Seattle: Pike Place Market Area & the Space Needle

Recently, we visited Washington for a long weekend.

We dedicated an entire day to Seattle, primarily the Pike Place Market area. This trip was about leisure, exploration, and good food, and we were able to get all of that from this area.

Pike Place Market

Coffee & Breakfast

To start your day, wake up and get in line for the first Starbucks or for one of the many delicious pastry shops as there are too many to choose from. We got to the market around 8:30AM and got in the already very long line for La Panier. We waited for about 45 minutes , which sounds like a long wait but it went by quickly as we watched all of the market start to bustle. We got a sampling of assorted French pastries, excellent lattes, and a couple of boxes of macarons to take home.

We wandered over to a bench overlooking Elliot Bay, which connects to Puget Sound. Here we enjoyed our breakfast and watching the growing crowds of people on the outer edge of the Public Market Center.

The entire Market is constantly busy and yields an amazing people-watching venue, and by 10:00 AM on a Saturday, it is definitely crowded. Even though the area is busy, there is so much to enjoy and experience and most of the time, you won’t wait very long to do something. We definitely recommend taking your time to weave around the shop vendors and enjoy the scent and spectacular colors of fresh cut flowers.

Lunch, Cocktail Hour, Fun in the Market, & Dinner

Beecher’s Cheese is a fun way to enjoy amazing cheese and to watch it being made. We had the macaroni and cheese and it was excellent.

For cocktail hour, we definitely recommend Rachel’s Ginger Beer. They have a ton of amazing cocktails and an excellent seating area.

Fun in the Market

The Gum Wall

Before the lunch crowd arrives, wander to the other side of the Market and feast your eyes on the Gum Wall. Here, you can enjoy a different set of scents and colors as the sticky, sweet smell of thousands of pieces of chewed up gum cover every centimeter of the walls of a tucked away alley. If you are planning ahead, be sure to bring gum for each person, an instant camera, and a sharpie to leave your mark.

Bronze Pig Statues

As you’re wandering around the Market area, notice the bronze pig hoof tracks on the ground. Be sure to take a photo with the famous Rachel the Piggy Bank and any other bronze pigs you see around!

While you’re there, take time to admire the showmanship of the fishmongers, admire eclectic and handmade wares, and buy some fresh produce.

Dinner

If you like sourdough, you will LOVE Von's 1000 Spirits. It is definitely an excellent, huge bar and the cocktails are to die for, but the food blew our minds! We had the Burrata Spread with Sourdough Baguette, Spiced Fig, Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza, and the Tellicherry Chicken and Smoked Gouda Pasta. We couldn’t finish it all but enjoyed every amazing bite.

The Seattle Great Wheel

The Seattle Great Wheel is definitely a tourist attraction that’s worth it and even more so at sunset! We recommend both the Needle and the Wheel at sunset, so you’ll have to choose if you’ve only got one day, but we chose the Wheel and it was a lot of fun and the views of Elliot Bay were spectacular.

The Wheel lights up in the evenings on the weekends, but we enjoyed watching the sunset and enjoying the calm, serene view.

Seattle Space Needle

No trip to Seattle is complete without a visit to the Space Needle. It opens at 11:00 every day, so we scheduled this then, but in hindsight, we probably would have scheduled this for the sunset. You can purchase a City Pass, which gives you access to 5 different Seattle attractions including the Space Needle and the Aquarium and then your choice of 3 of the following: the Museum of Pop Culture, a Harbor Tour, the Chihuly Glass Garden, and the Woodland Park Zoo. If we were traveling with children, we might have opted for this option.

If you aren’t interested in all of those attractions, you can buy tickets (which are time-sensitive at the time of our visit) to just the Space Needle or to the Space Needle + the Chihuly Glass Gardens. You really can’t go wrong with any of these selections and if you have never seen Chihuly’s work are interested in intricately designed blown-glass art, definitely add this to your visit.

Our Space Needle experience included COVID precautions (mandatory masks and social distancing), but nothing was detracted from the experience and the precautions were done in a way that made us feel safe and was not cumbersome.

