Slightly obsessed with this song

I have been listening to this song on repeat lately and I'm still not tired of it. 

Carry Out by Timbaland and Justin Timberlake

This is why people should just stay on vacation

Well Sunday was our last day in Seattle and we ended on a high note by making a morning trip to the market (we had to go just one more time!), getting some Seattle's Best Coffee, and then heading to the airport.  The airport was PACKED!!  After being reassured by one Delta employee that I had plenty of time, and then being told by another employee that I should run, I made it to my gate only to find that they had closed the doors early and I had missed my flight.  Thankfully, there was a "higher-up" around and he was PISSED about the poor communication and that I wasn't on the flight.  So he pulled some strings, got me on the next flight out that was boarding in 30 minutes and got me upgraded to First Class.  Thank you Mr. Delta Guy!  I finally made home by 10 pm full of wine, fresca, peanuts, and sun chips.  :)

Unfortunately, my checked baggage wasn't given the same service and we're on the lookout for it.  Hopefully it turns up soon b/c I really want that new shirts I got from Banana shown above.  And good news, these shirts were bought with a gift card so I am still sticking to my goal of not shopping!  And I still have about $225 of Banana Gift Cards left!

Is that a nod to the crispy Seattle weather?

We woke up this morning bright and early at 7:45 am to get a jumpstart on our day.  And by "we" I mean, I woke up and then woke Colleen up.  I don't want her adjusting to Pacific time until she moves here.

We got ready and then headed out to conquer the world one donut at a time at Top Pot Donuts which Kathryn recommended we try.  It was pretty delicious but we like the baby donuts better.  Then we headed to Nordstrom (the original one!!) to get Colleen some Hunter boots.  Well we probably should have called ahead because apparently Seattle doesn't get going by 9am.  So instead we walked a mile to get coffee from an independent coffee shop we hit on the tour yesterday but hadn't tried any coffee at (Zeitgeist).  Then armed with our warm drinks we headed down to the waterfront to go to Ye Olde Curiosity Shop.  It's just another site to see on our list!!

After that we headed to Smith Tower for a second attempt to get on the observation deck and SUCCESS!  Colleen and I both sat in the Chinese Wishing Chair upstairs.  As the legend goes, single ladies who sit in that chair get married within a year.  I sat in it two years ago and nothing happened but I kissed one of the lions this time, so here's hoping.  Two Kappa weddings in 2011?  Maybe!

By this time, Seattle had finally started functioning (in addition to all the crazies coming out) and we headed back to Nordstrom.  Unfortunately the attempt to get the boots failed but I at least discovered that I am too short for the tall Hunter boots.

The plan for day 2 was to go hiking so we were going to have to get into a car at some point.  We made it all day yesterday without every having to get in a car!  How Amish.   But today we decided to spice things up a bit.  We first stopped by Araya Vegetarian Place which is a vegetarian Thai buffet.  There were some pretty delicious things on the buffet, I do have to say.  I still kind of missed meat but I was definitely full all day.  Possibly from all the fiber...possibly from the mass quantities of food.  It was at lunch we discovered that we forgot to put the locks on our schedule so we were very spontaneous and went to the Chittenden Locks!  We got to see a few boats go through and we learned all about smolts (baby salmon).

Then we headed to Discovery Park which is said to be a sight to see.  It was absolutely beautiful and we walked the whole thing!!  We went down on the beach, played in tree houses, found walking sticks, climbed stairs, got super muddy, and were more outdoorsy then I ever could have hoped for.

After the hike we went and saw the Fremont Troll which is just something else you have to see while you're here.  We got our picture taken and then headed back to the hotel where Colleen once again forced me into the gym even though we had just hiked what felt like 100 million miles.

Then it was time to get cleaned up and head back out again.  We decided to go to dinner at Anthony's Bell Street Diner per the recommendation of one of Colleen's interviewers.  It was quite delicious and Colleen finally got to try oysters!  I tried oysters during an audit in New Orleans and have no desire to ever eat them again.  After that we headed to the market (for good measure) and then finally walk home.

