Gig Harbor Undressed

Ciscoe at Peninsula Gardens in Gig Harbor

I’m definitely not a green thumb.  About the only thing I can consistently keep green is the moss in my yard.  One of the advantages of living in Gig Harbor is our climate pretty much grows things on its own.  I have rhododendrons, roses, lavender, and other plants that I either don’t know their names or can’t spell and pronounce them that seem to grow year after year, regardless of my ignorance.  And blackberries?  I’ve got gorgeous, plump, sweet blackberries all around me and I don’t have to do a thing!

Many of you are more serious about gardening, however, and may be looking for a place to get some answers.  For the first time in my 11 years here, I visited Peninsula Gardens this weekend.  I didn’t go there to find plants or answers to my mole problems, I went there to see Ciscoe.  If you’ve never experienced Gardening with Ciscoe, I encourage you to click on the video below.  You can’t help but laugh and become enthused about plants when you watch this guy.

Ciscoe was at Peninsula Gardens doing a live radio broadcast and seminar for local gardeners.  Not being a gardener myself, but just thinking Ciscoe is a great personality, I stopped by to take a visit.  Peninsula Gardens is HUGE.  I had no idea of how big of a nursery it was.  Every plant, gardening tool, water feature, statues, anything you want for your garden was there, as well as an Espresso and sandwich shop…you gotta love the Northwest! 

I wasn’t able to talk with Ciscoe as the crowd was pretty good sized and they were actually charging to ask questions, so I didn’t learn anything other than how big Peninsula Gardens is.  So if you’re looking for gardening tips, this blog is the wrong place to visit.  Try visiting Ciscoe’s website.  You’ll find a lot more answers there than I could ever even make up.  If you’re looking for a fun pick-me-up and you’ve never seen Ciscoe on TV, take a look at the video below.  You’ll learn a cool trick for composting your food and yard scraps here in the Northwest and get a good laugh as well!

Galaxy Theater and more getting closer

Gig Harbor’s Uptown Center is getting further and further along.  I didn’t really want to say this, for fear that my wife would read it, but Ann Taylor Loft is now open in Gig Harbor.  I’m going to have to sell a few more houses to support her Ann Taylor habit.  Actually, I’m quite fortunate in that my wife, while she enjoys shopping, is extremely thrifty and is a great deal-seeker. 

In addition to the opening of Ann Taylor, Gig Harbor’s new Galaxy Theater is set to have their grand opening on Friday, March 7th.  They are offering the first 500 guests a free T-shirt and the first 100 guests will receive a free 90 day pass!  The entire first weekend will feature $1 popcorn and $1 soda.   I’m not sure how or if you can go to the movies with a 5 month old, but that sounds like a pretty good time to me! 

Still no word yet on the restaurants that will be part of the Uptown Center, but as soon as I know I’ll post them.  Currently, Panera Bread Co and Jamba Juice are open, as well as the cafe inside of Borders Bookstore. 

Great Example of Community

My goal with this website is to promote the community of Gig Harbor.  I want people to get a good understanding of all the good that goes on here.  The link below is a recent news story featuring a Keller Williams agent from Tacoma, as well as the Gig Harbor Keller Williams’ Operating Principal.  It’s a great example of what community is.  In the interview, Mike Bastian makes a very profound statement that really grabbed me.  I’ll give you each one guess…the first comment that correctly identifies what quote of Mike’s grabs me as most profound I’ll send a $5 gift card to a local coffee shop.

Enjoy the video.

SuperSpa Sunday in Gig Harbor’s Target

The Seahawks are out, Favre is done, so what to do on Super Disappointment Sunday? Gig Harbor resident Nancy Presser works as a Beauty Advisor for an English company called Boots which is new to the United States. They offer an extensive skin care and cosmetic line at the Gig Harbor Target and she is available for FREE skin care consultations, make-overs, facials, and hand treatments every Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This Sunday, during the Superbowl, Nancy is offering a SuperSpa Sunday with free services for those that may not be interested in sports. She’ll be doing mini spa treatments, i.e. massage, facial, make-overs, etc. in the Boots cosmetics aisle at Target. Make sure to visit Nancy at the Target store if watching Brady instead of Favre and Eli instead of Peyton is just not your idea of a good day.

Nancy Presser
Boots Lead Beauty Advisor
Gig Harbor Target
Store (253)858-9777
In Store Hours: Friday 12pm - 6pm, Sat 12pm - 6pm, Sun 11am - 4pm or by appointment during the week.

More Stores Announced for Gig Harbor Uptown Center

Yesterday’s edition of The Peninsula Gateway announced a few more stores for Gig Harbor’s Uptown Center located on Pt. Fosdick Dr.  Guys, this mall seems to be tailored to the women, with stores such as Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, Bloom Denim, Aveda, and J. Jill.  Bloom Denim is currently located on Gig Harbor’s Finholm District on the waterfront.  My wife took me in there last month, showed me their jeans for $200+, and I felt awkward in my $12.98 jeans from Costco. 