We highly recommend that you lean against the glass, face-forward, and spread out your arms when you’re outside and to watch the world below slowly spin by through the glass floor for a larger than life experience and an amazing photo-op. No matter what you do, the views are spectacular and this is truly a must-do when visiting Seattle!

Best Dive Bars in Key West

 

Key West is known for many things — sun, colorful history, and some of the best bars that someone can fit on a tiny island.

Dive bars are some of our favorite places to visit when we are looking for a drink. You get a chance to meet local people, try new activities, and feel local charm. Key West has not only amazing dives to explore but also fabulous stories that go alongside their bars. Read on for our favorites!

Capt. Tony’s Saloon

428 Greene Street

Capt. Tony’s has been many different things since it first opened in 1851 — an ice house, morgue, telegraph station, cigar factory, club, speakeasies, and the original Sloppy Joe’s. It is also home to a hanging tree, which you can check out right next to the pool tables.

In 1933, a local Key Wester, Joe Russell, turned the then vacant speakeasy into a bar. He and his friend, Ernest Hemingway, decided on the name Sloppy Joe’s and it quickly became a local favorite. In 1937, the landlord raised the rent by $1 per week and, in protest, the owner and patrons, including Hemingway, moved the entire bar to 201 Duval Street, where Sloppy Joe’s still resides today!

In 1958, Captain Tony Tarracino, a local boat captain, bought the bar and renamed it for the last time as Captain Tony’s Saloon. In the 70’s, Jimmy Buffett got his start in Key West and on the stage of Capt. Tony’s Saloon and apparently, they paid him in tips, beer, and tequila! Take a shot and hum Last Mango in Paris, the song that Buffett wrote about his experience there.

When you visit now, the ceiling is covered in bras (a mystery we did not solve, so let us know if you know why!) and stools are painted with the names of each famous person that sat on them (Truman Capote and JFK, to name a few).

If you are in Key West, you should definitely get a drink at this history-rich, quirky dive bar!

Sloppy Joe’s

201 Duval Street

Picking up where our history lesson left off… Sloppy Joe’s was reborn with the help of Hemingway and the mob of devoted patrons of Joe Russell’s bar on Duval Street and remains an incredibly popular and always busy bar today. Hemingway made the new Sloppy Joe’s his regular bar and even called himself a co-owner.

It is home to the annual Papa Look-Alike Contest, a mid-July festival of Hemingway enthusiasts crowning the person who’s appearance best resembles the great American novelist’s likeness and judged by past winners.

Sloppy Joe’s has live music, a huge bar, incredibly friendly wait staff, and walls adorned with history. It is open 365 days per year, so no matter when you visit, you will be able to come have some casual food and drinks from their huge menu!

Hog’s Breath Saloon

400 Front Street

Hog’s Breath Saloon opened in 1988 and isn’t unique to Key West, but this location definitely has its own Key West flair.

Roosters walk through the amazing outdoor seating and live music makes their incredibly tasty (and affordable!) drinks even tastier. There’s a great raw bar, a fun license plate collection, and an overall atmosphere that makes it easy to spend an entire evening here!

The Green Parrot

601 Whitehead Street

The Green Parrot is simply the quintessential Key West bar. If you are in Key West, you absolutely must dedicate an evening to this bar that boasts a music schedule that is sure to entertain anyone. It has been cited by Zagat as the Best Music/Performance Venues in South Florida, and it really is.

The walls are covered with music memorabilia, and the open-air bar lends itself to casual drinks served by no-nonsense bartenders. Take an iconic selfie next to the painting called Smirk and enjoy some fantastic music.

This bar started as a grocery store with a small space in the back for musicians to share their talent in 1890 and has become an iconic Key West watering hole that you have to experience for yourself!

The Galleon Sunset Tiki Bar

617 Front Street

Even though this isn’t truly a dive bar, I couldn’t end this post without mentioning one of the best views of Key West’s sunsets. If you want to spend an evening admiring the most beautiful sunset you will ever see and try to catch the green flash, then enjoy some drinks and live music at the Galleon Sunset Tiki Bar.

