What’s going on at Aspira…

It has been a busy end of summer here at Aspira and it’s just getting busier! A couple weeks ago we hosted the Circle of Hope Guild’s “Cheers for Children” event and it raised over $26,000 for uncompensated care at Seattle Children’s Hospital. Next we will be taking part in the annual “Oyster Run” on Sunday, September 25th. It is a motorcyle ride to Anacortes and there are quite a few Aspira motorcycle enthusiasts looking forward to it. Then, on Thursday the 29th, our very popular “Chef Series” starts with Chef Franz from Il Fornaio. We will be capping this flurry of activity off with an Aspira trip to Victoria B.C. on Saturday, October 1st. So much to look forward to!

Aspira wins another award!

On Thursday Aspira participated in the Built Green Conference and Festival in Issaquah. It showcased and celebrated businesses that hold themselves to a higher ‘green’ standard, and once again Aspira was recognized. We won the “Multifamily/High Rise” Built Green Hammer Award for 2011. Yeah for us, we’re awesome!!!

Summer BBQ at Aspira

We just had our Caribbean BBQ last weekend and it was awesome! It was up on our 11th floor terrace and thankfully the weather cooperated. Over 150 people (Aspira residents and friends of) stopped by and I think everyone had a great time. The food was delicious – we did shrimp/veggie and jerk chicken kabobs, grilled plaintains with a tasty rum sauce, and homemade guacomole and tortilla chips. The drinks were very popular as well (thanks Benjamin) and people certainly had their fill! We had fun, lively music in the background and people seemed to be thoroughly enjoying each others’ company. Success!!!

Aspira Happy Hour at Il Fornaio

Last night we had an Aspira happy hour at Il Fornaio. About 40 of us made the trek (all of 3 blocks) over to Pacific Place where delicious appetizers, wine and beer were waiting for us. They had sectioned off a nice center area in the dining room upstairs and we occupied the tables around it. The food was amazing – there was prosciutto wrapped melon, caprese salad, artichoke and spinach dip with crostini, eggplant wrapped goat cheese and arugula, and my personal favorite, chicken filled manicotti.

Il Fornaio is also going to participate in our “Chef Series” starting again in the fall. This is a very popular event here at Aspira. We bring in chefs from local restaurants and they give Aspira residents a cooking demonstration. Last year we had such superstars as Chef John Howie from Seastar (and John Howie steakhouse of course) and Chef Wayne Johnson from Andaluca. Il Fornaio is going to be represented by Chef Franz and I’m sure he will not disappoint. I’ll keep you posted!

Summer fun at Aspira

Summer is here, the weather is cooperating (finally) and things are heating up here at Aspira. We have a number of exciting events planned in the very near future. First on the agenda is Aspira happy hour this Thursday at Il Fornaio. About 50 of us are walking over to eat, drink and be merry!

Next we will be having our summer BBQ Saturday, August 27th. It’s going to take place in the 11th floor residence lounge and we’ve decided on a Caribbean theme. There will be food, drink, music and prizes for the best Caribbean-inspired costumes!

Finally, on September 10th we will be hosting the Circle of Hope “Cheers for Children” benefit with proceeds going to Seattle Children’s Hospital. This is going to be a huge event – last year we helped raise over $20,000! It is open to the public (Aspira residents are greatly encouraged to attend of course!) and tickets are $65. The festivities include wine from 3 wineries, live music by Patricia Allen, a silent auction and tasty appetizers and desserts to nibble on.

So much to look forward to!!!

Fitness at Aspira!

I know, I know. We are not having the best summer weather-wise. In fact, I have not even once donned a swimsuit. But I can’t use that as an excuse to get complacent in my workouts. And how could I when we offer fitness classes every day of the week here? Yep, every single day there is a class designed to tone, tighten, strengthen, lengthen, you name it, we got it. Let the fun begin.

Our beloved yoga instructor Michael teaches Tuesday and Thursday evenings and then again on Saturday mornings. His classes are often at capacity and does a wonderful job modifying the poses for those that need it. And the yoga classes are always free at Aspira. Sweet deal!

