Cherry Blossoms in Tacoma and Beyond

/
Cherry Blossoms in Tacoma and Beyond

Isn’t it so wonderful to walk or drive around town and see all the cherry blossoms?! Ahh, I love it!! It’s such a welcome sign after the cold, wet days of winter. I point out every tree as I drive around. I’m sure my family is tired of me doing that, but I can’t help myself.

If you share my love for cherry blossoms, then let me give you a few tips on where to go see them. The season is at peek or on the downward end of the season right now, so jump off your computer and get out there!

Read More

Dash Away to all the Holiday Magic

/
Dash Away to all the Holiday Magic

'Twas the month before Christmas, and all through the North End, all creatures were stirring to get out of the house. It's the holiday season, and there is so much to do; the children are excited, and the parents are, too. 

It's true; December is full of seasonal activities and events. Here are a few local events to add to your holiday list:

Read More

Raising Tacoma in Print

/
Raising Tacoma in Print

If you live in Tacoma's North End, you might receive a neighborhood magazine called Greet North End Tacoma. It's a charming magazine with local articles and sponsors. It recently went through some changes, and it's aiming to provide more content and photos. You can guess who they asked to take on the family column. Yup, Raising Tacoma!

Read More

Cruising Through LeMay Car Museum

/
Cruising Through LeMay Car Museum

When it comes to the LeMay Car Museum, have you asked yourself these questions…

  • I wonder if my kid is old enough for the LeMay Car Museum?

  • I am not much of a fan of cars. Will I like the LeMay Car Museum?

  • Is it worth a visit to the LeMay Car Museum?

  • What is inside the LeMay Car Museum besides just cars?

I sure did. I don't know why I was so unsure about it. I worried my toddler would want to touch all the cars, and some museum employee would come up to me and say, "excuse me, ma'am, your child is touching everything; you need to leave. We'll escort you out."

Then one blustery day, while my in-laws were visiting, we didn't know what to do with the poor weather, so we just went for it. If we didn't like it, eh, no big deal. And guess what: we all loved it!!

Read More

Dining Out in Tacoma

/
Dining Out in Tacoma

You may have followed Sue Kidd on Dine Pierce County like my husband and me. We truly appreciated her dedication to the Tacoma dining scene and especially her support of small businesses. Whenever she reported on a delicious-sounding new restaurant in town, I would giddily text it to my husband, who undoubtedly have just read it as well. While we don’t eat out all that often — we have two young kids with the blandest of bland palettes and refusal to take a bite of anything new, not to mention the closure of restaurants for a good period due to covid — we do consider ourselves moderate foodies and enjoy a good cocktail and dinner out whenever possible.

All that said, I was saddened by the recent news of Sue Kidd’s passing. I did not know her personally, but I felt like I knew her over the years of following her restaurant reviews. However, it was heartening to see the pouring of love from the local restaurants for her online — from “Reserved for Sue” signs with a table setting to pouring her a cocktail in tribute.

My tribute to her is carrying her flag and sharing some of my favorite Tacoma restaurants. Let’s all show our support of our small businesses and restaurants just like Sue! And aren’t we all thankful to have a nice meal and gather at a table with friends and family?! Cheers, my friends!

Read More

The 411 on Tacoma Playgrounds

/
The 411 on Tacoma Playgrounds

Playgrounds! Every parent’s go-to when we’re not sure what to do. Nine times out of ten your kids will enjoy it. Not to mention, a fabulous way to get the wiggles out and promote a good nap time or bedtime. But we all know some playgrounds are superior to other playgrounds. Parents have preferences. Kids have preferences. Luckily, there is no shortage of playgrounds in the area, so we always have a somewhere to go.

Someday I hope to have a post about each park on this list with an in-depth look at what’s there and tons of photos. Until then, I thought I’d give the quick 411 on each park (Does anyone really use 411 anymore? Did that just age me?).

If I missed something that you think is important to acknowledge, please write a comment. I will be trying to keep this post current, so I’ll make periodic updates to it and can include anything you guys want added.

Lastly, we live in North Tacoma with a 2-year-old and 5-year-old, so some of these parks we frequent more because they are just closer to home and better for my kids ages. So all that said, let’s dig in.

Read More

Rally Yourself for Restaurant Rally Week

/
Rally Yourself for Restaurant Rally Week

I’m chiming in here quickly to share something local that’s going on, Pierce County Restaurant Rally. Come on, let’s support our local restaurants and participate. (Oh and if you like to talk about food and find the latest happenings, check out Sue Kidd on Dine Pierce County - she also has some recommendations and highlights for this rally)

What is it (be brief about it):

It’s to help local restaurants during these crazy covid times. We still want restaurants folks, so we gotta support them! Here’s the deal, as a customer you get 30% dine-in or take-out before tax…sorry alcohol is excluded. In return, the restaurant will be compensated for 50% of gross sales. Read more of the details on the Restaurant Rally website .

When is it happening?

  • Sunday, November 8th to Thursday, November 12th

  • Sunday, November 15th to Thursday, November 19th

  • Sorry, no Friday and Saturdays (ha, of course, that’s when we eat out/take-out)

What restaurants?

The list is huge, so I went through it and picked out some of my favorites. See my list below.

Read More

Five Things to do in Tacoma Right Now

/
Five Things to do in Tacoma Right Now

I think I say the same thing to my husband every night: Can you believe this is still happening? I’m so tired of it all! How are you holding up?

Yup, we’re still trudging through this whole COVID-19 thing. It’s weird to think back to the beginning of the year and how things have changed and we’ve adapted. I started out with a burst of energy and ideas. Every day we had morning learning time, we took walks sometimes twice a day around the neighborhood, maybe a bike ride, and endless with magnatile creations.

Now, it’s summer so we only do learning time a couple of times a week (Caleb can put up such a fuss sometimes!), we take walks but often at different places, and we’ve moved onto DUPLOS. It’s the same, but not the same. Ahh, the ebb and flow of life during COVID.

Lately, more things have opened up allowing us to do a few more things…with caution, of course. Mainly, we are sticking to outdoor activities.

Read More

A Walk Downtown: Tacoma's Plywood Mural Art

/
A Walk Downtown: Tacoma's Plywood Mural Art

How are you doing? Hanging in there? These are strange times, right?

All sorts of emotions here - feeling a bit trapped, tired, and optimistic about some return normalcy in the near future…and then back to being frustrated and pessimistic. Ha! One of my least favorite parts of all this is the ambiguity of it all - nobody seems to know how what and when.

However, we’re all in this together and I feel lucky we have a strong community here in Tacoma. One thing that was encouraging lately was all the murals in downtown Tacoma.

Read More

Tacoma Treats for Valentine's Day

/
Tacoma Treats for Valentine's Day

Guys, I have the worst sweet tooth. Usually, it’s for something like ice cream, but I can’t say no to a macaron either. And the holiday of sweets is around the corner…Valentine’s Day. Oh yea, I’m excited for a good excuse to eat some sweets. If you don’t get your SO flowers, then a sweet treat to say, “I love you, hun” is always a nice gesture. Here’s a few ideas to get you rolling

Read More