Las Vegas baby!

The title is deceiving, really. We did go to Las Vegas last weekend, true, but we didn't live it up the way most who visit do. It was Mom's birthday and we always make a point of spending it together, either here or there. It was also the week before she moved into her lovely new house, and so I couldn't wait another minute to get down there and see the place (alas, no photos this time).

the birthday mama

the hub, cool as a cucumber in hot & relatively muggy weather. he thrives, really. my boss calls that kind of weather "close."

these trees are made to look REAL (and the do), only the "leaves" are bright hot pink or blue or purple or green. the effect was most impressive when a few trees of the same color were clumped together. i couldn't help but wonder what my tree-loving team at work would say...

i think this was the first time it rained in las vegas for ryan. when it rains there, its often accompanied by lightening & thunder, and you can really smell the ozone. i love it.

It was a quick weekend of birthday celebrating, a little moving, some swimming (which does remarkable things to cool one off, or did you know that already?), and a bit of shopping for her new home.

Another grand time spent with family from afar.

To Las Vegas, over to Phoenix, and back

Still thirstily savoring our trip. Saw Las Vegas through new eyes. Journeyed over to Arizona for a great visit with friends*. Had some excellent family time.

Tapas with Mom & Tom

Fancy new water feature, b/c water is a renewable resource in the desert

My eyes are swollen here. I had allergies. But doesn't Ryan look cute?

Yes, this is a restaurant. Ryan says it looks like a smoking device.
I could do without the bunnies.

And here we have an ice sculpture

See that horizontal strip of glass in the sky? Its the hotel lobby.

My pretty Mom & me

View from fancy bar

Leaning yellow towers

Mom, Tom, the Strip

The Chandelier

We knew this was coming

More pretty ma

Here I'm sporting dorky clip-on sunglasses and
allowing the sun to burn the part in my hair

Go Giants (in both San Francisco and NY)!

Homeward bound

*If you must know, we visited Jess & Scott. Jess was my maid of honor and we were born 12 days apart. They used to live in Portland right next door (that was intentional and not how we initially met). Now they have two adorable kiddos in Arizona. Ryan is 12 days apart from Zack, one of Jess's cousins. Zack and Ryan watch football together. Then there's Hilary, Zack's sister. We like her, too, and spent Christmas Eve at her house. Plus there's Hilary's parents Randy & Sue; we've visited them in San Fransisco and I once worked for Sue. The connections go on but I stop with this tidbit: Ryan's brother Kenna originally met Jess at a wedding in California when Ryan and I were still in Boston ten or so long years ago. It was meant to be.

A new series

Beautiful pic from here

It's been about a month since I checked in around here (last post notwithstanding). This is mainly because we have been traveling like a bunch of circus performers the last few weeks. Ryan's seen rural parts of Oregon & Washington on a week-long camping trip, I've been down to Sequoia/Kings Canyon National Park, and we both went to Olympic National Park last weekend. Now Ryan is in Maine and I'll be joining him soon enough, with possible side trips to Boston & New York.

So, I thought I'd launch a short series of "Where we've been," comprised mostly of photos and maybe some recipes associated with the locales we've been to or are going to be visiting soon. First trip coming up soon!

*Also, notice the new food & design blogs I've added to the bar at the right. They're worth checking out!

One more for the road

*These are some of the things Ryan sees when he's at the beach

I am grateful for a chance to head to the coast for the weekend. I'm taking my newly finished summer quilt with me for lounging, along with a good book and some sun block.

Happy weekending!

Vacation, anyone?

I could see myself settling in nicely here.






Images of Yellowstone cabin found here.

Home & Outlander

We are back from our journey to the shore. It was the kind of week where you loose all sense of time: eating when you’re hungry, sleeping when you’re tired, reading when you feel like it (I read over 1000 pages!), staring at the ocean daydreaming, and then walking on the beach when you get antsy from sitting. We've returned home feeling rested and energized for school, work, and autumn.

