Seattle: Where to Stay, What to Do & What to Wear

In June, I took my first business trip for the new jobby job. Destination: Seattle.  Was thrilled because Mr. Diabolina and I had been dying to visit the Pacific Northwest since our Portland trip in 2008. My conference started on a Monday so we flew up Saturday morning and had two of the most romantical days ever. 

Here are some of the hotel, tourist and sartorial highlights ;)  

Where We Stayed: The Four Seasons.  Hard to go wrong with a Four Seasons.  But this one was particularly yum.  Fab central location.  Beautiful view. TV INSIDE the bathroom mirror. And a gorgeous pool where we actually laid out on our first insanely sunny day.   

What We Did: Day One - Visited Pike's Market for some flying fish and local color.  Then the original Starbucks and Nordie's - love seeing where empires were born.

Beelined to the top of Space Needle and lolled around the COOL Disney Concert Hall-esque neighboring museums.

Rode the monorail, checked out Seattle's Art Museum and peeped the legendary marquee of Lusty Lady.

Ended the day with a sex-ay Vietnamese dinner with my love and drinks with a college friend who we hadn't seen in a decade.  Purrfection of a day.  

Day Two: A PDA filled breakfast at the finger-lickin good Macrina Bakery

Angels v. Seahawks game where of course, it started raining the second we sat down.  F. Much to my amazement, the stadium has a retractable roof that closes up when the weather turns. A+. My Brazilian Blowout appreciated the ingenuity.

Skipped out of the game early for a booze cruise on the lake.  Spied the Bill Gates compound and the Sleepless in Seattle floating house.  Also hoovered Bloody Mary's and got our silly on.

Ended the weekend with a much anticipated blogger meet up. With the beyond adorable Angie from Look Rich Bitch.  Have loved this girl for years and it was a dream to get to know her in person. 

What I Wore: It's hard to pack for Seattle when you are me.  We're talking about the birthplace of grunge. Shudder.  And a place where rain in June is a given.  Double shudder.

Plaid and denim seemed like a safe choice for blending in.

Doc Martens, the obvious footwear choice 

Realized that pretty much all the 90s fashion that's baaaaack - crochet, clogs, backpacks, cat-eyed sunnies - and that music festival-going hipsters are wearing would work too

But since I gave away my Docs 15 years ago and have never been the Cochella-going type, I opted for more sophisticated flat boots (purchased at Nordstrom!) Ideal for all the walking we did. Plus the pop of color was a nice antidote to the sea of black and gray on most tourists I saw.

My Sgt. Pepper trench coat was a grown-up, versatile choice for Seattle too. You would not believe the number of compliments I get every time I wear this gold buttoned dream.  Got it over 10 years ago at a beachside Goodwill for $40. Great reminder that a coat with a classic shape, luxe details and unexpected color can be your best friend when you travel.

Another smart chic choice was my Forever 21 army green field jacket. Functional but on trend. Upped the sass factor by pairing tights with shorts.  People seemed quite flummoxed by that choice at the baseball game.  HA and YAY to being a vacationing hooker!

But my favorite accessory that I rocked on the trip: my Forever 21 bow bangles. Girly and flirty and Chanel-y and ME.  Important to pack little accessories when you travel that help you feel like yourself.

Next Up: Seattle Part Two: Where to Eat and More Blogger Meet-Ups