seattle sixteen: green

seattle sixteen: blue

Missing the Pacific Northwest pt. II: Oddfellows

If you kept up with my blog in any sort of fashion (and I don't blame you if you didn't...I've been terrible at keeping it updated regularly), you'll know that I discovered Oddfellow's cafe in Dallas' Oak Cliff neighborhood back in 2012 and fell in love with the cozy little place. It's definitely got good coffee, and is a pretty sweet brunch spot, followed by the option to take a lazy stroll in the Bishops arts district looking at vintage furniture & more.

Anyway, when I was looking up good brunch spots in Seattle before our trip, I stumbled across another cafe called Oddfellows Cafe + Bar in Seattle, completely unrelated to the one in Dallas (I think? don't quote me on that). So I said why not check it out - it seemed like a really cool place in a hip area anyway.

The last picture is from a bookstore that was right next to the cafe...which I forgot the name of.

Missing the Pacific Northwest pt. I: Rattlesnake

So I lived in Vancouver, BC for about 3 years before moving to Texas. While I regret my preteen years of totally underappreciating the abundance of crystal clear lakes with the backdrop of evergreens and tall mountains, I still remember the beautiful summer days of island vacationing, taking the ferry to Vancouver island, taking a trip to the hot springs near Whistler, BBQ in the woods, and ultimately the clean morning air that spoiled me for years. People say winters are the worst -- and yes, it IS gloomy up there for about 70% of the year, but I don't remember minding it at all. All I remember from the winters in Vancouver are pretty snow, frequent snowboarding trips, really good Japanese cuisine, watching a lot of hockey, and 7th grade field trip to the mountains to train on snowshoes (I AM NOT KIDDING) so we can survive in case a catastrophic snowpocalypse wipes off the entire Earth. Thanks Canada!

Anyway, this post has nothing to do with Vancouver as these photos are actually from Washington St. Some of my friends and I made a trip to Seattle last December to attend a wedding reception for this beautiful couple! We of course went hiking in well below freezing temperature (Seriously... we're talking about low 20s here), then ate a lot of seafood, and had a grand ol' time seeing lots of familiar faces. I miss you, Seattle.

After weeks of planning, we finally decided to go to Rattlesnake Ridge trail, because it wasn't too far from where we were staying at in east Seattle and seemed like it was a lot of fun. And believe me, it WAS! We spent several hours climbing up & down the mountain, and what we saw at the top of the mountain was worth all the slippin' and fallin'. We did have a bit of trouble at the end of the trip though - the car wouldn't start because the battery had died for some reason, but then Sammy somehow magically started the car by starting it over and over and over again. Yup. Apparently that works. (?!)

Note to self: if I'm gonna go hiking again in that kind of temperature, I'll make sure I'll have gloves/mittens, PROPER hiking boots, and like 4 more layers of clothing.

Katy + Daniel: seattle reception

Congratulations to Taeyoung (Katy) and Daniel Park! Taeyoung and Daniel had their actual wedding in Seoul, but also had a small reception for friends who couldn't make it over to Korea in October. I've known Taeyoung since freshman year of college - she was actually one of the first people I met when I started my journey at UT. I'd say she hasn't changed much since then - her slow eating habits, her gentleness in handling things, and her attention to detail in everything she does. She basically handmade all the props and signs for the wedding, which was freaking impressive. Congrats again, guys! I'm most certain that you guys will make beautiful bebes.