Travelogue: Seattle

Last weekend was my second time in Seattle and I seem to fall in love with it a little bit more each time. The people are so wonderfully friendly and down-to-earth, the food is amazing, and there's plenty of greenery to make you feel like you are gulping down the freshest of air. Here is a list of things I enjoyed and would recommend for any Seattle visitor.

Must-see attractions:

Chihuly Garden and Glass - absolutely gorgeous glasswork installations and there's even an outdoor Glasshouse with some impressive sculptures. Go close to the sunset time so that you can explore the Glasshouse during day hours and at night. The pieces are breathtakingly delicate and vibrant.

Chihuly Garden and Glass Exhibit

Seattle Wheel - This isn't for those with a fear of heights, but it's definitely for you if you enjoy a good view. This is another attraction to checkout during sunset because there's nothing more gorgeous than watching the sunset from a little pod high up in the sky. You have the water on one side, the city on the other, and the sky all around; it's so easy to get lost in the magic of it all, especially during sunset.

Seattle Big Wheel on the Water

Kerry Park - grab a cup of coffee from Stumpton's in Queen Anne and drive over to Kerry Park to check out on of the best view's of the city's skyline. Come at night to see the city lit up and the Space Needle's vibrant and distinctive silhouette.

View from Kerry Park

Public Market: It's absolutely touristy but it's also uniquely Seattle, so it is definitely worth a visit. If you are a Starbucks addict like me, get here early and get your favorite concoction from the first Starbucks, which is conveniently right across the Market. Lots of beautiful flowers and other great things to check out at this place.

Public Market 

Must-eat Places:

1) Serious Pie - in my two visits, I have had three meals here. The pizza is absolutely phenomenal. If waiting isn't your thing, get here at 11:30 AM for an early lunch or at 6 PM for an early dinner with happy hour.

2) Dahlia Bakery - located right around the corner from Serious Pie makes this the best place to grab a quick dessert after some delicious pizza. I favor the Coconut Creme Pie bites, but they also have delicious brownies and baked goods of all varieties. The store front in pretty small, so expect to grab and go unless the weather is good. Then there are two table to eat out front.

3) Macrina Bakery - a great place to grab a breakfast pastry and some coffee or a delicious sandwich. If you go to the Belltown location, expect a crowd. 

4) Toulouse Petit - voted one of the best brunch and happy hour spots in all of United States, so try to come for one of those. I went for happy hour here and I can say their food and drink menu was extensive and delicious. I agree with the assessment of one of the best places for happy hour. 

5) Purple - an amazing baked brie and wine cellar to die-for make this one of my favorite places in the city. If you are in the mood for some good wine and a place to dress-up a little, this is your place. 

6) Fremont Coffe House - drive over the Fremont neighborhood for a quick get away from the city and enjoy and cup of their amazing coffee and latte art on the little patio. It's a relaxing place to sit and think or plan out your next steps. You can also walk around and explore the quirky Fremont neighborhood while you are there because it offers tons of little shops and stores that are fun and capture some of Seattle's spirit. If not this one, definitely check out some coffee shops while you are there. Seattle seems to be a veritable treasure for these and I had a lot of fun exploring some local places that offer delicious brews.

7) Ding Tai Fung - I was introduced to this little gem in Bellevue by my friend and I am so glad I tried it! Apparently it's a pretty popular restaurant in Taiwan and it's fame is definitely obvious. We put our name down for dinner at 5 PM and then wandered around the adjacent mall for an hour and a half before they texted us that our table was ready. The place is packed but the service is great and the dumplings are amazing! Some of their noodle dishes and the black sesame buns are also a must. Go for dinner and go hungry so that you can try lots of dishes. 

8) Molly Moon's - delicious homemade ice cream with an extremely generous scoop-size. The small is easily big enough for two people. I got a split-small-scoop of early grey and the salted caramel; just thinking about it now makes my mouth water.

9) Bathtub Gin & Co. - a great little speakeasy with excellent cocktails to unwind and kick off the night.

10) Paseo - I am a vegetarian, but one of my meat-eater friends assure me that this is one of the best sandwiches she has ever had in her life. They definitely have the crowd to prove it because even though we went for a late lunch at 3 PM, there was a line for food. A great street-food place that seems to attract lots of locals, so that's always a good sign. 

Packing:

What you have to pack: comfortable shoes that can stand the rain, a lightweight rainproof jacket with a hood, and lots of pants or jeans 

What you can leave at home: flashy dresses and high heels. Most of Seattle seems to rock the Casual Chic look, so it's very rare that we saw anyone who was dressed up. Save the dresses for Los Angeles and embrace your inner chic-hippie look. 

