Happy Monday morning all! I love this particular Monday because it is October 24th, which is definitely more like fall than it has been, and yet still not a part of the holiday madness that is fast approaching. Back-to-school is old news, and Halloween is still a week away which gives us all a delicious sense of comfort and anticipation, without all the drama, no? Yes! So, I feel good this morning, and it is in part due to the most excellent weekend I had!
Our new empty nest lifestyle is a blast. Having kids can be a total blast too, I remember well, but now that we're at this stage of life, I'm going to go ahead and enjoy it! :) Woot! And this weekend we really stretched out and enjoyed our home. We came to the conclusion that despite our street being one of the favorite party streets in Portland, and despite there being NO END of amazing new bars and watering holes, restaurants, bistros, food cart pods, etc all around us - our house is the best bar on the block! Seriously! We live in a sweet little 1908 yellow craftsman house, on a corner, raised up above the street so we get this amazing view over all of the houses around us. We have a big bay window overlooking our little dead end which is filled with sunlight and birds. Our little porch has a view of downtown! Just a sliver, but still, sitting there you get a better view than any of the bars around us. We can blast our stereo with our favorite music. We have the tastiest beers, our backyard has a fire pit, a pergola, xmas lights and comfy seating! What more could we ask for?
This Friday eve we started in the back yard, built a fire and watched the evening come down. It had been a breezy sunny autumn day, but the clouds rolled in, big and black. It was warm, not windy, and so lovely to watch it all - the crows were going crazy dipping and wheeling and perching in out trees, so entertaining to watch with a delicious beer and the crackling fire, the smoky smell, and the autumnal color in the trees!!!! After an hour the rain came down in big, warm drops, and we moved inside to our sweet living room overlooking all the other partiers, trying to run between the drops to the bars. We turned up the music and had a great conversation, laughing and celebrating our amazing vantage point, then decided to make dinner. Which, incidentally turned out to be a better meal than we would have paid $30 for at a local foodie vegan take - out! Delicious "chick" patties on Dave's bread with garlic aioli sauce, pickles, chips....so yum. Then we finished off our delightful evening at "Bar Rios" with a spirited game of kitchen table ping pong. We were rubbish at it, the IPA beers having kicked in, but we laughed a lot.
Saturday was the same. Our house evidently makes the best cafe on the street, too. Breakfast was a delicious, vegan scramble with potatoes and whole grain pancakes, espresso, and then a walk in southwest Portland. Over the bridge and under the aerial tram is the most delightful neighborhood I've been dying to explore. It's chock-full of tiny Victorian houses, one after another. All of them treasures, nestled beneath ancient, moss-covered trees. It is magical, and still relatively hidden from Portland's all-consuming development. Fingers crossed it stays hidden.
Happy week everyone, get cozy and have fun out there! xoxoxoxo DR
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