Happy birthday to me! I did a very hilarious and fun photoshoot with my friends Val and Kylie at Bhy Kracke Park in Queen Anne to help kick off and celebrate my 43rd year - and while things didn’t exactly go to plan, we landed some great photos that captured the chaos. This photo in particular kind of reminds me of my header image from my original gossip blog, Studer’s Rumors, which was taken back in April of 2006. What’s funny is that I probably drank way more champagne back then compared to now, though I did enjoy an awful lot of vinho verde on Monday at Bottlehouse. Cheers to another year!

One of my summer goals has been to explore a nearby city or town in the Pacific NW that I haven’t spent much time in and don’t know much about. This is something that I’ve intended to do weekly, which turns out isn’t that easy to do when you’re also trying to be active (spin, pickleball, paddle boarding, and strength classes), volunteer, write regularly, go on tours of things that might interest me, etc.

Faced with an empty day on my calendar, I decided to kill two birds with one stone: I’ve always wanted to go to on the Boeing Factory Tour which is up in Everett, so I decided to make a day of it and explore all that that Everett has to offer.

I had a number of places in Everett that I’ve written on a list in my bullet journal that I’d seen on social media, so after I booked the earliest ticket that I could at the Boeing Future of Flight center, I added all the other locations to a Google map and started planning how to spend the day in the area. Here’s what I ended up doing!

Boeing’s Future of Flight Center and Factory Tour

This tour was VERY cool - I wish I’d gone on it years ago! You start with a brief introduction/orientation and movie about the history of Boeing and airplanes, and then you get on a tour bus and drive over to THE LARGEST BUILDING IN THE WORLD! It’s right here in Washington! And then you enter through the basement and take a giant freight elevator up to a platform above the factory floor, where you can actually see like a dozen airplanes being constructed right below you. The planes in-progress are all labeled with the company that has ordered them (so like, “UPS Cargo” or “Emirates passenger”) and you learn all about where the parts come from and the innovation in materials and you watch the employees ride around the factory floor on bicycles to get from one end to another.

It’s crazy to me that probably most of the airplanes that I’ve been on in my life were probably made right up the road in Everett in the Boeing Factory - something I’d really never thought about. And needless to say, they certainly don’t talk about any of the challenges they’re experiencing… a few days after my tour, the news broke that they had to scrap the first 777 to roll off the Everett line.

Know before you go: Tickets for the tour are about $50. You’ll have to lock up your phone and belongings in the provided lockers (or leave in your car) because you can’t bring ANYTHING with you. I was annoyed that I couldn’t take notes! The tour ends in the gift shop, of course, and then you can browse the gallery and take a turn in a flight simulator!

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Ladun Desserts

I first saw these beautiful sweet treats on TikTok and immediately saved it to my list of things to try if I ever happened to be in the area. Located in a strip mall and frankly kind of far away from the Boeing Factory tour, these fruit-shaped shell desserts are filled with flavored mousses and are so beautiful that it’s almost hard to eat them! They’re about $12 per pastry, but you can also get an smaller assorted box so you can try more flavors.

Narrative Coffee

The three things I look for in a new place are 1) an aesthetic coffee shop; 2) a bookstore; and 3) a stationery shop. With at least one or two of those anchors in place, I can probably build out a pretty nice day - and if I need help finding out what’s cool, I will just ask the employees. I skipped the coffee at Ladun Desserts and headed to Narrative Coffee to caffeinate and do some admin work. I had lunch plans so I didn’t order the food, but it looked great!

FYI: Narrative Coffee is partnered with Gloom Coffee which just opened up a coffee shop in Pioneer Square in the former Elm Coffee space.

Petrikor

This is another shop that I’d seen on social media and immediately bookmarked, but I’m going to be honest with you… there wasn’t much STUFF. I think I bought a greeting card and a sticker just to be supportive, but it was a huge and beautiful space that really didn’t sell much. This was a bit of a disappointment, and unfortunately it was too early in the day to try out the connected bar, Marcel.

The Net Shed + Waterfront

The weather wasn’t nice enough on this particular day to visit Jetty Island but I still wanted to see what was happening on the Waterfront, since I knew they’d hosted massive World Cup Watch parties. The mixed-use waterfront is newly redeveloped and includes restaurants, retail spaces, hotels, apartments, and condos.

I had a delicious bowl of mussels for lunch at The Net Shed, which is a restaurant and fish market at the marina (though the bread could have been better) and then took a walk all the way to the end of the marina (kind of far!) for the views!

Artisan’s Bookstore

I’m real picky about my bookstores, and for some reason I didn’t find this one particularly easy to navigate, so I did a quick walk through of the books and then the attached gift/arts/stationery store. Nothing spoke to me in either place, so it was a quick visit.

I post a social impact job roundup on LinkedIn every Monday as part of the Hype for Good network, and other kinds of roles most Wednesdays for those making a move.

A boatload of new roles have been added to my Notion board, and I also posted a roundup of funding opportunities from a variety of sources - check ‘em out!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

There is SO MUCH happening around town on Saturday, August 15th! I’ll be playing pickleball, visiting my friend Theresa’s art exhibit at Halcyon Brewing (part of the Phinney Greenwood art walk), checking out the Seattle Design Festival, and picking at least a few other things from the list below - making the most of Seattle summer while it’s still here!

• Thursday, August 13 - Capitol Hill Art Walk (links to Chop House Row events)

• Friday, August 14 - Belltown Art Walk

• Saturday, August 15 - Phinney Greenwood Art Walk

• Saturday, August 15 - Jams on Jackson

• Saturday, August 15 - Scrap & Yap with Paper Therapy Club at Lauda (Tacoma)

• Saturday, August 15 - Yonder Cider 6th Anniversary (Ballard Tap Room)

• Saturday, August 15 - Coffee & Flowers at Railspur with Bonhomie and Cafe Beeba

• Saturday, August 15 + Sunday, August 16 - Seattle Design Festival

• Saturday, August 15 - Scarecrow Video’s annual Parking Lot Sale

• Saturday, August 15 - Dahlia Farm Music Festival (Bainbridge Island)

• Saturday, August 15 - Bookstore Romance Day

• Saturday, August 15 - Cafecito & Brunch at Bad Chancla with SPRSSO

• Saturday, August 15 - Occidental Flea Market

• Sunday, August 16 - Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day

• Sunday, August 16 - Adult Skateboarding Lessons for Queer, Women and Trans Skaters with Skate Like a Girl

• Sunday, August 16 - Block 808

• Saturday, August 22 - HAI! JAPANTOWN

• Saturday, September 12 - Pratt Fine Arts Open House + artist demos

• Saturday, September 19 - Walk Don’t Run

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• The results are in on last week’s “tiny experiment” of attempting to eat 30 grams of protein for breakfast… I feel better when I do it. Sigh.

• I am still LOLing at (and feeling bad about) how three of my wonderful friends showed up to surprise me at a 6am spin class on my birthday… the only problem was that I was signed up for the 7am class and so I arrived after they’d already finished class. The thought really counts though - you’re all the best!

• Caught my third NW troll this week over in Issaquah! Only three left to go!

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I didn’t do a very good job of protecting my peace last week. Instead of sticking to my Adult Summer Camp curriculum (which is designed to help me heal from all the terribleness of the last 2.5 years), I devoted a surprising amount of time and emotional energy to participating in Seattle Tech Week.

The impact on my mental health was dramatic.

Anxiety and the negative self-talk that I’ve worked really hard to silence came rushing back. I woke up at 3am to review the RSVP lists so I could prepare for who I’d be excited to see and who I’d have to avoid. I didn’t practice how to answer “how have you been/what are you up to?” and so I either trauma-dumped that my dad died or launched into an overly-detailed explanation of Adult Summer Camp.

I noticed when people who used to enthusiastically say “hello” made eye contact and walked away. I didn’t love wondering if a last-minute invitation was because someone genuinely wanted me there or if they just needed to fill a seat. And I especially didn’t love receiving an email from an event organizer that my registration had been revoked. This was later explained as an administrative mistake, but the emotional damage had been done: I immediately canceled the rest of my registrations and reclaimed the rest of the week.

There were, of course, also many bright spots: I reconnected with people who I genuinely enjoy and don’t get to see very often! I participated in in an axe-throwing competition where I scored the majority of my team’s points, including several bullseyes. (We lost, but I added “ax-throwing” to my list of newfound skills.) And I had the opportunity to join a wonderful panel women discussing about relationships in the era of AI and kinds of connections that only humans can create (pictured above).

But the biggest lesson from last week was realizing how quickly I abandoned the boundaries that I’d created and slipped back into an environment that no longer serves me, or the life I’m trying to build.

I built Adult Summer Camp for a reason: to explore new ideas, opportunities, creative pathways, and healthy habits. Healing isn’t just about adding good things to your life - it’s also about noticing which environments pull you away from your values, your peace, and the future you’re working toward.

So let’s get back to Camp!

Instead of rushing into my next job, I’m spending the summer investing in myself with a curriculum focused on curiosity, health, community, and what’s next.

Learn a New Thing

I took a Honey Extraction field trip with The Pantry and we got to visit an apiary and get up close and personal with the bees! Did you know that there are 20,000 species of bees - but only 11 of them actually produce honey?

We toured one of Catacomb Bee Collective’s cemetery locations in North Seattle, and we got to suit up and watch them open a hive, spot the queen, hold a drone - and then we headed back to The Pantry where we extracted our own honey into tiny jars (which was a sticky bit of work), did a honey tasting, and made a few easy recipes. I immediately went out and bought several bunches of cilantro to make the chermoula from class, and I’ve been putting it on everything.

Volunteer

• I’ve continued volunteering at WestSide Baby on Thursday mornings, and I just love getting to be a “personal shopper”. We basically get a list for each client and go through the warehouses assembling items like diapers and wipes, clothing, and toys and books for each child - and afterwards we go get lunch at Sap Sap Lao Deli!

• Next week, I’m helping to paint a community mural by local artist Mary Ehrlicher at the Aire Craft Festival in Issaquah with Urban ArtWorks! If you’re interested in helping, there are still plenty of spots available!

• I’ve also taken on the arduous task of helping my friend Jason reorganize his woodworking shop. It’s dusty work!

Make Art (even if it sucks)

I took the two-part “Linocut Printmaking: Basics and Beyond” class at Pratt Fine Arts for the second time, and I loved it just as much as the first time! Leslie Nan Moon is the absolute best - you’ve seen her work all over town. The trick to making the most of classes at Pratt is to block off your Friday afternoon/evenings and take advantage of the “Student Fridays” so you can double your time using the press.

If you’re curious, the next Basics and Beyond class is scheduled for November - click here to register.

Reading

I took a break from the Dungeon Crawler Carl series after book 3 so that I could attempt to make some progress on my Summer Book Bingo card. John of John was wonderful but took me quite awhile to get through. But I was sobbing by the end, so I’ve embarked on the audio book of Douglas Stuart’s other book, Shuggie Bain - which I saw described as “a profound and hopeless masterpiece”. Dolly All The Time was great, and Capture My Flag was fun (but read the other two first).

Physical Activity

• I’m 3/4 weeks into my pickleball skills class at Picklewood! Six of my new friends from class rented a court after class so we could keep practicing, and I managed to squeeze in some Open Play yesterday. It’s just so much fun!

• I learn a new lesson every time I take my paddle board out on the lake, and this week’s lesson was, “always clip your keys to something that floats”. We unfortunately learned this the hard way and lost a set of car keys to the bottom of the lake, but I did buy a fishing magnet and am confident we can retrieve them.

• I went back to strength class and I’ve recruited a new enthusiast who is trying to insist we go 3x/week. If you’re interested in joining us, it’s looking like we’re going to be part of a 7am crew on Wednesdays and Fridays for now.

  • FYI: the intro special at Be Here Now is $55 for 2-weeks, and $89 for your first month. But the coolest part is that you can do BOTH specials - so that’s 6 weeks, unlimited strength AND spin. Come try it out!

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• I’m SO PROUD of my friend M. Theresa Mejia who made the big leap to becoming a full-time artist and has hustled to get her artwork in several locations around Seattle this month!

  • Thursday, August 6 - Art Opening Night at Hood Famous in the Chinatown-International District (5-8pm). Come meet Theresa, color a limited-edition postcard, and enjoy Hood Famous desserts and drink specials.

  • Friday, August 14 - Labor Temple in Belltown (5-9pm) - artwork on display all month on the first floor. Postcards available for purchase in the shop!

  • Saturday, August 15 - Halcyon Brewing Company in Greenwood (12-5pm) - part of the PhinneyWood Art Walk

• I attended a Seattle Substack writers meetup a few weeks ago and it was so fun to meet other lifestyle writers publishing on this platform. If you’re looking for more locals to follow, here’s a list, and let me know who else should be added!

  • Let It Simmer by Lindsey

  • Oversharing + Overpouring by Jess

  • Sobre Mesa by Andrea

  • Bungalow 22 by Ayushi

  • Notes from Hannah by Hannah

• My friend Levi is opening up Tumbles in Renton on August 27. Tumbles is a fast-growing franchise with a deeply science-backed approach to getting kids moving and having fun in a friendly and supportive environment. Give them a follow on Facebook and help build some momentum ahead of their opening!

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

I’ve added over 100 jobs to my Notion board since the beginning of July, and yesterday was my 10th post on behalf of the Hype for Good network!

If you're job searching, career curious, or know someone looking for their next opportunity, I hope this helps. And if your organization has an opening you'd like me to include in a future roundup, send it my way!

In case you missed it, I published a roundup of events coming up in August last week, but there are already new additions to the calendar:

• Sunday, August 9 - Analog CAPTCHA Craft at Paper Pushers

• Friday, August 14 - Frye Museum After Hours

• Sunday, August 16 - Homer’s 2nd Annual Summer Market

• Thursday, August 27 - Downtown’s Free Summer Concert Series - G-Flip

• Saturday, August 29 - Aqui Mercado at Occidental Square

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• My “tiny experiment” for the week is to see how I feel if I eat 30g of protein for breakfast. I have been frustrated by my lack of breakfast options, so I when I saw a “protein breakfast bowl” in the frozen section at Trader Joe’s, I grabbed two and decided to just try it out. The bowl was 20g and I made myself an iced coffee with Vital Proteins to get myself closer to 30g. Results TBD.

• I have really been enjoying Threads. I know, I know. But if you kind of miss having a place to put your Twitter-like thoughts, you might enjoy it? I’ve been posting about my Adult Summer Camp adventures and it’s been pretty fun. I just got a ton of engagement on my post about visiting my first WinCo - plus 100+ comments about the best stuff to buy + tips and tricks. Apparently the pizza is amazing!

• The BECU Equity in Action tabs from Intentionalist are SO GOOD this month! You can get free pastries at The Pastry Project and The Wayland Mill, or a free treat or beverage at Kemi Dessert Bar - OR you can get this incredible African Shea Butter at Zara Jo Beauty Supply (I interviewed the owners for Intentionalist last week and came home with the honey peach flavor, and I smell amazing. Seriously have been stopped on the street.)

If you’re new here, I usually share a weekly roundup of events that have caught my eye. At the beginning of each month, I also publish a single guide with all of the month’s upcoming events in one place, which you’ll find below.

Friday, July 31 through Sunday, August 2 - Magnolia Summer Fest

Saturday, August 1 - 5th Annual Stationery Store Day! (nationwide)

Saturday, August 1 - Third Place Book’s Pop Up in the Park (Greenlake)

Monday, August 3 - Slice Night at Cornelly (Capitol Hill location)

Wednesday, August 5 - National Oyster Day - $2 oysters at Half Shell, shucked by Tom Douglas

Wednesday, August 5 - Craft Night at Elixir in the U District!

Thursday, August 6 - First Thursday Art Walk (Pioneer Square)

• Come to Hood Famous Bakeshop to see my friend Theresa’s artwork on display!