My wife is anticipating the opening of Ann Taylor, which is set to open in February.  There are a few places for men in the Uptown Center, as well.  Adam and Eve is a clothing store that will carry men’s clothing, but unless they have the $12.98 jeans, I can’t imagine I’ll buy much there.  I will be shopping at a few of the other stores, however.  Panera Bread looks like a great spot for lunch, Jamba Juice will be a nice spot for the occasional smoothie, everybody can find something at Border’s Bookstore, though I’ll probably still prefer the smaller, privately owned bookstores such as No Dearth of Books. 

My top two picks for the Uptown Center are the huge new movie theater set to open in March, and the Ben & Jerry’s ice cream store also set to open in March.  I’m not sure if Ben & Jerry’s can compete with Animal Crackers and Kelly’s Diner, though.  I prefer the smaller, local shops…somehow the ice cream tastes better.  The Pt. Fosdick/Olympic Drive corner will now have Ben & Jerry’s, Dairy Queen, and Baskin Robbins. 

Also set to open in the Uptown Center is an AT&T store, Hush Baby, and our “mystery restaurant.”  I’m thinking that The Cheesecake Factory is out, as The Gateway reported a “Seattle-based Italian restaurant” is in the works.  Apparently there is one other open spot for a restaurant, with 3 possibilities, so who knows?  Regardless, this area is sure to see an increase in traffic, which has many residents upset, but I believe that a movie theater and restaurants are long over due in our area.

Gig Harbor kids love Animal Crackers

Gig Harbor, WA, has proven itself to be a great community for people in all stages of life.  For those with young children, or perhaps young grandchildren, the Gig Harbor waterfront now has the perfect place for the little ones to shop.  In August of ‘06, Gig Harbor resident Sarah Piggott opened Animal Crackers, a kids’ consignment store stocked with clothes, shoes, toys, and everything else you’d need or want for your little ones.  Sarah and her boyfriend Eric run Animal Crackers, along with their 4 1/2 year-old daughter Schuyler. 

Animal Crackers carries many wonderful name brands of baby clothing and items, such as Melissa and Doug, specializing in hand crafted wooden puzzles, toys and games.  They have many boutique label clothing items, big-time baby clothing names from Baby Lulu, Hannah Banana, Mimi & Maggie, and more.  To protect your kids from the Northwest weather, they also carry Kidorable raincoats, boots, and umbrellas.  Animal Crackers is also excited to now carry a line of baby shoes called Robeez, a soft-soled leather shoe. 

All of these name brand items can be found at remarkable prices, thanks to the store’s consignment set up.  Animal Crackers’ consignment policy is pretty simple; people bring in their gently used clothing, toys, and other baby items (furniture, games, etc), and when those items sell the customer gets 40%-50% of the proceeds in the form of store credit or cash-out. 

My wife is a huge fan of the store.  Our nearly 4-month old daughter has been nicely outfitted at Animal Crackers, and it’s been a great place for us to get rid of all the clothes she’s so quickly grown out of.  What I find to be most exciting about Animal Crackers is that they really know what kids like…soon they’ll be serving a premium brand of ice cream called Umpqua.  Baby clothes, kids’ games, toys of all sorts, Gig Harbor’s beauty, and ice cream sounds like a winner to me!

Animal Crackers is located right in Gig Harbor’s downtown waterfront at 3026 Harborview Dr.  They are open 9-5 seven days a week, accepting consignment items any time.  Stop in to visit Sarah and Schuyler, enjoy their movie corner and play area, and shop for all of your baby’s needs.  You can contact them at 253-858-1795.

Today’s sign that the Apocalypse is upon us

Sports Illustrated used to do a feature (maybe they still do, I haven’t read it in over 2 years) called this week’s sign that the Apocalypse is upon us.  It was some funny story about a crazy, non-sensical thing that happened in the world of sports.

Well, I had a funny thing happen this morning, and I’m not creative enough to come up with my own title, so I’m stealing SI’s.  Sebastian and I went for a nice walk in the downtown Gig Harbor waterfront area this morning, and stopped by the Gig Harbor North Starbuck’s on our way home to pick up a chai and a scone for my wife.  Generally, I prefer to support the smaller local shops like Kimball Espresso and Java and Clay, but my wife likes Starbucks and it was convenient.

