- Rachel Reynolds
Our Seattle Trip! And other fun November things :)
Hi friends!!
HAPPY DECEMBER!!! There’s no doubt about it - it’s officially time to blare Mariah Carey and Michael Buble and drink all of the peppermint mochas and watch Christmas Vacation. It’s my absolute most favorite time of year. I love candy canes. One time in college, I ate so many candy canes that I was convinced I was having a heart attack. I know that sounds dramatic, but I was sitting in my best friend Susan’s car in the Goodwill parking lot (we were about to shop for our sweater parties) and we had to look up all my symptoms. It was heartburn. I had never had heartburn before, but apparently eating mass amounts of peppermint can trigger it. I was probably eating about 10 candy canes a day to and from class. I would stir my coffee with candy canes. Think of how Buddy the Elf is with syrup, and that was me with candy canes. So anywho - even though I have had to *slightly* limit my peppermint intake - I am SO pumped for this season!
But of course, I wanted to take a minute to reflect on this past month and all the fun things that have happened! November was awesome - it’s not until I look back on it that I realize how much has happened. We celebrated birthdays, went to an amazing wedding, had an impulse trip to New York, finally used our Aire gift card from our wedding, and spent a week in Seattle!
Because I already covered our trip to NYC in this post, today I thought it would be fun to tell you all about our family trip to Seattle! So let’s get into it :)
Seattle + Thanksgiving!
We were in Seattle for the full week of Thanksgiving and had the best time. I had never been to Seattle before - but as a huge Frasier fan, I was so pumped to go. (Only to find out that Frasier was not actually filmed in Seattle, but that’s besides the point).
We stayed at my sister-in-law (Alex) and her fiance (James)’s new home! It was Alex and James, Curtis and myself, Curtis’s parents (Michelle and George), and their dog and cat (Apollo and Rory). So it was a full house! Funny story - Curtis and I booked our flights to Seattle way before Alex and James had even moved there. They didn’t even have an apartment yet, but we knew that they would and we wanted to go there for Thanksgiving. I feel like I say this all the time, but I hope I never take for granted how lucky I am to be obsessed with my in-laws. They are the best. Tbh, I don’t really even like the word in-laws because they are my family! Oh gosh, I might start crying.
Anywho. On day one we watched a nail-biting Michigan game, walked around their neighborhood, and then took the water taxi to Salty’s on Alki Beach. The ride there was GORGEOUS because it was golden hour and we could see the whole skyline and Mount Rainier. Not to mention the food was amazing. James's mom was also in town for a special occasion! Then Curtis and I took a solo trip to Target because even though we had packed huge suitcases, we still managed to forget a bunch of stuff :) Then we went back to their house to taste wedding cakes - yum!
The next day was extra special because we went WEDDING DRESS SHOPPING for Alex!! They’re getting married next October in Seattle and she found the most perfect dress! We just had the best time ever - it was Alex, myself, one of her best friends, Michelle, and James’s mom flew all the way in from Pennsylvania! We had an amazing brunch at Conversation in The Thompson Hotel, and then we went to two different bridal shops. I won’t get into all the details, because there has to be some surprises - but let’s just say there were a lot of dresses, lots of champagne and coffee, some laugh until you cry moments, and then one perfect dress (and then we just cried). I cannot wait for next October!!!
The next day was exploration day! Michelle, George, and I went to Pike Place Market and I could not get over how many fun and cool shops there were. All I knew was that they threw fish, but I was not expecting there to be so many levels and layers of vendors - we could have been there for days! We decided to not wait in line for the Original Starbucks, but it was still really cool to see from the outside! We also went to Pike Place Chowder and I had the best salmon chowder…yum.
When Curtis was done with work, we decided to continue our tourist journey! We went to Chihuly Garden and Glass and then we went to the top of the Space Needle. I absolutely loved the Chihuly Museum - it was all so impressive. They even had artists there that you could watch blow glass. And of course the view from the Space Needle was incredible! What a truly unique view - a beautiful city skyline with water and mountains all around.