Saturday, August 8 - Catacomb Bees Apiary Work Party

Saturday, August 8 - Summer Sun Print Party - cyanotype workshop (Northgate)

Sunday, August 9 - Seattle Print Arts Annual Meeting & Picnic

Sunday, August 9 - Puget Sound Book Festival (Bremerton)

Sunday, August 9 - Outdoor Sketching with Reclaim Clay Collective + Brandt Wong in Hing Hay Park

Sunday, August 9 - Pinch in the Park with Pottery Northwest

Friday, August 14 - Belltown Art Walk

Friday, August 14 + Saturday, August 15 - Phinney Greenwood Art Walk

Saturday, August 15 - Scrap & Yap with Paper Therapy Club at Lauda (Tacoma)

Saturday, August 15 - Yonder Cider 6th Anniversary (Ballard Tap Room)

Saturday, August 15 - Coffee & Flowers at Railspur with Bonhomie and Cafe Beeba

Saturday, August 15 + Sunday, August 16 - Seattle Design Festival

Saturday, August 15 - Scarecrow Video’s annual Parking Lot Sale

Saturday, August 15 - Dahlia Farm Music Festival (Bainbridge Island)

Sunday, August 16 - Capitol Hill Garage Sale Day

Sunday, August 16 - Adult Skateboarding Lessons for Queer, Women and Trans Skaters with Skate Like a Girl

Sunday, August 16 - Block 808

Friday, August 21 - Tarot readings at Friend Museum

Saturday, August 22 - Sips in the Square - Pioneer Square Wine Walk

Thursday, August 27 - Women in Coffee

Friday, August 28 - The Night Shift at Pike Place Market

Friday, August 28 + Saturday, August 29 - The Works Moving Sale

Saturday, August 29 - Chinatown-International District Food Walk

Two Unexpected Winners of “Sports Week”

It just so happened that the first week of Adult Summer Camp coincided with a high concentration of athletic events, so I dubbed it “Sports Week” and leaned in HARD to the world of sports fandom. I think I did everything short of actually attending a World Cup Match at Lumen Field Seattle Stadium! Several of you watched this unfold on my Instagram stories and messaged me that it looked exhausting - AND IT WAS.

If I’m being honest, I was a little glad when the US was eliminated from the tournament because I was exhausted and ready for my life to revolve around more than the World Cup - but also, I discovered two new things that I am excited to spend more time on! Discoveries like this are the entire POINT of Adult Summer Camp - so I now present the two winners of Sports Week:

1. Pickleball!

Learning to play pickleball has been on my “to do” list for like the last three summers, and now with the proliferation of pickleball establishments, I decided to just book myself into an “Intro to Pickleball” lesson at Picklewood and send out calendar invite to some friends with instructions to book the lesson if they wanted to come.

This resulted in five of us showing up; one of us being injured almost immediately; two of us signing up for the beginners open play the following Tuesday; and me signing up for a 4-week skills & drills series that starts this weekend.

Given that I’m a decent-but-lazy tennis player (I don’t like to run), and also a solid ping pong player, I’m convinced that pickleball is the best of both worlds and I’m excited to start playing regularly!

2. Ballard FC

In addition to cheering on the Mariners, the Storm, and every World Cup underdog team, we also bought tickets to a Ballard FC match after we found out that they have added a “margarita garden” to the stadium experience.

Honestly, the Ballard FC match was my favorite of all the sporting events that we went to - and here are all the whys:

1. Everyone genuinely seemed happy we were there. From the bag checkers to ticket scanners to the raffle ticket sellers to the merch staff, everyone was so cheerful!

2. The community booths were actually fun to visit. Local organizations and vendors were engaging and informative. Do I want Link Light Rail to go to Ballard? Hell yeah! Do I support KUOW? You bet!

3. They throw Dick’s Burgers into the crowd when Ballard FC scores. We weren’t lucky enough to catch one, but it’s funny to watch the guy run along the sidelines chucking them at people!

4. The marching band played RAYE’s “Where Is My Husband?” and that is among my favorite songs.

5. The branding and the merch is top-tier. I am literally sitting in a cafe in EVERETT and there are two people wearing Salmon Bay and Ballard FC merch in this coffee shop.

6. Your ticket keeps giving after the game - visit Pagliacci Pizza afterward and you can get a buy-one-get-one slice when you show your ticket!

7. There’s a margarita garden with 1/2 price happy hour drinks before kickoff - happy hour margs are $7.25!

8. The supporter chants are easy to pick up. It only took us one match to join in with everyone else. UP THE BRIDGES!

9. Giving back is woven into the experience. Throughout the match there are easy opportunities to support local nonprofits and community initiatives, and somehow it never feels performative or like you’re being pressured - just invited to participate.

10. You can feel how much the community loves the team. It feels less like attending a sporting event and more like showing up for a neighborhood celebration.

The soccer game itself is high scoring (one of the games we went to had 7 goals!), but what really stands out was how intentionally the entire experience has been designed. Every detail - from the food to the music to the community partnerships - makes you want to come back.

Ballard FC’s regular season just ended - but now we’re on to the playoffs! Click here to learn more and let me know if you’d like to go to a match!

Instead of rushing into my next job, I’m spending the summer investing in myself with a curriculum focused on curiosity, health, community, and what’s next.

Sports Week and World Cup events have certainly dominated the last few weeks, but I’ve been trying to keep up with the rest of my activities as well.

Volunteer

My goal of volunteering weekly has hit a few snags as one of my Westside Baby shifts got cancelled this week, but I spent a few hours back at the University of Washington last week listening to high school students pitch their entrepreneurial ideas as part of a summer program. It was fun to dig into their ideas and dispense life advice!

Learn a New Thing

After signing up and canceling the Red Cross Adult and Pediatric CPR + First Aid class, I finally made it and I am officially certified! Now please join me in praying that that I never have to use these skills.

Make Art (even if it sucks)

We went to the “Junk Journal Jam” at Figurehead Brewing a few weeks ago (last Monday of the month) and while I appreciated the dedicated time to work on my spreads, it wasn't quite the experience I was expecting. It felt more like a shared workspace than a hosted event - the organizer wasn't really visible, and there wasn't much interaction among attendees. Everyone mostly settled in and worked on their own projects. I think I would have enjoyed it even more if there’s been a little facilitation to help everyone feel like we were creating together. That being said, I’d go back! The next on is Monday, July 27.

Visit a Museum or Gallery

I stopped into the Henry Art Gallery prepared to pay for admission because I’m no longer a UW employee, but I was delighted to discover that the museum is now FREE for all (donation suggested, of course).

They were in the midst of installing a new exhibit and so we were only able to wander through the upper gallery that features the Eric-Paul Riege: ojo|-|ólǫ́ exhibit - I’d seen this before but I really enjoy the textile sculptures.

I post a social impact job roundup on LinkedIn every Monday, and another post with non-impact-related roles on Wednesdays.

I added 50 new roles to my Notion job board in the last two weeks, and after a brief World Cup-related hiatus, I have resumed posting non-impact roles on Wednesdays!

In other news, the Hype for Good squad of volunteers met via Zoom for the first time this week, and it was so great to connect with my new friends who are all about sharing opportunities and helping good people find good work. I’m excited for the follower growth we have all seen personally (and through Hype for Good) in the last few months - with much more to come!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

It’s PNW Climate Week (July 13-19) and while I’m already booked and busy this week, there are a number of events that I might try to check out if my schedule allows - you know how I love a good “behind-the-scenes” tour!

• 🚌 7/17 - King County Climate Action: Zero Emission Bus Base Tour
  See the design, construction, and operational planning behind King County Metro's transition to zero-emission buses.

• 🌱 7/17 - Farm to Clinic Tour: Where Sustainable Agriculture Meets Community Health
  Tour Marra Farm, learn about urban agriculture, and explore the connection between healthy food, public health, and government programs.

• 🐳 7/18 - Volunteer to Restore Salmon Habitat with Whale Scout
  Get outside and help restore salmon habitat that supports Southern Resident orcas.

Thursday, July 16 - Queen Anne Day at the Farmer’s Market

Saturday, July 18 - Pinch in the Park with Pottery Northwest (free, hands-on pottery, no experience necessary)

• Additional dates include Aug 1st, Aug, 9th

Saturday, July 18 - Hustle on The Pier - dance lessons!

• Additional dates include: July 26th, Aug 15th, & Sept 12th

Friday, July 25 - Saturday, July 25 - Summer Warehouse Sale at 210 Seattle

Friday, July 24 - Pike Place Market Night Shift

Saturday, July 25 - 15th Avenue East’s annual “Patio Party”

Saturday, July 25 - Bonhomie + Lenox Brunch collab (reservations recommended)

Thursday, July 30 - Fremont on the Rocks (cocktail walk)

Saturday, August 1 - Third Place Book’s Pop Up in the Park (Greenlake)

Sunday, August 9 - Seattle Print Arts Annual Meeting & Picnic

August 27 - Women in Coffee

Q2: Quarter in Review

I looked back at my Q2 goals (April–June) at the beginning of the month, and to be honest, my first reaction was disappointment. There is a lot of red below (aka things I didn’t accomplish).

But after sitting with it for a bit, I realized those things just weren’t the most important work of the quarter.

What mattered was saying goodbye to my dad. Figuring out what life looks like now that I’ve lost both of my parents. Wrapping up my time at UW and feeling proud of the work I did. Keeping my body moving (I’ve done 111 spin rides since last September!). And beginning to design what’s next.

So because I said I would share, here’s my Q2 goals update. Sharing for accountability and to remind everyone (myself included) that the most meaningful progress probably isn’t measured by a checklist, no matter how much I want it to.

Organization:

• Update beneficiaries

• Write a will/medical directive

• Update my emergency contacts and let them know they’re my emergency contacts!

• Come up with a process for writing this newsletter

Fitness:

• Go to spin 3-4x/week for a total of 40 classes - I went to 25 but also I hit the 100 ride-milestone! Go me!

• Add strength back to my routine - I’m still scared of being so sore :(

• Use all 3 of my guest passes - I used 2 out of 3 of my monthly guest passes for Be Here Now - let me know if you want to come

• Go to yoga a few times?

Creative Effort:

• Complete Indie Bookstore Day challenge! - did this and then some! 45 bookstores in 3 days = South Sound AND Seattle bookstore day challenges are complete!

• Read Designing Your Life - I switched this to reading Tiny Experiments

• Get a tattoo! - I missed the April window for this because you need to avoid sun, so I’ll be moving this to the fall/winter goals.

• Work on holiday cards - I’m signed up for a new linocut printmaking class later this month where I’ll be practicing my designs.

Health Improvement:

• Drink Water - I really suck at this!

Books:

• Read 5 books I already own - I read 5 books, but I bought several of them even after Indie Bookstore Day!

Trip:

• Take a PNW Weekend Adventure! This turned into 4 weekend trips to California

• Complete the Indie Bookstore Day Crawl

Take a Class/Learn Something:

• Complete Watercolor Class at Seattle Central

• Complete Digital Marketing Class

• Build something with Claude

In case you’re interested, I use this template for quarterly goal setting - this is separate from my annual goals. The categories were developed by my friend Val and I’ve been using it for a year!

That’s all for this week - thanks for being here!

If you’re new here, I usually share a weekly roundup of events that have caught my eye. At the beginning of each month, I also publish a single guide with all of the month’s upcoming events in one place, which you’ll find below.

July brings us two industry-themed weeks (PNW Climate Week and Seattle Tech Week), which are great opportunities for networking but also really exhausting. While I may attend a few events here and there, I’m mostly looking forward to spending all the sunny days on my new paddle board, taking a linocut printmaking class, and adventuring around the PNW!

Thursday, July 2 - First Thursday Art Walk

Sunday, July 5 - World Cup Watch parties - Mexico v. England

Sunday, July 5 - RnB + Ribs in Pioneer Square

Sunday, July 5 - Partners in Print - Summer Block (Print) Party

Monday, July 6 - World Cup Watch parties - US v. Belgium

Monday, July 6 - Bob Ross Challenge at Figurehead Brewing

Monday, July 6 - Beyond the Pitch at Populus Hotel

Thursday, July 9 - Volunteer Park Summer Concert Series

Thursday, July 9 - Ann Pachett at Seattle Arts & Lectures

Friday through Sunday, July 10-12 - Ballard Seafood Fest - see you in line at the scallop truck?

Saturday, July 11 - Hoste in West Seattle Turns 3! with soft serve by Cassetta

Sunday, July 12 - Silent Reading at the Seattle Center’s Mural Ampitheater

Monday, July 13-19 - PNW Climate Week (150+ events in WA, OR, British Columbia)

Tuesday, July 14 - Volunteer with me at WestSide Baby!

Wednesday, July 15 - Electric Butter’s Women in Marketing Meetup

Wednesday, July 15 - Canlis Kickback - World Cup Semifinals at 11:30am

• I have 2 standing room tickets available - $20/each, message me if you’d like to come!

  • Read more about the Canlis Kickback experience here and here

Friday, July 17 - Edmond’s Night Market

Saturday, July 18-19 - Book Larder’s Annual Cookbook Sale

Saturday, July 18 - Pratt Fine Arts Summer Market

Friday, July 24 - Pike Place Market’s new “Night Shift” (fourth Friday arts + music night)

Saturday, July 25 - Paint Your Own Bookish Mug at Lovestruck Seattle

Sunday, July 26 - Summer Zine Fest

Monday, July 27-31 - Seattle Tech Week (150+ events across the Seattle region)

Tuesday, July 28 - Deadline to enter the Seattle Spice Challenge

In June, I wrote about all the ways I’ve watched the World Cup (without actually going to a match); my untraditional career transition plan (aka Adult Summer Camp); how my latest season of grief looks and feels a lot different than the last one; and much more! Catch up with my month of June below:

Don’t forget: Saturday, August 8th is my annual Birthday Float, and it’s time to get your ticket! We will all meet at Fall City Floats, board the shuttles, get in the water and link up and float down the river! If this sounds fun, follow the steps below and let me know that you plan to attend so I can start a group chat.

1. Book a ticket through Fall City Floats for the 11:15am time slot

   • Book 11am or 11:30am if the 11:15 slot is full!

2. Rent a tube AND a shuttle pass.

   • If you own a high-quality floatation device (not the kind that you blow up with your own lungs), then just get the shuttle pass.

3. The float is an all-day affair! Plan to leave Seattle around 10am-10:30am to arrive in time to get your wrist bands, pack/re-pack the coolers, and apply sunscreen. We’re on the water for 4-5 hours, depending on how fast the river is flowing. You will probably be back in Seattle around 6:30pm.

4. Carpooling is recommended. Designated drivers are required.

5. Wear water shoes! Bring dry bags! Get a waterproof phone holders!

Today is my first official, full day as a person without a job, and I've been busy every single minute simply trying to get organized for what's ahead. In between the hours spent writing this newsletter, I've been frantically cleaning my kitchen (houseguest incoming!); tending to my outdoor apartment garden and researching what to do about my catnip plant, which has gotten delightfully unwieldy; getting a manicure that I'm not entirely happy with; checking in on my quarterly goals and trying to cross a few more off before the end of the month; and packing up my supplies to head to a "junk journal jam" this evening (the results of which I'll share next week!).

There’s a lot of new subscribers this week (hi! hello! welcome!), so here’s a quick peek of what’s inside this week’s newsletter:

• (At least) 10 local businesses you may or may not know

• 2 great non-profit organizations that I happily supported last week

• How/where I’m watching the World Cup matches in Seattle

• An update on the world’s least traditional career transition plan (aka, my Adult Summer Camp)

• And more! You may need to click “view entire message” if it gets cut off in your email client…

Also as a heads up, Wednesday is July 1, so I’ll be sending out my monthly “July Events” newsletter edition with all kinds of things to put on your calendar.

I’m on a quest to have as many World Cup watching experiences that Seattle has to offer, and last week I checked off two more.

The Barge + Pier 62

Thanks to Laura and Intentionalist, I scored a VIP ticket to the Seattle Soccer Celebration Barge for the Friday evening to watch the New Zealand versus Belgium match.

The Barge itself is very cool - not crowded at all, plenty of room to see the screens. There are Adirondack chairs up front, which would be nice if you can get there early enough. On this occasion, we had VIP tickets which meant we had separate access to the upstairs areas where they were also serving free food (not much to write home about - hot dogs and chips and salsa, mostly). But if you’re on the Barge, you also have access to Pier 62, so you can bounce between both experiences.

