We ventured to Pike Place Market our first full day in Seattle. We fell in love with the place and easily spent an entire day there. I've got to say, Seattle really does make the best coffee. We went to five different coffee shops throughout our stay and every cappuccino I had was delicious. Sweet, rich, and aromatic. The baristas have really perfected the art of lovely, lush foam. Oh, the foam! I was blown away. It was so thick and velvety and creamy. I'm crying right now because I can't get anything like that here in So Cal.

 I feel like the title of this post was taken straight from ModCloth. It's supposed to sound like "pining for". Get it? I don't know. I thought it was pretty clever. Hah. As I'm strapped for time and writing this when I should already be in bed (I can hardly keep my eyes open!), I'll keep it short. There's this area I love to visit because the architecture is so lovely. The structure behind this fountain is actually a theatre. I haven't gotten the chance to see any of the plays yet. The exterior is gorgeous. I can't imagine what it must look like on the inside. Magnificent, surely...!

Please excuse me for the lack of posts lately. I've been working on creating a different look for my photos. I'm not 100% sure about the way it turned out in this photo set as I'm still experimenting. So far, I'm pretty satisfied. I'll probably tweaking things here and there as time goes on. Anyway, it's been warm enough recently that I can done this "spring" attire without any need for a coat or jacket. Winter in So Cal doesn't get too crazy and doesn't seem to stay very long. It's been an average of 65-70 degrees. I want that bone-chilling kind of coldness where I can see my breath in the air as I exhale, where I have to be bundled up in millions of layers and a giant scarf wrapped around my neck. I can't complain though. The weather has been rather mild and pleasant.

 I'm all for road trips - to a certain extent. I've never attempted a cross-country drive before. I do have that on my bucket list, however! A couple of years ago, we took a week off from work and drove east to Colorado. It was about a 14-15 hour drive. The landscape was rather drab and dreary. Last year (it was only a few days before the new year, really, so it fairly recent!), we drove up north to Seattle, WA. Oh, the drive was beautiful. Despite it being an 18 hour drive, I could watch the landscape for hours and never tire of it. Anyhow, we loved all the vista points we passed. I don't recall what this one was called but I loved it so much! Stay tuned. There will be more to come...!

 And so I begin my first blog post of 2016 with the golden warmth of a sun-colored dress, the ground beneath my feet speckled by the sparse tears of steel-grey clouds. *gasp* What, it rains in California? With El Nino coming our way, we'll be getting much more rainfall this year. How will L.A. react? (Please refer to this video. It's so true it hurts.) My main concern is if it'll be enough to counter the severe drought we're in! I can only imagine how unprepared we'll be. I was just a kid but I remember the last El Nino flooded the streets for days!