We shot this video of this morning’s 3-alarm fire in central Greenwood, across the street on 85th. At some points, we could feel the heat from the blaze.

Visit this story (above) for continuing coverage and photos of the fire.

They’ve been working on it since last week, now the new Piper Village sign in front of Blockbuster and Bartell Drugs is finished. Here’s what it looked like Thursday afternoon just as work crews were finishing up.

Blue Sky Bridal, an eco-friendly bridal boutique, has opened in Phinney Ridge. Located on the bottom floor of an apartment building at 311 N. 77th St., Blue Sky sells some new, but mostly gently-used, wedding gowns, veils, shoes and jewelry. (They do not sell bridesmaid or mother of the bride dresses.)

Jen West started Blue Sky Bridal in May 2007 as a part-time venture, then got more serious last year when having trouble finding an affordable dress for her own wedding. The shop has “been a bit nomadic,” moving several times, but now landing permanently in Phinney, West says.

“We wanted something a little more laid back, a little less stressful, a little more fun,” she says. (The “we” refers to her friend, Beth Sweeney, who is not a co-owner but who has helped Jen shape her vision for Blue Sky.)

Right inside the front door is a bench to sit and take off your shoes and put on comfy slippers, plus a basket of white cotton gloves you must put on before touching the gowns. “I don’t like going to dress shops and seeing the sample dresses all filthy,” West explains.

Prices range from $100 for simple beach wedding dresses to $3,000 for couture gowns (think Vera Wang and Oleg Cassini), and are 40-75 percent off new retail prices. Most gowns are priced under $1,000. Sizes range from 0-18 (she sometimes has larger sizes, too).

Blue Sky is always looking for more gowns to consign, and splits the proceeds 50-50. If you buy a dress from Blue Sky and then re-consign it after your wedding, you’ll get 60 percent of the proceeds. Consigned dresses should be less than four years old (although she will occasionally make an exception for a vintage/antique dress or couture gown) and dry cleaned. Email her a photo before bringing your dress in.

Here’s a custom-made, kimono-inspired dress at Blue Sky Bridal.

The shop has partnered with Lapels dry cleaners in Crown Hill for discounted dry cleaning services before you consign your dress. West chose Lapels because it has a more eco-friendly cleaning process.

Since Blue Sky Bridal has only been open about two weeks, it doesn’t have signage up yet, except for a small sign in the front window. Walk-ins are welcome, but Saturdays are almost always filled by appointment. That’s Blue Sky in the bottom of this building.

West says she chose the name Blue Sky Bridal for two reasons. ”It seemed to really encompass what you want in a wedding in Seattle,” she said, adding that it implies “green” credentials without hitting you over the head with the concept. Her website offers an extensive list of other eco-friendly companies, and ideas to cut down on wedding waste.

Ali Marcus is a singer-songwriter who recently moved to the PhinneyWood neighborhood. Marcus runs her own record label – Turtle Rock Records – and has been featured on NPR, KUOW, KBCS, in the Seattle P-I, at CMJ music festival in NYC, and has performed many times at Northwest Folklife Festival.

She’s playing a gig this Saturday at Fall City Farms from 12-3 p.m.

The farm is just past Issaquah on I-90, and has a farm store, food, and U-Pick garden, including, most importantly, a pumpkin patch. For families looking for Halloween prep, a day-trip to the farm, and family-friendly entertainment, this will be the perfect activity. I’ll be singing in various incarnations, with my old-time band the Old Bay Warblers, and with my band, doing a mixture of originals and folk favorites. I spend virtually all summer playing festivals and farmers markets in the Northwest, and this is exactly the kind of event I look forward to most – fun for all ages.

Marcus will be playing her music closer to home in the next couple of months. She’ll perform on Nov. 14 at Empty Sea Studios, and at the PNA Winter Festival on Dec. 5.

Here she is, on the left, playing a recent show at the High Dive in Fremont.

Get out your blue suede shoes and hair pomade, ‘cuz Elvis lives at the Greenwood Senior Center’s Casino Night this Saturday.

