Cozy Italian in Ballard

I am loving Historic Ballard Avenue. I mean, loving it. Tucked between the more 70's vibe of Market's main drag and the industrial railroad tracks/canal warehouses is a series of tree-lined streets with brownstones, historic buildings, a small park, bistros, upscale boutiques, and unique furniture and gift stores. It kind of reminds me of some neighborhoods in my beloved Chicago. Especially on crisp fall days, with the leaves ablaze in color and the wind nipping at your scarf-covered chin.

Our most recent gem here is Volterra, at Ballard and 22nd. On cuteness and coziness alone, this place stands out: a small outdoor seating area separated from the passerby by a wrought iron fence, glowing lamps on the outside of the door...and then stepping inside, you're met with dimly lit shades of deep red and chocoloate brown. Chandeliers, sconces and light fixtures adorn the walls and were apparently designed by the owner, Michelle (who owns it with her husband Don, after being inspired by the town of Volterra in Tuscany - the site of their wedding) It's one of those places that is warm, inviting and cozy, yet you don't feel like you are on top of your neighbors. Quite a skill to pull off.

The food is an amazing blend of Northwest cuisine and fresh northern Italian favorites. I had the roasted beet and arugula salad, with toasted walnuts and asiago cheese bathed in a light vinaigrette. It was refreshingly sweet, tangy and crunchy. The mussels with italian sausage in a light spicy tomato sauce was amazing as well. The mussels were the perfect size: not too big and not too small.

Our little group (we were taking an out of town business colleague out to dinner) enjoyed some delicious entrees. I had the Dungeness crab ravioli in a tomato cream sauce. Sinful. These fluffy pasta pillows were not just stuffed with a microscopic piece of faux crabmeat, oh no. They were packed full, almost to bursting, with some of the freshest crab around. I could have had 10 more if they had been on the plate (although the portion size was already generous). My husband had the beef tenderloin medallions, topped with chianti and served with mashed potatoes and fresh veggies. He said it was wonderful, although he makes some of the best steak I've ever had at home, so it's often hard to top his creations. And our guest tucked into the wild boar tenderloin with gorgonzola sauce. Sampling wild boar for the first time, I found it was a delightful cross between a really tender pork and perfectly prepared veal. It sort of melted in your mouth.

Dessert was delish as well. My husband and I shared a chocolate/orange cake (not on the online menu) and our guest had a fruit tart special (also not on the online menu) with apples and cranberries, if memory serves me right. Which it may not, due to the amazing wine choice our steward recommended: Pelissero Barbaresco Nubiola 2004. I have to say it was awesome that he came up to our table the minute we sat down and was able to fulfill our request for a "complex red" in our price range. It was wonderful. He even advised what we might order to pair well with it, which is why I opted for the tomato cream sauce and my husband ordered the beef. He thought the wine might be too elegant for the wild boar, but our guest so wanted to try that, that he didn't really care. And honestly, it was still good.

Service was excellent, as noted by the wine steward's helpfulness and careful attention, plus our waiter making some great recommendations. This is a great romantic spot as well as nice business dinner location - which seems odd that it can be both. Warm and inviting, we will be back for sure!

Photo credit: Bob Peterson

Recovering from Brain Injury: Telling my Story

We all have a story to tell. In my work, I advise businesses on how to tell their stories "to engage, inform and delight." But this mission is also a personal one. I've always been a storyteller, whether it be marketing, writing or acting. I love watching the "a ha" moment happen for people who have just learned something new, or are moved, inspired or delighted.

I've been pitching my story about recovering from brain aneuyrysm/hemorrhage to various media outlets and group to help educate about brain injury and inspire those facing challenges. KUOW here in Seattle loved this bizarre and transformational story and just interviewed me for KUOW Presents, which will air on Saturday November 7, between 12 and 2 pm Pacific time. We talked a lot about what I'd learned, how my goals and such had changed, and even about some of the more humorous and crazy things that my initial brain injury caused me to say and think while in ICU!

As with marketing, you need to ensure you have value to offer your audience when doing something like this. And I really wanted to let people know about the effects of brain injury, that the struggle is ongoing even if you "look" fine and that you have to redefine and accept yourself as a result. So many people know litte about this experience, and especially with the uptick in traumatic brain injuries from those returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, you can be sure you or someone you know, work with or hang out with may be touched by it.

Given some folks I met whose families and friends did not understand what was happening to them - often causing disastrous results - I felt I should use my miraculously recovery to help be their voice.

Many of the experiences I documented (when I was able to finally get vision back and type) are here.

