This Weekend’s Splurge vs. Steal!

Happy Thursday, dear readers! What are you up to with your sweetie this weekend? Brett and I have a TON going on, including welcoming FIVE Australian visitors on Sunday! We can’t wait to show them some of the fantastic restaurants and hot-spots around fabulous Seattle. That is why we love houseguests: we get to play tourist in our own city!

With that, we will leave you with a couple of good morsels for this weekend’s Splurge vs. Steal, some ideas to treat your sweet. If you decide to partake in the ‘steal’ of the week, you may just run into us! If you do, be sure to shout out a resounding, “OI!” (That’s Australian for “what’s up!”)

Feeling fancy? Throw on a medieval dress and mask, and get ready for the ball! Gage Academy of Art presents a Masquerade Ball & Benefit this Friday, January 29 from 6 – 11pm at St. Mark's Cathedral (1245 10th Ave E, Seattle, WA 98102).

Prepare yourself for an evening of revelry and artistic delights! Join the academy for an elegant feast, bid on unique art experiences, kick up your heels with a ballroom dance lesson, and enjoy performers during a special evening inspired by Italian Commedia dell'Arte.

Celebrate! Come as Casanova, don your domino, or fashion your disguise at our onsite Mercato di Carnevale. Click here for the full night’s schedule, and some great items that will be available at the auction!

Tickets are $175, which includes dinner. The Gage Masquerade Ball & Benefit celebrates the creative power of art-making to transform lives and build community as we raise funds to support Youth Programs and the Annual Fund at Gage. [Photo credits]

*Another Splurge for all you Coug fans! Celebrate Washington Wine’s 9th Annual Auction and Dinner at Chateau Ste Michelle… Go Cougs!

This weekend, why not head down to Pike Place Market? One of my favorite things to do with Brett is catch the bus or monorail ($4 each round trip) down to Westlake Center and walk the 4 blocks down to the market.

From there, we start at one end of the market and work our way down and back, picking up little snacks, fruits, breads, spreads, veggies, pastries, and fruit logs along the way. The market is ‘chock-a-block full’ (Australian for ‘really full’) of farm fresh produce by local vendors. You can’t swing a cricket bat without hitting something you’re dying to sink your teeth into!

Once we’ve gathered enough for a mini-meal, we head to the park at the end of the market ( on Western and Virginia ) and enjoy the meal!

From there, you can continue a historic walk through the market and post alley… you can head up to Cinerama and catch a flick… or you can hit up the Seattle Art Museum. The possibilities of fun things to do in this city are endless, it just depends on what you’re in the mood for!

If you want to be lead through the city by the experts, why not go on a professional tour? Seattle Bites Food Tours, Seattle by Foot, Savor Seattle, and the Market itself (only $10 for this tour!) all offer exceptional tours at affordable prices! Be sure to check them out, and have fun being a tourist in your own city! [Photo credits]