nashville hot chicken

A Nashville hot chicken tour with my twin teenagers for mid-winter break

May 31, 2023

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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Toyota BZ4X electric SUV and Hood Famous pandan latte

Seattle coffee shops and neighborhoods I explored with the new Toyota BZ4X

May 24, 2023

I was loaned a Toyota BZ4X for the week for the purpose of this review and as always everything in this post and the opinions here are my own I had no idea that Toyota had an electric SUV so when I got a message asking if I wanted to try driving one in Seattle […]

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Oia on Santorini for one night on our Greece Trip

A 10 day family Greece trip Itinerary from Seattle with teenagers

May 22, 2023

I wish I could take more credit for this itinerary but I planned very little of this 10 day Greece trip. I didn’t think I’d actually get to go because I was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease at the end of last year and I’ve been undergoing treatments. So I didn’t want to plan […]

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vancouver aquarium among things to do in Vancouver

Vancouver, Canada and the Places we Like to Go to when we visit

May 17, 2023

I keep getting asked for where we like to go in Vancouver Canada, and I have old lists for Vancouver with kids and Vancouver with my dog, but I realized recently that I didn’t have a centralized list, so this is where I’m going to put the places we like to go and things we […]

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Pineapple Street has a reference to a city the PNW

Almost 10 very PNW books you might want to read this summer

May 12, 2023

(this list of pnw books contains affiliate links to a site that supports local bookstores) I often read books with a sense of place before I go on a trip, so here are a few that feel very Pacific Northwest if you are visiting the area or even if this is where you call home. […]

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Do you love bread? Essential Bakery in Seattle has beautiful bread?

Essential Baking Company, perhaps the most historical bread starter in Seattle?

May 10, 2023

A 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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Camano Commons and other delicious places to find food on Camano Island

May 5, 2023

Camano Island is so close to Seattle it can be a day trip, I’ve been telling everyone since we went there a few weeks ago. But I don’t know if this is entirely truthful. Yes, Camano Island is barely just over an hour from Seattle but if you want to try all the delicious foods […]

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Hilton Seattle with two kids and a yorkie poo pup for a Seattle Kraken game

Things to do In Seattle in May

May 1, 2023

Ready or not, it’s May today and it really feels like we’re excited for it in our city. Seattle in May is so hopeful-the blossoms are out and the weather feels like it’s good more days than not. We wear jackets because we want to and not because we’ll absolutely freeze without them. The cruise […]

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Camano Island trip with pup and grandma

A mom and me (and pup) trip to Camano Island and an idea for Mother’s Day weekend

April 24, 2023

Not much more than an hour’s drive north of Seattle you can get to a place that feels worlds away. My mom and I recently met midway between Vancouver BC (where she lives) and Seattle, WA (where I live) on Camano Island for a mom and me adventure for an early Mother’s Day celebration. My […]

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bunnies at the bunny cafe in Vancouver BC

A bunny cafe in Vancouver BC worth the drive from Seattle

April 22, 2023

Are you somebunny who loves little rabbits? We actually didn’t try the coffee in this cafe, but I took my niece and nephew to the Bunny Cafe in Vancouver BC and there were bunnies galore. The Bunny Cafe is on Commercial drive, a vibrant street full of shops and cafes and I found it when […]

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nashville zoo has maybe the best bathroom in the world

The best bathroom in the world is at the Nashville Zoo

April 8, 2023

Try to find a better bathroom, I dare you. The best bathroom in the world is arguably the one at the Nashville Zoo. My teenagers and I stopped by the Nashville zoo on a recent trip to the area and it was a cold and chilly day so we even ended up with a “cold […]

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atrium room at the Gaylord Opryland Hotel Nashville

Book an Atrium room at the Gaylord Opryland Resort in Nashville and you might just feel like you’re in Jurassic Park

April 5, 2023

I’m not always a fan of conference hotels. They tend to feel dormish or sterile. And because we travel a lot, I’ve found that my family now spends more time in our hotel rooms than we used to so where we stay has become a lot more important. When I found out we would be […]

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Seattle mariners stadium in the stadium district one of our cool Seattle neighborhoods

Things to do in Seattle in April

April 3, 2023

If 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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dirt from lomi composter in climate pledge arena popcorn tin

What life is like after 3 months of using Lomi composter in our house

March 27, 2023

*This post may contain affiliate links and as always the ideas in the post are my own.* In Seattle where we live, we have food waste pickup so we currently use our Lomi composter at our cabin in the mountains where we do not have garbage pickup. If you’ve been following along our Lomi Journey […]

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Robot coffee in Seattle at Artly made by a barista bot

Robot coffee in Seattle, are you ready for this?

March 19, 2023

Last month, Seatac Airport announced its partnership with Costa Coffee and debuted its 24/7 coffee machine. For anyone who has come through the airport early in the morning or late at night this means that there are still warm drinks available and that is a very comforting thing for travelers. When I heard about another […]

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hidden worlds laika films exhibition at mopop Seattle

Hidden Worlds: The Films of LAIKA World Premiere Exhibition at MOPOP in Seattle

March 17, 2023

Even if you haven’t seen any LAIKA films you’ll probably want to stop by and see this new exhibition at Seattle’s MOPOP, especially if you are curious about how stop-motion movies are made. Hidden Worlds: The films of LAIKA is having its world premiere exhibition at the MOPOP and it will be there through summer […]

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zebras at woodland park zoo in Seattle

Why a Woodland Park Zoo membership in Seattle is a very good idea

March 15, 2023

When is the last time you went to Woodland Park Zoo? I grew up in Vancouver BC, and even though Seattle is a three hour drive away, my parents would always get a membership for the zoo so it was a big part of my childhood and now it’s a big part of my kids’ […]

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costa coffee at seatac airport in Seattle

Costa Coffee is at SeaTac Airport and you can get it 24/7 there too

March 11, 2023

A few weeks ago I was invited to Seatac Airport where Costa Coffee has arrived in the N gate area. Seatac is the first airport in the USA for this UK-based Costa Coffee. And Costa Coffee represents one more new stop for travelers to get excited about at Seattle’s bustling airport. It feels like every […]

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Dear Evan Hansen at the Paramount Theatre in Seattle

Dear Evan Hansen the musical at Seattle’s Paramount Theatre

March 9, 2023

There are plays that you go to watch for fun and there are the plays you go to think about life, one of my 14-year old sons tell me on the way home from Dear Evan Hansen.  So was the play ok?  Yes. It was good. Just Evan was really cringe. Cringe? Like he tried […]

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Star Wars ride at Disneyland in 2022

It is “worth-it” to book a Disneyland VIP tour if you head to California this year

March 4, 2023

Disney is 100 years old this year. My family is not obsessed with Disney by any means but I do feel Disneyland is a historically significant place to visit (how many places and movies have shaped society the way Disney does?) and it can be a lot of fun. Disneyland is also a place where […]

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