Mar 292013
 

I’ve been posting so much about puppies lately, I think it’s time to share some kitties. Below is Maya. You don’t see her much on the blog because she’s a scaredy-cat and hides a lot. She’s very skittish and flees when people enter the room she’s in. She’s silly. I wish she was more affectionate because she’s such a small and gentle cat.

mayacat

And then of course there is Fat Kitty. He’s always around. When I watch TV, this is what it means:

tv1

tv2

Two different days and pretty much the same view for me. No complaints here! It’s awesome. The cats are doing good. I recently got them one of those bubbling cat water fountains. Supposedly it’s supposed to entice them to drink more water. I put it together over the weekend and it took about three days before they finally drank from it. I think they were scared of it. Fat Kitty stalked the water fountain and then would look at the bubbling water, then look at me, then back at the water. Finally they drank from it! So there you go, an update from the fur-babies in my house.

The other night I met my friend Sam for dinner at Tarboush. It’s a Lebanese restaurant I’ve wanted to try for years and just never got around to it. The place is on SE Hawthorne, a very popular place to visit in Portland, in an old Victorian house. There’s also a ton of vegan, dairy-free and gluten-free options marked on the menu.

Sam started with the TarBoush Blood Simple drink. It was a bunch of ingredients I’d never heard of (Fernet-Branca, Canton Ginger Liqueur, lemon & lime juice, and Pomegranate Grenadine) but it was tasty–sweet and tart at the same time.

IMG_4697

I got a glass of Lebanese white wine (Masaya Vin Blanc), it was like a dry pinot gris with a hint of pears. I liked my wine a lot. I asked the waiter (who was super nice and attentive) for advice because I didn’t recognize any of the Lebanese wines. This was a good choice.

IMG_4699

Sam and I shared a happy hour appetizer of “Foul Mouddamas,” it was fava beans cooked with garlic, lemon juice and olive oil. It was really tasty. I ordered the Lamb Shawarma Plate. I almost always order lamb when I go to Middle Eastern restaurants because it’s not something I ever cook at home. It was so good! I ended up eating a little more than I should have. It came with basmati rice and tahini sauce.

IMG_4701

After eating a little too much, I took the rest for leftovers. The next day I had a salad for lunch and topped it with some of the lamb. After dinner Sam and I wanted to continue our chatting because we were having so much fun so we went for a walk on Hawthorne. It was such a nice evening and it almost felt like summer–a warm night that was still light out at 7pm. We ended up at Cup and Saucer where I drank too much peppermint tea and ate some coffeecake.

IMG_4705

Don’t be fooled by the picture, the coffeecake was huge. It was a cream cheese coffeecake and they warmed it up before serving it. The crunchy, sugary topping was the best. I asked for a box immediately and cut the cake in half so I wouldn’t eat the whole thing!

Before I knew it, it was 9pm and I was getting sleepy. When I got home Fat Kitty was anxiously awaiting my return from the front window, saw my car and then raced to the kitchen where he flopped onto his back with his legs in the air. This is what I come home to every day: the “come scratch my belly” pose! It makes me so happy. :)

Have a great weekend guys!

Share
Mar 112013
 

Did you ever play the computer game The Sims? I loved it back in the day. If you never played it, it was kind of like creating your own soap opera. And your “characters” in the game had needs that had to be met: sleep, eat, bathroom, social, etc. There was a bar at the bottom of the screen for each need and if it got too low, the characters would tell you. They’d be angry and wave their fists at the sky. If they were tired, a bed would show above their head and if you ignored it long enough, they’d eventually pass out on the floor wherever they were standing, too exhausted to move to the bed.

Sims2-2._origi

 

I bring this up because I kind of felt that way lately. My calender for March has been overwhelmingly crowded. Acupuncture, work, gym, plans with friends, trying to fit in downtime for myself, relationship time with Michael, chores, and volunteering. I was starting to feel like The Sims. I wanted to wave my angry fist at the sky and demand some down time! I even contemplated canceling EVERYTHING in my schedule for a few weeks.

