Puppy Love

I caught some sweet shots of Addy the other night:

She can be such a sweetheart when she wants to be!

Portland Part II - The Great Fire of 2011

We drifted off to sleep on Sunday night with bellies full of doughnuts, only to be rudely awakened on Monday morning by the fire alarm.  It wasn't THAT loud (until you opened the hotel door) and I wasn't too worried about it until a voice came on over a loudspeaker and announced that we really needed to evacuate.  And then someone came through the halls pounding on the doors and told us to evacuate.  It's a good thing that The Benson was not up in flames, because I decided that it was imperative to brush my teeth, pack up my purse, grab my extra doughnut (did you really think I only bought one?!) and find all my jewelry.  Once we hit the hallway, we could smell the smoke.  We walked down the nine flights and stairs and joined all the other hotel guests on the sidewalk out front.

Watching smoke billow out of the top floor was only so entertaining, so we decided to head over to Stumptown Coffee Roasters, which boasts that it's the store that started the coffee revolution in Portland.

J.'s Latte

My Chai Tea Latte

Stumptown was attached to the Ace Hotel so we hung out in their lobby while we waited to go back to The Benson.  I loved this vintage hotel sign.  

After coffee, we headed back to The Benson.  Apparently, a dryer was on fire and the firemen got it under control pretty quickly.  The elevators weren't working yet, so we walked up nine flights of stairs (geez that was hard!) and got ready for the day.  For lunch, we headed to Pine State Biscuits, which was featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.

J.'s brunch ... The Reggie

The hashbrowns we shared ... I dug into my food without getting a picture.  Whoops!

The boys eating their post-brunch corndogs.  What, you don't eat corndogs after brunch? 

From there, we headed east to Multnomah Falls.  The drive was definitely worth it!  I hope to come back here on a summer day and do all the hikes!  It was way too cold for any hiking this past weekend!

Portland Part I - Happy Birthday Greg!

J. and his friends had Monday off for President's Day, so we decided to go to Portland and do some exploring.  I hopped on hotels.com (on Saturday night) and we got a great deal on a beautiful, historic hotel in downtown Portland.  We headed out early Sunday morning and after a quick pit stop at the hotel set out to see Portland.  First up, lunch at Deschutes Brewery:

J. and the boys

After lunch, we wandered into Powell's City of Books:

After Powell's, we went back to the hotel to check in.  We stayed at The Benson, which I highly recommend.  It was in a great location and we got a great price on hotels.com.

The National Bank was across the street.  I loved the building:

 The boys drinking out of the "Benson Bubbler" which was right outside our hotel.  Simon Benson gave the City of Portland $10,000 in 1912 to install 20 Benson Bubblers around the city.

After we rested up we took a walk to the river front and saw the Portland sign:

The beautiful buildings in Old Town:

Home of the "Ducks" Store!

It was Greg's birthday and he wanted to stop in an Irish Pub that we passed - The Thirsty Lion.  It also happened to be home of the U of M Club of Portland (we didn't hold that against them):

 Toasting Greg's birthday:

Playing with the Mardi Gras props lying all over the bar:

And did the "Scarn" (did you see The Office from last week?):

And the Carlton/Apollo Anton Ohno:

And we ended the night with a stop at VooDoo doughnuts on our way back to the hotel:

It was a very fun day and Greg's birthday gave us something fun to celebrate! 

Ten on Tuesday - #5!

With yesterday off of work and volunteering ... I forgot it was Tuesday!  So, you're getting two posts today.


1. What are your thoughts on Valentine’s Day. Do you love it? Hate it?
I'm neutral on Valentine's Day ... I think it's an overrated holiday but it's always nice to get flowers :) 

2. What is your favorite romantic comedy?
Love Actually.  I could watch that movie a million times and never get bored.  

3. Meg Ryan & John Mellencamp: what’s your first reaction?
I haven't heard much about Meg Ryan lately ... what is she up to?  John Mellencamp - Hoosier!  I'd love to see him in concert.  

4. All time favorite poem or quote?  
You'll regret the things you didn't do, more than the things you did.  


5. What’s the longest amount of time you’ve gone without sleep? (like consecutive hours).
Hmmm, I don't think I know this off the top of my head.  I try to sleep as much as possible!

6. What color ink do you prefer to use?
Black.  

7. Share with us a blog that you recently found and fell in love with (and link us!)
Kendi Everyday.  I love her sense of fashion ... she's a great inspiration!


8. If you could be on a reality TV show which one would you choose?
The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills ... I'd need to win the lottery first though!

9. Mountains or Beach?
I love them both ... but I could REALLY use a beach vacation right now.  


10. With the Oscars around the corner, what’s your pick for best picture?
Well, the only two movies I've seen that are nominated are Black Swan and Toy Story 3.  They are two VERY different movies on two very opposite sides of the spectrum but, of the two, I think Black Swan would win.  

What we're eating this week ...

It's another short week in our household ... J. had President's Day off so we went on a little last minute trip to Portland.  We were in Portland on Sunday night and last night we had dinner at a friends house so I only have to make three meals this week.  And I've found some new recipes ... I hope I'm out of my recipe rut!

Here is what we will be eating this week:

Tuesday - Lasagna Skillet.  I love lasagna but it's really a pain to make.  It takes forever and has a million different steps so I usually only make it on the weekends when I've got a lot of free time.  I hope this recipe will make lasagna a weeknight meal in our house!

Wednesday - Beer Can Chicken.  I've heard a lot about beer can chicken and I hope it lives up to its hype!  I made my first whole chicken last December (?) and it was so much easier than I expected (and so much better than the rotisserie chickens I was buying at the grocery).  Plus, there's usually enough leftovers to make another meal.

Thursday - Chicken & Wild Rice Soup.  I only started eating Chicken & Wild Rice soup last year (I'm a weird eater).  Paradise Bakery & Cafe has the best Chicken & Wild Rice soup and I loved it.  But then we moved.  And there is no Paradise out here.  So, I'm attempting to create my own with leftover chicken from Wednesday.  I will let you know how it goes!

I hope you all had a great weekend!  I'll be posting later this week about our weekend in Portland!

Update on the Bucket List!

Here are the ones that I've done since I originally posted the Bucket List:

1.  Portland -- I went last September but we're going again this weekend!  Yay for long weekends!

6. Visit Scuttlebutt Brewery - February 5, 2011.  I'm not a huge beer person but I thought their beers were good and they had a pretty good menu for a brewery.  It was also packed at 4:00 p.m. on a Saturday so I'm pretty sure they are doing something right!

Image

14. Experience Music Project - January 17, 2011.  I blogged about our Tourist Day over MLK weekend, which included a trip to the EMP:  

J. looking at the Guitar Tower

46. Ski Stevens Pass - I can't remember if we went in January or February now, but I'm leaning towards February :)  It was a beautiful day when we went and we stayed for night skiing.  It was such a great time!  

50. Visit the Fremont Troll - January 17, 2011.  Also part of our Tourist Day!

That's Mr. S. up top and some randos to the right

51.  Visit the Ballard Locks - January 17, 2011.  Tourist Day!

52.  Kerry Park - January 17, 2011.  I'd like to go back on a clear or sunny day and get some really good pictures of downtown and Mt. Rainier.  

53. Go to the top of the Water Tower in in Capitol Hill - January 19, 2011.  I'd also like to go back and get some better pictures!  

What a gorgeous view!

The elusive Mt. Rainier

That's what we've been up to lately!  We are really enjoying our time out here ... it's so nice to be in a different part of the country and have the opportunity to travel around and explore such fun and interesting places!