WMFHA Emerald Awards 2016

What an evening at the Washington Multi-Family Housing Association (WMFHA) Emerald Awards! Pillar Properties sure made a big impact with four wins, one of which was awarded to Sidneigh Barks for her work at The Lyric. To top it all off, everyone in the audience of over 1,000 people definitely learned the meaning of Quietly Awesome!

Sidneigh was named Rookie of the Year and we couldn’t be more proud!

DSC_2873

Click on the video to see Sidneigh’s thank you speech!

It was such a thrill to see each of our winners accept their awards and share the meaning of Quietly Awesome with the audience. Way to go Team Pillar!

DSC_2898

Posted in Awards | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

Reservation for two! Valentine’s Day in Seattle

Love is in the air and what better way to treat your Valentine than with a romantic dinner tailored just for the occasion.  Many of our favorite neighborhood spots have created special menus for the holiday or are offering Valentine’s Day specials. Take your date on a festive stroll to share one of these featured meals and a truly lovely evening.

…and don’t forget to make reservations, the sooner the better!

lark

Source: OpenTable

Lark 

Contemporary American

Prix Fixe four-course menu, $110/person

Bar Cotto 

Italian

Prix Fixe three-course menu, $50/person

poppy

Source: OpenTable

Poppy 

Northwest

Prix Fixe three-course menu, $60/person

Restaurant Marron

Contemporary American

Valentine’s week menu will be served exclusively on Wednesday, February 10th to Sunday, February 14th

rione

Source: OpenTable

Rione XIII

Italian

Prix Fixe four-course menu, $80/person

Omega Ouzeri

Greek

Prix Fixe four-course menu, $69/person

omega

Source: OpenTable

Anchovies & Olives

Seafood

Prix Fixe four-course menu, $80/person

Café Pettirosso

Contemporary American

Prix Fixe five-course menu, $60/person

cafe

Source: OpenTable

Skillet Diner 

Contemporary American

Prix Fixe three-course menu Saturday and Sunday, $32/person, $5 dessert, drink specials

Jimmy’s On Broadway

Comfort Food

Regular menu and Chef’s Valentine specials beginning at 4pm, Valentine’s Day Weekend

Valentine Sunday Brunch 9am – 3pm

marj

Source: OpenTable

Marjorie Restaurant

Contemporary American

“Red Menu”-  special menu

Posted in Holidays | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Focus on Wellness rather than Weight Loss

At The Lyric we place a high importance on the wellness of our team members and
residents. We believe that physical and mental health are key to a happy work environment for our team members and a happy home for our residents.

It’s no surprise that weight loss is consistently the number one New Year’s resolution.  It may surprise you, however, that a measly eight percent of people who make a resolution are actually successful (Forbes).

Weight loss is a daunting goal. Rather than overwhelming yourself with the pressure of such a drastic change, break your overall goal up into smaller achievements that will set you on a healthier path and ultimately inspire long term change. Rather than focusing solely on weight loss, focus instead on overall wellness.

Here are some healthy starter goals for 2016:

  • Simplify your coffee (no sugar, syrups or artificial additions!)
Source: Thrillist

Source: Thrillist

  • Cut out soda and fruit juice
Source: Thrillist

Source: Thrillist

  • Reduce your intake of refined carbohydrates
Source: Thrillist

Source: Thrillist

  • Incorporate more vegetables 
  • Walk more

Lyric gym 3

The Lyric features a spa like fitness center allowing residents convenient access to state of the art equipment. An easy way to get started is to hop on a treadmill and try walking on an incline…you can even enjoy your favorite TV show while you walk!

Lyric gym

Posted in Wellness | Tagged | Leave a comment

‘Tis the Season at The Lyric

It’s the season of giving and as a long time Northwest company, Pillar Properties is committed to giving back to the community.  As part of our Pillar Passions program, we select a local organization to support each quarter.

HP

We just wrapped up our efforts for Toys for Tots and the results were spectacular.

DSC_2330[1] (2)

Each of our properties and the team at the Seattle office put together a huge effort to help ensure that children in need were supported this holiday season. We also received donations from outside companies since our properties were official drop off locations for Toys for Tots.

DSC_2310[1] (2) DSC_2311[1] (2) DSC_2312[1] (2)

Our total donation for Toys for Tots this year comes to $40,000 in toys and cash.  We think that is an incredible effort and a ridiculously large donation given the size of our company.  Thank you to all of the residents and team members who helped make this effort successful!

