A little bit of Florence in Seattle

Westlake Square, Seattle, Washington. Gabrielle Abbott.

Hats Off to Bill Cunningham! (we're on the same page...)

Well, as the sun is shining here in Seattle, Bill Cunningham notices a big trend on the streets of NYC. The Fedora. The cheaper the better! "...it's throw away chic!" Listen to Bill enthusiastically describe what the latest trend is in the big city: Bill Cunningham: On the Street!

Do you have your hat? Anita O' Day does!

I have taken to wearing a hat this summer. I walk quite a bit and decided that I'm over 50 and I should get over the fact that I cannot wear hats and go for the shade. I can. I finally found one...some classic french straw number.

The little doodle of hats above was drawn from a snapshot I took in Athens, another hot spot where hats are necessary, especially on raven haired peeps such as myself.

Anita O'Day classes it up with a derby style hat at the Newport Jazz Festival, 1957. Check out the people listening...the hats are ON. I have always adored Anita O' Day. When I was a young impressionable teenager in jazz choir I would just groove on the Anita O'Day arranged tunes. They were always spot on. Then I saw the film documentary film of the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival and there she was. Hats and Jazz. Get your groove on.

L'Aqua con Gassa

Look Up

I walk. I look. While walking I sometimes go into a trance and recall the memories of places I've travelled. I can feel the morning air in Firenze as I walk for my morning cafe and the dome of Santa Maria del Fiore is around every turn reminding us that God is in the details...In my neighborhood, the petite dome of Holy Names Academy peeks out...if you look for it. You must scan the horizon and there it will be, majestic silhouette against the sky...nothing else higher, symbolizing God as the King of kings.

French Delight: Dinette

Gadding about town, I decided to walk home to the leeward side of Capitol Hill from Pioneer Square. Yes. Ambitious. But ooh La La. Forever it seems I have been zooming up Olive Way via car or bus and I always have my neck jerked over to scrutinize the businesses in the base of this charming brick building between East Denny and Howell Streets at the base of Seattle's Capitol Hill. This block is a relief to the eyes on the No. 43 bus. I imagine myself walking the streets of Paris and looking at the shops and cafes that will stick into this growing envelope in my brain of an aesthetic that I'm always seeking for inspiration for my paintings. As I approach the building my wonder increases at the charm of it all. I stop for pause at the most charming of all, Dinette.

I was thinking that this would be my first Gad About Subject and decided to take a picture with my phone, but then the door was open and a woman was watching me. So I said, do you mind if I take a picture? She obliged. So I snapped. She came out and asked me what it was for. Loaded question. I told her I wanted to Blog it and also may do a watercolor. She thought that was great!

Oh, by the way, her name is Melissa and she is the chef and owner. I decided to go inside and couldn't leave. I decided to have a Manhattan. Delicious. The small plates listed on the blackboard were enticing but I needed to get home. I will return for cocktails and appetizers. While I was there, a wine rep came in with a six-pack of open wine for Melissa to try. The rep ordered several small plates and vowed that I would return. Stay tuned















The entry to Dinette.

Melissa concocting a potion at her quintessentially appointed bar.


Detail of Dinette bar. Note the trays surrounding the mirror reflecting in the mirror!