Birthday Magic at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park

Birthday Magic at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park

I love it when I discover something new and awesome in the Seattle area. Well, this time the discovery was precipitated by an invitation to a 6-year-old’s farm-themed birthday party at the location, but it works for me.

The Farrel-McWhirter Farm park is a Redmond city park that also happens to be a working farm.

Bunnies, goats, chickens, pigs, cows, horses, and ponies – All kinds of things to make 6-year-old girls squee.

Farrel-McWhirter farm park Redmond
big pig at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park
goats at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park
barnyard at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park

Really, it’s the best kind of city park. You’d never know you were in city limits.

Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park

The 68 acre park includes a preschool, summer camp program, orienteering course, and of course, pony rides.

My daughter was particularly fond of this plywood cow with a water-filled rubber glove that demonstrates how milking a cow works.

learning how to milk a cow at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park

And this magical tree, where she spent quite a bit of time pretending to be a baby eagle.

magical tree at Farrel-McWhirter Park

And, did I mention the pony rides? Because that’s pretty much all I’ve heard about for the past week.

pony ride at Farrel-McWhirter Farm Park
pony ride at Farrel-McWhirter Park
pony ride at Farrel-McWhirter Park
pony ride at Farrel-McWhirter Park

We can’t wait to get back out there for another visit.

Seattle Children’s Museum

Seattle Children’s Museum

Earlier this week, we had a day full of adventure at the Seattle Children’s Museum, which is situated in the lower level of the Armory at the Seattle Center.

childrens museum at seattle center

The museum allowed her to try on differents hats for different careers, such as Fire Fighter, or Bus Driver.

fire engine

The global village showed a little bit about how some people live in a few different parts of the world such as Japan, the Philippines, and Ghana.

rickshaw

COG City was all about machines and mechanics and how things work.

machine

With supplies and opportunity to build a few things on their own.

building supplies

The optometry office was a big hit for our bespectacled girl. She loved having the opportunity to wear the optometrists jacket.

optometry office at seattle childrens museum

She loved getting a closer look at the equipment where she could explore and study it in a way that was not possible when she got her eyes checked at the real optometrists.

She got an eye exam as well

Daddy was a patient patient, and even tried on her glasses.

optometry office at seattle childrens museum

There was a model market where they could practice shopping for food and making healthy choices.

farm fresh vegetable sign in the model market at seattle childrens museum

The scale was a big hit.

weighing her groceries on the scale at the seattle childrens museum

And while we know that all the world is a stage, especially for a 6-year-old, nothing compares to some uninterrupted time on a real stage with mom and dad (and others) in the audience.

stage at seattle childrens museum

And then there was a magical fantasy room, full of books, and fairies, and a happy little girl who really didn’t want to leave.

fairy
castle-door
fantasy

The Seattle Children’s Museum is designed for kids up to ten, but I think where it really shines is for the preschoolers. It’s a lovely place to spend the day with the little ones, especially the toddlers and up to 5 or 6, but I think many kids would outgrow it before they reach ten.

Breakfast and Legos

Breakfast and Legos

breakfast

The summer heat chased us from the apartment early; we were left wandering, in search of breakfast and air conditioning.

What we found were legos.

legos

Lots and lots of legos.

lego collage

We discovered a new cafe/kids play area dedicated entirely to legos – big duplos for the littles downstairs, and upstairs massive amounts of regular legos. The lego table is in the center of the room, with tables for the parents around the outside. It’s called Wunderkind, if you’re interested, and in the Ravenna neighborhood of Seattle. Wifi, coffee, air conditioning, snacks (with many healthy options), beer, wine, sweeping views of the cemetary (hey, its actually quite a serene view) – including peekaboo views of the Blue Angels performance over Lake Washington. Just the break this tired mama needed from the oppressive heat.

I could work, uninterrupted.

coffee and computer

Or, play around on Facebook.

And my girl? She had the best day ever! (her words)

legos are fun
lego table
lego perspectives

We’ll be back.

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This is not a sponsored post.

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This year, I am participating in Susannah Conway’s August Break. Follow the hashtag #augustbreak2015 on various social media to find more posts from participants.

Today’s Prompt is Breakfast.

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The August Break - Susannah Conway
Vera Beautified Me for Get Hitched Give Hope

Vera Beautified Me for Get Hitched Give Hope

I was getting ready for Get Hitched Give Hope, an amazing, annual charity event that pairs wedding planners and vendors with happy couples planning their nuptials, and the proceeds benefit two organizations that support people living with cancer: the Young Survival Coalition and the Dream Foundation.  It was my biggest formal event of the season, and the driving Seattle rain had just gone horizontal.