DSC_2319[1] (2)

To continue with the spirit of giving, we made sure to give our residents a time to come together and celebrate the holidays with friends and neighbors. The Lyric hosted a Holiday Gift-Wrap Party to spread the holiday cheer! The tables in the Sky Lounge were lined with an endless rainbow of wrapping paper, bows, bags, tissue and tinsel! We invited residents to bring down their gifts and get one more thing checked off they’re holiday to do-list…the wrapping. They brought the gifts, we brought the wrapping paper and more, including festive snacks and cozy cocktails. It truly is the most wonderful time of the year.

lyric HP 2 Lyric HP

Posted in Holidays, Pillar Passions | Tagged | Leave a comment

Helpful Hints for the Holidays

‘Tis the season to eat, drink and be stressed out! The holidays need to be a time for family and a time for giving…not just for giving you a headache.

Here are a few helpful hints to get you through this holiday season, well…at least get you through the stressful parts, hopefully after reading this you will be able to sit back and enjoy the most wonderful time of the year!

If you’re going to a Holiday Party

w620_h480

Source: Domino

Gifts for the Holiday Hostess

3 Fresh Ideas for Host/Hostess Gifts

7 Ways to be the Perfect Party Guest

If you’re hosting a Holiday Party…

Holiday Hosting Short Cuts

Holiday Hosting Hack: two-ingredient recipes

13 Holiday Punch Recipes

Crockpot Cocktails for cold weather

If you’re hosting guests…

How to Host Without a Guest Room

Holiday Hosting: Guest Room Must-Haves

w620_h480 (1)

Source: Domino

How to Prepare for Out-of-Town Guests

The One Thing Your Holiday Houseguests Won’t Tell You

10 Pre-Holiday Cleaning Tips and Tricks

If you’re drawing a gift giving blank…

Everyone on Your Holiday List

Holiday Gift Guide 2015: Favorites for Seattle Food Lovers

If you’re not trying to  pack on the traditional holiday pounds…

50 Holiday Recipes You Won’t Regret in January

We asked Property Manager Stacy what she does to prepare for the holidays:

stacy

Stacy said she tries to make holiday preparation fun, a festive activity in itself! She suggests treating yourself to a little something when you are out and about running holiday errands. Stacy suggests strolling down the street for a pastry at Crumble & Flake. She recommends the smoked paprika and cheddar croissant!

 

 

 

Posted in Holidays | Tagged | Leave a comment

Living the Dream at The Lyric

It’s been a fun couple of weeks here at The Lyric with lots to celebrate!

The Seahawks are now halfway through the 2015 season. We cheered for our beloved Hawks at our Monday Night Football party! We ordered plenty of pizza and other goodies to enjoy while we rooted the Hawks on to victory.  Let’s hope there are lots more wins in the next half of the season.  Go Hawks!

12088129_845599475553844_1951072211388783519_n

For the recent haunting holiday we threw our annual Lyric Halloween Party complete with a competitive costume contest! We had spook-tacular treats and admired some pretty creative costumes.  This is one of our favorite parties at The Lyric each year.

12189133_856141987832926_7376024804239282565_n

It’s hard to believe but The Lyric recently had its three year anniversary!  It seems like only yesterday that we were opening the doors of this beautiful new building and welcoming our first residents to their new homes.  We are so grateful to the wonderful people who live here and we wanted to celebrate our anniversary with them.  We picked up cupcakes down the street at one of our favorite spots for treats (we’re looking at you Cupcake Royale) and filled our lobby with countless tasty flavors. The champagne was flowing too as we toasted to three fabulous years at The Lyric!

12115639_856580011122457_6745540993485769004_n

Posted in Activities | Tagged , | Leave a comment

Folds of Honor

Every quarter Pillar Properties selects a non-profit organization to support as part of our Pillar Passions Program.  As a locally owned private family company, we want to do all we can to make a difference in our community.

This quarter Pillar Properties is supporting Folds of Honor in their efforts to provide educational scholarships to the family members of American service men and women who are injured or killed in the line of duty.

For the month of September we partnered with the area golf courses to support this worthy organization. Pillar Properties purchased special Titleist Pro-V1 Patriot Golf Day golf balls to support Folds of Honor to give to our residents when they played at the participating golf courses.