And what could possibly compel me to read 1000 pages in less than a week, you ask? Well! The Outlander Series by Diana Gabaldon no doubt. Recommended by several others recently, these books have quickly found their way into my heart and home as favorites. And really, I can’t put them down.

It’s extremely good stuff, involving a time-travel love story spanning from post-WWII Brittan to mid-18th century Scotland Highlands. There are six books total, plus another one coming out this fall, and I LOVE them and can't put them down for a single instant.

The story makes me want to go to the Scotland Highlands and drink Johnny Walker. Really.

We're out

R&R are headed to the beach for some r&r. We're going to the place we return to again and again. The journey has become an annual pilgrimage and I love it.

We'll be back next weekend in time to welcome Henry James to the world.

Ciao, baby, and happy almost fall!

Greece

Greece is calling to us. We're calling right back, promising to come for a visit real soon! In the mean time, we're making do with the following:

- Honey Frozen Yogurt (recipe follows) with Tyler Florence's Fig, Date & Honey concoction on top
- Foti's Greek Deli (& market), right near our abode at 1740 East Burnside
- Rick Steve's Athens and Side Trips episode, which we watched last night as part of our Saturday night OPB TV line-up
- Mama Mia. Since I'm not a huge fan of musicals, I was skeptical for the first 10-20 minutes. But the scenery drew me in, then the story, and yes, finally the music. By the end of it I was singing right along.

After these delights, Greece has been promoted to top dog on our ever-evolving list of places to see.

Here's the fro yo recipe. I made it this afternoon as a reward for working sixty hours this week. It's a decent consolation.

Honey Frozen Yogurt
3 cups (720g) Greek-style yogurt
1/2 cup (150g) honey (I added a tiny bit more to minimize the tang of the yogurt)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix together the yogurt, honey, and vanilla. Stir until the honey is incorporated. Refrigerate 1 hour.

Freeze in your ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions.

Summer camping

Cool air
Warm, smoky fires
S’mores
Lounging in hammocks, under the trees
Waking up to a rockin’ thunderstorm
Ruby-the-wonder-dog at the river, catching rocks
Surfing (not me) and the ocean, almost warm enough to swim in
Reading my book for long stretches, and being constantly interrupted by good conversation and happy laughter.
Good meals & very sip-able sangria

Was a most-excellent camping trip. Wish it was a day or two longer. Looking forward to the next one. And I think Nehalem Falls is my new favorite camp site.




Note the green & yellow tablecloth in the background. I made that. It has pockets to hold dry, clean towels, plates & utensils, and several straps for paper towels. I’m debating whether I should have made it with waterproof plastic (like the red & white checkered wipeable picnic tablecloths one can find in the camping isle) since it rained twice. The verdict is still out.






This will be (hopefully) my next camping trip accessory.

From Portland to Portland

To see more trip photos click here.
(note to fam: these are out of order and, in some instances, upside down - we're working on trouble-shooting)

What can I say? We are home after a fun and filled week-long sojourn to Maine, equally missing our trip and feeling glad to be back.

We put 800 miles on the rented mini-van (long story short, no we do not typically reserve mini-vans when we go on vacation, but can now appreciate their appeal) and covered ground from Manchester, NH to Orono, ME. Here are the highlights:

in Portland, ME:
01 Casco Bay Ferry - we took the sunset tour and had a ball imagining ourselves as summer islanders
02 The Front Room Restaurant - for brunch and dinner respectively
03 Portland Pie - trust me on this: try their Nor'easter pizza
04 Maple's Organics - homemade gelato
05 Angela Adams - high design for the home at its finest
06 David Wood - high design for men's fashion at its finest (and beautifully inspired window displays)
07 LL Bean - it's a campus, really

North of Portland, and really the crux of the trip, we met our seven-week old niece Anna, ate lobster, attended an end-of-year school performance starring Christian and Olivia, orchestrated a three-sibling reunion between Kelly, John & Ryan, were honored guests at my mother-in-law's beautiful, circa 1790's (yes) lakeside home, and swung by our favorite coastal town, Belfast, for some fresh air and shopping.

All in all, 'twas a right good vacation indeed, deah!