Golden Gardens Beach--Ballard

I'm always looking for places of great beauty and serenity, and even in November, under the right conditions, one can find both at Golden Gardens, the beach at the west end of the Sunset Hill area of Ballard.

Here is a virtual tour of the park

This last year we saw kite boarders, dog walkers, sand castle builders, swimmers (brr!), divers, kayakers, sunset lookers, and even attended a wedding among the trees.

Ask Larry and he'll tell you stories of his teenagerhood on the hairpin turn approach road that is no longer passable as of December 2007. Something about racing around the curves....

Meanwhile back to the serenity.

Lynette Hensley, Associate Broker
Larry Baumgartner, Realtor
BuyerTours Realty

Shoreline Thanksgiving Shopping

Shoreline, the city just north of Seattle, is convenient to all the city has to offer. Shoreline starts at about 145th, and it only takes a few minutes on I-5 to be in the Seattle city center, which explains some of it's popularity and high property values. In fact, it used to be an unincorporated part of Seattle before it became a city in 1995. You can also easily go around the top of Lake Washington and be in Kirkland/Redmond/Bellevue in a half hour. This is great news for some househunting couples when one person will be working in Redmond or Kirkland, and the other will be commuting to a workplace in Seattle. There's an old saying here, "never cross the water for your commute" and this solves that little problem nicely!

The city's website says, "Covering 11.74 square miles, Shoreline is Washington's 15th largest city with more than 53,000 residents. It is primarily residential with more than 70 percent of the households being single-family residences. Over the years, the Shoreline community has developed a reputation for strong neighborhoods, excellent schools and abundant parks."

Neighborhoods include Ballenger, Briarcrest, Echo Lake, Highland Terrace, The Highlands (gated), Hillwood, Innis Arden, Meridian Park, North City, Richmond Beach, Richmond Highlands, Ridgecrest and Westminster. Most of these have their own little shopping areas and character.

Now for the exciting news! According to Seattle Magazine, Shoreline is the hottest neighborhood in the Seattle area! A couple months ago, Seattle Magazine looked at the top 84 neighborhoods and based their selection on median home price, percentage change in median, average days on the market, crime rate, % of students passing the fourth grade WASL test, park acreage, diversity, and commute time (to Redmond and Seattle).

Shoreline Community College is around 150th, west of Aurora Avenue (Hwy 99). The shopping around there is great, lots of both little and big stores, and of course restaurants, including a rainbow of ethnic fare. One of the crown jewels is Central Market, and what better place to stop in for a last-minute Thanksgiving run? We needed canned chestnuts (for the stuffing), which none of the other markets I tried had, organic Italian black kale and smoked ham for our "Black Kale and Ham" dish, and crab for the crab cakes. I also wanted grits to replicate the Kentucky Derby traditional breakfast Friday brunch... Turkey Hash and Fried Grit Cakes, and we needed some extra mushrooms for the Wild Mushroom soup. And of course flowers for the holiday table.

Central Market goes far beyond the ordinary with fresh fish, including tanks of live crabs, clams etc., knowledgeable staff in chef's whites sprinkled throughout the store giving last minute advice and dispensing samples, amply staffed checkout to keep the lines short, and even an antique tractor out front to delight the kids and keep things fun. I also recommend stopping in and checking out their extensive cooking products and utensil section if you're holiday shopping for those committed gourmet chefs on your list, as they have tons of really special items that make perfect gifts. And there's a large Asian and ethnic food section, we picked up mango mochi ice cream balls for our post-shopping snack!















Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader

Popular Wallingford Teahouse

You don't expect to have to wait for a table at a neighborhood tea shop, but Teashop Kuan Yin in Wallingford (on 45th) has been full several times lately when I've stopped by with a friend to have a cup of my favorite Black Ceylon tea ("Nuwari Estate...fresh, bright, and slightly floral, brewing to a golden red...best without milk.") and hear the lastest.

Ever since the teahouse opened on 45th Avenue in the popular, walkable Wallingford main shopping area in 1990, Teahouse Kuan Yin has been serving specialty tea and filling orders from far away. When current owner Marcus Gramps became propriator in 2006, he innovated in various ways, adding gifts and bringing gelatto and many yummies to the teahouse. The serene atmosphere, both Eastern and yet very Seattle, is the perfect place to spend and hour with a friend catching up or planning your attack on the holiday rush.

Open at 9 a.m. every day of the week and open until 10 p.m., 11 p.m. Friday and Saturday, it's also a nice place to go after a movie at the Guild 45th Theater just down the street. Besides the wonderful assortment of tea, Kuan Yin serves light meals and deserts, has live music some weekends (check their calender) and wi-fi which makes it a popular work and study spot (really it's just down the street from the U District!).