We also had events at each of our properties to support Folds of Honor. Our incredibly talented maintenance team constructed a full-size miniature golf hole for our residents and team members to putt on. All it took was a donation to Folds of Honor to test your putt putt skills! Every hole-in-one made earned you a raffle ticket to win some pretty awesome prizes including gift cards, golf gear and swag from the 2015 U.S. Open!

FOH

It was a beautiful evening for the Folds of Honor event at The Lyric, we set up the miniature golf right on the rooftop deck. But of course, what’s an event without food! So we turned on the grills and had a good old rooftop BBQ with all the fixings!

FOH 2

Residents racked up raffle tickets with their impressive putting skills! We loved to see how thrilled they were with their prizes.

It was a great evening putting for a great cause!

FOH 3

Posted in Pillar Passions | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Where Can you Walk: Restaurants

When you think of good eats in Seattle you think of the hip and happening Capitol Hill.

Here you can find cuisine to satisfy any palate…eccentric dishes that mirror the eclectic neighborhood, fine dining that serves to impress the harshest critics, or just good old comforting classics.

IMG_0601

Conveniently for residents at The Lyric, this iconic food scene is right outside their front door! The following is a variety of dining options Lyric residents can walk to in less than 10 minutes:

Nacho Borracho 0.1 miles: 3 minute walk IMG_0906

Zagat rated – Seattle’s Most Essential Nightspots, Mexican Restaurant

Neon taco 0.1 miles: 3 minute walk

Mexican Restaurant

Annapurna café 0.2 miles: 4 minute walk

Zagat rated – Seattle’s Best Indian Restaurants, Indian Restaurant

Blue Moon Burger 0.3 miles: 5 minute walk

Zagat rated- Hamburger Restaurant

Herb & Bitter Public House 0.3 miles: 5 minute walk

Zagat rated, Tapas Restaurant

Zhu Dang 0.2 miles: 5 minute walk

Zagat rated – Chinese Restaurant

Roosters bar and grill 0.3: 6 minute walk

Zagat rated – Seattle’s Best New Restaurants, Tex-Mex Restaurant

Altura 0.3 miles: 7 minute walk 

Zagat rated- Italian Restaurant

Bait shop 0.3 miles: 7 minute walk  

Roosters Bar and Grill

Roosters Bar and Grill

Cocktails on tap, craft beer, and light fare

Chavez 0.3 miles: 7 minute walk

Zagat rated – Mexican Restaurant

Poppy 0.4 miles: 7 minute walk

Zagat rated – Seattle’s Best Outdoor Dining, American restaurant

Rione XIII 0.4 miles: 7 minute walk

Zagat rated – Italian Restaurant

Sur 16 restaurant 0.4 miles: 7 minute walk

Zagat rated – Latin American Restaurant

The wandering goose 0.4 miles: 7 minute walk

Zagat rated – Southern Restaurant

Jamjuree 0.5 miles: 9 minute walk

Zagat rated – Thai Restaurant

Posted in Dining | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Puget Sound Business Journal’s WA Best Workplaces

We are incredibly honored that Pillar Properties was recognized as one of Puget Sound Business Journal’s 2015 Washington’s Best Workplaces!

Sidneigh's excited!

Sidneigh’s excited!

The Lyric team along with the rest of the Pillar Properties team members took to Safeco Field at the Puget Sound Business Journal event rocking fabulous foam Pillar Properties cowboy hats to celebrate this truly phenomenal achievement! We had a great evening full of fun!

Way to go team!

Stacy, Valerie and Sidneigh!

Stacy, Valerie and Sidneigh!

Posted in Awards | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

VIP Mariners Game

When The Lyric team invites residents to attend a Mariners game…they go big!  Twenty of our residents recently got to roll in to Safeco Field VIP style.   Go big or go home we say!

On the day of the Mariners game a hummer limo pulled right up to The Lyric to chauffeur the gang to Safeco Field which was pretty cool! If you are riding in a limo, it’s pretty much mandatory to break out the bubbly.  So we started the festivities off with a champagne toast to our residents.

We had awesome seats at the game, all on the terrace club level and everyone received a free Mariners baseball hat as a souvenir! To top it all off, the Mariners accommodated us with a victory.  Our group was fired up and cheering all the way to an exciting 4-3 win over the Texas Rangers!

After the game we all hopped back into our spiffy limo and headed to Kerry Park to check out one of the best views in Seattle!

We had such a fun night and loved treating our residents like the stars they are!

VIP Mariners Game

Our residents at Kerry Park after the game!

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged , , | Leave a comment