Over on Pier 62, it’s a bit more crowded but you can still see the screen from just about everywhere, and there are more interesting food trucks and sponsor and merch booths. I was super impressed with both experiences and I’m going to be so sad when the World Cup is over!

Pacific Place

I’ve seen people on social media pooh-pooh the Pacific Place activation but I’m here to tell you it’s an awesome use of our once-thriving downtown mall and a great indoor watch party option. First of all, the three stacked screens in the main atrium are enormous and it’s cool to see people lining the balconies.

Plus, the entire second floor on the North side of the building has been gutted and reinvented as an open fan zone, where there are bars and snacks, interactive displays and booths, activities for kids, more seating and there are screens everywhere.

While sadly, I don’t think that this activation is turning into tons of business for the small businesses in the building, it’s definitely worth checking out!

UPDATE: Canlis Kickback

I went to my third (and final) Canlis Kickback and we felt like big spenders, so we ordered the punch (which has increased in price by $25 since the last time I was there) and the fried chicken and caviar which was really good (but also $100). Neither of these experiences are essential to having a nice time, but now I can at least say that I had everything that Canlis had to offer - except the popsicle, which I am regretting.

I believe that the rest of the Canlis Kickbacks are sold out, but they always have tricks up their sleeves, so you might want to keep an eye out on their page.

UPDATE: New Pioneer Square Cocktail Bar

I also went to Pioneer Square before the Egypt/Iran match and learned that there is a week-old cocktail bar in Pioneer Square called Spaces Available (a very confusing name) that’s taken over the space formerly occupied by the boutique Velouria - or right next to Cone & Steiner on King Street. If you’re ordering cocktails, just know that the service takes awhile. But they did have plenty of space available!

Still to be experienced:

• Seattle Center - Mural Amphitheatre or the Armory

• Pier 62 (as a regular attendee and not a VIP Barge-ticket holder)

• The giant screen in front of the first Starbucks IN the Pike Place Market - still unsure if this is happening again!

Instead of rushing into my next job, I’m spending the summer investing in myself with a curriculum focused on curiosity, health, community, and what’s next.

Today marks the first full week of my self-assigned summer camp curriculum, but I took a few categories for a test drive while I wrapped up my final week of work at UW.

Volunteer

I completed my first volunteer shift at WestSide Baby and it was so fun! Our volunteer responsibilities were simple: to sort donated clothes by gender, size, and category. Other volunteers were acting as “personal shoppers” and fulfilling lists of clothes, diapers, wipes, books, and toys for individual families.

WestSide Baby collects and then distributes basic children’s items like clothing, diapers, and wipes to families in need through their network of partners. I learned several things that I didn’t know:

1. A newborn uses up-to 14 diapers a day!

2. Unlike food or health insurance, diapers are not covered by any federal assistance programs - and the cost of diapers rose 12% between 2019 and 2021. Low-income families spend up-to 14% of their monthly income on diapers alone.

3. In 2025, WestSide Baby donated $2.62 million worth of diapers, clothing, equipment, and essential items to 28,687 families - and nearly 1000 volunteers made it happen!

4. Children’s clothing sizes make zero sense.

We enjoyed it so much that we’re already signed up for our next shift on Tuesday, July 14 from 5-7pm. Sign up to volunteer and join us, and we’ll go get slices at Proletariat Pizza after!

Learn a New Thing

I took my new paddle board out for it’s maiden voyage last week at Magnuson Park, and it was everything I’d hoped it would be and more! We picked Magnuson so that anyone who didn’t own a board could easily rent their from Sail Sand Point, and we spent several hours just floating around!

Among the things I learned:

1. How to pump up my board with this cutie mini pump - an absolutely essential item

2. How to use my board and install the fin, etc.

3. That I need to remember to put ice packs in my cooler!

My car is packed and ready to hit the beach as soon as the nice weather returns!

Make Art (even if it sucks)

On Saturday I attended the Paper World Stationery Expo and this is just a fraction of my haul, which has now been fully organized and incorporated into my ever-growing stationery collection. I honestly didn’t get as much as I expected! I practiced restraint (plus, I already owned a lot of the things that were being sold), AND I realized that what I really need to do is attend the Chicago Stationery Festival (May 16-17, 2027) because I think there will be more vendors that I’m interested in. So now we’re planning for that!

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• My friend Theresa’s Snail Mail Club is now accepting new subscriptions for the July drop - if you’d like to add some handmade JOY to your mailbox, subscribe to MTM Art Studio’s mail club now!

• Want to win your very own Scallop gift box full of awesome products from local entrepreneurs? All you have to do is enter the Summer Spice Challenge!

  • Make a spicy food creation. Post a photo or video. Tag @ScallopBox and use #SeattleSpiceChallenge. Enter by July 28 for a chance to win a Heat Wave gift box. One winner will be chosen for creativity, and one winner will be drawn at random. Open nationwide.

I post a roundup of social impact jobs on LinkedIn every Monday and all sorts of other roles every Wednesday for those making a move.

Last week I added 18 new roles to my Notion board, and I’ve noticed a real slowdown on social impact-focused roles, which I think we can chalk up to the summer. Be sure to share it with anyone who is on the hunt - I do the scrolling so they don’t have to!

Share Seattle by Sarah

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• Apologies if you’ve already heard me talk about this, but I am obsessed with the Dungeon Crawler Carl series and I love seeing little fan tributes to the series out in the wild. For example, Maeve Chocolates has a Virgin Dirty Shirley chocolate bar made in honor of Princess Donut, and I was thrilled to discover that Phinney Station was serving “Donut’s Desperado Dirty Shirley” as a slushie drink. So no I’m now a mission to find more around town - let me know if you’ve seen any!

• To celebrate the start of this new chapter, my friend Val took me to lunch at the Edgewater and then we spent the afternoon reading our books in the lobby and over the water. Highly recommend!

• I attended the Dress for Success “Summer Soiree” at Block 41 as a guest of my friend Annie, who is one of their newest board members, and I won an amazing raffle package that includes an overnight stay at the Adrift Hotel in Long Beach, spa gift certificates, hair salon gift certificates and a ton of products, two tickets to Pumarosa’s candle-making experience, and perhaps most importantly, two passes to Neko Cat Cafe. Let me know if you’d like to go with me!

That’s all for this week - thanks for being here!

We have been BLESSED with perfect weather in Seattle for the last week (temps drop and rain returns Thursday FYI) and it’s been a very lively week and I am so eager for my summer of fun to start in earnest. That being said, if last week is any indication, it is actually possible to have TOO MUCH fun, so I’m intentionally adding a weekly day of rest to the calendar after reading a post about “7 forms of rest”.

Watching Seattle come alive for the World Cup has been so much fun! Shout out to anyone and everyone who has been involved. The crowds have been massive but in a fun way, the bars seem pretty prepared, and soccer fans are super nice. Even my friends who “hate crowds” have been enjoying themselves!

Here’s the updated version of my World Cup watch schedule, with a few tips and tricks below:

• Tuesday, June 16 - Canlis Kickback Preview

• Saturday, June 20 - Canlis Kickback (Netherlands v. Sweden) at 9am

• Saturday, June 27 - Canlis Kickback (England v. Panama) at 2pm

• Wednesday, July 1 - Free Watch Party at Pier 62 (I have 3 extra tickets available)

• Friday, July 3 - Barge Watch Party

• Monday, July 6 - Free Watch Party at Pier 62 (I have 3 extra tickets available)

Canlis Kickbacks

Tickets for the next round of Canlis Kickbacks will go on sale at 12pm (noon) on July 1st for the remaining July matches. Tickets are just $10 per person, plus another $10-15 if you’d like to reserve a table for a group of 4 or a group of 6 people. There are 5 televisions throughout the space, and all tables have a great view. There’s also a dedicated giant television in the non-reserved seating space which is great too!

Doors open 30-minutes ahead of the match, and if you’ve reserved a table, you have to vacate your table before the next match starts, but you can still stay onsite and move to the non-reserved-tables section.

The limited food options are all very good which is to be expected, but I tried them all just to be able to report back. The menu includes al pastor nachos, hot dogs, hot honey or buffalo wings, a flatbread mezze platter with baba ghanoush, tzatziki and a tomato/cucumber salad (this is the only vegetarian option) or an order of fried chicken and caviar for $100 (lol).

Drinks include cocktails (old fashioned and margaritas), beer (including a bucket of Rainier for $30), and most impressively, an $110 punch that can only be shared by groups of six! It’s delicious. And dangerous - proceed with caution.

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Waterfront Watch Parties

I haven’t been to the official free-but-ticketed Pier 62 waterfront watch party experience (yet), nor have I been on the not-free barge (yet), but I DID go to the Pike Place Market overlook and I was pretty surprised that you can both see the screen and hear the announcers calling the match from way up above on the steps of the waterfront overlook.

So even without tickets down and in the crowd, this was still an awesome place to sit in the sun, drink a coffee, and soak in game-day vibes. If you work downtown, I recommend picking up lunch from the new Afro-Brazilian spot Baiana or a sandwich from Friends of Carmela, grabbing a coffee from Boon Boona and heading there during your lunch hour.

Pioneer Square

I walked through Pioneer Square just to check out the vibes on my way to another event, and I just so happened to be there for the Mexico match and Occidental Mall was PACKED with fans! Now I don’t know if they’re showing every match, but if they are and you have a favorite team that you want to support (like Capo Verde, anyone?!) this would be a very fun mostly-standing-room outdoor place to watch. Grab a soft serve from The Pastry Project while you’re there!

We watched the USA match from the Dutch bar, The Meyer, which doesn’t have a great television situation but did have really friendly bartenders and a very friendly crowd. Another friend watched from what he calls “the secret alley bar” (formerly known as Casco Antiguo and Golden Roosters but no idea what it actually is now). If it’s anything like it’s predecessors, then it should have plenty of screens and televisions.

Pier 58

A series of events and favors for a friend led me to Pier 58 early in the morning of the first USA match, so I got a front-and-center spot for the pre-game Men in Blazers show.

Do I know what that is? No. Was Marshawn Lynch one of the guests? Yes. Will this activation return if Team USA wins their next game and return to Seattle for a July 6 match? No idea! But it was still fun to be there and I had a delicious donut from Zuri’s Gourmet Donutz which was popped up in a donut van just outside of the festivities.

Still to be experienced:

• Pacific Place - the massive screens look awesome and I’m going to pop in here when it starts raining later this week - great to have an indoor option! There’s also a whole fan experience where you can get swag and freebies. Be sure to check out the businesses currently occupying the storefronts in the mall while you’re there!

• Seattle Center - Mural Amphitheatre - several people told me they thought this wasn’t happening, but I’ve seen multiple posts on social media that the lawn in front of the outdoor theater has been packed (particularly for the USA matches). So unless I’m only seeing AI-generated content (which would be so lame), I think the matches are being shown both on the lawn and inside the Armory.

• The giant screen in front of the first Starbucks IN the Pike Place Market - this may have also been a one-time thing for the USA game but the photos looked insane!

I think that wraps up my World Cup watching experience so far - hopefully there are some useful tips in there! Where are you watching the matches? And LMK if you want to come one of the free watch parties on the waterfront July 1st or July 6th!

I post job roundups on LinkedIn every Monday and Wednesday for those making a move.

I was a bit concerned when I combed through my saved posts on LinkedIn to pull together this week’s Hype for Good roundup and discovered that there were only THREE social impact job opportunities that met our criteria of paying a living-wage in Seattle of $80K+. Then I realized that it’s officially summer and so this might be the new normal for the next few months (particularly with the World Cup happening here in Seattle - no one’s getting anything done!).

At the end of this week, I too, will be on the job market, but I remain optimistic about my options and will be spending the summer having lots of fun, but also doing these things:

1. Reconnecting with former colleagues and re-expanding my network (aiming for 3 meetings/week).

2. Refresh my resume, LinkedIn profile, and build a portfolio. I want to create a list of all the things I’ve spoken at, organized, etc. This will require going DEEP in the archives.

3. Get clearer about what I actually want - I always recommend Designing Your Life for this, but this time around I’m incorporating the tools from Tiny Experiments!

4. Volunteering - my first volunteer commitment is tomorrow at Westside Baby!

5. Learn something new that might result in a new story! I’m taking a honey-extraction class - I wonder what life lesson that’s gonna teach me along the way?

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• I had a few hours downtown in between meetings, so I did some bopping around newly opened shops like Tender Loving Empire, Makers, and the not-new Seattle Art Museum gift shop, where I found the cute hat pictured on the left - and many other fun things too. I just love a museum gift shop.

• We stopped by the Fremont Solstice parade during our epic Saturday day-of-fun, and I’m happy to report that the parade is as whacky as usual and the naked cyclists are still very naked. I also discovered that there’s an adorable polka-dotted street in the neighborhood with the most awesome community of neighbors that got permits to close down their street for a weekly Friday block party. I want to live there!

• My tomato plant (the one that I purchased mostly-grown) has produced it’s first three tomatoes and I have never felt more proud. My radish harvest, on the other had, produced mostly greens and radishes that looked more like toothpicks. Oh well.

That’s it for this week - thanks for being here!

Welcome to the world’s least traditional career transition plan.

I’m wrapping up my contract role at the University of Washington and spending Summer 2026 focused on a different kind of education: learning how to rebuild after two years of grief, loss, professional upheaval, and living in survival mode.

Since I’ve spent much of my career designing programs and learning experiences, it only makes sense for me to approach this next chapter the same way. Rather than creating a summer bucket list or Bingo card, I’ve created a curriculum.

So I present to you: Adult Summer Camp.

At its core, my version of Adult Summer Camp is a Mind, Body, and Soul reset.

Mind

• Get to a place where I can make career decisions from curiosity rather than fear. Explore new industries and options that would benefit from my skills. Work with an executive coach to break free from the negative personal narrative I’ve developed over the last few years.

Body

• Build strength, confidence, and energy through weekly spin classes, strength classes, personal training, regular paddle boarding and tennis lessons!

Soul

• Reconnect with creativity, play, and community. Learn new things! Read from my giant stacks of books!

To make sure this doesn’t become another nice idea that lives in a notebook somewhere, I’ve been building out structured weekly goals.

Volunteer - 1x/week

I plan to venture beyond the corners of Seattle I already know and spend time volunteering, supporting non-profits, and showing up where help is needed. Here are the first five places where I’d like to lend a hand:

1. Westside Baby - first shift is scheduled for 6/23!

2. Community Lunch - a daily opportunity to help prep food and serve lunch to my neighbors in need.

3. Seattle Recreative - sorting art supplies sounds like a dream come true.

4. Rainier Valley Food Bank

5. Bloodworks NW - how do I get to be one of those people who hands out the snacks?

Explore an unfamiliar town in Washington - 1x/week

I’m going to become a tourist in my own region by visiting a new Washington town each week - exploring places I've driven past, heard about for years, and somehow never gotten around to visiting. Here are a few of the destinations that I’ve built full-day itineraries around so far:

• Vashon Island - I know, I know - I’ve never been to Vashon Island - but that changes now! I want to go to the Strawberry Festival and spot another Thomas Dambo troll.

• Everett - did you know that there’s a man-made sandy island called Jetty Island that you can take a small ferry to for a beach day? I also want those fancy fruit pastries from Ladun.

• Federal Way + Fife - how many times have you driven by the signs on I-5 for the PNW Bonsai Museum and Rhododendron Garden and just wondered what the heck those are? Plus, the Emish Market is constantly popping up on my social media feed and I need to know what the hype is. And it’s Wild Waves final season, and I’ve never been, so…

Make Art (even if it sucks) - 1x/week

If you've spent any time with me lately, you've probably heard me talking about some random class I've signed up for - digital marketing, linocut printmaking, and most recently watercolor painting. I don’t really care if I end up being any good at these things - I'm not building a portfolio! I'm trying to rebuild parts of myself.

• Linocut Printmaking: The Basics and Beyond - I took this class last November and loved it so much that I signed up again. The real trick behind this class is to take advantage of the open studio hours that they offer weekly - that way, you can double your time on the press.

