happy turkey day!

i hope a wonderful day was held by all!  we enjoyed ourselves, sleeping in, bumming around and i got to spend time in the kitchen - yes, i enjoy such things : ) - 

here's an exert of the eats of our day . . . our first as a married pair!

in case you might wonder, what are the goodies?

. . . we woke up to amish friendship bread muffins (thanks to my friend kristi), then hors de oeuvres included cheeses, crackers, olives and seafood bites . . . 

dinner was a turkey breast, accompanied by stuffing (though hb refers to it as dressing), green bean casserole - one of my favs, carmelized shallot mashed potatoes, cranberry orange relish, and biscuits (cook's illustrated) - oh and we also had ocean spray cranberry gel as a hb-family tradition!

lastly, after seeing the image on sarah's blog (and knowing my hubby's fondness for caramel), i had to try this caramel pumpkin pie recipe with homemade whipped cream!

while all this seems like the day revolved around food, in some ways it did, but in other ways- we had a chance (maybe me more than hb) to do things we enjoy and just relax for the day . . . as our families turkey day feasts were all in ohio, and as we're saving for our x-mas trip back, turkey day was lo-key and on our own for us this year, though i look forward to future years when we are able to share the day with family!

. . . in reference to food, growing up, my family always enjoyed getting together for holidays and we often gathered around food and drink . . . so in that way, it is very much my way of maintaining that tradition : )

and while we are so very fortunate to have been able to make such a wonderful dinner and spend the day together, we also shared the many things we are thankful for - from each other and our love, amber our pooch, our families and friends, health, our home, jobs, freedom, individuality and many, many more things . . . we are SO very lucky!

weekend update . . .

the weekend's gone?

insanity . . .

here's few pics and thoughts on the few days that seemed to fly by . . .

while portland has its share of rain and fog, friday morning was by far one of the most amazing mornings i have seen since living here . . . riding the bus into the city from the east, i could see buildings, then fog, then more buildings backed by a beautiful blue sky . . . all with the beams of the sunrise . . . my picture here is about 20 minutes after i had gotten to work (following our firday a.m. meeting) and some of the fog had cleared - but boy did i wish i had the morning off to follow the sun and fog . . . or even that i had my film camera with me . . . one can hope for a second chance . . .

while the day flew by, it ended with hb and i celebrating his most recent exam with 'raw, parasitic fish' as he calls it : )

then came along saturday . . . and with it a new drivers' license (new last name so i can fly to the in-laws in december - since i booked that flight pre-wedding with the new last name) and a 14-hour gingerbread fire station extravaganza - and i mean extravaganza!

imagine:

tootsie roll stockings

caramel carved into a turkey

fruit roll-up fireman coat

a tootsie roll dalmation

and . . .

a candy flower pot about an inch and a half tall (including 4 flowers)!

here's a sneak peak . . .

this is for our company's holiday card- displaying each discipline in the construction of the gingerbread fire station - it will be a video of the photos taken (every time something was placed or if it moved an inch) and should be super fun! i will try to get it on the blog once the video man finishes it in a few weeks - so stay tuned!

happy 2 months to us!

(another fab image by Look!)

wow- it actually seems like so long ago . . . not sure why other than we've just been busy with work and his registration exams (#5 tomorrow) . . . which makes me look forward to next weekend even more as we'll have 4 days off -woo-hoo!

we are somewhat trying to celebrate our mini-anniversaries each month - either with fun dinners or evenings out . . . due to the exam- we're going out for sushi tomorrow night, which should be yum! (though most sushi afficionados would claim that i don't eat sushi- as i typically stick to shrimp and veggies- but hey- i've only been eating cooked fish for 2 1/2 years! what i do like is the combo of flavors and textures, that it's fun to eat and the bit of a kick by the wasabi :) - oh and sake's pretty tasty, too!)

as far as general updates . . . i've only 3 miles down and 27 to go (sadly rain and work have prevented further jogs during the week) . . . a thirty-something list is in the works . . . additional wedding posts are also in the works as are a mish mosh of other random musings . . . oh- and i hope to start my official list of the blogs and websites i read : )

my very own personal Bond . . .

oh how handsome is he!

photo by LOOK photography

while i have yet to truly recap our fabulous day, in honor of our recent viewing of the new bond flick, i wanted to show off one of the ways my honey participated in our wedding : )

his attire, as well as the groomsmen and our fathers, was selected by him with me agreeing with him by his side . . . and i think he did a swell job! (and of course, i'll illustrate this in due time with pictures of the entire wedding party of which i think all look fab!)

oh- and how does his attire relate to bond? well- initially we thought about getting him a tailored bond-esque dinner jacket- but ultimately we went with the shawl collar on the ivory tux jacket with brown tux pants . . . the finished look, though, still resembles what i envision as 'bond' style (as well as some aspects of the show 'mad men' of which i have yet to see -as we don't have cable- however, from what i have gathered from various sketches on other shows- snl and treehouse of horror) . . .
anywho- he has introduced me to bond, from the design and style of the characters and settings of the stories to the many movies . . . while i never thought twice about it in the past, i have become quite entertained by the character and the world that surrounds him!

oh- and i will soon try to make links work in the post to direct curious parties to the website of our wonderful photog(s), vicki and her hubby tom of LOOK photography. (Thanks to Kelly i have working links! yay!)

