Seattle, a birthday trip

Monday, April 14


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When Kevin and I were first married, we decided that for each other's birthdays, we would plan and surprise each other with a weekend trip (instead of a tangible gift). So far, our plan has worked brilliantly!

This year for my birthday, Kevin surprised me with tickets to Seattle. We were in a waffle restaurant, when Kevin handed me the tickets. I was so speechless I clapped my hands around my face and started to cry happy tears. Kev knew I had been wanting to go to Seattle for a while to visit some good friends of ours (josh and mica!). 

Well, in true fashion to the way we travel, Kev had snagged free flights using our Southwest credit cards, and we stayed with our friends, so as a huge blessing, the trip was rather economical for us! 

And what  a delight this city is! We of course started our first day in downtown Seattle at Pike Place Market. We visited the first Starbucks ever made, and shopped along the old market row full of fresh flowers and all sorts of foods! I loved it! We even saw the famous fish market! Fish were flying everywhere, it was great! 

My favorite part of the trip was discovering the different neighborhoods in Seattle! Our friends lived in lovely Green Lake, and we walked around the beautiful lake as the trees bloomed blossoms down upon us! We visited the Ballard Locks, Freemont, U-District, and had a lovely walk through Queen Anne's (where the spectacular view of the city from Kerry Park is!). 

We ate our way through the entire city, and i'm still drooling over Molly Moon's, the famous home made ice cream shop that offers vegan ice cream! BEST EVER! 

The last day we played tourists again, and went up into the Space Needle (which was AWESOME!) and rode the Ducks (which was hilarious!!). We saw the floating house from Sleepless in Seattle, gasworks park, and the bridge! So fun! 

All in all it was a great trip, and we are so blessed for the friendship of Josh and Mica who hosted us in the most generous and welcome way!!

Lastly, I hope you noted that I was literally dressed like I was going to the snow! HA! I'm pretty sure my snow jacket and hat were a dead give away to the locals that I was a complete tourist and a complete wimp when it came to "cold weather"! haha! 

Happy Monday Friends,
Love Katie 

40 comments :

  1. These pictures are absolutely amazing!!

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  2. Beautiful pictures! Making me miss Seattle and I havent even left yet (sigh). So great to meet you and Kevin while you were up here. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me. You are a beautiful couple!

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  3. so, absolutely, freaking, really jealous. looks amazing. fabulous pictures.

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  4. Beautiful photos!!! Seattle looks like a wonderful place to visit! I also love your birthday tradition... I'll have to pitch that idea to my husband!

    Kisses from Buenos Aires xx
    http://amateandarottweiler.blogspot.com.ar/

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  5. I just love Seattle! Also, we have the same Kelly Moore bag ;) I gotta get on this free travel business. We do a trip for our anniversary every year (in lieu of gifts) and that would definitely help!

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  6. Seattle is on my list! I will make it there one day...

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  7. Ahhhh beautiful photos! Seattle is definitely on my to-do list if I ever make a trip to the west coast! Extra brownie points to Kevin surprising you with this trip and extra extra brownie points that he was able to get the flights for free! Just wonderful :)

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  8. I also just cut a couple inches off my hair! (Looks like you did, here!) Gorgeous photos as always- looks like you guys had a great time! Happy belated birthday!

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  9. Your pictures are wonderful! Seattle looks like a beautiful city.
    I love your idea about surprising each other with trips instead of giving birthday presents, thats much more thoughtful than getting gifts.

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  10. Awwww! You were in my neck of the woods! Love the pics. So beautifully capturing this area. Happy B-day :)

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  11. What a wonderful idea for a birthday "gift"! I hope to the same with my love. Glad you guys had such a lovely time in Seattle. It's such a great city. And, as I found during my visit, too, visiting locals makes it all the more special. xo

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  12. Lovely pictures of Seattle. Your boots are so adorable as well! We try and do the same idea for our birthdays as well. I would much rather travel than get a gift.

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  13. These pictures are absolutely stunning, and looks like you had an amazing time. Seattle seems like such a magical city. So happy I've found your blog, I'm following you now & cannot wait to see more.

    x leah symonne x

    itsleli.com

    x leah s

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  14. Nice! I've been wanting to visit Seattle and Portland!

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  15. That's such an awesome idea for birthdays! I'm taking note of that one.
    Gorgeous pictures, friend! Can't get enough of them!

