Well, here are some pictures for you to see our trip to Seattle. We started off first thing Monday afternoon in Capitol Hill for some great thrifting at
Red Light Vintage Clothing where I got a great Chinese dress, a gorgeous jacket, and a wrap skirt.
Some light reading while we
waited for our
delicious food at
Ali Baba on Capitol Hill.
The lunch....yum!
Emily thouroughly
enjoying her kufta.
They had different dance
steps laid out on the sidewalk
or you to try. We are now
experts at the foxtrot.
The
Dilettante chocolate cake...mocha silk
I think. Solid chocolate in cake form.
Before.
After.
Husky Delicatesson
in West Seattle,
we were about
to enjoy some delicious....
ice cream with my sister!
and Nate!
I wanted to, but didn't,
buy all these cheeses.
We did consider the haggis though.
Amaanda relaxing on her bed in the hostel. The Green Tortoise Hostel was very nice, however, we were stuck with the "Window Nazi" who apparently likes sleeping in stuffy, 85 degree rooms. She could not understand why Amaanda would kindly ask her to keep the window open more. Then she would shut it in the middle of the night. Grrr.
Emily on her bunk bed, excited about her shoes.
Day 2
Started off with some strolling
around Pike's Place Market.
Some mangos and eggplant.
Carmen Piganda.
(She has a lovely fruit hat on.)
Drinking Tully's with the homeless
guys and the pigeons.
The view as we sipped our coffee,
which by the way was way better
than the hostel's coffee, since
the coffee pot never stopped brewing.
Gotta love big sunglasses.
Ivar's, a Seattle landmark, and
I'd never been there before oddly enough.
This was right before we went and
saw the mutated pig and
the mummies at
Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.
The salmon and chips...and the chowder.
Chowing down.
Walking and shopping works up an appetite.
Amaanda going slightly mental as she digs
through the racks at Uwajimaya for
that perfect piece of Chococat merchandise.
You should definitely go to Uwajimaya if you're
into Asian food/goodies, especially
if you live in Moscow, since we don't get to find
great food like this very often.
We were all so very excited about the curry.
But sad about the dead ducks.
I bought one of these for our front hall.
I think it will be quite elegant.
(For reference, this is
about 3 and half feet tall.)
Now she's happy....she found a
reasonably priced Chococat notebook.
A neato parasol.
Needless to say, we did quite a bit of shopping this day. Went to a great Goodwill, with a book section that looked like a Border's. Got to ride the public buses around Seattle. Saw lots and lots and lots of people, and realized that I actually do like living in a small town.
Had a great chai here as we
recovered from Uwajimaya.
Very cool coffee shop.
So we shopped, and then we walked, and walked, and walked. Very tired and thinking about dinner, we stumbled into a mall so I could go to the Body Shop. I zipped in and out, and then couldn't find Amaanda and Katie. But then I saw the sign and knew where they were.
After our very long day, we went back to the hostel, got ready to eat a fashionably late dinner around 9pm, and drove up to Ballard. It was so refreshing to drive up to an area not inundated with people.
Relaxing at Qazi's, drank some red wine from Napa, and ate some great lamb.
Yummers.
We enjoyed our lovely dinner at Qazi's, were over-enthusiastic about the delicious food since we hadn't eaten Indian in such a long time, and got a free baklava! (And yes, I know baklava is not standard Indian fare.)
Went up to Kerry Park to see the view, and though this picture doesn't do it justice (stupid camera), it was a beautiful night and the whole city was laid out at our feet.
Day 3
Crashed to sleep that night, and despite our wonderful roommate's desire to keep the room at tropical levels of heat, managed to get a good night's sleep.
Amaanda ready after breakfast to hit IKEA.
Her arty picture out the window.
Katie trying to improve
upon the hostel's coffee
by making her own.
I don't think it really worked.
So then off we drove to IKEA and had a lovely little tour of Tukwila and SeaTac when I took the wrong exit trying to get to Renton. But we did see Mount Rainier clearly.
Amaanda documenting our little detour.
And then came the piece d'resistance,
IKEA.
I don't actually have many pictures inside, but we did find this little treasure of a book for those of you potty-training parents out there.
5 hours later...we had everything
outside and ready to be packed.
Ready to hit the road.
With a rooftop carrier stuffed
as well.
I don't have a picture of it,
but I locked my keys
in the car at a Conoco in Ellensburg.
Thank goodness it only took about
15 minutes for the tow truck man
to come...which left us with just one
or two opportunities to
embarrass ourselves
in front of the
other gas station patrons.
Enjoying our healthy
dinner in Othello.
And just in case you aren't
sure which carbonated beverage
to choose, Burger King has
helpful drink recipes for you.
On the drive home....
in the car...
all of us are so
lovely, exhausted,
and ready to show
off our new goodies.
I don't think I've posted about clothes all that much, but in my most recent issue of Better Homes and Gardens that came today, there was a layout that I absolutely loved. (Please excuse the poorly scanned pictures. I couldn't find the images online.) This style is right up my alley and I love both of these outfits so much I wish I could run out and get them today! 
