Leyla comes to visit!

A few weeks ago i got to play hostess to my lovely friend Leyla when she spent the better part of a week visiting Seattle! Although Seattle winter's are typically chilly and rainy, we lucked out and had absolutely amazing weather while she was in town. Even though it was still in the upper 30s, it was sunny almost everyday, except the last day when there was more fog than i had ever seen in my entire life.

The first day she was here, after meeting Jon on his lunch break at this nice little pizza place, we headed down to pike place market which I'd recommend visiting on a weekday because there are not as many people around so you can browse much more easily and talk to the vendors. There are also many layers to the market, so make sure you go downstairs:

Leyla in front the "Public Market" sign

Vibrant fruit and veggies, but remember: "pleeza no squeeza"

We also visited the original starbucks! A must do if you are down by the market. If you happen to catch it at a time where the line is not out the door, run as fast as you can because its rare that you wont have to wait at least 15 minutes:

On day two, we made our way down to the International District to check out the japanese bookstore and market that I previously visited with my friend Michelle back in November. while we were down that way, we visited hing hay park.

and of course, we had to have pictures by the china town gate:

we rushed to take the light rail to make it to the seattle underground tour to learn about the history of Seattle and (fun fact alert) the current streets are actually two stories high. 

View from under the sidewalk 

We headed down to the Seattle waterfront for lunch with a fabulous view of Elliot Bay and the seattle great wheel (a recent addition to the waterfront) which we took a ride on after lunch:

and of course, I had to take her to the iconic gum wall.  

We finished the evening with a walk down by the amazon campus and to lake union.

(side note: we had a little trouble with our cameras and didnt get a picture of the two of us :( but its still a great memory).

On the last day of her visit, we headed up to capitol hill which is know for its night life and eccentric shops and people. We, however, went during the day and hit up dick's drive-in, a Seattle staple. The fog was insane that morning. I wish i had a picture of it (but silly me) didn't take one. After a quick stop in at the art supply store to warm up, we headed down to seattle center to check out the emp museum which is amazing for not only music lovers but also sci-fi lovers as well. They currently have an amazing Jimi Gendrix exhibit. We spent hours there. 

Of course, we had to have a picture with the space needle! 

To end the visit, we had dinner with Jon, David, Rebecca and Pavneet.

:)

But did i mention the food? I really should have.

And since its Thursday, here is a picture of Leyla & I from 2010: 

Hooray for long standing friendships!

xo

oh la la glassblowing

recently, thanks to livingsocial, i got the chance to go glassblowing at the seattle glassblowing studio. it's a bit expensive usually but with the deal, husband and i both got to go for $40 instead of $170 (also thanks to our friends david and rebecca and livingsocials buy three get one free policy). it was a really fun experience and i definitely recommend it if you ever get the chance! with the class we took we got to make our own ornament or seafloat. we chose seafloats so we can enjoy them all year long.

the process is very guided. they give you a lengthy (but necessary) safety talk. but you get to chose your colors and take part in each step. like coloring the glass and holding it in the furnace which burns at nearly 2000°F.

you also get to actually blow the glass. your breath gets trapped in the glass forever! which is really cool if you think about it. my sunglasses are for safety and not fashion - as cool as they make me seem. 

the outside layer of the glass hardens almost instantly, but the glass actually takes about 48 hours to completely cool. it goes in this cooling cabinet called an annealer which slowly lowers the temperature and allows the glass to cool slowly so that the glass doesn't crack.

and finally, the finished products! mine is all the way on the right and husband's is the second to the right. apparently we went with a fire and ice theme. which somehow suits us.

you can read a little bit about the history of glassblowing here and how the pacific northwest plays into that.

Holiday Festivities

Just some highlights from the past week:

An absolutely gorgeous day on Lake Union. 

Usually when we head that way, it pours rain. 

But the sky looked nice so we decided to risk it. I'm glad we did. 

Walking around and enjoying all of Seattle's lights and holiday decorations. Including a 

Charlie Brown-esque tree. 

Some fun pictures from Chihuly Garden and Glass. Really a spectacular thing to see. 

Maybe we will try to visit all of his exhibits around the world.

Bucket list, anyone?

I'll leave you with this picture of the Space Needle.

Life Lately

Recently, my Mom and friend Michelle came for a visit. Here are a few snapshots from their trips.

1. My Mom & I at the Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit.

2. Ocean room.

3. Persian glass ceiling.

4. View of downtown Seattle from the Space Needle.

5. View of Northern Seattle/Space Needle from the Columbia Tower.

6. My friend Michelle & I down by the pier near Pike Place Market. 

7. A polaroid of us at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar.

8. My wine flight from Purple called “Winter Warmers.”

9. The giant wine rack.

10. Pretty candle chandelier and ambiance at Purple.