One year

This past Sunday was our one year wedding anniversary. One year! I can’t believe it. This has definitely been our best year yet. We decided to have a weekend long celebration starting Friday night. We walked to Oba in the Pearl District to try out their happy hour.

^^ Prickly Pear margarita, so so good!

The next morning we were woken up for the third day in a row of Oscar being sick so we decided to take him to the vet. Everything was good, he just ate something that didn’t agree with him. After a strict diet of rice and chicken, he’s good as new!

Afterwards we decided to stop at Blue Star Donuts and Barista for coffee and donuts.

Alex’s favorite is the Maple Bacon which is fantastic, but I LOVE the Dulce de Leche Hazelnut one. A lot of people say Voodoo Donuts is where it is at but I definitely disagree. Voodoo is good, but once I tried Blue Star I could never go back.

That afternoon, we picked up some food from Lucky Lab, and headed to the waterfront. The weather on Saturday was too good to pass up. We also brought our wine from our unity box from the wedding.

On Sunday we grabbed brunch at The Daily Cafe. I got their eggs benny and LOVED it. Their poached eggs are amazing.

 

When we got home, I moved our cake from the freezer to the refrigerator and a few hours later it was time to cut into it. Honestly, I didn’t expect much from our cake. Everyone had told me it would just taste like a freezer, be stale and not good at all. I really only kept it because everyone tells you its what you do. So, when we moved here we packed it up in a cooler and its been taking up too much space in our freezer ever since. And I’m so glad we did. The cake was amazing! Even better than I remembered it on our wedding day.  It was so awesome to have that moment with Alex again, too. Definitely one of the best decisions we made.

^^ It was a bit beat up, but so delicious!

And with that, our anniversary came to a close.

Alex, I love you more today than I did yesterday and I’ll love you more tomorrow than I do today. You breathe light into my life and I can’t imagine a minute without you. I’m so happy to be laughing through life with you. I like you and I love you.

Spring in Portland

You guys, Portland is seriously one of the most beautiful places I’ve ever seen in the spring. Living in Texas for the past ten years, spring was kind of nonexistent. It doesn’t normally stay cold enough in the winter for all the trees to lose all their leaves and then bloom again in the spring. But Portland, oh man. Everything was so bare when we moved here I thought for sure it would always look this dead:

But then a couple weeks ago, something magical happened. The sun came out and the flowers started to bloom. And it seriously is incredibly beautiful.

 

See what I mean?! Loving every second of it.

Trader Joe’s gets me.

Before moving to portland, our grocery shopping options were limited. Normally we would end up at Wal-Mart which never makes for a pleasant experience. Everyone is miserable, it’s way over crowded and someone is always standing directly in front of the one thing you need in an aisle with no intention of moving. Plus, the vegetable and fruit sections are pretty sad and organic is no where to be seen.
So when we got here we vowed to never go in Wal-Mart again. Luckily Portland makes this easy considering the closest one is about 30 minutes away and on the east side. But ruling out Wal-Mart meant it was time to try something new.
At first, I was set on Whole Foods. We went a few times and although I love it, it was just too expensive. Definitely a good place to pick up a few things, grab lunch or find some really awesome organic products but I knew weekly shopping trips there would result in us way over spending. Plus there was only street parking and a parking garage, both of which you have to pay to use. So I kept looking.
Next we came upon Safeway which definitely won us over for a while. And the at home delivery?! Amazing. AMAZING. I will never get over the fact that I can have bananas and beer delivered straight to my door. We also became Safeway members so I receive a lot of free delivery coupons in my email. Safeway would be one number one place and it’s definitely a good back up but…
Trader Joe’s.
Trader Joes is magical to me. This may sound silly but I am head over heels in love. The selections are great, good vegetables and fruit, always a ton of beer, and mostly everything is all natural or organic.
Plus it’s so cheap. SO CHEAP. We normally end up spending around 60 dollars a week and that’s with getting random things we don’t need as well. Everything I’ve tried so far I love and Alex does too. It’s also under a mile from our apartment And they have a parking lot. Sold.
Here’s some of my favorites so far.

