stay-cation birthday week day three

I find birthdays are a great time to reflect as you measure the distance travelled in the last year.

Last night as I chatted with an old friend, she mentioned trying to calculate how many times she has wished me a happy birthday. We met in the 4th grade. I immediately started to tear up as I thought back over the years of our friendship, and of my many other friendships. I have really amazing friends, more than I can count, and more than I deserve. The phone calls, e-mails, text messages, and facebook wall posts today served as a reminder of how loved and blessed I am. I wouldn't trade any of the people I have met or the experiences we have shared for anything in the world, not for some really expensive shoes, a raise, or even a boyfriend (none of which are currently pending)! I could not be happier with where I have come in the past year since moving to Portland, and I look forward to more discovery, adventure and growth in the coming year(s).

Now, to keep this from getting too serious, because I like to keep things light, I will share a line from a birthday card I received from Kristine and Kristen tonight: "Love your amazing ability to keep it classy, keep it inappropriate, and keep it real, all at the same time!" Best. Compliment. Ever.

Well I am 25 today. Let's have a toast! For my cupcake tasting party, we had 5 different kinds of cupcakes. 3 from bakeries and 2 homemade, big thanks to Di and Meg for staying up late on a work night to meet my demands.

On the day's menu:

• Dark chocolate cupcake and chocolate frosting from a Sprinkles mix (made by Diana)
• White chocolate raspberry cupcakes from the Cupcakes Galore cookbook (made by Megan)
• Red velvet cupcakes with cream cheese frosting and vanilla bean filling from Cupcake Jones
• Pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting from Saint Cupcake
• White cupcakes with chocolate ganache from Helen Bernhard bakery

You're so jealous. Unless of course you were there, then you're a little bit sick. :)
Making a wish and trying to extinguish the very spread out candles in one breath.
Laughing after my very sad attempt at blowing them out in one try. Don't worry though, I still have every intention of getting everything I wished for in the next year!
Beautiful birthday flowers from RZ. I really made out in the gift department, but I will blog about that tomorrow because I am sleepy. Must have been that afternoon nap that really tired me out... xoxo

stay-cation birthday week day two

On a recent audit that require me to drive about an hour into the country, I passed many cute, small towns that I wanted to go back and visit for lunch and antique shopping. I decided Dundee was going to be the best spot and headed out today. I ate lunch at Farm to Fork restaurant and really enjoyed it. There were not as many antique shops as I had remembered from my drive, and many of them were closed (in the middle of the day on Tuesday?) but I did get to do some fun wandering.

I thought this flannel shirt especially appropriate for a day trip into the country. In Dundee and along Highway 99 there are many vineyards and wine tasting rooms, so it's really a charming area of the state. It was so nice to have a chance to stop and go in the places I'd driven past so many days in a row. And, I'm always proud of myself when I'm brave enough to go out to eat alone!
Here are the day's spoils: local, fresh figs and hazelnuts from a roadside farm stand.

stay-cation birthday week day one

So I am turning 25 this week. I feel like it's such a monumental birthday, and I am expecting really great things for the next year of my life! :)

My first day involved sleeping in, running errands, and getting free food at Il Piatto for a work dinner and at Yakuza due to some anniversary celebration the owner was putting on at all of his restaurants. Both were very good, and something I would actually come back and pay money for sometime.

I also began putting together my kitchen table and chairs. This particular chair was screwed together almost in its entirety two separate times tonight. Nice. My goal for the end of the week is to have everything in my apartment finally settled. I bought new picture hangers, curtains, and even a new painting recently, so now I just have to start hammering stuff into the walls.

i really love my dad

I take a lot of pride in being able to run my life without a man. Girl power and all that. Typically, my approach involves saving my pennies so I may hire the help I need. But what happens when you fall in love with a table at a great price at a store without delivery services? It's easy: wait for Daddy to come into town for work and have him take care of the problem!

Tying this baby to the top of his rental car and carrying it into my apartment was nbd for him. I will be putting it together by myself to maintain some semblance of independence and feminism. Unless of course my home teachers come by for a visit before I get around to doing it. :)

yet another great find at tj maxx

Cute cake plate + Halloween theme = L.O.V.E. I also found pumpkin spice and candy corn flavored kisses to go on top. Hershey does lovely things with holidays.

i volunteer with the girl scouts

I now have a brown skort and coordinating sash on the way to my apartment. Hello, Halloween. I had to order a girls plus-size large and an extra long sash; I would make a porky 6 to 8-year-old. I haven't decided if I'm going to scour for real badges to sew on, or if I'll make up my own. Either way it's going to be fantastic.

I had to register on the website, and they asked me about my affiliation with the Girl Scouts. That's where it got a bit awkward. So if anyone asks, I help a family friend's daughter attend her troop functions, and I am not in fact the chunky Brownie eagerly awaiting her new uniform.

this is a real place

On my drive home from a client in Vancouver, I saw this monstrosity, and naturally had to turn my car around to snag a pic. I debated whether or not to post this picture because I think it's totally inappropriate, but decided I just had to share it.

I googled this place, and they seem to be a similar organization to the YMCA with a great vision and mission. Just with an added enormous, tasteless wall mural. Seriously?

happy labor day

Also, how long had the SLC airport had free wifi? Fabulous.

hiking timp

I never managed to hike Mt Timpanogos (a real Utah classic) during school, but finally did over Labor Day weekend with my fmily. It's 15 miles round trip, 4,500 vertical feet, and took us 9.5 hours from start to finish. The scenery was gorgeous and it was such a great hike, but I was completely exhausted at the end of the day.
These moose were so close to the hiking trail, and seemed totally unaffecetd by all the people (there were a lot of hikers on the trail). I wouldn't have had to walk very far to pet this guy (less than 10 feet away), but I hear moose are not as friendly as they look and getting closer would probably have been a very bad idea. I also got to see mountain goats, mice, chipmunks, midgets and hawks during the hike-- so cool.

The wildflowers along the trail were beautiful. I am definitely not used to the Utah landscape having so much color (living in Oregon makes me snotty that way) and it was so refreshing. (L to R: Daniel, Shondel, me, Kirstin)

Kirstin and me with a fabulous view of Utah valley below. It was kind of chilly, which made the weather perfect for hiking. But I am hoping for much sunnier weather tomorrow so we can enjoy boating on Utah Lake.

Daniel and me, with a view from the other side of the top. I love the mountains in Utah.

My whole fam at the peak of Timp. It's like really high.