What else is there:

If you feel like you can do more, here's some other things to do: 

Space Needle - worth seeing once but Kerry Park has a better view of the skyline.

Gasworks Park - great views of the city again and a place to check for every fan of the movie, 10 Things I Hate About You.

Discovery Park - all the eating got you feeling a little gross? Go here and hike one of the many green and gorgeous trails that give you a workout and a view.

Ballard - walk around this cute little neighborhood and check out the many stores and cafes it has to offer. There's also a great farmer's market on Sunday mornings.

Mount Rainier - Want to get away from the city? Take the three hour drive up to visit the grandiose Mt. Rainier and take in the sweeping views of the beautiful mountainside. It will make your believe in the beauty of mother nature like no other. 

Mt. Rainier - Snow in May

Be Oh So Good

Image courtesy of BeGood Clothing

I had dinner with an old work friend last week and she was very excited to talk to us about the new venture she's playing a role in, called BeGood Clothing. Begood has been a fixture in the Marina cityscape of San Francisco for over a year now and its focus is simple - offer people a choice of apparel that they can feel good about buying. As a shopping-addict, I don't really need that much of an incentive to buy; what BeGood manages to do is add the extra element of social responsibility to each shopping experience. If you are going to splurge $100 on shoes, might as well make them the shoes that look not only awesome on you but also help people living in third-world countries. As if offering socially responsible clothing choices to San Franciscans wasn't enough, BeGood decided to take their goodness a step further. This summer they are launching their own line of environmentally conscious clothing! Best part about it? It's starting at $15! As my friend said, if you can spend $15 on an eco-friendly shirt or just an ordinary run-of-the-mill shirt, why not pick the eco-friendly one? Since the founders of this place have some deep retail roots, I have no doubt their offering of product will be wearable and fashionable in addition to being environmentally conscious. Interested in learning more about this amazing business? Just sign-up at their website for updates about the new clothing line! I, personally, can't wait to see what they have cooking up for the big launch this summer.

White Party

Outfit:
Jeans: Gap
Shirt: J. Crew
Shoes: old (similar)











The first time I wore this outfit, someone asked me if I was going to P. Diddy's White Party. I wish! It may shock a lot of you but Puff and I don't roll in the same crowds. He likes to throw kick-ass parties in the Hamptons. I summer in Santa Cruz on a beach chair from Sports Authority. By "summer", I mean spend 3 hours on the beach and then get bummed out because I have to leave said beach to go to Trader Joe's and pick up my week's worth of frozen lunches. Puff is always welcome to join me, but I don't know if he will appreciate the awesomeness that is TJ's.

 Speaking of parties and celebrations, I just wrapped up a big presentation for work yesterday and it went really well. You know what I did to celebrate? I slept! It was the most wonderful feeling. Things you learn in your twenties - celebrating the end of a test or a project at age 22 means shots and at age 27 means sleep.

Moon River

Necklace: Nordstrom; Sunglasses: Marc by Marc Jacobs; Lipstick: Urban Decay 69

Instead of nibbling on croissants in front of the Union Square Tiffany's, I drink power smoothies in front of my work computer. However, I do sometimes channel my inner Audrey. Like millions of other girls, I love her and I love Breakfast at Tiffanys. Forget being just a fashion icon and a great actress; the woman led an amazing life. Humanitarian, ballet dancer, and  an overall great spirit. For those days when you need a little inspiration and a role model, not a bad person to look to. So grab a little black dress, some sunglasses, and think - What Would Audrey Do?






P. S. This book by her son is a great read for any Audrey fan.

P. P. S. I keep playing this song over and over again in my head thanks to this post. The music video is so over-the-top 90s that I am in love with it.

Serendipity

Outfit:
Dress: Urban Outfitters
Sandals: Dolce Vita
Nails: OPI Dating a Royal//OPI Banana Bandana
Bracelets: lot of 'em

 Serendipity - It's not just one of my favorite movies from the '90s. It's the notion of happening upon something wonderful without planning for it. I went to go return an atrocious polyester dress to Urban the other day and saw this little number. It was sitting in front of me with a $59 ticket and I thought, I really like the print and the cotton fabric and I am just going to splurge. I go to the counter and it rings up as $19.99. The Merchandise Planner side of me was pissed off that the first markdown was such a deep price-cut; the normal person side of me was ecstatic that I scored a deal. I will be meandering around the streets in this cotton number all summer pretending I am all boho chic thanks to this little bout of shopping-luck.Guess sometimes fate smiles down on you and you end up with something you love even without realizing you wanted it. Be it a dress, a new job, a new love or just a free iced coffee from Starbucks. Here's to a serendipitous summer.

