Fall is here... well kinda

I am so excited that it is finally fall. Dont get me wrong, I love sunshine and that feeling of being warm. However, this summer was hot! Hot at least for Pacific NW standards. And the reason I said "kind of" in my title was because this weekend is supposed to be well over 90 degrees!

What I love most about fall is the fact that there is a change in season. I love that moment when you can feel the season changing from one to the other. I love knowing that there is this chance to "start fresh" and reflect on the past few months. I think it is healthy to do that and the change in seasons seems like a natural time to do so.

My lovely friends at the Hawks game on Thursday

Things I love about fall are numerous! I love that I get to wear my boots again and long sleeves and sweaters. I love the crispness to the air and dew scattered across the grass in the morning. I love watching my breath turn to cloudy whiteness reminding me that I am alive. I love watching football, waking up early on the weekends to watch college game day or preview for the NFL games. I love PSL and pumpkin anything for that matter. I love going to Sauvie Island to get gourds and pumpkins and bring them home to carve and decorate; pulling out all the seeds and roasting them.

First game of the 2014 season!!

Fall in the NW is perfect. I am hoping based on how lovely (and hot) the summer was, fall will be equally as dry. Not that I dont love the rain, but I selfishly like when the rain is more confined to winter.  Either way, I am looking forward to the change!

Here are some pictures of life's latest adventures. I am going to start posting more, at least I hope! I am getting into more of a routine and it includes more time for reading and writing. It feels good to be introspective again and I am really looking forward to keeping up with my blog. Until next time!

Hanging with my little man

Getting some quality time with my parents

Meeting my newest nephew- Baby Marcus

Bryce's visit to Portland last month!

Catching up June/July

Its been a busy start to the summer. When I think about all that has happened I smile a little because I feel a little bit more like myself. In the same breath, I am also learning my limits and trying to strike a balance between taking care of myself and fulfilling that wanderlust part of me. I have been able to travel a little, go on some adventures in my city and even check off some things on my list. Here is a little recap of the last several weeks (can you believe August is just around the corner??)

Work:
Getting back into the swing of things at work. I am feel like I am able to step back into some of the roles and projects I was working on before I was sick and that has been gratifying. I still get fatigued from a day at work, but it seems to be contained to that evening.

Retreat:
Spent the weekend at a friend's family vineyard and got a chance to get out of Portland for the weekend. It was a nice retreat and I felt rested upon returning. Views of the rolling hills and mount Hood in the background really isnt that bad ;)

Friends visiting:
I have been so lucky to have so many friends who have come to Portland to visit. Camille came a few weeks ago and Kristen was just in town last weekend. Both of these girls are such a blessing in my life and I am thankful for every minute I get with them.

Family time:
I have been able to spend more time with my family these past two months than I thought would be possible. I have made a few trips down to Lebanon to spend with James and Lydia and my brother has been up to stay with me a few nights before taking his boards. All the time spent with these people really feeds my soul. I am so blessed by my family and their regular support in my life.

Travel:
I was able to go back to Minnesota last weekend to spend time with my family there. I got to meet my cousin's little girl and spend quality time with my parents and cousins. The trip was altogether too quick, but thankful I got to see them!

my fabulous weekend

I want to end every sentence in this post with an ! or !!!!!, just so you know.  My best friend Kristen was in Portland to hang out with me for the weekend. Let me start by saying I am completely blessed by this lovely lady. She knows me from all my life stages. We were friends in high school, better friends in college and best life friends since then. She is truly a special friend and I am so lucky to have her only 160 miles from me! Such a perfect weekend!

Friday

 -Breakfast at Jam!!!

-Shopping (including Christmas gift shopping)

-Board games at Vivace

-Home made pizza 

-Home made pumpkin roll

-Wine!

-Authentic conversations til the wee hours

Saturday

-Home made scones and coffee

-Pottery painting!!!!!!

-Shopping

-Snack at Matadore 

-Great American Wife Festival with Kristen and Meghan

-Deschutes; best Mac and Cheese- ever!

-Falling asleep to Season 2 of Grays

Sunday

-Walk around the neighborhood while the sun peaked out on us

-Brunch at the Waffle Window

-Coffee at Barista 

-Ticket to Ride at a Coffee shop (I lost twice to this girl)

-Seahawks win!!!!!! 10-1 to start the season

-Shopping at BR with Tony

-Sunday night football and catch up for the week

-Dinner Chicken Parm and couscous 

Weekend! Fall back...

