TRAVEL

real simple weekend La Jolla

A mom and me Real Simple Weekend trip to La Jolla and now I’ll love that magazine forever

February 12, 2024

“Why am I crying again?” I hear someone behind me whisper as all of us are in a room listening to yet another inspiring and tear-jerking panel of speakers at the Real Simple Weekend conference in La Jolla. I don’t know if I should really call it a conference or maybe it was more of […]

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Broadway in Seattle at the Paramount

All the Musicals coming for the 2024/2025 season with Broadway in Seattle

February 8, 2024

The other morning at pottery class I heard a song that I heard in Ain’t too Proud: The Life and Times of the Temptations which was our favorite musical last season. And then I got a message in my inbox that the 2024/2025 Broadway in Seattle season was just announced and there are so many […]

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How Seattle locals shop in Pike Place Market

Where do Seattle locals shop in Pike Place Market?

February 7, 2024

I recently posted stories on my instagram during a morning adventure at Pike Place Market with a friend and had a lot of messages about where we went so I thought I’d write them up here. I know a lot of tourists wonder if we Seattleites really go to Pike Place Market. Many of us […]

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Westin Whistler during winter holidays

Westin Whistler vs the Fairmont Whistler for a skiing vacation with kids

January 22, 2024

First of all, I need to clarify that I currently travel with teenagers. We are a family of four and our twin boys are 15. We also often travel with our Yorkie Poo (and our pup was welcome at both hotels but we did not bring him when we went to the Westin Whistler). We […]

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family fun in pioneer square seattle

Family Fun especially on a Thursday in Pioneer Square Seattle

January 12, 2024

We’re always passing through Pioneer Square in Seattle, for school, for soccer games, for events at the stadiums so I really appreciated that the Pioneer Square Association invited my family to learn more about the area with a stop at Zeitgeist Coffee: a long-running coffee shop in the area, a Beneath the Streets tour and […]

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Klondike Gold Rush National Park in Seattle

Klondike Gold Rush National Park-a National Park in the heart of Seattle

January 5, 2024

There were maybe two other people in the Klondike Gold Rush National Park when we visited so we pretty much had the whole place to ourselves. Unlike most National parks, this one in the center of our city is not a traditional outdoor park. This place is more like a visitor center and museum. And […]

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ceiling at Louix Louis at the St Regis in Toronto

The time we stayed at the St Regis in Toronto in summer on an Eastern Canada trip

October 27, 2023

I think I was feeling all the “my babies are in high school-they’re going to be gone forever” desperation feelings in summer when we booked our Toronto trip on what was supposed to be a weekend of visiting friends in Montreal. Somehow I let my 15 year old son take over the trip planning and […]

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day trip to Bainbridge Island from Seattle for a soccer game

A day trip to Bainbridge Island because of soccer

October 15, 2023

Maybe your kids will have a sports game at Ballard High School from Seattle one day too or maybe you just need an excuse to visit Bainbridge Island. It’s so incredibly close to Seattle-only a 30 minute ferry ride and it even has a bridge that attaches it to the mainland so you’re less likely […]

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farms near Seattle like Suyematsu Farm on Baindbridge Island to visit in the Fall

All the farms near Seattle we want to visit in October

October 4, 2023

No to a fall bucket list this year-who needs that kind of stress? I just wanted a place to keep notes about some special farms near Seattle we might want to visit this fall. October is such a great season at farms in the Pacific Northwest as they are filled with pumpkins, corn and apples […]

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window of ground floor room at Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel at PDX

Sheraton Portland Airport Hotel might be good value if you have a soccer tournament at Delta Park

October 2, 2023

Even if you don’t have a soccer tournament, you might check out the Sheraton Portland Airport for a comfortable, safe-feeling place to stay in the Portland area. I have Marriott Platinum Bonvoy status with my Bonvoy Brilliant card and if you do to, this hotel has a lounge so that is currently included with Platinum […]

