Splurge Vs. Steal: HALLOWEEN Style!

SPLURGE VS. STEAL!

Happy Thursday everybody! With Halloween this SATURDAY!, we have a bit of a theme for this weekend's Splurge vs. Steal!

That theme is... (drum roll please...)... HALLOWEEN! Let's get straight to it!

SPLURGE!

There are countless parties happening all over the city this Saturday. Ghosts, goblins, sexy witches and slutty babies alike will be on every street corner, heading out to celebrate one of our nation's most beloved holidays.

Still don't have any plans? Well, why not check out Argosy Cruise's ANNUAL HALLOWEEN PARTY WITH KZOK!!!

Saturday, October 31, 2009, 9pm-12pm Spirit of Seattle, Pier 55, Seattle Waterfront

Join Argosy Cruises and KZOK for this annual spooktacular event! Depart from Pier 55 on the Seattle Waterfront where You'll be able to rock out and dance with a live band!

Plus they'll have a costume contest with terrific prizes. Tickets are $30 plus tax. (21+ please!)
CLICK HERE TO BOOK NOW!

Boating not your thing but you still want to head down to the water? Why don't you hit up the Just Cauz Halloween Party happening at the Bell Harbor International Center on the Seattle waterfront this Halloween, with all ticket proceeds ($25/per) benefiting charity. This has always proven to be a fabulous event, so get dressed up in your finest, grab your honey, and make this a Halloween never to be forgotten!

STEAL!

Okay. So maybe hitting the town all dressed up isn't your cup of tea. Perhaps you'd much prefer a quiet and spooky night in with your sweetie!

That's perfect! Start the evening off by heading over to your local grocery store (or, if you have the whole day, head to a pumpkin patch!) and pick up a couple of carving pumpkins (don't forget the tea light candles, cider, and wine!!). Good-sized pumpkins typically run about $5/piece. Spend the next couple of hours elbow-deep in pumkin guts (don't forget to save and roast the seeds for a great movie-time snack!) seeing who can carve the best spooky face! (Brett and i try to carve ours to look like each other. I win every time!)

[Brett and Me]

Once your pumpkins are carved and lit, it's time to cozy up in front of a spooky flick. There are so many to choose from, you could even have a marathon!

Getting hungry? Order a pizza from Pagliacci, Seattleite's top choice for delivery pizza! They're promising to assist all of you vampire slayers with free garlic on their whole pies on the 30th and 31st, to keep the spooks away. (You may want to think twice about the garlic, though -- it can keep more than just the spooks away!)

Be sure to switch the front porch light off, so you don't have any unexpected trick-or-treaters at any inopportune times! ;)

(One of Brett's and my first dates was carving pumpkins (he'd never done it before!) so this date idea is one of my favorites!)

[Brett and his first pumpkin! Circa Oct. 2007]

Trick AND Treat, everybody!

xo

B&M

Guest Date Night Blog Post! Halloween Date Ideas!

Hola Seattle Date Night! readers – my name is Jeanna (otherwise known as Je). I’m a Seattle city resident and face behind two blogs, a date blog I write with my boyfriend, Mike, called Caviar & Campfires (we focus on camping, wine and restaurants reviews) and my personal blog, That’s What Je Said.

I stumbled across Seattle Date Night! many months ago and realized Mandy and I have a lot in common –not only do we both write blogs around dates with our honey, but we both live in Queen Anne! So, I was honored when Mandy asked me to write a guest post while her honey was away.

Just like Brett, Mike and I are HUGE fans of ghosts – we rent every haunted house movie out there and regularly watch Paranormal State. (OMG. Have you seen that show. So spooky!). So I'm here to bring you Seattle's Spooky Halloween Date Nights... du, du, du, dum.

Brett and Mandy wrote about the Pike Place Market Ghost Tour they went on at the end of September. Mike and I were stoked to check it out! But the night we wanted to go last week was sold out (it’s super popular near Halloween, so buy your tickets early), so we researched and discovered there are three ghost tours in Seattle!

1. The Market ghost tours
2. Spooked in Seattle tours
3. Private Eye tours

After quick research, we decided to buy tickets to the three-hour Private Eye Tour, which is a tour of a lot of Seattle's ghostly hauntings in a big white rapist ghost van. Jake, the ghostly tour guide, is a Seattle native and lover of all things ghost. She's researched and visited a lot of the haunted places in Seattle herself and gives a most excellent tour. Worth every bit of the $25! You can see details of the ghost tour in a Whrrl story I did... FYI: I give some of the details of the tour away, but not all:

Powered by Whrrl

If you're not scared stiff after the ghost tour, you can plan a trip to see Paranormal State - one of the spookiest movies I've seen in a long time! Sorta along the lines of The Blair Witch Project, it's a series of homemade movies from a couple whose home is haunted. They set a camera up in their home at night to catch activity while they were asleep, and it's so scary, we both were covering our eyes by the end of the movie! (Don't tell Mike I told you that. I don't want to compromise his manliness on the entire Worldwide Interwebs). We both left the theater and agreed we needed to watch a cartoon or something!

