Mercer Island, WA January 2023

Welcome and Happy New Year!

Welcome to the first issue of Mercer Island Lifestyle.

This magazine and all that follows are published with the intent to become a hub of optimistic and interesting stories about life on Mercer Island and the lifestyle interests of the residents.

Mercer Island Lifestyle is first and foremost a community magazine. It is our hope that you will become engaged with us to give us your input on the contents of Mercer Island Lifestyle. We are specifically looking for community input for the City Scene, Business Monthly, and Event Calendar sections of the magazine. Please feel free to share your ideas with us via email.

Mercer Island Lifestyle is an ad-supported magazine. It is delivered around the first of every month at no cost to the reader. We want to acknowledge our Founders Club of advertising partners: Aegis Living Mercer Island, AOME Architects, Artala, BMW Seattle, Bellevue Club, Greg Rosenwald and Kelly Weisfield | Compass, Island Animal Hospital, Kitchen & Market, Kristin Bedard | John L. Scott, Mary Lee | Realogics Sotheby’s International, Rockefeller Capital Management, and our first partner, Team Foster | Compass. Without this group of trusted colleagues, this issue would have never been published.

We also want to thank Christie's for providing the beautiful photos and facts for our cover story.

Finally, we want to thank all of our Community Partners. We look forward to working with you all in this manner.

Please feel free to email suggestions to us any time.

Warm regards and Happy New Year!

city scene

1: Mercer Island Harvest Market: Table for Island Treats 2: Tammy Shoop and Sophy Yang at Voices Heard Mercer Island AAPI event | China Harbor Restaurant. 3: The Mercer Island Schools Foundation’s All in for Kids Phone-A-Thon was a great success! 4: Mercer Island Harvest Market: Table for Stroum Jewish Community Center 5: Mercer Island Harvest Market: Table for Island Animal Hospital 6: Mary Lee and Diane Barrett Tien at Medic One Foundation's Lifesavers Gala on October 21, 2022 7: MIHS Girls Swim and Dive Team Wins

MERCER ISLAND SCHOOD DISTRICT

MICHAEL STEIN

MICHAEL STEIN

MICHAEL STEIN

business monthly

A round-up of exciting news from local businesses.

Island Animal Hospital

Island Animal Hospital is now open and accepting new clients. Our beautiful new clinic was built from the ground up with a forward-thinking vision of what the veterinary experience should be, always putting you and your pets first. Services include primary care, urgent care, diagnostics, dentistry, and surgery. Give us a call at 206-202-9882, we look forward to meeting you and your pets! We are located at 7803 SE 27th St.

Kitchen and Market

Kitchen & Market opened its Mercer Island store on October 15, 2022. The store is located at 7635 SE 27th Street. Other locations include Pike Place Market and Kirkland. The store specializes in freshly prepared foods, chef-driven meal kits, private label products and locally sourced goods. The store highlights local brands such as Ellenos Greek Yogurt, Rachel’s Ginger Beer and pasta from Ethan Stowell Restaurants. The owner, Stephanie King, is a long time resident of Mercer Island.

Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce

Introducing the 2023 Chamber Board of Directors:  Miran Hothi, NW Parkinson's Foundation;  John Scherzo, Management Advisory Services;  Marilyn Chorak , Mercer Island Orthodontics;  Zach Fauchald, Sahara Pizza; Stacy Schill, S. R. Schill & Associates;  Hali Enderby, Hali Health & Wellness, PLLC;  Laurie Raisys, Island Books;  Ann Peterson, Island Treats; and Sandra Levin, John L Scott.

Want to be featured?

Get in touch by heading over to our landing page to connect: CityLifestyle.com/MercerIsland

Waterfront Home Goes on the Market for $15.75 Million

ARTICLE BY CHRIS S. NISHIWAKI

Having raised three children, Brian and Stephanie Shay are looking to spend more time in warmer climes in the Tampa area and have listed their Mercer Island waterfront home this fall.

Set on three-quarters of leveled acre on nearly 100 feet of water frontage, the over-6,000-square-foot home is listed for $15.75 million. Its location on the north end of Mercer Island affords this majestic property 180-degree views from Bellevue to Seattle.

“There aren’t so many waterfront properties. This one is very unique in that it is on a very leveled lot,” said Tere Foster of

COMPASS, who is the listing agent along with Moya Skillman. “It is what most people want. It has that wide view. It has expansive views around 180 degrees. You have sunsets and you can also see the sunrise.

“There aren’t a lot of waterfront properties on the market. To have something that is move-in ready, and not a fixer or major project, is truly rare.”

Brian, a wireless industry veteran started his career with Motorola in 1982. He would move on to New Vector in 1984 which rebranded to US West Cellular, which would spin off its cellular division as AirTouch Communications. AirTouch would sell to

United Kingdom-based Vodafone, which in turn merged with Verizon and Bell Atlantic to create Verizon Wireless. He joined AT&T in 2004, rising to Vice President of Sales in 2014, then additional responsibilities for distribution in 2015.

The Compass listing says, “For those seeking an exceptional waterfront lifestyle, this gated Ben Leland estate on a level .75± acre boasts 98± feet of waterfront, a spectacular dock that accommodates a large yacht, plus two covered slips and a panorama of views of both the Seattle & Bellevue skylines.”

“Four ensuite bedrooms including a primary suite with sweeping views and spa-like bath.” The listing also says the property features a recreation room with lake access, a bonus room, pickleball court, hot tub, two jet ski lifts and a sandy beach.

The home also features a 750-bottle wine cellar and four fireplaces, among other amenities.

Foster said the market for homes such as this unique luxury waterfront property remains strong, despite rising interest rates and a softening real estate market. The property is marketed globally. Foster adds that as many as over 60 percent of new local luxury home buyers are coming from California for tech jobs.

“People are coming to the area,” Foster emphasizes. “(Rising interest rates) do not impact this kind of buyer. If they get a loan on a property like this, it is not a large loan.”

“There aren’t a lot of waterfront properties on the market.

To have something that is move-in ready, and not a fixer or major project, is truly rare.”

MACK THE LIFE:

Francesca and Wolfgang Mack

Courting business and closing on deals, Mercer Island’s Wolfgang Mack built a thriving career as an engineer and executive. The debonair, charismatic and quick-witted Wolfgang can charm any room in his native German, as well as fluently in French and English, and conversationally in Spanish.

Courting his would-be wife, however, was the toughest sell. He would make a strong first impression on a flight but a young Francesca proved to be a tough customer.

They have been married for 60 years now, together for 62, and after traveling and living all over the world they settled at Aegis Mercer Island two years ago, mere days before the country went on the COVID-19 pandemic-induced shutdown.

In between, Francesca and Wolfgang raised four sons. Francesca produced enough art to fill their and their sons’ homes, and then some. Wolfgang built a successful career as an engineer and business executive. He would also publish books, including most recently a prescient volume on the dangers of autocracies.

ARTICLE BY CHRIS S. NISHIWAKI PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRIS ISHII

“It’s the best decision we ever made,” Wolfgang said of moving to Aegis.

After a life of travel, Francesca and Wolfgang Mack settle on Mercer Island

When they first locked glances on a flight over sixty years ago, Wolfgang stood out as tall, dark and handsome, Francesca recalls. He would travel from his home in New York to Europe, regularly on business. She was an airline hostess for TWA, at the time led by eccentric business titan Howard Hughes.

“This was in January and he was returning from a ski trip in Europe so he was tanned,” Francesca said wistfully stealing a glance of Wolfgang lounging in their Aegis Mercer Island apartment in November. “He had long dark hair when all the Americans had crew cuts. He had a continental-cut suit. He stood out as very continental.”

