It’s inevitable.  As the months wind down to weeks and days even to the last hours, I start pressuring my sister, co blogger and best friend, Tracie to extend her home stay in Seattle.  During her three month visit, we have worn our hometown and childhood stomping grounds out.  Just a scroll through my photo collection over the past three months is living proof.  We have sailed on Shahob and Juliana’s yacht, played golf at beautiful Newcastle at the invitation of Stacy Jones, dined, danced, and been hosted by too many friends to count.  Some highlights include sitting on the shores of Lake Washington at Cindy and Marks, and overlooking the lake and majestic Mt. Rainier at Rebeccas for afternoon cocktails and watching to moon set at Celeste and Sterlings for Din Tai Fung. We enjoyed an old school party at Pierre and  Jackie’s poolside in Broadmoor. We have dined from Carmines to Chateau Lill listening to the sweet sounds of Robbie Christmas.  We have hung at the Seattle Tennis Club dancing to my favorite old school band, Hit Explosion to Overlake Golf and Country Club overlooking the manicured greens.

As my sister posted yesterday we have toasted life as we have attended memorials, birthday celebrations, my son’s engagement and anniversary parties.  We have put in 20,000 step walks, attended a charitable auction for the zoo and made new friends and connected with old.  We have binged on Netflix, and Prime  where I have introduced my sister to some of my favorite “ghetto” shows such as Love After Lockup and Marrying Millions. We have shopped and broke our diets with late night sugar raids in the kitchen and too many cocktails.  We have worked, climbing on top of a four story building to see that a roof replacement was pitched properly.  We have rented apartments and enjoyed the unprecedented heat of the Seattle summer. We have spent quality time with our Mama reminiscing of our childhoods and crazy antics of our father.

Last night as we strolled the Public Market after an exceptional meal with dear friends, Nicky and Anya at Maximilien in the Market, I reasoned, there is no place like home.  And although, my sister will depart in a short few weeks to head to back to Germany, we both know that “Home is where our story begins and the magic thing about home is that it feels good to leave and it feels even better to come back.”

If I lose my appeal for an extended staycation, my sister, you better hurry your ass back here xoxo.  In the meantime, get ready… I got a few weeks, let’s go!