Another Birthday Gift - What to Expect in 2012

MIke Kunath and Dawn Stansfield

Mike Kunath invited Ken and me to join him for cocktails in his corner of the Fairmont Olympic Hotel Lobby Bar to celebrate my birthday.  He had arranged for a plate of chocolate dipped strawberries with a candle to appear in recognition of my birthday.  We shared the strawberries with others who had joined him in his corner including, Connie Blumenthal, Al Davis, Mike Flynn, Terral Wanzer and Dave, from Utah whose last name I did not hear, who is currently living at the Fairmont.

Mike Kunath, Al Davis, Terral Wanzer and Ken Hatch
help celebrate my birthday.

As another birthday gift, Mike arranged for me to have a brief "reading of my future" with Dawn Stansfield.  Though she doesn't call herself a psychic, but a spiritual counselor instead, Dawn provides insights into peoples' pasts and readings of what she sees occurring in people's futures.  Mike, who has known Dawn for some time and had her share her readings with him over the years, tells stories of the many times she has been able to project just what will occur next in his life.

I have never been able to decide what to believe or not believe about people who have the gift of seeing the future, but decided that an open mind is the best option.  Dawn pegged me as a "conductor and connector" which is accurate and also as a "walking creative ideas person".  She encouraged me to write my book this year which she said is already inside of me and just waiting to be written and said to include my "quirky, fun-loving sense of humor" in the book.  She saw that I would travel this year, most likely on my book tour.

This all sounds very interesting . . . so now to make her projections reality, all I have to do is figure out what the topic of the book will be and write it!  I am accepting suggestions and would be happy to hear yours!

Happy Birthday Celebrations

Susan Neumann, Londi Burnett, Jan Rogers,
Diane Kuenster, Cathi Hatch, Suzy Krabbe

What a fun, festive birthday lunch we had together in the Georgian Room at the Fairmont Olympic Hotel on Monday!  It is always fun to go to the Fairmont during the holiday season.  When I arrived, the incredible Madrigal Choir from Bothell High School was entertaining in the lobby surrounding the giant Christmas tree.  I joined friends Susan Neumann, Diane Kuenster, Suzy Krabbe, Jan Rogers and Londi Burnett. 

Bothell HS Madrigal Choir

We were there to celebrate December birthdays which included the birthdays for Jan, Londi and me.  We get together around three times each year to celebrate the birthdays of the ladies in the group.  The rules are that we bring only cards for the birthday girls, but each of the birthday girls brings gifts for the rest of the group, and that everyone except the birthdays girls share the check.

We always look forward to the funny cards we receive from each friend.  Suzy believes in recycling cards so the personal message written on her cards is usually on a sticky note that is easily removed.  Diane has a system (which we all envy) where she will include old photos of each of us on her cards.  It is always fun to remember times together years ago and also surprising to realize how young we looked in those old photos since none of us feels any older!  (Well . . . maybe just a bit in the morning when I get out of bed.)

Katie Laramore and Cathi Hatch

And then that evening, it was all about my birthday when I celebrated with Ken and my daughter, Katie and son-in-law, Kevin.  Katie and Kevin planned dinner at Ethan Stowell's Staple & Fancy Mercantile in Ballard.  Staple & Fancy highlights simple Italian-inspired food and offers a chef’s choice Fancy menu: a multi-course feast of seasonal dishes crafted by the chef just for our table.  We were served seven separate small plates of appetizers including squid and garbanzo beans, deep fried clams and mussels, thinly shaved prosciutto, smoked trout bruschetta, and fried pork belly, two separate pastas; one was geoduck with potato gnocchi and the other was thinly sliced bacon with carmelized onions and two entrees which included swordfish and braised pork cheeks ending with two desserts.  Our taste buds were all very entertained and satisfied and we will return!

Ken Hatch and Kevin Laramore

Ken had dug into our wine cellar and brought a bottle of 1997 Lakota Cabernet with him that paired beautifully with the food.

It was a wonderful birthday celebration!  Still 39 and holding!

Great Geekwire Gala

Ken Myer and Cathi Hatch

Last night Mary Holmes and I, representing ZINO Society, attended the Geekwire Gala and it was quite a party!  We were greeted by Star Wars alien characters and entered into the beautiful Great Hall at Union Station that was thunderous with noise and energy with 500 people in attendance.

I ran into Geekwire Co-Founder, John Cook, dressed in a business suit waiting in line at the bar and congratulated him on a very successful event.  Many people had either dressed up or dressed in costumes for the event.  There were geeks, monsters, and women with bright blue hair and bright candy apple red hair.  Mary and I were laughing that we looked like Tweedledee and Tweedledum ( I insisted that she was Tweedledum!) in our almost matching long camel coats.  Geekwire Chief Business Officer, Rebecca Lovell was striking in her bright red cocktail dress.

