HOME.

Bellingham is where I grew up and I still consider it my home, but when people ask where I'm from, I always say Seattle. Seattle is the place where I grew up just a little bit more. It's where I graduated college. It's the place where I met and married HK. Seattle is home for me just as much as Bellingham is. It's always special for me to walk around my city and see what's changed and what's stayed the same. And also, to see things that I never saw before.

We spent a day in Seattle with Derek walking around Pike Place, seeing the gum wall (FOR THE FIRST TIME!), visiting UW's campus (seeing a few new buildings too!), and shopping a little bit.

Someone try to tell me Seattle is not a beautiful city? Try it. I dare you. You would be wrong. And your pants would be on fire.

I always forget that there's a superior and inferior Public Market sign. Inferior up top and superior on bottom.

Pike's Place Market has beautiful flowers year round. Winter flowers aren't really my favorite - a lot of dried flowers and whatnot, but the colors are still AMAZING. I really hate going and not being able to buy some because I'll have no where to put them or have no one to give them to. Sigh. Pike Place Problems.

This city is so wonderful.

And then we walk to this:

A wall full of gum. GUM. Chewed gum. And it grosses me out. But I still love it.

Got a new lens for my camera. Check out that depth of  field on this baby!

A gum wall... that people pose in front of!

A gum wall... that people accept proposes from (I assume - I mean, romantic, right??)

A gum wall... that is no respecter of businesses. If you have a business near the gum wall, you have a gum door. And a gum window seal. No questions asked.

Our last stop was the University of Washington campus. The only picture I took comes from Suzzallo library. The place where I worked as an undergraduate. Also home of the Harry Potter library.

For the record, I could have stolen at least 3 laptops while I was here. Public service announcement people: do not leave your computers or anything unattended in a public space. Even a place as magical as the Harry Potter Reading Room.