It was quite an exhausting day but we have long flights home tomorrow to catch up on any sleep we're lacking.  And the best part, I got upgraded to first class!  Cha ching!

Actually, it's a queen size bed...

Today was our first full day in Seattle.  Colleen has never been here before so I wanted to make sure that she saw everything there was to see here!  We started off our morning at Pikes Place Public Market.  I LOVE this market!  And Colleen did too.  She has actually decided that if she moves here, that's where she would like to live.  I really hope that works out.  

I was here a couple of years ago to visit Kathryn and she had taken me to eat some delicious tiny donuts in the market so I followed my nose and...success!!  We found the tiny donuts!  We also were given samples of salmon jerkey, smoked salmon, and apple chips.  Glorious!  Once we were done with all that, it was time to go on the coffee crawl that we signed up for.  If you find yourself in Seattle anytime soon, I highly recommend it.  I don't even like coffee and I had a great time.  Although, it probably helped that because it was Valentine's weekend, it was a coffee and chocolate tour.   We started at Seattle's Best Coffee which ironically enough was my favorite.  Colleen got to have TWO tiny mocha's because she answered a trivia question correctly.  

After that it was off to the original Starbucks which is actually the 4th Starbucks but I won't get into all those details.  We didn't have a sample there because I think everyone has had a drink at Starbucks...unless they are one of those weird Starbucks boycotters.  After that it was off to Seattle Coffee Works where we had 3 different coffees and and 3 kinds of chocolate.  This is where I confirmed that I indeed hate coffee.  We also confirmed that the baristas here LOVE coffee.  The guy helping us told us about how much he loves talking about coffee and can get into pretty much any conversation he has.  He also talked about rootbeer floats.  Though we were tempted once we heard about the rootbeer floats, we decided not to leave him our number.  

Then went to went to Westlake Plaza to go to Dilelantes and had another mocha and salted caramel.  Note: Emel and Colleen don't like salted caramel.  After that it was off to Monorail Espresso and had one of their famous Chubbie cookies.  Note: Emel and Colleen LOVE Chubbie cookies.  After that we went down to the bus tunnel and rode it to Pioneer Square where they took us to Travant and met Tom the Barista.  We got to try some chocolate called Insomnia.  Then went Zeitgeist and had no coffee and couldn't get into the bathroom.  This was the end of tour.  Two thumbs way way up!

Then our tour guide left and we were on our own and to top it off, we were hopped up on caffeine!!  We went to international district where of all things, we stopped by the post office and bought stamps.  We were planning on eating lunch in the international district (aka Chinatown) because Lent starts next weekend and I'll be giving up Asian food again but after an abundance of coffee, we really weren't that hungry.   So we got bubble tea! China town was seedy so then we got the he'll out of there.

We tried to go up in Smith Tower--fail. So we went to pioneer square, posed with statues and then went to Banana Republic. Is there Banana Republic in the midwest?  Did Colleen once make me go to 3 Banana Republics in Chicago in one day looking for a sweater?  

Then we went to Space Needle which has a gift shop filled with almost anything you could ever want in the shape of Space Needles including Space NOODLES!  After that it was of to the  Music and Science Fiction museum which we actually just walked around.  The we took pictures by the fountain which must have been a great decision because that's when the sun came out! 

Then we went to Olympic Sculpture Park and saw lots of art.  Or things that people told us were art at least.  It looked questionable to me.  As we were finishing up there the weather took a turn for the worst so we headed back to the market and went to the cheese place and ate Mariachi Mac & Cheese, cheese curds, and cheese tapinade.

Then crazy Colleen made us workout...on vacation!  As though walking around Seattle for 7 hours wasn't enough of a workout.  After that we went back to the market AGAIN!! --we're pretty obsessed with the market.  We ate at the Pike's Place Chinese Restaurant.  That made up for lunch.  Then we went down Post Alley (which I called Diagon Alley) to an Irish bar called Kells to check out the young scene.  If we move here, we could quite possibly some of the best looking people.  But we couldn't conclude on this for sure because we were also told that Kells is haunted by a Ginger so maybe not everyone comes there for fun nights out.