• Bob Ross Challenge night at Figurehead Brewing. Figurehead has a ton of fun-looking events and I’ve always wanted to spend more time at breweries anyway. The best painting of the night gets put on display for the month!

Learn a New Thing - 1x/week

This goal is simple: learn new things. Some will be useful, some will be ridiculous!

• CPR + First Aid Course - I’ve booked and canceled this class more times that I can count, but I want to make sure I don’t feel helpless in an emergency!

• Honey Extraction - here’s something that I can’t learn on my own, so I signed up for this field trip via The Pantry.

• Pickleball - I just KNOW that I’m going to love pickleball - but I can’t find anyone to teach me and simply showing up at the courts is too intimidating. I’m hoping Picklewood will add some more 101 sessions to their calendar soon!

Visit a Museum or Take a Tour - 1x/week

By now, you must be sensing the theme: go places, learn things, and stay curious. Museums and tours feel like an easy way to do all three. Here are a variety of options - some I’ve done, most I haven’t!

• Henry Art Gallery - I visited for all of 15 minutes a few months ago and I was totally blown away - what a cool space!

• Burke Museum - haven’t been back since they opened!

• Frye Art Museum - this is in my neighborhood but I’ve never gone!

• Boeing Factory Tour - I’ve heard this is cool!

• Cannonball Arts - I snagged a ticket for Saturday, July 25!

Believe it or not, I have even more categories in the works. I have an entire Seattle Sports week in which I go to a Mariners game, watch the World Cup match on the barge, go to a Storm game, AND go to a Ballard FC match. There’s the “Gaming” week that I outlined in a previous newsletter. I’m hoping to add a “culinary” category into the mix as well, though my ideal scenario of going to Farm Camp with The Pantry doesn’t seem to be in the cards for now.

Add in Summer Book Bingo, Silent Reading nights, Summer Nights at the Olympic Sculpture Park, Volunteer Park concerts, coffee meetings, working with an executive coach, writing this newsletter, regular exercise, and plenty of Vitamin D?

Summer Camp starts now!

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

New Additions to the Stationery Collection

A few weeks ago, I declared that I was on a stationery-buying hiatus ahead of the upcoming Paper World Stationery Expo coming up on June 27, but approximately 72 hours later, I found myself with an extra hour in Pioneer Square and so I had no choice but to stop by Outpost Stationery. I picked up a small journal to accompany my bullet journal for more free-flowing thoughts that aren’t well-served by the bullet system, as well as three items in the marigold yellow category.

• Sikigu Panorama Note Accordion Style Notebook

• PISTACHIO Notebook (Life N79)

• A mini yellow triangular ruler (similar)

• An adorable gel pen that looks like a pencil (similar)

The stationery-buying ban is now officially back in effect and the countdown to Paper World is on!

100 Rides!

I don’t consider myself a very physically active person, but I’m starting to rethink that now that I’ve completed 100 workouts at at Be Here Now - and most of them at 6am! I started back on September 2025 and have been spinning my wheels towards this goal ever since. They do such of wonderful job of celebrating our milestones and I’m really grateful for the community. This is the most consistent I have ever been with an exercise routine in my entire life and it feels great.

OFFER: If you want to give spin a whirl, please let me know and I’ll book you on my guest pass for July!

Gifts for Grads (and others!)

With another professional chapter coming to a close, I decided to pull together my favorite goodbye gifts for teams that I’ve worked for (and split amicably from, lol). All items were purchased personally, and I most highly recommend all of them if you’re looking for a thoughtful gift for a graduate or someone going through a life transition!

• Designing Your Life (one of my favorite books for people in transition)

• Tiny Experiments (my NEW favorite book that’s guiding my summer - I discovered this book after I’d purchased DYL and felt strongly enough about it that I decided to get them both)

• A Leuchtturrmm 1917 notebook in varying colors with 120gsm Superior Paper (this is a very important detail, should you be in the market!)

• Writech Pen set for journaling that includes 5 pens and 2 highlighters

• A card with a personal note - and yes, I’m kicking myself for not making them!

I’m so glad that I decided to get on board with the World Cup activities a week ago, because things really heated up and ticketed events are selling out! I just tried to grab some extra tickets to the floating Barge and discovered they’re gone!

Here’s my ticketed schedule - but if I’m not at these places, I’ll either be at the Seattle Center, Occidental Park, or Pacific Place. Also, I’m on a quest for the Bank of America charm bracelets - anyone know where to find them?

• Tuesday, June 16 - Canlis Kickback

• Saturday, June 20 - Canlis Kickback (Netherlands v. Sweden) at 9am

• Saturday, June 27 - Canlis Kickback (England v. Panama) at 2pm

• Wednesday, July 1 - Free Watch Party at Pier 62 (3 tickets available)

• Friday, July 3 - Barge Watch Party

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

My friend Val’s company, Scallop, is launching a fun summer challenge, and as someone who has very strong opinions about chili crisp and hot honey, I am happy to help spread the word.

What’s the most unexpected thing you’ve ever put hot sauce, chili crisp, or spicy honey on?

Scallop Box wants to see your most creative spicy creation - the weirder, the better.

Post a photo or video of your most creative spicy creation, tag @Scallopbox on Instagram, and use #SeattleSpiceChallenge.

Entries are open through July 28th and two winners will be selected - both will receive a Heat Wave box!

• Most Creative Entry, judged by Val and a small team of makers

• Random Drawing, because you don’t need to be a culinary genius to win

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

It was my 3rd week of posting roles as part of the Hype for Good efforts, and I am excited that the crew will be getting together via Zoom next month so that I can learn from everyone else!

There are 25 new roles (impact and non-impact) in Seattle, Olympia and Portland on my Notion board this week - please share with anyone that could use some reassurance that companies are still hiring and opportunities are still out there!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

Saturday, June 20 - Taste of White Center

Thursday, June 25 - Hoste After Hours

Saturday, June 27 - Bait Shop Pride Party

Thursday, July 9 - Volunteer Park Summer Concert Series

Saturday, July 25 - Paint Your Own Bookish Mug at Lovestruck Seattle

Continued Reminder: Saturday, August 8th is my annual Birthday Float, and Fall City Floats has just opened up reservations for the summer.

• Book a ticket through Fall City Floats for the 11:15am time slot

  • Book 11am or 11:30am if the 11:15 slot is full!

• Be sure to rent a tube AND a shuttle pass.

  • If you own a high-quality floatation device (not the kind that you blow up with your own lungs), then just get the shuttle pass.

• The float is an all-day affair! Plan to leave Seattle around 10am-10:30am to arrive in time to get your wrist bands, pack/re-pack the coolers, and apply sunscreen. We’re on the water for 4-5 hours, depending on how fast the river is flowing. You will probably be back in Seattle around 6:30pm.

• Carpooling is recommended. Designated drivers are required.

  • Fun fact: BuzzBallz were banned after the 2024 float.

• Wear water shoes! Bring dry bags! Get one of those waterproof phone holders!

I ran into some friends I hadn’t seen in person in a long time last Friday, and as we were catching up, one of them said, “Sarah, life looks like it’s going really well - you’re always out and about doing so many things!”

While the second half of that statement is true (I am out and about doing so many things), the first half felt wildly disconnected from reality. The last two years have been some of the hardest of my life, both personally and professionally. As I proceeded to unload the condensed version of those two years onto them (we were at a party, after all), I was reminded yet again that social media is, at best, a highlight reel.

In this particular season of grief, I am still showing up in the world the way that most people are used to seeing me: last week, I attended a fundraiser for Westside Baby, the soft opening of The Pastry Project’s soft serve window, and I completed my 7-week watercolor class and my 9-week digital marketing class. Go me!

But if you look closely, there are signs. I missed posting my weekly Wednesday LinkedIn job roundup. I paid $40 in cancellation fees for workout classes I couldn’t bring myself to attend. I spent four nights battling stomach cramps, nausea, and terrible sleep (a medication side effect? grief? who knows?). The number of messages I haven’t responded to is probably approaching triple digits. My rosemary and mint plants are so crispy that they can’t be saved.

My father’s death wasn’t an out-of-the-blue shock like my mom’s, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not being plagued by grief-brain. I think that I’m just better at appearing functional.

I still go to the events. I still take the classes. I still write the newsletter! I still find things to be excited about - like all my summer plans, which I’ll share next week. But underneath all of that, I’m your very sad friend whose dad died two weeks ago, whose contract is ending in a few weeks, who has spent much of the last two years navigating so much loss, uncertainty, and a frankly ridiculous amount of life admin.

The version of me that shows up on social media isn’t fake - those moments are real. They’re just not the whole story.

Okay, enough about my emotional state - let's get to this week's newsletter.

In last week’s newsletter, I started an outline of all the events/activities that look fun during the World Cup in Seattle. I also said that I was kind of disappointed by how Seattle was showing up so far, but I’ve decided to change my tune. This podcast episode from The Daily really helped - I highly recommend! Even though it feels like most people are treating it like a big inconvenience (myself included - until now!), it’s actually really cool. I think we’d appreciate it more if soccer was more popular in the USA… everywhere else, FOOTBALL IS LIFE!

Anyway, with my newfound excitement, I’ve decided to take advantage of as many of the cool activations that are happening around town as possible - and so here’s how my personal World Cup schedule is taking shape:

• Thursday, June 18 - “Welcoming the World” Night Market at Pike Place (5-10pm)

• Saturday, June 20 - Kickback watch party at Canlis - Netherlands v. Sweden (I have 1 extra ticket for this! DM me!)

• Saturday, June 27 - Kickback watch party at Canlis - Panama v. England (I have 1 extra ticket for this! DM me!)

• Saturday, July 3 - Seattle Soccer Celebration on the floating soccer pitch barge! Tickets are $52 and I’m going to the Round of 32 viewing party at 5:30pm - grab a ticket and come along. I intentionally selected tickets later in the series so they have everything figured out by the time our event rolls around.

• Viewing parties at Pacific Place (aka Seattle Soccer House)- have you seen the giant screens they’ve installed in Pacific Place? They’re HUGE! Could be a fun and energetic spot to watch!

I’ll continue to lock in more plans next week and keep you posted - let’s make it fun!

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

7-Week Watercolor Painting Class

I finished my beginning watercolor painting class at Seattle Central this week! The 7-week course walked us through the basics of watercolor, each week we focused on a different color, learned a different technique and how famous artists used the technique in their work.

Every week I debated whether or not to show up or bail, was tired, but then halfway through I felt my brain turn on and my creativity ignite - and I learned that watercolor painting is really hard, and that there are some techniques that I like much more than others. Each week, the two hours flew by and I am proud of myself for stretching that creative muscle consistently.

We were forewarned that it was unlikely that we’d create any masterpieces in class (so true), but we were instructed to keep everything we painted until the final class, where we’d fix it. The “fix it” class was where I truly blossomed and got my first “very good!”, so we really ended on a high note. While I enjoy playing around with water colors.

Interested? Sign up for Watercolor Painting - Beginning at Seattle Central College (Capitol Hill - Broadway). The next course starts the week of July 8. $265 for one class/week for seven weeks.

Lady Yum Delights Again

I mentioned a few weeks ago that Lady Yum in Pioneer Square is meeting the economic moment with their $7 glass of bubbles and a cookie deal, and because I’d had such a delightful experience, I decided to order a macaron tower for one of my final events of the quarter. I inadvertently chose flavors that resulted in a tower that looked like a Christmas-theme, but it was a huge hit with the students and delicious. Highly recommend if you’re looking for a surprise and delight!

New Inciardi Mini Print Vending Machines in Seattle

There are FOUR new Inciardi Mini Print Vending Machines in the Seattle-area - there are two machines at the brand new Makers on 1st and Pike, and two new ones at Hello Robin’s UVillage and Bellevue locations.

Makers also has full-size prints, mystery packs, enamel pins, keychains and more. They use a token system so you’ll have to go up to the register and ask (each print is $1 = 2 tokens), and they’re super generous about them. I asked how many I was allowed to get, and they said “well 50 would be a bit excessive, but the average that people ask for is 20.” How refreshing to not be restricted by the number you can buy!

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

It was Week 2 of posting social impact jobs for the Hype for Good network on Mondays, and I skipped posting last Wednesday because I simply didn’t have the energy for LinkedIn. But there are still TONS of jobs on my Notion board - check ‘em out!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

• Wednesday, June 10 - LGBTQ + Allied Coworking with GSBA at the Labour Temple

• Saturday, June 13 - Orange Goose Coffee Maker’s Mart

• Sunday, June 14 - Coffee + Crafting Club at Nudibranch

• Saturday, June 20 - Taste of White Center

• Friday, June 26 - Fremont Fridays return (through September 11)

• Saturday, June 27 - PaperWorld Stationery Expo - I was recently alerted to the fact that some of my stationery-loving friends don’t have tickets to Paperworld Expo! VIP tickets are long-gone, but General Admission tickets are still available!

Don’t forget: Saturday, August 8th is my annual Birthday Float,
and Fall City Floats reservations have opened for the summer. We will all meet at Fall City Floats, board the shuttles, get in the water and link up and float!

1. Book a ticket through Fall City Floats for the 11:15am time slot

   • Book 11am or 11:30am if the 11:15 slot is full!

2. Rent a tube AND a shuttle pass.

   • If you own a high-quality floatation device (not the kind that you blow up with your own lungs), then just get the shuttle pass.

3. The float is an all-day affair! Plan to leave Seattle around 10am-10:30am to arrive in time to get your wrist bands, pack/re-pack the coolers, and apply sunscreen. We’re on the water for 4-5 hours, depending on how fast the river is flowing. You will probably be back in Seattle around 6:30pm.

4. Carpooling is recommended. Designated drivers are required.

5. Wear water shoes! Bring dry bags! Get one of those waterproof phone holders!

Are you excited for the World Cup matches in Seattle? I thought I’d feel more enthusiastic, but to be honest I’m a little bit disappointed. When I look around town, I certainly don’t feel like Seattle is ready to “welcome the world” - it’s still a mess out there with tons of construction and things are looking kind of grimy - have you seen the trash littering the beams at the Capitol Hill light rail station? For some reason I thought we’d be getting a bit of a glow up?

Even though I don’t expect to go to any matches (though I’m definitely available to be a +1!), I’ve been keeping an eye on where to watch and other happenings around town, so I thought I’d share what I’ve found so far.

Seattle Match Schedule (be aware for traffic purposes!)

• June 15 (Monday): Belgium vs. Egypt (12:00 PM PT)

• June 19 (Friday): USA vs. Australia (12:00 PM PT)

• June 24 (Wednesday): Winner of Playoff A vs. Qatar (12:00 PM PT)

• June 26 (Friday): Egypt vs. Iran (8:00 PM PT)

• July 1 (Wednesday): Round of 32 Match

• July 6 (Monday): Round of 16 Match

Things Worth Knowing:

• We have a hometown hero to cheer for - Seattle Sounders player and former UW Husky Men’s Soccer star Cristian Roldan earned a spot on Team USA!

• UW has put together a cool resource: check out “World Cup: The Syllabus” where you can learn all about the history, arts, the stadiums, culture, protest and resistance!

Where to Watch:

• Various dates: tickets are now on sale for the floating waterfront barge! Tickets are as low as $52 for a 4-hour watch experience with giant screens. This is unique enough that I’m planning to go at least once!

• Thursday, June 11 - watch Mexico v. South Africa at Sirenito Seattle (opens at 12pm, match starts at 1pm)

• Friday, June 12 - watch USA vs. Paraguay Screening at Sky Church at MOPOP

• Saturday, June 13 - Australia Watch Party at Victory Hall

• WeRise Wine Bar - hosting tons of Watch Parties!

• Kangaroo & Kiwi - watch party central for Australian matches, showing all games live!

• Immersive Watch Experience at Pacific Place - large screens!

Related Events:

• Icons of Soccer Artifact Spotlight at MOPOP

• Monday, June 15 and Wednesday, June 24 - Beyond the Pitch at Populus Hotel (2-6pm)

  • A Post-match set from Supreme La Rock transform Firn into a pre- and post-match refuge where guests can discover Stella Artois draft specials from Anheuser-Busch.

