I returned back to the Bay Area yesterday after a fun & romance packed week in Seattle/Eastern Washington with my man, Alex Lim. The time just flew right by. Time flies when you’re having fun! This will be a highly uninteresting blog post if you don’t know me personally… but if you’ll be going to Seattle sometime in the near future you might find it highly useful.

Wednesday:
When I arrived on Wednesday evening we didn’t waste any time. We started the week off right with what is arguably the best Pho in the world at Pho Bac. Alex is what you call a Pho fanatic. He eats more Pho than any Vietnamese person I know. This is his yelp review for Pho Bac:
“Best goddamn pho in Seattle. I should know. I eat pho like 5 times a week! I’ve had pho from every major US city! I’ve had pho all over Vietnam! I make pho whenever I can! :p Yes, its small, somewhat dirty, all that stuff. Who cares, its all about the quality of the broth, the meat, no clumpy noodles, not too salty or filler… Best pho! just don’t go there if you’re a prissy brat, cause you won’t appreciate it, and you’ll take up space.”
If you’re ever in the area and you like/love Pho, you HAVE to try it! Freaken fantastic Pho. The ladies who work there are also super friendly.
Next on the agenda was a D-List Magazine Launch Party. Alex was featured as The Photographer of “Young Seattle”. Yay Alex Lim!
The Event was held at Amber Restaurant & Lounge in Belltown. Drinks weren’t very very good at all but they were free. I was sipping on mai tais and mojitos all night. I had a great time. No pictures though,
. You can check out the rest of the September D-list issue here: D-List. I particularly enjoyed reading the cover story about Noel Biderman the CEO of AshleyMadison – a site dedicated to helping married people have affairs. For such a taboo subject, Noel is surely doing something right since there are 4M+ active users.
After Amber we went to a close by wine bar called, Cellars. We ordered our usual Pinot… and to be honest I can’t remember what the wine or food tasted like due to the mai tais but I do remember really liking the layout/vibe of the place. Yelpers seem to like it.
Thursday:
Alex had a photoshoot on Thursday. I saw lots of interesting things this day since we walked all around downtown Seattle shooting at various places. One of the coolest (kind of gross) things I saw that day was The Gum Wall of Post Alley. There’s a HUGE brick wall in Seattle that is literally covered in chewed up gum. I shit you not. The shoot ran till 3/4 am, we were all very tired but like always, it’s always a fun/interesting time. I’ll share the photos with ya’ll when Alex is done with them.
Friday:
Friday was my birthday! I turned all of 23. Alex took me to Northwest Trek during the day. Northwest Trek is a 723-acre wildlife park featuring a 435-acre free-roaming area tram tour. So fun! Bears, wolves, coyotes, moose, geese, antelope, bison! An overall great learning experience!
Do check it out.
^ Me being a nerd

^ Alex on the Tram

^ We liked the way their butts looked
After Northwest Trek we rushed home to get dressed for dinner. Alex always looks/dresses nicely and just when I think it can’t get any better it does! I walk into the room and my eyes almost pop out of my head. He seriously looked so yummy that night! He took me to a restaurant in Woodinville, WA called the Barking Frog. Food was fantastic, and so was the champagne!
My boyfriend really spoils me. What a lucky 23 year old gal I am.

^ barking frog
^ after dinner
Saturday:
Saturday was our rest day. We took it easy and saw a movie in Bellevue at the Lincoln Square Cinemas Theater. District 9 was SO DAMN GOOD. The movie really provoked a lot of reaction out of me. I felt nauseous, depressed, inspired. Scenes from the movie kept popping into my head for the next few days. After the movie Alex taught me how to change the oil in a car.
Sunday:
Alex had another photoshoot on Sunday but this time the model was me!
We drove out to eastern Washington to an area where The Gorge Amphitheater was located. Coincidentally, Dave Matthews was playing on Sunday night so the area was jam packed with campers. On a regular day the place is empty which makes it a great spot for photos! Alex drove to a ‘do not trespass’ area that was covered in weird chalky material. No one was there, just us. While we were shooting the photo to the left it started pouring rain! We ran for covers until the rain subsided. The rest of the day was pretty sunny. We went back to the original location and shot there since the concert-goers were all at the concert in the late evening.
After the shoot we drove to Wenatchee, WA (an hour from the Gorge) since it was impossible to get a hotel anywhere near The Gorge b/c Dave Matthews was there and it was also labor day weekend. We stayed at a cute little bed and breakfast called the IvyWild Inn. This was my first time staying at a bed and breakfast and I LOVED it! The staff was so sweet and hospitable, and the rooms felt like home.

^ Me and Alex being goofballs
^ Beautiful Sunset

^ Frenchman’s coulee

^ Alex setting up lights
^ The IvyWild Inn in Wenatchee, WA
Monday:
Monday morning called for some Apple Cider! Since I’m a HUGE fan of anything apples and we were in apple land it was only appropriate for us to set out in search for some delicious apple cider. We did exactly that! After saying goodbye to IvyWild we did some exploring.
We stumbled upon a Cider Mill in Cashmere, WA. This place was AWESOME. The cider was yummy and I thought they had a great business. They even had a lavender blend. Some fun facts about their cider:
- All Natural Ingredients
- No Additional Sugar
- Stable Shelf Life of Two Years
- Not highly filtered
- No Preservatives
- Artisan Batches
They also had a special apple buttermilk shake that was so freaken good!
The rain started back up again and on the way back home we did a mini nature walk on a trail that was along side highway 2. We walked around in the rain and took lots of photos. There were waterfalls, bridges, and lots of tall beautiful trees. The rain made for a very romantic effect.
The drive back home was horrendously trafficky to the point where we weren’t even moving. I saw a sign for “Startup”… how cute is that? A little town called Startup!
^ Startup!

^Alex w/ his cider and apple buttermilk shake
^ Fruit/Veggie Stand in E. Wa

^ Mini Nature Walk @ Deception Falls

Monday was my last night there. We cuddled the night away watching My Sassy Girl – a Korean Romantic Comedy. One of my favorite movies. You can watch the whole thing for free here: http://www.mysoju.com/my-sassy-girl/
Tuesday:
All I can say is… DON’T FLY UNITED!!!!