This weekend was fantastic! Fully of fun fall like activities. On Saturday we went out to Kramer vineyard to participate in their vertical party. We tasted 6 different vintages of the same wine (2005,2006, 2007, 2009, 2010, 2011). It was really cool to learn more about the process of wine making, what goes into harvest and more details about Pinot Noir. I also got to wear my Hunter boots for the first time so I was pretty excited!!

We got back from the vineyard and got ready for the "Fall Back" party. I made some pumpkin bread and provided cheeses and crackers. It was fun to host a bunch of people and just hang out in the new house. I got to see some folks I havent seen in a long while. I wish I would have gotten more pics of friends for the evening.

On Sunday I went to the gym and got a good sweat on. I have been doing well with the workouts so far and surprisingly the hardest part I have noticed is getting my diet on track. Its not that I eat poorly on the whole, but I do like the sweets. I think I will focus on cutting some of the snacking out next week. This week it has been all about getting back to going to the gym! We watched the Seahawks win again and capped the night off by making jambalaya!

I am a bit late to update for the weekend, but it was truly a good one.

A perfect weekend!

Fall in Portland is hard to beat. The crisp cool air, beautiful transition of all the leaves and the abundance of sunshine has made this one of the best fall seasons in my recent memory. This weekend we went to Sauvie Island to get veggies to make fabulous dinners from, went whiskey tasting at some local distilleries and made dinner on sunday and watched a lot of football. Overall, the weekend was perfect and I cannot wait for more fall days ahead!

What a wonderful life!

Oregon Wine Country

This past weekend was a little reminder of how blessed I am to live in a city I love with people I love all around me. Portland is a city that feels more and more like home every passing month. Its hard to know what life is going to look like in the next 5 years, but I know it would take a lot to get me to leave this beautiful city.

This weekend I felt like I was back in my stride. Going on adventures in my city, enjoying good food, participating in activities that any tourist visiting the city would love to do and enjoying the clinking of glasses of craft brews and speciality wines. Here is a little glimpse into my weekend!

Date night at Slow Burger- Best Burger in Portland

 Wine tasting at 3 vineyards in Willamette Valley

Rode the Brewcycle around the Pearl District with co-workers!

Coworkers on the cycle! (physical therapists have the most fun!)

Oh and did I mention I got off early on Wednesday and got to play Ticket to Ride with Jenn while eating wings and drinking tall boys :)

June!!!

June is here! Hard to imagine where the heck this year has gone! In another 30 days or so 2013 will be half over! Today is going to be a little bit of a vomit post because lately there have been so many things on my mind lately:

-So blessed to be a part of Janna and Ryan's wedding this past weekend in Auburn WA! It was so lovely to see some of my favorite people and celebrate those darling two people! Bachelorette party over Memorial Day weekend with the beautiful bride was a blast and I know the wedding will follow suite!

-Work has been crazy busy and there are times where I wonder if I am just bobbing around or actually afloat. I have been on a task team for a few different projects and its been a great growing experience, but challenging as well. Learning to slow down a little during my time off...

-Starting a new fitness challenge with Barre3: 28 Days to Great. I have been wanting to sign up for a month of Barre3 classes, but their schedule dosent match with mine. So a patient recommended doing their online videos. I started a few nights ago with Jenn and tonight's workout was killer! I am looking forward to see how I feel at the end of the 28 days... Hoping to officially start it next week!

-My little nephew turned 1 year old officially on May 26th! So fun to be able to see him last week after going on a long bike ride with my brother. Love living so close to them!!

-I am starting to get excited about this summer! I got the Portland Monthly magazine this week and its featuring the things to do in Portland this summer. I am planning to post some upcoming reviews of some of my favorite places in portland... stay tuned!

Here is a picture recap of the past few weeks!

Hanging with my work girls for a drink 

Playing ticket to ride with Jenn at Bridgeport (sampling beers of course)

Wedding!!!

Weekend update!

I promise I will blog more than a weekend update on here soon, but this weekend was just too good not to go documented. My family was in town and I truly loved hosting them and running around the city with them. I especially loved spending sweet moments with my little nephew. Thank you for traveling all the way to Portland to spend time with me.

