Duchess of Downtown Tacoma

I thought I couldn't do this blog today because I didn't eat at any restaurants this week. Its kind of unusual for me since I am surrounded by great restaurants and most of my meetings take place in them but I was kind of reclusive this week. Then I remembered that I did get some butter chicken to go from India Mahal but since I ate it at home I didn't take any pictures. Here's a picture from a previous visit.   Look at those giant chunks of chicken! This butter chicken is the BEST!  On Thursday I visited Hotel Murano  to make arrangements for our visit there during the next ART BUS tour . I got a sneak peek at the new gift shop and was surprised by excellent parking spot this person was given. Right smack in the middle of the lobby! Talk about your VIP parking! :) What does this have to do with Menu Item Monday? If you ride the ART BUS in September you could win an overnight stay at Hotel Murano and breakfast at their restaurant ( BITE ) which i...

I simply adore summer in Tacoma. So many wonderful events give me lots of opportunities to see my favorite people. I felt like I spent a lot of time at home working but looking back through my photos for the week I realized I was still quite social! Last Tuesday I visited 6th Avenue and had a lovely rooftop dinner with some of my favorite ladies. We feasted on Masa's delicious happy hour tacos. See pictures below:  Masa Restaurant 2811 6th Ave., Tacoma, WA http://www.masatacoma.com Connect on Facebook I can't remember which was which but everyone agreed they were scrumptious. And I'm sure that had nothing to do with the margaritas. :) Tacoma Farmers Market 6th & Pine St., Tacoma, WA http://www.tacomafarmersmarket.com Connect on Facebook I also snapped some shots of fresh produce at the Tacoma Farmers Market. Fresh rasberries ! Cucumber, blueberries, cherry tomatoes and more ... Peaches, plums, cherries - oh my!  This happened earlier...

Welcome to Wellness Wednesday, where its all about self improvement and being the best we can be, outside and in. I welcome your suggestions for wellness in the comment section below. Share with us what you do! Last week I tried something brand new. I already have eyelash extensions on my upper lashes  from Eye Candie (which I LOVE) then I got an offer from a friend at Clara Spa (Sylvia Sheridan) to have a new treatment done to make my lower lashes look darker and thicker too. The treatment is called Lash Dip. Its like a mascara that lasts 3 weeks and never flakes or smears. I stopped wearing mascara when I got my lash extensions so my lower lashes were kind of invisible. I didn't mind that look but this is nice too. The name "Lash Dip" is a bit misleading. She didn't dip my lashes into something, rather she painted a solution on to them. The process was not uncomfortable for me but my eyes did water a little. After she applied each coat of the solution she dried...

We took the week off last week, did you miss us? In her day job Lady Jacqueline is transitioning from one employer to another so she's training at one while still working at the other. Did I mention she has a husband and kids too? She's like a super woman! Not only that but we had a really exciting ART BUS tour last Thursday with Komo 4's Elisa Jaffe and TONS of great prizes so we really had our hands full getting everything ready. Despite all that, this blog reached a landmark while we were away. We've exceeded the 50,000 mark! As of this minute, we've had 50,230 pageviews! I am so blown away by the support for this blog! Another thing you might find interesting, is that this blog has visitors from all over the world. Countries that visited the Duchess of Downtown blog during the last 7 days include: United States: 1,242 Australia: 16 United Arab Emirates: 13 Mexico: 11 Russia: 10 Germany: 8 Canada: 6 South Africa: 6 Switzerland: 5 Philippines: 5 ...

Lady Jacqueline has the week off so I'm filling in this week with your thrifty deals around town. There are so many ways to live like a Duchess on a paupers salary, I could write a whole book about it but here are a few of my favorites ways right now: Clara Spa & Salon  1506 Pacific Avenue, Tacoma, WA 98402 Connect on Facebook 253.682.2005 http://www.ClarasSpa.com Did you know that you could have a gym/spa membership at Clara for just $25 a month? Membership benefits include use of the Courtyard Marriott pool and gym plus spa amenities like the steam room and sanctuary plus a 20% discount on ALL spa service. This is the best kept secret in town!  This gym has recumbent bicycle, treadmills, elliptical machine, free weights and more. Great indoor pool and hot tub. Its not uncommon to have the whole place to yourself if you visit at the right time! But word of warning, don't get too crazy, there's a camera on you so any one near the front desk upstairs can...