pdx

Egads! What a weekend.

After making it into Portland on Wednesday night around midnight, the nonstop activities began. On Thursday I met up with my mom for coffee and shopping while Chris spent the day at the lake wakeboarding with his dad. We met up with old high school friends over McMenamins brews, enjoyed a BBQ dinner with my dad and stepmom, and ran errands around town for wedding necessities. Then the wedding activities ensued - lunch with the bridesmaids, nails, wine, rehearsal, wine, rehearsal dinner, wine. You get the idea. The wedding was a blast. I don't have any pictures to share just yet (it's hard to tote a camera when you have official bridesmaid duties - this one's from Facebook), but the day was beautiful and the party was rockin.

...

Hip, Hip, Delay!

Chris and I planned to make it out on a 6pm flight to Portland via Dallas when we got the call. We decided to dash out for some frozen yogurt just before our friend came to pick us up for the airport when an unknown 800 number called to tell us our flight was canceled. After a lot of time on the phone with American and even more time in line the airport, we were able to get on a similar flight to Dallas -- in seats 32E and 32F, the very last row of the plane, with a lovely view of the turbine. As soon as we were able to deplane, in the style of Home Alone and The Amazing Race, we made our connecting flight in the nick of time. Luckily we packed some mini shots to make the crazy travel shenanigans feel more like our anniversary.

7.18.09

Three cheers for three years today!

Since we're flying back to Portland this evening for a family wedding, we celebrated this past Saturday with a fancy dinner and a local production of Spring Awakening. So lucky and excited to see what our next adventure will be.

The Nutcracker Ballet

Bum-ba-da-bum-bum

Bum-bum-bahh...

One of the festive activities over the holiday was going to the Keller Auditorium to see the Nutcracker Ballet with my mom and sister. My family used to go every year when I was young, and my siblings and I would put on shows from the various wintry scenes afterwards in our living room. OBT must have started doing a different version because I distinctly remember dancing around with wooden spoons from the kitchen....yet no chef to be found this year!

This show was especially fun to watch because Madeline, a sweet little gal I babysat after college, was dancing in the production. She fought off mice as a sentry in the first half and returned later from underneath the enormous skirt of Mother Ginger (the replacement for the enormous chef from my childhood I think!). She's in seventh grade now and practically as tall as Alyssa and me. My, my how time flies.

Seattle Photo Op

The week before Christmas my mom and I drove up to Seattle to see my sis Alyssa, her boyfriend David, and some of my best college pals. Even though I felt miserably terrible with a cold, we met up at Brave Horse Tavern for some brews and good laughs. My mom took on to the role of beaming photographer and -- in true motherly style -- took pictures of people taking pictures. (Please note David rubbing his flash-shocked eyes in the background of photo #6. What a trouper.)

Three Cheers for Cat!

Happy Birthday to our little mischief maker... Cat turned FIVE today! 

See some of her greatest moments right here.

A Little Halloween Green

Chris decided to swap his strategy analyst job for a green apron and a blender this Halloween... I'm a Pumpkin Spice Frappuccino with extra whipped cream (and I sewed the costume myself!).

7.18.09

Two years ago we had the best party with our friends and family at the Crystal Ballroom in Portland, Ore.

So grab a pint of McMenamin's beer for us as we celebrate two years of married adventures!

Bonne Bastille!

Wishing I was back in Paris eating a Nutella crêpe or two....or three.

A Day to Celebrate

Happy Father's Day to the best dad a gal could ask for.

Sweet Blooms

[Image via Rockstar Diaries]

I think I've finally found something to put on the calendar for March -- the National Cherry Blossom Festival in Washington, D.C. The festival runs from March 26 to April 10, and it would a perfect excuse for a weekend getaway. Besides, I'm looking forward to saying our final farewells to winter and commemorating the advent of spring.

Thanksgiving in VA

Yippee!!! The holiday weekend begins! Some of you might be dashing through the snow (literally---I'm thinking of YOU, Portlandians and Seattleites) to spend time with your friends and relatives come Thursday. We're staying put in Richmond enjoying cooler weather, the beautiful lingering fall, a Skype date with our families on Turkey Day and maybe catching a movie (Harry Potter or Love and Other Drugs....or both I hope).

I'm not one for the Black Friday rush, so I'll be lounging in elastic waistband sweatpants come Friday morning recovering from my intense carb hangover and worrying when my jeans will fit again. I might do some crowd-free online browsing and work on some handmade projects to check a few items off of my gift list. Whether you are insane enough to join the intense 4:00 am crowds or not, be sure to check out the incredible treasure trove of DIY projects on Design*Sponge. They're the perfect inspiration for holiday gifts and a great way to spend some of the non-stuffing-your-face moments this weekend. [Image via Design*Sponge]

Tradition

"Twas the day before Thanksgiving and all through the trees,

the fall leaves were spinning aloft in the breeze.

Eight children had boarded their school bus with grins

in hopes that a field trip soon would begin..."

My first copy of this book came from a book fair in elementary school. Remember book fairs and book orders? I lived for book fairs and book orders. Every year we would read this story, and for a handful of years my mom could never find where she put it the previous year so she bought a new copy. I'm sure she has at least six copies (buried somewhere) right now. I bought my own and have it ready to go for this year's reading....less than a week away!!!

Date Night

Image via The Kissing Blog

Tonight husby and I are celebrating our seven-and-a-half year dating anniversary! We're trying out a restaurant called Avalon and might even do a little reminiscing about those early dating days in high school. Stress of the world be damned, tonight is date night!

Turkey for Two

Image via Guidespot

I've come to terms with the fact that Thanksgiving is going to be a party of two. It seems that everyone else around here has family in one of the adjacent states and it's just too darn expensive (and equally time consuming) to fly back west for a larger gathering. 

After a trip to TJ's today, I got pretty pumped for turkey day. It's going to be low key in the kitchen but downright delicious. We've got gravy, potatoes, a pumpkin cheesecake, and a festive bottle of wine. Over the next 12 days I'll track down a turkey breast to pop in the oven (there is NO way I'm going to attempt an entire bird, gizzards and all) and cranberries for some homemade cranberry sauce. 

One thing I will definitely miss this year is making buttery pan rolls with my family. Imagine rolls made with butter then rolled in butter before baking. A few years ago we doubled the recipe and made 80 rolls(!). Like the rest of my family,  as a (former) Newton I'm a carb-lover at heart. Unfortunately, if you don't make the rolls just right they turn out like buttery hockey pucks---still delicious but not a chance I'm willing to take this year especially because the prep takes hours.

The more I think about it, the greater this day is sounding. Macy's parade in the morning, just-enough-but-not-too-much effort in the kitchen, football in the afternoon, and a satisfied stomach by evening. And the pumpkin cheesecake. Oh the pumpkin cheesecake is going to be highlight of the holiday.

It Happened One Night

Er...day. This afternoon, to be exact. I was alone. It was raining. Christmas music was calling my name. So I played a few songs.

If Starbucks can whip out the red cups this early, it's anybody's game. Except for the malls. I hate it when the malls start early.

Epic Halloween

For the third year in a row, husby and I went as ceiling fans (hey, it's totally legit if you've lived in three states...three different crowds to impress with brilliant wit.) We had a fun time at a shindig on Saturday night and got right back into costume on Sunday to help pass out candy to all the costumed kiddos.

Dress Up

Our Halloween deco from college...very bibbity-bobbity-boo, don't you think?

I don't think I've ever seen so much outdoor Halloween decor. Ever. On my run (read: walk/jog) the other day, I saw neon webs, warty pumpkins, electronically programmed blow-up spiders that glare in your direction when they sense movement, gravestones, orange lights, and detailed jack-o-lanterns that looked like they'd been carved with an exacto knife. This holiday is taken seriously around here.

Which brings up the subject of costumes. I've got something in mind, but I need a few more days to figure out details. Chris wants to go with last year's idea, which we also did the year before. That's one of the perks of spending three consecutive Octobers in three different states.

This time of year makes me want to track down a copy of Hocus Pocus. That movie was scary when I was a kid---it always seemed to take forever (max 96 minutes) for the sun to come up and the witches to go away. I also remember watching Double Double Toil and Trouble with my sister (1993 must have been a big year for kid-targeted Halloween movies). Though it seems that the Olsen twins are a bit scarier nowadays...

Pumpkins on Parade

Five little pumpkins sitting on a gate...

The first one said, "Oh my, it's getting late!"

The second one said, "There are witches in the air."

The third one said, "Well we don't care!"

The fourth one said, "Let's run and run and run."

The fifth one said, "I'm ready for some fun."

And woooooooooo went the wind

And OUT! went the light

Then the five little pumpkins rolled out of sight.