Sunday Recipes: Sweetheart Cookies

Since every store is kindly reminding us that it's Valentine's Day (seriously CVS almost blinded me with the red and the pink), I decided to embrace the Hallmark holiday and send a little love to my dear ones.

Cookies made using Sally's Baking Addiction's Funfetti Cookies recipe. Instead of regular sprinkles, I used the hearts-and-kisses ones from Target. When the cookies are out of the oven, allow them to cool for two minutes. After the two minutes, gently press a candy heart into the center of each cookie and let them cool completely.

A glass of milk pairs perfectly with the sweet and chewy texture of these little valentine's treats. Now excuse me while I go mail this little bag of love to my best friend.

Milestones

What better time than your birthday to ramble on about what life lessons you learned so far. As I enter my late twenties officially, here's 20 things I learned about life of a twenty-something-old living in San Francisco:

1) Finding a career that you love is rare, so cherish it if you have it. I love my work. That doesn't mean work becomes play; it just means work becomes meaningful.

2) Most of your friends are still figuring out what they want to do in life and that's OK. Be supportive and listen to them when they want to talk about their shitty days or when they tell you they want to quit and become a princess at Disneyland.

3) Go to lunch and happy hours with your co-workers. You are going to spend more than half your waking hours with these people, so why not get to know them and become friends.

4) It's OK to be ambitious even if you are a girl. Planning for a career and getting excited about your job is great! There is no rule that says being a leader in industry and being a woman are mutually exclusive. Get past the labels and do what you love.

5) Trust the people who have earned it. Figure out who your true friends and make them your confidants instead of blindly trusting the whole world. This will eliminate a lot of drama and back-stabbing in your life.

6) Age and mellow Friday nights are directly proportional to each other. At 22, Friday rolled around and I would be down to stand in line for an hour in heels at Bootie/DNA. Now when Friday comes, I just want to be on my couch or at a nice dinner with some good friends - both cases wearing comfy shoes.

7) Don't wear UGGs or Crocs. No matter how bad your day is, ugly shoes are not the answer. A pair of TOMS or cute booties from Seychelles will serve you better than stomping around Sutter in sequinned UGGs from college.

8) If you need to get drunk, take your best friend with you. You will need the emotional, physical and mental support when your motor skills and emotional intelligence rival that of a toddler.

9) It's OK to date the wrong people but don't make relationships out of them. If things aren't working out with someone and you already tried your best, let them go for the good of both of you.

10) Don't be afraid to be single. Learn from Taylor Swift; sometimes you need some time alone to figure out what you really want in life.

11) A weekend road-trip with your friends is the best way to unwind. If you are lucky to live in a place like California, grab your best friends and go for a trip to Napa or Big Sur or even L.A. Long car rides where you belt out '90s songs make for some great memories.

12) Travel. Before work and personal schedules need to be worked around families, pack a bag and visit a foreign country with your friends. One of my most cherished memories is wandering around London at 10:30 PM searching for a closed Chanel flagship store.

13) It's OK to dork out over things - be it TV shows, movies, electronics, volunteering, pets, fashion. It shows your personality and passion. The feigned apathy of teenagers is not that cool as an adult. The people I had the hardest time connecting with are the ones who seemed disinterested in everything.

14) Develop a passion or a hobby. Learning past college hits a stalemate unless you actively pursue it. Learn to play tennis or how to code or how to take amazing photographs of food.

15) Learn to cook. Ramen a la Microwave won't be as appetizing as it was in college. Also, Philz and a breakfast burrito everyday gets expensive and unhealthy really fast.

16) Spend time with the people who matter in your life. A dinner with your parents will make you happier than making small talk with strangers at a random party. Figure out who in your life is valuable to you and vice versa and spend some quality time with them. Parents become cool again after the age of 22.

17) Beware of the online world. People's Facebook, Instagram,  and online dating profiles are just a well curated story of what they want to want the world to see. Don't get so caught up in trying to one-up someone else's online life that you miss the important things in your real one.

18) You are never too old for Disney or Harry Potter. You need to hold on to some of the things that fascinated you as a child because those things will make you just as happy as an adult. It's just a good reminder there's still a little bit of magic left in the world.

19) Express yourself. Be it in style, words, or actions - be brave enough to express yourself.

20) This one is from my favorite episode of Doctor Who  - "The way I see it, every life is a pile of good things and bad things. The good things don't always soften the bad things, but vice-versa, the bad things don't necessarily spoil the good things and make them unimportant."