People show up hours before the sunset to stake out a great spot for viewing the final hours of the day. This is by far my favorite place to see the sunset every day, and I will bring a book and drink a few piña colavas (a twist on the original adding raspberry purée). Be sure to look up sunset times in advance and arrive early!

Key West, Florida

Down in the southern most part of the continental United States, lies a string of islands in Florida that are known for their laid back & tropical atmosphere. These string of islands are actually called keys, because unlike islands, which form due to volcanic action or tectonic plate movement, keys are small, low-elevation islands that are built or formed on top of coral reef. The Florida Keys span more than 120 miles, are comprised of 44 major keys, and 42 bridges. Each Key has something unique to offer, but the southernmost key, Key West, is famous for being an island paradise.

Every livable of Key West’s tiny 7 square miles is packed with color, music, and amazing food (and drinks!), and there is truly never a dull moment. The plant and animal life are shockingly beautiful and bursting with life and the sunsets are beyond stunning.

We feel so blessed to have been able to have visited for a full week this June, so we have been able to visit my family’s favorite spots that they have come to love over the past 20 years. If you are planning a visit, read on for a few of our most-loved things to do, see, and eat!

Whether you are planning for first or your fortieth trip to Key West, I always think it’s a good idea to learn something from the Old Town Trolley. It’s a great way to start your first morning comfortably adjusting to the heat and seeing the entire island. It’s a hop on and off trolley, so if you see something you want to do, you can get off on one of the 13 stops and then get back on later. My parents love to ride the whole tour once for the full 90 minutes and then stay on to go to whatever stop they want to visit first. The tour guides are impressively knowledgable and each tour guide adds their personal anecdotes and flair to the trip. You could easily ‘wing’ your trip and pick out things to do just from riding the trolley alone! Or…

If you don’t want to wing it, check out our next post for the top things to do in Key West, FL!

Monday Morning Workout

Now this is a workout that I like to do when I’m feeling a little sluggish on Monday morning before work or just not feeling completely motivated one day but know that I need to stay on top of my fitness. Try to get as many rounds as you can in. I try to shoot for at least three.

• Arm rotations (20)

• Arm raises to side arm raises (20)

• Air squats (20)

• Pushups (5-20)

• Mountain sliders (10) if you don’t have disks or a slick floor Mountain climbers are a good substitute, if so count out 20.

• Air squats (20)

• Pushups (5-20)

• Mountain sliders (10)

Easy Ways to Stay On Top of Things

As a lifelong procrastinator and excuse-maker, I have had to work even harder than normal to make sure that I stay on top of things and meet goals. B is amazing at self-discipline and has actually lost weight during quarantine. On purpose. (Insert jealous eye roll here).

1. Make your coffee/tea, set up your lemon water*, and lay out your yoga clothes each night.

   This seriously takes 10 minutes of my evening and sets me up for success the next day. I cannot believe how such a tiny change has made such a HUGE difference in my morning.

   *Also, drink warm lemon water with a pinch of cayenne pepper, a pinch of cinnamon, and a teaspoon of local honey mixed in every morning. I absolutely am not a doctor, but let me tell you how much I firmly believe that this benefits you. Kickstarts your metabolism, sets up your digestive system for success, helps keep your skin clear, and the local honey helps stave off allergies.

2. Do yoga/pilates/run in the morning

   I don’t actually love exercise. But I cannot deny that what they say is true; exercise absolutely gives you energy. I sit a lot of my day, so starting off with yoga to get my blood pumping makes me feel accomplished and ready to tackle any item on my list.

3. Do 1 load of laundry every week day

   I love having my weekends to do anything but house work, so I view the week time to get things done. Every day, I put in a load of laundry and I make sure it ends up where it needs to be (mostly, sometimes there’s a basket of clean clothes that lingers a day or two…)

4. Make a I Promise Myself I Will list every morning

   I never get To Do lists done, but I never break a promise, so I started to make I Promise Myself I Will lists. I wake up, drink my lemon water, drink coffee, do yoga and then write down my list on a big dry erase board (like this one) in my office that I have decorated with washi tape and use fun colors to color code. It is so satisfying crossing things off one by one!