Wassup B?

I have a great T-Shirt that depicts a smiling sushi roll (I'm guessing a Caliornia roll) with a flower in her "hair" greeting a curmudgeonly blob of green wasabi paste. She greets him with "Wassup B?!" I must confess it took me a few times before I understood the joke. Yes, I was an honors student....

But "wassup" is the fab meal we had Saturday night at Wasabi Bistro in Belltown. This hip, bustling joint was just the urban melting pot I've been craving lately. I just wish I had dressed a little more chic. Yes, I know in Seattle anything goes but that doesn't mean it should. The restaurant touts itself as Japanese Fusion so all of you sick of tragically hip bastardizing of simple foods may want to stop reading now. However, you'll be missing out.

First off, they have some of the most creative Sake cocktails I've ever had. I had a Japanese Gypsy which had pear sake, blueberry vodka, lime and I think something with ginger (it is not on their online menu). It was not that sweet, but was definitely smooth.

Paul got the spicy tofu with ginger sauce, which he loved. If we could make tofu with that kind of flavor, we'd have it more often. I opted for the Beef tataki with roasted garlic ponzu and wasabi aioli. It was delish. The meat was tender and perfectly cooked. But having had beef with veggies from our local Chinese restaurant the night before, I advise not have red meat for two nights in a row.

For entrees, I ordered the Volcano roll.which contained spicy tuna & asparagus topped with ahi & avocado, spicy mayo, unagi sauce, sriracha, tobiko, sprinkled w/ toasted macadamia nuts. It's hella spicy, I'm warning you and oh so yummy. This $14 trip to Heaven was one of the best sushi rolls I've ever had. Yes, it beat the rolls at Sushi Ran in Sausalito and the Kit's roll at Marina Sushi in SF - and that is a bold statement, believe me. It was like I got to combine the Kit's roll with a spicy tuna roll all in one. The ahi was so pink, delicate and fresh and the flavors meshed wonderfully in your mouth. I usually need a good balance between the rice and the fish on my rolls (too much raw fish in one bite makes me gag) but this was just a perfect blend. Paul, who hates all seafood (it was my birthday dinner so he graciously took me for sushi. Is he wonderful or what?) ordered the Green Decadence roll - green onion, asparagus tempura, wasabi aoli, topped with avocado. He absolutely raved about it and thought the aioli mixed with the flavors were just stellar.

That seemed to be the theme for us: food with perfectly blended and balanced ingredients. Notes were not too high or too low or too sharp - just a perfect symphony of flavor. For dessert, we dove into the Banana Split Tempura, a banana fried in a sweetened tempura batter split over ice cream. In my mind, more foods should be fried in tempura - it's so light and subtlely crispy. It was great, although they could have let the ice cream thaw a bit more before serving.

Prices were pretty reasonable for the food quality and atmosphere. They were even kind enough to move us when our initial table was next to a woman with the loudest laugh and voice that could have pierced glass. Now, that's good service.

It's a perfect happy hour spot, first date night, or group night out with the girls locale. Definitely a great find and we'll be heading back. So many other delicious rolls to try, so little time.

Happy birthday! Get your note from the universe

So, today is my birthday. A day that has more meaning after my health issues last year. When it comes to birthdays, I'm like a dual personality: giddy like a 5-year old about presents and being the center of attention; and sad about the reality that I'm getting older. Ah well. The alternative is much worse indeed.

I subscribe to this nifty little email service from Tut, called Notes from The Universe, where you get bite-sized nuggets of inspiration and wisdom direct from the, well, "Universe", right to your email box (beats getting Spam). Thanks to my friend Elisabeth Squires for turning me onto this. You can get it every day, but I only get it on Fridays. However, as today is my bday (and you tell them when you register), I got this little gem that, while I know is automated, for some reason, almost made me cry. This type of affirmation stuff is a little too self-indulgent for me, I know. But sometimes we all just need a flagrant ego-coaxing cheerleading now and again, don't we? And honestly, this could not have come at a better time . I urge you to sign up today!


Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu,Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu,Happy Birrrrthday Dear Maria, Happy Birrrrthday to Youuuu!

A few years back, not so long ago, heaven and earth erupted into a major celebration with the news of your impending adventure into this very time and space. You see, someone like Maria Ross doesn't come along all that often. In fact, there's never been a single one like you, nor is there ever ANY possibility that another will come again. You're an Angel among us. Someone, whose eyes see what no others will EVER see, whose ears hear what no others will EVER hear, and whose perspective and feelings will NEVER, ever be duplicated. Without YOU, the Universe, and ALL THAT IS, would be sadly less than it is.