Apparently what I needed was time with friends. Thursday after work my cousin Anna and I went out for Pho for dinner at Pho Hung. I love Pho! I ate way too much and still had enough leftovers for 2 lunches.

pho

 

After dinner, Anna and I went to N.W.I.P.A for a cider tasting. The tasting was free and I was surprised at how much I liked ciders. It was brewed by 2 Towns Ciderhouse, a brewery from Corvallis, Oregon. I loved their pear cider. It was crisp and dry, with just a little bit of sweetness. I ended up buying a bottle to take home.

ipa1

 

The beer bar had mostly IPAs, which is my favorite beer, and they had my favorite brewery on tap: Boneyard. I got a small glass of their Double IPA and Anna got her favorite beer, Burnside Brewing Sweet Heat. I finally got to try Sweet Heat and I liked it quite a bit. It’s a wheat ale made with apricots and Jamaican Scotch Bonnet Peppers. It was smoky and spicy but not in an unpleasant way.

I felt like I had recharged my battery after that fun evening out. We lounged at the bar for a few hours talking and I just felt a million times better.

IMG_4436

 

Friday evening one of my oldest and best friends, Rachel, came down to Portland for a mini girl’s weekend. We went out to dinner (to The Slide Inn, which was by far the absolute worst meal I’ve ever eaten in a restaurant and I’m absolutely shocked it’s still open. The food was vile, tasted bad, and I’m pretty sure it gave me food poisoning…) and Michael joined us. After the horrid meal we wanted to salvage the night so the three of us went to Pix Patisserie, just up the street from the restaurant. Their desserts are absolutely decadent and amazing and their new location on Burnside is great! The atmosphere was cool, it was a fun vibe, there was tons of space and it was packed.

IMG_4413 IMG_4410

 

Michael and I split the creme brulee. They had about 3 or 4 items that were gluten free and the creme brulee is one. It was magnificent, creamy, crunchy, sweet, perfect. I can’t remember the last time I had creme brulee. After that Michael headed home and Rachel and I went out to a quiet little bar to catch up.

Saturday morning I got up early enough to make it to the very early body pump class. Rachel had about an hour or so of work to do so it was perfect. I got my workout done, she made some money, and then we had the rest of the day together.

photo

 

We went to The Blue Pig for brunch and seemed as though the universe was making up for the horrible dinner the night before. First, it was a gorgeous sunny day in Portland. Second, I was able to get a primo parking spot right in front of the restaurant on Hawthorne–the most popular and crowded area of Portland–and that is unheard of. Lastly, there was NO LINE. We got a table immediately and about twenty minutes later the crowds arrived. We lucked out and got in just between the two rushes. It was crazy!

IMG_4416

 

The Blue Pig’s new location on Hawthorne is great! Huge, fun, comfortable, trendy and I loved the artwork. I ordered breakfast off the kid’s menu because the regular sized portions were huge. I got French Toast, 1 fried egg and 1 sausage link. And lots and lots of coffee.

IMG_4419

 

I need to start ordering off the kid’s menu more often. It’s so much more my speed. After a month of no bread and missing French toast, I was happy to get my craving satisfied. Rachel got the pork belly hash with a humongous biscuit. Check it out:

IMG_4418

 

Our leisurely brunch was really chill and eventually we made our way to Laurelhurst Park to take advantage of the sun and 60+ degree day. We walked around and talked and then parked our butts on a bench by the lake and stayed there for a few hours. The vitamin D was happily soaked up.

IMG_4421

 

I needed that sunshine. It’s been gone far too long. Eventually Rachel and I found our way to a nearby coffeeshop that had outdoor seating in the sunshine. It was the first time I’d been to the Flying Cat Coffeeshop and it was great! The owner was a sweetie and super friendly and the place was somewhere I’d like to hang out–very welcoming. I had a hibiscus iced tea as we sat outside in the sun.

IMG_4433

 

IMG_4430

 

The rest of the day was spent outside playing Sequence, enjoying some downtime and just catching up. It had been way too long since Rachel and I got to hang out. I needed my girl’s weekend badly. Unfortunately, I spent the rest of the weekend feeling sick. Not sure if it’s food poisoning or flu or something else…it certainly was not fun or how I would have liked to spend the rest of my weekend, but I’m so glad I got to see Rachel!

QUESTION: Can you relate to this post? And did you ever play The Sims?

Share