Gary Ritner, Mary Holmes, Matt Heinz

We enjoyed connecting with many friends and acquaintances there including Geoff Entress, Craig Sherman, Gary Roshak, Matt Heinz, Pascal Stoltz, Gary Ritner, Ken Myer, Charles Kindel, James Sun, Jason Richards and Deyun Wu to name just a few.

Congratulations John, Todd and Rebecca on an incredible event!

James Sun and Cathi Hatch

Koral: Bradley & Mikel's new Restaurant Concept Opening Soon

Bradley Dickinson and Mikel Rogers, Owners of Pearl

This morning I met with long-time restaurant buddy and friend, Bradley Dickinson, Owner and Executive Chef of Pearl to hear more about the new restaurant he and his partner, Mikel Rogers are planning.  It is called Koral Bar & Kitchen and will have glimmers of a new American tavern.  It will be high quality, but comfortable and accessible feeling with a lively bar.  Most importantly, it will feel like it is an established restaurant and has been there awhile.

It will be located in the Bellevue Hyatt Hotel located on the corner of Bellevue Way and the hotel drive through entrance and will begin construction in mid-December with a planned opening sometime in February.

Bradley and Mikel are working with branding guru, Tim Girvin, architect Robert Norwood of SkB, restaurant concept developer, Arnold Shain and have been working on the project for almost a year and a half now.  Brad says they have already remodeled the restaurant a couple of times and the good news is that they haven't actually had to move any walls yet since construction hasn't started.

Stay tuned for more details coming soon!

Friends' festive luncheon at Broadmoor Golf Club

Cathi Hatch and Katie Laramore

Today, I attended a friends' festive holiday luncheon at Broadmoor Golf Club.  I attended with my daughter, Katie Laramore and we had so much fun catching up with many friends including Janet True, Annette Parks, Mitzi Morris, Dorothy Fluke, Eve Alvord, Kathleen Shoup, Pat Fearey, Cyndee Halper, Lynn Ries, Barbara Ries, Carolyn Stewart, Mary Herche, Anita Braiker, Lorna Kneeland, Evelyn Zabo, Clodagh Ash, Sandi Sabey, Diane Sabey, and Polly Teeter.

Janet True and Cathi Hatch

Several younger friends were there also including Effie True, Merrill Behnke, Paige Green Dunn, and Carole Alvord.

The luncheon was delicious and especially fun to see were the polar bear "cake" centerpieces on the buffet.

Happy holidays and Merry Christmas!

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Gingerbread Houses Chihuly-Style

Cathi Hatch, Katie Laramore and baby Boden

Yesterday, my daughter, Katie Laramore along with her beautiful two-month old son, Boden, went to the Gingerbread House decorating party at the Chihuly Boathouse.  What a fun and festive scene!  There were chili bars featuring three different types of chili, focaccia bread, cheeses and crackers, fresh vegetables and fruit plus wine bars, beverage stations and egg nog bars.   

Katie Laramore and Boden in the Evelyn Room

The hot shop was in operation plus it was so much fun to see the huge number of gingerbread houses awaiting budding young gingerbread house decorating artists on both sides of the long log table in the Evelyn Room.  In addition to the houses, there were dozens of bowls of candy and frosting lined up and down the center of the table.  I saw about half of the candy making it into small mouths while the other half was attached to the houses with dollops of white frosting.

Leslie and Dale Chihuly were there to greet their guests and are the most gracious of hosts.  This year I was so relieved to see that the glass art on the niches on the window side in the Evelyn Room had been removed for the party.  It is such a crush of people that last year I was concerned that one of Dale's incredible glass art pieces was going to meet an untimely demise, but this year there were clean hand wipes for sticky frosting and candy fingers lined up down the sides instead.

Cathi Hatch and Leslie Chihuly

Little Boden is too young to enjoy decorating a gingerbread house, so we had fun watching other children, parents and grandparents hard at work decorating their houses.  We had a chance to connect with Betty Tong & Joe Miner and their two daughters, Audrey and Caroline, Kim Richter, Cynthia Stroum, Anne Phelps, Michelle Swerland who was there with her three sons, Detra Segar, Julie Skerrit who was there with her daughter, Eliza Flug & Chris Coburn and their daughter Lauren, Barbara Cahill, Nicole Vogel who was there with her daughter, Margery Aronson, Linda Nordstrom who was there with her daughter and granddaughter, plus artists Ginny Ruffner, Joey Kirkpatrick & Flora Mace, and the list goes on and on.

Katie with Boden fascinated with the Aquarium display.

Betty Tong with daughters, Audrey and Caroline

Katie and I had a wonderful time and even baby Boden seemed absolutely content with his first big holiday party.  I cannot imagine that there is a better gingerbread decorating party anywhere in the world that the one we attended yesterday at the Chihuly Boathouse!  Thank you Leslie & Dale!