Quite simply:
You're the kind of person, Maria,
Who's hard to forget,
A one-in-a-million
To the people you've met.
Your friends are as varied
As the places you go,
And they all want to tell you
In case you don't know:
That you make a big difference
In the lives that you touch,
By taking so little
And giving so much!

Maria, you are so AWESOME! For your birthday, friends and angels from every corner of the Universe, including buddies you didn't know you had, will be with you to wish you the HAPPIEST of days and an exciting new year in time and space. You won't be alone! HAPPY BIRTHDAY, Maria!

Queen Anne Wine Examiner

Just landed a great writing gig for Examiner.com. I'm the new Queen Anne wine examiner here in Seattle. I'm excited about this new project and seeing if it works for me. Queen Anne is pretty small, but topics will range from wine shops, to new wine finds to what's available in neighborhood eateries.

Salut!

What can you do in 365 days?

"How do you measure, measure a year?"
- From the musical "Rent"

August 4, tomorrow, will be the one year anniversary of my aneurysm and brain hemmorhage. How does one celebrate (is that the right word?) the day you almost died? Granted, I haven't gotten melodramatic about the whole event for a year, while those around me want to know if I had a life-changing epiphany. I didn't, really. I was trying so hard to get back to "normal" that I couldn't stop to think about any greater cosmic significance.

But only recently - as I get back into my life again, as business picks up, as I start traveling to visit friends and take vacations again - has this quest for significance grown stronger.

Now, those of you who know me know I'm not much into the naval-gazing or psychobabble. While I enjoy self-actualization, goal setting and even my religious faith as much as the next guy, I have a bit more trouble dwelling on my situation when I saw so many people in rehab much, much worse off than I. People who couldn't fully speak, or walk, or get back to work. Those whose family or friends had abandoned them because they could not deal with the new person they had become. It was heartbreaking and humbling all at the same time.

So, after a dinner out and some glasses of wine shared with my husband...I ponder the duality of "Wow! It's been a whole year since it happened" against "Wow! It's only been a year and look at all we've been through!" Amazing how time and space can morph to be as long or as short as you want them to be.

So, my friends, here is a list of what indeed can happen to someone within 1 year, 365 days. And all I can say is, despite everything, I don't know that I would really change a single thing!

In 365 days, you can:

• Go from healthy to hospitalized to healthy again
• Live through a coiling procedure, an angioplasty, a shunt implementation - and 2 painful eye surgeries.
• Realize how much your spouse truly loves you and how seriously he took the "For better or worse, in sickness and health" part of the vows - especially when he has to see you with a shaved head, breathing tubes and a nasty streak when you lash out
• Learn to never take health for granted ever again
• Take pride in your strength at having stiches put in your head without anesthesia
• Appreciate a family who flies across the country to be with you - knowing many others don't have that kind of bond
• Realize how amazing your mother-in-law really is when she flies from Scotland to Seattle
• Witness firsthand (and be utterly overwhelmed by) the impact you've had on people you've worked with or been friends with over the years - and see just how much you really mean to them
• Learn true generosity of spirit when your friends fly from all over the U.S. to be with you - including some you haven't even seen in a few years - especially when you can't remember most of them being here in the first place
• Appreciate friends who love you so much, they are still there for you when you've temporarily forgotten who they are
• Get used to being pretty much blind for 6 weeks and then have (mostly) full eyesight restored
• Sweep away all the extraneous crap that occupies our lives most days - and realize what truly matters
• Receive the help of countless strangers who saved your life literally and figuratively and realize you may never see any of them again
• Learn to get your strength and stamina back after your body has been through hell
• Appreciate the lessons that your wonderful adopted dog can teach you
• Take time to celebrate small accomplishments, like being able to walk the dog on your own for 30 minutes with no physical therapist present
• See such an outpouring of love, support and well wishes that your heart almost bursts from trying to process it all
• Determine how you will make a difference in the time you have left on this Earth (actually, still working on this one!)
• Learn to not sweat the small stuff
• Learn more about brain injuries and recovery than you would ever possibly care to know
• Recognize your fragile limitations as a human and how wonderfully complex our brains really are in determining our talents and interests
• Accept patience into your life during a slow but steady recovery
• Learn to let go of who you were in exchange for who you have become
• Appreciate the value of slowing down and being in the moment
• Realize the value of going after your dreams, but balance that with not putting too much pressure on yourself to do everything NOW
• Complete an eBook and a book proposal all while recovering from brain injury
• See how wonderful human beings can be to each other - especially medical caregivers
• Recognize how desperately our health care system needs some kind of reform for people who are not as lucky as us
• Appreciate the thrill of driving again when it's been denied to you for 9 months!
• Hone in on the causes that are nearest and dearest to your heart and clear away the clutter
• Learn to let go of pride
• Learn to accept help with an open heart
• Accept your limitations while still loving yourself
• Learn to appreciate all that you have in your own life
• Learn how to give it all back in the end to others who are in need
• Get back up on that horse and live to fight another day, since there is so much to fight for!

