An Emerald City Life

Last minute gifts in Seattle just in case you need some ideas

Kenmore Air Flight training in Seattle I saw “introductory flight lessons” pop up in my instagram feed and it felt like something my guys might like as a gift and the more I thought about it the more I thought it might be something I would like too. Who wouldn’t want to fly a plane […]

The Back to the Future Musical at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle

Did you love the Back to the Future movie in the 80’s as a kid? And then of course there was the Back to the Future sequel and maybe there were even more but I’m not too sure-everything in that era ended up with at least a Part 2. But we first saw signs for […]

Gift yourself Vancouver with Stay Vancouver Hotels

If you’ve been following along with my instagram you’ll know that I recently helped promote their Stay Vancouver Hotels holiday contest where everyday from November 25th-December 15th they gave away hotel stays and activities in Vancouver BC, my beautiful hometown. ( the contest is now closed but they have a lot of great promotions to […]

Shopping hoodies for the holidays with adidas

This post featuring hoodies is sponsored by adidas. All opinions are my own. I kind of love that the holidays feel like they’ve come a bit early this year. Normally I wait until after Thanksgiving to get the decorations up, but this year I really want to savor all the festivities. I’ve also started shopping for presents already […]

2024 Seattle Auto Show at Lumen Field

It’s been a minute since I’ve visited the Seattle Auto Show and this year it’s in town from November 14-17th at Lumen Field. I’ll be at the media preview before the show opens and I’m excited to see what is new this year especially because the twin teenagers got their licenses this summer so we’ve […]

Wicked the Musical in Seattle

If you ever needed a reason to go and see a musical surrounded by people in a theatre and feel hopeful, maybe it’s now and Wicked the Musical in Seattle is the one you want to see. Wicked the Musical is in Seattle until December 1st at the Paramount Theatre and it’s here for multiple […]

Chicago Sightseeing with CityPASS and how to visit the Chicago Art Institute in under an hour

Nearly every year or even a few times a year my husband has to travel to Chicago and I’m always a little envious when he goes-Chicago is such a fun city to visit and my favorite trip there was right at the end of 2019. Recently I had the chance to tag along again and […]

The Anchor Hotel in Fukuyama: a cool hotel a train-ride away from Tokyo with a castle nearby

Fukuyama would never have been on my radar if it didn’t have a Shinkansen that would take us back to Tokyo after visiting my relatives in Kochi on Shikoku Island in Japan (about 3.5 hours). The Anchor Hotel looked like a cool place to stay and Fukuyama seemed like the best place to stop at […]

Staying at the Mimaru Hotels Asakusa Station on a trip to Tokyo with teenagers

We’ve traveled to Tokyo several times with our kids over the years but Japan travel has changed a ton since pre-2020. We finally made it back this August as part of a trip to see family in Singapore and the south of Japan and it turned out that this kind of trip with teenagers is […]

Visiting the Seattle Aquarium and Space Needle with a Seattle C3 CityPASS

My niece had been wanting to see the Space Needle forever and we promised her that one day we’d go. This summer we finally made this happen on a beautiful sunny day when my sister and her twins came to Seattle. I looked up various admissions for all the things we wanted to do (and […]

If you go to Japan in August you might need waterproof hiking shoes

Sometimes there are things you don’t always think about needing on a trip when you go to a place with weather vastly different from where you are coming from. On a recent trip to Japan in August my family found out about the typhoon season and how summer rain there can literally come out of […]

Transformers One: an Interview with Chris Hemsworth and Brian Tyree Henry

Childhood me who just-a-million-times-more-than-a-teeny-bit wanted to be a reporter one day would have screamed a little if I told her I interviewed Optimus Prime and Megatron this afternoon. And I even got to chat with the two of them in the same room not trying to kill each other. It feels like so many of […]

An interview with Hannah Shankman who is Fanny Brice in the Funny Girl musical coming to Seattle and then all across America

*just an update* I went to the opening night in Seattle (September 24th) and Hannah’s Fanny Brice was incredible! She literally becomes Fanny Brice: her vocal range is phenomenal, she is hilarious and endearing, the costumes are sensational and this Funny Girl is the type of musical you want to see if you love musicals […]

Poutine is on the menu at Seattle Kraken hockey games this year

I was invited to Climate Pledge Arena for the media preview of the food scene for this year’s Seattle Kraken season. It’s year four for the Kraken at Climate Pledge Arena and of course my family is very excited about hockey-the first game we ever went to was in December of 2021. Coming from Canada, […]

Why childhood vaccinations are so important for my family (and yours too)

this is sponsored post about vaccinations on behalf of the Washington State Department of Health. All opinions are my own. I don’t think anybody ever thinks they’re going to get really sick. But about a year and a half ago, I got a diagnosis that ultimately changed my life forever and last year vaccinations became […]

Is staying at the Atlantis Bahamas on Paradise Island really overrated?

I was told that staying at the Atlantis Bahamas was overrated at least a handful of times when I mentioned to people I was going to Nassau. But I remember dreaming about the Atlantis Bahamas since I first saw it in travel photos. I think the towering pink arched building is one of the most […]

All about the new Museum of Illusions in Seattle

A few weeks ago I was invited to work with the new Museum of Illusions with my Instagram and I ended up having such a great time I thought I’d share here too. The Museum of Illusions in Seattle is a franchise of a chain of museums that now has around 50 branches around the […]

Shopping adidas men’s sneakers for my teenagers for summer trips

This post featuring men’s sneakers is sponsored by adidas. All opinions are my own. Blink and suddenly my babies are teenagers and their feet are way bigger than mine. We have been buying men’s shoes for them for a while now and I don’t remember when this happened but maybe sometime in middle school. (I loved […]

Have you heard of Del Corazón from Seattle, a meal solution for busy families? 

This is a sponsored post featuring easy meals and sides for Del Corazón.  All opinions are my own.  I was recently introduced to Del Corazón, a new brand of Latin-inspired frozen entrees and sides from Seattle-based InnovAsian.  Because this is a Seattle company, I was instantly intrigued and wanted to try these products with my family. I think they are a […]

Shopping women’s running shoes with adidas for the summer