REVIEW: West Tiger Mtn Hiking & Coho Brunch

Sunday equals hiking these days! Today's trail was West Tiger Mountain Trailhead... in the rain. Hiking today included some of our besties Tim and Ben. We decided to up the intensity this weekend and go with a steeper hike. The trail is almost three miles each way!

This is a hiker's trails and definitely is a lot harder and steeper than Rattlesnake Lake Hike from last weekend. The majority of the elevation climb is within the first mile and a half and after that the trail levels out with just a few elevations spurts. This is a really enjoyable hike and totally recommend it for beginning to experienced hikers.

While hiking to the top it started to rain/mist which caused the trail to get a little bit slick and tricky to navigate up because of my lack of hiking boots. :( Once we reached the top of the summit it was misting alot and the view stunk. The view consisted of thick fog!!

You can just imagine my fro at the end of the hike. :)

Me and the boys...my favorite boys!

The descent of the summit was the best part because we decided to run down half of it. I have never done that before but it felt great. At times I felt out of control but embraced it because I loved the freedom and ease of it. :)

When we reached the bottom we decided to take our stinky and wet bodies to brunch at Coho Cafe in Issaquah. Yep... that's right I went here two days in a row. But today it was Sunday BRUNCH time... my favorite meal of the week!

When we got there they brought out fresh chocolate chip scones with strawberry jam! This was the perfect way to start brunch off.

After looking over the menu I decided to go with the carb friendly meal of French Toast and bacon! I paired this lovely brunch with some hot and much needed coffee. This meal made my belly really happy... nothing beats a plate of French Toast for me! I was in total heaven and savoring every bite.



The service, food and company was perfect! I totally recommend this brunch to anyone it moderately priced and a great value.

This was the perfect beginning to a wonderful Sunday! I wish everyday could be as relaxing as Sunday's.



Review: Owl N' Thistle

After a long day at the office...the moment my co-workers mentioned happy hour I was sold. It was a beautiful summer evening in Seattle and a nice cheap cold beer sounded like the right thing to do. My co-worker are deal seekers such as myself and recommended Owl N' Thistle Irish Pub.

I hadn't ever heard of this landmark bar in Seattle but as we approached it, I was instantly happy. Check it out... I mean how can a sign like this not make you smile.

As we walked in it was a perfect place to go relax and enjoy a nice cold $3.50 pint! I wouldn't say this was the classiest joint in town but it definitely had personality. Their hh was amazing and lasted until 7pm. I ended up paying 9.65 (without tip) for a pint of Mac and Jacks and a hamburger with shoe string fries. I mean that is a screaming deal. The waitress and bartenders were very nice and the whole atmosphere was delightful. My favorite happy hours are where the service is good, their are open tables and killer deals. Owl N' Thistle met my criteria for a great mid-week happy hour. :)

After one beer and a delicious burger and fries we were all headed home... but we had to capture the memories. Check out the HH crew:

Pretty Ridic... huh?

I love my new co-workers and can't wait to find another great happy hour in the coming weeks.

Hiking is a Sunday Tradition

I love starting off my leisurely Sunday’s with a hike with the beautiful weather Seattle has about a quarter of the time. My beau and our friend decided to start our morning with heading out to North Bend for a hike. We decided to do Rattlesnake Trailhead because it’s a good hike but not to challenging.
 

The trail is located southeast of North Bend and about 45 minutes east of Seattle. I suggest hiking early in the morning because this trail especially gets crowded around 10am and parking becomes an issue.

We started off our hike at 9am and the trail was wide open we only passed about three groups on the way up. This hike definitely will make you sweat but is fairly moderate, the total elevation gain is about 1,200 ft and the hike is about 4 miles round trip. This trail is so beautiful, sometimes you forget how beautiful Washington is. Don’t forget no bikes and no horses, it’s a “Hiker’s Trail.”

There are a few look out points that are amazing, but nothing compares to the view at the very top! Take a look at some of the fantastic views at the top.

Look at the color of the lake...breathtaking!

My favorite part about hiking is that there are no cell phones, computers, cars or traffic (if you go early at least) it is just so peaceful and enjoyable. This is the perfect way to catch up with friends or just spend some QT with those you love.