My love goes to all of you out there, who sent a card, posted a note on my recovery website, made a phone call, sent an email, flew out here, contributed a gift. And here's some great links:

UW Medical Center - if you have to have brain surgery, you can't ask for more.

Info on brain injury recovery - many of the issues people have recovering from brain injury will shock you, even if the person "looks" okay, but those darn frontal lobes control a lot of behavior we think is automatic.

Lumosity - a great place to train your brain that helped me tremendously. These exercises also help keep your brain nimble against aging, even if you're healthy.

Caring Bridge - where my recovery website was posted: websites for those in medical distress

A Realistic Bucket List

Seems "bucket lists" are all the rage lately. Not sure if this term was around for a while or debuted with the Jack Nicholson/Morgan Freeman film of the same title. Regardless, it kind of irks me that it is swirling around everywhere like so much the latest hot handbag or must-have designer. While I love self-help and goal-setting content as much as the next gal (yes, I read Eckhart Tolle. Back off.), I'm always leary when it takes the form of a blind fad or trend. Shouldn't those themes be much more consistent and ongoing throughout our lives?

As the one year anniversary of my brain hemmorraghe draws closer, however, I'm still trying to figure out what it all means - and if it really means anything anyway. As I distance myself from the immediate needs and recovery of the event - which were all about getting back to daily living - I am entering a second phase of more thoughtful perspectives around the whole thing. Why did I survive? Why is my recovery going so much more miraculously than someone who has 3 children relying on them? If it was not "my time" yet, than what the heck am I meant to do here? What am I not "finished" with?

Answers abound. My husband, who truly understands how lucky we are but is not a spiritual guy, will tell you "This happened because your artery was weak due to genetics and high blood pressure and it burst. You are okay now because we got you to the hospital in time and the doctors were amazingly skilled. End of story." Or maybe it's just as simple as what my friend Melanie, who I had not seen in person in 10 years and just caught up with over dinner, said the other night, "Maybe you are still here so on this night, in this city, we could catch up over dinner and you can entertain me." I like that answer.

Which brings me back to bucket lists. I feel in this "renaissance of enlightenment", we are just putting too much darn pressure on ourselves to "live our best life." I am all about going after you want, not waiting, experiencing all you can experience. But in my life, the adventures have happened pretty organically. Sure, intention and goals are great things. But when they start to consume you, to make you feel like you are less of a person if you don't accomplish them, that's where I have a problem.

My recovery has been all about being gently with myself, setting realistic goals, and not overwhelming myself with too much. I think this is a good way to live, brain injury or not. So rather than some of the more lofty bucket lists out there that seem to taunt and stress out many of us and make us feel like we are not doing, being, seeing enough, here is a simple bucket list. It is doable, achievable and can still enrich your life greatly. You're welcome.

1. Ensure you have at least one person in your life who understands you, accepts you for who you are, and who makes you laugh. Just one will do. Could be a lover, parent, sibling or friend. If you don't have someone like this, make it your mission to find him or her.
2. Spend at least one night of your life falling asleep to, and waking up to, the ocean. Wherever that might be.
3. Next time you are on a plane, bus or train with a rambunctious toddler or fussy baby, try to make them smile. Just once.
4. Call one long-distance friend a week. Not email. PHONE. If you can't call, write a hand-written note.
5. Adopt a pet once in your life and give them a happy, loving home.
6. Say thank you to every bus driver or cabbie when you get off the bus/out of the cab.
7. Once a day, ask one clerk, be it barista or cashier, "How are you doing today?"
8. Have one dinner outside on a warm summer night with friends, wine, candles and great conversation.
9. Each time you talk to a family member or a close friend, say "I love you" at the end of the conversation. You never know if it might be the last time.
10. Every year, make one trip to a place you've never been or somewhere out of your comfort zone. This could be another U.S. city, a foreign country, or it could be based on accomodations: if you are a hotel person, go camping. Try it for perspective.