What Softshell Jacket should I get?

Does anyone have a softshell jacket that they love? I need to get one, but I want to make sure it's versatile. I would like to use it for a casual everyday coat in the cold, windy, rainy seattle, under my ski jacket and hiking, depending on the weather. Should I get a light weight or mid weight softshell? I was thinking more of a mid weight, since I get so cold so fast. It would need to be water resistant and windproof, but also breathable. I found a great one at REI today, but the color was pretty bland.

Take a look at REI online The REI Neo jacket is the one I tried on today, but I really liked the Marmot Leadville Jacket. They didn't have it in the store in my size, but they have it online. Which one looks good to you?

Tully's Sweet Matcha Powder

Since my favorite Matcha Tea place Koots closed in Lincoln Square, I have to resort to Tully's or Starbucks for my Green Tea fix. Compared to Koots, Starbucks and Tully's Green Tea Latte's are no good, but they do the trick. Personally I like Starbucks, better than Tully's because the flavor is more rich. They never put enough matcha in the Tully's latte's.

The other day I was in Tully's waiting for my green tea latte, so I decided to browse their merchandise. I came across a small tin of sweet matcha powder. All you have to add is milk and ice cubes if you perfer and stir. Wallllaaa, you have a green tea latte (probably 10 or 15 drinks) for almost the price of one drink at Tully's.

This past week

I know I haven't posted for a little over a week, but it has been an awesome week. I got a promotion at work and now I'm on vacation in Lincoln City, OR with my family. Wes and I went on a 6 mile hike today out to Hart's Cove... pics to come.

Express is now an E-commerce site

The only place where I can find affordable jeans that fit me are Express. I love browsing their site, to see what new styles and trends they can come up with. They always have something cute to buy, but you could never get it online.... until just recently. Express just launched their , E-commerce website. That's right, it's not just a branding site anymore. I think this will do great business for them. Anyone in the retail industry should and needs to have an e-commerce platform to succeed.

Here are some of my top picks of the season: (looks like they haven't loaded jewelry yet on the site)

dELiAs store at Southcenter Mall Tukwila, WA

My all time favorite clothing brand when I was a teenager was Delia's. They only had stores on the east coast at that time, but apparently they are expanding now. They are opening a store in Southcenter Mall in Tukwila, WA. Dates are TBD, but I wish this happened 10 years ago. I can still find a good piece here and there, but I'm a little to old to buy my wardrobe there. It's comparable to Wet Seal or Pac Sun in demographic.

Queen Anne Chocolopolis

After work Wes, Kokanee and I took a walk around Queen Anne. We stumbled upon a new chocolate store on the south end of queen anne avenue at the top of the hill called Chocolopolis. The lady that was working was very personable and willing to help with questions. She said they only made two different types of chocolate in the store today and the rest was bought from other companies.

They have a whole selection of european chocolates, the theo chocolates, phinney chocolates and many more. I decided to try 1 single chocolate for $2.00, but it was really good. It was White Chocolate Pistachio Marzipan Truffle and is part of the Amedei Chocolate family from Italy.

Here's a pic from the outside of the store:

Seattle H&M

YAH!!! H&M is finally opening one of the three stores in the Seattle area on July 25th at 10am in Southcenter. Time for a shopping spree.....Wes can I borrow some $$$ ;)

H & M
867 Southcenter
Phone: (206) 246-0019
Hours: Mo-Sa 10a-9:30p; Su 11a-7p