I mean, aside from the fact that Lucca sells a hang-in-there-young-mom-at-the-end-of-her-rope card that says “technically, it’s not illegal to call a toddler an a$$hole,” it’s perfect because it’s beautiful, the owner is the kind of person you want to take to brunch, and they rotate their stock frequently. I love this place. Also last time I was there I found a candle that somehow smells like bougie bacon. I’m about it.

Twice Sold Tales and Mercer Street Books are tied as my two favorite used bookstores in Seattle. I go to one of them every weekend. They feel like home.

Pop into Drygoods Design if you want to appreciate the art of all that is crafty, you want to take a sewing class, you want to take an instantly Insta-worthy photo, or you’re waiting to get into The London Plane and need to kill time.

I cannot sing the praises of Ballard Consignment enough. I don’t even know where to begin. I’ve popped in here at least once a week for the past year, and have purchased most of my furniture from here. The pieces are gorgeous, unique, in pristine condition, and cheap. There’s a piano in here that Dave Matthews has played (also apparently he’s a regular here?!?). The staff is friendly and on the lookout for a very particular leather chair I’ve dreamed up in my mind. I want to move in. 

I love Chuck’s. I love that Chuck’s sells Ommegang and Founders and Revolution. I love that Chuck’s has the best chips. I love that Chuck’s has food trucks with chicken biscuits out back. I love that there are dogs allowed at Chuck’s and that one of them that is always there when I go is a Bernese Mountain Dog named Eric. I’m ABOUT THIS PLACE.

Ok listen. The sales at the REI Flagship Store are phenom (even when it’s not the Garage Sale!!), the climbing wall is bigger than most, and they give free lectures that are so worth going to (last week I went to one about how to get camping licenses on the cheap to explore Bhutan. Come on.). And there’s a FOREST out front. A literal forest.

You walk into the Palm Room and feel like you’ve stepped into a rainforest, that maybe you don’t have a black thumb after all, and extremely welcomed by a fluffy white dog who wants to be your best friend. Need I say more?

It’s a bookstore. That only sells cook books. And the staff knows everything about every cuisine and there are book signings with famous chefs and we can literally talk for thirty minutes about the absolute art that is writing a recipe intro. WORDS FALL SHORT OF EXPRESSING MY APPRECIATION FOR THE BOOK LARDER. 

What’s the best place to find white elephant gifts, 90's nostalgia, vintage clothing, quirky t-shirts, and Aaron Carter memorabilia in all of Seattle? Oh, I’m glad you asked, it’s Fremont Vintage Mall.

Sometimes, when you live in Seattle, you work for a major corporation that’s taking over the world and shuffing way too much responsibility on your shoulders and giving you Anxiety Prime with two-day shipping and your primary mode of stress relief is retail therapy in the manner of dropping two hundred dollars on the most beautiful and soft cashmere sweater you’ve ever had the privilege of seeing in real life. Which is my long way of saying that Les Amis is the best place to really stabilize you after a hard day at work.

Theo Chocolate is Seattle’s confectionary claim to fame and gives you tours and samples. Heaven.

Listen, I’m all about nostalgia, and the fact that a video store is still in business, is two stories, and has the kind of amazing staff that Scarecrow Video employs just makes my heart SING.