I booked the Paradox Hotel for our family during the holidays. I used Expedia ( a site I often use because of its easy cancellations and good hotel deals) but saw recently on the actual Paradox Hotel website they have a Washington Residents’ rate. (I often google “Washington residents rate” for Vancouver hotels and they […] The post A stay at the Paradox Hotel Vancouver with the best unexpected breakfast at Urban Fare appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

Sometimes I wonder if 8 years old is around the time you discover who you really are and what you love, and I remember it being one of my favorite years with our twin boys. It’s also around the time I think one of our guys really got into everything airplane and space, so much […] The post Deep Sky in IMAX and another movie you might want to see if you have a teen who loves space too appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

My heart still lives in my Bachan and Jichan’s kitchen in Vancouver on Friday nights where I could be content forever devouring heaping bowls of rice, nimono, little plates of fish and pickles, and drinking tea with the grownups until way past other kids’ bedtimes. When I go home to visit now, I’m lucky that […] The post Where to eat yummy Japanese food in Vancouver BC appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

I brought my fifteen year old son with me to the media night for Beetlejuice on Broadway in Seattle the other night. We came from an intense soccer game, and a busy day of work and literally slid into our seats minutes before the musical started. And then I realized it is all about death. […] The post Beetlejuice on Broadway the musical at the Paramount in Seattle a parent review appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

My family loves afternoon tea. Maybe our gateway tea was the high tea up in Vancouver at Secret Garden Tea Company (isn’t the name magical too?). And over the years we’ve even traveled for tea around the world, like one in the smallest house in Amsterdam, and of course the famous Empress tea in Victoria. […] The post A spring tea at Cafe Flora and maybe more afternoon tea for Seattle? appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

I recently tried to explain to someone about the Greenheart TreeWalk and realized I never wrote this one up for the blog. If you are visiting Vancouver and you’re in the University of British Columbia (UBC) area around April to October, this is such a great place to visit. And maybe if you miss out […] The post Greenheart TreeWalk at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver BC appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

Learning about animals has always been a big part of our travels and we’ve planned many of our trips around adventures to see animals especially when the kids were little. We live near Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle which I truly believe is one of the best zoos in the United States and I think […] The post The best zoos we’ve visited in the United States and beyond appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

There used to be days when we would have to get paper airline tickets fedexed by a travel agent and trips needed to be planned months in advance. Nowadays, we can often even cancel our flights hours before a trip. We can book whole itineraries in minutes. And while this is not totally how our […] The post Two nights at the British Colonial Nassau in the Bahamas because of a non-stop flight from Seattle appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

This post is sponsored by The National Frozen & Refrigerated Foods Association (NFRA). All opinions are my own. For more inspiration during #FrozenFoodMonth, be sure to check out delicious ideas from NFRA at EasyHomeMeals.com #MFFM2024 Mornings are a juggle in my family and I’m sure yours are too. Like how do we all get out the door and to […] The post How we L’Eggo with Eggo and win at mornings with Eggo Homestyle Waffles appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more

For all of you parents like us who are living in that hour and a half window of soccer practice and also that 30 minute warm up before games, our lives don’t have to be just soccer. I’ve made it a habit of finding quick coffee shops and interesting places near as many of the […] The post Things to do near soccer fields in Washington State for Seattle Soccer families appeared first on An Emerald City Life ..read more