Cool Yule, Cool Jazz, and a Baby Reindeer Too!

Patty Barrier and Cathi Hatch at Cool Yule

On Thursday, ZINO Society's annual Cool Yule Holiday Party was a memorable evening.  The theme this year was:  Unleash Your Inner Vixen (and Blitzen)!  First, we were in the "coolest" of showrooms at the new Barrier Mercedes of Bellevue.  Shiny red and black Mercedes automobiles were the backdrop for an evening of fun and frivolity.  Thank you to our dear friends and annual sponsors at Barrier Motors, Patty & Jimmy Barrier, Michael Vena, Kjell Schei and Lisa Hess!
 

Baby Rogue the Reindeer with Elf Handlers

Glasses were clinking, saxophones swaying and bold brush strokes of an artist at work were some of the sounds of this year's Cool Yule Holiday Party.  We welcomed Jazz Canvas as part of the evening's entertainment which blended live jazz musicians with live unrehearsed art in motion. The artist literally painted to the feeling of the music on a huge canvas that was raffled off at the end of the party.  Pike Brewing Company, O Wines, DeLille Cellars, Dineen Vineyards, Martinez & Martinez, Woodhouse Wine Estates and Sozo Planet while Ray's Boathouse & Catering provided the hors d'oeuvres.

We toasted one another and another successful year of angel investing, entrepreneurism and connecting having just surpassed $19 million in angel investing amongst our ZINO Society Seattle investor group.  For sipping and toasting, featured winemakers and beverages included

Cathi Hatch with Monte Regier of Sozo Friends.

Rogue (aka Blitzen), the baby reindeer was on hand with his two "elf" handlers for photo ops and was a real hit with everyone (except perhaps Pepper Payne, the Papipoo who was attending with mom Patti Payne, whom I am sure thought Rogue was just another big puppy).

Mary Holmes oversaw the entire event and made it a family affair convincing her husband, Jerry to pour wine and daughter Jacqueline who was there with friends to sell raffle tickets and hang up coats. 

Mary & Jerry Holmes

Christine Gilbert, our resident songster, along with assistance from creative mind, Jamee Nunnelee, developed the ZINO Society version of "The Twelve Days of Christmas" now known as "The Twelve Days of ZINO" with apologies to English composer, Frederic Austin, which was performed with enthusiasm by the following ZINO Society cast of members including staff team, coaches, sponsors, investors, entrepreneurs and winemakers. We all donned reindeer antlers and gave it our best.  The vocal standout was definitely Christine, who had the "five wine rings" part and sounded like an opera singer.  Here are the lyrics:

On the First Day of Christmas, my ZINO gave to me: (All)

A year full of Opportunity!  (All)

Cathi Hatch and Gregg Bennett

On the Third Day of Christmas, my ZINO gave to me:
Three Nametag Ribbons (Cathi Hatch)

Two Mercedes Benz (Mary Holmes)

And a Year full of Opportunity

On the Sixth Day of Christmas, my ZINO gave to me:

Six Friends Connecting (Patty Barrier)
Fiiiiive Wiiii-iiine Riiiings (Christine Gilbert)
Four Passport Cards (Jamee Nunnelee)
Three Nametag Ribbons (Cathi Hatch)
Two Mercedes Benz (Mary Holmes)
And a Year full of Opportunity! (All)

On the Tenth Day of Christmas, my ZINO gave to me:  (All)
Ten Wineries Pouring (Andrew Martinez)
Nine Elevator Pitches (John Faccone)
Eight Investors Investing (Gregg Bennett)
Seven Funds a-funding (Kate DesRosier)
Six Friends Connecting (Patty Barrier)
Fiiiiive Wiiii-iiine Riiiings (Christine Gilbert)
Four Passport Cards (Jamee Nunnelee)
Three Nametag Ribbons (Cathi Hatch)
Two Mercedes Benz (Mary Holmes)
And a Year full of Opportunity! (All)

On the Twelfth Day of Christmas, my ZINO gave to me: (All)
Twelve Coaches Coaching (Chuck Roxin)
Eleven Angel Investors (Brian Vowinkel)
Ten Wineries Pouring (Andrew Martinez)
Nine Elevator Pitches (John Faccone)
Eight Investors Investing (Gregg Bennett)
Seven Funds a-funding (Kate DesRosier)
Six Friends Connecting (Patty Barrier)
Fiiiiive Wiii-iiiine Riiiiings (Christine Gilbert)
Four Passport Cards (Jamee Nunnelee)
Three Nametag Ribbons (Cathi Hatch)
Two Mercedes Benz (Mary Holmes)
And a Year full of Opportunity! (All)

We all got our "Blitzen" on and a great time was had by all!