Redmond/Sammamish Blog

November 19, 2006

SUN 19 NOV 2006

HELLO, WELCOME TO MY BLOG! By Carmen

Well Hello there! My name is Carmen Barr and this is my first entry in my very first blog. I have never had a blog before but being married to a computer geek who is very successful in communicating with the rest of the world through blogs, IM, Second Life. He encouraged me to build my own blog and start sharing my thoughts or anything that I think might be interesting or useful with the rest of the world. Also I love to get to know people and to know their thoughts, ideas. So I am excited about this. I feel like I am entering a huge place, a party - lets say, with lots of people in it and I am ready to introduce myself to each one of you and to get to know you too.

So I am going to tell you a little bit about myself. It will be brief but concise. I don't want to bore you.

My hubby tells me that people tend to read small entries rather than long entries.

This blog will combine my personal interests and my business interests.

My personal interests: I am a mom and I love being a mom. If I don't get to do anything else with my life anymore, I am completely satisfied and fullfilled. As a mother, you wear so many different hats constantly, one minute you are a cook, next minute you are a nurse, driver, teacher, banker, etc, etc (you've seen those lists before). I have been blessed with five wonderful kids as well as a wonderful husband who always tell me that I can do it all!

I am a health nut. For instance, I spend a lot time reading labels and nutrition facts before something goes in my mouth. My philosophy is if it has more than 5 ingredients then it's definitely too processed. For me fresh products are the best. I believe in paying a little bit more for something that it is better for you. But we will talk about that later.

I also spend several days a week at the gym. If I could, I would be there every single day but time and obligations do not allow me to do that unless I get up at 4:30 am instead of 5:45 am. No, I don't think that will work. I love the new Gold's Gym on Union Hill. Remember when it used to be Gai's, a huge warehouse where they used to make a lot of cheap white bread and fatty pastry? What an irony it transformed from something that it was not too healthy to something that is good for you. Now, you can work off the pounds you gained by eating all that white bread :-)  Anyway, I love what it is now, a modern gym.

On the professional side, I am a real estate agent with John L. Scott in Redmond and I absolutely love what I do. I get up in the morning eager to start my day and to see what the day will bring. Every day the real estate market brings a new challenge which keeps the job interesting. For me, I feel a sense of accomplishment when I meet my client's needs. Through Real Estate I have gotten to know many people and seen many exciting homes.

Okay, I think I have written enough for tonight. Thank you for being a reader. I have many more things to tell you. Feel free to check back everyday or to use any of the "Subscribe" link on the right hand side. I also want to hear your feedback. Leave me a comment if you like.

Chau!

SUN 19 NOV 2006

FRENCH COUNTRY HOME IN NOVELTY HILL ROAD By Carmen

 
This is a beautiful home located off Novelty Hill Road in Redmond. It sits on a 5 acre wooded lot that backs to the Redmond Watershed and is private, peaceful and perfect.

Let me take you on a little tour of this magnificent 4300 sq ft house.

We enter the property through an electronic coded gate and drive the long and gently curved driveway. The house sits on the middle of the lot and it is magnificently located. The gated driveway leads to open space for gardening and playing and an absolutely beautiful home.

The first floor features a formal dining room, an open and well-lit kitchen with every possible amenity, and an eating area looking out to the garden and the pond. Central to the first floor is a spacious great room. There's a paneled office with built-in floor to ceiling shelves and a sliding ladder adjacent to the great room. The master bedroom is located on the first floor. It has large, walk-in closets, and a spacious master bathroom.

After ascending the circular staircase to the second floor, we find three large bedrooms and a seating area that could easily be turned into a fourth bedroom. Each pair of bedrooms shares a bathroom, commonly called "Jack and Jill" style. Above the 3-car garage there's a unfinished storage area with wood floors and plenty of headroom.

Outside, we find a pond, a brick patio, and a detached storage building.

There's even more than I have time to write about tonight.

I'd be happy to arrange for a private showing of this property. You can email me (carmenbarr@johnlscott.com) or call my cell phone (425-246-3423).

The listing price for this home is $1,399,950.

November 20, 2006

MON 20 NOV 2006

POMEGRANATE RESTAURANT - REDMOND By Carmen

I am not a picky eater but I am one of those people that if I go to a restaurant and my food is not good, my whole night is ruined. That's why I have to ask all my friends if they have eaten at a certain restaurant before I try it on my own.