Wait, there's more! Oasis Gallery sponsors the art, so there is always something new and interesting to see, and they are part of the Wallingford Saves program, which means a receipt from a participating Wallingford merchant will get you a $1 discount on your pot of tea! Try the Teahouse Kuan Yin website for more information and inspiration (click "home" to see the catalog!). Oh, and if you're by yourself and in the mood for an armchair adventure while you warm up and have tea, why not visit the Wide World Books and Maps bookstore a block away and pick up something to read while you sip your favorite brew...it has the distinction of being the first travel-only bookstore in the United States.

Enjoy!

by Edy Kizaki, Realtor, Team Leader
and future co-author of I Love Seattle! (just kidding)

http://www.teahousekuanyin.com/

South Lake Union

Larry and I first became aware of the developments in South Lake Union when our church decided to move there a few years ago. Most every Sunday, Union Church has been occupying the Armory, the white Naval Reserve building at the south end of the lake where the Wooden Boats Festival is held every July 4th (Larry and I play music for the festival each year). We (the church) were trying to buy a property to move into, and many were available. Beat out by much bigger purses than the church's, we ended up at the armory for the time being. Soon we will move into our own space.

Bigger, more widely known news is that Amazon is moving their operations to SLU, and many, many other businesses already call the area home.

Our favorite cup of coffee in that area can be found at Cafe Vivace, where all the shots are "ristretto" (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ristretto) they only use the best part of the espresso, and it is indeed a lovely cuppa. Also the Southlake Grill, which currently offers half off their entire food menu Sunday mornings. Here's a great website to discover more about South Lake Union: http://www.discoverslu.com

It's a walkable neighborhood complete with a trolley, and several zipcars are based there, and there are also at least 3 Leeds certified Green Built condo buildings. Seattle's best new thing!




Lynette Hensley, Associate Broker

Green Street in Seattle

I was researching rain barrels and composting for our own home (next summer's project) and came across a mention of a neighborhood in Broadview that has been engineered to manage the runoff of roof and pavement water so there is little to no impact to the environment and the stream downhill from this North-South street. Using a combination of reduced pavement area, constructed swales that direct water flow, and landscaping with native plants, the designers also kept people in mind by including sidewalks and parking.

Here is a link to details about what they did (and an explanation of a "swale" if you don't already know): tour of Broadview Green Grid

Creative parking solution. The streets are much narrower than the usual Seattle street, so these spurs were added to accommodate street parking.

And then back to the reason I was researching---if you are interested in reducing the runoff from your own property, here is the info from the city of Seattle about buying rain barrels and compost bins. City of Seattle is not the only place to buy them, but it's probably my speed!

Happy Greening!

Lynette Hensley, Associate Broker

Interest Rates, Up or Down?

All our clients are wondering about interest rates right now as there are good deals on the market and some of them are considering investing. I asked Katsumi Matsuda of Seattle Pacific Mortgage what he thought of the current interest rate profile, and he let me know about today's rates...he'll be happy to hear from you if you want to discuss the market and get a better sense of things. I'll ask some of the other lenders I know too, and report back.

"Interest rates are so unpredictable in this volatile market. Nothing is normal, so please talk to your mortgage specialist to determine your interest rate.

Today (11/12)

30 year fixed, 30 days lock rate is 5.875% (apr 6.105).

This rate may change without any notice.

Edy...does this help?"

Regards,

Katsumi Masuda
Loan Originator
Wa Lic.# 510-LO-34807
Seattle Pacific Mortgage, Inc.
Bellevue, WA
206-769-1101 Cell
425-818-2087 Direct
425-455-0100 Office
http://www.katsumimasuda.com/

Wallingford's Rusty Pelican Cafe for Breakfast

In Wallingford this is one of the really loved places to have breakfast (yes, OK, lunch too, dinner too. But BREAKFAST is just so GREAT.) and sit with friends. There are few places that you can go and sink into a booth knowing that both your heart and your tummy (not a real estate word?) will leave full, but it's a wonderful ambiance and the waitstaff seems to be there just to enjoy bringing you something good. With helpful suggestions and a ready smile, they are all immediately in the category of "friend." Oh, and don't forget the coffee, it's perfect. There IS Breakfast all day, and I always end up with the banana pancakes...except when I can't resist one of the 3 egg omelets! Let me know when you go there and what you had! Comments please everyone!


Rusty Pelican Cafe
Neighborhood: Wallingford
1924 N 45th St
Seattle, WA 98103

(206) 545-9090
Hours: Mon-Thu 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Fri-Sat 7:00 a.m.-11:00 p.m.
Sun 7:00 a.m.-10:00 p.m.

Edy Kizaki
Realtor, Team Leader