How To Do Mother's Day Like A Boss

How great are Moms? They deserve a lot more than one day a year to celebrate their amazing-ness, but alas, there is only one day. One day in May for you to show the person who gave birth to you how much you love her. Do you want to mess this up? You only get one shot, people. Lucky for you we have built a comprehensive guide for you to follow that will ensure your mother/mom/mum/mommy feels loved and appreciated. 

Best Brunch Spots

First things first, get her a delicious meal that will kickstart the day in the best way! Full disclosure Seattle restaurants will use this holiday to double the price of food and make you wait hours for a table, but remember, she gave birth to you so you have to do it.

Palisades: For the mom that likes a classic, beautiful restaurant. Palisades has a giant buffet and is located at an amazing location in Seattle with awesome views. Bonus? Everyone who dines on Mother's Day gets a free gift. Surprises are the best so call ASAP for reservations. 206-285-1000

Insider Tip: If the dining room is booked ask about the second buffet happening in the Alani Room.

Toulouse Petit: For the mom that wants a cool breakfast spot with some Southern charm. Toulouse Petit definitely shines in the breakfast department. Our recommendations are the Spicy Creole Hash and make sure Mom has a Katie Mae! Only downside? They don't accept reservations so you will want to plan to wait a bit. 206-432-9069

Salty's on Alki: For the mom that wants a traditional Pacific Northwest brunch. Salty's is such a great place to eat any meal, but they are famous for their brunch. We particularly love it for the fact that it is upscale dining with amazing food, but it is non-pretentious (think oversized fishing tackles and giant nets hanging from the ceiling). $75 for the full buffet. Call for reservations before they run out! 206-937-1600

Cutter's: For the mom that wants a hearty menu to chose from. Cutter's is located near Pike Place Market and has a view of Puget Sound with a great ambiance. The best part about this place is they don't skimp on the seafood. Bring your appetites and don't miss their crab cakes. Mmm good. Reservations available. 206-448-4884

Great Gift Ideas

Photos from Clay in Motion and Joanna Morgan respectively.

Next up you have to get the perfect gift. Homemade cards are encouraged, no matter how old you are.

Home Garden and Art is located in Greenwood and has all this unique and fun garden art made from metal. They have everything from roosters to goats to birdhouses. They are locally-owned and do custom requests! 

Clay in Motion makes these great "Handwarmer Coffee Mugs." They are beautiful and functional! Mom will love! You can also find them in the Made in Washington stores around Seattle. 

Market Spice has a lot of great items for moms who love to cook, but they also have an amazing tea collection and our favorite is the Cinnamon Orange Tea. Hint: It goes well with the Handwarmer mugs above. :)

Joanna Morgan makes beautiful, classic jewelry that she creates in her Seattle studio. We especially like her Signature Collection. 

Don't Forget the Flowers

Flowers at Pike Place are a cheap, but beautiful bouquet choice!

Young Flowers has gorgeous, modern, and artistic flower arrangements. They cost a pretty penny but are seriously worth it. Call to have them design your mom a custom, one of a kind arrangement!

Pike Place Market has amazing bouquets made from flowers grown from local farmers in Washington. They will definitely be on their best game on Mother's Day and their bouquets run on average $10 a pop. 

Juniper Flowers creates the most beautiful and unique arrangements, each stem carefully selected by the owner of the shop, Jean Louise. They also offer flower arranging classes, which are a fun, creative, and functional gift for a mom who enjoys gardening. 

And if you want to ice the cake and get her some sweets...

Salted Caramels from Fran's Chocolate say I LOVEEEEE you!

Fran's does stunning chocolates. We recommend the salted caramels.

Bakery Nouveau's macaroons will make your stomach angry you haven't been eating them every day.

3 Best Dog Parks in Seattle

Meet Maggie.

The happiest dog in the world.

She is a trusted part of the Rain or Shine team and gives a valuable perspective to our research. Questions like, "How do the trees smell?" and "How roll-able is this patch of dirt?" can be answered with certainty. When it comes to dog parks she is our expert so we defer to her to a recent question: "What are the best dog parks in the city?" 