We also teamed up Awan Johnson of Awant Excellence and have added 5 other classes to the mix. There is boot camp and barbell body sculpt on Mondays, Water Aerobics (at the nearby Olive 8 pool) and boot camp on Wednesdays, metabolic training on Fridays, boot camp on Saturdays and pilates class on Sundays. Each class is $5 or you can get an unlimited month pass for just $35. So as you can see, I really have no excuse to be bikini (tank-ini?) ready. Drats.

Fun, Fun, Fun!

What a week we’ve had at Aspira!  We had the opening reception of our newest installment at The Gallery at Aspira last Thursday and it was a blast!  In addition to the amazing art, there was delicious food (thanks Richard!), palette pleasing wine and music from the band The Second Academy.  It was an incredible event.

Then on Saturday we had one of our Aspira excursions.  A big group of us met at Pier 69 on the waterfront and boarded a boat that took us to the San Juans for a whale watching adventure!  We stopped for lunch in Friday Harbor and then back on the water for more whale watching.  Between the whale sightings and the bachelorette party on board, there were many things to see and observe.  Good times!

This Saturday, Aspira resident and extremely talented fashion designer Marta Kappl will be having a fashion show on the 11th floor terrace.  It’s going to start at 6pm and of course there will be wine and hor d’oeuvres (because that’s how we do it).  I’m anticipating it to be another fabulous event at Aspira!

My top ten things to do on the terrace at Aspira

10.  Catch up on some emails (there’s free-wi-fi up there)

9.   Watch the sea planes descent on Lake Union

8.   Sip a coffee while looking at beautiful Mt. Baker

7.   Catch some rays  in a lounge chair

6.  Play a  game of Scrabble with friends

5.  Sit around the fire pit at night chatting with my neighbors

4.  Kick back with a good book

3.  Drink a cold beer in the sun

2.  Watch the sun rise

1.  BBQ!

Becky Selengut visits Aspira

Becky Selengut is amazing.  She is a chef, a teacher, an author, a sustainable foods advocate and an all around superstar.  Over the years she has worked at La Spiga and La Medusa, but it was at The Herbfarm in Woodinville where she really perfected her craft.  She is passionate about teaching people about seafood and sustainabilty and that is the premise of her latest book “Good Fish”.  In fact, just last night she took 2 recipes from that book and taught Aspira residents how to prepare them like a pro!

Squid was the first item on our agenda.  We took the whole squid and cut it into delicious, edible pieces.  We then took sea salt, pepper, chives, fish sauce and safflower oil and reduced it.  Once done, we added it to the squid and cooked on high.  After it was done cooking, we wrapped it up with lettuce, mint, thyme, and basil (she loves her herbs) and added a sweet, spicy sauce.  It was awesome!

Next, we were shown how to successfully cook a scallop.  Not steam it or overcook it, but cook it like it’s done in a good restaurant.  She taught us how to prepare a buerre blanc sauce and how to watch for the scallop to carmelize.  Under her watchful eye there was not a rubbery scallop to be found! 

She ended the class by talking about her book (which were available for purchase, because, in her words,  ”Mama has to eat”) and reiterating how important and easy it is to eat sustainable seafood.  All in all, it was a great night.

So much to look forward too…

Can you believe it’s almost summer?  I know, it’s hard to imagine with the weather we’ve been having, but sooner or later we will see some sunshine.  And when that happens, I’m going to do what every other Seattleite is going to do – I’m going to get outside and appreciate how amazing this city really is.

Summer here at Aspira means one thing – excursions!!!  We have so many fun, interesting things planned I can hardly keep them all straight.  We have the grand opening of our friend Brian O’Connor’s new restaurant ‘Skillet Diner’ on Wednesday, May 18th in Capitol Hill.  Then there’s a cooking class with Seattle chef and author Becky Selengut on May 24th (and yes, we are a bunch of foodies).  June includes an event at The Art Gallery of Aspira, a day trip on the Victoria Clippper for a little whale watching, and a fashion show by designer and Aspira resident Marta Kappl.

We are going to start July with a white water rafting trip down the Wenatchee River followed by a motorcycle trip in mid-July.  The end of July we will be taking a day trip to Victoria, BC where we will visit beautiful Butchart Gardens.  Exciting!!!

There really are so many things to look forward to here at Aspira in the upcoming months.  Sure, you could do any one of these things on your own, but why would you?  By joining in, you get to interact with your neighbors, build a sense of community and you get a much better deal when you go with a group of people.  And besides, it’s going to be a blast!