BROADCAST COFFEE

If there's one thing I love about Seattle, it's the endless number of coffee shops. But no matter how many we have, I often find myself visiting the same ones over and over again (because once you find a good cup of coffee, it's hard to let go and try new locations). The other day, I ventured out of my coffee comfort zone and visited Broadcast Coffee on Roosevelt with my friends Hanna and Hannah.

I'm glad I decided to stop by. It's relatively close to campus and is now one of my favorite spots to grab a latte. Give it a go!

MY LIFE'S PORPOISE

-LOOKING FOR A PORPOISE-

Hi guys, it's been a month since I last posted! While my last post was a sort of "life update", I think it's about time I post another one considering my lack of activity on all my social media + this blog. 

Firstly, I would like to explain the strange title of this post-- Alex and I visited the cutest doughnut + coffee shop on Union Street a couple weeks ago, and as my sister would say, "the aesthetic is on point."  Aside from producing the greatest vanilla custard that I've ever tasted in a doughnut, General Porpoise was so cute that I couldn't help but take photos of the place. They had a good amount of room and table space (a must for homework lol), and the minimalistic space was cutely decorated with white marble and ample amount of natural light. 

I was sitting in one of the corners and taking pictures that I had realized I hadn't posted in quite a while, so I've decided to link this mini-cafe-review with a life update (also because 'porpoise' sounds like 'purpose' and that's honestly a good enough reason by itself) 

-UPDATE-

Autumn quarter is half-over, and I've been focusing mostly on school since I'm planning on applying for my major this school year. I had been juggling commuting/working/school/portfolio things, and it was becoming a bit of a challenge to find time for my portfolio and this blog (I briefly mentioned this in my last post). 

Adjusting to this new schedule was difficult. Going to bed at 11PM and getting up at 5AM was something I was definitely not used to, and feeling exhausted all the time is not particularly pleasant. Thankfully, my past-self foresaw this and scheduled a lighter quarter that isn't as demanding as last year. It didn't help that I was getting pretty sick, but the work had to get done.

I quit work two weeks ago to focus on school and personal projects (photography, web design, etc.) in preparation for my major.  Though I loved my job a lot (the most relaxing part of my day, actually), I needed to devote my time to side projects that would hopefully help me later on in the school year, along with finding an internship/job. I'm so grateful to have stumbled upon this opportunity; it wasn't directly connected to what I want to do in the future, but the job and my coworkers taught me so much that I could carry on to any career. 

Now that I don't work, I anticipate a heavier workload (since now I can't use work as an excuse for not getting my portfolio done), but I'm hoping it will pay off. 

ELM

Now that I'm commuting to school everyday, I've found myself getting 25% less sleep than I have the past year and a half of my life. It's quite an adjustment, and I feel soulless 90% of the time from tiredness, but thank goodness for coffee.

Last week, Alex and I took the subway over to Pioneer Square to visit this cafe that I have been seeing all over Instagram. It was brightly lit by the large windows, and its minimalistic design was so pleasing to the eye. Everything I saw on Instagram was true! So I ordered an iced mocha, and we sat down to work on a bit of Communications homework.

Unfortunately, the coffee wasn't the best I've had, and I would have preferred to have been sipping on some Ugly Mug mocha instead. In a way, this coffee felt more diluted, and if I'm paying nearly five bucks for a cup of coffee, it better be a dang good cup of coffee. On the plus side, I got to take these snazzy photos for the coffee shop I probably won't visit again.

Of course the "insta pic" wasn't the only good thing to come out of it. The service was very friendly, and I got my homework done just in time for class. Since Alex and I were in the area, we also visited this little corner restaurant called La Bodega, a Dominican restaurant, on apparently the "shadiest" street of Pioneer Square (though we didn't know that at the time). The food was really good and I'd eat there again if I was in the area again! It was really cute there, and I wish I had taken photos, but it was quite small and I felt awkward/rude snapping photos of people eating their lunches in the small restaurant.

Honestly though I've been so tired from working + commuting + school + homework, and I'm finding it difficult to reach my goals of socializing with new people and making new friends. Ironically, work is the easiest part of the day since I momentarily get to detach myself from school and people and just focus in my little cubicle on what I'm doing. It's almost therapeutic.

With the rest of the year to go, I foresee many more cups of coffee to be consumed.

VIENNA-STYLE COFFEE & TEA

-VIENNESE-

Alina and I are girls on a mission-- a mission to find the best coffee in the Seattle area. This latest one we visited didn't have any sushi burritos, but it definitely deserved a mention on the blog. The Vienna Coffee Company is a small shop near Newberry Square that serves authentic Viennese coffee. Alina opted for a black tea, but I went for the Salon Einspnner, which seemed to be very similar to a Mocha. It came in a wide glass, topped with whipped cream and a chocolate biscuit roll, on a small silver platter accompanied by a fizzy Lavender soda.

Everything was well-prepared, even our Turkey & Cheddar croissants, which were warm on the inside and flaky on the outside. It was crowded enough that we had to opt for outdoor seating, but the weather was pleasant and we didn't mind. This coffee house is unique, and it's a great place to relax, as the outdoor chairs weren't uncomfortable. I think they had a film about Mozart going on indoors near some small sofas, and their insistence on authenticity added to the quaintness of it all.

UGLY MUG CAFE

-CAFFEINE ADDICT-

Is it too soon for another coffee-related post? With all these demanding homework assignments and midterms, I've been drinking more and more cups of coffee each week. It's not all because of the tests: I've been drinking coffee since the beginning of high school. I guess it's just gotten to that point where it's just become routine to drink a couple cups a day!

I try not to post too many food photos on my Instagram, but if I were to post every food place I visit, you'd probably find a lot of snaps from Ugly Mug Cafe, a local coffee shop that serves a few sandwiches, too. It's cozy, close to school, and they serve the most delicious mocha ever.

It's the perfect place to catch up with a friend or catch up on homework, or on lazy, cloudy days, I just end up grabbing a book from my dorm to read while I'm there.