If you don't know about Pomegranate, it is owned by Lisa Dupar. It is located on the corner of 68th Street and Redmond Fall City Rd. Its building is unassuming, boring in its appearance, surrounded by 1 story small office buildings. But its sign is eye-catching. It is red with a big pomegranate where the letter O is supposed to be.

I celebrated my birthday with some friends and they decided to take me to Pomegranate Saturday night. Our reservation was for 8:30 pm. A little late for me to have dinner but it was Saturday night and that was the only time we were able to get seating. For me, this is a sign of a good restaurant. Anyway we waited for about 5 to 7 minutes before we were seated. Our waitress was very pleasant and greeted us with a warm smile. We were offered water right away. She was very attentive and had plenty of suggestions for first timers.

Inside, the restaurant was comfortable but not fancy. It looked more like a family restaurant, a place where you could bring the kids and not be afraid if they spilled something. The inside also had big windows where you could see the big working area. I assume this is where she prepares the food for her catering business.  Actually there was someone making huge batches of what looked like chocolate biscottis. it was fascinating to see her staff working.

I was in the mood for beef so I ordered the Misty Isle Angus Burger on an onion roll with catsup, rusett fries, fixings and slaw. I don't usually order sandwiches when I go out to dinner but for some reason this is the dish that caught my eye. And I did not regret it. My plate arrived at the table piping hot (I like it like that!), my hamburger was cooked to perfection and it was very juicy. I could tell that they use good ground beef. The french fries were great but I had only a few. It came with a nice cole slaw salad. My husband ordered the Sweet Potato and Dungeness crab stack, shrimp and tomato butter sauce. Of course I tried some of his food and it was delicious. We also ordered the flat bread with arugula, prosciutto, pecorino truffle and french sea salt. They have a variety of flat breads that they cook in their pizza oven. The result was very good.

My girlfriend ordered the mahogany glazed apple wood smoked salmon with coconut cilantro cashew sauce on a rice cake and sea salt and my other friends shared the grilled pomegranate glazed pork chops with fall mashers.

To finish this wonderful meal, we all shared a slice of cheesecake with raspberry sauce. I think we were all pleased with the food and the service. We had a nice evening of good conversation and laughter and I celebrated one more year of life!! I feel so blessed!

November 30, 2006

THU 30 NOV 2006

MACY'S HOLIDAY PARADE IN SEATTLE By Carmen

The Macy's Holiday Parade this year was fantastic! Every year it has become a tradition with my family to go and see the Macy's Parade. We got up early the day after Thanksgiving - that's right no staying in bed a little longer even though we were all tired from the day before.  We had a quick breakfast and we headed out the door. It was a cold day but at least it was not raining.

When we got to the city, traffic was not bad and parking was easy to find at the public parking buildings. Then we started to walk for a few blocks until we got to the east entrance of Macy's. Every year, we position ourselves by this entrance because we know that when Santa arrives, he will be coming into the store through these doors.

We watched the parade. We saw marching bands from different schools playing holiday music, we saw people on unicycles, firetrucks followed by their dalmatians, Ronald MacDonald - all the kids loved to see him. We saw a huge gingerbread man, walking cupcakes, lollipops - so colorful! After 2 hours of standing in the cold and watching these beautiful floats go by, Santa arrived. As he approached in his beautiful float made up of reindeers and a big sleigh, white confetti paper shot up from the Macy's building and it fell on the ground gently like snow. The whole area was covered with snow - it seemed so magical.

Santa's sleigh stopped in front of the store and he gently came down his sleigh. I love seeing his face. He is the same Santa of years past. I waved at him and for an instance our eyes met and I thought he recognized me and he waved back at me. Then I was thinking he remembered me from all these years that I've come to see him! I followed him until he got  into the elevator that took him to the 6th floor where he would sit in his chair all day long holding children on his lap and listening to all the wishes for this and that. I waved at him one more time and he waved back me again and then I didn't see him any more. For me, I just love to see him arriving in his sleigh and the beautiful fake snow falling on the ground. For me that's the beginning of the holidays. I don't like to have my picture taken with him - that seems so commercial. I just like the memory that I have after I see him.

So here are some of the pictures of that day. It was so cold but it was all worthwhile. I had a blast with my family!

THU 30 NOV 2006

GINGERBREAD HOUSES AT CITY CENTRE MALL IN SEATTLE By Carmen