Jewel Box Cafe

I am in love with this coffee shop.
I love their Caramel Macchiato.
I love their name.
I love their indoor set up.
I love their outdoor set up.
I love that they're in a hidden little plaza and that there were people playing music and salsa dancing.
I love that they serve frozen yogurt, even though I didn't get any.
I love that it is in perfect walking distance from my apartment.
I love that I can walk directly through the mall to get to it.


I am in love with this coffee shop.
So in love that I only took one picture while we were there and it is of my roommate. But, coincidentally I happen to be in love with the photo.

Those adventuring in North Seatlle, GO. Go now.

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A Handful of Reviews

My mom was in town last weekend so we got to try a few different places, which was lucky for me since I need to play a bit of catch up on my reviews!

Caffe Fiore

The cool thing about this cafe is that they serve organic coffee. I read about it awhile ago and decided to wait until my mom was here because she tries to eat more on the organic/natural side, and she is coffee addict (like mother, like daughter). There are a few locations but we went to the one on Sunset Hill. The whole set up and decore of the coffee shop was really pretty. They had beautiful lighting and windows. The shop was not that big, but there was a few places to sit inside and a couple outside. The coffee was pretty good, and the service was okay. The baristas were a bit stand off-ish and talked and laughed amongst themselves, but did not come off as very nice to the customers. Overall, it was a decent spot but probably not somewhere I will be going out of my way to visit again.

Cafe on the Ave.

On Sunday we spent time in the U-District and we went to Cafe On The Ave for breakfast. This is definitely somewhere I plan on going back to! I had about the most delicious caramel macciato I have ever had and the bagel sandwiches were just as good. It is a really big area where you order at the counter and take your seat. It is right in the U-District so there were a lot of students there studying, plus I think it's finals week. If I had gone to UW I can guarantee I would have done a majority of my studying here! Also, isn't my mom pretty?

Cafe Chocolati

Holy chocolate, Batman. This place was amazing. This shop also has a few locations and we went to the one at Green Lake. I got a mocha which was insanely chocolatey but so, so wonderful. And I bought way too many pieces of chocolate. The people were so friendly there and they had a lot of interesting types of chocolate. They shop was really small and there was not much seating but luckily it is right across the street from Green Lake, which is a beautiful spot to spend time at anyway.

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Boardroom Cafe

This cafe is a real winner in my book! I honestly have nothing bad to say so I will just lay it out in a simple list
1) It is close to my apartment.
2) It has a cool set up.
3) The barista was super nice and cool. She got really excited about the fact that my credit card has my picture on the back, and she had never seen it like that before.
4) They serve Stumptown coffee so obviously it was great.
5) They are the only place I have ever seen around here to have mac nut flavoring, and it was delicious.
6) They have an outdoor patio on the side.

I did not try their food, but they had some breakfast burritos that looked absolutely delicious. This is somewhere I will definitely be frequenting.

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Greenwood Reviews

This past weekend I tried a few new things that I am excited to share (along with quite a few photos!). So first, let's focus on Saturday.
Saturday I went to Greenwood with my friend Hannah for coffee and lunch. We tried this place called Neptune Coffee that I read an article about. I really loved the set up of it. There were church pews lining the walls and a bunch of little tables plus a super awesome red couch that we sat on while we waited. I got a mocha and it was delicious! I love Starbucks but the number one thing I like about going to other coffee spots is that the mochas taste like real chocolate, not just a package or syrup mix.

 After coffee we decided to get lunch somewhere else so we just wandered down the street for a bit. We ended up picking a place called The Grape and Olive and boy, am I glad we did. It was so good! We definitely ate too much. The restaurant lay out was beautiful, the walls were covered with paintings and there was a big open wine bar. The waitress was incredibly nice and friendly, which just topped off the whole experience. We got some garlic fries and I ordered a chicken kebab.
I would definitely recommend spending some time in Greenwood if you live in the area. There are a handful of restaurants and little shops within a few blocks of each other. I have not tried out any of the other places but trust me, The Grape and Olive is reason enough to go!