However, nursing emotional wounds after recently calling off a marriage engagement, Francesca was cautious and wondered if the smooth-talking Wolfgang was already married.

“But it wasn’t so easy,” Francesca recalls. “Remember, I had just broken an engagement so now I was going to be very careful. I wasn’t rushing into anything.”

He was a focused young man and an ambitious professional. A man of substance and culture, sporting an MBA from Syracuse University as a Fulbright Scholar and a Ph.D. from Innsbruck University in Austria with shared interests in the fine and performing arts.

Gradually, at the urging of her roommates at the time, Francesca would call Wolfgang’s house multiple times during different business hours knowing that he would not be home but perhaps another woman living with him would answer. But there was only one woman in Wolfgang’s eyes.

Their first date started with cocktails at the Manhattan Club, followed by the play “Marriage Go-Round” at the Plymouth Theatre and then late night supper. Francesca was smitten. They have been together since.

Francesca retired from flying in 1962 to focus on raising their sons. Trained in the fine arts at Ramapo College in New Jersey under the legendary Dr. Judith Peck, Francesca also devoted herself to her passion for painting. Their Aegis apartment is filled with her art, sharing wall space with an original Joan Miro on one wall, Asian textiles on another and most prominently to the Macks, the art of their grandchildren.

In fact, it was wanting to be closer to their grandchildren that motivated the Macks to move from New Jersey, first to Seattle’s First Hill over twenty years ago and as of two years ago to Aegis on Mercer Island.

It hasn’t been all romance, refrigerator art and leisure living for the Macks, however. Wolfgang grew up in World War II Germany opposing the war. He lost two brothers during the war.

Mack was drafted, mandatory at the time, to fight in WWII at age 15. He did not see battle action and instead was appointed to the home guard.

“You are supposed to stay put where you lived,” explained of his mandatory role during the war. “We took care of refugees and cleaned the streets after air raids. We would patrol the streets at night to make sure everyone was OK.”

The locals eventually made it a point to spare more deaths of young soldiers and sheltered them in the mountains of the Black Forest in southwest Germany bordering France’s Alsace region, saving Mack from seeing any more action. Less than six months later, the war was over.

“There were enough sensible old people who scooped us 15-year-olds and said, ‘look fellows, enough is enough,’” Wolfgang recalled. “We surrendered our weapons and they put us up in the mountains because there were lots of youngsters from local families. The loss of life and atrocities was too much.”

The experience of autocratic Germany was the inspiration for his book, “Parallels in Autocracy: How Nations Lose Their Liberty,” published in the summer of 2020 in time for the last presidential election. He also drew from his experience traveling the world to countries under dictatorships and autocratic regimes. The paperback book is available on Amazon.com for under $10.

The Macks are enjoying the freedom and independence that Aegis Mercer Island provides.

“It’s the best decision we ever made,” Wolfgang said of moving to Aegis. “It really is just the right thing for us at the right time. I’d like to say it is really being able to feel like family and caring about each other and that’s not just a trite statement. It really does feel like that.”

“It really is  just the right thing for us at the right time. I'd like to say it is really being able to feel like family and caring about each other and that's not just a trite statement. It really does feel like that.”

Allen's Estate

Art Collection Breaks Art Auction Record

ARTICLE BY CHRIS S. NISHIWAKI | PHOTOGRAPHY BY CHRISTIE'S

The art collection of former Mercer Island resident and Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen became the most expensive collection ever sold, with 155 works netting over $1.6 billion during the auction at Christie’s New York on November 9-10. Proceeds will be given to charity, including the Paul G. Allen Family Foundation.

Dubbed “Visionary: The Paul G. Allen Collection,” the auction drew collectors from all over the world. The first day, 60 works of art hammered for a total of over $1.5 billion, including five pieces that sold for over $100 million. The next day, 95 works sold for a combined nearly $116 million.

The collection of the late philanthropist and Microsoft co-founder featured a diverse trove of masterpieces from the Renaissance to the cutting edge of contemporary art.