Or - if Paranormal State isn't your cup of tea, how about viewing a movie in one of Seattle's oldest and most haunted theaters - The Harvard Exit Theatre?! But be careful ladies - rumor has it there's been sightings of a woman, hanging from a rope in the upstairs bathroom!

All very spoooky options! Happy Dating (and Halloween) Seattlelites!

Seattle Lunch Date Idea!

If you are a Seattleite lucky enough to work downtown, take an extra long lunch-break and meet your sweetie down at Belltown's Suyama Space, where Dan Corson creates a whole new world [of art] you can escape to from your every day hustle and bustle work routine.

A synopsis from the Olympian:

"Grotesque: the distortion or warping of an image that is reflected in the water of a cave. Arabesque: an elaborative application of repeating geometric forms that often echo the forms of nature.

Grotesque Arabesque is an immersive art environment transforming Suyama Space into an otherworldly, light-filled cave created by electroluminescent strips on meticulously bent, contour-drawn flat bar steel. The glowing cave ceiling is amplified by and reflected in a large reflecting pond below. Saturated indigo skylights wash the gallery in color, while a 25 foot wide mirror multiples and further distorts the experience."

[Image via]
Poetic in name (loosely based on the Tales from Edgar Allan Poe) and elaborate in reality, the installation transforms this little bit of Belltown into a maze-like indoor cavern. Go now, and be the first to tell your friends about this otherworldly show!

The Suyama Space is only open M-F, from 9a to 5p, which makes this a perfect lunch-break date! And the best part about it? It's absolutely FREE!

Happy Dating!

xo

B&M

Splurge Vs. Steal! Let's go to the Ball!

Hello, dear readers. I know, we've been terrible. And we're sorry.

The last 2 Thursdays we've either been working [extremely] late, out of town, sick, or been chased down by rabid dogs and unable to attend our weekly Date Night. AND, AND, now Brett is in England for TWO WHOLE WEEKS on business, so it will officially be FOUR WEEKS without a Date Night.

There is NO EXCUSE for this, people.

As busy as life gets, you must ALWAYS make time to spend with your dear heart. And we have. We have simply chosen to spend our time together in silly ways that are not really blog-worthy (get your mind out of the gutter, people!).

So, we apologize. Truly. And promise that, when Brett returns from Grand Ole' Engeerland, our Date Nights will continue, and we will be full of fun surprises for you!

But for now, i will leave you with this week’s installment of Splurge vs. Steal!
The Columbia Tower Club in downtown Seattle is opening its super-swanky doors to the public on Oct. 24, 2009 at 8pm for its Third Annual Masquerade Ball, benefiting the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

For $45, party-goers will enjoy heavy appetizers, wine by Vine Vixens from Kestrel Vintners and a night full of entertainment, including tarot card readers (and in uncertain times like these, who doesn’t want to know a thing or two about the future?), magicians, jugglers and a masquerade costume fashion show!

In addition, the club will host a silent auction for participants to bid on paintings, theater tickets, hotel stays, museum tickets and vacation options.

You’re encouraged to attend in full Masquerade attire (awesome!)!

If you want to make a weekend out of it, get a room! (This will ensure you’re back from the ball before midnight, to avoid turning into a pumpkin!) Attendees of this year’s event will receive a reduced room rate the night of the Ball at the Arctic Hotel when they mention “The Masquerade Ball” when making a reservation.

For more information about the ball, click here!

It's the final weekend before Halloween! So why not hit up the Cinerama for a fun-loving Zombie flick? (Brett and i have a special soft spot in our hearts for Zombies!)...

Zombieland is playing at Seattle's notorious Cinerama Theater, a landmark movie theater located in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle. It is currently one of only three movie theaters in the world still capable of showing three-panel Cinerama films. With just one screen, this theater picks and chooses its selections wisely, and they are always very well received. (Plus, there are STARS on the ceiling! it's awesome!)

