HOME TOUR

For the love of waves and sand and little kiddo squeals. We had just the sweetest time in a charming, new-to-us spot that I can’t help but share. With the business of school starting, new schedules, lots of work and general life woes, I in particular was needing this little time away to recharge. We hesitated honestly when we got the invitation to my sweet cousins wedding; it was such a trek from Boston but I grew up going to Seattle several times a year. My dad was born there and we have had family in Washington for more or less my entire life, I loooove Seattle and I miss it. And…let’s be honest. The beach. I will literally fly 6.5 hours across the country just to get my hands on one more beach day.

We took an evening flight out of Boston direct to Seattle because with an eight month old, anything around her bedtime means more peace for us. We landed late and by the time we were settled into the airport hotel with the rental car it was 1 am local time (4 am our time). Yikes. Not such a good thing when Aubrey popped wide awake at what she thought was 7 am (4 am Seattle time). Matt spent the better part of two hours walking in circles around the hotel lobby to try and buy the rest of us a little more shut eye. He’s an angel.

The next morning was our Seattle day. And I had my list of activities at the ready even though I knew we’d be exhausted. Really all I wanted was to eat at Chinooks. Gosh I love that restaurant. We’ve been going there since I was a little girl and it has the best bread and blackberry cobbler in the entire world. While killing time until I could run through the doors of Chinooks, we meandered the public market, took a ferry to Bainbridge Island and then took the airport train back to the hotel to pick up our car and drive to the coast.

I’ve never been to the Washington coast. My Oma had a beach house on the Puget sound so there was no need to stray far from Seattle. Oh but if Seabrook would have existed back in the day I think we would have headed there sooner. The draw is definitely the little quaint town of Seabrook. This was where my cousin’s wedding was and where we rented a beach house. We splurged for a house with a view because it was a loooong flight and life is short.

We ended up choosing the house, The West Winds because I liked how it was furnished and the view looked beautiful. Quite a few of the houses have hot tubs on the deck and that is my kind of down time. We made sure to pack the boys’ floaties so they could go in it and we’d be less nervous. Look how cute this house is!

First thing we did the following morning was head down to the beach. The boys had already found the town toy store by the time my caffeine had kicked in and purchased their very own kite. It was so windy that we had high hopes we’d get that thing flying. This is the perfect beach for kite flying. It’s wide and the sand is soft. There are sand dunes and grass, very much like our New England beaches but with the rugged feel of the Pacific Northwest with those amazing evergreens, it feels like Carmel-by-the-Sea.

Watching those kiddos fly the kite was a highlight of the trip. It was a simple pleasure but so marvelous. With the strong wind, the kite flew easily. We had so much fun just watching it fly and the kiddos squeal.

The house we rented comes with a gas burning fireplace that was cozy to have burning while we read books in the evening after the kiddos went to bed. It is fully furnished and the kitchen stocked with utensils but they don’t provide any cooking materials like oil, spices or even coffee. Just be warned, you must bring your own coffee. Shocking but true unfortunately. There’s a darling coffee spot a short walk from the house in the town center but it doesn’t open until ~7:30 am and when your baby is on east coast time, you REALLY need coffee before 7:30 am. That was really our only complaint. Basic cooking items, like oils and spices would have been nice since you are a good ways away from a large grocery store. The market in the town has these items but not to the variety you are use to. We stopped on our way from Seattle at a Whole Foods to pick up some basics for our family but it’s a big bummer to have to buy spices, sugar, baking powder just to pull off some basic cooking and baking in the rental house. But it really is nice to have a kitchen and be able to casually prepare your own foods. If that isn’t your idea of a vacation, the town of Seabrook is adorable and has some cute restaurants, the Frontager’s Pizza place is delicious and darling.

You could easily spend hours wandering the streets. The town is a relatively new endeavor by Casey Roloff with a focus on community and walkability. Plus the charming houses are fun to dream about. I’m not going to lie, we definitely headed into the sales office. Seabrook is a little slice of heaven.

We got ice cream at the sweets shop in town and it feels like a charming old time market. I meandered in some of the stores and can’t wait to visit again when even more shops will be open.

We visited Seabrook the tail end of September. It was lovely and I was told it was the perfect month to visit because the weather is still nice but the crowds have died down. We had one cold and breezy day and then a really nice, sunny and 60+ degree day. So whether you’re tucked inside a charming home with a mug of soup looking at the stormy seas or running in the sun on the beach, it’s a pretty lovely place to be. I’m in “convince husband to buy a house beachfront 3000+ miles away from home” currently.

Our second beach day was much less breezy and much warmer. We still got the kite flying high and spent quite a bit of time playing in the sand, Aubrey may have done a good bit of eating it.

How adorable are these people of mine running in those waves?! My goodness I love them so. Beach trips are an excuse to slow down, put down devices and savor simple joys like flying a kite or walking on the sand. Beaches are my happy place. I loved collecting sand dollars early one morning when out walking with Aubrey. We watched the sun come up over the evergreens while listening to the waves and popping sound of the clams during low tide. She was all bundled up and tucked under my chin in her Ergo and I may have gotten a bit teary-eyed.

Now there’s one last thing about the town I just about squealed in delight to learn. Some trusty friends on Instagram made sure to steer me to the Gnome trail. Oh yes, there is a magical forest trail where kiddos build fairy houses. Look how cute this is:

Isn’t that the cutest?! What an absolutely lovely place to be. I wish it was closer to home honestly because a thoughtfully designed beach town with adorable houses and all the amenities you could want is almost too good to be true.

INFO AT A GLANCE:

Town of Seabrook along the Washington Coast is 2.5 hrs from Seattle, 3 hrs from Portland.

Our rental was The West Winds

Favorite town restaurant: Frontager’s Pizza

Ice Cream & Sweets: The Sweet Life

Rainbow Kite: The Kid’s Shop

We stopped at this Whole Foods for groceries: 3515 Bridgeport Way W, University Place, WA 98466