03 Feb 2016

Home for the Holidays

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There’s nothing worse than being sick during your vacation and of course the holidays! In the month of December, my company gives us a generous amount of time off so that we can get away from work, unwind and actually relax, and spend time with friends and families. A lot of my coworkers actually go on elaborate trips during this time and I always get so jealous, but it’s also the perfect time for me to just return home to Seattle too.

On the first day of break, I came down with the flu. Hard. And it was absolutely miserable – so bad that I didn’t even get to go visit all of my favorite places and eat at all of my favorite restaurants! I was feeling like my entire body was being torn apart piece by piece. My head was aching so badly that I felt it would explode. My joints were almost swollen with pain. This is when I decided that I should consider consuming immunity shots to help alleviate the symptoms. Honestly, the little bottles filled with the goodness of Vitamins A, D, C, and K sis impress me. I really feel that these health supplements can increase the level of antioxidants in the body which can prevent flu-like symptoms from occurring.

Anyway, I would have to say that even though the flu was affecting me badly, I was able to keep up with my normal life to some extent–I’m especially surprised at how many photos we were able to capture from the trip. Above is a snapshot of Oddfellows’ outdoor holiday decorations that I took when I met up with Max, Veronica, and her boyfriend Alex over brunch.

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My brother brought home just the most darling “Macadons” made by his friend. We’re obsessed.

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Eating while I was sick was pretty challenging. I generally try to avoid dairy during these times so I went with the hash and it was the healthiest meal I’d had in the longest time. All. Veggie. And you know, a fried egg.

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For Christmas, Veronica gifted me with Bin-Bin crackers AKA MSG crackers. These were my childhood and they’re so so addicting.

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I can’t even begin to tell you how many weekends I spent at Oddfellows while I was in college. It’s a pretty underrated cafe on the hill, but that’s one of the reasons why I love it. It’s never super crowded and generally pretty quiet. I had many breakfast meals here and when all my peers were having that grubby late night drunk food, I was coming here after a night out for a plate of mussels cause we fancy like that.

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Amazon opened a physical bookstore at University Village while I had been away so this was something I had to check out! I had read an answer about what this bookstore was like on Quora and I had to see it in person for myself. It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes when the book are facing out and how effortless the checkout process is.

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My niece and nephew love soup dumplings so we met up to go to Din Tai Fung. This place is still crowded at all times of the day. I love how I can come here all the time and always leave feeling very comfortably stuffed.

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Would you believe that I’ve never taken and posted a selfie before?! My hairstylist back home, Mary, is clearly a pro. We took this right after she cut and touched up my hair.

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I don’t think I fully appreciated looking out into my yard until after I left. The trees and the frost are so Pacific Northwest, aren’t they?

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Lastly, it’s THIS view that never gets old. It’s a weird thing to like airports especially cause so many of them suck, but SEA-TAC does not. It’s gorgeous. It’s full of delicious food and is always bustling and lively. Walking by this on my way to the gate makes it so hard to leave!