Jeannie "is that a half-price martini?!" J.'s Profile

I recently made my first trip to Rome. Luckily, my friend had been, and knew the area. She found the hotel through friends that stay at this property yearly. What a find! They arranged for a driver to pick us up from the port of Rome, Civitavecchia, after our cruise.

The Inn is centrally located, but not touristy. It's in a condominium near Palazzo Barberini, near the Trevi Fountain and Spanish Steps. We stayed our first night at the sister hotel located just across the square. Both hotels are situated up several flights of stairs, but they have a small elevator that is helpful for luggage.

Upon arrival, we were greeted by 2 helpful employees who were eager to acquaint us with places to visit off the beaten path. As a frequent traveler, I appreciate this since many touristy areas are overrated. They mapped everything, and offered to make dinner reservations at local establishments they recommend. It's like having a full time concierge and interpreter. When you check in, you are given the option of using a pre-paid phone. You only pay for the actual time used, so it's quite affordable. I made several local calls, and a call to Germany for only 3 Euro.

Each morning you receive a continental breakfast. Unlike so many hotels in the U.S., this breakFEAST is huge! A basket (around a dozen!) of freshly baked rolls and pastries, fruit, cereal, delicious yogurt (I miss it already), a plate of meats and cheeses, a pitcher of juice, milk, preserves, butter, honey, and made to order cappuccino. We actually made sandwiches to take with us during the day to enjoy with the fruit in the afternoon. There was bottled water, both still & sparkling in the small refrigerator inside the room. They had a hot water kettle to make coffee or tea, and a Mac computer for our use. The wireless Internet didn't work while we were there, but having their computer available was fine.

When we had to move hotels, they transferred the luggage for us. After we left in the morning, the clerk realized he had given us the wrong restaurant name for dinner, so he ran over a block to find us. I walked out with the key card envelope one night, leaving the key in the room. Luckily I had the phone with me. The owner Alessandro, was there to let me in within 10 minutes of my call.

The Daphne Inn delivers a level of personal service that you won't find in an ordinary hotel, along with the privacy you won't find in a B&B. The rooms were spacious, clean, and safe. It isn't cheap, but we experienced Rome in a way I don't think we would have had we stayed elsewhere.

The Chinook Book is useful, fun, and cool! Thanks to Don B. I received my first Chinook Book free last year at an Elite Event. I never realized how many places I patronized were in the book until I went through page by page. Why not save a little cash while shopping at local merchants? They have a Smart phone app that allows access to all the coupons without lugging the book around. You will most likely get your money back in just one or two transactions. It is normally $10 to download the whole book to your phone, but now it's down to only $5. The coupons are good until August.

There are many free offers available, for instance:

-Free 1/2 pound of Umpqua blend coffee at your neighborhood branch
-Free slice of pizza at Whole Foods
-Free hand-crafted sausage link at New Seasons
-Free organic French baguette at New Seasons
-Free intro level class at Mr. Green Beans when one is purchased
-Free loaf of bread with a $5 purchase at Grand Central Making Company
-Free car wash at Eco Car Wash and Car Washman

This is just a sampling of the savings.

There are also tons of buy one, get one free or 50% offers for restaurants, and savings for stores like Food Front, Grocery Outlet, New Seasons, Sheridan Fruit Company, Bob's Red Mill, Pharmaca, and Organics to You. If you own a home, bike, or pet, there are plenty of offers available too.

What are you waiting for? Get it NOW!

At the end of last year, I was watching my pennies. I decided to turn to Yelp to find a place to get my hair done. Jovana was close to home, and had some pretty good reviews, in particular for TT. I decided to give it a try.

I was able to snag an appointment fairly quickly, which that alone made me happy. I arrived at the shop, and they were running on time. It's not fancy with many frills like other salons in the area or Pearl, but I'm more concerned with how my hair looks after the service anyway. Amirite?

TT and her husband own and run the salon, and they have several other chairs and stylists available. I have been to TT three times for my hair, and have walked out looking great each time. She listens to what you want, and explains what she plans to do before she starts. When I was still doing lash extensions, I had touch ups there several times, and they turned out great also. They offer a full set of lashes for $60, which is an excellent deal. She is really skilled in both.

Long story short, I am sticking with them because I am very happy with the results. I have been getting their deal, $65 for a full weave, cut, and deep condition, and style, which is hard to beat anywhere! If you pay in cash, they will also give you a 2.5 oz Hempz lotion.