30 before i'm 30!

woo-hoo! i have started running again! as i'm soon approaching my next big birthday (2 months and counting down) - i want to continue the physical journey i started for the wedding- i feel like i reached my goals for the big day- however, now that i am in a better spot than i had been, i see how much further i can still go . . . not that i feel large or even chubby (well in comparison to my past) - i do know i can feel better - and as lazy as i've been since the wedding - i have a bit of catching up to do- so my next goal is my birthday - since saturday i've run twice (the second time hb joined me!) - not very far, but much further than nothing! while i'm not sure how far i'll take this . . . i'm going slow for the sake of my knees . . we'll just have to see- i must say, though, it was so great to run with my hubby- you see- he was a runner in high school and seems to have a knack for it- and while i won't ever get him to step foot into a gym- running may be a way for us to exercise together : ) so i'll be keeping a running tally (silly 'ha ha' in honor of hb) - but 2 miles down, 28 to go!

as i approach my 30th, i look forward to reminiscing about my first 30 years with all kinds of 30-something lists (wow- has anyone else heard of that show?!) . . . from 30 things i've done to 30 things i hope to do and everything in between! although these reflections will be a way for me remember my youth, they will also give you a bit more of a glimpse into who i am . . . i hope you enjoy and definitely feel free to comment!

here we go-cco again!

although planned from the time we found our gocco on craigslist, it is nice to have finished another diy project-our thank yous- and since they will be in the mail tomorrow- here's a sneak peak . . . close up images will be posted later this week as well as my final wedding gocco project : ) it was quite fun to participate in our wedding in such a personal / creative way - it is just sad that gocco supplies are no longer in production after this year- my suggestion- snag one for yourself if possible and a handful of screens for that rainy day printing project!

peculiar pdx . . . (well, oregon)

happy election day! today marks the first time i'm voting oregon style a.k.a. by mail . . . this is one of two things i find a bit unique about living in oregon- you see- all voting is done by mail (in non-postage paid return envelopes- which seems a bit silly) and has been for some time . . . so while i had intended to post this note on election day, pre-results- my computer wouldn't let me - but as it is now post-election, i suppose i'll share my 2 cents . . .

election night and the results (which by the way were much sooner than i anticipated- guess that's an advantage to living on the west coast!) were quite intense at times and even emotional - and while i am proud once again to be an american, i'm also not counting any chickens just yet . . . there's such a transition from talking to walking and our country has been in a downward spiral that will take some digging out . . . granted i'm extremely hopeful and optimistic, i really just look forward to a time when i'll be proud to pass this country and this earth onto our children . . .

oh- and the other unique thing about oregon- you can't pump your own gas . . . i suppose it's a luxury, or maybe because of the rain, but we almost kind of miss it! (yes we're weird)

tony . . .

ok- so our pooch has a fetish . . . with latex . . . yes- i know this sounds very bizarre . . . but it is so true! now hb and i found this out a little while ago- as she has been particularly interested in various latex things from whoopie cushions to elastic resistance strips . . .and of course . . . balloons! luckily latex passes, however that time it takes can be nerve-wracking as a doggie-mom . . .

back to whoopie cushions- besides the material and puffs of powder, she goes nuts over the noise it makes! it's like catnip for cats! she'll spin circles, try to bite it, run from it, and start all over again!

now for halloween, our office was open to the kids of employees for trick or treating- and the desks with candy were marked with balloons- at the end of the day, i collected my balloon to take home for amber- as soon as we walked in the door- her eyes grew as big as saucers and she started jumping up to try to smell / touch the balloon! she spent much of the night staring at it as it rested on the ceiling and whimpered for it- once in a while mommy and daddy would step on the ribbon to the balloon to allow her access where she would bump it with her nose . . . we think she wanted to grab the tied end, but more often she would miss because the balloon was too big for her mouth . . . through the course of the weekend she missed many naps and tony (as we called it in honor of our viewing of "the shining") was put in a bathroom at night so she would sleep - though not without her whimpering at the door -

sadly . . . sunday afternoon tony popped . . . and poochie was sad . . . her mourning lasted though the night and most of the next day - we were actually worried that something was wrong with her - though our other conclusion was that she missed so many naps we thought maybe she could just be tired . . . sigh . . . it's no wonder owning a dog relieves stress!