The Giving Spree: Seattle Mag's 2014 Holiday Gift Guide Showcases Gordon and Gretchen Raine's Pink Diamond Ring from the Gordon James Fine Diamond Store in Bellevue

Looking for excellent holiday gift ideas? Seattle magazine's Ali Brownrigg has curated a selection of local gifts to inspire.  This 3.62 carat pink sapphire ring from Gordon James Fine Diamonds is one. Thanks for including Gordon and Gretchen Raine's design, Ali!

Congrats to Dr. Kris Sasaki- Seattle Top Doctor!

We’re so pleased that Seattle Magazine chose our client Dr. Kris Sasaki of Vida Integrated Health as Best Seattle Chiropractor in their annual Top Doctors issue. This is the first year that Seattle added the Alternative Medicine category and the Vida team scored two awards for Best Chiropractor and Best Naturopath. If you don’t know about Vida, check out their website for details about their new Seattle location on Capitol Hill and their integrated approach to functional health and healthy lifestyles.

Urban Animal in February Seattle Magazine: Seattle's New Veterinary Practice with Heart, Soul AND Style

Thanks to Lisa and Lisa for the excellent article touting Urban Animal's style and honest approach to pet care.

"The decor isn't the only unconventional thing about Urban Animal.  In addition to establishing an all walk-in, open weekends schedule, practice owner Cherri Trusheim DVM (who designed the space with Seattle Junk Love's Sarah Littlefield), says she's fundamentally geared toward working with people on a budget... an approach that sometimes includes not pushing for costly interventions."

Chefs McCracken & Tough Make Seattle Magazine's List of Leaders in the "Food Establishment" of Seattle

As two of the City's most "powerful players" they're described as: "Brian McCracken and Dana Tough. Chefs/owners.  Est.: 2008, when they opened Spur Gastropub. Because: In four short years, the chef duo has dabbled in molecular gastronomy (at Spur) and brought Seattle one of its finest speakeasy-inspired craft cocktail bars: Tavern Law. New projects: This year, they took over the corner that housed Restaurant Zoë for 12 years to open The Coterie Room, where gussied-up comfort food and carefully prepared classic cocktails rule. Employees: 72. http://www.mccrackentough.com/".

Thank you Seattle magazine.

Dr. Richard Baxter Seattle DANCES Winner

Our favorite Renaissance doc proved once again that he’s a remarkable overachiever. Professionally Dr. Baxter is known as one of the leading plastic surgeon’s in the country, pioneering new techniques and technologies.


He’s an artist who sketches regularly, using his art education to inform the aesthetics of his surgery practice to achieve the natural look Northwesterners (and now others) prefer. He’s an anti-aging and beauty expert who travels the globe speaking about his book “Age Gets Better with Wine”, the go-to tome for those interested in the science behind the hype. He’s a foodie who was a finalist in Sunset Magazine’s recipe contest years ago for his turkey molé. And earlier this month Dr. Baxter added Argentinean tango dancer to his resume after winning the coveted Cyber Choice mirror ball trophy in Seattle’s version of “Dancing With The Stars” as a celebrity raising funds for Seattle’s chronically homeless through the annual Seattle Dances event. What’s next? We hesitate to ask; but we’ll be excited to find out.

Read about the event in Patti Payne’s recent article “Executives Dancing Up a Storm” in the Puget Sound Business Journal

Barrel Aged Cocktails Have Big Fans: Seattle Magazine Adores Tavern Law's Rosita

Thank you AJ Rathbun for giving Tavern Law's Rosita the nod in your story on Seattle's very best barrel aged cocktails.  Read it here.

Seattle Magazine Reveals IndieFlix “Box O’Shorts”

Thanks to Seattle mag for the coverage in this month's issue on our client IndieFlix's fun game: FILM FESTIVAL IN A BOX. If you find the crowds at SIFF daunting, Seattle Magazine suggests the IndieFlix Film Festival in a Box interactive movie game that lets you create a film festival in your own living room or backyard. Pop some corn, make a pitcher of margaritas and invite the neighbors over to watch four short movies and decide on the winner. Expect debate and perhaps a little arm-twisting. Click blog title to read the whole story.

