Saturday

3rd Annual Portland Trip!

About three years ago my mother, sister, and I started a tradition of traveling to Portland once a year together. We keep it short and sweet to keep everyone in a fresh and happy mood and also so that we don't run out of things to do.


Our first stop was the delicious Pine State Biscuits which if you have been to Portland you probably have been told that its a must to go to. Delicious sausage or mushroom gravy for biscuits. Freshly fried, seasoned chicken bacon egg and cheese sandwiches. Scones with locally made apple butter. Specially Portland drinks made in house.

Our next stop is my favorite tea shop, Townshend's Tea Company. With fresh made Kombucha, apothecary style tea concoctions, and by the bottle service. Have a headache or cramps or any collection of aliments and they have a tea for you.


Continuing our trip is Portland's famous City of Books, Powell's. The first time I walked in here I was sure I would be stuck in the for hours. Floors and more floors of new and used books. Unfortunately, this City does have a place for rent, otherwise I would never leave.

Most people who visit Portland and ask for ice cream recommendations will be sent to Salt & Straw. Delicious and various flavors, but Salt & Straw is almost going to guarantee you a half hour to an hour wait. Since we had been to Salt & Straw several times we checked out another local ice creamery and I think I actually prefer it. Cool Moon Ice Cream is downtown and had such a great collection of flavors. The goat cheese and fig was smooth with a sweet little taste of fig through out. Spicy Thai peanut was the perfect amount of peanut butter ice cream with just a hint of spice. My final decision was the Thai ice tea ice cream which is definitely as good as it sounds.

One of our favorite brewery's we visited this year has to be he Lucky Labrador. It is a large dog themed beer hall/brewery with local hand crafted tap handles. Great beer variety, great services, and (though we were to full to eat) great smelling and sounding food.



Hopworks was amazing. . Yummy food, form pulled pork sandwiches, pizza, and awesome salads. The beer is a must and I found my favorite immediately. It's called "I Am The Jelly Doughnut". A very sour beer (my favorite) which they give you a side of cherry "filling"(syrup) to pour to your own taste. I definitely making the trip if you are going to visit a brewery in Portland.




 Our final land mark before leaving was Voodoo Doughnuts. One of the most iconic foods of Portland which means the line is always several blocks long, morning, noon , and night. We finally found there other location which had a much shorter line. The doughnuts were delicious. I tried the butterfingers, the maple bacon, and the Mexican hot chocolate. The chocolate one was Very spice to me. The bacon was just right on the maple doughnut. My favorite was the butterfingers. Definitely worth a try but I think once is enough because of the lines.

Wednesday

Running for a Change

https://www.facebook.com/groups/tacomarunners/#
      So I recently joined the Tacoma Runners group. It combines three things I like: running, alcohol, and losing weight. My first run with the group was on July 31st. I joined with my friend Katie for this slightly over 3 miles run. Yes we were not first, but we weren't technically last either. It was actually a lot of fun. Our run, (Rum, I mean Run run), started out at the Tacoma Cabana which would be our ending destination. The run consisted with small high hills, some stairs and extended flat run along the water street. The view was beautiful as we ran down the University of Washington Tacoma stairs, past the glass bridge, and along dock street and back to the new vamped downtown area. Along the way we made a few new friends. Page was wonderful by keeping conversation up while we fell behind. By the end we met a beautiful puppy who definitely dragged his owners behind.


      We enjoyed ourselves so much that our next 3.2 mile run is tomorrow with a wedding theme. Hopefully through our joining we make some more social acquaintances. The theme is derived from two members in the group getting married. I have high hopes that the perks of joining a running group will pay off! Maybe some of my readers would be interested in joining?
*photos from Tacoma Runners facebook

Friday

Tires, Paint, and Plants


With the sun out and my boyfriends, (Stephan), new obsession with gardening, it was a perfect day to make planters. Stephan found some well used free tires and we got to work. First we picked out some colors that coordinate as well as were on sale. Then cut some drainage backs for the tires. 

We took a pallet and painted it a nice neutral color that ties the other colors. We tried several different forms of stacking. 
We then sprayed out the back of green tire black so that it blended in with the dirt. Finally, we added the plants!





Saturday

From Trash to Treasure

Director chairs are the coolest! You feel tall, powerful, and in control. Digging through my fathers dilapidated basement, I found an old chewed on director style wood folding chair. I decided to grab it and fix it up.
This style chair, but with white wood and red canvas.
 After taking it apart and two rounds of sanding I landed on a color. This beautiful soft grey named gibraltar cliffs. After hunting on line I choose this adorable jelly fish print for the fabric.


After doing this project I think I might want to make a director's chair by hand and make it a set.

Monday

A Patchwork House for Puppy

After
Before
         The other day while hunting for pallets, we found a very dilapidated dog house. Being in the mood to take any and every salvageable piece of wood, we grabbed it.
         Then we ripped it apart. Half the roof was too far gone to repair. The siding was pretty unattractive.
         The interior we cleaned out and sprayed with a water resistant spray. Once dried we put a nice pink coat for sealant. Then we floored it with left over wood laminate from the house. (Yes our puppy is spoiled)
         The exterior we layered over with more wood laminate. Then we made trimming with the same pink as the insides. We also shingled the roof. Half of the roof is on hinges so that we can clean and fix anything easily.
         Having not spent a cent on supplies and only using left over materials, I believe the house turned out pretty nice for my princess.