5. Never skip a Monday

   Whatever your habits that you are trying to build - working out, watching TV less, reading more, walking the dogs more often, or not wearing yoga pants one day that week, make sure you do it on Monday. Once it’s done on Monday, you just need to keep going instead of getting started (which is way harder).

6. Balance

   Every day, I take care of one thing I don’t love to do (like mop or reconcile a report) and then one thing I love to do (like taking a bath or going through photos). Balance is key.

7. Take breaksI have a nasty habit of “powering through”. While there is a lot of merit to grinding through tough things, I definitely find it easier if I schedule breaks. I am a very visual person, so I use sand timers. I found these on Amazon and I keep a set at work and a set at home, plus they are fun colors!

8. Self Care

   Take 30 minutes and have a super relaxing bath. Mix in some epsom salts (I love this mix of options so I can take a bath based on my mood), light a candle, and read or look at Pinterest or play candy crush — whatever completely zones you out. B takes a super relaxing bath once a week after his Wild Man Workout. You do you.

9. Meal Prep

   Friends, let me tell you about the gloriousness of meal prep. Cook for a few hours once a week, and then take it easy for the rest of the week! Save cash money by planning ahead and not wasting food! Stay on track with whatever your diet goals are because you already set yourself up for success! (Can you tell how pumped I am about this?!) Stay tuned for my meal prep posts.

10. Forgive yourself

    If you don’t get anything done one day, then oh well. Tomorrow is a brand new day and you have 365 chances to have an amazing one! Don’t beat yourself up about it, just use it as fuel to do better tomorrow!

12 Things to Do While Staying at Home

I don’t typically get bored or feel stir crazy when I stay home. Before the pandemic, I actually stayed home quite a bit, or so I thought. Now that we aren’t supposed to go anywhere, I feel the urge to go do things all of the time and go everywhere.

So to pass my free time productively, I started to do a few things and are planning to do a few more. Sometimes I need to reach out to friends, sometimes I want some me time, sometimes I feel productive and want to do house projects, and sometimes I want to improve myself, so here is a list of some great things to help you feel connected and to keep refining your life!

1. Start a Book Club

   Blow the dust off of the cover of the book that has been sitting on your nightstand for a year and knock it out and text some friends to find out if they have that book too! If they don’t, and you’re feeling generous, you could always find a used book on Thriftbooks or AbeBooks and take advantage of their stellar prices and shipping prices and mail it to them. Or go digital and all get the kindle version, or save a buck and ask everyone to check it out from the library!

2. Work Out

   Exercise and I have a complicated relationship. I never want to exercise, but as soon as I do, I like it, especially when it doesn’t feel like I’m exercising. I have found some amazing videos on YouTube and my gym was kind enough to give all members a free membership with Openfit until they reopen and I’ve enjoyed a lot of those classes. Take this quarantine time to finally get those abs you’ve dreamt of!

3. Visit a Museum or Monument

   There are so many amazing virtual tours of museums, National Parks, and monuments! Some of our favorites are:

   -The Louvre

   -The Vatican Museums

   -The Great Wall of China

   -The British Museum

   -Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park

4. Create those photo albums you’ve been putting off

   Shutterfly has some crazy easy online photo books you can put together, or you could put together that scrapbook you bought all the materials for and now it sits in your closet, and you could totally knock one out and feel accomplished and get to take a trip down memory lane!

5. Clean out your closet

   Marie Kondo needs to take a trip to my house. I pulled all of my clothes out and threw them on the bed, determined which pieces gave me joy and put the rest in a bag that I will take to Goodwill when the Stay at Home orders have been lifted.

6. Do a puzzle

   Better yet, do a puzzle that can become a framed piece of art! Redecorating and finding some zen, yes please!

7. Learn to Dance

   YouTube has become a great way for me to learn new skills. For date night, the hubby and I are going to learn how to two step, salsa, and waltz. Maybe not all in one night though!