• Thursday, June 18 - “Welcoming the World” Night Market at Pike Place (5-10pm)

Here’s what’s on my radar this month -
compiled from previous newsletters and with a few new additions!

Tuesday, June 2 - Capitol Hill’s Tuesday Farmer’s Market begins (though September 29)

• My neighborhood’s mid-week market returns this week which means that my summer berry consumption is about to skyrocket. I was extra-excited to see Hellenika Cultured Creamery and Askatu Bakery in the Tuesday lineup!

Thursday, June 4 - First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square

Thursday, June 4 - The Pastry Project’s Soft Serve Summer Opening (3pm)

Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 7 - Taxidermy Classes

Friday, June 5 through Sunday, June 14 - Portland Book Week

Saturday, June 6 + Sunday, June 7 - Puget Sound Bird Fest

Saturday, June 6 + Sunday, June 7 - Charlie’s Queer Book Fair

Saturday, June 6 - Squeaky Dog Studios Pride Pet Portrait Session at Yonder Cider

Sunday, June 7 - Bad Chancla celebrates 2 years! (12-4pm)

Monday, June 8 through Friday, June 12 - Deep Tech Week Seattle

Tuesday, June 9 - Ignite Seattle

Tuesday, June 9 - That’s What She Said Stories at Armoire

Saturday, June 13 - Georgetown Carnival

Saturday, June 13 - Pasta & Pilates at Studio Forma

Sunday, June 14 - Seattle ReCreative - Drop In Volunteering

Thursday, June 18 - Pike Place Market “Welcoming the World” Night Market (5-10pm)

Saturday, June 20 - Belltown Mural Festival Block Party + Paint Jam

Sunday, June 21 - The Seattle Glow - Balloon Festival at the Seattle Center!

Monday, June 22 - Grants for Artists Projects applications due (up-to $2500)

Friday, June 26 - PopRox Dance Studio Pride Party (free entry, free classes!)

Saturday, June 27 - PaperWorld Stationery Expo

• I am SO EXCITED FOR THIS!!! I am on a stationery-buying ban starting tomorrow so that I can GO CRAZY at this expo!

• As mentioned, I was in California for my niece’s graduation and was thrilled to have a reason to buy her one of those UW giant chain medallions to wear after the ceremony. We went out for lunch at Luna Mexican Kitchen afterwards, and my sister and I had two margaritas each and then passed out at about 6pm. On Sunday, we had another celebration with extended family and friends at Maggiano’s.

• I was delighted to return home last Tuesday to discover that my tomato plants have itty bitty tomatoes on them! They are so cute! And I harvested my very first radish, which was just as satisfying as I had hoped.

• Ever so grateful for my friends who went to Ikea and picked up the tiered cart and this lamp from the new collection. The cart is bigger than I thought, but it is SO CUTE. And no, I haven’t figured out what to put in it yet.

That’s it for this week - thanks for being here!

Seattle by Sarah

Just when I was getting my groove back...

Greetings from my sister’s kitchen island, where I’m writing this instead of writing my dad’s obituary. Yes, you read that correctly. “But didn’t she recently lose her mom?” you might be thinking. Also yes! My mom died in August 2024 and I was in charge of everything related to her estate, emptying and selling her house - an extremely painful process th…

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3 months ago · 3 likes · 1 comment · Sarah

I think part of how I cope is by trying to create meaning from loss, and since I’m among the first in my friend group to experience the loss of a parent (now both parents), I want to make the process slightly less excruciating for others! But if death/grief isn’t your jam, you might want to skip this week’s edition.

Also, one of my strange superpowers in grief is being able to talk about it very frankly and openly - but please know that composure in public does not mean I’m not crying constantly in private. In fact, the facial recognition thingy at airport security didn’t recognize my face today because my eyes and face are so swollen.

My 97-year old father passed away last Thursday, and I’m once again aboard a rollercoaster of grief. The last time I went through this I didn’t have a newsletter where I could share tips and strategies to make this easier if (when) it happens to you, so I thought I would break down that morning and share a few insights that might be useful.

Thursday, May 21

5:35am: My alarm startles me awake after a sleepless night spent tossing and turning (I’d had a very potent Vietnamese coffee the day before). Big day ahead: I have to be in the office at 7am, and the first of three events back-to-back-to-back (!) starts at 8am.

I’m mentally calculating how long I can stay in bed and still be on time, trying to figure out my outfit for the daytime events, and debating how best to transport my blazer for the evening. I’m going to be on stage, interviewing the CEO of one of my favorite companies and I still need to narrow down the list of questions so that our fireside chat fits into a 15-minute window.

5:39am: I have been awake for four minutes. My phone starts to ring and it’s my sister, calling with the news I’ve been dreading for months: our dad passed away about an hour ago. I go physically numb but my brain start playing mental gymnastics - how fast can I get there? What needs to be done? Do I really need to go TODAY - on the day of these big events - or will it be okay to arrive tomorrow? How much will a last minute flight cost? Do they still offer bereavement fares? (The answer to that is maybe, depends on the airline, and you have to CALL them. So basically, no.)

6:12am: I call my boss to figure out what to do - the team is short-handed for the series of events in the first place, and I’m pretty sure I could be present and make it through the day?? I offer to do my best…

6:26am: My boss calls me back and tells me the team has it covered (of course!). I start texting friends to find out if they can feed Yeti the cat and water my plants. Thankfully, since they supported me through this when my mom died, they all have keys to my apartment and know exactly what to do.

6:35am: I’m booked on 9:40am Southwest flight to San Jose, CA (never flown Southwest before and it’s $400 for a one-way ticket) and I start frantically packing. I’m freezing cold, hyperventilating, and I keep repeating to myself, “you’re okay, it’s okay, you’re okay”. I briefly look at the weather and throw a really bizarre combination of clothes into my suitcase. I’m usually an organized packer but this time nothing is folded.

7:05am: Debating whether to hop on the light rail (free) or take an Uber ($75)?

7:11am: I’m in an Uber.

8:12am: I’m through security and drinking a Bloody Mary and eating a sad breakfast burrito and trying to be inconspicuous about the tears rolling down my face.

8:15am: My sister calls to say that she’s just sitting there with my dad, and waiting for the hospice team to call her back with recommendations for mortuaries. Should she just start to look for them herself? I say yes.

8:52am: My younger brother calls. Fortunately he happens to be traveling to the US from England anyway and had a layover in New York City, so he calls me to find out what is going on. For the second time in our lives, I tell him that our parent has passed away.

9:40am: Flight departs (sidenote: Southwest was a great experience! They served two rounds of snacks, and take your drink orders so they don’t push a snack/beverage cart up and down the aisle).

11:39am: Flight lands in San Jose, CA

11:57am: My sister picks me up, and I immediately tell her to take me somewhere to buy a notebook.

The notification that this email is reaching it’s length limit just popped up, so I’ll leave it here for now, but I’ll plan to share additional tips about the next phases of this experience in a future newsletter. For now, it’s back to writing the obituary (which by the way, will cost $700-1,000 to print in one newspaper) and navigating what comes next. But to sum it all up: FML (again).

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I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

Excited to share that my hobby of posting jobs on LinkedIn now has a slightly more official home: I’m joining the crew of volunteers at Hype for Good as the Seattle Co-Lead! 🎉

I’ll be sharing Seattle-area social impact roles every Monday through Hype for Good, with a focus on opportunities paying $80K+. I’ll still maintain a broader range of roles on my Notion board, too!

I’ll also be amplifying volunteer opportunities from my friend and fellow Seattle Co-Lead Annie Barker on Tuesdays, because community engagement matters just as much as career growth.

Keep an eye on my LinkedIn page and Notion board for all opportunities!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

May 27 - Seattle Design Festival proposals due

Friday, May 29-31 - Launch Your Pause Retreat (only a few spots left - message me if you’re interested!)

Saturday, June 13 - Georgetown Carnival

Saturday, June 13 - Pasta & Pilates at Studio Forma

Monday, June 22 - Grants for Artists Projects applications due (up-to $2500)

Friday, June 26 - PopRox Dance Studio Pride Party (free entry, free classes!)

Wednesday, July 15 - Electric Butter’s Women in Marketing Meetup

August 1 - Stationery Store Day

Don’t forget: Saturday, August 8th is my annual Birthday Float! Book a ticket through Fall City Floats for the 11:15am time slot (11am or 11:30am if the 11:15 slot is full!).

August 8-9 - Smol Art Mart

Friday, September 18 - Edmonds Night Market

September 26 - CID Night Market returns!

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• If you’re in need of a place to take a call or answer emails in between meetings, head up to the second floor of the US Bank Center on 5th Avenue which has an interesting public art collection, including a 1989 Chihuly flower sculpture.

• Anh Ơi Bake Shop is now open in the Chinatown-International District and I highly recommend visiting while the mobile Aufe Coffee is in residency! It’s part of the Seattle Restored program which does such a great job activating empty storefronts throughout Seattle and helping revitalize the city. Be sure to check out the incredible cookie flavors and other featured bakers!

• My apartment garden is thriving and it makes me so happy. I’m growing tomatoes, radishes, cat nip, lavender, thyme, mint, lemon balm (for my neighbors rabbits), rosemary, and lettuce. It’s so fun.

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Summer 2026 coincides with yet another (expected, and welcome2) twist in my professional life: my contract at the University of Washington is winding down and it’s time to start thinking deeply about what’s next. It’s been great to be back on my old team and working with students, and I’m grateful for the eight months of stability it provided - but I’m ready to turn the page and start a new chapter.

Even though it’s a wildly precarious time to be seeking new employment opportunities, I’m pretty optimistic. What I offer a team isn’t something that AI can replace - and in fact, I think my skills for community building, storytelling, and experience design are going to be even more valuable.

So I’m not going to spend my time panic-applying for positions. Thanks to the sale of my mom’s house, I have a SMALL safety net that’s giving me something incredibly rare: a little bit of breathing room to think about what I want to do next.

How am I going to spend my time? By creating my own personal version of adult summer camp - an experiment rooted in three things: mind, body, and soul.

Mind

For the last two years, I’ve approached career decisions from a place of survival, urgency, and fear. This summer, I want to practice making decisions from curiosity, confidence, and possibility!

To get there, I’ll be working with an executive coach to unpack some of my mental barriers, challenge old patterns, and think intentionally about what I actually want my next chapter to look like. We’re actually helping each other out - she’s beta testing a new coaching method and I’m one of her first guinea pigs!

Body

I’m currently in Week 2 of Be Here Now’s “Routine is Sexy” challenge and attending 4 workout classes a week. The first week, I took 4 spin classes. The second week, I did 3 spin classes + 1 strength class. My goal is to keep up with 3 spin classes/week and work up to 2 strength classes, and I’m going to experiment with personal training so I can gain some more confidence in this area of movement - it’s new for me, but I want to feel strong, capable, and energized!

Bonus: last summer I discovered that I really enjoy paddleboarding, so I’m buying an inflatable SUP and will be prioritizing lake time!

Soul

I’ve been inching my way towards soul restoration with things like art classes, writing, and trying new experiences for while now. Honestly, starting this newsletter has already been one of the biggest examples of that. I’ve written newsletters for other people for years, but I wanted to get back to having my own voice again.

A huge part of this summer will also be the “Adult Summer Camp” curriculum I’m designing for myself: each week will have a theme and I’ll be exploring each theme with classes, creative experiments, and little adventures! For example, one theme is going to be “Gaming”. That week, I want to:

• Go to the weekly “Go” night at the community space near my house

• Finally learn how to actually play pickleball

• Go to an arcade

• Download a new game on my Switch

• Invite friends over for a board game night

• Casually play cards at a bar or maybe learn to play poker.

I’ll share more about the Adult Summer Camp curriculum next week as I’m still locking in on the themes and details, but if any of this resonates with you, I’d love to hear from you. I’m determined not to spiral every time I open LinkedIn - instead, I’m going to use this rare window of time to invest in my personal infrastructure: resetting my mind, body and soul. Watch this space! 👀

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• You may have seen that the Ballard Light Rail extension is in jeopardy due to rising costs. Seattleites voted to fund this back in 2016 and now it’s being walked back. If you care about this issue, the Save Ballard Rail has six action steps you can take to make your voice heard! (H/T to Jameson for calling my attention to this!)

• I was absolutely delighted by the arrival of the first edition of MTM Art Studio’s snail mail club! If you’d like to add some joy to your mailbox, subscriptions are now open for June!

• I’m so happy to have a new headshot on LinkedIn, courtesy of Val T. who has been taking photography classes! My last headshot was from 2023 and while I loved it, it now carries the memories of the dark times (professionally speaking). While Val isn’t planning to launch into the business of headshots, she’s available to take a few pics here and there. Let me know if you’d like to connect.

• I’m starting to think about the World Cup in Seattle and looking for all the fun events and watch parties - if you see something that looks cool (like the floating barge!) send it to me and I’ll do a feature on where to watch the matches (if you’re not in the stadium) in a future newsletter. Also, if you need a buddy to take to one of the games, I’m always available as a last-minute +1.

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Monday + Wednesday for those making a move.

I added 24 new roles to my job board on Notion this week, and I have a fun little announcement about a new effort to amplify social impact jobs and volunteer opportunities in Seattle (and across the country). Announcement drops Monday morning at 9am (PST), and I’ll share here in next week’s email.

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

May 17-23 - Little Free Library Week (and there’s a Bingo card!)

Various Tuesdays (through September 1) - Bird Watching + Puffin Cruises

May 22 - Downtown Seattle Art Walk + Art Market at Parnassus

May 24 + September 6 - Overlook Walk Book Pop-Ups at the Waterfront Park

May 31 - Low Tide Beach Tours at Tacoma Narrows Park and Dash Point State Park

June 5-7 - Taxidermy Classes

June 6-7 - Puget Sound Bird Fest

June 6 - Squeaky Dog Studios Pride Pet Portrait Session at Yonder Cider

Don’t forget: Saturday, August 8th is my annual Birthday Float, and Fall City Floats has just opened up reservations for the summer.

• Book a ticket through Fall City Floats for the 11:15am time slot

  • Book 11am or 11:30am if the 11:15 slot is full!

• Be sure to rent a tube AND a shuttle pass.

  • If you own a high-quality floatation device (not the kind that you blow up with your own lungs), then just get the shuttle pass.

• The float is an all-day affair! Plan to leave Seattle around 10am-10:30am to arrive in time to get your wrist bands, pack/re-pack the coolers, and apply sunscreen. We’re on the water for 4-5 hours, depending on how fast the river is flowing. You will probably be back in Seattle around 6:30pm.

• Carpooling is recommended. Designated drivers are required.

  • Fun fact: BuzzBallz were banned after the 2024 float.

• Wear water shoes! Bring dry bags! Get one of those waterproof phone holders!

• Optional: stop at the Snoqualmie Casino afterwards?

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• I have a goal of getting a photo with every Seattle sports mascot and I got a new series of photos with Sammy the Sounder on this weekend at the Sounders FC v. LA Galaxy match. My rule is that the encounters have to be spontaneous, which means that I can’t just go to an event where all the mascots are present - I have to run into them in the wild, if you will. I’ve got Sammy, Blitz, the Mariners Moose, and I’m still chasing Buoy, Doppler, Harry/Dubs, and Humpy!

• I stopped by Lady Yum in Pioneer Square for a sweet treat and was delighted to learn that they still offer the deal of the century - a macaron cookie and a glass of bubbly for just $7. Way to meet the moment, Lady Yum - we CAN still have nice things in this economy!

  • 📍Lady Yum (116 S. Washington St, Seattle, WA 98104) - open 10am-10pm

That’s all for this week - thanks for being here!

All things considered, I did manage to have a pretty nice day. I cried/sweat/laughed (in that order) my way through the grief-themed spin class at Be Here Now (who knew that *NSYNC’s “Tearing Up My Heart”, in the context of Mother’s Day, could be so cathartic?), stopped by the farmer’s market for my favorite lentil/cabbage combo from Geni’s Ethiopian Corner, painted and bedazzled concrete mushrooms with my besties, and ate leftover pizza and chocolate pudding for dinner while tending to my ever-growing collection of seedlings and starts in my urban container garden.