Aww how sweet!

I definitely recommend this trail to hikers that want to get outside and enjoy the outdoors!

Review: Cherry Street Coffee House

It's finally Friday! I got up early and headed out for a 2 mile run to get it out of the way because this evening I am headed to see Aladdin with my beau and his 4 nieces. YIKES!

The run felt good but sometimes when I get back to the house I don't remember running... I maybe a little asleep while I run. :) I didn't have time for breakfast today so I housed a boring almond milk protein shake and got ready in a hurry. Today I am carpooling to the P&R... I have officially become green and I like it alot. I am going on the third week of not having to go to the gas station!!

I don't have to start work until 8:30am so I thought this was the perfect excuse to try Cherry Street Coffee House right by my office. I walk past this place almost everyday and it looks so cute... their branding definitely caught my eye.

As promised I am going to try a new place to eat and/or drink every week because Seattle has so many diamonds in the rough! Today's choice for breakfast was Cherry Street Coffee House

Review

As I walked into the 3rd and Marion location it was pretty busy. As I looked at the menu that had so many delicious options for breakfast, I finally decided to try the lox and cream cheese bagel with a 12 ounce Americano. As I ordered I knew that I wanted to become a regular here because the barista's were so nice and pretty much knew every customer's name. The second reason I want to come back is because I couldn't believe the total bill was 10.95... what a great value.

As I finished doctoring up my Americano my breakfast was ready and looked so good. I sat down and was in heaven and ready to chow down. Take a peek below!

The Americano definitely hit the spot and I savored it all morning long... I had to reheat it a couple of times and it was still delicious. The lox and cream cheese everything bagel was absolutely to die for. There was no skimping on any of the ingredients, my favorite part was that they added a little fresh dill to the bagel which added a delicious flavor. The bagel was so packed with ingredients I only was able to eat 3/4 of it. This coffee house is a great small coffee house that has been organically grown to perfection! I would recommend this as a breakfast place to anyone... I can't wait to try their lunches next.

On a side note the most unusual thing I saw in Seattle this week was a woman walking a ferret on a harness leash... no animal cruelty in Seattle. I tried to snap a picture of this but it took me to long to figure out walk this lady was walking because at first I thought it was a ratty looking dog then I thought it was an actual giant rat. That's right a ferret on a leash took the cake this week. EEK

Check back for my review of Aladdin on 5th Avenue next.

Does anyone have any suggestions of a great lunch spots in Seattle that are delicious and reasonably priced?

Crash & Burn

This morning I got up and hit the road to go for a 3 mile run. The weather has been so beautiful it doesn't feel right to head to the gym. I am really beginning to get into running again and actually enjoying it. It's so peaceful and relaxing in the early hours of the day. When I got home I decided to make a breakfast feast for myself. Check it out greek yogurt, granola with eggs and ground turkey! It was soooo good. How can you go wrong with granola and chobani??

As I was getting ready to head to the bus I saw that the coffee pot was on, so I went to shut it off and this is where the morning went array... and turned into Crash & Burn.

As I was walking to the kitchen I got my leg hooked in my beau's backpack I lost my balance and fell into the garbage can bounced off that and then hit the air conditioning unit and crashed head first into the cabinets by the sink...face planting on the kitchen floor. As I lay on the floor in disbelief...I was unsure of whether to cry or laugh. I was just so confused at 6:45am. My toe was throbbing so bad but no other injuries occurred. I was really ticked off about my toe because I had just gotten a pedicure and now it was all jacked up and my sock was ruined. :(  I decided to laugh because it is amazing to see the distance I covered. See below for the documentation of my injury.

Scene of the accident

As you can see the backpack on the bottom right side is where it began! I mean check out how much distance was covered from the garbage can to the air conditioning unit... that is impressive.

Documentation of the INJURY

Sock and pedicure ruined. :(

BTW I managed to Crash & Burn without waking the beau, how it is that even possible??? You better believe I am going to ask him to buy me a pedicure because he left his backpack in a dangerous place and caused me to Crash & Burn this morning! Now I am headed to work with a slight limp... I can't wait for people to ask me what the heck happened.

My NEW Kryptonite is.....