They’ll turn the center into the Vegas-themed “GSC Grand” where you can try your luck at Roulette, Black Jack, Craps, Caribbean Stud, and other Vegas-style games.

All games are run by professional dealers. Tickets are $35 and will buy you $30,000 in casino chips which you can later exchange for raffle tickets. High roller tickets are also available for $100. Of course, it wouldn’t be Vegas without Elvis! The King himself will provide all-night entertainment.

Doors open at 6 p.m. for the silent auction. Food, wine and beer will be served (the better to loosen up your wallets for the center’s biggest fundraiser of the year.)

The Seattle Department of Transportation is awarding “mini-grants” of up to $1,000 for its Safe Routes to School Program, in celebration of International Walk to School Month.

The money must be used for programs that encourage more kids to ride their bikes or walk to school. All schools in Seattle are eligible to apply.

Groups also eligible for Mini-Grant Funds include PTA groups; Safe Routes to School teams; Walking School Bus groups; and other parent or teacher groups. Mini-grants can be used for a variety of items that support and encourage kids to walk or ride their bikes to school. Recent grants have supported new equipment for the Student Safety Patrol at Brighton Elementary; a bike commuter class at Ballard High School; walking school bus incentives at Blaine K-8; and new bike racks at Holy Rosary School.

Applications will be accepted until Oct. 30, and recipients will be notified by Nov. 13.

Tara Academy of Irish Dancing is moving into the space right next door to Pillager’s Pub, at 8551 Greenwood Ave. N.

They’ve held variou music and dance classes at Holy Names Academy and at the Phinney Neighborhood Center. We’ll let you know when we hear back from the owners with more details.

Chris wanted us to ask if anyone else heard the extremely loud airplane flying over their house early Tuesday morning in NW Greenwood/East Crown Hill:

Just want to check if our neighbors heard the same thing. Were you guys awakened by a jetliner that seemed to be flying at a VERY low altitude at 3:40 a.m. today? It woke us both up with the roar of the engines and got the dog REALLY wound up. It literally sounded like a train a block away!

Remember the traffic safety signs we told you about recently? The gaggle of them on NW 73rd St. just west of Greenwood Avenue got some drivers steamed, while others appreciated the heads-up to slow down.

Well, we just got a note from Etta, who tells us her husband, Marc, sent photos to Bill Griffith, creator of the comic strip Zippy the Pinhead. Seems he was so inspired, he created today’s comic strip about the “slo-boys,” as seen in today’s Seattle P.I.

Ben and Molly sent us this note this morning about a car break-in last night in Greenwood:

My car was broken into last night, Oct 20th. The car is a 2007 Grey Honda Accord and was parked uphill on the NE corner of 90th and Greenwood. The passenger side front window was smashed in and a black handbag was stolen. Nothing of value is in the handbag, but it does contain work stuff (badge, pager, research) that is really important to me. I’m offering $100 for the return of the bag and it’s contents, no questions asked.

If you have any information about this, please put a note in comments or email us and we’ll get in touch with them.

Steve and Carrie Shepard took over as owners of the Pig ‘n Whistle last Monday.

We lived in the neighborhood 10 years ago. The Pig was our weekend breakfast place and once in a while evening place. I saw an ad on Craigslist a couple months ago and asked which place it was. When they told me it was Pig N Whistle, we went for it.

Steve says he has worked in human resources for technology companies and Carrie has an accounting and baking background, but they’re “thrilled” to now make the pub their full-time jobs.

Greenwood Hardware owner Mike Radice called us this morning to say that someone tried to break one of the store’s windows last night.

It happened just before 9 p.m. Fortunately, neighbors heard the ruckus and called police. “Three people from across the street phoned it in,” Radice said.

Police told Radice that a 40-year-old white man broke a beer bottle on the window, then grabbed a garden pot and threw that into the window, too. At about that time, police showed up.

Radice said he’s very grateful that people called the police and that officers arrived so quickly to arrest the man.