It was quite a busy day and lucky for us we have a jam packed agenda for tomorrow too! 

Rough Start to Seattle

So I left for Seattle today. I'm feeling pretty West Coast in my North Face puffy vest (complete with fur lined hood) and Burberry galoshes.  The trip started off okay.  I got to the airport fine, found my gate, and sat down to charge my laptop up for the flight. There was a problem with the door on our plane but the guy got on the intercom and said that he thought it would be fixed in time and specifically said "I think this plane is going to make it to Minneapolis" which is my first leg. Sweet. Ok.  Turns out this wasn't the case, I had to switch gates and by that point I wasn't first in line and therefore there was no room for my carry-on bag. So I'm fine with plane side check in but for some reason they had to check it all the way through! If I wanted to check my bag, I would have done it when I got my boarding pass!  So I don't think my bag is going to make it. I did grab my toothbrush though!

So I was finally through the door of the plane.  I normally choose an aisle seat but I wanted to be near the front of the plane (due to my short layover) so I chose a middle seat.  The row in front of me however only has two people in it so the guy to my left has lots of leg room.  I approach and then nicely say, "the middle seat is mine." the guy looks at the seat, looks at me, DOESN'T GET UP. and says "do u think u can get by?" Ummm, no sir. I don't feel like climbing over you to get to my seat!  I just go "No, I don't think so." So then he got up with a look as though I was the one being rude!  I'm guessing he had trouble with the seatbelt the first time and didn't want to have to buckle it again. Clearly a huge inconvenience.  He's sleeping now and looks pretty out of it.  I'm tempted to pull the Bluetooth out his ear and smash it.

Highlights of the trip so far:
1) For checking my bag, I was given a free bottle of water.
2) Whoever sat here before me left a gold mine in the front seat pocket. 2 Business Weeks, one Time, and Fortune magazine!!
3) There are these cute little kids diagonal from me and I like watching them to see what they're going to do. I might not even have to get out any of my own toys on this flight!
4) The first class flight attendant (though unhelpful regarding the plane side check in) somewhat resembles Mike Meyers so that amuses me.

I'm now on my next flight to Seattle and am thoroghly annoyed by the girl in the row in front of me. I don't think I have my cranky pants on but I have a feeling it sounds like it. The girl in front of me threw a fit that the plane had no tvs and that she is not going to get to watch a movie. I bet she's going to be way jel when I get out my laptop and turn on 24.


Good news!  I made it to Seattle safe and sound...and so did my suitcase!!  Woo hoo!!  It's going to be a great weekend!!

I love new cars!

So next week I'll be heading up to Chicago for several reasons, one of which will be to go to the Chicago Auto Show!!  I'm pretty pumped because they'll be unveiling the 2011 Ford Edge which has the new MyTouch system in it.  There are tons of articles on it and even videos on YouTube to show you how it works but a few pictures can be seen in the attached link. http://www.autoblog.com Basically MyTouch has taken out the odometer and other dials and put in two 4 inch LCD screens.

The left screen can be used to see the car maintenance status, the odometer, and those other features that most people driving their car need to see at one time or another but not necessarily all at once.

The right screen can be used to control the entertainment and navigation systems as well as some other fun features on the car.  It is color coded to with the main screen that is in the middle of the car so that it's not super distracting while you drive.  The point, I am told, is to have the driver have to take his hands off the wheel as little as possible because the screens and their features are controlled by buttons on the steering wheel.  I think it looks fabulous but am curious to see how it really works.  I will keep you all posted with my discoveries!

You have to see this!

This is ridiculous and you have to see it to believe it. A salsa dancing dog!! Oh, how it makes me smile!

http://www.dogwork.com/salsa/