Wednesday:

Parents arrive from Montana 

Dinner at Caps and Corks so my dad could try one of their 100 beers

Thursday:

First dentist appointment in 3+ years :S

Positive: Only had a small cavity

Negative: Need my wisdom teeth out

Shopping with my parents :)

Dinner at The Ram with Tony and my parents 

This kid is too much

Friday: 

Worked all day... 

Early evening in with the boy

Saturday:

Brunch with Jenny, Kaitlyn, Shayne and Elyse at City State

Quite time at Sister's coffee

REI with Burk, Lyds, James and my parents

Walked around the Pearl

Shopping! Got a new swimsuit and coat from The NorthFace 

Bubble tea at Tea Zone

Sweet moments with my nephew

Dinner at Bridgeport Brewery!

Games and brews with the family at home

Walking in the Pearl

His Lion Face!

Sunday:

Dad's home made hash for brunch!!!

Zoo with family and the baby!

Made Tony's dad's chlli from scratch

At said chili :)

Watched the AMAs and hung out for a quiet evening 

At the Zoo with James

Siblings :)

Family

This Weekend I...

This weekend I... Flew to Denver! I am attending a certification course in the management of patients with Parkinson's Disease that starts Wednesday and goes through Saturday. I was fortunate enough to take off Monday and Tuesday and am spending a little over a week in Denver. Without further ado, here is my weekend update!

Friday

Had one of my patients tell me I was the first therapist he has had that believes in him

Want to Matchbox with Tony for dinner in SE

Early night in with the boy 

Saturday 

6am flight, which means up at 4, at the airport by 5...

Arrived in Denver, greeted by my lovely Camille!

Brunch at Snooze

Dinner at Old Chicago- started the St. Patrick's Day mini beer tour

Drinks at Wynkoop with grad school friends

Sunday

Church with the Lider's

Brunch at Dozen's with Camille, Josh and Tracy

Relaxing afternoon

Watched Timber's home opener

Took a nap!

Dinner with friends: Camille's famous enchiladas 

This Weekend I.../Guest Post

Biking riding weather!

Happy Monday! This weekend was exactly what I needed! I was going to go to Seattle to hang out with Kristen, but felt like I needed some time to just be in Portland and catch up with life-duties and some friends (near and far). I was able to sleep in both Saturday and Sunday and spent some quality time with friends in between. The sun poked its head out a few times throughout the weekend, which was much needed after a week of gloom.  Here is a look at my weekend!

Friday:

Had the best coffee I've had in a while

Whiskey Flights with Jenn at Southland Whiskey

A chill evening to end a crazy week

Whiskey Flights

Saturday:

Brunch at Vivace

Lunch with Fiona at Elephant Deli

Bought a new bike seat that has extra padding 

Relaxing afternoon before watching UFC fight with Jenn

Met up with Tony and Fiona in SE for a few drinks

Sweet Here After with friends

Sunday: 

Lazy Sunday morning

Grocery shopping prep for meal from scratch (post later this week)

10 mile bike ride in the sunshine (with my new seat!)

Made enchiladas from scratch with Tony

I also wanted to mention that I wrote a guest post for Jess over at Sasta that was featured this weekend. She has a lovely blog which you should go check out NOW! She is visiting Portland for the first time and she asked me to write about some of my favorite things to do in Portland. While writing it, I was reminded how much I love this city!

Link up with Sar and Syndal

This weekend I...

So much has happened this weekend and its not even close to being over! My family has been in town and we have been taking one adventure after another. Feel very blessed with my family time...

Thursday:

Surprised with roses

My dad arrived via the road

A walk around NW Nobhill district

Beers and tots at Blue Moon

Trip to Trader Joes :)

Dinner and a home-brew at my apt

Friday:

Work; training on some new neuro equipment :)

My mom arrived from MT via the air

Dinner and Drinks at Matador 

Saturday:

Mani and Pedi with my Moma for her birthday

Brunch with my parents at Kell's

Brewery Tours (blog coming soon)!

First stop: Widmere 

Second stop: Bridgeport

Third stop: Deschutes with Lydia/Burk and James 

Drinks at Henry's with Jordon, Tony and parents 

Sweet Here After with Tony's friends

Sunday:

Lazy morning 

Brunch with Parents, Burk, Lydia and James @ Besaw's

Drove to Lebanon 

Dinner, games, brews and wine with my family

Monday:

Family time in Lebabon

Taking an inordinate amount of photos of my cute nephew