The Return of Fall

Darling 'Butters,

I've decided that's what I'll call anyone who reads the 'Butt. Appropriately endearing, no?

It's been way too long since I last blogged, but without ever really making a conscious decision, I took the summer off. Before this summer, I didn't know it was possible to be busier than I was in college or grad school, but I definitely learned how wrong I was over the past 3 months. That being said, even though September looks like it will be just as crazy, I felt a shift when I woke up this morning. My body could feel the first changes of autumn...the cold air (50 degrees!) outside, the darkness out the window even at 6:15, and the return of Pumpkin Spice Lattes at Starbucks. That last one is a particular favorite of mine! :)

As many of you know, in Oregon we have to make the absolute most of the few precious weeks of sunshine we are gifted. And let me tell you, we did. I don't think I could possibly recap all of the adventures I've experienced since the start of June, but I will do my best to fill you in.

June

June was still filled with plenty of rain and gray days, but it was also filled with excitement. One of my best friends, Dani, married our other good friend Jared. What an exciting month! Beginning with a bridal shower in Seaside, then a bachelorette party in Catalina, and finally a beautiful wedding in Portland...June was filled with celebrating.

I also had the chance to see my parents a couple of times, celebrate my mom's birthday with a Randy Travis concert, and play lots of softball. Playing is not to be confused with winning, unfortunately.

July

July kicked off with my darling Vassar friend Maya coming out for a visit. Read all about it here. We had an amazing time and I can't tell you how hard it is to believe we've been friends now for 6 years!

In July I also discovered the beauty of Forest Park, a Portland gem filled with miles and miles of trails. Buoy and I spent many hours exploring the trails. Dani and I also shared an adventure when we went to the Highland Games, find out all about that trip here. The adventuring continued with a trip to Bellingham, a weekend in Kennewick, Washington for the Columbia Cup Races, and the discovery of a new favorite blog cupcakesandcashmere.com.

August

Here's where things got crazy. The first weekend of August was spent at Salishan for my work's summer convention. Jeremy and Buoy joined me, and as a thank you/birthday present for Jeremy I put together a little surprise on the way home. We drove up to Netarts Bay, OR where I had reserved a boat so Jeremy and I could go crabbing. It was one of the most fun things we've ever done together.

As you can see Jeremy and I did fairly well for beginners! We came home with 20 Dungeness crabs...

...which we shared immediately with our friends Matt and Carrie. (P.S. They got engaged the day before so it was a great occasion for celebrating!)

The following week we celebrated Jeremy's birthday at the new Trader Vic's restaurant in town. I recommend going there for drinks, the cocktail menu is insane!

August continued with the highly anticipated arrival of my college roommate Katie. Darling Katie lives all the way in Buffalo, NY, the Northwest was a new experience for her and I couldn't wait to share with her all that the NW has to offer.

In true Allison/Katie style we jam-packed every second of her visit. From the minute she landed, when we headed to Secret Society Lounge for drinks, to the second she left when we had Podnah's Pit for dinner, we had a blast. There was a hike at Multnomah Falls, a brewery tour, a 3 day camping trip on the Olympic Peninsula, a visit to Seattle, and dinner high atop a skyscraper downtown at Portland City Grill.

Here are a few highlights:

We successful pitched our tent two nights in a row. This is Katie showing us who's boss at a campground in Lake Quinault, WA.

We hiked to beaches along the Washington coast.

Visited the Hoh Rainforest.

Stopped at Lake Crescent and hiked to Marymere Falls.

And climbed high above the Strait of Juan de Fuca at Hurricane Ridge in Olympic National Park.

What a trip right? I think Katie definitely experienced so much of the Pacific Northwest.

August was an incredible month. It ended with a trip up to Bellingham last weekend. Bellingham is always a lot of fun, but this time Dani and Jared decided to join us. We had the best time.

We hiked, we swam, we kayaked.

We also drank a few too many margaritas! But hey, that's what life is all about.

The best part...our new family nickname...

meet the Schaabinots.

That is all. I hope you enjoyed the summer recap. Now that it's wrapping up I promise to be back in full blogging fashion. And you better be excited, because something tells me September will be just as adventurous!

Welcoming Summer to Portland

What a weekend!