Reading that back makes me pretty proud of how far I’ve come since last year, when I thought it was a great idea to fly back to Colorado ON Mother’s Day to continue clearing out her house. I’ll never forget leaving the airport and seeing a giant electronic billboard along the highway that read: “HAVE YOU CALLED YOUR MOTHER YET?” I was so caught off guard that I nearly ran off the road!

I also fielded some very sweet messages from friends and other Club members, which reminded me that I’ve got some of the very best people in my corner, and I am deeply grateful. 🫶

I’ve got a few more tears left in me today, so I’m going to go cry those out while I finish folding my laundry. But next week I’m excited to share more about how I’m building out my Adult Summer Camp schedule, and my Summer BINGO challenge - I hope you’ll play!

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• Feeling stuck? My friend Theresa is hosting Designing Your Life: Support + Momentum Circle on Friday, May 15 at Bonhomie (just before Friday Coffee!) - sign up in advance so she knows to expect you!

• The World Affairs Council’s Excellence in AI and Global Leadership Exchange (EAGLE) program is seeking home stay hosts for 21 youth leaders ages 15 - 18 and three adult mentors (25+) from Kosovo, the Republic of Korea, and the United States. They will visit Seattle from June 22-July 5 for a program focusing on AI, technology, and global leadership, and they need more host families to welcome these leaders for a 13-night stay. Click here to complete the interest form if you’re able to help!

• What’s been your favorite class that you’ve taken in Seattle and the surrounding area? I’m sourcing ideas for my summer of fun.

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

I added 24 jobs to my Notion board this week, including internships, entry-level through senior positions. I’ve started adding a * if there’s a connection I can make.

Visit the job board

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

Friday Coffee returns to Bonhomie Coffee at the Labour Temple this week from 10-11am - let me know if you intend to attend! Last Friday’s coffee at Nudibranch worked out just fine (plenty of parking and the same rate!), but I’m going to be popping in and out of a conference on Friday that’s closer to Bonhomie - plus I have it on good authority that they’ll have a new pastry offering from Pufftown Bakehouse that I really want to try!

May 14 - Chophouse Row at Capitol Hill Art Walk

May 15 - Seattle Flow’s Startup Day

May 19 - State of Technology Luncheon, hosted by the Tech Alliance

May 21 - Dempsey Startup Dinner + Awards Ceremony (invite-only, but in case you haven’t registered, don’t forget!)

May 21 - Seattle Chamber of Connection Arts & Culture Club Fair

May 21 - Seattle Waterfront Shuttle starts (free through September 7 with stops at Seattle Center, Waterfront, Pioneer Square and Chinatown/International District)

May 31 - Community Day at Cannonball Arts (pay-what-you-can)

June 4 - The Pastry Project’s Soft Serve Summer Opening (YAY!)

June 5-14 - Portland Book Week

July 12 - Silent Reading at the Seattle Center’s Mural Ampitheater (5-7pm)

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• It’s been a crappy week in general - I woke up on the wrong side of the bed on Wednesday and just couldn’t recover, the speaker went off-script at my event on Thursday which resulted in a sleepless night as I fretted about damage control, and my apartment is a mess. In general, I’m out of sorts! But on the positive side, I got my hair done for the first time in 6 months, went to spin class 4x this week, got some happy mail from my snail mail subscriptions, and found some treasures at the West Seattle Garage Sale!

• I started (and promptly finished) the book that I bought AFTER my Indie Bookstore Day book-buying extravaganza - Dogs, Boys, and Other Things I’ve Cried About by Isabel Klee. You probably know her from her foster dog chronicles on social media - she’s one of the best things on the internet. It was a great read and I definitely cried at the end. I want a dog (and a Jacob!)!

• I picked up flowers from the Pike Place Market on Tuesday morning at 8am, and I couldn’t help but feel like I skipped a chapter of my Seattle experience by never having a job somewhere in the market. Even though it’s popular for locals to hate on it for all the tourists and the idiots who try to drive their cars down the street, I just love the Market - and it IS mostly car-free these days!

• What’s your favorite class or new experience that you’ve tried as an adult, that resulted in a long-lasting commitment to the activity? Drop it in the comments, please - in-person, hand-on experiences only!

I’m happy to report that we survived Independent Bookstore Day (barely1), and that we successfully reached our goal of visiting 44 bookstores in 3 days. In fact, we even visited a 45th bookstore just to be extra about it - something that I was proud of and feeling quite smug about until I learned that another duo completed 58 bookstore visits in the last week. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s not a competition…

I don’t know how to approach a proper recap of the entire experience, so I thought I’d break it down and start with everywhere we ate along the journey - that way, you’ll have a useful list of recommendations, should you ever go on a book crawl. I’ve also listed each stop’s corresponding bookstore. Let’s get into it:

Day 1:

1. Borrowed Kitchen Bakery - Kingston, WA (Saltwater Books)

   We had about a 30-minute window between getting off the ferry and the bookstore opening - and we really needed coffees. Luckily Borrowed Kitchen was right next door to our first stop, Saltwater Books. We grabbed coffee, breakfast sandwiches and burritos, and a cinnamon roll to hold us over while we waited.

2. Blackbird Bakery - Bainbridge Island, WA (Eagle Harbor Books)
   My friend Susan won’t go to Bainbridge Island without getting an order the toast from Blackbird - she is very passionate about it and would also tell you to order an entire loaf of bread to bring home with you. I personally haven’t been bewitched by this toast, so if you try it, let me know if you think it’s worth the hype.

3. Northwest Lumpia - Tacoma, WA (we visited after Grit City and Hi-Voltage Books, and before we went to King’s Books)
   Did you know that there is a DRIVE-THRU lumpia window in Tacoma that’s only open 2x per week for three hours, and you have to pre-order your lumpia (hot or frozen) in advance and pick it up a a specific time? Oh and that it’s incredibly delicious and had me questioning if I’ve ever even had good lumpia? Timing is everything with this place but I am so proud I thought to put it on our route because it really hit the spot. Order ahead because they sell out!

4. Harry’s Beach House - West Seattle (Paper Boat Booksellers)
   I usually LOVE Harry’s Beach House, but if I’m being completely honest with you, this was the one downside of the entire day. I’d made a reservation for 8:15pm (timed perfectly with our last bookstore closing at 8pm) but we ended up having to wait until 9pm to be seated. The staff bought us a round of drinks, but I was so tired and hungry that I just couldn’t enjoy it. Then I nearly choked to death on the fiddlehead fern risotto (see footnote). Put a real damper on an otherwise great day!

Day 2:

1. Hey Bagel - U Village (Nook & Cranny Books)
   The first bookstore opened at 9am, so we hopped in line at Hey Bagel for straight-out-of-the-oven bagels and fun schmears. We got there around 7:40 and the line wasn’t too bad (they open at 8am). We each got two bagels so that we had a car snack later.

2. Stillhouse Coffee - Edmonds, WA (Edmonds Bookshop + East West Books)
   Okay the line was super long here and caused us to fall behind in our schedule, but the drinks were really good.

3. Friends of Carmela + Rojo Juice Co - Pike Place Market (Left Bank Books)
   We changed up our route after visiting Edmonds on account of the downtown bookstore’s closing hours, so we ended up in the Market around lunchtime. Luckily we knew just where to go - the newly opened Friends of Carmela! (I wrote about their soft opening a few weeks ago.) We grabbed sandwiches for the car ride, and freshly pressed juices from Rojo Juice Co and devoured them on our way up to Queen Anne Books.

4. Pidgin Cooperative - Fisherman’s Terminal (Magnolia’s Bookstore)
   We had planned to go to Pidgin for lunch if time had allowed, but due to our switcheroo, we ended up there for dinner instead. We ordered a bunch of snacky things to share, including the rice cakes which I order every time. Turns out my friend Tiffany is one of the co-owners (it’s worker-owned!) and she brought us a delicious dessert to end the day. I’m excited to hang out here more in the summer - they have a great patio and there’s plenty of parking and great views of the fishing boats.

Day 3:

1. Supreme Dumplings - Bellevue, WA (there aren’t any indie bookstores in Bellevue, so we stopped by on our way from Brick & Mortar Books in Redmond to Island Books in Mercer Island)
   We started our third and final day around lunchtime, and I had my heart set on dumplings. Supreme Dumplings was great, although I am now realizing that they have many locations and that I actually meant to take us to The Northern Dumplings. Regardless, we had soup dumplings, spicy wontons, hot and sour soup, shrimp friend rice, and a cucumber salad - the perfect fuel for the final leg of the journey.

2. Poquitos - Capitol Hill (Elliott Bay Books)
   Not so fun fact: Oddfellows is closed on Monday and we didn’t know this in advance. We ended up at Poquitos because it was the next-closest option that wasn’t Lost Lake or the Comet. It happened to be “Ocho Hour” and everything was only $8 bucks, so we ended our adventure by crossing “make a millennial toast” off our Bingo cards and eating wings and chips with all four of their dips.

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• Mother’s Day is next weekend and you have until the end of today to order a gorgeous “Me Time” Scallop Box that will arrive on time, and includes a handwritten note!

• My friend Nicole is looking for a operators who are AI-curious but not AI-converted to give her feedback about a product she’s working on. If you find that the manual stuff is eating you alive and you have recurring tasks that you won’t delegate because quality matters too much, take a look at her LinkedIn post and reach out if you’d like to give it a shot.

• My friend Theresa is launching a snail mail club and just sold out her pre-orders for the first drop - congratulations! I’m sharing this for visibility and once the next month’s orders go live, I’ll encourage you to sign up!

  • Theresa is also coordinating a Designing Your Life working group - if you’re interested in working your way through the book, let me know and I’ll connect you.

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

I added 17 new opportunities to my Notion board this week, and I also figured out how to get some very basic data on the traffic to the board. I hear anecdotally that the lists are helpful, but I’m sort of curious about the correlation between my LinkedIn post impressions versus people who actually click over to the full Notion page. I’m even more curious if it actually matters if I post the link to Notion in the body of my post or in the comments (a stupid LinkedIn quirk that I hate). In short, results are inconclusive and I’m not going to think about it anymore.

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

We’re going to a NEW LOCATION for this week’s Friday Coffee2! This week we’ll be at Nudibranch Coffee on 12th & Madison in Capitol Hill.

This is Seattle’s newest Thai-inspired coffee shop - they took over the space formerly occupied by Mighty O Donuts right on the corner. While parking will not be as easy as the parking is in Belltown, I wanted to try something new that will hopefully alleviate some of the growing friction around our usual setup at Bonhomie Coffee.

Friday Coffee has grown (which I love), but we’ve started to outgrow the space. Our usual table technically seats 6–7 (resist the urge, people!) and there aren’t extra chairs to pull in. It’s getting harder to keep that easy, drop-in, “more the merrier” energy when I’m constantly stressing about whether we’ll fit at the table!

There are other spaces in the Labour Temple, but they come with tradeoffs that don’t quite match what this is meant to be. Some areas are members-only (which means check-ins, day passes, and me giving access to locked doors via an app), and the conference rooms feel too formal for what’s supposed to be a casual, come-as-you-are gathering. Between logistics and ordering coffee, it starts to eat into the hour together which totally defeats the point.

And while I completely understand their business model (truly, as a former coworking operator), I don’t love the idea of asking people to pay for access just to join a one-hour coffee hang. I’m happy to cover my membership so we’ve had a home base, but I’m not about to ask you all to pay a $20 guest pass just to hang out with me!

So, we’re trying something new! It might not be great at all, in which case we’ll go back to Bonhomie and hopefully find a solution within that works. But for now, I’m excited to introduce you all to another new small business that could use our support - plus there are new flavors to explore!

I compiled all the events that I’ve listed in past weekly newsletters into one special May Events Roundup post last Friday - was it helpful? But of course, I’ve saved several new things since, so here’s what else you can add to your calendar:

Saturday, May 9 - Spend Like It Matters Saturday with Intentionalist

May 9-10 - Seattle Art Book Fair

June 5-14 - Portland Book Week (with 74 bookstores participating!)

June 6 + 7 - Charlie’s Queer Book Fair

July 18 - Pratt Fine Arts Summer Market (vendor applications due May 24)

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• I hosted a panel on the gender gap in AI leadership this week, which was covered by Geekwire and was the featured article throughout the weekend. Thanks to the Women in Tech Regatta for inviting me to moderate!

• I went to see The Devil Wears Prada 2 this weekend and I’m pleased to report that it was just as delightful as the first one, with my only critique being that perhaps Anne Hathaway over-acted a bit (like, a few of the laughs were too big for what was actually happening in the moment?).

• I donated blood this week! Did you know that they now send you an email when your blood is actually deployed? My last donation went to Seattle Children’s Hospital.

  • By the way, if you aren’t following the story about the Laurelhurst community council refusing to let life-saving helicopters fly over their neighborhood because of the noise, you can catch up on this Reddit thread. I laughed out loud when I recognized some of the neighborhood council member’s names.

• I’m starting Be Here Now’s “Routine is Sexy” challenge and committing to going to spin or strength class 4x/week for the next 8 weeks… I will be writing more about this in an upcoming newsletter as it’s one component of my new “Mind, Body, Soul Summer Reset” plan. Stay tuned!

That’s all for this week - thanks for being here! If you like what you’re reading, please share with a friend! I’d love to hit 100 subscribers by June 1st.

In each weekly newsletter, I publish a list of upcoming events that have come across my feed - but I thought that starting off each month with a roundup for the month might be helpful? Let’s get out there and Ma(y)ke the most of it! (See what I did there?)

Saturday, May 2 - Tacoma’s Remakery Craft Supply Swap

Saturday, May 2 - Seattle Neighbor Day

Saturday, May 2 - Carnation Farms Spring Market (10am-3pm) - annual plant sale starts May 1 and preorders open April 15

Sunday, May 3 - Yesler Makers Market

Sunday, May 3 - Bella Luna Farms Spring Pop-Up Market

Monday, May 4 - Deadline to complete the Seattle Indie Bookstore Day Challenge!

Wednesday, May 6 - Barnes & Noble Grand Opening (downtown Seattle)

Thursday, May 7 - Startup Hall’s Start Something series returns with guest speaker John Stanton, wireless industry entrepreneur and chairman and CEO of the Seattle Mariners.

Thursday, May 7 - First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square

Thursday, May 7-16 - Seattle Beer Week

[NEW] Friday, May 8 - Fran’s Chocolates x Mocel Mezcal Spring Tasting

Saturday, May 9 - West Seattle Garage Sale Day

Saturday, May 9 - Intentionalist’s Small Business Saturday (in May!)

[NEW] Saturday, May 9 - Career Launch 2.0 at UW Bothell

[NEW] Friday, May 15 - Seattle Flow Startup Day

Saturday, May 16 + Sunday, May 17 - UDistrict Street Fair - literally only going to this because the Wild Alaska Scallop food truck will be there and it is my favorite.

Sunday, May 17 - The Block returns! This will be the second edition of Seattle’s mobile cafe meetup at Fairview Market Hall and it’s so much fun!

May 17-27 - Seattle International Film Festival

Thursday, May 21 - Oysterfest at Rooftop Railspur

Monday, May 25 - Reclaim Clay Collective’s 3-Year Anniversary Market

Saturday, May 30 - Mount Baker Community Yard Sale Day

Saturday + Sunday, May 30-31 - Renegade Craft Fair at Hanger 30

Friday through Sunday, May 29-31 - Honk Fest West

In April, I highlighted four new(ish) coffee shops that should make you excited about the future of coffee in Seattle (instead of sad about Starbucks maybe leaving); shared plans on how to visit 44 bookstores in 3 days in celebration of Independent Bookstore Day; wrote about how I’m embracing analog over AI; and wrote about my Q1 goals and how I did (and didn’t) achieve them! Catch up below:

That’s it for this special edition - thanks for being here! I’m still figuring this out, but if you like what you’re reading, share it with a friend!

