We admit it.  E-mail has made snail mail correspondence a bit of a novelty.  Who really has time to sit down and write a note the old-fashioned way anymore?  Well we do, now that we’ve received our own fabulously personalized note cards from fabulousstationary.com.  You choose the design (from 100+ choices), color scheme and text, then get out your favorite pen and a book of stamps.  Find them for $35 - $55 per set.  www.fabulousstationary.com

One of the first restaurants to carry DRY Soda was Crush, in Seattle. While we were certainly thankful for the business back then, what we really appreciated was the way Chef Jason Wilson embraced DRY and paired it so perfectly with his entrees. At a time when few people had actually heard of DRY, he helped us show there was a market for a refreshingly new kind of soda.

For that reason - and the fact that the food is truly amazing and the dining experience is a masterful escape from our jam-packed schedules - we try to eat at Crush whenever we can, and highly recommend it if you’re ever in town.  www.chefjasonwilson.com

The Buddha Bowl is an ergonomic masterpiece.  We love the way it fits smoothly in the palm of your hand, and particularly enjoy lunching on an olive-colored Buddha Bowl full of spicy rice or miso soup and a Lemongrass DRY Soda.  This 18 oz. dishwasher safe beauty is also great for sipping your favorite hot beverage on a cold day.  The Buddha Bowl is available in eight different colors and also comes in a 12 oz. Baby Buddha size.  $18 at www.flavourdesign.com

If you live or work in Seattle and find yourself getting a right-brain urge, we recommend you check out Open Door Studios.  Become a member, take a class or just drop in to try your hand at ceramics, painting, sculpture, pottery, photography and more.  Open Door even offers a Family Room where parents and children can create together.

Studio Membership starts at $99 per month.  One-Day Guest Pass Admission: $17 for adults, $12 for children 11-16; children under 10 FREE with a paying adult.  www.opendoorstudios.net

We remember being young and attempting to make ice cream floats out of every type of soda under the sun.  Some combinations were surprisingly good, while a mixture including a super sweet, dewy citrus soda and rocky-road harbored enough sugar to employ an army of dentists.  We recently discovered a float better than most at Noodle Theory in Oakland, Calif.  Head chef and owner Louis Kao has innovatively paired Rhubarb DRY Soda with strawberry ice cream, Lavender DRY with chocolate ice cream and Kumquat DRY with vanilla ice cream, offering his clientele a less sweet, yet equally delicious treat. www.noodletheory.com