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Hellenika Cultured Creamery a new place for frozen yogurt in Pike Place Market

Hellenika Cultured Creamery-new frozen yogurt in Pike Place Market

September 26, 2023

My family lives fairly close to Pike Place Market so it’s not just a touristy spot for us, it’s part of our lives. We often go there to shop or pick up food. And there are always new places popping up in Pike Place Market so every time we go it feels like there is […]

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Sezane Seattle at University Village

Sezane: a pop-up from Paris in Uvillage we want to keep in Seattle for as long as possible

September 18, 2023

The other day I had an invite to Sezane, a new store that has popped up in Uvillage which is also one my favorite places to shop in Seattle. Uvillage (or University Village) is near the University of Washington and it has free and easy parking, so we often eat there at Din Tai Fung […]

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Things to bring to Seabrook on a family trip

Things to bring to Seabrook if you are going there for a trip

September 14, 2023

We finally made it to Seabrook this year and ended up making it a multigenerational trip this time just like we dreamed about when we first started visiting. My mom, dad, sister and her family rented a house, and our family rented a house and it was a great way to hang out with each […]

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Things a Seattleite might buy at Pike Place Market in Seattle (Le Panier and Ghost Alley Espresso)

Things you might only know about Seattle if you are a true Seattleite

September 8, 2023

Here’s a list to add to the stack of all the other lists that exist about this city but I heard someone (a Seattleite even!) say Pike’s Place market again recently and I couldn’t just write a post about that without sounding too angry Seattle so I thought I better write this post instead. So […]

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hockey puck from a Stanley cup final at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto

If you go to Toronto just to see the Hockey Hall of Fame

September 5, 2023

Maybe it’s because we come from Vancouver and we came *thisclose* to the Stanley Cup when the guys were nearly two years old. Or maybe because Seattle got the Kraken hockey team when our duo was in middle school and the whole city has been hyped up about hockey ever since. But when I told […]

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Dalla Fonte Sicilian Tavola Box

If you love Italy, you’ll want to know about Dalla Fonte, a subscription box that will bring Italy to you

August 31, 2023

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Dalla Fonte, an Italy subscription box based in Washington State that brings a bit of Italy to your home and as always the thoughts and writing in this blog are always my own. How many times do we think about special places we’ve been to and want […]

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CN tower from Toronto City Cruises with Toronto CityPASS

How “worth it” is using a Toronto CityPASS for a summer family trip?

August 23, 2023

As usual, we were last-minute in looking up what to do in Toronto for our summer trip (all we had planned was the Hockey Hall of Fame) and discovered online that there is a Toronto CityPASS and instantly knew we didn’t really need to do any more research. We are big CityPASS fans and have […]

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souffle jiggly pancakes at Beanfish at Uwajimaya

Jiggly pancakes at Beanfish in Uwajimaya Seattle

August 3, 2023

It is pretty difficult to find soufflé pancakes in Seattle and we’ve searched the area a lot. We went to Japan in 2019 and managed to get some that were pretty spectacular. (I think we’ve all seen soufflé pancakes on TikTok’s from Japan) When I was doing quarantine in my parent’s basement in Vancouver during […]

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hana maui resort in Maui Hawaii

Hana Maui Resort: a peaceful hotel with a perfect pool at the end of the Road to Hana

July 29, 2023

I know I just add to the echos of most travelers when I say that Maui holds a special place in our family’s heart. It was our first trip ever by airplane with our kids. And it was the first time I collaborated with a travel partner when we visited nearly 10 years ago. We […]

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seattle waterfront

Free Seattle Waterfront Shuttle for the summer

July 17, 2023

The Seattle Waterfront Shuttle is back. Here is the shuttle route for 2023 and it runs 7 days a week from 10am-8pm and approximately every 20 minutes. The shuttle season will run from July 17th 2023 to September 24 2023 and each shuttle has about 20 seats and are ADA accessible. There are two shuttle […]

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