Temperatures in the 80's,
amazing sunny skies,

and lots of summer fun.

Here's a little recap of the weekend, in highlight form.

Friday

Friday means softball. Our team, Prestige Worldwide, took on the David Douglas Day Care team.
Sounds intimidating, right?

We played like champs though and did our absolute best to defeat our opponents.

Unfortunately we lost both games and I took a ball to the jaw and chipped my tooth.

Awesome.

I'll be calling the dentist now.

Saturday

Saturday was spent enjoying the beautiful sunshine.

After waking up and watching the world go by with Buoy on our patio, I went over to the gym and squeezed in a spin class before Jeremy woke up.

When I got out of spin I saw I had an email from Foodbuzz.com congratulating me for making their Top 9!

Check it out by clicking here.

I was so excited! My recipe was in the top 9 out of thousands of entries!
Guess everybody loves fish tacos this time of year :)

Later in the afternoon, Jeremy, Buoy and I met up with our friend Matt and his adorable pup for lunch at the Lucky Labrador. Definitely a perfect spot on a sunny day.

Food, drinks, and dog-friendly!

Sunday

Sunday was spent helping Dani prepare for her wedding by doing a bit of shopping at Ikea. Then destressing by heading over to the City Fair and riding the carnival rides until we all felt like throwing up.

Matt and his girlfriend Carrie met up with us for dinner and then we headed back over to the fair. It ended up being an amazing day/night. Too bad it was a Sunday, makes for a tough Monday morning!

I hope all of you had an amazing weekend too! I will be updating sporadically over the next couple of weeks. Dani and Jared are getting married and I'm lucky enough to be involved in a lot of the pre-wedding excitement. Starting with the bachelorette party this weekend!

See you all back here tomorrow! xoxo

A Weekend in Bellingham

Good morning November! It's officially my favorite month of the year :) To start things off right, I will be sharing with you all the great weekend I had up in Bellingham, Washington. Hopefully it will inspire you to take a little drive up North!

As most of you know, my sister is a sophomore at Western Washington University, located in beautiful Bellingham. As you may also know, my parents recently retired and moved to the same town. Bellingham is about 90 minutes north of Seattle, an hour south of Vancouver, B.C. By the time you get up there, you see as many British Columbia license plates as you do Washington state. I've visited this gem of a town about 5 times and each time I find new things to do and explore. Bellingham is one of those places you can only experience in the Northwest. From downtown you can be hiking in the mountains, visiting the San Juan Islands, skiing on Mt. Baker, or shopping in the historic Fairhaven district all in less than 30 minutes.

On Saturday morning Jeremy and I packed up the car with an extra set of clothes, Jeremy's guitar, and Buoy. It was pouring rain all the way through Seattle, but by the time we got to Bellingham the sun was actually out! We stopped at Britt's apartment first and picked her up for lunch. The three of us (and Buoy) drove down the hill to Fairhaven. What an adorable spot! I've included a couple pictures so you can get the idea. All old brick buildings, bookstores, tea shops, cafes, and art galleries...Fairhaven seriously looks like it belongs in some little English or Irish town. We ate lunch at the Colophon Cafe, an adorable little spot where we were able to sit out on the patio. It is on the bottom floor of the bookstore and faces the Farmers Market. This is the spot for delicious soup, quiche, sandwiches, and hot apple cider!

After lunch Jeremy and I headed up the mountain to my parents' house, where we explored a bit and then headed down to Lake Whatcom for a hike. The lake is huge and surrounded by beautiful homes. With the autumn leaves covering the trail it was the perfect afternoon activity! Buoy loved it as well because he knows Lake Whatcom means lots of time to swim.

Saturday night ended with watching the USC v. Oregon football game (I don't want to talk about it), and beef stew my Mom always makes on Halloween.

Sunday morning before we left town, my family all got together for breakfast at Avenue Bakery. The bread here is delicious and they use incredibly fresh eggs and bacon. I definitely recommend this spot. Although, if you're only in Bellingham for the weekend Diamond Jim's is the spot for a classic diner breakfast.

I could make a number of great recommendations to anyone visiting Bellingham, but I'll spare you a million details. Just go! It's a great town with great food and unbeatable outdoor adventures. Not to mention, you always have a place to stay!