Freeway Park

Freeway Park is a little spot in the middle of Seattle that often goes unnoticed. Unless you work or live nearby you might never venture to this park built over I-5 in downtown Seattle. We were itching to get outside last week when it was warm and sunny for one of the first times in a long time in Seattle and discovered it is actually a nice slice of quiet in a city full of construction and noise. 

The park is a little difficult to actually enter. We had to plug it into GPS and navigate to an entrance off 7th Ave, near Town Hall. When we go back we will definitely opt for the 6th and Seneca entrance, which looks a bit like a courtyard for the federal building, but don't worry, keep walking east and you'll find the park!

Our favorite discovery was Canyon, a giant concrete structure that was built to muffle the noise from the interstate and give visitors something to climb and explore, just like if they were in a natural canyon. 

Disclaimer: This park is a tad dirty. It serves as one of the only spots in the area for people with dogs to get some grass, so watch your step, and at night many of the city's homeless sleep here, so there is some trash and debris as well. 

If you can ignore some candy wrappers and enjoy creative and functional art, this is a great spot to check out and explore. We will definitely be using this as a workday escape. With the tables and chairs in the courtyard area it makes for a great place to enjoy your lunch in the sunshine and the long stretch of pathways are great to stretch your legs for a mid-day break. 

Places We Love: Cone & Steiner

Story time. There once was a child who used to go to summer camp in Iowa at a wondrous place called Living History Farms, an interactive camp to show kids what life was like back in the 18th and 19th century. This was the coolest summer camp for a number of reasons, but mostly because of the general store. The general store had all sorts of old-timey items you could buy with quarters. 

Obviously, lemon drops were king. Lemon drops were the currency of summer camp. Like cigarettes in prison. Or Bitcoin in Silicon Valley. If you wanted to get picked on the good Capture the Flag team, cough up some lemon drops. Sorry, the lemon drop thing is kind of irrelevant (but cute right?). The point is, the general store was amazing and full of weird and wonderful things.

And now, thanks to Cone and Steiner, we get to relive the happiness of walking into a store with glass jars of candy and bottles of root beer. 

They have two locations in Seattle, one in Pioneer Square and one in Capitol Hill. When you visit you will get to shop their well curated selection of food, beverages, and provisions. Not to mention local beers on tap and goodies like candles, soups, and cards made by local artists/creators. It is a great place to support and it never fails to introduce us to a new product that we end up loving. 

Pop in next time you're in the neighborhood and we promise, whether you have general store summer camp memories or not, you'll become a fan. 

Fresh flowers are available when they are in season. 

They offer a little bit of everything

Local goods

The bar

Candy. In jars! Hallelujah! 

Throwback fonts 

Seattle Public Library

Book worms unite! Today we are talking about everything Seattle Central Public Library. Here in Seattle we are incredibly lucky to have such a wonderful library system, and we are even luckier that our central branch in downtown is a truly incredible and inspiring location! I mean, seriously, who doesn't want to go visit this building??

Seattle Central Library

This year represents the 125th year the public library has been open in Seattle, so we would like to pay homage to a place we love to go to for books, events, or inspiration! 

Seattle's Central Branch as we know it today opened in 2004 and is located on 4th Ave and Madison St. It is a building you have probably stopped to examine if you live in Seattle and if you are visiting we recommend a trip! It is free (yay!) and extremely enjoyable to walk around. The architecture and design are so unique it leaves you feeling a little stunned at certain points throughout the building. Our favorite spots are the Reading Room on the 10th floor (this floor also has the highest viewpoint which you should go see only if you are not scared of heights) and the Red Hall for its incredible strangeness. We also love to keep up with their events; they get big name authors to come do readings and also host great events for kids! 

We love the neon yellow escalator.

The red hall...you'll know when you've found it.

Just to get you even more excited about the library here are 10 fun facts about the Seattle Central Library Building:

1. The library is 11 stories and holds over 1 MILLION BOOKS! 
2. Non-fiction books are located on the "Dewey Ramp," a four-story ramp that lets you wind your way through the complete collection. 
3. The library used over 4,000 tons of steel in construction, which could build 20 Statues of Liberty (Statue of Libertys?)!
4. The architects built this library to be inviting, not "stuffy" like many libraries feel to the public. We like to think this is where the open spaces, many entrances, and bright colors came from.
5. The Seattle Central Library was voted as one of America's Favorite Structures by the American Institute of Architects.
6. It cost over $169 million to build and Bill Gates, being his usual generous self, donated a humble $20 million to the project. 
7. The design is meant to accommodate all kinds of information in this new digital age, not just books. You can find over 400 free computers on Level 5. 
8. There is enough glass in the library to cover the I-90 bridge 25 times and for people who don't live here, that would be 5 1/2 football fields! Whoaahhhhhh.
9. There is a gift shop located on the third floor that any book lover should avoid if they are trying to save money.* It is full of adorable things that will tell the world you love books (which is obviously important). 
10. There are seven permanent public art installations throughout the library. You can read more about each one here. 

*This one is more of an opinion with a fact inside, but just go with it. 

The incredible steel walls.

You'll find many places to sit quietly and work or read.

Where the Wild Things Are located in the kids room.