The top lot of the collection was Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version) by Georges Seurat, which sold for $149,240,000. The sale of the painting marks the highest sale for any Impressionist or Post-Impressionist work of art, tripling the record price for the artist after more than five minutes.

Seurat’s Pointillism was of particular interest to Allen, who once said, “Because of my computer background, I’m attracted to things like Pointillism or a Jasper Johns ‘numbers’ work because they come from breaking something down into its components, like bytes or numbers, but in a different kind of language.”

Of the evening sale, Max Carter, Vice Chairman, 20th and 21st Century Art, said, “Never before have more than two paintings exceeded $100 million in a single sale, but tonight we saw five.

Jasper Johns (b. 1930), Small False Start, 1960. Encaustic, acrylic and paper collage on fiberboard sold for $55,350,000

Vincent van Gogh (1853-1890), Verger avec cypres, 1888. Oil

"Les Poseuses, Ensemble (Petite version)" by Georges Seurat was the most expensive artwork selling for $149,240,000

Four were masterpieces from the fathers of modernism — Cezanne, Seurat, Van Gogh and Gauguin.”

In New York, auctioneers Adrien Meyer and Jussi Pylkkänen took bids from clients in 19 countries for the historic Part I, while 31 countries participated in the bidding the following day. The sales attracted over 4 million viewers across Christie’s global platforms.

John Singer Sargent’s The Façade of La Salute ($3.66 million) and Paul Klee’s Bunte Landschaft ($4.86 million) each set a record for a work on paper, while Joseph Kosuth ($289,800) saw a record for a photograph by the artist.

Paul Cezanne’s La Montagne SainteVictoire fetched $137,790,000 shattering the existing record for the artist. Jasper Johns’s Small False Start (1960) sold for $55,350,000, setting an artist record.  One of Georgia O’Keeffe’s iconic flower paintings, White Rose with Larkspur No. I, attracted a frenzy of bidding before selling in the room for $26,725,000.

Allen’s collection highlights landmark moments in the development of landscape painting across centuries. In addition to Cezanne’s magisterial vision of the Mont Sainte-Victoire, Vincent van Gogh’s luminous Provençal landscape Verger avec cyprês (1888) sold for $117,180,000, smashing the current record for the artist at auction.

Gustav Klimt’s Birch Forest (1903) was another remarkable performer, garnering $104,585,000 and setting a record for the artist. In the painting, the painter uses his distinctive style to draw us into the calm tranquility of the natural landscape. He eschews traditional markers of perspective, fully immersing the viewer in his world.

Works by Manet and Monet exceeded $50 million each. Paul Gauguin’s monumental Maternité II , painted in Tahiti in 1899, more than doubled the previous record for the artist, selling for $105,730,000.

The celebrated Madonna of the Magnificat by Sandro Botticelli, who revolutionized depictions of the Madonna during the Florentine Renaissance, sold for $48,480,000.

Modern masterworks of portraiture made a strong showing in the auction. Lucian Freud’s Large Interior, W11 (after Watteau) (1981-1983) realised $86,265,000, smashing the artist record.

Paul Cezanne (1839-1906), "La Montagne Sainte-Victoire," 1888-1890, oil on canvas

Francis Bacon’s triptych Three Studies for Self-Portrait (1979) sold for $29,015,000. The work consists of three close-up views of the artist’s head, captured at different angles. The spectral pallor of his flesh is offset by disquieting patches of pink and blue and set against a backdrop of blazing orange.  Day Dream , a luminous 1980 portrait by Andrew Wyeth, realized $23,290,000 after a fierce bidding war, more than doubling the artist record. Depicting the artist’s most well-known model, Helga Testorf, Day Dream balances a crisp, monochromatic palette with detailed tempera brushwork to eternalize one of the most fruitful relationships of his career as a lasting image of ethereal beauty.

