pick options.

Next we visited a winery tasting room in Woodinville to pick up some wine for dinner that night, and I fell for the Hoodsport Stella Raspberry wine, it’s not too sweet and smells amazingly like fresh raspberries. We passed by a whiskey tasting room and if we’d had more time we would have stopped for that as well.

Then it was off to Snohomish valley and the corn maze at Craven Farm. It was a good corn maze, dense and tall corn, lots of curves and no dead ends. We were lost almost right away. It was great. There are two rooms you have to find and in the second room you have the option of going back the easy way, or the hard way. We took the hard way and got so lost I actually tried to pull up a Google Earth image to see if we could find our way out, but the image was taken when the spot we were standing in was still a bare field. Seeing as we were lost we had time to make some observations.

Somebody wore heels into a corn maze! The first time Scott and I visited a corn maze we came up with the the first rule: Never wear cashmere to a corn maze. I wasn’t wearing the cashmere, on our way in we passed an unhappy couple on their way out. It appeared that the girl had slipped and gotten mud on her sweater and she was not happy. So now we have Rule #2: don’t wear heels into a corn maze.

Somebody wore Coach boots! I wonder if they were rubber boots?

We saw wooly bears!

When we came into the maze a family with two teenage boys came right behind us. The boys were loud and hurried us down an aisle walking too close. They kept pulling down corn stalks and breaking them so that they would hang, sad and broken. The parents didn’t do anything to stop the boys. I didn’t like them. Later on we spotted one of the boys marking Xes into the mud to mark their way. We started rubbing them out and covering the tracks whenever we’d come across them. What? I never claimed to be a nice person. (That boy you see at the end of the row there? Not one of the culprits in question, he was younger and kinder than our victims.)

We finally made it out and headed over to the vast pumpkin patch.

Above us guy in a parachute fan came past and circled over the corn maze a few times. We joked that he was looking for all the people lost inside.

As the sun was setting some hot air balloons rose up from the horizon.

We spent some time at the pumpkin slings. If you hit a target you’d get a prize! We didn’t hit the target.

Craven Farm also has food (chili in a bag! which I think was Frito pie), coffee drinks and pumpkin donuts, roasted corn, produce, many varieties of squash and pumpkins, a hay ride, a petting zoo and lots of stuff for kids to play on. If you only have time to visit one farm I recommend this one. They even have plenty of parking.

On the way back to the car I felt drunk on fresh air. Yay autumn!

A few weekends ago some friends and I headed up to Jones Creek Farms to do some apple picking. They have a huge number of trees available for you to wander among and pick. You’re encouraged to take a taste of everything. It’s a lot of fun, wear shoes you don’t mind getting muddy. They have a few carts you can use if you’re planning on bringing back a huge amount of apples.

The farm is located in the Skagit Valley and you can see mountains in all directions. The day we went was overcast and misty.

I have never really shined an apple before, it really works!

We found a few of the famed Bramley trees. There weren’t many apples left for this season.

This Asian pear tasted a bit like butterscotch, it was amazing.

They have a baby cow! They also have chickens and sell cider. If you’re there ask about buying eggs and garlic as well.

You’re coming to the Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs? Hooray! They’ve picked a really good neighborhood. Here is a list of places I know and love, all within about six blocks of the Century Ballroom (Friday’s conference location). I’ve included an address and a link to a Google map for each below in the hopes that those reading this on a mobile device (hi there!) find it easy enough to use. Please note, there are more places mentioned on the bottom of this page of the CCE’s website, as well as their Where To Eat series: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. Do know that the conference will be providing breakfast and lunch.

You need to eat:

Oddfellows Cafe – This restaurant is in the same building as the Century Ballroom, the entrance is just around the corner. It’s charming and has a good menu, open all day long and late into the night. (Breakfast? Yes!)
1525 10th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 325-0807

Via Tribunali – Serving some seriously good Neapolitan pizza. The pizza come unsliced so if you’re sharing ask the server to bring some kitchen shears that they have for this purpose. Seriously, it’s the easiest way to cut pizza and you’ll ditch your pizza cutter shortly after you return home. (Breakfast? No.)
913 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122-3816
[map]
(206) 322-9234

Boom Noodle – Yummy noodles, well designed interior. (Breakfast? No.)
1121 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 701-9130

Vermillion – They serve a small menu, usually a soup, a cheese plate and a few other things, but they are cozy and charming and have a good wine list. Walk through the art gallery to the cafe space in the back. (Note: Vermillion is where we held the first year or so of Grassroots Business Association meetings, we *heart* Vermillion.) (Breakfast? No.)
1508 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 709-9797

Cafe Presse – Located across an annoyingly busy street but so worth the trek for amazing and unpretentious French food. A Stumptown coffee is next door. (Breakfast? Yes!)
1117 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 709-7674

You need to eat some sugar:

Cupcake Royale – One of the original cupcake places in Seattle. My favorite cupcake is still the ballerina (vanilla with pink vanilla frosting). They also have good espresso here.
1111 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 328-6544

Molly Moon’s Ice Cream – Amazing ice cream in amazing flavors. Expect to stand in a long line of impressively dressed people. This is about five inches from the Century Ballroom entrance so I expect you’ll be having ice cream before you leave Seattle.
917 East Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 708-7947

Old School Frozen Custard – Amazing custard with your choice of things to add. Expect to stand in a long line of impressively dressed people.
1316 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 324-2586

You need to eat because you’re happydrunk and it’s 1 a.m.:

Big Mario’s Pizza – Seattle’s newly opened New York style pizza by the slice place has your back, open until 4 am.
1009 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 922-3875

Po Dogs – Ever tried a Seattle hot dog with cream cheese on it? Now is the perfect time. This place has an impressive menu and vegetarian options.
1009 E Union St, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
206-325-6055

It’s the morning and you need coffee and a pastry before you see anybody:

See above: Oddfellows Cafe (right downstairs from the Century Ballroom) and Cupcake Royale (cupcakes for breakfast!).

