A La Carte

Last night was my first double date with my boyfriend's dad and stepmom. To be completely honest, I was not nervous at all for it! I have been around them a few times but knew this would be an amazing way to get to know them better. They don't go downtown very often so we thought it would be fun to take them to the Hawthrone Blvd food carts. These are my absolute favorite set of food carts because they have my favorite ones there. Anyone who knows me, knows that I love potatoes and especially French fries. So when I was reading Potato Champion's menu and say that they had a vegetarian poutine on there, I knew that's where our money would be going. Poutine is French fries that are drenched in gravy (vegetarian in my case) and topped with cheese curds. This dish mixes my favorite things, French fries, gravy and cheese. We also got regular fries with a rosemary ketchup that was to die for. I love the fries here because they first of all, keep the skins on them, and second of all, they are crispy without being too crunchy. I couldn't resist shoving my face with them once we got the order so this picture was taken halfway through my rampage. 

After we got our fries, we were informed that the bar next door (High Dive) allowed people to bring in their cart food and order drinks there. It being national tequila day yesterday and me just naturally loving margaritas, I got the ginger margarita. It was love at first sight. After that first sip, I knew that this would be a really easy drink to finish because it was so good. There wasn't an unreasonable amount of tequila in it and just the right amount of ginger. High Dive is definitely the perfect spot to enjoy your food cart food and a drink. 

Dessert is necessary after any good meal and since we love Pix Patisserie so much, we wanted to share that love with the parents. They instantly felt the love once they saw the outstanding dessert case when you walk into the restaurant. It was definitely like father like son the whole night (they wore the same shirt), but this just topped it off. They ordered the exact same dessert and coffee and I loved every minute of it. I love seeing their relationship because they constantly joke with each other and you can tell that they genuinely care about each other. 

For dessert I decided to switch it up and get a Rosemary and pear tart. Clearly the theme of the night was Rosemary, which I was totally ok with. The tart was not overdone or underdone, but it was just right. Every bite was like a flavor blast in your mouth because you could taste the pear and the Rosemary at the same time without being overwhelmed. It was the perfect end to the night. 

I loved doing this double date with them and showing them around Portland so much that we decided to try and make it a monthly thing! We are also doing the same with my parents which we are very excited about! Also, last night I definitely dreamed about that poutine. It was that good. 

Simplify Your Relationship

With social media being so prominent in everyday life now, life has become a competition. It can be from who goes on the most lavish trips, to who has the best life. I used to be one of those people who was concerned with having my life appear like it was so amazing. Especially in the love department because my past relationship were not worthy of showing to the world. I wasn't the best at choosing guys who would be right for me.

That all changed when I started dating my boyfriend. We learned from the very start of our relationship that there needed to be a balance. Not everyday was going to be exciting and extravagant, but we needed to learn how to do the simple things together also. 

During the weekdays, we lay low. Since I work retail my schedule is not consistent. My boyfriend has a set schedule so when I don't work nights, we spend those evenings together. It can range from making dinner together to watching the bachelorette on Mondays. That way we can save up and do the more extravagant things on the weekends when we are both off. We make the most out of the time that we do spend together and that's all that really matters. 

We also are hardly ever on our phones when we are together and that makes quite a big difference. It's also nice to just go off of the grid and enjoy the world around you instead of being consumed to a world condensed into a phone.

Spending time with each others' families is also important to me and him as well.  I am extremely close to my family, so I love that he gets along with them so well and that my family is obsessed with him!  Being close with his family is something that I am working on, but so far so good! They are going to be my family one day, so it's important that I have a good relationship with them.  It's also nice to just hang out with the families on those days where we are just relaxing.

Being in this good of a relationship is very new to me still and I love learning all of the right things to do in relationships because in my past I knew of all of the things that were bad in relationships.  

Everyone has that one person out there that makes their life easier instead of more complicated.  Just be patient and they will eventually be in your life! 

My Honeybees

In this collage above, I have the most important people in my life. Today I decided to talk about some more about  the people in my life!

I like referring to the people who are most important to me as my honeybees. This is because a hive would not be able to function without the honeybees in it. 

