To Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and back.

It's Seattle Week here on the blog, and while for most people it's not nearly as cool as "Shark Week" and "Fashion Week," for me it is even cooler. A few weeks ago I went on a ten day trip to Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz to shoot weddings. Between the two weddings I was able to visit friends, eat WAY too much amazing food, drink like a pirate, and explore a little taste of what these wonderful cities have to offer. Makes you think, I'm kinda insanely lucky to have a job that allows for such experiences. :) To top it all off, I was also able to take one of my very good friends, Kaysha, with me on the trip, making it that much more memorable.

Some highlights for me were:

- Seeing some of the most beautiful sunsets I've ever experienced.

- Eating my weight in ridiculously good food. The list is never ending...almost like my waist size after the trip. ;)

- Best seafood EVER. This of course deserves it's own bullet point. Case in point: clam chowder, crab, fish and chips, and sushi that's so fresh and delicious it makes you cry (if you don't believe me, ask Kaysha).

- Catching up with friends that I hardly ever get the chance to see.

- One word: COFFEE.

- Three words: TOP POT DOUGHNUTS.

- Picking and eating abundantly wild blackberries

- Bar hopping and tasting some absurdly good cocktails, which oddly all seemed to be infused with lavender or ginger.

- Going to a biergarten in San Francisco and running into random people that I know.

- Meeting lots of new friends and chatting with the locals.

- Picking fresh lavender (see I told you, there's lavender everywhere!) and lavender ice cream at a farm outside of Seattle.

- Wine tasting in Woodinville, WA.

- Vintage shopping and Powell's book store in Portland.

- Bourbon/coffee and hortcha flavored ice cream at Salt and Straw in Portland has officially ruined me for any other ice cream.

- And of course, getting lots of fresh air and beautiful sceneries in every direction you turn.

Some of my least favorite moments:

- One word: PARKING.

- Two words: PARKING TICKETS

- United Airlines and SFO airport. Enough said.

- Packing....and then re-packing....and then packing again (see below).

- Most of all, missing Will and my furry children.

This is where I share with you some photos from my trip. However, I must preface this by pointing out that right after I left Seattle and headed to Portland, I didn't pull out my big girl camera again for the rest of the trip (except to shoot a wedding, of course). Thanks to instagram and my beloved iPhone for filling in the blanks.

Seattle: