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Archive for September 2013

Monday, September 30, 2013

Portlandia Part III!

So, are you tired of Portland yet? Me neither. But, this is the last Portland blog post (at least until our next visit!). We had a full three days in Portland, with an extra full day for traveling there and again for traveling back home. It took us about 11 hours to drive home (oy) and even though Becks was such a trooper (mommy and daddy complained more than he did), we would definitely fly next time if possible. We had such a great time and can't wait to go back and explore the city some more! Here's the last of our Portland photos (with some from the drive home thrown in for good measure)...

For our last morning in Portland, there was only one place I wanted to go: Screen Door. When planning our trip, I did research on the best brunch places in the city and Screen Door was rated really highly. What really sold it was that their specialty is chicken and waffles. Husband is obsessed with chicken and waffles. Loves them with a deep and fiery passion. So, that's where we went! And they did not disappoint. The wait was long (it always is for brunch in big cities), but not tooo long, just about an hour. Becks was happy hanging out in the sling while we waited. The food was amazing (especially the chicken and waffles!). I got one of their specials for that week, the cornmeal pancakes with berry compote.

After brunch and naps, we went to the Portland Aquarium, which we weren't really impressed with. It was small (really, really small), we were in and out of there in less than 30 minutes. Most of the exhibits were "hands on" so that people could feed the fish (although we didn't partake), and some of the kids didn't seem well supervised. Part of our disappointment might be that we've been spoiled with the Monterey Bay Aquarium, which is (in our opinion) one of the best aquariums in the world. We can't wait to take Becks there!

For dinner, we went to a cute little Mexican restaurant called Cha Cha Cha! that was lovely! Then for dessert, we went to Salt & Straw, an amazing ice cream shop that uses local, organic ingredients. They have some really great, creative flavors (Honey, Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper for one) and their shop couldn't be cuter! There was a long line (25+ people) when we got there, but it moved really quickly and everyone was really nice. Mark had the Freckled Woodblock Chocolate and Double Fold Singing Dog Vanilla. I had the Sea Salt with Caramel Ribbon and Coffee Bourbon. Wow! I loved all of the flavors, but the Sea Salt with Caramel was...! Ridiculously good. So good. Oh, and when you go you have to get a waffle cone. I'm not usually a waffle cone person (I'll take my ice cream in a cup please), but these were necessary. They were making them right then and there and you could smell the waffle cones from the street while you were waiting in line! And when they handed you your ice cream, the cone was still slightly warm! A must for sure.

The next morning, we left after a lovely home cooked breakfast (thanks, Cory!). We stopped for dinner at Chipotle in Redding and got Becks his first kids plate, which he loved so much. That sweet boy was ecstatic to get home and out of his car seat and see all of his toys! He played with them happily for over an hour, just circling them and giggling/chewing on everything. It was the sweetest.

Portland was awesome! Ever since we've been back, it definitely feels like autumn here in Davis (i.e. the weather has mostly been below 85 degrees). We're going to the pumpkin patch tomorrow, I made pumpkin muffins a few days ago and I'm shopping for some boots. Love it!

Sunday, September 29, 2013

Pumpkin Muffins (Grain Free)

It's autumn! I love everything this change in season means: cooler weather (thank goodness), changing leaves, fires in the fireplace, apple cider, cozy blankets, and all things pumpkin! I made some simple pumpkin muffins a few days ago and was really happy with how they turned out. Not my usual recipe, these were grain free (trying to use up some of the coconut flour I purchased a month ago for my sister's birthday cake). I do wish they were a bit more pumpkiny, so next time I would probably add more pumpkin. Even though these were "healthier" pumpkin muffins, the husband liked them and Becks loved them! They're pretty dense - although surprisingly moist, considering they have coconut flour which can dry things out when baking - and very filling because of all of the eggs in them. Recipe below!

Coconut Flour Pumpkin Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

6 eggs

1/3 cup maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup butter, melted then cooled to room temperature

1/2 cup coconut flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 (heaping) teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ginger

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line 12 standard muffin cups. In a large bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, eggs, maple syrup and vanilla, whisk until well combined. In a separate bowl, sift together all dry ingredients. Add half the dry ingredients to the pumpkin mixture and mix until combined, then stir in the melted butter. Finish with the remaining dry ingredients, mixing until just combined. Fill muffin cups evenly (I used a 1/3 measuring cup and it worked perfectly). If you want to, you can top them with cinnamon sugar before baking. I just combined 1/4 cup sugar with 2 heaping tablespoons of cinnamon and lightly sprinkled it over the top. Bake 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool in pan for at least 15 minutes before removing. They're best served warm!

Recipe adapted from The Well Fed Homestead

Saturday, September 28, 2013

Portlandia Part II!

Our second day in Portland was just as fun as the first! As soon as we woke up in the morning (and as soon as we got dressed, changed the baby, pumped milk, packed the car, etc.) we headed to Voodoo Doughnut for breakfast, Portland style! I had been to Voodoo before, but Mark hadn't and I was really excited for him to try it (man loves his doughnuts and his cereal, and Voodoo does cereal doughnuts really well). We got a selection of doughnuts to share and ate outside on their picnic tables. Becks loved them, obviously (we let him have maybe three bites with his puffs and applesauce and milk). Mark's favorite was the chocolate cocoa puffs doughnut and mine was definitely the maple bacon bar (although the cap'n crunch wasn't bad either...).