But, most importantly it was warm so I got to wear my new sandals that I bought on a complete whim without trying on and happen to absolutely love.

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Ballard Coffe Works

My computer has broken... Again. So updating is a little bit tricky because I hate doing this on my phone. It also means probably iPhone photos only since I have nothing to upload the pictures from my camera too. Anyway, this will be a quick review! This past Saturday I was in Ballard with my friend Asa and we went to Coffee Works. I was feeling pretty sick so I did not get any food and could only get through about half my coffee even though it was delicious. I got a Vanilla Americano, or rather Asa got it for me because I didn't have my wallet and he is the best! The sandwiches looked so amazing, I want to go back and have one in the near future. The set up was really nice and open. They had a section with toys for kids that I could not take my eyes off of because there was this lady there with twins. Her kids were adorable and she was just one of those people that you can tell is a great mom. She made her kids share and with the other kids and calmly talked them down from crying when they started to get upset. I hope I am as good at being a mother as that woman when the time comes!

I do not really feel like I can give this place a fair review so I will probably do an update when I get a chance to go back but from what I could tell it seems like a place I would frequent.

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Review: ViaVita Café and Wine Bar

This week's review is not exactly somewhere new, but totally on accident. My good friend Mackenzie leaves next week to go teach in Korea for a year (I am so excited for her!) and she was up in the area this weekend with some friends so I met up with them this morning. We met in Bellevue at ViaVita Café and Wine Bar. I did not realize until I got there that I had been before. But, the last time  I went was probably about two years ago when it was pretty new and I went for dinner so it was still a new experience.

First off, the set up of the restaurant is really pretty. They advertise this parking garage "around back" for customers to park in, but neither of us could figure out where it was and both ended up parking across the street. I guess we are not the only ones to run into the problem because people on Yelp commented about it as well. I ordered a latte and a turkey and spinach crepe. The girls I was with ordered a breakfast croissant, bacon and eggs, a panini, a mocha, and americanos. Everyone agreed that what they ordered was delicious. That being said, it took so long. There was only really one waitress working but it was not incredibly busy. We ordered within 10 minutes of being there and it still took an hour and a half for us to get our food, eat, and pay. The waitress was nice but barely came to our table, we even took our check up to her. Also, since we discussed it it is worth mentioning that all of our coffee cups were chipped. Do not worry, there were no injuries! But it seems like if you have that many chipped cups it is about time to get a new set, especially if you are a nice establishment.

So, final review (based off my new rating system that we came up with during breakfast!):

Atmosphere: ☀☀☀☀

Coffee:     ☀☀☀☀

Food:       ☀☀☀☀☀

Service:    ☀☀

(*All out of 5.)

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Cloud City Coffee

I love exploring the city and I have a new goal to try as many different coffee shops. We shall see how this holds up but I am thinking I will do a little review of different shops I try, and food spots when I have someone to go with me. Not sure why I love getting coffee by myself but I hate eating meals out alone. 

This past Saturday I went to a coffee shop we drove by recently called Cloud City Coffee. It's on the corner of 88th and Roosevelt, just between Northgate and the U-District. They have a menu of sandwiches and soups and a case of pastries and quiches. I got a nutella croissant that was absolutely delicious but I definitely want to go back for a sandwich sometime. The have something they call a "Drip Coffee Honor Bar" that features 4 coffees a day and you just pay $1 and fill your cup up with out having to wait. I got a mocha and it was pretty good. It tasted different than normal, but in a way I liked. Not as sweet but more coffee and actual chocolate taste. It had a really cute indoor and outdoor set up. It was too cold to sit outside but it will definitely be a spot I visit when the sun's out. Inside were long tables and a couple couches. It had a comfortable feeling and the workers were all really friendly. Overall, pretty good coffee and really great atmosphere.

Plus, I finally finished The Lovely Bones!

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