Today was jam packed from 5am to 8pm! I woke up early and chose to do one of my favorite workouts Tone Up Anytime Anywhere workout. This workout always gets my heart rate up and has me panting. After my quick workout I decided to make an egg scramble with some leftover ground turkey. This was so good the second time around too…thank you Tiny Sophisticate for the awesome turkey burger recipe. (See second picture for my grand looking dinner from last night)

Last's night dinner...Turkey Burgers courtesy of Tiny Sophisticate!

After breakfast I headed to the bus early because of I have an early meeting. The day went by so fast and before I knew it was 1pm and it was lunch time. I brought my favorite Trader Joe’s salad Thai Chicken Salad with Peanut dressing…so yummy. I dipped carrots, tomatoes and my apple slices. It was the perfect lunch. J

After a long day at work I headed home on my 554 bus and rushed home. I was starving…I decided to use the leftover ground turkey from yesterday to make spaghetti less the pasta. Instead of pasta I decided to use couscous and it was so delicious. Hands down the best meal I have had in a couple of weeks. I forget how much I love home cooked meals…I really need to prep in the morning so I just have to cook when I get home…I think that maybe wishful thinking.

I felt like this meal needed some green...enter edamame!

Today I realized what my kryptonite was…freaking gummy bears. I can’t get enough of them! They are especially amazing when you pop them in the freezer and let them sit for 15-20 minutes. The end result is super flavorful gummy bears. Sometimes I forget about them sitting in the freezer and get a fantastic surprise. Long live gummy bears they truly make me happy.

Off to bed because I have to get my butt out of bed super early for another morning run and early meeting at the office.

5 Reason I Love Working in Seattle

I just started my new job in Seattle at a small ad firm. I just finished my first full week and absolutely love working in Seattle. I have never worked in the city before, so I never knew what I was missing. :) Below are my Top 5 Reason I Love Working in Seattle.

BEAUTIFUL SEATTLE

1) Mass Transit - I get to ride the bus to work. I know this sounds weird but I LOVE the bus...because I don't have to worry about traffic, parking, gas or getting lost! I have the worst sense of direction ever. At first I was nervous about the bus because everyone paints a horrible picture of riding the metro but it isn't scary at all because everyone on my bus routes are commuters. The bus is $3 each way and has numerous bus routes so I am never waiting more than 15 minutes. So I jump on and 20 minutes later I am 2 blocks from my office. :) SIMPLY AMAZING.

2) Restaurants Galore - From my office I can see restaurants galore... Pitas, Pho, BBQ, Thai, Indian, Quiznos, Metropolitan Grill, Pizza & of course a Starbucks. Those are just the restaurants I can see, just imagine all the restaurants in walking distance. :) It makes my heart happy to think about!! I think I will try a new restaurant every week...that's right I'm bringing my lunch 4 days a week. Stay tuned for my weekly Lunch in Seattle post.

That's right my office is right above the fantastic Metropolitan Grill!

3) Everything is Convenient - I can run all my errands on a 15 minute break or if I am feeling crazy I can do a couple days worth of errands during my lunch break. :) On last Friday I was able to run to the bank, post office and Starbucks in under 15 minutes. It was so nice to walk and do all my errands without worrying about parking or traffic. The convenience of everything makes me much more efficient and I love that.

4) Forces Me to Workout Early - My gym doesn't have a location near my new office so I am forced to get my workout in early because I work until at least 6pm everyday. I love this because getting it done early makes my morning breeze by and I am energized by the time I get to work. The first week of my new job I was able to workout 4 out of the 5 mornings and it felt great. So when I get home I don't have to worry about doing anything but making dinner and winding done. :)

5) People Watching - So I know this one may sound funny but people watching from my desk is pretty fantastic and a guilty pleasure of mine. In Seattle, you get to see quite the variety. My favorite people watching moment of my first week was a city employee cleaning the street with a leash on a trashcan. I get the point of this because of all the massive hills in Seattle but it was still freaking funny that the trashcan was on a leash. I wish I could have gotten a picture of that...but I was to to amazed.

My first week of work came and went...but it was pretty darn good! I think I am really going to like working there and getting to know Seattle a little bit better. Stay tuned for Sububan Socialite in the City, it should be pretty comical.