Zombieland, I'm sure, will be no exception:

A cowardly shut-in named Columbus is forced to join up with a seasoned zombie slayer named Tallahassee in order to survive the zombie apocalypse. As Tallahassee sets out on a mission to find the last Twinkie on Earth, the duo meets up with Wichita and Little Rock, two young girls who have resorted to some rather unorthodox methods to survive amidst the chaos. Reluctant partners in the battle against the undead, all four soon begin to wonder if it might be better to simply take their chances alone

Tickets on sale online at www.movietickets.com, by phone (1-888-262-4386), and at Cinerama box office.

Start the night off with a quick bite to eat at Tom Douglas' Serious Pie, one of Seattle's Best Pizzarias! (I recommend the Yukon Gold!)

Happy Dating!

xo,

B&M

Great Day Date Idea!

A friend alerted me to this fabulous Day Date Idea, so i just had to share!

Guided Food and Walking Tours of Seattle's Historic Pike Place Market

For just $39.99, Walk and eat your way through Pike Place Market! Food tours daily at 10:30 from Seattle Art Museum.

Seattle Bites is a guided walking tour focused exclusively on the heart of Seattle's culinary scene, the Pike Place Market.

This cultural Seattle tour pairs memorable stories of the market and its merchants with delicious gourmet food and drink -- Truly one of the city's most enjoyable culinary and historic tours.

Seattle Bites Food Tours presents a 2 1/2 hour walking tour of Pike Place Market led by local culinary and history enthusiasts including tour founder Jan Marie Johnson. They provide guests with an insider's view of the market, its history and its colorful merchants all with a "permission to have fun" philosophy.

Their signature tour runs daily at 10:30am rain or shine. (Advanced ticket purchase required.)

Our 2 1/2 Hour tour includes these BIG bites and beverages!

• "Artworthy" Smoked Salmon Flatbread with Crème Fraîche
• "America's Best Chowder" - Chowder Hall of Fame
• Gourmet Sausages from a German Sausage Master
• Paris Inspired Fruit and Nutella Crepes
• Authentic New York Deli Bites (imported from the Big Apple!)
• Truffle Butter Adorned Fresh Popcorn
• Artisanal Family-Owned Italian Wine
• Luscious Handmade Chocolates
• Cuisine-Inspired Boutique Sodas paired with your bites
• Decadent Alderwood Smoked Salmon from "The Cod Father"
• Fresh and Exotic Produce of the Season
• And other Big Bites!

All for less than $40! Each guest also receives:

• Seattle Bites souvenir eco-friendly reusable shopping bag
• 10% merchant discounts
• Use of personal and (discreet) listening device

And what better time to tour the market than fall! So be sure to pick up your tickets HERE! And have FUN!

Happy Dating!

xo,

B&M

Splurge vs. Steal!: Concerts and Movies, and Wild Things, OH MY!

It’s really gross outside. Like REALLY gross. SO, what better weekend to be INDOORS either watching an AMAZING movie, hearing some rad live music, or grabbing some great grub. With that said, i bring you this week’s installment of Splurge vs. Steal!

There’s something amazing about seeing a live show with someone that makes your heart beat out of your chest. It’s just raw, you know? Because at a live show, you can actually FEEL the music.

Lucky for us, there are a ton of great shows happening around Seattle this weekend! So instead of simply recommending ONE to you, i will recommend several. Certainly there will be someone here your honey wants to see LIVE in concert!

Jay-Z @ Key Arena on Saturday at 7pm

Grizzly Bear @ the Moore Theater on Friday at 8pm

Sunny Day Real Estate @ the Paramount on Friday at 8pm

Super Diamond (Neil Diamond Tribute Band) @ the Showbox Downtown Saturday at 8pm

Moby @ Showbox SODO on Sunday at 8pm

Start the night off with happy hour and nibbles at the new Chao Bistro and Bar, 1200 Pike Street.

When i was a little girl, one of my most favoritest books in the world was Where the Wild Things Are.

What?? YOU TOO?? That doesn’t surprise me. It is a wonderfully delicious book.

And Spike Jonze has made it into a film. I love him for it. I am dying to see this. DYING. I actually cried at the preview (i partially blame Arcade Fire for this) because it looks so freaking good. Talk about a walk down memory lane.

"As a kid, one of the things that can feel scary or out of control is wild emotions, out-of control emotions, either in yourself or the people around you," Jonze said. "Having a tantrum, that's scary as a kid, because you just see red. Trying to make a movie that feels like what it feels to be 9 years old at times, that was the idea."

Where the Wild Things Are opens this Friday. I suggest you go see it, but only after re-reading the book. Click HERE to find a used book store near you, and click HERE to buy movie tickets.

Click here to view the trailer if you need further convincing.

I’ll eat you up i love you so.

** ALSO! honorable mention! It is the Kirkland Crawl in the Fall benefiting Cystic Fibrosis THIS SATURDAY! so put on your rain jacket and come on over to support your local CS Chapter! Click HERE for details or to register online !

Happy Dating!

xo,

B&M

CHEAP Space Needle Date Idea for this Thursday!

Hello, lovely daters! A friend of mine passed this little golden nugget of a good time to me earlier today as a date night idea, and i just HAVE to share it with you, dear readers, so you can take advantage of it, too!


Brett and I are in a battle with our livers at the moment, after 4 days in the Vegas... but hopefully we'll make it, and see you all there! (and if not tonight, perhaps the 29th, since it's happening both days!)

click HERE to print the coupon (must have coupon for entry!)

Basically, for just $10, you get a ticket to the top of the Space Needle, and tastes of wine and food samples! What a steal of an idea!

Offer valid October 15 & 29, from 4 - 8pm.
Each guest must present a copy of coupon to receive complimentary Observation Deck ticket.

xo,

B&M

Seattle Weekend Date Ideas: Splurge vs. Steal

Okay, I'm both thrilled and infuriated about this weekend's Date Ideas. Infuriated because i won't be able to partake in ANY of them... but thrilled because the reason we'll be MIA for the festivities is that we'll be in THE VEGAS!

With that said, i felt it only appropriate that we share these great ideas with you, our dear readers, so you can have 3 times the fun, once for yourself and once for Brett and me! So, without further ado, i bring you this week’s installment of Splurge vs. Steal!

While $25 per ticket doesn't techincally count as our typical "splurge" option, it's still a good chunk of change. Which is why this weekend's Splurge item on the menu is: The Iron Chef Party with Daisley Gordon.

I KNOW! Again, Brett and i are addicted to the Food Channel. (They are audutioning for a new Iron Chef, and one of the contestants, Holly Smith, is from Kirkland's Juanita Cafe mentioned in Susan's post below!)

This Sunday, you have the opportunity to watch the Iron Chef America show with Seattle’s own contender chef Daisley Gordon on Oct. 11th at 6pm at Campagne restaurant (one of our FAVE's!).

They will provide the TV, yummy hors d’oeuvres, Daisley himself and a cash bar, and we will learn whose cuisine reigned supreme as our man Gordon battles Bobby Flay on TV! How exciting!!

Tickets are $25 per person and reservations are going fast. To save your place call Campagne restaurant 206-728-2800.

Please PLEASE go to this, so you can report back to Brett and me how amazing it was!


And now, for those of you who are less obsessed with the Food Channel, and more obsessed with beer! (I'm do apologize that all my 'steal' dates happen to do with beer. but it's that time of year, people!)

Elysian Brewing is holding its 5th Annual Great Pumpkin Beer Festival!

Come on up to the Capitol Hill location, where Elysian will be showcasing 9 pumpkin/autumn-inspired brews including Dark 'o the Moon Pumpkin Stout, The Great Pumpkin, and Hansel and Grettle Ginger Pumpkin Pilsner, just to name a few!

$15 gets you started with your souvenir glass and 6 tokens, with additional tokens costing just $1.50! Be sure to be there at 4pm on either SAturday or Sunday for the Great Pumpkin Tapping!

** Also, a quick mention -- if you like Taco Trucks, street eats, the ice cream man, or anything else on wheels that you can eat, be sure to check out the Sample Seattle Street Food Festival!

Happy Autumn, and Happy Dating!

xo,

B&M

And the Winner Is...

Congratulations, Susan, and thanks for entering our contest! Below is Susan's fabulous She Said account of Kirkland's famous Juanita Cafe! Enjoy!
** Runner-up was Ed O., and you can read his post here!

She Said:

My husband, Todd and I don't have much in common. He's an engineer that loves math and science. I mean, the man brought Advanced Trig books on our honeymoon. He built a robot... For fun.

I love decorating. And reality shows in poor taste. So what's the glue that keeps us together? Our love of food. And we're not talking hamburger helper and stove top. (Although Todd loves both and I've been known to crave a can of SpaghettiOs.) We're talking sweetbreads and foie gras. Which until recently, we didn't have a clue about. I think we both were under the impression that Sweetbreads were a delicious french bakery good. We soon found out that Sweetbreads were neither sweet nor bread....

So for our two year anniversary we celebrated not only our love for each other, but our love for all things culinary, by going to Cafe Juanita in Kirkland. We certainly were not disappointed.

Cafe Juanita has a lot of things going for it. Their exterior is not one of them. However, they have done what they can with the 1970's rambler. The inside is much more charming and it's whats on the inside that counts, right?