Day 2 began with another memorable auction lot: Alexander Calder’s sculpture Untitled sold for $1.86 million more than four times its high estimate. It would set the precedent for the artist’s two other pieces in the Day Sale — Two-Toned Moon ($2.7 million), and Disques Verticales ($4.5 million), both selling well over their high estimates.

The top lot of during the second day was Claes Oldenburg and Coosje van Bruggen’s monumental sculpture Typewriter Eraser, Scale X, which sold for over $8.4 million against a low estimate of $5 million setting a record for the artist. The piece was displayed outside Rockefeller Center for public viewing in the 10 days leading up to the sale.

Paintings by Sam Francis continued to attract interest from buyers, and both lots in the day sale commanded prices well above their high estimates. Red No. 1 was a particular standout, fetching nearly $6.8 million against a low estimate of $2.5 million

There was also keen enthusiasm for sculptures by Jacques Lipchitz. Figure set a record for the artist, selling for $4.38 million against a low estimate of $700,000. *Information from Christie’s was included in this report.

Paul Allen estate art auction

Working on a Dream

Do you think about one day owning your ‘dream home’, one that’s perfect for you and your family? Do you have a few ideas but need help creating a concrete design? You could come close to your dream by purchasing a new spec home that satisfies some of your needs, or buying someone else’s house and remodeling the kitchen and bath, etc.

Homeowners can design and build a new home from the ground up. This requires careful planning but will be an experience you’ll remember for a lifetime. To start the process of making your ideas a reality, you’ll need to work with an architect. We interviewed Mark Elster

of AOME Architects to ask about the process of planning and building your dream home.

Mercer Island City Lifestyles (MICL) What are the benefits of building a custom home versus buying a spec home?

Mark Elster (ME): When you buy a home designed and built for someone else you can move in immediately, but it won’t be tailored to you and your family without additional work. You may also find that the total expense will be less. Building your own custom home might mean you’ll have to wait a couple of years to move in, but you’ll have a home tailored to your

THE RIGHT ARCHITECT WILL TRANSFORM YOUR IDEAS INTO A CONCRETE PLAN

ARTICLE BY MICHAEL STEIN

Great Room Mike Jensen Photography

family’s needs and goals. You also benefit from playing a key role in the making of your home, a process that invests your custom home with much more personal meaning and purpose than you can achieve by purchasing someone else’s home. Ideally, it becomes an experience you will treasure for a lifetime.

MICL: What steps are required to build my custom dream home?

ME: Clients are eager to occupy their finished custom home, which can bias their choices to select professionals willing to rush the process at the risk of causing problems and unwanted compromises later. Prudent clients take the time to select professionals that will help them more fully define the scope and goals for their project, assess its feasibility, and develop design concepts enabling the client to truly visualize the finished home. Once these pre-design steps are completed the architect will help the owner assemble the project team of consultants and general contractors so design work can begin. This process requires several meetings to solicit the client’s input and confirm the design team is on track. During the documentation portion of the work, necessary permits will be obtained, after which construction can begin. Your full-service architect should remain involved to answer questions and to help guide the client through the many remaining decisions that are made during construction.

MICL: What is the role of the architect?

ME: The architect will assist with selecting the project team (including your contractor) and then lead them through the design, permitting, and documentation process until construction can begin. Then the contractor leads the team through the construction process with the architect acting in a supporting role until you move in!

MICL: Where in the process should I hire an architect? Should I wait until after buying a lot?

ME: Ideally the architect is the first professional you engage, even before your realtor. The architect will elicit information, and answers to questions you haven’t even thought of yet, that will be relevant to defining what the ideal property should look like. Without this preliminary important step, we have seen clients purchase a property that otherwise seemed perfect only to learn that they couldn’t build the home they wanted because they didn’t know about an obscure flaw that restricted development (among other potential points of failure).

MICL: When I’m ready to engage an architect, how do I get started?

