Coming home to the motherland

To start my year out with a bang one of my best friends Jen came to visit. Jen and I met in college, Nathan and and I sat beside her in class hoping we could make a friend to cheat off of, she is Asian so we figured our odds were good. Well we made a hell of a friend however she was horrible at marketing (that's what stereotyping will do for you!). **

So Jen and I hadn't seen each other since I left Oklahoma in 2012, so with a little persuading we planned a visit!!

The first night Jen arrived and we had to try some delicious Sushi in Ballard. Although we both feel exceptionally old we managed to hit up a few bars, have some beers and of course Jen attracted weirdos. It's a curse really.

These are the treats Jen brought. Take note friends ;)

Unfortunately the next day this meant we were both fairly hungover. Jen is a trooper and we managed to make it downtown by noon and see the city.

The disgusting but famous "Gum Wall"

We knocked down a few kids to get on this guy!

Look at those mountains!

An amazing view at the Space Needle. It was the first time I got to see Rainier from the top!

Day 2 we headed over to Bellevue to see Isabelle de Borchgrave collection at the Bellevue Art's Museum. This woman is incredible, she makes the most beautiful dresses all out of paper. You would never believe it unless you saw it in person. We went to see the collection because Jen works for a fabric company who has a line that is based off of Isabelle's designs! So neat! 

The sad part is there were two rent a cops who wouldn't allow us to touch or take pictures of any of the collections. They did however stop long enough to flirt with Jen, quite fun. 



One of her dresses...Yep all paper


The second half of our second day I took her to Fremont (I know I just love it there) to see all my favorite sights!

So we figured out that the Fremont troll is actually in a scene on "10 things I hate about you"

Look closely, you will find pants only the 90's would allow

We finished our afternoon at Golden Gardens with a famous Paseo Sandwich. Seriously best sandwich ever. Sorry Kit and Andie, next time!!

So as exhausted as were we dragged our butts out to enjoy some Zayda Buddies Pizza! It's one of my favorite places in Ballard with great beers on tap.

Shawn made it out!

That's right my main man Tom Selleck hanging out in the Ladies room.

I guess this is what happens when you combine alcohol and Lactose-intolerance

On Sunday we braved the cold and headed to Crystal mountain. So we both had been skiing once but never had tried snowboarding, so in the spirit of adventure we both grabbed a board and headed down the slopes.

There is no denying how badass I look in this picture. However pictures LIE. On the bunny slope alone I fell at least 10 times before making it down to the bottom. Seriously I thought for sure I would break something before I made it down the bottom. I do not understand snowboarding nor will I be attempting it again. I am very proud of myself for trying it once. That's my rule, I'll try MOST anything once. So at the end of my first "run" I quickly changed into skis and was once again happy and sliding along fall free.

Jen however refused to give up. This girl was a rockstar! She would watch other snowboarder's and see how they moved, slowed down, and even fell. She quickly picked it up and preferred it over skiing. Do not put a challenge in front of Jen Yeung, she will squash it!

Jen getting it!

The great thing about having been friends during college is we both know we can party. We have seen each other very wasted and bought each other shots. The best part is, we are both aware we are no longer in college. So once we got home we happily ordered some Thai and watched HP6. Now that is how you end a night my friends!

On Monday we filled her final hours with as much adventure as we could find. I took her to Discovery Park so she could get a little hike in and see some of the glory the NorthWest has to offer. It was so foggy at Discovery Park but in an errie beautiful way. 

View from West Seattle on such a foggy day

The trip was an amazing success and I am so happy my friend made the time to come visit. Step 1 is complete and now I just have to find her a job so she can permanently move to the Emerald City!








**Joking aside, Jen had a 4.0 or something ridiculous. She just hated marketing. She's basically a genius.