Guess Who's 2?

That's right, Kodiak Wilbur is officially a teenager now.  No doubt the moodiness and sulking are just around the corner.  Oh, and he still hates birthday hats.

2015 Seattle International Film Festival Dash

Country Girl and I are (very minor) arts patrons in the form a membership with a group that hosts the Seattle International Film Festival.  One of the membership perks is discounts to Festival films.  We took advantage of this in the form of a six pack for this year's festival.  While the festival runs over three weeks, we took in our six five during the last week cos we're boss like that.  Here's how it shook out:

City of Gold - engaging journey to some of L.A.'s hidden gem restaurants through the eyes of passionate, eccentric and beloved local food critic

Country Girl:  "fun movie about my favorite thing: food! 4 stars."
City Boy:  "yum, food!  4 stars!"


Wet Bum - coming of age story of an awkward pre-teen girl who feels most comfy in her swimsuit, in and out of the pool

Country Girl:  "good acting, but nothing exciting to say, 2 stars."
City Boy:  "bland and typical.  is it over yet? 1 star."


Gueros - trouble making youth sent to join his slacker, university going brother in Mexico City during student strikes

Country Girl: "silly movie, original ideas, enjoyed the black & white, 4 stars."
City Boy:  "some cheeky fun to be had, a bit artsy at times.  3 stars."


3 1/2 minutes, 10 bullets - timely, relevant documentary of the "loud music" murder trial from the perspective of the slain teen's parents 

Country Girl sez:  "a terrible tragedy, well put together documentary, 4 stars."
City Boy sez:  "gripping and well presented capture of a tragic event.  4 stars."


A Blast - Greek austerity hits home

Country Girl sez:  "i liked it.  city boy is cra cra.  3 stars."
City Boy sez:  "despite lots of hot action, ultimately woefully underwhelming.  2 stars."

Yelle - Showbox

Do you like French electro-pop?  Do you like live shows full of energy, bounciness and performance pajamas?  Do you think two drummers with choreographed dance moves is better than one?

If you answered yes to any of these, go see Yelle when they come to town.  We did and our lives are immensely better off as a result.  Real talk.

Monsoon Restaurant - Capitol Hill

A recent lunch date took us to Monsoon Restaurant on Capital Hill.  After some difficulty in finding the place ("oh, the other side of street. i see now!"), it was time for "classic Saigon meets Northwest innovation".
The interior is spacious, well lit and modern.  While my recollections of the food are a bit fuzzy, consultation with Country Girl reveals that we both enjoyed it a great deal.

Surf and Turf à la Maison

Grilled top loin, Atlantic lobster tail paired with butternut squash, broccoli and rice pilaf.   How was it? All kinds of awesome.

Spooning Leads to Forking

At least that's what I learned from Country Girl.  Dunno whether it applies to dogs though KW and Kyra are on their way to finding out. 

Marvelous Meatloaf, Roasted Asparagus and Finglering Potatoes

Being the incredibly kind woman that she is, Country Girl signed us up for another cooking class not too long ago.  While it turned out to be more of a demonstration than a class, it was a fun and educational experience. 

The entree of the four courses was "a modern take on an old classic", meatloaf.  I don't recall the specifics of the modern take.  I do recall we made the dish the following week, paired it with an exciting asparagus and potato recipe we found separately and it turned out very nicely.