Why do we think weekends are the only days that are made for brunch? I spent a weekday with Missy Palacol, an amazing local photographer at the Eques restaurant in The Hyatt Regency Bellevue last week and we had a blast sampling nearly everything on the menu. It was such a dreamy way to bring a little weekend fun into an ordinary week and it reminded me I need to make sure to bring back more brunch in my life-especially to cheer up some of our gloomy drippy fall days ahead. The photos in this post are all taken by Missy and I’m not usually comfortable in front of a camera but she helped me with my confidence and I love the pictures that she took. I’ve been to a few of the events she’s worked on with the We Fleurish group and I’m so lucky for her friendship.
My kids and I stayed at the Hyatt Regency Bellevue last year and it was such a fun way to vacation close to home. It was one of my first trips traveling solo with my kids and I really liked how staying there is like staying right inside one of my favorite local malls-it has skywalks that connect to Bellevue Square so you really never have to even leave the hotel. This is so perfect for kids on rainy Pacific Northwest days where you literally have miles of endless indoor exploration to help get ALL their energy out. I also loved the easy parking at this hotel-on Fridays and Saturdays there is free parking with overnight stays and the Hyatt Regency Bellevue has a pool which is a required amenity at a hotel for my kids.
The Eques restaurant is a breakfast and brunch-only restaurant and if you are thinking about eating your Thanksgiving meal out in Seattle or Bellevue this year they even have a Thanksgiving brunch too! There is an incredibly loaded breakfast buffet or you can order menu items a la carte. I will be torn the next time I visit because I love things like the porridge bar with tons of toppings (I never have enough toppings at home) and smoked salmon from the buffet, but I also tried the Tiramisu pancakes and I could have eaten them all and been so utterly satisfied. I like that my 10 year old kids would be half price if they tried the buffet (ages 5-12 are about half the grown-up price) and lucky kids who are 4 years old and under like my nephew and niece are totally free.
So now that I know that Eques restaurant is open for brunch and breakfast during the week, I think it might be a nice alternative to a coffee shop to come by and indulge in a delicious morning alone while I work on some blog posts-working in a beautiful atmosphere sometimes helps my creativity. It was so lovely hanging out with Missy too and I forgot how much I love brunching with my girlfriends when the kids are in school. On the weekends I totally know I’d bring my family because we love lazy breakfasts and it might help them be more inspired to shop a little longer with me.
Watching Missy take all the photos and helping her during this shoot was so interesting too. We live in such a visual culture and I love the stories she tells through her pictures. I had fun pouring syrup (yes, those are my hands in that photo!) and thinking about my breakfast choices and sneaking giant bites of pancakes when I wasn’t being photographed. I had fun meeting the staff at Eques restaurant too and everyone was so friendly it almost felt like I was dining in someone’s home kitchen and not in a fancy breakfast restaurant in downtown Bellevue. I don’t think anyone could be grumpy or uninspired having brunch, and I have to remember to brunch more on rainy, dreary days in Seattle to help with writer’s block, creativity and happiness in my tummy. Anyone want to join me?
Do you love to brunch and take pictures of beautiful food too? How do you find inspiration on gloomy, rainy, dark fall days?
(PS. as I mentioned before, all the beautiful pictures in this post are taken by Missy Palacol and thank you so much Missy and Eques and the Hyatt Regency Bellevue for having me at this photoshoot!)
Terumi Pong is a Seattle-based family travel writer and mom of twin teenage boys. She loves coffee and pastries, shopping local and looking for greener ways to live. She is also known as Scout’s mom (Scout is a 5ish pound little black yorkie-poo)