Here in Seattle, many headlines are being written with speculation that Starbucks may be “breaking up with Seattle” and moving their headquarters to Nashville, TN. This really IS bad news for the city, and for the employees who have built their lives here and are being asked to move. But on the other hand, there are more headlines about how the company is shuttering stores (including their beautiful Roastery in Capitol Hill that had lines out the door every day) rather than let their retail employees unionize, so…

Starbucks may be dominating the news cycle, but if you ACTUALLY care about coffee and coffee culture, then I’d like to point your attention to the fact that there are a TON of exciting new coffee shops sprouting up around Seattle - ones that are serving great coffee with way more interesting flavors. It’s a far more interesting headline, in my opinion! Here are some of my new favorites.

Offline Coffee Co. (Capitol Hill)

I was delighted to discover that Offline Coffee Co. was founded by two young women who are University of Washington alums. I was excited they were opening in Capitol Hill and followed the development of their shop on TikTok for months. You can read about them in this article in Geekwire! It’s a Chinese-inspired coffee shop and my favorite drink is the Orange Osmanthus Latte, which I very highly recommend. Extra bonus: they have an Inciardi Mini Print vending machine!

Open Form (Capitol Hill)

Open Form is a gorgeous giant space that you’ve walked by a million times and probably had no idea - it’s actually up an unassuming staircase and above the retail shops on Pike. It’s a cafe by day and then an event/community gathering space by night, rooted in Persian hospitality. Their seasonal drinks are super unique (pictured is a green tea cucumber beverage that I’m obsessed with) and they host cool events that I’m probably too old for but sound like fun!

Sundays (Fremont)

The other day I got a text from my friend that said, “Let’s go work from a coffee shop with a nice aesthetic” and it had to be somewhere between Capitol Hill and Ballard so that it was equally inconvenient for both of us. We ended up at Sundays Coffee in Fremont, which does indeed have a great vibe and is full of beautiful plants! I ordered their Banana Pudding Latte which may SOUND unappealing but I’m here to tell you that I loved it - and I’m not a banana person! Or maybe I am, because I also love the plantain latte at the next location…

Bonhomie Coffee Bar (Belltown)

My love of Bonhomie Coffee Bar is well-documented. I first “met” the co-owner Michelle on TikTok (she’s hilarious, follow her), and attended their very first pop-up at Pizza by Ruffin, when the line was 100+ people deep and took an hour+ to get through. I interviewed Michelle and her wife Victoria for Intentionalist in February 2025 and have followed them around town from residency to residency (Pizza by Ruffin (fave pizza) —> Flora & Fauna (now closed, so sad) —> Be Here Now (now my spin studio)). Michelle and I did a small business fireside chat for employees at Smartsheet, and Michelle came to campus to be on my panel of retail small business owners. I now host a weekly Friday Coffee at their current residency location at Labour Temple - but you can also find them in a second location downtown at Tower 1201.

Last week, Bonhomie was bestowed with title of “best latte in Seattle” by The Seattle Times. I’ve been telling you all this for months! :)

Watching this team grow is just proof that you can build a great business, take care of your employees, and create a meaningful experience for your customers without compromise. Michelle and Victoria are also focused on building the coffee community throughout Seattle and are bringing back the second edition of The Block on May 17!

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• Does anyone have any recommendations for great Japanese cookbooks to share? Also, what are your favorite Japanese restaurants in Seattle? Comment below!

• My new friend Erika is the host of the next Toast of Seattle, an early-morning networking event put on by the Seattle Metropolitan Chamber of Commerce! Erika is new(ish) to Seattle and I love that she’s jumping in feet first and getting involved. I remember hosting the Toast at Impact Hub years and years ago and I thought it was an extremely well-run and efficient way to connect with people in the business community! If you’re looking to network - support her on May 13!

• Has anyone ever navigated a Mariners game at T-Mobile Park on crutches or in a wheelchair? If so, could you share any tips or tricks on the best seats to get and what to expect? Drop ‘em as a comment - thanks!

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

I added 21 jobs to this week’s Notion board, and it would have been more if several of the positions I’d saved weren’t marked as “no longer accepting applications”. I wrote a mini-rant about this in my weekly LinkedIn post, but a helpful commenter shared (yet another) LinkedIn quirk:

So there’s a little tidbit that might help jobseekers out there!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

Friday Coffee returns this week at 10am at Bonhomie - please let us know if you intend to attend! The group got really big a few weeks ago and we had to relocate to another spot in the building, so it’s just helpful if we have a heads up in advance.

Wednesday, April 28 - I’m moderating a conversation on “AI and the Leadership Gap” at the Women in Tech Regatta this Wednesday! Do I bring up Reese Witherspoon?

Saturday, May 2 - Tacoma’s Remakery Craft Supply Swap

Sunday, May 3 - Yesler Makers Market

Wednesday, May 6 - Barnes & Noble Grand Opening (downtown Seattle)

Sunday, May 3 - Bella Luna Farms Spring Pop-Up Market

Thursday, May 7 - First Thursday Art Walk in Pioneer Square

Saturday, May 9 - West Seattle Garage Sale Day

July 18 - Pratt Fine Arts Summer Market

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

My entire week was consumed with preparation for the Seattle Independent Bookstore Day Challenge and South Sound Book Crawl, which started on Saturday and can be celebrated in a way that gives you rewards until May 4, but of course, should be celebrated every day. (Sidenote: if you noticed that I included the grand reopening of the downtown Barnes & Noble on my upcoming event list, it’s because they stock my favorite pens and I’m generally in favor of anything that helps with downtown revitalization and isn’t Amazon).

I’ll do a full debrief it in a future newsletter - first we need to actually complete the challenge and then organize and process all of our books, stickers, bookmarks and other items we accumulated on the way. We documented everything on our Instagram Stories and we have lots of funny TikToks in the works, so stay tuned!

That’s all for this week - thanks for being here!

Dating App Prompt: I’ll know it’s time to delete this app when…

Answer: I meet someone who hears me say “44 bookstores in 3 days” and says “what’s our route?” and not “that sounds exhausting.”

Buckle up, everyone! Seattle Independent Bookstore Day is coming up on Saturday, April 25, and it’s my favorite time of year.

Independent Bookstore Day is simply a nationwide, day-long celebration of indie bookstores. Here in Seattle, indie bookstores come together to launch the annual “Seattle Independent Bookstore Day Passport Challenge”, where book enthusiasts have 10 days to run around the region to get their passport stamped at as many bookstores as they can.

If you visit five bookstores, you receive a one-time 25% off coupon to use at any participating store… but if you visit EVERY bookstore on the list (and there are 33 in 2026), you receive a Bookstore Day Champion Stamp Card, which is good for a one-time 25% discount at EACH participating store for the next year.

My friend Susan and I take Independent Bookstore Day very seriously. I’m a 4x Bookstore Day Champion, but Susan is a 6x Champion - and she participated in the very first challenge back in 2015, when there were only 17 participating bookstores and you had to visit them all in one day. Back then, there were just 42 champions. By 2024, the number of bookstores had exploded into the high 20’s, so they extended the challenge to 10 days, and the number of champions skyrocketed to 414. This year, the list of participating stores have grown again - there are four new additions bringing the total to 33.

The adventure takes you all around the region: West to Bremerton, Bainbridge, Poulsbo, Kingston; East to Mercer Island, Redmond, Kirkland (there don’t seem to be any indie bookstores in Bellevue!); South to Burien; and North to Edmonds, Shoreline and Lake Forest Park. But now that we’re seasoned champions who know the route by heart, we’ve started asking ourselves: how do we level this up?

For example, last year, we flipped the schedule and did part of the route backwards (and STILL missed a ferry!). We’ve considered navigating with a physical map instead of using GPS. We’ve even considered skipping Seattle altogether and celebrating in another region.

But instead… we’re doing both! The Seattle Bookstore Day Challenge (33 bookstores) and the South Sound Crawl (11 more bookstores). IN JUST THREE DAYS. 44 bookstores in 3 days!

Are we crazy? Not yet!
Will we be by the end of the final day? Absolutely!
Is it excessive? Definitely.
Would I ever date someone who second-guessed this endeavor? Hell no. If you’re not at the very least impressed by the logistics and endurance this requires, our energy will not match.

How We Do It

• Indie Bookstore Day is not a casual tour of bookstores. It’s a highly coordinated operation that requires several multi-hour long planning sessions (this year they took place at Red Arrow Coffee, the Ink Drinker, and the new Boon Boona Coffee on the new waterfront Overlook Walk.

  • We create a dedicated Google Map with all the bookstore locations, consult each store’s opening hours, use Maps to determine the driving distance between each location, and capture everything in a spreadsheet with all of the details.

  • We also brainstormed a bunch of content ideas for TikToks and Reels, and we’re building a shot list to capture everything along the way. We’ve also pre-written captions, handles, and hashtags that we can copy/paste along the way since we’ll be moving fast.

• We keep running lists in our Notes app of books throughout the year so that we’re prepared to search for something when we enter each store.

  • For example, I’m hoping to round out my collection of books by Elin Hilderbrand. I own 17/30!

• We almost always buy something. Not necessarily each of us at every stop, but it also doesn’t have to be a book. I’m always on the hunt for cool bookends, stationery items, and book-themed merch.

  • This year, we’re collecting bookstore-specific stickers at each location and we’ll be adding them to a chart as we go!

• I hate that this even needs to be said, but it is NOT COOL (robert frost) to walk into a bookstore, go straight to the counter, and ask for a passport stamp without actually spending time in the store. The whole point is to experience the space, support the business, and discover something you didn’t know you were looking for. Come on, people!

• Fuel is critical and we prioritize eating at great spots along the route. This year’s plan includes strategic stops at Hey Bagel, Saboteur Bakery, Northwest Lumpia, Harry’s Beach House, and Taylor Shellfish Oyster Bar.

  • There will also be a snackle box of treats and plenty of beverages in the car.

• We’re planning to visit all the stores over the course of 3 days: the fun starts at 6am on Saturday morning and wraps up on Monday afternoon with a planned 20 stores on Day 1, 18 stores on Day 2, and 6 stores on Day 3.

  • We’ve also built a backup plan if things go wrong, which would result in 14 stores on Day 2 and 10 stores on Day 3.

• There’s 45th bookstore that’s not officially on any of the routes but we have to drive by it twice, so if we have time for the side quest, we’ll do it!

• We’re inviting a special guest to join us this year! My very first friend Katherine (and dedicated follower of our annual bookstore journey) is flying in from California to participate in the Super Crawl!

• We typically document everything on Instagram Stories, but this year we made it official with a dedicated account: @weboughtanotherbook. Follow us!

Even though OUR plan is slightly unhinged, don’t forget that you only have to visit five stores to receive a 25% off coupon. Also - if you have a favorite bookstore and want to meet up with us at one of our stops, I’ll give you a window of time in which we plan to be there - we will snap a pic and you can be a guest star on our Insta!

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• Michou Deli in the Pike Place Market has new owners - and now a brand new name and menu. Friends of Carmela officially opens their doors on Tuesday and the branding is so cute with all hand-painted signage, cute stickers and a very high quality and well-priced tote bag (if you love merch like me!). I popped in on their soft opening on Saturday and we got to try several sandwiches, a delicious carrot salad, farro “fried rice”, arancini, and broccolini. Be sure to visit next time you’re in the Market, and say “hi” to my friend Emily!

• My friend Val just released a beautifully curated “me time” gift box - a gift that feels equal parts thoughtful and actually useful. A Scallop Box makes a great gift - you can personalize the message to the recipient, and it supports local small businesses, plus the company is woman-owned and operated. And the box itself is amazing! It would make a perfect for Mother’s Day (which is coming up on Sunday, May 10).

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

I added FORTY ONE jobs to my Notion job board last week! I also finally broke free of the template that I had been using and built a new table that worked for instead of against me. It’s not much different, but the template had all this other junk built in that wasn’t being used. A good reminder that simple is best!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

ICYMI: my list of upcoming industry-specific Tech Week got picked up by Geekwire last week! Now everyone knows how much I love a good list.

In the same spirit, this week I just want to highlight that Seattle Restaurant Week AND Seattle Cocktail Week kicked off today - and Seattle Beer Week is coming up!

• April 19 - May 2 - Seattle Restaurant Week

• April 19-26 - Seattle Cocktail Week

• May 7-16 - Seattle Beer Week

Also: I’ll be publishing a mid-week newsletter rounding up all the May events I’ve featured so far. I’d love feedback on if that’s a useful addition!

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• I scored several pieces from the Christopher John Rogers collection from Old Navy! I am obsessed with this skirt.

• I picked up some of this Miso Salted Caramel syrup at Mixed Pantry in an attempt to jazz up my at-home coffee routine - so good!

• Have you been to the newly improved waterfront yet? It’s SO NICE!

Lastly, I endeavor to send this newsletter out on Sunday evenings, but the weekend got away from me. How do you feel about receiving it on a Monday morning? Maybe it’s better? Let me know!

“I feel like I’m being assaulted by AI!” - an 80+ year old resident at my father’s assisted living facility.

Can anyone else relate? I definitely can. Case in point: while introducing myself as a panelist at an event at AI House a few months back, I committed a minor faux pas when I told the audience there are plenty of businesses worth building that aren’t AI companies.

Fast forward a few months later and I was browsing through my Substack subscriptions and came across this piece about the “Analog Revival” from Same Boat. You’ll need a subscription to read the whole thing, but you can get the gist of it before you hit the paywall. In short, people of all ages are feeling the tech burnout and are reaching for tangible, real-world experiences. Vinyl record sales are up, the market size for stationery was $3.45 billion in 2025 (and growing!!! probably thanks mostly to me), and disposable cameras are back!

Same Boat

The Analog Revival Has Arrived—Is Your Business Ready?

Take Advantage of the Analog Revival…

Read more

5 months ago · 16 likes · 4 comments · Gabrielle Blair

For me, my analog life looks like junk journaling and bullet journaling, craft club meetups, the fact that at least four new bookstores have opened in Seattle in the last year, the popularity of my metrics-free spin studio and the effort they’re putting towards building community. It’s the proliferation of mobile coffee pop-ups and that they’re now uniting in the spirit of cooperation over competition at events like The Block (coming up again on May 17). It’s the fact that I will sacrifice my stash of laundry quarters and drive all over town so I can very satisfyingly insert them into the slots of an Inciardi Mini Print vending machines!

This week, I wanted to draw your attention to two other analog delights that are bringing me joy on a monthly basis. The first is being part of a pen pal club!

The Misprint Post Club - a monthly letter club and creative collaboration

I signed up for the Misprint Post Club (a monthly letter club and creative collaboration) after seeing Ashley Garrels post about starting it on her Instagram stories. I don’t know Ashley particularly well, but I signed up without thinking twice because it sounded like fun and I love getting mail.

Each month, we are matched with a new pen pal and a prompt, and we send each other a letter. It’s a great excuse to tap into my collection of stationery and art supplies and to create something that will hopefully bring a smile to a new pal.

Ashley’s going a great job of keeping us organized - she sends us a newsletter introducing each month’s theme, plus a personal introduction to each person and their new pal. My pal for April lives in London - how cool is that? Also, it only cost $1.70 to send a card!

The Architecture Mail Club - a snail mail club

The irony here is that I found my snail mail clubs on TikTok - which feels like a perfect example of the moment we’re living in: using technology to discover ways to spend less time on it.

Regardless, I’ve become a huge fan. Mail clubs are such an easy, tangible way to support artists. My first snail mail club was The Architecture Mail Club by Arts by Trinity, and it probably caught my attention because my dad was an architect and my mom loved collecting miniature buildings (a story for another time).

Each month, I receive an envelop that contains a postcard of an original piece of watercolor artwork, a letter about the building, and an activity! This month, the chosen building was The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, and the activity is to cut out the items and collage a picnic that you might take to the famous Met steps (which welcome 5.7 million visitors each year!).

I’ve subscribed (and unsubscribed) to several other mail clubs in the last few months, and have also missed out on the opportunity to join a few because they’ve sold out so quickly! Mail clubs are a great way for artists to get their work out in the hands of the people and also to experiment and play around with different themes.