The food & beverages were absolutely 5 stars, as usual for this event. I had to knock off a star for the venue. When general admission was let in, the single thoroughfare that they had was bottlenecked, and completely clogged with people. It was nearly impossible to see what was at each table, let alone grab taste. Security wouldn't allow anyone to sit in the bleacher areas, which would have helped the crowding situation considerably. It would have been nice to have a place to rest your feet while enjoying all of the delicious samples.

Seriously, all the big names come out, and bring their A game. The food and drinks are high end, and I can't even begin to list what was offered. There is something for everyone. They also have roulette, raffles, and silent auctions to win great prizes.

Hopefully next year they will smooth out these bumps or change venues because this is an excellent event, and worthy of our support.

There were people waiting in LINE to give us delicious bites! Dispensers with different flavored butters for your popcorn?!? And pitchers of beer and bottles of chilled wine??? Yes, it's true.

I'm not even a movie buff, but this was a great event. We had a tasty pre-funk, and our choice of movies to attend. I was very pleased. Can you think of a better ending for your Tuesday?

PS. There was some pretty rad furniture there. Just pointing it out.

Most people think of Bargreen Ellingson as strictly a restaurant supply house. They are actually open to the public, and even have a website where you can order online.

If you're in the market for good quality knives, cookware, or bar supplies take a look here before you blow a ton of money at the high end kitchenware stores. You will be pleasantly surprised with the difference in price, and quality. Having worked in a number of commercial kitchens myself, trust me, these products can stand up to about anything you can throw at them.

I usually browse through here after I have been to Pacifica candle warehouse across the street. I'm impressed by their selection, and they're helpful. My nephew wanted an extra large cutting board. I wasn't able to find what he was looking for anywhere else, but they had just what he wanted, and it was less than the smaller boards I was looking at. I plan to pick up a cocktail shaker and muddler the next time I'm in.

Anyway, I recommend that you take a browse for yourself.

I went in for a birthday card today, but walked out with :

-said card
-2 humorous magnets
-2 pair of earings
-a smoky quartz & pewter ring
-a Pre de Provence soap

Total damage: $63.40!

How can you beat that? They even had a rack of cute earrings at $5.00 a pair. Cute stuff, and good bargains. I was due for a little shopping spree.

The ladies that own it are so nice, and very helpful. They don't try to upsell either.

I remember the first time I saw the Artesian Well behind Olympic outfitters. I was probably in 6th or 7th grade. I was with a few friends. We had been looking at stuff we couldn't afford in the shops. When we walked through the parking lot, one of my friends knew what it was. I did not, and I was skeptical. I mean really, an artesian well? All I saw was a unmarked pipe with water flowing from it in a random parking lot downtown. I wasn't drinking any! Of course no one carried water bottles with them everywhere like we do now, so my friends just drank from it like it was a fountain. I asked my parents about it later, and they confirmed. Great water, drink up! It felt like some cool secret discovery. I've been visiting this well ever since.

From the website:

The Artesian Well, located between 4th Avenue E, and Jefferson Street (former Diamond Parking Lot), is at 415 4th Avenue E.  It is reported the well was constructed between 1895 and 1915 on the former railroad station site, now Olympic Outfitters.

Links with information

http://markgrowden.org...

http://olyblog.net/oth...

The link on the main page will give information about the water quality, and recent improvements to the well.

The water still flows freely, but the site has been marked. People come down and fill gallon jugs for use at home. I usually stop by when I'm in town to refill my bottle before my drive back to Portland, or when I'm walking around downtown.

There are still many locals that don't know about the well. Since it's near and dear to my heart, I wanted to share this quirky little secret. If you're looking for something unique to downtown Olympia, stop by for a free drink. It's the water!

Stumptown beans consistently beat Starbuck's anyday, in my book.

I have been in for both whole beans, and for cups of drip to order, single origin brew.

That being said, I have had a side of attitude served with my coffee. I can deal with an occasional blank stare, sigh, or eye roll for good coffee.

Take your coffee to the lobby of the Ace for more comfortable seating unless you're on the go.

After Dave left, the mixology program for the bar has gone down to strictly average. There were some interesting sounding drinks on the menu, but the execution was off. I still haven't eaten the food. Perfectly fine McM to stop for a pint or simple mixed drink.