First I will tell you all about my family. We have always been really close and they are my foundation. My parents have been married for almost 30 years, which I think is amazing and they are my role models for the way I want my marriage to be.y brother and I have been best friends since he was born. His opinion means so much to me. He is 3 years younger than me, but everyone thinks that we are twins because we look like it. People always say that they love being around my family because they are so inviting. But we are definitely very loud and laugh a lot. 

My boyfriend and I haven't been together for very long, but I knew almost instantly that he was the one for me. I am naturally a very guarded person because of things that have happened in the past, but with him, I completely let my guard down. It was funny because my family has even talked about how much they like us together and call him their other child now, which they never do. I could not be more thankful that he and into my life. We talk about when we get married all of the time and have kids. This is really abnormal for me because I never wanted to get married until I met him. So my friends and family love hearing me talk about it now. He is really the most caring, supportive, the best listener, and he is always up for an adventure. He has definitely made me to feel comfortable and excited to see what our future holds!

Below the picture of him and I, is a picture of my best friend and I. We have been best friends since our senior year of high school when she transferred to my school. Even though we didn't go to the same colleges, we have been there for each other through thick and thin. There have been a couple of bumps in the road but this girl is my sister and we are always there for each other. Every time we are together, we are constantly laughing and never stop talking. 

I hope that you all enjoy reading a little more about my life and the people in it! 

I'm Feeling 22

This past weekend was my birthday weekend! That is the joy of having a summer birthday, is that I can do things all weekend long. On Saturday, my actual birthday, is when all of the best things happened. I knew I wanted to keep my group small, so I only had my closest friends and my little family.

The day started off my going to one of my favorite breakfast places in Portland. Jam on Hawthorne is one of the best places to go to as a vegetarian. Of course I decided to go with the biscuits and gravy because it is my absolute favorite meal. I had the full order of biscuits and gravy, but I was stuffed after eating half of the plate. That's good news for me because I was able to enjoy the leftovers the next day for lunch. The biscuits are soft and fluffy, while the vegetarian sausage gravy is thick and hearty. I could eat this everyday. 

After lunch, my boyfriend, my best friend and I, went to Ponzi Winery to do some wine tasting. I have always heard wonderful things about this winery and have seen the most amazing pictures from there. So I thought it would be the perfect activity for the afternoon. We started off with a bottle of Pinot Gris which I loved. It was a nice and light, smooth wine. Next was a real crisp Rosè, which we all loved. The last one that we tried was a Pinot Blanc, which was the perfect finish to our wine tasting. I have never been wine tasting before or have ever been to a winery. So this was a perfect birthday activity. We are all definitely going back soon.  

After the winery, we went downtown to go to Casa del Matador. I really enjoy the food and drinks there, but the service is absolutely dreadful. When we got there, we were seated at a table by the bar since we were a group of six by that point (my boyfriend's best friend and wife met up with us). We were not given any menus and we were all sitting there for 10 minutes before a waitress came. Once she came to take our drink orders, I informed her that we were never given menus in the first place to look at. So she went and grabbed us some menus. We then ordered our drinks and they were brought out to us about 10-15 minutes later. The waitress did not check on us for about another 30 minutes. We were going to order food, but since every step of the process there was taking so long, we decided to go somewhere else for food. We knew that if we had ordered food, it would be another 45 minutes until we would eat the food. This isn't the first time I have had horrible service at this restaurant though. 

Once we got the check, we knew that we needed some food in our systems. The best place to have quick, fantastic food near there is Little Big Burger. That is usually my go to place on NW 23rd when I need a quick bite to eat. After enjoying a delicious meal, the original group of us, wanted to get one last drink. My boyfriend suggested for us to go to Bartini, which I have never been to. As soon as we got the menu, I noticed they had an elderflower drink, and I knew right away that was what I was having. I throughly enjoyed the drink and loved sitting outside. After we finished our drinks, we were all a bit tired, so we stopped by the store to get one last bottle of wine and then went to hang out at my boyfriend's. This was the perfect way to end the night. All in all, this was the best birthday yet and I could not be more grateful for all of the people who helped me celebrate it!