"Portraits" of Tasha and Gang and some Rylie

So Sunday, Tasha got to go over to her brother's house to play while Matt and I headed to Portland for the day to meet up with Jon and Tami. They were in the area and so we met up with them at La Provence Bistro in Lake Oswego for brunch. We haven't been able to hang out since our trip to Costa Rica in January :( We had a great meal and then went on a walk around downtown Lake Oswego and, not on the purpose, the lake!

Anyways, when I went to get Tasha from Jim's I also brought along the camera. I have been itching to play with a new lens that Andrew let me borrow. I really need to just play with all the setting so I am comfortable with them and know what I need for each situation. I saw the barn on their property and the lighting was so cool on it I thought I would try to get some "portraits" of the dogs.....it was a little chaotic but I thought I would share some of the better shots;











Did I mention how hard it is to make one dog sit still let alone four!? Well I also had some time a couple of days ago to try the lens on little Rylie, she sits still a little better than the dogs :) Although that smile is difficult to coax out of her! Here are a few good ones;

Pacific City Birthday Weekend

For Matt's Birthday weekend, and just because, we went over to the coast for a long weekend. I had Monday and Tuesday off so we decided to stay Saturday and Sunday night. We knew we loved staying at Inn at Cape Kiwanda but they were super pricey for Saturday night so we looked for an alternative. Beth and Jacob had given us a gift certificate for the bed and breakfast that they have stayed at several times, however, they were all booked up for this weekend. But this gave us the idea of looking for a bed and breakfast to stay at and that's how we found The Craftsman Bed and Breakfast, also in Pacific City.




The nice thing about the B&B was they had some great recommendations for dinner. One of them was the little place across the street called the The Delicate Palate Bistro. I highly recommend this place if you make it through Pacific City. It is one of those little places that you would normally drive right on by. It had 8 tables and 2 servers as well as the wine steward, Jeff. We got from our conversation with Jeff that he, along with his wife the chef, owned the place. Mike and Laura, the owners of the Craftsman, told us if we were interested in wine at all to ask for Jeff. They were so right. Jeff is one of those guys who knows all sorts of great things about wine and beer. Matt found a great new beer as well, Blind Pig, from Russian River brewery. Jeff brought Matt out a taster of another beer he thought he would like after talking to him a while. Jeff brought out another treat during dinner for me, a 1927 sherry, that I don't remember the name of but was sooooo goooood.






Bistro Menu

Appetizers
Braised Baby Back Ribs Oregon blackberry barbeque sauce 9.95
Dungeness Crab Cakes mixed greens, cherry tomatoes lemon-caper aioli 11.95	Coconut Shrimp Lollipops apricot-ginger sauce 9.95
Sesame Seared Kare Ahi Tuna wonton crackers, asian slaw, wasabi soy ginger vinaigrette 13.95	Crispy Mix calamari, rock shrimp, artichoke hearts, Walla Walla sweet onions, spicy remoulade 11.95
Soup & Salad
Tomato Soup in Puff Pastry baked in the oven to finish, sooooo good! 6.95	House Made Soup of the Day at the whim of the Chef 5.95
Bistro Caesar Salad house made dressing (with anchovy & garlic), shredded parmesan cheese, focaccia croutons 7.95	Roasted Beet Salad organic baby lettuces, mandarin oranges, goat cheese fritters, citrus vinaigrette 8.95
Heirloom Tomato Salad organic baby lettuces, basil, fresh mozzarella, tocaccia toast, balsamic vinaigrette 9.95	Fuji Apple & Gorganzola Salad organic baby lettuces, chopped romaine, candied walnuts, red onions, champagne vinaigrette 8.95
Main Courses
House Made Gnocchi tomato basil cream sauce, shredded Parmesan cheese 16.95
Fresh Parpardelle Pasta braised beef short ribs, shitake mushrooms, savoy spinach, veal reduction sauce, shaved parmesan 17.95
Herb Crusted Halibut basil potato puree, asparagus, sautéed shrimp, red wine butter sauce 20.95
Wild Chinook Grilled Salmon artichoke heart, kalamata olive & tomato relish, roasted fingerling potatoes, pesto 19.95
Asian Seafood Bouillabaisse coconut-curry broth with prawns, Manilla clams, sea scallops, salmon, halibut, Dungeness crab and soba noodles 23.95
Pepper Crusted Rack of Pork Gruyere cheese potato gratin, apricot pearl onion compote 18.95
Cabernet Braised Oregon Lamb Shank creamy parmesan risotto, crispy pancetta bits, red wine reduction 23.95
Grilled 12 oz Harris Ranch "Natural" New York Steak buttermilk-scallion whipped potatoes, Italian squash fritters 24.95
Side Dishes
Very Adult Mac & Cheese Tillamook four cheese blend, crispy pancetta 6.95	Herbed Pomme Frites garlic aioli 3.50
All Desserts are House Made - and Fabulous!!! *Menu items are seasonal and subject to change due to availability 20% gratuity added to all parties of 8 or more

Our second night we stayed at the Inn at Cape Kiwanda, this is where Matt proposed and is right by Pelican brewery so it is definitely one of our favorite places! The nice thing about this place is that every room has a view of the ocean, and it is right across the street from the brewery, need I say more?!





The following are just some pictures we took during our trip. The sunset pictures of Haystack rock were taken from our room....pretty nice huh?!

Brew Fest '08/Family gathering

So this was a big COMBO weekend. The Beavs were playing against Hawaii, so we were planning on watching the game. Matt decided he hadn't brewed beer in a while and he found out several of his co-workers were in the same boat; had all the stuff but hadn't done it in a while. So Matt decided to invite everyone over for a mega Brew Fest. They started at 9 AM and didn't get done until 8 PM. All in all there were 6 different batches of beer brewed. Our concrete deck worked beautifully for this since the beer bubbled over several times, luckily not all over my gas stove!!

While the boys brewed beer, Beth and I made Kahlua. Let me say this is a much simpler and faster process :) Well the Beavers won the game, the boys drank and made plenty of beer and Beth and I have gallons of Kahlua!

Sunday, Pam and George came by to see everyone and stay the night. David, who had been hunting all week was able to make it down with Krystal and Rylie for dinner too. I forgot to post last week that Matt finally got a Treager grill, so we have BBQing all week long. We made chicken on the grill, blue cheese mashed potatoes and brownies for dinner. Since we had the whole gang together we tried to get some "family"shots.

Hope everyone enjoyed the awesome weather this weekend!


The smoldering beer, and the overflow when people weren't watching close enough!

Beth and Jacob carefully monitoring Jacob's ESB.

Matt with his super Hoppy beer.....I have a feeling this one is going to be strong!

All the brewing supplies....well ok, not all of them

Beth and Bryce



Beth, Krystal and Rylie


Krystal, David and Rylie

Auntie Beth and little niece Rylie


Happy girl Rylie


Family Pictures