If I had any artistic talent dedicated to a particular medium or interest in a specific theme, I’d start a mail club in a heartbeat. Alas, this Substack is probably the closest thing you’ll get - but I would LOVE to help you start one!

Anyway, I welcome any and all mail in my mailbox that isn’t a bill - and I would happily send you some as well!

Asks, offers, and things I’m sharing on behalf of my friends!

• Armoire is hosting “That’s What She Said” on June 9 - a live storytelling series where real women take the mic and share true stories told from memory, no notes. The organizer is currently building out the lineup and looking for storytellers - if you’ve got a story that’s been sitting with you, this might be your moment to tell it.

  • Also! If you’re in need of office/warehouse space, Armoire has some space available to sublease. Email Annie (annie@armoire.style) if you’d like to learn more - just tell her Sarah sent you!

• Do you have any recommendations for Young Adult Romance books? This would be a 5th grader’s first foray into the genre - drop a comment if you’ve got suggestions!

• If you’re in a career/life transition and would be interested in joining a group of women working through the book, Designing Your Life (my favorite!), my friend Theresa is organizing a group! Drop a comment if you’d like to learn more.

I post a job roundup on LinkedIn every Wednesday for those making a move.

17 jobs were added to my Notion board this week!

I thought it was interesting that the Edmonds Center for the Arts appears to be undergoing a major staff transition and hiring 5 positions at once. Hiring a cohort of people at the same time can be a great strategy - if you know of other great people who could fill the roles, maybe you could apply as a dream team!

Events worth leaving the house for. Send along anything I should have on my radar.

Friday, April 17 - Friday Coffee at Bonhomie at Labour Temple (10am)
My friend Val and I meet up for coffee every Friday morning at Bonhomie Coffee Co. at the Labour Temple in Belltown, and we invite anyone else who wants to meet us to join! Bring an Ask or an Offer as it’s a great group of people to problem solve with.

Now through April 15 - EverOut + The Stranger’s Capitol Hill Neighborhood Week, which includes:

• All-Day Happy Hour at Osteria La Spiga ($65 for a bottle of wine + 2 pasta entrees)

• $10 Rainier + Cheese or Pepperoni Slice at Big Mario’s

• Complimentary queso at Colibri’s

• $20 off a punchcard at PopRox Dance Studio

Monday, April 13 - WNBA Draft Watch Party at Pitch the Baby (doors at 3pm)

Wednesday, April 15 - Grungemart opens in Pacific Place - a new Seattle Restored activation that’s a retail store, gallery, and event space offering exclusive grunge-era photos, t-shirts, posters, and fine art prints,

Saturday, April 18 - South Park Hall Pop Up Market (12-4pm)

Wednesday, April 22 - YPIN: Earth Day Networking

Saturday, April 25 - Community Swap Meet @ Estelita's Library (apply to vend by 4/18)

Thursday, April 30 - The Armoire Art Salon

Thursday, April 30 - Baiana - the new Afro-Brazilian restaruant opens in the Pike Place Market!

May 2 - Carnation Farms Spring Market (10am-3pm) - annual plant sale starts May 1 and preorders open April 15

Thursday, May 7 - Startup Hall’s Start Something series returns with guest speaker John Stanton, wireless industry entrepreneur and chairman and CEO of the Seattle Mariners.

Saturday, May 9 - West Seattle Community Garage Sale Day (register by 4/22)

Saturday, May 30 - Mount Baker Community Yard Sale Day

ALSO:

• Reclaim Clay Collective has released their May lineup of ceramic and risograph classes - check it out here.

• Ballard FC has announced their lineup of theme nights for the season!

• Seattle Tech Week is now accepting event submissions for July 27-August 1. The full event calendar will be published 5/14.

Things I’ve been doing and thinking about this week.

• I recently subscribed to “Let It Simmer” - a Substack and Instagram by Lindsey Otto which is all about Seattle’s dynamic pop-ups scene. It’s how I discovered that the Hawaiian-inspired Yoks Cafe is popped up at Laurel in Capitol Hill on Wednesdays and Thursdays through April. I had the yummiest pineapple cold brew concoction and sat at the counter and worked for a few hours. Then, on my way back up the hill, I discovered that the 9th & Hennepin donut truck was parked next to Carmelo’s, so I hopped in line and ordered “one of each” and brought them to the office. They were delicious!

• I can’t stop listening to Raye’s new album, “This Music May Contain Hope”. I absolutely love the journey - I feel like I can SEE it on stage or as a movie while I’m listening!

• I have officially entered my urban/apartment gardener era. What started with a single railing planter box last August is now SIX railing planters, EIGHT hanging baskets, and three pots (so far). I’m growing rosemary, lavender, mint, catnip, lemon thyme, and cherry tomatoes at the moment. Plus, my two new hummingbird feeders just arrived! More on this in a future newsletter, I’m sure.

That’s all for this week - thanks for being here!

Happy April and happy Easter if you celebrate. My mom (who passed away in 2024) loved Easter, and always wanted me to come home to celebrate, which was confusing because we were not at all religious. But she would be sure to decorate the house and pin on a cotton bunny tail on her outfit!

I spent the last week reflecting on my Q1 (January through March) goals, which I’ll share below. I use this template for quarterly goal setting, in case you find it helpful. The categories were developed by my friend Val and I’ve been using it for almost a year! Here’s a look back at the last three months:

Organization: utilize my bullet journal and build out a personal Notion dashboard.

I accomplished the first half of this goal (my bullet journal is my most prized possession) and made a bit of progress on a Notion dashboard, but I’ve deprioritized using Notion personally and instead use it for my job board (and I don’t love it!).

Fitness: go to spin/strength class 3-5x per week.

I started off strong but travel + back pain sidelined me for a few weeks. I still made it to 30 spin classes (as of today, I’m 18 away from 100!) but I did not successfully muster up the courage to go back to strength class.

Creative Effort: Complete The Artist’s Way.

I feel like I’ve given this my best shot but it’s just not for me (at least right now). I am kind of disappointed but I DO feel like my creativity has been sparked, so maybe it’s a success?

Health Improvement: Take meds consistently (72 out of 90 days)

Okay, I failed at this. I completely fall apart on my routines when I travel, and I got knocked off course. BUT I just went to the doctor and I somehow reached my overarching goals anyway? So that’s a win!

Books: Finish The Salt Path and one additional non-fiction book.

I did not finish The Salt Path (I have about 50 pages to go), but I did read Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage by Belle Burden as my non-fiction book. If I’m being honest, memoirs weren’t what I had in mind when I wrote down “non-fiction” but oh well.

Trip: Go to Spring Training in Arizona.

I very sadly did not get to fly South for the Winter and had to cancel this plan entirely so that I could spend time with my dad in California. I am bummed but it was the right move.

Take a Class/Learn Something.

I missed this one as well. I had planned to take a First Aid course but had to cancel in order to go to California to see my dad. I never made it off the waitlist for the linocut printmaking texture class, and I didn’t go see the exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum that I had on my calendar.

Even though I didn’t get to completely check off a lot of the boxes on my Q1 goals, it wasn’t a bad quarter and I’m not beating myself up over it. Learning to be flexible with my goals is an ongoing process!

Let me know if you’d like to see my Q2 goals earlier in the quarter and then another report in early July?

Upcoming Events on my Radar:

Friday, April 10 - Friday Coffee at Bonhomie at Labour Temple
My friend Val and I meet up for coffee every Friday morning at Bonhomie Coffee Co. at the Labour Temple in Belltown, and we invite anyone else who wants to meet us to join! At the very least, you get to have great coffee and hang out with the two of us. At the very most, you’ll meet a table full of other cool people! We recommend bringing an Ask as it’s a great group of people to problem solve with. All are welcome, just text me to let me know to expect you!

Sunday, April 12 - Coffee & Crafting Club at Nudibranch Coffee (9am-12pm)

Saturday + Sunday, April 18 + 19 - Hama Hama Oyster Rama

Sunday, May 17 - The Block returns! This will be the second edition of Seattle’s mobile cafe meetup at Fairview Market Hall and I will BE THERE.

May 17-27 - Seattle International Film Festival

Thursday, May 21 - Oysterfest at Rooftop Railspur

Saturday + Sunday, May 30-31 - Renegade Craft Fair at Hanger 30

Friday through Sunday, May 29-31 - Honk Fest West - I love a brass band!

Sunday, June 21 - The Seattle Glow - Balloon Festival at the Seattle Center!

Friday through Sunday, July 10-12 - Ballard Seafood Fest - see you in line at the scallop truck?

Friday + Saturday, August 7-8 - Edmond’s Block Party - Edmonds is just so cute, I want to go!

Career Corner

25 jobs were added to my Notion board this week!

The most interesting role that I wish I was qualified for is the marketing position at Her First $100K. It’s a 6-month contract/mutual-evaluation phase, and if you made it through to full-time employment, the benefits the company offers are WORLD CLASS - take note, other employers!

The mpathic community manager position also looks great!

Notes from the Week:

• There are 8 new offers available through Intentionalist x BECU’s “Equity in Action” Earth Month tab. I went to Retail Therapy on Capitol Hill and picked up a free upcycled vinyl pouch made by Refugee Artisan Initiative. My next stop will be to Spring Roll House Deli for five free fried spring rolls!

• According to Tik Tok, April is the best month to get a tattoo. I have several tattoo ideas - do you have an artist you’d recommend? I’m looking for someone who can do fine lines, maybe watercolor, and can creatively stitch my inspiration into something meaningful.

• This week, my sister and niece came to town for admitted students day at the University of Puget Sound and University of Washington! I’m so proud of my niece for getting into my alma mater and to the university that I now work for!

  
  Unsurprisingly, the campus visit experiences could not have been more different. At UPS, it was a nice manageable group of 150-200 students and parents, compared with 7,000 crowded into the basketball stadium at UW. At UPS, she got to sit in a class with six (!) other students and have actual conversations with the professors - at UW, we sat in a giant lecture hall of several hundred and people had to submit their questions via QR code and Slido.
  
  The day at UW ended in a giant 5-hour fight between my sister and niece (did I ever fight with my mother like that?! I don’t think so!). But I’m wishing them the best as they continue their journey to visit two more schools in New York (but not the city), and then back across the country to check out University of Oregon.

That’s it for this week, friends - thanks for being here!

Do you want to know the way to my heart? It’s through a bookstore or a stationery shop. A truly great bookstore, in my opinion, includes a small but well-curated selection of stationery and journals that go beyond the rotating kiosks of Leuchtturm1917 and/or Moleskin notebooks. Furthermore, a truly great stationery shop should have more than an a wide selection of greeting cards.

While Seattle has plenty of bookstores, there nearly aren’t as many dedicated stationery shops as there should be, so I have taken it upon myself to make sure you know about my favorites. Note that I am differentiating stationery shops from art supply stores, though some art supply stores have stationery items.

My Top 3 Stationery Shops in Seattle + Tacoma

📍 The Outpost Stationery

157 S Jackson St, Seattle, WA 98104
Open Wednesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.

The Outpost Stationery now occupies the former home of Intrigue Chocolate Co. on Jackson, and it’s got a great mix of new-to-me products as well as plenty of things I already own (which is a good thing!). One of the things I like most about Outpost is that they’re not using a ton of real estate on an extensive collection of greeting cards. And they have seating and will invite you to come by and journal at the window! Scroll to the bottom of the email to reveal my purchases…

How to make a day of it: I’d start at 11am with a pastry from The Pastry Project window and a coffee at Umbria. Then I’d browse for journaling supplies at The Outpost and Peter Miller Books, have oysters and a glass of wine at Taylor Shellfish, look for some cool vintage finds at Lucky Lemon and The Friend Museum, pick up a new book at Arundel Books, and then go read it with cocktail at Firn, the rooftop bar on top of the Populus Hotel.

📍Grapheme

2421 E Union St, Seattle, WA 98122
Open Wednesday-Sunday. Closed Monday and Tuesday.

Grapheme is a tiny letterpress studio in the Central District and so here, the full wall of greeting cards makes sense. The opposite wall features a shelf that looks like a letterpress organizing tray which is stocked with a variety notebooks (heavy on the Leuchtturm1917 though), pencils and a solid curation of other art/office/organizational items.

How to make a day of it: if you can plan ahead and get a reservation for brunch (10am-3pm) at Communion, do that. Otherwise, you can put your name in and while you wait, you could get a coffee at Avole, a donut at Raised Doughnuts, and browse Arte Noir. Know that Grapheme opens at 12pm (noon), so you could visit either before or after you eat.

📍 Lauda

506 S 11th St, Tacoma, WA 98402
Open Wednesday-Saturday. Closed Sunday, Monday, Tuesday.

My love of Lauda is well-known, because it was the first store that I found that was actually getting it right - very few Leuchtturm1917 products in sight! I interviewed the owner for an Intentionalist spotlight, and I make sure to swing by every time I’m in Tacoma to see what new and wonderful products are on the shelves. This is where I got my favorite mechanical pencils and my beloved Soola pouch and artist bag that I spend at least an hour each week organizing/reorganizing.

How to make a day of it: Lauda is one of four fantastic businesses the same block, so take advantage of the proximity and start with a coffee from Civic Roasters, pick up your journaling supplies at Lauda, and be sure to pop into McCoy & Kids and Tacoma Knife Sharpening & Mercantile. And hey, if you’re in the mood for a tattoo, there’s a tattoo shop on the block too!

Other Spots, For Completeness

• Peter Miller Books (Pioneer Square - in an alleyway!)

• Kinokunyia (enter through Uwajimaya in the Chinatown-International District)

• MochiThings (across from Pike Place Market)

• PaperSource (UVillage, Queen Anne)

Upcoming Events on my Radar:

Last week’s list was extensive - click here to check it out!

Now through April 19 - Wagyu & Wine at The Capital Grille

Monday, March 30 - SAL Presents: Stephen Graham Jones (author of Buffalo Hunter Hunter)

Tuesday, March 31 - Built to Thrive: Female Founders in Wellness

Thursday, April 2 - Pioneer Square First Thursday Art Walk

Saturday, April 4 - Japantown Sakura Matsuri

Over on LinkedIn, I posted a roundup of all the upcoming industry “Weeks” for the the startup ecosystem. The list is below, if you’re interested!

👩🏽‍💻 Women In Tech Regatta | April 26–30
🍁 Vancouver Startup Week | April 27–May 1
🌲 Portland Startup Week | May 11–16
⚡ Energy Week | May 11-15
🦾 Deep Tech Week Seattle | June 8–12
🌎 PNW Climate Week | July 13-19
💻 Seattle Tech Week | July 27–August 1
🚀 Seattle Space Week | September 28–October 4
🌊 One Ocean Week Seattle | October 19–25
🤖 Seattle AI Week | October 26–30

Career Corner

I added 32 jobs to my job board this week. I’m not convinced that Notion is the best place for this but I guess I have no way of knowing - it’s only been two weeks since I shared it and there’s no way to track the number of visitors. If you find this useful, could you let me know? Please and thank you!

Notes from the Week:

• I found one of the Rainy Day Trinket Trade boxes in Capitol Hill and it was both delightful and disappointing. My contributions were way more interesting than the selection I found!

• The cherry blossoms were in peak bloom this week on the UW campus and we had a few glorious days of sun! It was also peak crowds.

• There’s a new taco spot on Capitol Hill that only serves carne asada as tacos or a quesadilla - that’s it! (They do have a mushroom version for +$2.) I want to do a summer walking taco tour down Broadway that starts at Tacos Cometa —> Carmelo’s —> Tacos Chukis —> D’ La Santa (margaritas) —> Little Water Cantina (more margaritas) —> Agua Verde (final margaritas). 3.5 miles - anyone interested?

• I just finished reading Strangers: A Memoir of a Marriage by Belle Burden, which is an account of how her husband of 20 years up and left her and their children during the first week of the pandemic. This was a short audiobook and also a bit of a cautionary tale when it comes to women and financial freedom!

Lastly, I leave you with a flat lay of my purchases from The Outpost. Important to know that UglyBooks are NOT ugly! The covers and the paper are different colors and I’m obsessed. Also, I’m going to bedazzle the sardine tin.

That’s it for this week, friends. Thanks for being here!