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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Ireland coffee at bean hive cafe in Dublin

Places to stay in Dublin if you travel to Ireland with teenagers

March 3, 2023

I used to think that the twin baby stage was the hardest stage of family travel but traveling now with teenagers is challenging all my prior beliefs. We love how our guys can pack and carry their own things, help plan the trip and they are way better at waiting and dealing with unplanned things […]

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university of Washington cherry blossoms in Seattle

Things to do in Seattle in March

March 1, 2023

How many of us dreamed we’d be shoveling snow in Seattle in March? I think most of us have our fingers crossed that we won’t have to but after the weekend snow we got here it feels like there’s a chance. March in Seattle feels like it’s when our city starts to collectively wake up […]

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designing motherhood exhibit at the Gates Discovery Center

Designing Motherhood at the Gates Foundation Discovery Center in Seattle

February 28, 2023

We 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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Santa Barbara on the Central California coast

An easy weekend getaway from Seattle to the Central California Coast

February 17, 2023

My family was recently hosted by Visit California to see three Central California Coast destinations: San Luis Obispo (which locals call SLO), Oxnard and Santa Barbara. We only had four nights to visit all of these destinations but if you have more or less time you can adapt this trip or even visit one or […]

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Oxnard california mural near La Gloria on the Taco Trail

All about the Taco Trail in Oxnard California

February 11, 2023

This 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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best dessert at madonna inn in San Luis Obispo California

Best dessert combo to order from Madonna Inn in SLO

February 8, 2023

Have you ever heard of the Madonna Inn? Maybe you’ve seen the Madonna Inn from viral videos on the internet and they’ve popped up in my instagram feed too but I had no idea I would ever visit. This is a hotel famous for its over the top decor and individually decorated rooms-there are 110 […]

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putting gum on Bubblegum alley in SLO another gum wall than the one we know in Seattle

The Gum Wall in Seattle, Bubblegum Alley in SLO and how these relate on Feb 3

February 3, 2023

Did 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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lobby of the wayfarer in San Luis Obsipo

Connecting rooms at the Wayfarer hotel in San Luis Obispo for California family travel with teens

February 1, 2023

Just 10 minutes from Pismo Beach and in one of the friendliest small towns in the nation is the Wayfarer in San Luis Obispo, and it is a perfect family-friendly hotel especially if they keep the Super Mario arcade game in the hotel restaurant. (This hotel just changed over from being the Kinney if you […]

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the friends experience in Seattle

Things to Do in Seattle in February

Did 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 in Seattle at Pacific Place Mall

The Friends’ Experience Seattle: yes, the one where it actually comes to our city.

January 30, 2023

Did 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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Hilton Zachari Dunes at Mandalay Bay (formerly Embassy Suites) Oxnard California

Room Tour of the Hilton Zachari Dunes on Mandalay Beach in Oxnard California

January 27, 2023

First of all, have you ever heard of Oxnard, California? It’s an area just about 60 miles northwest of LAX and we went to visit because I heard it would be an excellent home base to explore the Channel Islands. It turns out, Oxnard is also a really great foodie destination- my family tried to […]

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Aint to Proud the life and times of the Temptations Musical in Seattle at the Paramount Theatre

Ain’t too Proud: The Life and Times of The Temptations Musical at Seattle Paramount Theatre (don’t miss out)

January 25, 2023

I 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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Audain Art Museum in Whistler (for free)

How to go to the Whistler Audain Art Museum for free if you are from Seattle

January 24, 2023

I checked Whistler for the kids’ mid-winter break and it looks like all of Seattle must be headed there. The prices are sky high! I think President’s Day now coincides with BC’s family day holiday so this is one reason why it’s getting more difficult to visit the area during that time. But there are […]

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pool at best western plus Santa Barbara a family friendly hotel with apartment style suites

Best Western Plus Santa Barbara: an Airbnb alternative for families with a pool

Big checkmark for the Best Western Plus Santa Barbara because it has the pool that all families seem to need when we travel with kids. By teenager stage, the pool is no longer the biggest selling feature for a hotel on a holiday but it’s still something I look for and helps a place rank […]

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Asean Streat Food Hall Hainanese Chicken Rice

Asean Streat in Westlake Center: a unique place to eat in downtown Seattle

January 17, 2023

We 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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Hazel Mountain Chocolate Factory an Irish Chocolate factory and cafe you can visit

Three Irish chocolate shops with factories you can visit

January 10, 2023

Our family has been interested in chocolate factories ever since the Theo Chocolate factory opened in our Seattle neighborhood ages ago and we learned about the bean-to-bar process. Since then our kids have been to Costa Rica to see chocolate, and visiting chocolate factories have been a big part of our family holidays. Most recently […]

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inside Kafka's Coffee on Richards near a playground in Vancouver BC

Kafka’s Coffee in Vancouver BC with a playground next door

January 9, 2023

Kafka’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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