TRAVEL
Staying at the Sylvia Hotel a historic hotel near English Bay and Stanley Park in Vancouver BC
February 24, 2025My aunt and uncle gifted us a breakfast at the restaurant at the Sylvia Hotel for Christmas one year, a place that is dear to them (isn’t this the coolest gift?) and it was such a lovely experience I wondered what it might be like to stay at this iconic hotel too. It’s in a […]
Most popular colleges in the United States in 2024/2025 for when you and your high school student start looking
February 4, 2025When do we start looking for colleges with our kids? We have twin boys who are in their Sophomore year in high school and a lot of their friends in Junior year are starting to look for colleges. I don’t remember college visiting trips being a big deal when I was looking for college as […]
A Guinness family tie to Vancouver BC and how this relates to the Westin Bayshore hotel
January 6, 2025My husband and I recently stayed at the Westin Bayshore for a couple nights during the holidays. We are from Vancouver and often stay with family but it’s also such a busy time that it’s nice to have our own home base for a bit and the Westin Bayshore is a pretty comfortable hotel. We […]
Last minute gifts in Seattle just in case you need some ideas
December 18, 2024Kenmore 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 […]
Gift yourself Vancouver with Stay Vancouver Hotels
December 2, 2024If 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 […]
Chicago Sightseeing with CityPASS and how to visit the Chicago Art Institute in under an hour
October 30, 2024Nearly 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 […]
An interview with Hannah Shankman who is Fanny Brice in the Funny Girl musical coming to Seattle and then all across America
September 12, 2024*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 […]
Why childhood vaccinations are so important for my family (and yours too)
August 30, 2024this 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 […]
The oldest tofu maker Ota Tofu in the USA is in Portland just in case you want to go there too
June 27, 2024I had no idea the significance of tofu in Portland until I walked into the door of Ota Tofu last month. And Ota Tofu was not in my plans at all. I was at a travel conference and I only had about 24 hours in Portland and I found a mural nearby I wanted to […]
A shave ice in Haleiwa on Oahu’s North Shore where you can even eat the bowl
June 4, 2024There are many things our family looks forward to when going to Hawaii and one thing is definitely the food. We’ve visited various Hawaiian islands over the years (especially Hawaii Island) and each island has specific treats we like to have in each place but shave ice is one thing we have on all our […]
A stay at the Paradox Hotel Vancouver with the best unexpected breakfast at Urban Fare
April 18, 2024I booked the Paradox Hotel for our family during the holidays. I used Expedia ( a site I often use because of its easy cancellations and good hotel deals) but saw recently on the actual Paradox Hotel website they have a Washington Residents’ rate. (I often google “Washington residents rate” for Vancouver hotels and they […]
Where to eat yummy Japanese food in Vancouver BC
April 6, 2024My heart still lives in my Bachan and Jichan’s kitchen in Vancouver on Friday nights where I could be content forever devouring heaping bowls of rice, nimono, little plates of fish and pickles, and drinking tea with the grownups until way past other kids’ bedtimes. When I go home to visit now, I’m lucky that […]
Greenheart TreeWalk at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC
March 25, 2024I recently tried to explain to someone about the Greenheart TreeWalk and realized I never wrote this one up for the blog. If you are visiting Vancouver and you’re in the University of British Columbia (UBC) area around April to October, this is such a great place to visit. And maybe if you miss out […]
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 […]
All the Musicals for Broadway in Seattle 2024
February 8, 2024The 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 […]
Where do Seattle locals shop in Pike Place Market?
February 7, 2024I 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 […]
Westin Whistler vs the Fairmont Whistler for a skiing vacation with kids
January 22, 2024First 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 […]
Family Fun especially on a Thursday in Pioneer Square Seattle
January 12, 2024We’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 […]
Klondike Gold Rush National Park-a National Park in the heart of Seattle
January 5, 2024There 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 […]
The time we stayed at the St Regis in Toronto in summer on an Eastern Canada trip
October 27, 2023I 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 […]