Seattle family
When your kids choose the Guinness Storehouse over seeing the book of Kells in Ireland and you really don’t blame them
June 15, 2023I don’t know about you but sometimes when we travel we get a bit museumed out. We can only see so many things in a short period of time before all the sites start to overwhelm our brains. So when we were on a 5 day trip to Ireland I gave my kids the choice […]
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All about how youth ride buses, ferries and light rail for free in Seattle with the ORCA card
June 9, 2023I recently worked on an instagram campaign with King Country metro where I learned that Washington State is the first state in the USA where youth can ride free until their 19th birthday. Since late 2022, thanks to Move Ahead Washington which is a statewide transportation funding package, transit is free for riders 18 and […]
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How to bike ride all over New York City for $15 a day with Citi Bike and the Lyft app
June 5, 2023I always thought New York City was a walking city. “We walked 25000″ steps a day!” people always say when you ask them how their NYC trips went. So after our last trip, using a Citi Bike Daypass and the Lift app, we definitely still got in nearly 25000 steps a day but we also […]
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Things to do in Seattle in June
May 31, 2023Hello June, have we really have made it here this year? Seattle schools gets out near the end of the month and it truly doesn’t feel real yet after the last few soggy days. There are definitely a lot of things things to do in June in Seattle though (like have you been somewhere to […]
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A Nashville hot chicken tour with my twin teenagers for mid-winter break
Timing and life doesn’t always give you what you want, and my husband had a work conference during our mid-winter break in Nashville. Nashville?!! My twin teenagers were not the most enthusiastic about this trip. Being from Seattle, February usually has us dreaming of somewhere warm like Hawaii. And mid-winter break can be a longer […]
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Essential Baking Company, perhaps the most historical bread starter in Seattle?
May 10, 2023A few months ago I posted a couple of my frequent Costco purchases in my Instagram Stories. For the cabin I always purchase this Essential Baking Company bread because it lasts FOREVER in your cupboard and when you want fresh bread immediately you bake it in the oven for about 15 minutes and it turns […]
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Things to do in Seattle in April
April 3, 2023If April showers bring May flowers what might snow showers in April bring? (And let’s hope it’s only sun showers in Seattle from now on) April is such a great time to be in Seattle with all the flowers showing off, baseball season beginning and a little lull in the city just before the first […]
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Designing Motherhood at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle
February 28, 2023We have until the end of December 2023 to see the Designing Motherhood exhibit that just opened at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle and we all really need to see it. This powerful exhibit examines birth and pregnancy and our own relationship with the subject-we are all products of birth after-all. What to […]
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All about the Taco Trail in Oxnard California
February 11, 2023This should really be called “All about three places on the Taco Trail” in Oxnard California because we only got as far as three places before our bellies were too full to eat anything else. My family arrived in Oxnard on our trip with Visit Oxnard on an extremely rainy and unusually weatherful weekend and […]
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The Gum Wall in Seattle, Bubblegum Alley in SLO and how these relate on Feb 3
February 3, 2023Did you know Feb 3rd is National Bubble Gum day? I had no idea until it started popping up in my social media feeds today. As a Seattleite, bubble gum is something I always think about when I go to Pike Place Market because we have a Gum Wall there. And then I recently went […]
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Things to Do in Seattle in February
February 1, 2023Did we just survive the longest month ever and are we going to blink and have February disappear too? It still feels like we might get one more weather system before all the cherry blossoms start to pop but you might want to start keeping an eye on the UW cherry blossom forecast here. And […]
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The Friends’ Experience Seattle: yes, the one where it actually comes to our city.
January 30, 2023Did you ever watch Friends (and did you know it was almost called six of one)? The Friend’s Experience has come to Seattle and it’s a lot cooler than I imagined (I liked the show but I wasn’t obsessed and I bet I’ve missed some episodes) and it’s something I’d go back to again now […]
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Ain’t too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations Musical at Seattle Paramount Theatre (don’t miss out)
January 25, 2023I admit that when I first got the media invite for Ain’t too Proud: the Life and Times of the Temptations Musical in the mail I almost didn’t go. I had a lot going on this week and I hadn’t heard anything about it. But then I asked Alexa to “Play the Temptations” to give […]
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Asean Streat in Westlake Center: a unique place to eat in downtown Seattle
January 17, 2023We have been needing a food hall like this in Seattle forever and thank goodness Asean Streat has manifested itself in the heart of our downtown. Westlake Center is such a perfect spot in the center of our city, attached to Climate Pledge Arena and Seattle Center with the Monorail. But it’s been a bit […]
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Kafka’s Coffee in Vancouver BC with a playground next door
January 9, 2023Kafka’s Coffee has been part of our Vancouver adventures for decades now- my best friend baked for them years ago and they have really delicious coffee and food. But the newest Kafka’s Coffee location is so perfect for Vancouver families (and Seattle families visiting Vancouver) so I needed to talk about it here. It’s next […]
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Things to do in Seattle in January
December 30, 2022I just found out we don’t have to jump right into January for Seattle Schools-the Monday falls right after New Year’s so we get until Tuesday to start the year. So will this be the theme of our 2023 year? Can we actually ease into something in our city for once? Will we slowly sip […]
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If you have Irish heritage and have a chance to visit Dublin make sure you go to the Epic Irish Emigration Museum
December 22, 2022There are many things to do in Dublin and we found out that you can probably do them all if you really want to even if you are only in Ireland for 5 days but you can also choose just to do a few and take your time and even go to Butlers for hot […]
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Unboxing and using our Lomi Home Composter for the very first time
December 14, 2022I was gifted a Lomi Home Composter and this post contains affiliate links and as always the viewpoints in this post are my own. I also have a coupon code for a free skylight with purchase. Add Lomi and a Skylight to your cart. Apply code: emeraldcitylife at checkout. We are trying out the Lomi […]
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My most favorite Seattle thing from 2022: Noir Lux Candle Company
December 12, 2022Maybe we can people again. It has been so hard not to people in the past couple years. And thankfully this year it finally feels like we’re starting to be able to make plans to meet friends and family and there is so much hope. We’ve been able to have so many first-time-in-way-too-long reunions and […]
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Our Seattle favorite things of 2022 for all of your holiday lists
November 30, 2022Who says that the holidays need to be hectic? I love December for celebrating and reflecting on all the joys of the year. This year I’m really thankful to have partnered with many local shops and activities that have become part of my family’s daily life in Seattle. And many of these places will be […]
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