I have sort of a thing for mushrooms (the non-hallucinogenic kind, thank you). One of the small-town festivals I frequented while living in the Midwest was Morel Mushroom Days in Muscoda, Wisconsin. I would save my pennies, take home a pint (they were only $12 a pound back then!), and slice up and fry those…

Armed with good timing and the grace of an easy traffic day, bliss awaits you in the form of San Juan Islands tranquility. Getting there is half the fun (right?)—the other half, once you’re there, is all about taking it easy. Good thing there’s something about the islands that forces you to slow down and…

I don’t know a lot of people who look forward to going to the doctor, but it’s a necessity made less daunting when you’re going to see someone you trust, feel comfortable with and even gush about to your friends—the same way you do when you have a supportive boss or an amazing babysitter. I…

By the time this magazine makes its way into your hands, we still may be slogging through the last of the rainy season (although as I write this, we are experiencing one of those hope-inspiring strings of sunny days in April). But sooner or later, summer will arrive and with it all the warm-weather rituals…

When my husband and I first moved here in August 1997, we knew of the seductive powers of the golden month’s glorious glow and warm temperatures. We had been to Seattle before—in the throes of a rainy February, natch—but in relation to the Midwest and East Coast arctic winters from which we came, Seattle winter…

When my husband and I first bought our home, we felt somewhat banished in pre-cool Ballard. (This was 2001, and the sleepy Scandinavian burg was the most affordable neighborhood closest to Lower Queen Anne, where we’d been happily living in an apartment.) But then we stumbled upon Ballard Market and discovered that the humble-appearing grocery…