TIME IS A BLESSING: SIMPLE LIVING AT HOME

This autumn season is the first in as long as I can remember where the cooling months have been accompanied with time to slow down and work on projects that have been on the back-burner by default for so long, as opposed to gearing myself up to riding the seemingly, never-ending express train that came with juggling graduate school, clinicals, and day to day life as a wife, home-maker, daughter, sister, friend, etcetera. This has meant ample time to make a morning out of my coffee, meet up with loved ones, cook-up recipes low and slow for my husband and I to enjoy come dinner time, and the time to go for long runs together as opposed to scrambling come daybreak to squeeze in a T-25 workout before dinner + clean up, and gearing up for whatever prep necessary for the following day. It has truly been lovely. 

It has also been a blessing to have the time to interview with potential employers and take control of my career. These past few months at home since graduating in August with my MA in Speech-Language Pathology (SLP) have allowed me the time to truly understand the spectrum of career options as a SLP, as well as the time to take care of all of the necessary legalities that come with getting licensed in the state of New Jersey. Truth be told, I've done the leg work, and running errands during the smooth-sailing time period that is Monday through Friday business hours is a world of a different story than running amuck trying to handle said business on lunch-hour phone calls and during rush hour havoc. I am thankful my husband and I have been able to keep things afloat on his salary alone during this time, for it now means that our future will be brighter come late November when I am licensed and working a job I am honestly excited about. 

And so now, as we approach the end of October and welcome the holiday season just around the corner, I have my days at home counted before my license kicks in and I am able to start working full-time as a bilingual speech-language pathologist for babes, ages birth to 3. That being said, I 100% realize that soon life will inspire a world of new changes and require adjusting to a brand-spankin' new rhythm of living, but for now, I am enjoying making myself busy and active with things I enjoy, truly living a life of leisure, running to the market and nearby coffee shops whenever I please, and tending to a life where the toughest decisions of my days are coming to terms with what I should make for dinner and when I should I go for my mani and pedi. 

These are days to remain present in and enjoy full-heartedly. 

FINAL SNIPPETS FROM OUR PDX TRIP: BRUNCH & SHOPS ON MISSISSIPPI AVE

Today as I type these words and string together the last of our pdx snippets to share, I realize that this post has been sitting in my draft folder for longer than I care to admit. Days have turned into weeks, and now September has turned into end of October, but alas, I'm realizing that there's no better time than the present to work our way through whatever to-do's on our lists. This post is one item off said to-do list and it's with great pleasure that I send it off to the world via my little blog space. Feelings of accomplishment and sweet nostalgia all wrapped up into one little post. I'm with that. 

We had a sweet brunch date complete with vintage shopping during our northeast pdx visit, starting with delicious eats and coffee at the lovely Tasty n' Sons in North Williams, Portland. Spicy lamb sausage nestled in tomato sauce and sweet pepper goodness with perfect baked eggs atop, a breakfast board with all types of crowned jewels to enjoy, and endless hot coffee to share, topped off before ever having the chance to notice it was nearing empty. Truly, perfection. We were even sent little bacon-wrapped figs dipped in maple syrup heaven, on the house -- just because. We honestly had nothing but good things to say about this killer little brunch spot when heading out to the shops on Mississippi Avenue, bellies full and with happy hearts.

I'll be honest and say that thrift shopping can sometimes give me anxiety: the claustrophobic nature that comes with old smells and digging through the immense amounts of clutter can sometimes get to me and really turn me off entirely. That being said, there's something about well curated shops with that perfect mix of old and new that really speaks to me: shops with novelty goods, woodsy vibes, hand-crafted candles, family heirlooms, vintage analog cameras and prints, tins with recipe cards, hats galore, books, apothecary, decorative brass gems for the home, and good, structured pieces with a certain flair about them to add to the closet, to name a few. Those are the good ones. Oh, and if by chance you could split rent with a dreamy florist shop complete with gorgeous light pouring in and heaps of floral arrangements for me to swoon over like Flutter + Emerald Petals, well, that's even better. Animal Traffic was well worth the visit, too.

So that's that. There went the last of our Oregon trip and I hope it will be put to rest in the memory books in good light for us to look back on. To put a bow around it all, I can say it was a time to remember filled with simple pleasures: incredibly delicious food, good conversation, loads of fresh air, laughs, and the best that we could ask for of craft beer, woods, and city hangs. I hope to return to Oregon in the future and do it all over again... Perhaps next time we'll explore the coast we have been dreaming up, as well as some old and new nooks in the city we loved.

SNIPPETS OF OUR PDX TRIP

Portland, Oregon impressed me as a progressive, aesthetic-centered city: quality over quantity, lush amounts of greenery juxtaposed against the perfect amount of gritty, and a simple, lively city that honors all things craft. Definitely a city that though far away from home and what's familiar and true to us, we could see ourselves in. Perhaps. What's more, for a girl that has kind of a thing for roses, exploring the north- and south east segments of the city, as well as a couple of must-see's in the downtown area (including the Rose Gardens), was a dream. I mean, fields and fields of garden roses of every variety you ever did see and could dream up. Roses the size of my face.