Multigrain triple berry oatmeal. I love this oatmeal. It comes in single seeing packs and it’s super delicious.

Just the cluster chocolate almond cereal. I ALWAYS have this cereal on hand. It’s like eating dessert for breakfast in the best possible way. I could eat this every single day and never tire of it.

Dark chocolate peanut butter cups. Dude. I have to get at least two packs of these each time I come in. They’re only 99 cents and incredible.

Dark chocolate covered almond toffee. I’m a sucker for anything toffee and these definitely don’t disappoint. Another thing I always grab a few of for a quick snack.

Powerberries. These are addicting. Seriously.

Dried strawberries. Tastes exactly like eating a fresh strawberry. I like adding them to my salad.

Organic movie theatre popcorn. I honestly think this is the best popcorn I have ever had hands down. The flavor is so so good and it’s such an easy snack to have around the house.

Veggie mix. I love this stuff. I just put some baby spinach on a plate, add some of this and some dressing and I’m good to go. It’s also awesome mixing in with some quinoa.

BBQ chicken salad. I tried this for the first time recently and was HOOKED. comes with two types or dressing, ones like a ranch and the other a BBQ sauce that mix so so well together. Plus it has tortilla strips, cheese, corn,black beans, and chicken all for 580 calories?! I want to eat it every single day.

Pancake syrup. Best syrup. Seriously, so so good.

Buttermilk pancake mix. Made super thick and amazing pancakes. Definitely the best mix I have ever gotten. Plus the box has a ton of recipes for other things you can make with the mix. Worth keeping a box around.

Kung Pao chicken. Alex and I normally have this at least once a week. It’s a super easy dinner and it’s so good.

Sweet potato gnocchi. This is another staple in our house. I am a sucker or sweet potatoes and gnocchi and this does not disappoint.

Mutligrain mix with veggies. Love this for a quick lunch.

Chicken and Cheese tamales. Alex adds cheese and hot sauce to the top and they are SO GOOD.

Hashbrowns. So good, so easy.

Mochi Ice Cream. We recently tried these at Boxer Ramen and loved them so when we saw them at Trader Joe’s we decided to pick them up and they did not disappoint.

 

Mandarin Orange Chicken. Love serving this with a side of rice. Mmm.

Coconut Milk. This was my first time trying coconut milk and I LOVE it. Normally I drink almond milk but I am happily converting.

 

Organic greek yogurt. I use this to make smoothies.

Alex’s food picks.

Frozen crab stuffed flounder. I think this May be Alex’s favorite thing from trader joes. He cooks it the same way as the halibut and loves it. You will definitely always find one of these in our freezer.

Pizzas. Simple personal sized pizzas. Alex always adds more shredded cheese.

Cinnamon rolls. These are too good. The size is great and the icing is perfect. Alex loves being able to grab one before work.

Home/ Beauty Products.

Tea tree tingle shampoo and conditioner. These are so cheap and I can’t get enough of either of them. The smell is amazing plus, like the name, it tingles while on your scalp leaving it feeling fresh and super clean.

Laundry detergent. It’s all natural and smells amazing.

Lavender dryer sheets. I use one for every 10 loads and they work perfect. My clothes always smell so good when I pull them out of the dryer.

Face Wash. Very awesome.

Annnnnd thats it! Any suggestion on things I might be missing out on? Let me know!

 

Daryl and Macy visit Portland!

One of our closest friends, Daryl lives in Missouri and although we don’t get to see him often we’ve always been able to stay close. So a couple of months ago when his girlfriend, Macy planned a surprise trip for them to come visit Portland and stay with us for a few days, I was all over it. Daryl is seriously one of the best friends Alex and I have ever had. Good times always ensue when he is around so we were way too excited to have him and Macy come visit us for a few days

The day they landed, the weather was too perfect. It was the first day that actually felt like spring so they had perfect timing.. for that day at least. It ended up being cold and dreary the whole weekend, but we made the most of it.