ME: You know you want a dream home and have thought about it quite a bit – but likely don’t know how best to start, whether it is even possible or how to avoid the many pitfalls that await. Before you launch into an expensive design service it is important to establish a great relationship with your architect so they can lay the critical groundwork for the home and property — there lies the road to a successful design and construction process.

Before the design of your project can begin, several dimensions of your project must be evaluated. Our PreDesign process provides the answers we mutually need to proceed prudently. It consists of three basic elements:

1. Requisites and Opportunities Brief: An exploration targeted to precisely understand your requirements and potential roadblocks.

2. Conceptual Design Analysis: Building on these results we begin analysis of your goals and how they are impacted by various constraints, ultimately producing a conceptual design.

3. Feasibility Study: It makes no sense to proceed if a project is not feasible — our study of feasibility is tailored to the specifics of your goals, your property, and the jurisdiction, summarized in our feasibility findings report.

For more information about AOME, see their ad in this edition.

“You also benefit from playing a key role in the making of your home.”

Creator, Designer, Storyteller. AMY MAY

Design is more than what is pretty and beautiful— It’s also about the ways the mood, feeling and function merge within our home, affecting our happiness and well-being.

Health Conscious 2-4-6

FOOD ON A MISSION

Welcome to Table Culinary Solutions. Think of it as the multi-family Private Chef as a service. Founder, Olivia Tipton dubs it as “food on a mission.” In her blog, she describes it as “a dynamic, multifaceted tool that can bring people together in community and better the world around us. So come join us as we break bread. It all begins at the table. “

Ms. Tipton sees a return to home entertainment and the ushering in of another generation of hosts and hostesses inviting friends and family to their dining room tables for fun and fellowship.

The traditional six-course menu includes hors d’oeuvre, soup, appetizer, salad, main course, and dessert. Soup, salad, and dessert are the 2-4-6 items in the line-up.

When considering such a feast, you may want to cater to your discerning guests with a health conscious 2-4-6. You will win them over with this approach and impress them with your thoughtfulness. They will love the time and have a fond memory of your dinner table.

ARTICLE BY CHRIS ISHII

ingredients:

• 3 ounces baby arugula

• 4 persian cucumbers, sliced into ½ in coins

• 1 ¼ cups cooked quinoa, cooled (recipe below)

• ½ cup walnuts, crushed

• 1 can chickpeas, drained

• 1/3 cup dried cranberries

• ½ cup or about 4 ounces crumbled feta

• 1 lemon, juiced

• Honey

• Olive oil

• Salt

• Pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl. Drizzle with honey and olive oil to your taste. Season with salt and pepper, toss well and serve.

Steamed Quinoa

Cranberry Arugula Salad with Quinoa  ingredients:

• Makes about 1 ¼ cups

• ½ cup quinoa, rinsed

• ¾ cup water

• Pinch of salt

Add water, quinoa, and salt to a pot with a lid. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Once simmering, turn the heat down to low, cover, and let cook for 18 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit on the warm stove for another 15 minutes before fluffing and serving.

Broccoli "Cheddar" Soup (Vegan)

Vegan | Gluten Free Dairy Free | Vegetarian 6-8 servings

ingredients:

• 2 medium heads of broccoli

• 4 tablespoons unsalted vegan butter

• 1 whole yellow onion, roughly chopped

• 3 stalks celery, roughly chopped

• 1 large clove garlic, roughly chopped

• 1 bay leaf

• 1 cup very dry hard cider

• 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed

• 1 tablespoon Better than Bouillon vegetable base

• 4 cups (1 quart) oat milk

• 8 oz shredded vegan cheddar cheese

• Salt

directions:

To prepare the broccoli, remove the stems and roughly chop. Set in a bowl. Cut the remaining crowns into bite size pieces and set in a separate bowl.

In a large pot, add the butter, onions, celery, garlic, and broccoli stems. Season with salt and sauté over medium high until soft. About 10 minutes. Add the bay leaf and hard cider, simmer until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the lentils, vegetable base, and oat milk. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 - 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and opaque.