Seattle Magazine Reveals IndieFlix “Box O’Shorts”

Thanks to Seattle mag for the coverage on our client IndieFlix's fun game: FILM FESTIVAL IN A BOX. They wrote, "Find the crowds at SIFF daunting? Seattle Magazine has the scoop for those who prefer not to scramble for their seats. IndieFlix Film Festival in a Box interactive movie game lets you create a film festival in your own living room or backyard. Pop some corn, make a pitcher of margaritas and invite the neighbors over to watch four short movies and decide on the winner. Expect debate and perhaps a little arm-twisting."
Click blog title to read the whole story!

November's Seattle Mag Includes Designer Rosanna Bowle's Book on Its Must List

Thank you Rachel et all for including tableware designer Rosanna's book in your "Nest: Seattle Magazine’s November 2010 Must List". We so apreciate it!

It read, “With its foul weather and fowl focus, November calls for feathering your nest. Prep for the holidays with local dishware queen Rosanna Bowles’ new entertaining tome, Coming Home: A Seasonal Guide to Creating Family Traditions (Stewart Tabori & Chang, $27.50), a season-by-season guide to family gatherings complete with tabletop inspirations, tips for creating traditions and Bowles’ home recipes, including a killer caramel pie.”

Tavern Law Honored as Best New Bar at Seattle Magazine Event

A Monday evening trek to the gorgeous Chateau Ste Michelle in Woodinville, WA netted chef/owners Brian McCracken and Dana Tough a Best New Bar award from Seattle magazine. Manager David Nelson couldn't make it that night, but editor Rachel Hart Rios is shown here with McCracken and the two of us.

Congrats Tavern Law and thank you Seattle magazine for the recognition.

Writer Rebekah Denn examines Twitter in the food world

This month's Seattle magazine features a great article by Rebekah Denn: "SHORT ORDER REVIEWS: In Seattle where restaurants, chefs and food are topics discussed and debated with more fervor than politics, Twitter is giving foodies inside access to the conversation, 140 characters at a time."

Denn included me in the mix, writing, "Twitter followers must determine which sources they consider reliable, rather than rely on gate-keeping editors. And that reliability is harder to judge due to the fact that every Twitterer has an agenda— or sometimes, several.

Kat Spellman, publicist for Spur Gastropub, finds Twitter a valuable business tool, learning immediately, for instance , when (Ruth) Reichl (Gourmet magazine’s editor) ate at Spur. But she also follows luminaries she admires on Twitter, such as Mark Bittman of The New York Times. She was thrilled when she tweeted Bittman to compliment him on his chocolate soufflé and he replied.

The self promotion that’s clearly a top agenda item for some is only effective when done in a low-key style…"

As a Twitterer who enjoys wearing multiple hats online, I'm honored to be included and even more thrilled to be recognized for rocking a "low key style". Love it!

Thanks for the opportunity Rebekah. Illustration for Seattle magazine by Ken Orvidas.

...

Kat Spellman sounds off in this month’s Seattle magazine

I just can’t stand by while folks play the game of buy-wear-and return… treating retailers who have generous return policies, like Nordstrom, as their own personal free wardrobe supplier. August’s Letter to the Editor section of Seattle magazine includes a sidebar discussion in response to the May article “Recession Diet”. I'm quoted.

The article touched on trends like: touting your own flask to a bar with friends and surreptitiously sipping from it, instead of paying for drinks there (don’t get me started on that one); nanny sharing (an idea I embrace if the nanny knows up front, is fairly compensated, and isn’t saddled with a bad kid-to-nanny ratio) , and the longstanding trend by gals I disdain (you know who you are) of buying an outfit, tuckin’ in the tag, and wearing it out on the town… only to return it to the store for full money back the next day saying, “It just really didn’t fit…” Ughh.

In this month’s issue Seattle mag included my reply to this piece: “The idea of abusing Nordstrom's return policy was utterly shameful to Kat Spellman of Seattle. ‘WOW. Shame on Dionne and her pride in her wear-and-return policy of buying items,’ Spellman said."

Photo from Seattle magazine. Click on blog title above to read Karen Johnson’s entire article, Recession Diet. Can't wait to hear what you all think!