Life in Stumptown

I’ve been able to do lots of planning over spring break, which has made me feel A LOT better!  I ordered all the petticoat stuff from Amazon to go under my gown and got shoes from Ebay.  I discovered that there is nothing cheap about this stuff in normal stores and white shoes barely exist.  I am also very picky and wanted heels, but hopefully heels that would be comfortable.  They’re not really cute, but they were cheap and they seem comfy.  Hopefully they fit.

We took a successful photo of ourselves at the Peninsula Park Rose Garden and you’ll see this soon on the Save the Date announcement I ordered.  They should be here tomorrow and I’m all ready with stamps and all but six or so addresses to send them out!  I’ll let you guess what picture we chose, but here are the finalists:

Rob’s sisters found the most adorable ring bearer and flower girl outfits!  Here’s a picture of all of their kids in them.  They bought extras for Matthew and Andrew.

I’ve started emailing with Imago about pre-marital counseling.  I emailed the florist that I’d like to use but am slightly panicking inside since she hasn’t responded.  Bethany’s mom has agreed to help me make boutineers for all of the guests of honor, which will save tons of money!  Rob and I are brainstorming ideas for invitations because we’d like to make them ourselves.  We’ve purchased our tickets for Hawaii.  I have a book to help me research where good places to stay are.  We booked our hotel for our wedding night in Columbus.  We’re going to register this weekend.  And I know there’s so much more to go in the next 143 days

Spring Break has been filled with good things.  Good things like catching up with friends over good food.  Last week Elena and I went out for St. Patrick’s Day.  I feel like we informally celebrate this holiday together every year by me forcing Elena to wear green and Elena getting a beer she actually likes and me ordering a white Russian, because I’m not Irish, I’m a white Russian.  So, we thought we’d attempt this celebration in Portland.  We picked a pub and met there.  Turns out there was a five dollar cover because there was a live band.  We paid it, got stamped with a clover, walked in to a room that was way too crowded with green wearing people to pass any fire code, and walked back out taking our ten dollars with us.  The lady at the door was nice enough to give it back.  So, instead, we ventured to another part of Portland (Alberta Street) and another part of Europe (France), and were the only patrons in Petite Provence for dinner that night.

The next night I took Bethany to Tin Shed for dinner…she hadn’t been there yet!  Bethany’s birthday was on that Friday, so we got pizza, a cake, and then headed over to Lola’s Room for 80s dancing.  Yes, it’s true, if I go out in Portland, I seem to only go 80s dancing.  But, it’s just so fun!  Saturday was a much needed Rob and Ali day.  We got a late start but eventually ventured over to Sauvie Island to explore.  I learned that people live in actual houses on the Columbia River and we had several run ins with park rangers that day.  We had driven around the island for an hour barely seeing a human, let alone anyone of authority.  We parked our car for literally five minutes to walk up the hill and see the beach and then walk across the hill to see the field of daffodils.  During this time the park ranger pulled up behind our car, started to see if we had a permit, and then got sidetracked when his buddy pulled up.  Rob talked to him and he didn’t give us a ticket.  Later that day we drove into a park by the Columbia River and another one was after us!  I saw a truck with a red light on it following us.  I told Rob that the guy was following us.  He denied this and kept driving.  Then the guy started yelling out his window at us.  He told us the park was closing in ten minutes and we needed to just loop around and leave.  I think I’ve met my run in with park ranger quote for a while.

Saturday night started the “I will cook for Rob over Spring Break” phase.  I made Chinese chicken salad and butternut squash soup…mmmm!   We then watched entirely too many Friends episodes.  After church on Sunday, Amanda and I had lunch at our favorite crepe place and caught up which was lovely!  And Sunday night, we went to home community for the first time in a while since we had visitors.  It was really nice to see everyone again.  On Monday, I made a pasta dish with eggplant, pine nuts, artichoke hearts, sun dried tomatoes, and cheese with zucchini and squash on the side.  We had dinner with Beth and Bekah.  And last night Sarah came over for dinner and I made a salad with dried cranberries, avacados, almonds, and gorgenzola cheese with lemon pepper chicken, mixed veggies, and rice.  And Sarah gave us a driving tour of Vancouver complete with beachy parks, city parks, and a really good ice cream spot!  I’ve still been nannying and interning (although I took one day off and have been working fewer hours), but overall, spring break has been good to me!

Rob’s parents came to visit the first weekend of March.  They flew in from Florida, so technically speaking, this was a vacation from a vacation.  Rob was able to take Friday off (due to working until 11:30 PM earlier in the week), so they went hiking in the gorge.  I stayed home sick that day, so I only joined them for a movie later in the evening.  Luckily, I felt better on Saturday and I joined them for the coast.  We went to Cannon Beach and then drove south on Highway 101 for a while.  We got home in time for dinner and cooked fajitas.  They came to Imago with us on Sunday and then we had lunch at the Laurelwood Pub in the NW.  We took them to the Rose Garden and to Cathedral Park.  We made dinner and hung out at my house that night.  I have absolutely no pictures from this trip because I didn’t take any.  Oops.

The next week, I finished up the quarter, and then my sister and her friend Jana came for a long weekend from Colorado.  I was able to get Friday and Monday off to hang out with them.  As soon as we left the airport, we went directly to Burgerville where I introduced them to the best milkshakes ever and Tillamook cheeseburgers…mmmm!  Then we went to Powell’s to stock up on reading material for the beach.  We made the drive out to the Coast and got to Lincoln City around 4:00.  We took a quick walk on the beach and then drove down Highway 101 to Newport.  The drive is gorgeous between there…full of cliffs and plenty of pull offs overlooking the Pacific.  We got to Sylvia’s Beach Hotel just before sundown.  We checked in and headed to dinner at the Sandbar where we had a great view of the ocean.  Then we were in for the night, curled up and reading, drinking hot mulled wine, and sitting by the fire.  What more could three girls ask for?  The hotel is themed after authors.  There are libraries and cozy nooks everyone.  We stayed in the Tennessee Williams room.

The next morning, we had a delicious breakfast — pumpkin pancakes!  We read for a while longer and then we were off…through the Oregon rain that started back up into Portland.  Per request, we stopped for shakes at Burgerville on the way home and then hung out at my house for a bit.  Rob arrived with dinner –ravioli from scratch!  The man doesn’t even have a mixer!  We were all very impressed with the homemade dough and the ravioli stuffed with spinach, mushrooms, and cheese.  He even baked a pie!  Now, that begs the question, what more can a girl ask for?  After dinner, we took a quick tour around the Kennedy School and settled in for a movie at home.  We went to church the next morning and had lunch with all of my friends at Cha Cha Cha.  It was also a goodbye lunch for Nicole who was leaving Portland for Michigan and then Alaska.  We tried to take engagement pictures with Elena after lunch at the Rose Garden (I really needed a good shot for Save the Date announcements and time was getting away from me), but it was not the best circumstances.  Rob doesn’t do well with an audience.  We headed over to Saturday Market where Cris was able to find a pendant for my mom’s birthday.  And then we relaxed at my house for the evening.  On Monday, we finally made it to the Waffle Window and then browsed at the shops on Hawthorne for a while.  We ended up chatting at Townsend’s Teahouse for the rest of the afternoon before I had to take them to the airport.  It was a good visit!