Remove the bay leaf, add the cheese, and use an immersion blender to puree the soup until smooth. Add the chopped broccoli crowns and continue cooking for another 5 - 6 minutes until the broccoli is bright green and just tender. Adjust the seasoning and serve.

If the consistency is too thick, you can always add more oat milk or water until desired consistency is reached.

Mom's White Chili with Quinoa

Gluten Free about 3 quarts

ingredients:

• 2 chicken breast, diced

• 1 quart of chicken stock

• 1 onion, diced

• 5 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 2 - 4 oz cans green chilies

• 1 cup white quinoa, rinsed

• 2 bay leaves

• 1 ½ teaspoons cumin

• 1 - 14 oz can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

• ¼ cup fresh lime juice (about 2 limes)

• 1 - 12 oz bag frozen corn

• Olive oil

• Salt & pepper

• Serve with

• Shredded cheddar cheese

• Sour cream

• Quartered limes

• Blue corn tortilla chips

directions:

Add olive oil to a heavy bottom pot along with onion and garlic. Season and saute over medium high heat until the onion becomes soft and translucent but hasn’t taken on any color. Add the chicken, season, and continue to cook until it becomes pale in color and there is no visible pink.

Add the cumin, bay leaf, green chilies, chicken stock, and quinoa. Bring to a simmer and cook until the quinoa puffs and the tail starts to unfold, about 15 minutes. The chili will thicken, that is ok.

Finish by adding the cannellini beans, lime juice, and corn. Continue cooking another 3-5 minutes to warm the corn. Adjust seasoning and serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, lime juice, and corn chips.

Lime Frosted Oat Bars with Coconut (Vegan)

makes:

1 - 8x8 Pan, 16 squares

Vegan Dairy Free ingredients:

Oat Blondie Base

• ½ cup (113 g) unsalted vegan butter

• ¾ cup (120g) light brown sugar

• 2/3 cup (165g) unsweetened applesauce

• 1 tablespoon (7g) ground flax seeds

• 1 cup (134g) all purpose flour

• 2/3 cup (68g) oat flour

• ½ teaspoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• ½ cup (24g) unsweetened shredded coconut

• ¼ cup (32g) rolled oats

• ½ cup (90g) Enjoy Life vegan white chocolate chips

Lime Frosting

• 1 stick (113g) unsalted vegan butter,

• at room temperature

• 2 cups + 2 tablespoons powdered sugar

• Zest and juice of 1 lime

directions:

Preheat the oven to 350F and line an 8x8 baking dish with parchment paper.

In a microwave proof bowl, add the butter and sugar and melt in 30 second increments, stirring at each interval, until the sugar is melted and the mixture is smooth. Add in the applesauce and flax meal. Mix well and set aside to let cool.

Meanwhile, combine the flours, salt, baking powder, oats, coconut, and chocolate chips. Add the dry blend into the cooled wet mixture, mix until well combined.

Pour into the baking dish and spread into an even layer. Bake for 25 - 30 minutes until the edges are golden brown and a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely.

Whisk together all of the frosting ingredients until smooth. Spread over the cooled oat base, cut into squares and serve. Store refrigerated in an airtight container.

events

A curated selection of the most intriguing upcoming events in our area.

JANUARY 1ST-8TH

Bellevue Downtown Ice Rink presented by Symetra

BELLEVUE DOWNTOWN PARK

The Bellevue Downtown Ice Rink returns to the Bellevue Downtown Park from November 18 through January 8, 2023. The ice rink is open daily and features 9,000 square feet of ice, a spacious viewing area, concessions, and free parking. Plan your visit and purchase online tickets. Visitors are encouraged to purchase in advance at www.bellevueicerink.com .

