Adventures of the Duchess (week of Jan. 30 to Feb. 3rd 2012)
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| Shoes from UrbanXchange |
First, in this post, you will see some of the random places I went. Then further down I have this weeks walking tour (every week I show you one shopping zone where you can park once and visit several places within the 2-3 hour parking limit.)
After this, I will have a daily blog with the random things and then at the end of the week, if I have time, I will give you the 2-3 hour guided walking tour of shopping downtown. Does that make sense? Good I hope so. I thought long and hard about the best way to do it and that's 5 or 6 minutes I'll never get back again. :)
Also, please remember to tell these merchants that the Duchess sent you if you decide to go there. The managers know about this blog and it really helps them to know how people hear about their business so as nerdy as you might feel saying it, you're actually doing them a favor by giving that important information.
OK, now for the cool stuff I found this week:
Home Decor
Broadway's Best Antiques
742 Broadway St, Tacoma WA
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| 1930s American Oak dresser |
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| This scale will tell you your weight and your destiny for one cent! |
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| Red shiny footstool, you had me at "red" |
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| His and hers fencing masks. Cheaper than a councilor or a lawyer! YOU'RE WELCOME! :) |
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| Super cute Eiffel Tower lamp - Ooh la la! |
Restaurants
India Mahal823 Pacific Ave, Tacoma, WA
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253-272-5700
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| My favorite dish! Butter Chicken. Look at those giant chunks of kitchen! Please visit this restaurant and tell them the Duchess sent you. You can try any dish on the menu, if you don't like it, you don't have to pay for it. They will adjust the recipe to make it more or less spicy so just tell them what you prefer. |
The Villa Caffe & Imbibery1328 Market Street, Tacoma, WA
(253) 222-4184
http://www.thevillacaffe.com
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| Caprese sandwich OMG!! You must try it! So good! |
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| Longshoreman chicken and BBQ sandwich. Delicious! |
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| Turkey wrap sandwich - loved it! |
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| Turkey and cranberry cream cheese crescent sandwich - my NEW favorite! |
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| This was what my friend Heidi ordered (the daily special that day): Hot ham and cheese sandwich with freshly made tomato bisque soup. Heidi said the sandwich was yummy and the soup was velvety and amazing. |
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| Here's a view of the inside of the restaurant on a very busy night. They were celebrating the birthday of one of the Villagio residents. This restaurant is in the same building as Villagio so there are quite a few regulars from the building. This just adds to the homey feel of the place. |
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| My friend Linda Danforth's signature drink. Only she and the owner/bartender Jason know what's in it. He makes it for her specially. |
Smooth & Juicey
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| Creamsicle Smoothie from the "Power" menu. Yeah baby! Powered me right up and it tasted so good that I slurped that thing down before my feet could carry me more that one or two blocks away. :) |
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| Green Machine from the "Skinny" menu. Much more delicious than you can even believe! (Banana, avacado, pineapple, matcha, rice milk, mango and spinach) |
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| Check out the menu and then pop by Monday through Friday 8 am to 5 pm to order yours. They are located next to the Downtown YMCA on Market Street. |
Paddy Coynes
815 Pacific Ave., Tacoma WA 98402
http://www.paddycoynes.com/
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| I tried the Turkey bread bowl for the first time and it was just showstopping good! It was way too much food for one meal but every bite was heaven so I ate the whole thing anyway and thenI laid on the couch like a slug for several hours. It was still totally worth it. :) |
Tahoma Tea & Co
(formerly called The Den and inside UrbanXchange clothing store)
1932 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402
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| New mural in progress! :) |
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| Back wall "stage" area. This is where the open mic show happens. |
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| I found all these hand painted cute signs on the door inside their bathroom. Aren't they cute? And informational ! :) |
Clothing
UrbanXchange
1932 Pacific Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402
Shop there right now on Etsy! Click Here
London Couture
746 Broadway St.,
253-905-0407
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| That's hot. |
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| OMG I really want these! |
Health & Wellbeing
Clara Spa
1506 Pacific Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 682-2005
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| Members of Clara spa have free use of the Courtyard Marriott swimming pool and hot tub. |
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| Members of Clara spa have free use of the Courtyard Marriott gym. |
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| Clara Spa offers spray tan service. This is Kileigh Carrington and she would love to help you get a healthy and sundamage-free glow. |
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| Rosie, (who does mani's, pedi's and more) has a LARGE selection of nail colors for you to choose from. |
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| While you get your pedicure you can enjoy this massage chair with a whirlpool foot soak. |
Embellish Multispace Salon
1121 Court D #A, Tacoma, WA 98402
253.752.8144
http://www.embellishtacoma.com/
This week at Embellish they did Go Red makeovers. Here are a few pictures of the event. The ladies had their hair in foils and I didn't want to invade their privacy so I didn't want to photograph them, just all the cool Go Red swag.