The two guys in front of me ordered “coffee.”  The barista (that’s French for person who pours the coffee, I think) called back over her shoulder, “We’re all out!”  Maybe it’s not that funny, but to be in Starbucks at 8:15 in the morning and hear that they’re out of coffee cracked me up.  They had a mochianno (that’s French for fancy coffee, I think) for the lady behind me and my chai ready in a hurry, but no regular coffee.  Okay, maybe it’s a slow day for me…I thought it was funny, though.

Swimming through Flood Insurance

The following is some great information provided to me by Mitchell Smee of Bratrud Middleton Insurance to share with you all:

 FAQ About Flood Insurance

Why do I need flood insurance?  I don’t live near water.

People who live near water are not the only ones who experience flooding.  Floods move and can spread for miles.  They can have strong currents that, in a few moments, can sweep away everything, leaving a thick residue of mud and debris behind.  In Washington State, we also have a considerable amount of ground water flooding and ponding that comes about when the ground becomes super saturated with water and has no place to go.  Homes, even those on high ground, may be many miles from a river, lake or other body of water and still have damage because of groundwater flooding or ponding.  It’s not just the high-risk areas that are flooded.  Between 20-25% of flood insurance claims come from a medium or low flood risk area. 

Doesn’t my homeowner’s insurance cover flood damage?

Typically, homeowner’s insurance policies do not cover such things as flooding, landslides, and earthquakes.  A special policy or rider is needed to cover damage from these as well as other special hazards.

Won’t the Federal Government assist me with flood damages?

Yes, but probably not quite the way you would expect.  Federal disaster assistance is only available if the president of the United States declares a disaster.  When available, federal assistance is often in the form of a loan–repayable in full–with interest!  In contrast, if you have a flood insurance policy, you can be reimbursed for all of your covered losses, even if the president does not declare a disaster.

Isn’t flood insurance expensive?

It depends on your perspective.  Consider the alternatives.  Paying back a $50,000 disaster loan, for example, will cost an average of $300 per month for approximately 20 years, while the average flood insurance premium is a little over $300 per year for an average of $100,000 of coverage.  For most people, a home is by far their most valuable possession.  Why risk the financial loss from flood damage when you can protect it with flood insurance?

Is flood insurance ever required?

If you buy a house in a designated high-risk area, and receive a mortgage loan from a federally regulated lender, your lender must, by law, require that you buy flood insurance.

Does my community participate in the NFIP?

The good news is that most communities in Washington State participate in the NFIP, so the chances are good that flood insurance is available to you.  Contact your local planning or emergency management office to see if NFIP insurance is available in your community.

Who can purchase flood insurance?

Coverage is available for residential and commercial buildings and contents, and can be purchased by renters:

• Up to $250,000 for single-family, two to four family, and other residential buildings.
• Up to $500,000 for non-residential buildings, including small businesses.
• Up to $100,000 for content coverage for residences for owners and/or renters.
• Up to $500,000 for content coverage for businesses.

Where can I purchase a flood insurance policy?

Call local agent Mitchell Smee (Bratrud Middleton Insurance Broker) 360-824-4954

Mitchell is a Gig Harbor resident with several years of insurance experience.  My family has insured both our home and our cars with Mitchell for the past 3 years.

Need landscaping help or excavating in Gig Harbor?

There are lots of reasons that Gig Harbor residents may need a little extra help with their landscaping.  Does your yard have a steep slope and you’d like it to be terraced?  Too much brush and unusable land on your property?  Trees fallen over and you need stumps removed?  Having drainage issues with all the rain?  Maybe you just want to beautify your home and add a walkway or reconfigure your driveway.

Whatever the reason, there is a new excavating company in Gig Harbor that can meet all of your needs, from removal of an old concrete patio to construction of a new water feature or rock wall.  Gig Harbor resident Tony Dulas recently opened Harbor Point Excavating here in Gig Harbor.  Tony and his family have lived in the Harbor for about a year and a half, and he has come to love this community.

His company motto is, “Specializing in small jobs, no job too big…”  Tony loves the one on one interaction he gets with his clients, and has therefore chosen to keep his business small so that he can stay hands on.  His tractor equipment is small enough to fit through most residential gates, maneuver well through tight places, has rubber tracks so as to make it suitable for many surfaces, and is strong enough to do some heavy work.

Tony is a Pierce County Firefighter as well, and has 20 years of experience in excavating, including land clearing, digging foundations, swimming pools, and driveway construction.  His main focus now is on the smaller residential jobs that the bigger companies simply don’t want to do.

In December of ‘06, my wife and I had a tree come crashing through our home, making a mess of our home, yard, and fence.  I tried renting a Bobcat to do the cleanup myself…didn’t work too well.  Those things are harder to maneuver than I had thought.  I definitely could have used Tony and Harbor Point Excavating at that time.  If you live in the Gig Harbor area and are looking for excavating, drainage repair, rock walls, grading, land clearing, brush clearing, etc., give Tony a call.