I Love the PNW:::Seattle
Seattle Adventures
While Portland is near and very dear to my heart, Seattle is where I long to live. That city has the best atmosphere. You take an 18 year old girl out of the suburbs and put her in college in the middle of a major city, of course she'll fall in love. Going AWAY to college is something I'd like my children to do. While I'm sure it will break my heart to send my children off to college, it's such a wonderful experience. While I stayed in the same state, home was still a 3 hour drive away and I hardly made it back except for the holidays. This girl had some growing to do and while I was already independent before moving to Seattle, my time in college harnessed that and gave me a strong healthy push to becoming an adult (while having fun of course!) I think that's why Seattle is so special to me, I grew up there. It's amazing how much growing up you really do in the 4 years spent studying your ass off, working long hours, and having a social life. In college I lived in an apartment on a busy street. I purposely kept my bedroom window open to hear traffic on the street and see the neon signs. There's just something about not living in the suburbs that appeals to me. All in the hustle and bustle of one of the country's most exciting and beautiful places to live. And to think, I fell in love with that city before I had a decent income. The fun I have there now that I'm actually working in a job that pays decent, well, it's definitely even more fun! And I long for the days Matt and I can finally call that place home and anchor our family there.
UW
I chose UW without even seeing the campus. I originally planned on going to the University of Michigan but when I got that acceptance letter and saw how much it would cost....I said thanks but no thanks. Even with my ROTC scholarship, I'd still graduate with more student loan debt than I really wanted. I don't regret that decision one bit, going to school in Seattle worked for me in so many ways and I'm sure I'll continue to see why that was a good decision as my years go on. My two besties from high school went there and while we saw each other during college, we also branched out into our own little groups to make new friends too. Now, almost 10 years later, those two girls are still my besties, and I have an incredible group of college friends that are still in my life too.
The different TYPES of food around the campus are enough to ensure the Freshmen 15. The gothic architecture....well it seriously is breathtaking. Even Matt (who likes to jab at me for I love about UW or Seattle sports teams) won't ever deny the beauty of that campus. From the cherry blossoms to the red brick to the greenery to the fountain to the Harry Potter room before Harry Potter even came out....I mean the list seriously goes on. I could spend hours just reading in the library or hours walking around the campus alone with my thoughts, and in this case, a sleeping Jellybean. If I fell in love with the city because I feel like I "grew up" there, well of course the heart of that growing up happened on that campus.
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| The infamous Quad at UW. |
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| Drumheller fountain. Look at those beautiful cherry blossoms! Too bad it was cloudy. You can usually see Mt Rainier behind the fountain. |
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| I have a thing for feeding the ducks at the fountain. |
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| Took Matt to my favorite Bubble Tea place. JB got a kick out of it too! I thought he'd choke on the tapioca balls but NOPE he gobbled them right up. |
Mt Rainier
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| Found a cute little spot for a pit stop on the way up to Rainier. |
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| At the Visitor's Center on Rainier. Stopped just long enough for some pics and snacks. |
Pikes Place
What trip to Seattle isn't complete without going to Pikes Place Market. Aside from the Space Needle, it's THE thing to check out. Yes, they do throw the fish. Yes, the flowers are beyond gorgeous. Yes, visit on an empty stomach because the food venders are amazing and you won't be able to pick just one place to eat. It's times like my trip home that I wish I had a bottomless pit for a stomach and never got full because even on this trip I probably didn't get to eat at half the places I wanted to. And that's with my whole eating for two condition!
There are always a few things I want to/MUST get when I go to Pike's.
1. Bread and Brie from Le Panier
2. Macroons from Le Panier
3. Cheese Curds at Beecher's
4. Donuts at...I can't remember the name but they're at the end of the market and you only pay $3 for a dozen mini donuts.
5. Piroshky from Piroshky Piroshky
6. Local honey sticks
7. Marionberry jam
8. Chukar Cherries
Like I said, I need an empty stomach when I visit the market. Matt said, when we move here, I want to go to the market, order fresh seafood, and come straight home to cook it. Well, we were staying with my friends Trudi and Armaan.....why couldn't we do it now!? So we ordered a ton of scallops to take home for dinner. They came out sooooooo good. Pausing here just a moment to daydream of when trips to the market will result in fresh and delicious seafood dinners cooked in OUR own home in Seattle....
Notice how I didn't include going to the original Starbucks....their coffee tastes just like the coffee at any of the Starbucks' within 2 minutes of that one, minus the really long line. But hey, I've done it before, so I guess everyone has to do it at least once. But if there's a line to wait in for something at Pike's, I'd pick Le Panier or Beechers or Piroshky over coffee.
Jellybean definitely got a kick out of all the excitement. I mean, they threw fish in front of him for goodness sakes! There's so much to look at, different smells (mostly pleasant), and the hustle of a busy city, well give me that over a babbling brook or ocean waves any day. We got lucky this day because for some reason, it wasn't super crowded. There have been plenty of visits to the Market where I feel like I have to cross my arms in front of me it's so crowded! I think someone was looking out for us that day because we were able to maneuver the nonexistent crowds with a stroller pretty easily.
Even the walk to Pike's requires multiple stops at the stores down Pine Street, University, Pike..... those downtown streets that just get me every time. And stopping at the first Nordstrom? Well that's MANDATORY with a capital MANDATORY. I spent way too many poor college girl paychecks at that store. The shoe department alone is to die for! Best part is there's a Nordstrom Rack across the street so it's double the fun, double the shopping, double the money lost...I mean invested of course.