8. Bake something

   I say bake, because to me, sometimes cooking feels like work, but baking feels like a treat. I definitely sample my way through whatever it is but I’m baking, and these days, I have had to take a long, hard look at the pantry to get some inspiration, but there’s nothing wrong with trying a tried and true recipe! Here is my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe!

9. Paint a wall

   This is probably one of the easiest home improvement projects you could do! Choose a wall, choose a color and get to work!

10. Self-pamper

    Take a long bath. Give yourself a mani/pedi. Do a deep condition on your hair. Do a face mask. There are tons of DIY ways to do a little refining on that wild body.

11. Take a walk

    Disconnect. Leave your phone at home and just take a walk. Here, our public parks are open (the equipment is closed off but the actual park part of the park is still open), and we like to walk the dogs. Most people are very respectful of social distancing, but don’t forget to keep that 6’ space between you and other park goers.

12. Connect with a loved one

    To me, nothing speaks more volumes of love than handwriting a letter, but I will text, email or call loved ones and friends every week. I intentionally set build time into my schedule every Sunday to connect with my family and we get together with friends virtually for happy hour or to play a game once a week. Time slips by so quickly, and carving out a tiny piece of my week to connect with someone precious to me seems like a no-brainer!

10 Gifts to Send While Staying Home

1. In the time of social distancing and staying home, it’s hard to express gratitude, show love or celebrate with friends and family. Here are some of our favorite virtual gifts to share:

   1. Kindle Books

      Avid reader? Graphic novel enthusiast? The Amazon Kindle Book store has tons of options. Get the recipient’s email address and you can purchase for immediate delivery.

   2. Amazon Gift Cards

      In addition to generic Amazon gift cards, you can also purchase from different vendors. It’s super easy, but they do have minimum amounts on most of them ($25 being the most common I’ve seen).

   3. Local booze delivery

      Here in CO Springs we have a service called Drizly, where you can pick out and purchase beer, wine or liquor to have delivered straight to their door.

   4. Wine Gift Card

      If you’re like us, we are total novices when it comes to choosing wine for other people based on their preferences. We know what we like, but we definitely struggle picking out wines that suit other people’s tastebuds. Wine.com delivers and offers e-gift cards to send right away.

   5. Starbucks gift cards

      If they have the Starbucks app, they can just load it to their account and hit up a drive-thru! If you aren’t sure, but you have their email address, you can also send this directly through Amazon. As a fun addition, you could let them know your favorite secret menu drink concoction.

   6. Subscription Boxes

      Oh my gosh, do we love subscription boxes. I will share a post about my favorites later, but there are so many to choose from. Some of our top choices that make excellent gifts are:

      1. Birchbox

      2. Lootcrate

      3. Snacknation (which is doing some awesome stuff to help support people in need)

      4. Succulents

      5. BattlBox (outdoor & survival gear)

      6. Cairn (outdoor gear)

      7. Hunt a Killer (murder mystery that unfolds over 6 months)

      8. UnboxBoardom (board games)

      9. BarkBox (pet gifts galore!)

   7. A handmade card

      I love, love, love my Cricut. I make cards all the time and love to mail some homemade sunshine. Plus, it keeps my hands busy when I get stir-crazy Stay tuned for a future post about Cricut projects.

   8. A puzzle

      Give them the gift of something to do while in quarantine! B and I love to put together puzzles and then frame them as some fun artwork. Right now, we are working on a 500 piece Monet, which we bought from Urban General Store (support local businesses, y’all!)

   9. Flowers

      Who doesn’t love to see a bouquet in their house? There are quite a few services out there, but I tend to use this one or this one.

   10. Photo gifts

       I love some sentimental gifts! There are some super easy things to send on Shutterfly (I promised easy), but there are also some really elaborate things you could put together, depending on how much time you find yourself with.

   11. BONUS: I thought of this as I was watching TV and remembered that I had recently joked with a family member about sending them a Netflix subscription so we could talk about our latest binge obsession, but since I haven’t done it, this counts as a bonus item, but send a subscription streaming service like Netflix, Hulu or HBO.

None of the links above are affiliate - we aren’t quite on that level yet