Meet Tiffany

Meet Tiffany Holden

She’s our Client Concierge, and is the force behind our housewarming parties and team flyers & booklets. Tiffany also brings her love of writing to the Cohen Group blog, where she regularly tells the stories of old Bellingham buildings and current Bellingham hotspots. 

One of Tiffany’s strengths is seeing the relationship between the big picture and the small steps to get there, or the structure of the system that’s needed to make it happen. She’s developed this through her hobbies, including writing and directing dramatic programs for her church or serving as the day-of coordinator for a friend’s wedding.

Want to see Bellingham through Tiffany’s eyes for a day? Follow along for:

Breakfast First

We’re starting downtown, and our route will take us past the oldest surviving vaudeville movie palace-turned-theater in this area, the Mt. Baker Theatre. Breakfast will be barely a block away from the SPARK Museum and Mindport Exhibits, both places I’ve heard awesome things about but haven’t yet been to. We might end up walking more than a block to get to breakfast - streets here are often one-way, and there are plenty of odd intersections in this area - testimony to the history of Bellingham as four separate towns that merged together over the decades. 

We’re heading to the Mt. Bakery for a breakfast crepe. My tip is to get both a savory crepe and a sweet one (the Belgian Chocolate or the lemon curd especially) and split each of them with your dining partner - best of both worlds! 

After breakfast, let’s pop up Magnolia to State Street and make our way out to Boulevard. It’s the name of a road, but there’s an incredible park with the same name. The main park has been under development these last couple of years, but I’m thrilled about the new beach space, and the large lawns filled with people suntanning, reading, and tossing Frisbees remains a popular destination. I managed to actually score parking here on Memorial Day this year, but on sunny weekend afternoons the parked cars snake their way up the access road. 

Bring your walking shoes, because though lounging on the Boulevard lawn is perfect for a warm sunny evening, on a cooler day like today, there’s nothing better than walking down the length of the raised boardwalk. Whether reflecting solo on life and the color of the water, or marching with a walking buddy, the boardwalk is a Bellingham lifestyle staple.

At the south end of the boardwalk, you can make your way down 10th St to a trail that runs parallel to Finnegan Way and 11th, and come out at Mill Ave & 10th in Fairhaven. There are plenty of cool little places in this historic part of the city - Village Books, Sirena Gelato, and Skylarks Hidden Cafe among them. Some of my favorites have been painting pottery at Creativitea or taking a paint-and-sip class at Uptown Art. 

But today is a walking day. We’ll pop into some of the darling shops, take a few pictures in those hidden corners that are only special if you get to discover them for yourself (hint: Harris Ave is the center of the good stuff) then make our way back to the car at Boulevard Park. 

Time for lunch!  Avenue Bread is probably my favorite deluxe lunch location, so if you’re visiting me for the day that’s the spot to take you to. They have several branches, including one in Lynden (where the bacon burger is called the “John Deere”!), but we’d stop in at the downtown location on Railroad Ave. 

Now, if this was truly my perfect day and I was going solo, I’d honestly probably hit up the library for a book, then spend a good chunk of the afternoon at one of my two favorite Woods Coffee branches (Bakerview or Barkley), hunched over my laptop, writing drivel like this post. 

But since I have a guest along with me, we’re going shopping! (if you need caffeine for the road, though, don’t worry - Woods has us covered with its eight Bellingham locations. My go-to is a vanilla latte, but I also love their white chocolate mochas or caramel macchiatos.)

My absolute favorite consignment store, the source of probably 80% of my wardrobe, has two branches in Bellingham. Labels was started about 15 years ago and they’ve done a great job at keeping prices low and accepting only items that are “cute, clean and current”. (I’ve found new-with-tags Ralph Lauren and Calvin Klein dresses here.).

I might pick up some random groceries at Trader Joe’s (they’re just across the street from Label’s) then we’re heading home to prep for my kind of night on the town. 

Evening Activities So Bellingham is known for its myriad of craft breweries and pubs, but (shhh don’t tell anyone!) I’m actually not a beer fan! I don’t really drink wine either, so the bar scene has never been my comfort zone. Want to experience a Bellingham weekend night like I do? It’s time to slip into a dress and lace up your dance shoes!  

We’ll either head down to Bellingham Dance Company for their Friday night dance practice (open dance floor and a chill environment), or the Bellingham Senior Center Saturday community dances (even when I’m the youngest person there by about 35 years, I still have a great time), or to a formal dance with a live band at the Majestic on N. Forest St. Whether it’s swing, foxtrot or a blend of styles, the Bellingham social dance community is welcoming, and we’re going to spin and swivel into the night. 

Wondering what happened to dinner? Never fear! (Haha we've eaten so much today already) I generally don’t like to eat too much before going out dancing. It’s best to work up an appetite on the dance floor then hit up one last great spot prior to turning in. Boomer’s Drive-In is 3 minutes away from the Majestic via E. Maple. When I stop by during an afternoon, I’m tempted to grab one of their famous old-fashioned hard ice cream shakes; they come in about a dozen flavors. On a night like this, my go-to order is the classic Boomer Burger with waffle fries and ranch dipping sauce - such a perfect way to end a day. 

So there you have it! That’s our Client Concierge’s perfect Bellingham day. Aside from eating out so much (because wow that’s a lot), these are the types of things I do pretty often on a weekend or day to myself. 

Check out each stopping point on this map! What are your top Bellingham sights, sounds, and outings? I’d love to add them to our CGNW Maps Bellingham project and our Living Like a Local guide!