I’m so glad they were able to visit, it was good for the soul.

Alex had to do some work so the three of us walked a few blocks over to Vivace. It’s this really great crepe and coffee place in an old Victorian house. It’s really cozy and the food is too good. I always get a crepe with bananas, nutella and sliced almonds while Alex’s favorite is the raspberry and cream. Both are consistently good and never disappoint. They also serve Stumptown coffee but I always get the tea because I am too in love with their jasmine green tea.

    

We stopped in one of Alex’s favorite places, Boxer Ramen and it was AMAZING!

 

 

 

   

^^^Some photos from Barista downtown. I’m partial to the one on 23rd but we ran in this one because it was close to where we were eating lunch. The coffee is awesome and can we talk about that tiling?! Amazing.

 

 

 

^^Ace hotel.

 

 

 

^^We decided to check out Pittock Mansion for the views of the city but unfortunately it was too foggy to see anything below us. It was really beautiful regardless and we can’t wait to take another trip up there.

Daryl and Macy, I’m so glad you guys could come visit. Can’t wait to do it again!!

Finding normal.

This morning, I got up, got dressed and took Alex to work. I pulled my clothes from my closet and not a suitcase on the floor. I knew how to successfully drive him to work without having to look up directions. When I returned, I parallel parked like a boss in front of our building and took Oscar on a short walk around our block. We encountered other dogs, friendly neighbors, construction and not nearly enough grass. On our way back to the apartment, I grabbed a tea and a croissant at the coffee shop downstairs and picked up a Willamette weekly. Oscar and I then patiently waited for the elevator and when we got to our floor Oscar knew which door to stop at.
I unlocked the door, hung up my coat, and breathed a sigh of relief.
Things are finally feeling… Normal. It’s one of the best feelings and one I so juvenile took for granted. Alex and I turned our whole world upside down a month ago and things are finally starting to feel like they’re turning back around.
Honestly, the first week or so here I was terrified. We knew no one, didn’t know where anything was, didn’t know where we were. We didn’t even know what walking outside our apartment door lead to.
Everything was big and busy and so different from anything we were used to. No more parking lots and quickly being able to run to Walmart or being able to just get around.
It was.. Daunting. I remember the first day after my mom had gone and Alex was at work just being terrified. I wanted lunch but didn’t know where to go or how to get there or even how to manage on my own. It seems so silly now, but I felt so lost. The city just swallowed me whole. I decided I had to take charge of this or I was going to end up losing myself in the shuffle.
So, I unpacked. I went on long walks with Oscar. I google mapped everything and figured out how to get around. I found the cheapest gas, the best grocery store. We found the most amazing pizza place with the absolute best salad I’ve ever had. We found a huge plate of five dollar nachos and 3 dollar beers. I found a place that makes fresh juice with the loveliest people working there.
And now, a little over a month later I feel home. It’s an incredible feeling isn’t it? One I didn’t even know I missed until I was searching for it.
And this city. THIS CITY. It breathes life and hope and all good things. Not only is it incredibly beautiful, the people are genuine. They’re giving and thoughtful and you can just see it radiating out of them. When people ask you how you are they’re not just saying it to say it, they actually want to know. It’s making me see and appreciate a side of myself I never even knew existed.
And Oscar, oh Oscar. He has become a Portland celebrity of sorts. You have no idea how many times people have stopped me to take his picture, pet him or let him lick their face. And he is loving it. People give him love and treats and admiration everywhere we go and he is just eating it up.
So here’s to Portland. Thank you for filling a hole in me I never knew existed and challenging me to the very core of my being. It has been a long road to get here but I’m glad this is where we ended up.