We're Celebrating Today's Coverage for Chefs McCracken & Tough's Cocktails by Philip Thompson Being Splashed all Over the Wall Street Journal

Why yes those are the lovely Frisky Dingo and Ruby Peach cocktails by The Coterie Room's Philip Thompson in today's Wall Street Journal Off Duty article by Kevin Sintumuang.  We couldn't be more thrilled.  The Journal's test kitchen adored the drinks and describes them in glowing terms. And the photos?  Just as mouthwatering and lovely as the showcased drinks themselves.  Click the link to read the story and nab the recipes to make the cocktails at home this summer.  Thank you Wall Street Journal!

Puppies and Prints: New Business at The Spellman Co. in July

Our newest clients are in categories close to our heart: animals and design.  We're excited to get started.

What patterns and prints make you weak kneed these days?  (Just wait 'til you see what our designer/artist client is rolling out.)

And as far as your pets, what qualities do you look for in a vet and what services in their clinic?  (Warm and knowledgable with an honest attitude and an up-front estimate on costs of treatments?  Well, you'll be in luck.)

Above, a playful mashup of prints on a bathing suit spotted in Marie Claire magazine.

Chefs McCracken & Tough Tapped by Food & Wine Magazine in Their Trendspotting Article, July issue

School’s Out in Seattle: What Will We SEE with Our Sons This Summer?



Our boys 2005. Squint! Note our older son isn't yet in his Transition
lenses which made summer so much more comfy. Photo by Jim Stoffer.  

Today’s the grand finale for our First and Sixth grade boys. Half day. Yearbooks. Much whooping. And a trip to the local BBQ joint, Rainin’ Ribs, for lunch. Summer has arrived: a fact seemingly belied by the grey clouds hugging Western WA, North Face parkas at swim meets, and Ugg boots still being sported by the grade school set.

We have a lot to see during the Summer of 2012. This is the first summer in years that our two kids won’t be opossums in the sun— whenever it does finally arrive. Years’ past we’ve done dilating drops and patching for their amblyopia and vision problems. That made outdoor soccer camps at View Ridge, even a walk on the beach at Golden Gardens, an uncomfortably bright excursion.

But it was worth it. Both vision therapies have tremendously helped each of their vision. (Shout out to Dr. Janet Barrall for her surgical skill and ability to prescribe glasses for, yes, even a three month old!) Now the pre-teen’s graduated to contact lenses most days and the soon to be second grader sports some pretty sweet and sporty Nike frames.

Now that our boys are older we don’t get the questions like, “How did you know your baby needed glasses?” It used to be that when we went to Snohomish Kla Ha Ya Days (a favorite, small-town festival we look forward to each summer and can’t wait to visit this July, with the sparkling sunlight on the river and the firefighter hose battle’s blinding spray from above)… or a concert at the fair (this year our country music loving boys have picked Jake Owen in August at the Evergreen State Fair in Monroe)… we’d be stopped on the street. “They look like little Harry Potters.” (Answer: Oh, why thank you!) “Look at those teeny, tiny glasses. How did you know he needed them?” (Answer: We didn’t… the doctor did. Shout out #2 for Dr. Janet Barrall!)

But despite the fact that our little family of four is now left in peace while enjoying some of Seattle’s best sights (this summer we’re tackling geocaching as a family sport) I’m still on a personal mission to educate fellow parents about the importance of healthy vision and how to look for signs that your kid may need some help. This weekend at the Washington Brewer’s Festival (can I get a woop woop for all things hoppy!) Transitions lenses, partnering with Pearl Vision, is offering free eye exams at their “Official Sponsor of Sightseeing” booth. What a great Father’s Day weekend outing. Head to the beer-lover-mecca, score a complementary vision screening, and get ready to start your summer off right with a goal of seeing more of what’s around us here in the gorgeous Puget Sound.

- Kat (mom to two amazing kids who are blind as bats like their dad and me)

I received compensation to participate in a SocialMoms and Transitions lenses blogging program. The opinions and ideas expressed here are my own. To read more posts on this topic, click here.  And to check out the cool photo of the day contest visit here.



Sunset Magazine Showcases Brunch at The Coterie Room in the June Issue

Chefs McCracken and Tough's gorgeous restaurant The Coterie Room has been singled-out as one of the best spots in town for a glorious brunch.  Tourists and locals, take note.

Sophie Egan wrote about five Wild Bites you shouldn't miss in Seattle come brunch time and swooned over the Chefs' Smoked King Crab, Cracklins dipped in a "creamy, earthy" Truffle Fondue, and the glamorous chandelier lit room with its lush living wall of greenery we were thrilled to just have gotten showcased on HGTV.com.

Thank you Sunset for recognizing The Coterie Room.

Hanna Raskin of the Seattle Weekly Creates Her List of Ten Best Drink Menus in Seattle. Tavern Law Included.

photo by Kristin Zwiers

The menu is "encyclopedic" as Providence Cicero once wrote.  And the bartenders are "bookish" about their work.  End result?  One of the very best drink menus in the country and the world according to many. 

And now Tavern Law has made it onto the Seattle Weekly's Top Ten in the city list: "Tavern Law makes a point of searching out old, dead, lost, and forgotten mixed drinks and bringing them back to life in as close to their original incarnations as possible, sourcing all manner of super-artisan or ridiculously small-batch liquors and mixers and making everything else from scratch. The resulting drinks are not only some of the best you've ever tasted, but inarguable proof that dedicated, bookish bartenders can be just as creative and artistic as the greatest chefs out there. And also that your great-grandma really knew how to party."

With the sidewalk patio now open, it's an excellent time to go try a new drink on Seattle's Capitol Hill.  Congrats to the team at Tavern Law.  And thank you Ms. Raskin.

Woodinville Whiskey Co. Mashbill No. 9 Bourbon Arrives This Saturday: Read More in These Stories

Thanks to AJ Rathbun for his story: "On the 19th of May, those fine folks at the Woodinville Whiskey Company are releasing their “Mash Bill No.9” bourbon at noon on the old fashioned dot. They’re gonna have sandwiches, good cheer, and hopefully some whiskey songs sung in the round. But most of the all, it’s bourbon on a “get it while you can” availability, so, well, get it while you can. If you need more to grab you, you’re probably a bit daffy. But I’m here to help all, so as one final enticement, a quote from owner Brett Carlile (who owns along with Orlin Sorensen): “As we narrowed down our final selection, one had just the right combination of corn, rye and malted barley — and that’s how ‘Mash Bill No. 9’ was born; it was our ninth recipe.” Yeah, boy."

Seattle Met magazine gave some advance buzz of the "the unveiling of its signature bourbon whiskey, Mash Bill No. 9. – the newest addition to the company’s microbarreled collection" too. (Thank you Allecia!) 

Saturday at noon folks.