the one where we went to portland.

hi friends!

 2 weekends ago we packed up our little silver car, and drove the 3 hours south to our favorite vacation spot. nick and i spent our one year wedding anniversary in portland, and then we took maggie last year when she was 6 months old, & decided to go again this year. its like a memorial day tradition. we love, love, love portland {enough to move there if the Lord asked us to.} i'll warn you now, this post will be full of a lot of photographs - and if you follow us on instagram then they will all be repeats. we instagramed {is that a word? if not, it will be soon. weird.}  the entire trip. 

the pearl decided that she was going to stay awake the entire day. no sleeping on the ride there - but we borrowed a dvd player so she got to watch elmo and we got to drive without a screaming overtired toddler. also - she is adorable. 

while she listened to elmo sing the abc's - nick and i got our dance on. we love to dance in the car. i'll show you a video sometime.

so, we never plan anything when we go to portland. we just drive there, priceline a hotel and then do whatever. when we showed up to the hotel that we got, there was a man screaming at the top of his lungs walking around the street. nick went inside to check in and then came out to get our bags {and us!} and the cops pulled in and yelled for the man to get his hands where they could see them and lie on the pavement. nick jumped in the car and we watched them pull tons of junk out of his pockets, including needles and stayed in the car becuase we were blocked by 2 cop cars, an ambulance. it felt like we were on an episode of COPS. there is never a dull moment with us when we go on vacation. 

so, just in case that night was not fun enough, we couldnt get maggie to sleep in the hotel. at all. maybe for like 2 hours. but she did get so grumpy at me, that she scratched me in the face & i had blood all over my cheek, while nick and i sleepily tried to get her to sleep. it was miserable. but the second night, the GLORIOUS second night, she fell asleep, and slept until after 8 in the morning. vacation with a little one is not always easy. 

most of our photos are of food. which is clearly our favorite part of taking a vacation. we ate well, and stayed caffinated. we thrifted a little, and went to crafty wonderland, powells,and a park, and drove around looking at all the houses while i dreamed about moving into them. *sigh*

the best place that we ate was on sunday morning for breakfast. it is called slappy cakes. basically you make your pancakes at your table on a griddle. it was AMAZING. maggie loved it, we loved it and it was so worth the 45 min wait. we will go there every single time we go to portland now. if you are going, you should make sure to stop there and eat. 

we are already really looking forward to next year! {although i am pretty sure i'll be making a little trip by myself for a blogger meet up in the fall! eeek! } 

portland {in photos}

alright, so this might be a photo overload, & i am sorry, but we had so much fun this past weekend in portland! maggie was an angel, & loved traveling & slept amazing in the hotel & loved walking around the city so much. it was a huge blessing to spend this time with my little family!

cupcake jones. vanilla pearl cupcake.

crafty wonderland. basically an etsy store on a street corner, next to the best toy store. ever.

pooped from our long day of walking.

swoon. he is so handsome.

baby maggie's first time on a swing. she completely loved it.

maggie loves vacation

my dream plate from anthro.

maggie & daddy hanging out

goodnight maggie

family photo

we ate at a wings place called, fire on the mountain & it was SO yummy!

for breakfast we ate at a place called, the original & i had fruitloop pancakes. healthy? nope. delicious? yes.

maragaret pearl loves the city.

love.

strolling through the park

one of our favorite parts of portland.

i will post more about all the wonderful places that we ate, the things that we saw & more details of our time later this week {in different posts..} but i just was anxious to post some of our photos from our spur of the moment adventure! 

what did you do this weekend?

no more green apron & other random thoughts.

today i woke up to go to work at 5am for the last time. 
today i made my last handcrafted espresso drink.
today i got my last free pound of coffee.
today i turned in my green apron.


for the past {almost} 5 years i used the word, 'starbucks partner' often when telling people about who i am. i have so loved & enjoyed my time as a barista. but even more than that, i am so looking forward to my "new" job - being a stay at home mama. 


i have been so blessed to work for a company that has been so flexible with me & my crazy ever changing life, but oh i can not wait until monday morning {well actually wednesday morning because he took a long weekend...} when my sweet husband goes to work & i get to stay home & take care of our house & our daughter. i love that the LORD created me to be homeward & that i am finally living the desire of my heart, by his grace! 
so, be on the lookout for more blogging, more stories on how i am learning to tackle this life, more insight on what i am being taught by the LORD, more photographs & more recipes & budgeting tips. {i am going to be learning to cook & live on a budget... i might as well share it with you!} 


on another note, we are going to portland tomorrow. i adore portland. {ok, i have only been 1 time, but i loved it with all my little heart.} any places that we must see while we are there?! OH & pray for us, we are taking miss maggie on her first vacation with just us! exciting - yes. nerve wracking - totally. 
looking forward to sharing my adventure with you all!