Dear Seattle

Plain and simple--

You are lovely. 

Even your rainy tendencies aren't enough to put a damper on the 

umbrella clad, coffee lovers who fill your streets.

Even the out of towners want to feel your rain.

Did you know that even in the fog and the mist that fill these late fall days,

your energy inspires and renews?

I could walk your streets with nowhere in particular to attend

for hours on end--with an umbrella, of course.

I love the way your streets collide with the Puget Sound.
If there was ever a harbor on the edge of a city that took one's breath away,
it is yours.

Give a thanks to your fishermen,

for their abundant catch is jaw-dropping,

and for the florists who introduced the cabbage flower bouquets.

I'd like to personally thank the man who owns the mini-cheesecake shop
and tell him how divine his pumpkin cheesecake. 
I'd like to order one up for each day left in November!
Please tell the European bakeries whose aroma stopped me in my tracks,
to keep baking up that french goodness! 
Next time I visit, I'm yours!

Your antique shop was exquisite (minus the woman who walked the aisles with her arms crossed and her straight-faced glances, making me feel like a juvenile delinquent), 

but you buttered me up with your kind-talking, laid-back baristas and many a warm cup of joe.

Thank you, thank you, for becoming the coffee-capital!  Oh, how we love your brew!

You don't disappoint in the shopping department, either.

Were you hoping to melt hearts when you positioned Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie side by side?
Thank you for this dynamic duo, and their aesthetic, dreamy goodness!

Seattle, you've been good.  Real good.
You've sent me home refreshed and excited,
even about the rain.
Thank you.
I can't wait to walk your weathered streets again.

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p.s. Heather, you were as fabulous as ever!  Thanks for letting me crash at your place,

 and for all the entertainment!  You are dear to me. xo