In Vogue, Bellevue

Shopping at In Vogue makes me want to go on a date with a handsome, tan man at a see-and-be-seen club somewhere in Miami. Or Los Angeles. Something about the boutique's silky tank tops, colorful halters, strapless dresses, playful prints, and luxe fabrics leave me longing for a Balenciaga bag to hang on one arm and a Ken doll to hang on the other. In Vogue's owner, Gee Kaur, is young and chic, and she...

Curtsy Bella, Near University Village

I had a job interview yesterday. It didn't go too well, and I was bummed and stressed and frustrated beyond belief because I really really want the job. Luckily I also discovered Curtsy Bella yesterday, because when I walked into the boutique after my debauched interview and spotted a dress form modeling a party skirt made of wrapping paper, my spirits lifted slightly. When I peeked behind the gigantic pink and white antique headboard that...

Liberty 123, Kirkland

When I was a little girl, I used to dream of having my birthday party inside Toys "R" Us. I would invite my best girlfriends and we would spend the night putting on Barbie Doll fashion shows and racing the aisles on pogo sticks and roller skates. Now that I am a grownup girl, I dream of hosting a dinner party inside Liberty 123. I would invite my closest girlfriends and we would drink wine...

Sip and Ship, Ballard

It only took a few minutes within my first visit to Sip and Ship to realize that I had stumbled upon a special spot. It was a sunny, Sunday afternoon in the middle of December and Sip and Ship (also known as Ballard Mail and Dispatch) was crowded with people shopping for gifts, picking wrapping paper and greeting cards, and mailing packages. Despite the fervor and mayhem often associated with such holiday errands, the staff...

Les Amis, Fremont

It would be blasphemous of me to continue writing for this website dedicated to extolling all the girly pleasures that city life has to offer and not mention Les Amis. Les Amis is a classic. A standard. And while it may not be as iconic as say the Space Needle or the Fishmongers at Pike Place Market, for Seattle's fashionistas, Les Amis is an equally significant part of our city. With its rustic plank floors...

Third Place Books, Lake Forest Park

In 1989 Ray Oldenburg wrote a book entitled The Great Good Place in which he wrote that there are three essential places that all people must have in order to feel centered in life. The first is a home, the second is a school or workplace, and the third is a community space where a person can gather with others to meet, to laugh, to discuss, to banter, to unwind, to simply hang out and...

Mercer, University Village

Be forewarned: Mercer is a dangerous place. It is not the type of store that you enter, stroll around leaving unaffected, rather it is the type of store guaranteed to dangle some piece of clothing in your face and ask, "Don't you just love this?" In response your heart will pound a little harder. Your eyes will widen. It will be true. The store will be correct. You will love it. This is the problem...