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| Ivar's clam chowder is kind of AMAZING. |
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| Crab eggs benedict from Toulouse Petite on Queen Anne. |
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| Pike's Place |
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| Pastries at Le Panier |
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| Watching the fish get thrown about |
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| Holding on to our dinner. He's obviously not excited about it. |
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| Donuts! |
A Ferry Ride
The Washington State Ferries are something every tourist wants to do, and when I go home, I'm a tourist so hell I'm going to do it too! One evening we took the ferry across the sound to Bremerton to gorge ourselves on seafood and top it off with some Cold Stone. Ice cream post gorging on Anthony's Seafood is becoming quite the tradition of me and Trudi. We were so blessed that day to have beautiful clear skies. Pulling away from the city would leave anyone quite awestruck. Pulling in when all the lights were on, that's another incredible view all on it's own. That kid of mine has got one set of sea legs on him because he had no problem running up and down that ferry boat!
Easter
I made reservations for Easter brunch at Salty's on Alki. They have wonderful seafood and the view from West Seattle is one I think a lot of tourists overlook. While I argue Kerry Park has the best view of the city, Matt's fond of what you can see from West Seattle. I'm happy because we get to drive over the shipping docks. Post Salty's brunch and pictures, we made a quick stop to Kerry Park on Queen Anne Hill. We got married at Kerry Park and I'm kind of set on finding my multimillion dollar house in this neighborhood. I might need to win the lottery first...
We had Easter dinner at Trudi and Armaan's with his mom, my sister, and my niece. I can't believe how blessed I was to be surrounded by so many wonderful people on that holiday. Spent the morning with my family eating amazing food and getting in some nice views of the city then the evening with my best friends, Armaan's mom who happens to be one of the sweetest ladies ever, and my sister and niece? Not to mention the amazing lamb dinner our hosts made for us? I can't get enough of this blessed life I'm living.
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| Brunch at Salty's. |
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| The view from West Seattle |
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| Kerry Park! |
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| Trudi's house with my sister and niece. |
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| Finding eggs at Aunty Trudi's |
The Roastery
Starbucks recently opened its first Roastery on Capitol Hill. Trudi and Armaan live on Capitol Hill. WINNING. This place was AMAZING. I worried it would be too hyped up. Coffee tasting like wine tasting? Watch them actually roast Starbucks coffee? Try the various ways to make coffee? OMG I was in caffeine heaven....and then suffered from too much caffeine shortly after but it was WORTH IT. This place was beautiful and their coffee perfection. We went on a weekday which was a definite score because I head the line is normally out the door and around the corner! Adding the Roastery to our must visit when in Seattle list.
Opening Day
Matt loves baseball. While basketball is my favorite sport, baseball is his. It definitely didn't take any arm twisting to get him to say okay to going to Mariner's opening day! This would be Jellybean's THIRD baseball game and third stadium! This kid is definitely going to be a baseball lover just like his dad. Before when we took him to games, he was still so young that he slept most of the time. This time, I was a little apprehensive about the more active and alert one year old that would be sitting in my lap, but I was so wrong to be nervous. He had THE BEST time. Probably better than dad! He rocked out to the music (literally, he danced every time music played), clapped when everyone else clapped, and jabbered away. He made it all the way to the 8th inning before getting cranky so I just carried him to the middle level, sat down, and he knocked out while I got to catch the rest of the game on a TV and wait for dad to join us. I've preached it before and I'll do it again, having a kid doesn't mean not doing the things you used to do. Sure it's a little harder, there's a little more planning involved and a little more sacrifice but it doesn't deter from having a great time!
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| GARLIC FRIES. A must at any Mariner's Game. |
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| Eating garlic fries too! |
Our Last Night
Mexico used to be my favorite place to go for food with a large group. My tastes have evolved a bit since those college days, but it's reliable Mexican food, caters to large crowds, and is in the heart of downtown on Pine Street. Two of my cousins that I haven't seen in literally a decade, live in Seattle. Re-connecting with them on this trip was definitely one of the highlights. They're dad is my mom's brother, and while some I don't even know what happened stuff went down with our parents and the kids kind of had to get separated, we're adults now and realize the value of family. Hell, even our parents are realizing that again and slowly rebuilding that relationship. I grew up with Adrienne and Raymon at every camping trip, every holiday, every BBQ. To go that long during my adult years and not see them was kind of ridiculous and to see them at dinner, well, maybe it's the pregnancy hormones or maybe it's they're FAMILY, but I definitely wanted to cry. And the best part was my sister and niece came up for dinner AGAIN! Like I said, I live a blessed life and am so grateful for it.
Our Gracious Hosts
In the past, when we've stayed in Seattle, we would opt for a hotel downtown. Now that we're getting a little older, and as are my friends, we stayed with Trudi and Armaan. They bought a house and I'm sure Trudi would have been upset if I kept Jellybean away from her while we were in Seattle. Sure she saved us a ton of money by not letting us get a hotel room, but spending a week with my best friend from middle school....and her high school sweetheart...well I really have no words. Jellybean LOVES his uncle Armaan, and if I can ever get around the red tape of a Catholic baptism, those two will be his Godparents. I can't even list the ups and downs that Trudi and I have been through together, she's one of my biggest cheerleaders, as is her mom. To not have her in my life, or in my children's lives would be incomplete. While our days were filled with endless sightseeing and my never ending " have to do this list," our nights were spent hanging out with two wonderful people. Matt and Armaan would drink their scotch while Trudi and I ran around chasing my very adventurous monster. It was such a great way to unwind at the end of the day.
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