I was so glad I arranged with Vera to have stylists come to my home to do my hair and makeup. I could get beautified at home in my pajamas, and not have to brave the weather until I left for the party.

My hair likes to frizz and be difficult, and on a rainy day like this, I needed help. Tanya Joseph came over to do my hair.

Since she was right there in my home, I could show her my dress and jewelry, so she was able to make suggestions that would balance the neckline, accessories, and my hairstyle.

I washed it right before she arrived so it was ready for her to get started with a blowout.

photo by Priya Dandawate

And then we had a lovely chat while she did my hair.

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I’m telling you, even in this tiny apartment, I felt like royalty having someone come over to help me get prettied up.

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After Tanya finished with my hair, Megan Yamamoto came over to do my makeup.

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Megan showed up with a coolest tower of tools and sooooo many pretty colors. Her hands worked magic with a palette and a few palette knives, blending colors and shades and consistency to find just the right mix for my skin.

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She listened to my fears about too much color on my face, or the way my eyes get lost in shadows with too much smokey eye shadow.  She found a good balance, and while I was a little nervous at first, I loved the look when she was done.

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By the time they were both done getting me all prettied up, the sun broke through the clouds and we were treated to a stunning rainbow.

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I kept thinking how much easier it would have been to have stylists come to us for my own wedding.

The rain held off for the rest of the night, and I had a lovely time at the event with some of my favorite people.

Get Hitched Give Hope - young survival coalition
Get Hitched Give Hope Raises funds for the Young Survival Coalition and the Dream Foundation

My hair stayed beautiful all night long, with nary a frizz, my makeup stayed put and looked fabulous, and Get Hitched Give Hope raised a lot of money to help people living with cancer while helping a lot of love birds plan their weddings.

Rather successful day all the way around, I’d say.

 Disclaimer: Thank you to Vera and the stylists for providing these services to me for this special event at no charge.

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A visit with Allrecipes.com

A visit with Allrecipes.com

When I stepped off the elevator into the Allrecipes offices, it opened up into a stunning kitchen and dining area. Food is the focal point of everything they do, and the kitchen is where that magic happens.

allrecipes.com kitchen

The stunning view from the kitchen looked out over Westlake Park, and across to the Macy’s building.

allrecipes-kitchen-view

I had no idea that Allrecipes was in Seattle, a start-up born 17 years ago from a few University of Washington students bouncing around ideas for using this new internet thingy in conjunction with database technologies. I think they hit on a winner.

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allrecipes-dining-area

17 years is ancient in terms of social media, and they brought out their experts to give us some pointers

Social Media

  • Don’t simultaneously post the same update on all the social media outlets.
  • Facebook and Twitter and Instagram are used differently by media consumers, take that into consideration when posting.
  • Schedule posts in advance so they go out throughout the day, rather than bombarding readers with multiple posts hitting their feeds all at the same time
  • Kale and quinoa, and other healthy foods are hot right, but if you want a boost, cheesy casseroles are always good for a bump in shares.

Everyone loves grandma’s cheesy casseroles. People love grandmas. Grandmas are hot right now.

Food Photography

  • spritz food with water or olive oil to freshen it up during the photo shoot.
  • a sprinkle of salt or large grain sugar adds sparkle
  • if you are working with whipped cream, adding a little cornstarch during whipping will help it hold up better during the photography session

Of course, they fed us at the Allrecipes event: salad on a stick. That turned out to be quite the cute entertaining idea – the buffet line include kebab sticks with easily pierce-able foods such as ravioli, mozzarella pearls and cherry tomatoes. My favorite combo was watermelon, feta, and mint.

allrecipes-lunch

True to form, combining a bunch of bloggers with a food oriented event meant getting through the line took a minute as we all snapped away as we loaded our plates. Luckily I snapped a couple shots before loading my plate because I quickly realized that I am not graceful enough to juggle photography with a plate full of food.

doughnut-kebabs

Dessert was on a stick as well: strawberry shortcake on a stick. This was doughnut holes and strawberries. Chocolate sauce and whipped cream were provided for embellishing the treat.

a visit with Allrecipes.com

This was such a great event, and I want to thank Allrecipes and Seattle Bloggers Unite for putting this event together. I look forward to delving into all that Allrecipes has to offer, and you can expect more recipes to be highlighted on this blog in the future.