Gosh, where to begin?! Seattle was a blast. We ate, hiked, shopped, laughed, ate some more, walked, and seriously enjoyed a few days out of the office and away from social media.

My intent was to share more of our trip with you in real time on my Instagram, but it just felt so good to be with friends, and in the moment, and away from all social media. So I apologize I didn’t share more with you then, but I’m here now spilling all the deets.

Last Thursday, Pat and I flew to Seattle to visit two sets of friends – Pat’s best friend from college and his wife, and my best friend from Chicago and her husband and adorable son. After landing, we were immediately picked up and taken to a delicious dinner at Cantina Lena – I had the pork shoulder plate with a side of roasted carrots and a frozen marg. Perfect way to kick off our vacation.

The following morning, we stopped by the Starbucks Roastery before heading out on a hike to Rattlesnake Ridge.

The roastery was incredible – super cool mid-century design, delicious drinks (whiskey barrel aged cold brew served in an old fashioned glass?!), and a fun gift shop! The roastery is where Starbucks pilots all of their new blends and drinks. We got a flight of three blends all brewed in the same way. My favorite was the Rwanda Maraba.

You can see in the photo below, those copper tubes actually carry the fresh roasted beans from the roasting area right to the barista bar! SO COOL.

To say the hike is incredible doesn’t do it justice. We were incredibly lucky that Mother Nature decided to stop raining during the entirety of our hike (but it did rain 100% of the rest of our trip). Our friends took us to Rattlesnake Ridge where we hiked 2 miles through the greenest forest I’ve ever seen.

Seriously, I stopped so many times to take pictures because of how green EVERYTHING was. It was gorgeous.

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But you guys, the view from the top was better than I imagined. Again, Mother Nature realllllly helped us out with the no-rain semi-clear day. And that made all the difference.

I mean, is this real life?!

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[/one_half][one_half_last padding=”0 28px 0 5px”][/one_half_last]Gosh, it was so beautiful. We just sat up on the ridge for awhile, looking out in awe of our surroundings. You know, I love Chicago and living in the city and all that the city offers. But man, it feels SO good to get out of the city, and away from all the people. You can breathe out there, like really breathe.

The rest of the day was spent exploring Seattle, eating Thai food, and just hanging with our friends. P.S. I feel asleep while we were watching a moving at 10pm… that hike wore me out!

The following morning, Mike made the most perfect over-easy eggs (props to Elise for teaching him your ways) before heading out to Miir in Fremont. One almond milk latte later and we were off to the Volunteer Park Conservatory.

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It was a nice reprieve from all the rain. SO MUCH RAIN. Seriously, why?

After the conservatory, I was off to spend the rest of the trip with my friend Bridget and her fam! We spent Saturday afternoon doing what we do best – hangin, snackin, shoppin. Bridget took me to a fancy grocery store where I finally got my hands on a few snacks I’ve been wanting to try – Healthade Kombucha and Perfect Bars! We also stopped at Flying Apron (a GF bakery!) for a scone and a few cookies.

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We had girl time and dinner out and pretty much just ate and laughed our way through the day – like nothing has changed! I love when you have a friend who you haven’t seen in ages, but you pick up right where you left off. That’s what it’s like with Bridget.

Our last full day was jam-packed with action. Brunch at Skillet (ohhhhh my gosh, so good!), followed by a trip to Pike’s Market, the flagship REI store, and more tacos. Because you can never have enough Mexican food. 😉

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And we flew out the next day, back to Chicago. Until next time Seattle!