We began with two starters. Don't judge. We were celebrating, remember?

And nothing says celebratory like Seared Foie Gras with Nectarine, Huckleberries, Candied Ginger and Cocoa nibs AND Veal Sweetbreads with Fried Capers and Parsley, in a Ligurian Olive Oil.

I'm pretty sure I had an out of body experience with the former. The Foie was seared perfectly and the sweetness of the nectarines was perfection. Seriously. I wanted to bathe in it. Gross? Kinda . But only if you think about it. Which I don't. I just eat it! :)

The sweetbreads were equally good but it was the fried capers that had me. I was seriously considering about replacing my theatre popcorn with fried capers during my next visit to the movies. I'm sure that will catch on.

On to the main dishes. Without fail, I always want what Todd orders. I always end up eating most of what's on HIS plate. Not so this time. And I wasn't about to share. I ordered the rabbit--a dish they are well known for. To be specific--Rabbit Braised in Arneis with Ligurian Chickpea Crepe, Pancetta and Porcini. Ummmm, delightful to say the least. In fact, in the deserted island game that Todd and I like to play, (okay, the game I like to play) if I had to chose one dish to eat on a deserted island...for the rest of my life...this would be it.


[images via Cafe Juanita's website]

The pancetta, the Porcini--it was all a giant YES. Todd ordered the Sweet Grass Farms Wagyu Beef Bolognese with Tagliatelle and while it too was quite good, it paled in comparison. I love it when I pick the winning dish of the night. When he begs me for scraps. :) And although we had planned on getting dessert--we skipped it as we were so full we were about to pop. And with the hefty price tag that was attached to the entire evening, we felt like we got our money's worth.

And there you have it. A memorable meal with a memorable man. :)

Todd and Susan met under the most romantic of circumstances--at a bar.

The kind of bar where the floor is perpetually sticky and it's in your best interest to hover over the toilet seat.

None the less, it was love at first sight. Or perhaps after the first shot.

Anyway, they have been enjoying marital bliss for 2 years now in Bothell.

(They are slowly learning to claim their new city with pride. And resist calling it the Brothel.)

They live with their two cats, Copper and Lilly and have recently added Dr. Newton, a three pound chihuahua, into the family dynamic.

Seattle Weekend Date Ideas: Splurge vs. Steal!

Iiiiiiiit’s THURSDAY! And you know what that means!! Yes, it means that tomorrow is Friday which inevitably means it’s almost WEEKEND!

But also, more importantly, it’s time for this week’s installment of Splurge vs. Steal!

Hello, October. Welcome. My name is Mandy. I LOVE YOU.

It’s true. Those of you who know me know this. I’m obsessed with all things Fall… or October... Which means, Oktoberfest is right up there on my top 2 things to do in life. Unfortunately, i missed Fremont’s Oktoberfest this year. And i missed the “real” Oktoberfest in Germany.

You too?? Fear Not! Why not make it to the next-best thing? LEAVENWORTH’S Oktoberfest! It’s happening THIS MONTH!

For three big weekends in October, the kitschy Bavarian town of Leavenworth transforms into one massive celebration – and what are they celebrating? BEER!

Just 2 hours outside of Seattle, Leavenworth is a MUST-SEE town for anyone in the Northwest. Brett and I spent one of our best weekends there last year. It has so much to offer, especially this weekend!

With tons of hotels to choose from, or even camping as an option, the town is your oyster.

Tickets to Oktoberfest are only $10 each, and you can usually find a hotel for around $140/night during this “holiday weekend”… be sure to book lodging in advance, though – the town is PACKED during Oktoberfest and you don’t want to be without a roof over your head.

Make an entire weekend out of it, and hit up some horseback riding (or, sleigh riding during the winter time! so romantic!), go on some amazing hikes, fish the lake, or even enjoy some quiet time with a couple’s massage after a long day of drinking.

Whatever your plans, a weekend in Leavenworth is sure to be a great time!

More details on their website.

Can’t make it to Leavenworth this weekend for their Oktoberfest? FEAR NOT! We have one more chance to Fest it up this Oktober! And it’s a perfect Date Night idea happening THIS WEEKEND! This one’s extra special, because not only is it a celebration of Oktoberfest, it’s also a philanthropy to raise money for Breast Cancer (October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month) – voila! It’s OKTOBER-BREAST!

From 2 to 10pm this Saturday, October 3rd, This 21+ event in Georgetown will feature live music, food, a door prize raffle, and of course, BEER! Come drink to support Breast Cancer Awareness.

Find out all the details HERE!

PROST!

Happy Dating!

xo,

B&M