November/December 2024

When Your Mind Makes a Promise That Your Body Can’t Fill
Aging is inevitable. We must accept it with grace and gratitude.
Denial is not always a bad thing. I practice it religiously, albeit selectively. I know my age is getting close to the beginning of my eighth decade, but I choose to see that as just the start of another one. I am also into denial about what my true hair color might be if I…

Let There Be Light: Not the Las Vegas You Remember
A two-and-a-half-hour flight from Seattle brings desert sunshine and bold reinvention
Humans crave light. It fuels our bodies, lifts our moods, and makes even the darkest days feel a little brighter. When winter in the Pacific Northwest drags on, the trick is to learn from our feathered friends and fly south. In this three-part series, we’ll explore three escapes from the gray: Waikiki, Santa Barbara, and…

Let There Be Light: Sepia Splendor in Santa Barbara
Two-and-a-half hours from Seattle, golden glow and coastal charm await
Humans crave light. It fuels our bodies, lifts our moods, and makes even the darkest days feel a little brighter. When winter in the Pacific Northwest drags on, the trick is to learn from our feathered friends and fly south. In this three-part series, we’ll explore three escapes from the gray: Waikiki, Santa Barbara, and…

Interior Motives
Seattle’s LeeAnn Baker brings a touch of Northwest elegance to her designs
LeeAnn Baker couldn’t wait for new home magazines to arrive. When they did, she immediately flipped to the back. She wanted to look at floor plans. That passion for interior design really blossomed more than 30 years ago while attending The New York School of Interior Design, where she worked alongside interior designers and architects…

A Camel, a Desert, and Some Quick Thinking
How an accident led to a $4 million company
Jensen Brehm just wanted to protect his eyes from the blazing heat of the sun. Brehm, then a student at the University of Redlands in California, was a top of a camel in a remote desert in India when his party stopped for lunch and a much-needed break from the 100-degree heat. Brehm sat down…

Among the Trees
Creative San Juan project seeks harmony with nature
Harriett “Hatty” Hatch began her career as a confident art teacher, but uncertain artist. In time, she would voluntarily check herself into the Harvard University Graduate School of Design. “I just wanted to be able to design a stable for a horse,” she recalls, “but I didn’t have a horse.” She eventually crossed trails with…

Let There Be Light: Off-the-Radar Waikiki
Six hours from Seattle, tropical light chases away winter blues
Humans crave light. It fuels our bodies, lifts our moods, and makes even the darkest days feel a little brighter. When winter in the Pacific Northwest drags on, the trick is to learn from our feathered friends and fly south. In this three-part series, we’ll explore three escapes from the gray: Waikiki, Santa Barbara, and…

She Never Gave Up
Some of Alissa Leinonen’s biggest mistakes turned into her greatest successes
Alissa Leinonen launched her catering and box-lunched company, Gourmondo, as a simple, four-table lunch café in the Pike Place Market almost 30 years ago. Today, Gourmondo has become a turnkey catering company, offering full services for social and events catering, a successful corporate café division, a retail line of gourmet grab-and-go products, and an in-house…

Rise and Grind
It’s no secret that we like our coffee. Here’s how much
How often do you go to Starbucks, or one of the many other coffeehouses throughout the city? Any idea how much you spend on coffee each year? What’s your bean budget? Turns out that Seattle is the third-best coffee city in the United States. Personal finance website WalletHub compared the 100 largest cities across 12…

Pieces of a Ferry: The Story of the Kalakala
Remembering 'the workhorse of Puget Sound'
People often ask how I manage to find so many historical treasures, and quite honestly, it’s often just a matter of dumb luck. Case in point: Several months back I decided to stop at a random garage sale while out running errands. Nothing initially grabbed my eye, but on the way out I noticed an…

Back Page: Nature Therapy
Washington state is among the leaders in outdoor recreation
The headline in the June 1970 issue of Seattle magazine sounds provocative, perhaps even a bit pugnacious: “Why WASP’s Camp: The quest for a Lost America.” The article had less to do with Presbyterians and more with the challenges of conservation and outdoor recreation. Written by David Brewster, who went on to found both Seattle…

Rain, Water, Horses, And Basketball
Seattle artist Robin Layton’s new exhibit showcases her award-winning work
Last year, Robin Layton had a one-woman show set to music with live performers. This year, it’s a fine-art exhibit. Layton, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, artist, and photographer, will again showcase her work — although in very different fashion — during a month-long exhibit at Seattle’s Slip Gallery starting in December. “FLUIDITY” celebrates three of…