Northacres Off Leash Dog Park

Northacres is just shy of one acre and has lots of trails to explore. More importantly, there are ample tree trunks to sniff and lots of dirt to roll around in. The park is always well-kept and can get busy on nice days. Feel free to bring the kiddos on a warm day to enjoy the spray park (Adults: no official age limit at spray park, so if you don't mind getting some sideways looks feel free to run through the fountains as well, it is oddly liberating).

North Acres dog park is full of trees and trails.

Magnuson Park Off Leash Dog Park

Magnuson is huge for an in-city dog park, sitting pretty at around nine acres. Best part? Water feature! Magnuson butts up against Lake Washington so dogs get to cool off after romping around the property (and sometimes rolling in questionable piles in the woods -- Maggie we're looking at you). Magnuson also has a shy dog area for our furry friends who aren't feeling as outgoing. 

Magnuson Dog Park ends at Lake Washington giving all pups a chance to swim and cool off.

Dogwood Play Park

When we first visited Dogwood we both looked at each other thinking, "Wow, why didn't we think of this?" It is an indoor/outdoor dog park with a bar, light snacks, and a few TVs. When it's rainy and you just can't stand the thought of being outside you can now bring the pooch to Dogwood, watch the football game, and have a beer while throwing a ball around the large indoor space. Short of tennis balls? No worries, they have them for sale in a vending machine!

You do need to bring your vaccination records the first time and entry is $10 (you can also do a monthly fee, which can be worth it in the winter). 

Dogwood is an indoor dog park making it perfect for those rainy and cold days.

Honorable Mention: Shoreline Community College

This one isn't technically in Seattle, but we thought it deserved a mention. If you go out the back of the property you can find a bunch of trails that are pretty hidden and secluded. It can be a lot of fun to explore them with your four-legged friend. 

In addition to seeking out the best dog parks in the city, we also rely on some trusted sites for top pet information. Check out Animal Authority, which provides helpful articles on how to take care of your dog (and cat!). We also use My Pet Needs That for reviews on gear and helpful tips! Check them out!

The Best View in Seattle: Kerry Park

In celebration of its 50th Anniversary the Space Needle was painted orange, the original color from the 1962 World Fair.

No trip to Seattle is complete without a trip to Kerry Park to get your iconic shot of the Seattle skyline. Halfway up the hill in the beautiful Queen Anne neighborhood you can find a tiny one-acre park overlooking the city. This park was gifted to Seattle by the Kerrys in 1927 so that everyone in Seattle could enjoy the beautiful view. So when you visit, say a silent thank you to Mr. and Mrs. Kerry (we like to imagine them as a slightly richer version of the old couple in Pixar's Up) because otherwise we would have to sneak through people's yards to get these photos (Sarah will do anything to get a good photo).

On a clear day you can see as far south as Mount Rainier. Or as Seattleites refer to it, The Mountain.

The view from Kerry Park during a foggy sunrise.

If you want to shoot at night make sure to bring a tripod or use the length to steady your hand! Photo credit: Suzi Alexander

We were recently asked if we recommend visiting during the day or night. We are going to take the easy way out on this one and say, "It depends" and "Both." 

If you have never been to Seattle before it is neat to come to Kerry Park during the day and get a panoramic view of the city. You can see Mount Rainier in the distance on a clear day and identify lots of landmarks from your lookout. At night though, the city offers a whole different experience. The city lights along with the water of Puget Sound glistening as the ferry boats go back and forth is something you can sit and watch forever (realistically more like 10-15 minutes, but it's really nice, okay?)

The park might be small, but there is plenty of room for everyone to enjoy the view!

Changing Form by Doris Totten Chase. 

You can always identify Seattle parks by these colorful signs! 

Insider Tip: Molly Moons Homemade Ice Cream has a location just a few blocks up. On a warm day/night stop there first and walk down with your waffle cone to the park. Don't forget to check out all the beautiful homes in the neighborhood while you stroll.