Random Updates

Posted by Lisa Eirene

What a nice weekend! It was sunny and warm, we went out to lunch at the food carts, and we got a ton of stuff done around the house, plus it was nice to just hang out in the backyard. Yesterday I pulled weeds and cleaned out the raised beds to get them ready for veggies next month and Logan played in his little car, his slide, played in the dirt and threw the ball for Bella. Everyone was happy! (Although I’m paying for it a bit today with my allergies!)

Home Improvement

Our very old fence has been slowly falling apart and the last two winters had some bad storms that basically blew it down in sections. Thankfully the whole thing didn’t fall over, and thankfully Bella is a good girl and doesn’t escape when she’s out in the yard by herself.

We recently got the broken sections replaced and it feels so good to get one more thing off our “to do” list!

And I’m glad we didn’t have to do it ourselves.

Pickled Radishes

I really wanted to make some pickled radishes over the weekend. I found this recipe and gave it a try last weekend. It was pretty easy to do, even though I got rid of my mandoline slicer a few years ago (darn it!). It only took a few minutes to get everything together and then cook the liquid.

After a week I was able to try them. They turned out great! They were really spicy!

Kombucha

I tried Kombucha once a few years ago and I did NOT like it. It was gross to me and then I never tried it again. I couldn’t understand why it was so popular! But recently I randomly tried some berry flavored Kombucha and it was really, really good. I get it now. LOL

So I’ve gotten some random flavors to try and see what I like. Kombucha is really healthy and good for gut health, which is why I wanted to give it a try again. I want to do more to have good gut health. I love kimchi and sauerkraut but you can only eat so much of it. 😉

Please tell me your favorite brand/flavor of Kombucha so I can check it out!

Sourdough

I’ve been watching a friend on IG make her own sourdough bread for awhile now, jealous because I’ve always wanted to make my own bread. Especially sourdough–I feel like it’s really healthy (much healthier than regular bread you buy in a store). I recently asked her for some sourdough starter and she gave me some and instructions.

So last weekend I got the starter and “fed” it. I am really excited to experiment. The starter smells SO good!

This is the recipe my friend suggested: Easy Sourdough Artisan Bread. I’m hoping to make our first loaf in a few weeks!

Big Boy!

Logan has had several haircuts since his first birthday but this was the FIRST haircut where he sat on a booster seat all by himself (without me having to hold him). He did such a good job! I was so proud of him.

Also, Logan helped me make a cake. He loves helping in the kitchen.

How was your weekend?

Playing Hooky & Celebrating

Posted by Lisa Eirene

On Friday I took a vacation day at work and we played hooky! It was a planned hooky…It was our friend Shawna’s 40th Birthday and she planned a day of wine tasting to celebrate with friends and family. Her parents were visiting from California.

So I took Logan to daycare, went to the gym, and then Michael and I drove out to the Gorge to meet up with everyone!

The first stop was at AniChe Cellars in Underwood, WA, just across the bridge from Hood River. Ironically, it was about a mile away from the little house we rented last 4th of July and we had no idea there was a cute winery nearby!

I really liked this winery. Shawna was a member so we all got complimentary tastings. Yay! And we got a tasting plate that paired with each wine tasting. It was different kinds of dried fruits, cheese and chocolate.

My cousin Anna, her husband, her sister Carrie and their parents came, too, plus some friends.

I ended up buying a bottle of the “Lizzy” (Southern Rhône styled blend of 62% Marsanne and 38% Roussanne). From their website: This dry wine elicits a more complex palate of chamomile, dried herbs, honeysuckle, beeswax and green tea. Enjoy with fresh fig, salty proscuitto, and baked chicken with Provencal herbs.

I liked how crisp and slightly sweet it was.

I also bought a bottle of “Be Holden” (a blend of Malbec, Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, and Merlot, from the Horse Heaven Hills and Rattlesnake Hills).  Bold quince and blackberry followed by rich vanilla, tobacco and spice. YUM!

I loved that they named all their wines references literary greats. After the tasting we ended up buying a bottle of red and white to share with everyone outside. It was a drizzly, cold day in the Gorge but the firepit area was covered and the firepit was warm. So we all hung out and snacked on the pimento cheese, crackers and the sheeps cheese Michael and I brought.

Then it was time to hit the next place. Michael and I made a pit stop at a random taco truck. He got a small burrito and I got a street taco. It was really good! We will definitely stop there again in the future.

The next stop was Syncline. We used to be members there but suspended it last fall. I hope to start up again in the future. It’s a great place for the summer. It definitely looked different in the winter! No hammocks, corn hole, bistro tables…but there was a great fire pit!

It was raining a bit. But somehow it wasn’t miserable. It was just fun hanging out by the fire, doing our tastings, chatting, celebrating Shawna.

There weren’t a lot of people there, either, so it was quiet and peaceful.

Shawna brought a bunch of cheese, bread, crackers, fruit and Anna brought an amazing pasta salad. I did half a tasting but we were short on time and had to leave to get back to Portland in time to pick up the munchkin from daycare. Hugs and well wishes and then we went home. The rest of the group was going to head to another place and then out to dinner.

It was an excellent day. PLUS, Michael and I were kinda celebrating, too, because….HE GOT A JOB!!! As you can guess, we are SUPER excited and relieved. I might tell you guys in the future where, because it’s pretty awesome. 😉

It’s a contract-to-hire type of thing. So hopefully like at his last place, it was a 30 Day contract and then they hired him permanently. We’re crossing our fingers for this time.

We picked Logan up from daycare and the other big news: we converted his crib to a “big boy” bed by taking one side off. He’s been successfully climbing out his crib for a few weeks now. It was definitely time!

So that was our exciting weekend! How was yours?