FIRST AND THIRD MONDAYS

Mahjong at Stroum Jewish Community Center

SJCC IS LOCATED AT 3801 E MERCER WAY | 10:00 AM

Grab your tiles and join us for bi-monthly mahjong! Drop-in on the first and third Mondays of the month for casual play and socialization. Sessions are offered both during the day (10 am-1 pm) and in the evenings (68:30 pm). Please bring your own set of mahjong tiles. All skill levels are welcome, but please note this is not an instructional class.

JANUARY 5TH -

FEBRUARY 26TH

Island Lanterns

TOWN CENTER

The City of Mercer Island and the Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL) present Island Lanterns, a community art project designed to inspire Mercer Island residents, brighten Town Center, and celebrate Chinese New Year 2023. The public will be able to view imaginative lanterns created by Island artists and residents January 5 – February 26, 2023.

JANUARY 18TH

Chamber Business Luncheons

MERCER ISLAND COMMUNITY CENTER | 11:30 AM

Join the Mercer Island Chamber for the return to in person Chamber Business Luncheons on Wednesday, January 18, 2023, from 11:30am to 1:00pm at the Mercer Island Community Center.  What better way to kick off 2023 with the opportunity for a professional headshot and making new business connections. A photographer will be on site to provide a one-look, no cost professional headshot to attendees. Also, enjoy lunch, networking with local businesses, and meet the 2023 Chamber board. Tickets: $30 for members, $40 for non-members.

JANUARY 19TH

Island Animal Hospital Open House & Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

7803 SE 27TH ST #174 | 3:00 PM

Join us for refreshments, meet & greet with staff and tours of the new hospital! Celebrate with games and prizes, Q & A with the team, and more! Friendly, leashed pets welcome to the paw-ty.

3pm – Ribbon Cutting Ceremony by Mercer Island Chamber of Commerce 4pm to 8pm – Open House Celebration

JANUARY 21STJANUARY 27TH

Lunar New Year

THE BELLEVUE COLLECTION

The Bellevue Collection hosts an incredible Chinese New Year performance and provides fun activities for the family. For inspiration on where to plan your Lunar New Year meals, Check out Baron’s Sino Kitchen & Bar and Din Tai Fung.

ARTICLE BY MICHAEL STEIN

Chinese New Year 2023

Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar Chinese calendar. It was traditionally a time to honor deities and ancestors, and it has become a time to celebrate with family. 2023 is predicted to be a year of longevity, peace and prosperity.

1. 2023 Dates

The first day of Chinese New Year begins on the new moon that appears between January 21 and February 20, 2023. Each Chinese year is associated with an animal sign according to the Chinese zodiac cycle. In 2023, Chinese New Year will fall on Sunday, January 22nd.  Celebrations of Chinese New Year traditionally last for 16 days, starting from Chinese New Year’s Eve to the Lantern Festival, held on the 15th day of the year.

2. Longevity, Peace & Prosperity

In Chinese culture, 2023 is a year of the Rabbit, specifically the Water Rabbit. The sign of Rabbit is a symbol of longevity, peace, and prosperity in Chinese culture. Chinese New Year is the festival that celebrates the beginning of a new year on the traditional lunisolar and solar Chinese calendar.

3. The Chinese New Year Lanterns Project

The City of Mercer Island and the  Mercer Island Visual Arts League (MIVAL), present  Island Lanterns , a community art project designed to inspire Mercer Island residents, brighten Town Center, and celebrate Chinese New Year 2023. The public will be able to view imaginative lanterns created by Island artists and residents January 5 – February 26! Why lanterns? For centuries, lanterns have been a staple in Chinese culture and celebrations. There are many types of lanterns, and each comes with its own symbolism. Generally, lanterns signify a wish for a brighter future. Lanterns were chosen as the canvas to evoke the idea of good fortune for the year ahead.

4. Seattle Celebration

In addition to the Island Lanterns project, Seattle’s Chinatown-International District will be hosting a celebration on Saturday, February 4th, 2023 in Seattle’s ChinatownInternational District featuring entertainment, lion and dragon dances, cultural performances, a food walk, street vendors and retail shops across the district.