We've been in for 4 1/2 months now and overall are very happy with how our new home turned out. Things I love: Wood floors - Ours are 4" white oak, site finished in a medium stain color, satin finish(not shiny). Dover white laquer painted woodwork, mouldings, and cabinetry. We have stained cabinets in a couple of bathrooms, and I'm glad I didn't go stained in the kitchen and rest of the house. The stained acts like a dust magnet and washes out the paint color on the walls. But most of all, white wood against painted walls and hardwood floors just makes me happy.:-) Love my kitchen. Thank you kitchen forum! Definitely pay a visit over there if you're just getting started. -It turned out beautiful(white custom cabs, arched hood, wood floors) -Lots of well placed lighting all on dimmers -Functional, large layout with specific work zones -Danze faucets and pot filler -Silgranit sinks(love the big single basin and the round prep!) -Bosch ovens -Dacor 36" gas cooktop -Kitchenaid DW and Fridge -Giallo Ornamental granite -Microwave built into the island -Trash pullout -Tons of deep drawers instead of cabinet doors -Step in pantry Smart Strand carpet - feels and looks great - LOVE IT!!! Love our huge paved, curvy driveway and walkways. Lots of room for the kids to ride bikes, scooters, and play basketball. Huge covered porches front and back Exercise room off of master for treadmill and weights Walk in attic access from upstairs Huge bonus room upstairs Big laundry room with 2 washer and 2 dryer hookups, quartz folding countertop, deep stainless sink, and plenty of storage. Love that the dryers vent right outside, not up through walls and then to the roof like our last house. Makes cleaning the duct a huge pain and cuts down on effiency. Sound system with speakers throughout and on back porch Paint colors - Tobacco Road(main), Dover White(woodwork) Lots of lighting throughout almost all on dimmers Schlage door hardware and deadbolts Love being out in the country on a little land with tons of trees and a pond. Peaceful and lots of room for the kids to play and explore. Things I'd do differently - Insulate wall where upstairs bath plumbing runs downstairs for sound reduction. Put in sprinkler system - On the list to do next spring Wish we would've upgraded to satin or eggshell paint in the bonus and kids rooms. Went with flat to save money figuring we could always repaint later.

It would help to know what it is that you like to do. My favorite thing is to take the ferry from downtown Seattle to either Bainbridge Island or Bremerton. Bremerton is what I usually choose because it takes longer, but Bainbridge Island is charming and has shops and restaurants to spend time in between ferries. No need to take your car. It is much easier to go as a passenger. As an alternative, if you like a more planned excursion, you can cruise to Tillicum Village on Blake Island and have a smoked salmon dinner followed by native drumming and dancing. You need to get your ticket for this in advance. The cruise starts from downtown Seattle. You will want to visit the Pike Street Market I like to visit universities. The University of Washington campus is very nice. IF you go, be sure to check out the reading room in the Suzzalo library. You can also check out the Burke museum while you are there.

Traffic can be horrendous (but polite :-) depending on the time of day. Using public transit can work, depending on where you are and where you want to go. Parking can be a problem, again depending on when and where. I'd book your hotel first, then figure out where you want to go in Seattle and speak to the people at the hotel about how easy it is to get from here to there via bus. I like to have my own car as long as it has gps, but uber might be a good option. All the hotels I listed are under 4 miles or so to Ballard, if that's where your event will be. Traffic the end of Sept won't be as bad as in the summer, though. However, one of the main thoroughfares running N and S (the Alaskan Way viaduct which runs through downtown on the waterfront) is scheduled to be closed sometime in the future, while they remove it. It's going to make traffic uglier, but I can't tell when that's supposed to happen. It may be later than 9/16.

JuneBaby (https://www.junebabyseattle.com/) is a new Seattle restaurant that was named best new restaurant by the James Beard Foundation. We took our granddaughter there on her 18th birthday and she really liked it. You would definitely need reservations. To me, the food was a modern take on traditional southern cooking - very tasty. There is also a restaurant in Fremont that our kids and granddaughter like called Eve (https://www.evefremont.com/). If your daughter is into healthy foods, this would be perfect. Fremont is a very interesting/weird area of Seattle which has thrift stores and is fun to walk around. Agree that Wild Ginger and LePichet are terrific choices. Just an FYI: University of Washington has a home football game this Saturday (6:00 pm) so it will be crowded around University Village (which is a very nice shopping area). Hope this helps.