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

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.

Thanksgiving 2012

I hope everyone had a lovely Thanksgiving filled with family, friends and fun. We were lucky enough to have my mother-in-law in town for the holiday. It was really nice to have some family around for our first real holiday so far away from "home." I also got to enjoy some cooking lessons and learning about some old family traditions. For only 3 people, we took on a fairly expansive, but simple menu. We started off nibbling on cheese and crackers with wine while we were preparing dinner. We began with Butternut Squash and Apple soup for an appetizer. Our main course featured turkey breast, cranberry sauce, mashed cauliflower, candied sweet potatoes, broccoli, corn, stuffing and gravy, of course.  A few hours later (because there was absolutely no way we were going to be able to eat anymore after that feast) we indulged in homemade chocolate chip cookies and gelato for dessert.

Thanksgiving Dinner

Our First Thanksgiving!

Manic Monday

It's a very rainy and grey Monday here in Seattle. Not that it's stopping me from my normal activities, but it does put a bit of a damper on things. And by very rainy, I mean more than the usual mist that floats through the sky and hangs in the air. There are actual raindrops on my balcony. I might have to break out my umbrella. And risk being deemed a tourist? No way.

Over the past few weekends we've finally gotten around to doing a bit of decorating and picture hanging in our apartment. I'm kind of a little bit in love with the chalkboard sticker that is on our fridge now. And the colorful wall decal that my mom and I hung in a quilt-like pattern. I'm also really excited about the little treasures we found when we visited the Japanese market with Michelle: a magnetic meal planning guide & recipe notecards!

We also found a collage frame that we had fun deciding what pictures and memories to highlight. Clockwise: (1) Jon and I at Mt Rainier National Park (2) Leyla, Michelle, Chardon and I in Downtown Annapolis before dinner (3) Michelle and I when she visited Seattle at Purple Cafe and Wine Bar (4) Katie and I last Christmas in my college apartment (5) Gina and I at my graduation (6) Jon and I at my cousins rehearsal dinner (7) Gina and I with Taylor Swift at Madame Toussads Wax Museum in NYC (8) Kristin and I ice skating junior year (9) Beatrix and I at Chevys for $3 margarita night (10) Jon and I before Wicked and (11) Gina and I in front of the True Blood billboard in NYC.

My mom and I also decorated some magazine holders I found at Ikea with fun vintage and summer themed prints to brighten up my bookshelf:

I hope everyone has a good (hopefully 3 day) week! And enjoys Thanksgiving with friends/family. We're lucky enough to have my mother-in-law for the holiday, which is truly a blessing because we haven't been able to spend time with her in a while and, between us, I have no idea how to actually cook a turkey.