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| Embellish is selling these Go Red Lipstick & Check Dou's. When I get paid I am planning to go back and get one. Red lipstick is essential this spring! :) |
715 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 509-8811
E-mail: info@poledello.com
I borrowed the following text from the Poledello website:
"Pole dancing is the ultimate workout and the world is finally catching on! What other workout challenges any of us to climb repeatedly, flip upside down, spin and perform flawless aerial transitions? Where else can we explore artistic expression and play with music and costumes? While challenging our strength, fighting for one more invert and drying our hands off for one more twirl, we are having a blast! We look forward to our workouts and can’t wait to get back on the pole to perfect that next trick! Pole dancing is an amazing journey where we try to defy gravity every time we climb.
"Most importantly, all of us are working to educate mainstream society about this athletic and beautiful sport. We don’t dance to please men. We are not strippers. We aren’t going to apologize for expressing our curves and sexuality. Pole dancing empowers and liberates each of us as we build our muscles and routines. We are trying to perform on stages around the world to show our passion and influence others to join us and applaud us for our efforts. I’m proud to be part of this movement and hope many more women will join me by spinning around a pole. Don’t be afraid to begin! We all start one climb at a time……"
Please check out the first of the daily blogs to see Monday's Move of the Day from Poledello.
Walking Tour of the week:
This week's shopping trip is on St. Helens Street from 6th to 7th Street.
The Mix
635 Saint Helens Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 383-4327
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| Tacoma's most popular gay bar on the corner of 7th & St Helens next to Puget Sound Pizza. |
Amocat Cafe
625 Saint Helens Avenue Tacoma, WA 98402
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| Amocat is Tacoma spelled backwards. Here's the owner/operator Morgan Alexander. He tried to run away but I was totally ready for him with paparazzi like shutterspeed! Actually I was just about to take a picture of the front as he came out and he was nice enough to pose. If you go to Amocat say hi to Morgan from The Duchess! |
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| Just inside the front door you'll find lots of cool Tacoma related swag like this "Tacoma, like it or leave it" T-shirt. Even our squirrels have a little attitude around here! :) |
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| You know you're a local when all of these pins have significance for you! |
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| They also have coffee and gargantuan size cookies. |
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| This one almost had me. Sooooo tempting!! |
Mandarin Antiques
616 St Helens Ave
Tacoma, WA 98402
253-617-1730
http://mandarinantiquestacoma.com/
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| Steinway baby, its all about the Steinway. |
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| I had to look twice at the one on the right. What is going on with this guy? |
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| I've always wanted a life size merry go round horse. |
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| Gorgeous! |
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| He looks so happy. I just wanted to rub his belly! |
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| This would look so good in my house. Love this. |
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| I don't know if you can get the proper perspective on this but its very large like bigger than your average coffee table. |
Stink Meat & Cheese
628 St. Helens Avenue
Tacoma, WA 98402
(253) 426-1347
http://www.stinktacoma.com/
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| Cheese, meat, beer, wine. That's all 4 food groups, right? What more could you need? |
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| Owner/Chef Kris Blondin showing off some freshly baked goodies! |
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| Beer |
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| Lasagna dish with 3 sections so you can cook different kinds of lasagna at one time (like veggie and regular for example) |
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| This baby cooks your eggs and your toast at the same time! |
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| An alternative to SodaStream, this iSi machine carbonates water so you can make soda at home. Just add flavor! I have a Sodastream and I LOVE IT! |
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| wine |
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| wine |
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| wine |
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| Chocolate wine! |
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| Grow your own mushrooms! |
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| Valentines ideas |
I hope you enjoyed this edition. I'm sorry I didn't get to publish this on Friday as planned but my laptop was having some issues so it had to go in the shop for a few days. I have the nice people at The Computer Hub to thank for getting my laptop working again. If you need computer help, please go see them and tell them The Duchess sent you.
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| Computer Hub, 919 Pacific Ave, Tacoma WA |
Thanks everyone, please remember to shop small independent businesses for your favorite products and services whenever possible. And when you shop downtown, please tell them The Duchess sent you! :)
XOXO,
Duchess of Downtown Tacoma
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