Cafe Vita – This one is closest to the conference locations, and another of their shops is my own local coffee place so I double love them.
1005 E Pike St, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 709-4440

Stumptown – Two locations, one is near Cafe Presse, both a few blocks away. Excellent coffee.
1115 12th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 860-2937
616 East Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98122
(206) 329-0115
[map]

Victrola – This one is a few blocks away, but it’s close to the Cakespy shop. Excellent coffee.
310 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122-3610
[map]
(206) 462-6259

Take a shopping break:

Cakespy Shop – So worth the short walk down, it’s filled with stuff you’ll love. (Also the owner, Jessie, is speaking at the conference!)
415 East Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98122-2311
[map]

Elliott Bay Book Company – Right next door to the Century Ballroom, this historic independent Seattle bookstore recently relocated from it’s (beloved, sniff) original location in Pioneer Square.
1521 10th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 624-6600

Stitches – Fabric, yarn, needles, ribbon, felt, findings. All your therapeutic crafting needs (or adhesive needs) have been curated here for you. They even have sewing machines that you can rent. And Japanese fabric. And needle felting supplies should you feel the need to stab somebody something. Honestly, when I need something I come here first, they have some of the best fabric offerings in the city.
711 East Pike Street, Seattle, WA 98122-3719
[map]
(206) 709-0707

Value Village – Thrifting! This is across the street from Vermillion.
1525 11th Avenue, Seattle, WA 98122-3903
[map]
(206) 322-7789

You need to sit on some grass and do some people watching:

Cal Anderson Park – The side of the park closest to the conference location (right across the street) is all soccer fields, but walk deeper into the park and you’ll find an impressive fountain and lots of places to stroll or sit for a while.
1635 11th Ave, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]

Other vital needs:

Drugstore: Walgreens – Just a block away from the Century Ballroom, no need to bring your own band aids.
1531 Broadway, Seattle, WA
[map]
(206) 204-0599

Grocery store: QFC – Just a couple blocks away, for all your special snowflake food needs.
1401 Broadway, Seattle, WA
[map]
(206) 860-3818

Post Office – Because the TSA won’t let you carry on the new fabric scissors that you bought at Stitches.
101 Broadway East, Seattle, WA
[map]
(206) 324-5474

You need to borrow a computer – Some nearby internet cafes (yes they still exist) because you, like me, never bring your laptop along but always find a near emergency situation where you’re handheld thingy just won’t do and you need a computer NowNowNow and cannot wait until you get back to your hotel.

Uncle Elizabeth’s Internet Cafe
1123 Pike Street
Seattle, WA 98101-1923
[map]
(206) 381-1600

Online Coffee Company
1404 East Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98122
[map]
(206) 323-7798

The Conference of Creative Entrepreneurs here in Seattle is coming up! If you already live here in Seattle there is an event at the conference that is free to attend:

Are you looking to connect with the art, craft and design community?

We are excited to announce a special special round table reception hosted by The Conference for Creative Entrepreneurs.

The event will feature small group discussions about running a small business, networking opportunities with members of the the art, craft and design community, craft and product demonstrations, special discounts on services and products from our sponsors, and sweet snacks too!

Free To Attend
Friday, August 13th from 4:15 – 6:00 PM
Century Ballroom, 915 East Pine Street, Seattle, WA 98122-3849 (map)

RSVP now at: Eventbrite.

As a SPECIAL THANK YOU to the first 50 people who register by August 11th, you get one FREE conference session of your choice on Saturday or Sunday! Session registration will take place on Friday when you check in for the round table event. RSVP today to ensure your space at this amazing event!

To see conference choice options on Saturday and Sunday check out our schedule.

Additional classes will be available for $25 per session – cash only – register day of at venue location.

Will I see you there?

All You Can Eat | Din Tai Fung opening in Bellevue: xiao long bao fans rejoice. Soup dumplings are coming to Bellevue.

Bars with Outdoor Seating! Also: A/C and Ice Cream | Slog | The Stranger, Seattle’s Only Newspaper.

Curio Confections Re-Opens Tomorrow | Slog | The Stranger, Seattle’s Only Newspaper.

Oh Fuck, Not the Buck: Historic Fremont Tavern to Close in September – Seattle Restaurants and Dining – Voracious. NO!

Wheeling to winery country: A scenic ride with a fruitful stop. Bicycling from the Burke-Gilman to Redhook, my sort of trip.

Seattle’s Top Five U-Pick Berry Farms – Voracious.

This summer Urban Craft Uprising show here in Seattle is coming up on July 10th and 11th and this year I’m extra excited because on Saturday the 10th Mobile Chowdown will be nearby, also Seattle Center. Shopping from indie businesses and excellent food from trucks, it’s perfection.