The north- and southeast parts of Portland were my favorite. Tree-top homes and lush green neighborhoods, and always, always, a handful of neighborhood gems. Pictured in this post are some highlights from our time spent in southeast pdx where we stayed, and a few strays while visiting some of the downtown area. I'll follow-up with the northeast pdx part of our trip in a separate post, eventually. The northeast was a little brunch and shopping dream come true.

Of the southeast portion of Portland, we found we most enjoyed exploring neighborhoods between SE Burnside and SE Division. Lots of strolling, and always a good coffee to be enjoyed while exploring via foot, basking in the sun (yes, pdx was nothing but sunshine for us!), and stopping here and there for a bite to eat. We found both residential homes to swoon over as well as a substantial amount of local coffee shops, gardens, parks, eateries, food truck pods, bars and breweries, vintage shops, and just about whatever your heart could desire. We ate, drank, and were made merry beyond what all our planning could have done up. Our only qualm with SE pdx when all was said and done was running out of time.

As mentioned, we stayed in the southeast segment of the city and were made feel at home in no time. Our favorite neighborhood spots during our trip were hands down Cheese & Crack Snack Shop, Crema (our corner cafe), and a food cart pod around the corner featuring a craft-beer cart and a Mexican-inspired truck called Guero. I mean, we had delicious, cold apricot IPAs on draught, and mexi bowls and tortas to boot at our disposal. Ugh and the dreamy cheeses (i.e., creme brule brie, country cheddar), homemade jams, local honey varieties, toasties, and pickled goodness at Cheese & Crack? It would be both my best dreams and nightmares come true to live around the corner from such a gem. So incredibly well curated and delicious. We also loved our strolls down Hawthorne for the $4 movies and vintage shops, and SE Division for all the delicious restaurants + bars available. 

Downtown portland was short-lived for us as other than some of the food trucks found, the rose gardens (which I will spare you with the insane amount of rose images I collected while there), and some of the breweries, we enjoyed ourselves much more east of the river. We spent an afternoon exploring downtown. Nong's Khao Man Gai, a simple Thai chicken and rice with aromatics dish, was a dreamy little package we unwrapped on a park bench for a late lunch. To describe its simplicity would be to butcher it, so I won't. I will say though that it was unlike any Thai food dish I've ever tasted: perfectly tender whole chicken, cooked to perfection and smothered with as much of that secret Nong's sauce as you could wish for. So good. Pints to wash it down and flights to enjoy over talks about the prospects of life, our plans, dreams, and absolutely-nots were also had. Because after all, what better way than to exchange a perfect string of comfortable silences, laughs, and necessary words over some cold ones? It was another afternoon turned into evening inattentive to the clock to add to the memory book.

WILD, WILD OREGON: PT 2

Sitting down to all of these images and walking away to somewhat of a chronology detailed in words would be to make out of something great an exhausting ordeal. I'll have none of that. Instead, here are some iPhone highlights from the first part of our Oregon trip while exploring the Columbia River Gorge:

1. Scenic views including the most majestic pines I ever did see. Also, coffee. Lots of coffee. 

2|3. Mornings turned into late afternoons spent hiking the stunning Eagle Creek Trail woods.

4. Picnics on the river's island overlooking the gorge. We also crossed the Bridge of The Gods into Washington State for $1. You read that right, $1! We shared a flight while reversing the view from Washington to Oregon (not pictured) and laughed at the outrageous bridge-crossing fees we pay here in Jersey and into New York City/Staten Island and vice versa. 

5. Liquid lunches and meals at Pfriem Family Brewers in Hood River. So good we had to return for lunch the next day after making it out the night before at sunset. I had the delicious pole-caught salmon over an arugula, peach + summer corn salad this one time, and David had the roasted beets salad with bratwursts the previous night -- both delicious. 

6. Babes swimming on the river "beach" just a little ways from Pfriem.

7|8. Drying off after hiking up the creek and going for a dip. Also, some lovin'. Always taking a moment to slow down and enjoy what frames wish they could catch. 

9. Another flight at Pfreim! It became our local brewery while out in Hood River. Super close and always uplifting. 

10|11. More from our hike while out at Punchbowl Falls.

12|13|14. Scenes from our favorite brewery in Hood River: Logsdon Farmhouse Organic Ales. This darling barn house brewery served up some of the most delicious Belgian-style farmhouse ales. Their Saison Bretta was my gold, and my husband easily crowned Logsdon as his favorite while out in Oregon (which is a big, big statement considering Oregon is doing things right in the world of beer!).

15|16. Solera Brewery in Mt Hood. We shared a flight and took in the view. Roughed out the winds picking up speed and all.

That's the Gorge portion of the trip in a nutshell. I hope to have our next stop, Portland, summed up to share in a few short days.

xx