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  16. That's such a nice thing to do, surprise each other for a weekend trip for your birthdays! You will have made so many memories that will be cherished forever - beats any material item hands down :)

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  17. seattle looks sooo lovely! you take awesome photos!

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  18. Beautiful pictures!!! Looks like it was a fun trip!

    -Keshia
    www.queenlifeblog.com

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  19. Looks like such a great trip! My husband and I have recently been inspired to gift each other 'experiences' rather than items as well. I love seeing other couples that value time and travel over material things. I am so glad you had a great time!

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  20. I've always wanted to go to Seattle and your pictures just confirmed that urge:) by the way, that umbrella picture of you two is adorable!!

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  21. seattle is such a beautiful city! I must go back! What a great idea to do for each other's birthdays :)

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  22. Gorgeous pictures!! I would so love to go to Seattle someday! So glad you had a great birthday trip!

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  23. Beautiful pictures! I've never been to Seattle but I've always wanted to check out that amazing market :)

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  24. What a treat to get away together and explore a different city! After we got back from our honeymoon we took off again for a friend's wedding in Vancouver. Adding a couple extra days onto the trip allowed us to explore this city and enjoy a "second honeymoon". The West Coast is beautiful in the area isn't it? So lush!

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  25. AWESOME photos Katie. And I love this tradition. We may have to go that route for birthdays!! We are doing it for our anniversary but I can easily add two trips a year ;-)

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  26. These pictures are amazing! I haven't been to Seattle and would love to go sometime. I love your idea for birthday gifts! I have talked about doing that with my husband and he won't let me because 1) he doesn't like surprises and 2) he likes to be involved in the planning too much. Ha, so we just get to plans lots of trips together (using our Southwest cards too- they are the BEST!)

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  27. This post just made my day!! Lovely, lovely photos ... I just found out I am going to be spending the summer in Seattle for work and I could not be more excited. I've always wanted to go and this post just made it all the more thrilling! :)

    xo E

    https://itsaromanthing.wordpress.com/

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  28. seattle has a piece of my heart. i love that city! certainly a great city to visit for your birthday!

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  29. I love your pictures, and what a great birthday tradition! I am going to suggest that to my husband!

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  30. Love these pictures! Just found your blog and really connected to your "About Me." My husband and I were planning on visiting Seattle next year to visit some friends. I'm more excited to go now :)

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  31. free flights? amazing!
    You make Seattle look so gorgeous. I can't wait to get up there again!

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  32. Amazing photos! I still adore your turquoise ring to remind you have your time in Nepal. So special. I often wear my engagement ring and wedding band stacked with a couple other rings that are sentimental to me. It may look a little quirky on my scrawny fingers, but I love them.

    Also, I LOVE this idea! I'm proposing it to my hubs tonight and crossing my fingers that we will be financially able to make something like this happen for our next round of birthdays. So cool.

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  33. Gorgeous pictures!! I love Seattle, but I haven't gotten to do a lot of the touristy things... yet. One day soon I hope!

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  34. I recently began reading your blog. These pictures blew me away--so vibrant and artistic! Thank you for taking the time to post them all.

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  35. I just found your blog and loved it!! :) And this post, wow amazing pictures, so full of colour.. how did you get this effect?

    I love the idea of a weekend away instead of a material gift... I have done that too with my boyfriend on some of our birthdays and it is such a great way to celebrate!

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  36. These pictures are amazing. I love the idea of a weekend getaway instead of a "tangible" gift. May have to suggest that one to my husband :) Also, you've probably talked about this before but, what do you use to edit your photos?

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  37. It is super cold there! I always bundle when I visit Seattle.

    Seattle is probably my favorite city ever! My brother and his family live up on Whidbey Island so Seattle is always a stop for us. I'm smitten with that city. I also ran my first marathon there and um .. it's kind of super duper hilly there =)

    Glad you had an awesome birthday trip.

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  38. I probably just pinned all your pictures. Incredible.

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  39. I totally missed these spectacular photos you posted! I was off the blogosphere for a little while in April (Greg came to visit!) and missed seeing your posts! Your photos are amazing! And you visited some of my favorite parts of the city! I lived near Greenlake, so that is my home away from home. And the Smith Tower! Love that view! Along with Gasworks and Kerry Park and Pike's Place. You hit some great spots!!

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I LOVE hearing from you friend:) Your comment will make my day!