After doughnuts, we headed to Multnomah Falls! It was a nice drive along the Columbia Gorge, with views of the mountains in the background. Becks slept on the way there, but woke up as we were getting him out of the car, so he was a little groggy for the Falls. He seemed a little weary at first, but did enjoy staring up at them for a while. He also loved all of the doggies that were there. The Falls were beautiful! We joined the other tourists and took lots of photos.

While in Portland, I really wanted to go to a record shop, so my friend took us to Jackpot Records on Hawthorne. They had a great selection of records and the guys working there were really great too. I loved the Hawthorne neighborhood, there were lots of great vintage clothing shops and nice looking cafes. We were short on time unfortunately, so we really only had time for the record shop. Next time though, I'd love to walk (read: shop) around more!

For lunch, we went to Hopworks Brewery. They have handcrafted organic beers and are really family friendly. More importantly though, we met up with my longtime friend Fran! We met in kindergarten in San Francisco and were best friends growing up. We've stayed in touch, but hadn't seen each other in a while. It was SO great to see her and have her meet Becks! He loved her.

We all ordered different items for lunch, but I cannot recommend the "Pint 'O Pretzels" enough. So good! They were house made beer pretzels served with mustard and warm beer cheese sauce. Ohmygoodness.

After our leisurely lunch, we went home and all took long naps (Becks napped for 3 hours!). When we woke up, none of us felt like going out again, so we ordered Thai food in and had a nice night in. Becks practiced walking and got so close! He let go of Mark's hands and took one step before dropping to his knees and crawling the rest of the way. He did that several times too. What motivated him to start walking? Daddy's cell phone. Obviously.

Stay tuned for our last day in Portland!

Friday, September 27, 2013

Portlandia Part I!

So, last week we went to Portland to visit my best friend and her boyfriend, Liz & Cory (and their cute doggy Jax, Becks' new bff). I hadn't seen my friend since November of last year (for my baby shower!), Mark and Becks had never been to Portland before, and Liz & Cory had never met Becks. We had such a great time! It was so nice to have a few days together as a family, away from work, house chores, etc. Glorious! Becks and I love having daddy to ourselves all day long. The weather was great while we were there, Becks was such a good little traveler, and most importantly, it was so nice catching up with my best friend. We can't wait until our next visit! Oh, and I obviously took a crazy amount of photos...

We left at 5am on Wednesday morning (ugh), so that Becks would sleep for the first leg of the trip. He woke up around 9:30am, so we stopped for breakfast (at Black Bear diner in Yreka).

Our next stop was in Eugene for lunch, and to walk around/get Becks out of his car seat for a bit. We ate at Pita Pit (husband's choice) and Becks loved it.

We made it to Portland in just over ten hours...pretty good timing considering we stopped for breakfast and lunch and two additional bathroom breaks (sorry, husband!). It was a loooong drive. Becks was such a trooper and slept or watched Sesame Street through most of it. Mark and I switched off driving (although he drove for 90 percent of it) and listened to an absurd amount of music. Mark was upset that there wasn't a safe way to drive and watch Breaking Bad at the same time...

When we got there, Liz had an amazing dinner waiting for us (pot roast with all the trimmings)! We spent the first night at their lovely home, eating and catching up and letting Becks chase Jax around in his walker. We went to bed early because there was a lot I wanted to do the next day...

The next day we waited until after breakfast and Becks' first nap before heading into downtown Portland. There was only one thing I wanted for lunch...food trucks (emphasis on the plural)! While pondering our choices, we saw Duff Goldman from Ace of Cakes doing the same thing. I'm curious what he decided on for lunch!

I had a pulled pork sandwich for lunch, from "A Little Bit of Smoke". It was good! They have three different types of sauces that they make to choose from (vinegar, red or mustard). I went with "red", and was not disappointed.

Liz and me, happy after food trucks!

Love these two! Mark had a peanut butter and chocolate waffle "appetizer" before devouring a cheese steak. He liked both (loved the waffle) and wanted to go back for "thirdsies", but his stomach didn't share the same sentiment...

Powell's Books! It was so cool to be at this bookstore that I'd heard about for so long. It's huge (it takes up an entire city block) and we picked out a few great books for Becks.

For dinner that night, we went to McMenamins in Oregon City. The weather was perfect for dining on the patio, and we all enjoyed some great beers and burgers. Becks tried his first tortilla chip!

And then dropped the chip. Poor boo made this face afterwards and it was too cute!

For dessert, we decided on pie and found the amazing Pacific Pie Co, home of the "best pie in Portland" and we have to agree! We each had a different slice of pie, and they were all incredible!

Summer Berry pie with fresh whipped cream!

Goofing off before bed in Becks' new glow in the dark PJ's!

As you can see, our first 24 hours in Portland were very filling (literally!). We had the best time, had so much good food to eat, and loved exploring downtown Portland. More to come!

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