Concerned

So when I got an email from my mother this morning with the subject line - Concerned, I got a little worried thinking something was really wrong.  Well, she was "concerned" because I hadn't updated the blog in a while.

No worries, mom, we are fine it's just that this whole Technology Fast I've been doing on Sunday's has cut into my family blogging time! 

So basically this is what I've been up to in the last two weeks - scrapping and sewing.

On Saturday I helped host Celebrate Portland.  It is event we do every year and have done for the last ten years.  We hold it at the Expo Center and we have about 1,200 scrapbookers.  It is a very fun day but it is long and tiring!

In addition to hosting the event which means I get to get up every hour, make announcements, giveaway prizes and lead the congo line I had 20 of my own customers there that I took care of.  I did manage to squeeze in a little personal scrapbooking time too.  I'm working on Tessa's high school album, need to get it done before graduation!

I have spent a lot of time the last two weeks in the sewing/craft room.  I have 3 dresses to make for Tessa for Hairspray and I have 2 done and half way through the third.  There has been a lot of pink fabric and thread floating around our house.

Hope to finish the third one in the next day or two.  Tickets are selling fast for the performances so if you are local and want to come let me know.

We are so excited that Logan, Clark, Lizzy and Cali will all be flying home for the performance.  We are also super excited that Emily and girls, Tamara and Richard and Grandma and Grandpa Wilkes will also be coming into town for one of the weekends!!  Party!

Because of all the sewing things are a bit of a mess around here and my sewing/craft room is trashed!

Hopefully I'll get it cleaned up before everyone comes home!!


Tessa had a busy and stressful week.  It was finals but she survived and did great.  She is also super busy with rehearsals for Hairspray and preparing to compete at Regionals next week.  She has a couple more essays to finish up for scholarship applications too.  Oh, the life of a senior!

Jim has taken advantage of the few breaks in the weather we have had and has been doing his yearly pruning of the roses.  In addition he has been helping out at the work parties at the high school on the weekends.  He also spent some time at the Dry Pack this week and replenished our supply of flour and sugar.

Back to the sewing machine....

Technology Fast

I am getting ready for my 3rd Technology Fast Sunday.  One of my resolutions for this year is not to partake of "technology" on the Sabbath which basically means I will not check email, read blogs, write blog posts, get onto Facebook, text, etc.  We have decided that watching a nice family movie together is a fine thing to do on a Sunday evening though sometimes.  Jim has joined me in this endeavor and has even given up watching sports on Sunday which is a major sacrifice for him!  So far so good.  I've gotten two books read and two scarves crocheted!

This last week was a good one.

Unfortunately the Ducks lost on Monday but at least everyone in Portland doesn't have to wear all their Duck gear any more.  Green and yellow is not my favorite color combination.

It was a busy Relief Society week.  We had two days of Visiting Teaching interviews and a R.S. Meeting (aka. Enrichment)

I had lunch with friends 3 days in a row which was fun.  One was for a friend's birthday, another one with some fellow fashion stylists after  a training and on Friday I had another belated birthday luncheon with a couple of friends.  Oh, and I had lunch out today with my friend Marsha when we went over to the Hawthorne area. SO I guess that makes 4 days in a row.  I tagged along while Marsha did some shoe shopping which turned into just shoe looking as she didn't buy any.  But we found a new Mexican restaurant for lunch that we loved.


On Friday my friends and I headed over to North Portland to try out a restaurant another friend had recommended.  It's called Pause and it was great.  The place was packed when we got there and I always take that as a good sign.  I was enjoying our conversation so much I forgot to take photos of our food so you'll just have trust me it was great.   But I did like this photo I took of the ketchup bottle and the menu!

One of the things I love about Portland is that in just about any given neighborhood on the east side you can find houses like this!

A sky blue house and fence with all kinds of fun yard art - plastic geese, gnomes etc!!
And then just around the corner from the blue house was the orange house!!

I love Portland!!

Tess missed a couple of days of school this week with a cold.  She seems to be making a fairly quick recovery which is good since rehearsal for the musical is in full swing.  I've been busy working on her costumes and almost finished one dress and have another cut out and ready to go.  I have 3 total to make for her.

Jim spent all day today, Saturday, in work meetings.  Tessa and I did a little thrifting this evening and Tessa found quite a few skirts that she is going to create amazing things with I am sure.  Can't wait to see what she does with them.  I found a few red sweaters to turn into some fun Valentine crafts!  I also picked up a really fun crocheted granny square blanket - I think my mom has one that my grandma made.  It would look great in a photo shoot.  The colors were so fun. I think we came home with 4 shirts, 3 sweaters, a wallet and one blanket.  All for about $40.00 not bad!

Celebrating 51

Friday was my birthday and I have to say it ranked right up there as one of the best.  Although my 50th birthday was pretty amazing.

The day started with Jim offering to make me breakfast but since I knew I would be consuming mass quantities of food for lunch and dinner I decided it might be a good idea not to have breakfast.

After my morning walk my friend Marsha and I headed down to the Pearl District to visit some of my favorite places.

Our first stop was Powell's where of course we could have spent the entire day or maybe even the entire week.  I bought myself a new book I am excited to read.  The book was published in the mid 1940s and I found an original, first edition of the book.

 

We then made a stop at Sur Le Table where I drooled over the new color - fennel of the Le Creuset cookware

 Then a visit to Anthropologie for a few new latte bowls. 

 And then lunch at Cafe Nell with some of my favorite people.

 My friend Meg ordered the french toast which I think is the most amazing french toast I have ever had.  I am going back soon so I can have my own plate of it!!

 My pulled pork was good but the french toast was amazing!

A table full of women I am truly grateful for.

 For dessert we all shared one slice of red velvet cake.  Let's just say it looked much prettier than it tasted.  A little bit of a disappointment...  fortunately for me Jim bought me my favorite cake from Beaverton Bakery - lemon poppyseed so I had that to look forward to.

After lunch Jim and I made a trip to Ikea.  When Jim asked me what I wanted for my birthday I told him new shelves for the craft room.  Unfortunately they were out of the brackets I wanted but we got the shelves and some baskets to use on the shelves.  When Jim asked me what I was going to put on the shelves - I told him "stuff"!  I've got lots of stuff!

For dinner the three of us went to Oba, a restaurant I had heard lots of great things about over the years but we had n ever been there.  It is in the Pearl and is nuevo latino cuisine.  It is one of the best meals I have had in a long time.  We had an amazing server and she made it an extra special evening for us.  She brought a marionberry and spritzer toast for us when she found out it was my birthday (she very nicely asked if we drank champagne before she brought it)  I guess the fact that we didn't order alcohol before dinner tipped her off.  Smart girl.  She made great recommendations for food and then she brought us an amazing complimentary dessert.

I dont' know what I was thinking but I didn't take my camera to dinner.  My camera phone had to do but it was a very dark restaurant so they aren't the best but at least you can see the Baked Argentina which was do good.  It had a brownie base with vanilla bean ice cream and bananas on top, covered in the most amazing melt in your mouth meringue sitting in a puddle of mango and pineapple caramel sauce - pure heaven!  We were all stuffed but we forced ourselves to eat it!

 The day ended watching an episode of Larkrise to Candleford with a piece of my yummy birthday cake ( I don't need to eat for the next week), cozed up in bed with Tessa!  (Jim was watching some ball game of course!)

Just about a perfect day!