The next couple of days are hard to organize into a single paragraph. We finished planning out our Thanksgiving feast - we had a whole spreadsheet on who was cooking what and made the grocery list. We toured their wedding venue (which is so AMAZING btw). Alex and I took a pilates class that we were late to because my lime scooter wasn't cooperating. (luckily the instructor was so nice - she's from Chicago!) We went to dinner at The Pink Door (okay I know I keep saying everything was amazing, but Pink Door truly was the best dinner I’ve had in so long. 2 words: amaretto cheesecake. Also - the lasagna. Oh, and the beets with blue cheese..). We decorated turkey cookies. I insisted that we buy a football for Thanksgiving, even though they seemed to be out of stock everywhere, but we found one! We made sangria. We climbed Mount Rainier. (jk - we didn’t do that last part, but we did do a lot).
Then all of a sudden it was Thanksgiving! Teamwork truly makes the dream work, and after much deliberation, I decided to be wild and try a new technique for mashed potatoes. Enter: the ricer. It truly was life changing, and I don’t mean to brag..but these were some creamy taters (I used this recipe). Everything that everybody made was just so good. I even got to just James's fancy blow torch on the marshmallows! Then after a good nap, we decided to go to the park to throw around the football - my favorite!
We flew back the day after Thanksgiving - the week went by so fast! But it’s always good to get home to Leo :) So grateful for this trip to Seattle and extra thankful for time with family -already can't wait until we're all back together!
To summarize, this is everywhere we went / ate (if you’re planning on making a trip there soon!) :
Links:
Salty’s (Seafood on the water) // The Pink Door (Italian) // Pike Place Chowder (Chowder + Lobster Rolls) // Le Panier (French Bakery) // Conversation (Brunch) // Victrola (Coffee Shop) // Pike Place Market // Original Starbucks // Chihuly Garden & Glass // Space Needle (you can bundle your tickets to Chihuly and Space Needle!) // Sweatbox (Yoga) // Tribe Fitness (Pilates)
ART
Okay, let’s get into some of the fun art things that happened this month!
I’ve been a busy elf painting all the Custom Pet Ornaments! There’s still a few left so make sure to scoop one up asap if you want one this Christmas :)
I also painted this colorful collection of 2022 Ornaments. Fun fact, they are handmade clay ornaments that are made by an artist in the UK! I had so much fun painting them :)
My favorite addition to the shop is probably this Glimpse of New York print! Inspired by our very quick trip to NYC, I wanted to capture a morning in the vibrant city.
I also worked on a variety of Custom Paintings and I’m so happy with how they turned out! It makes me so happy to create something meaningful for your home :)
And of course, the Falalala Print + Mug are going strong! Pick one up to add a fun pop of color to your home this holiday season :)
And there we have it: November 2022! What a fun month filled with art, travel, and family. I’m so excited to see what this month has in store. Here are some fun bullet points to close us out:
Current Favorite Recipe:
I ordered this Mediterranean Cookbook and have not been disappointed! Highly recommend the shrimp, feta, and lemon orzo..yum.
Current Favorite Song:
Hey, Goodbye by Quinn XCII
What I’m currently watching:
I just finished Dead To Me and I am not okay…. I loved it and want to watch it again already. I am amazed by Christina Applegate finishing the season even while battling MS.
Leo’s Highlight from the month:
Probably spending a whole week at grandma’s while we were in Seattle! He loves her backyard and all the extra treats :) But he hasn’t left my side since we got home (I’m not mad about it)
What I’m looking forward to in December:
Decorating! (I’m usually done with this by now, but we’re a tad behind)
Our One Year Anniversary!!! Ah I can’t believe it! Going to do a whole wedding recap :)
Visiting my sister and her family for my niece’s birthday and her first dance recital :)
Going to The Nutcracker (I’ve never been to the ballet) and the Christkindlmarket
Painting all the ornaments and wrapping up some fun Custom Paintings :)
Starting to plan out 2023
And of course, celebrating Christmas with my family! The best!
Thank you so much for reading along on this November Recap! Bring on December! I would love to know what you’re up to this month and if you have any fun holiday traditions :) Sending you lots of love this holiday season!
Cheers! Rachel