happy halloween.

Hey everybody!

Who is ready to eat their body weight in fun size candy bars? Ready or not, today is the LAST day of the month of October. I can hardly believe it. Last weekend I participated in a trio costume in which I acted as a piece of notebook paper. It was a tad difficult to maneuver in and I was legitimately concerned about giving the people around me a life threatening paper cut. Danger aside, it was a really fun evening.

Today I will be breaking out a costume again but it won't be to trick or treat but rather to score a burrito at Chipotle for $2.00. (You can do it too, head that way after 4:00 PM!) If you are heading out for an evening of trick or treating, please feel free to send any and all unwanted Almond Joys or Dove dark chocolates to Portland, Oregon. Thanks. You rock. 

Happy Halloween friends!

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily 

bob's red mill.

Howdy, howdy!

Have y'all ever used any of Bob's Red Mill products? They are delicious! My friend Carolyn introduced me to them a while back. We found out at a later date that the gluten free shortbread cookies with Nutella on top are basically gold. Seriously, you need them in your life. 

When I got to Portland, I found out that the mill headquarters are here and thought it would be fun to stop in for a little touristy outing and possibly a tasty treat. The place was a zoo but I did score a few fun items and even a free orange cranberry cookie! It was a successful Saturday adventure and a yummy one to boot. 

Hope you have a terrific Monday my friends!

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily

ps. How is it the end of October? Carly Rae Jepsen was so right...this is crazy. 

corn nostalgia.

Hey there! 

How do you take your corn? I'm an off the cob kind of lady. Somehow the added commitment of picking kernels out of your teeth for hours just doesn't seem worth it. Cutting it off the cob though, sign me up. When we were younger my family lived in Guatemala and I remember days when we would walk down to the market. The local people would be grilling corn on the cob and it always looked so delicious. They would squeeze lime and a dash of salt over the corn, put it back in the husk and then throw it on the grill until it was nice and toasty. Ahh, I can almost smell it now. So good. 

Last weekend I went to a corn maze and while I enjoyed walking through maze and figuring out the life size puzzle, I also was taken back by the beauty of the tall green stalks. Who knew corn could be so lovely?

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily 

p.s. If I have a farm someday, it might be called 'Call me crazy, Call me corny'. Ok, that is all. 

greek iced coffee.

Yiasou file mou!

In case you are like me and you don't speak Greek, that means "hello, my friend". Bet you're wondering why I'm greeting you in a foreign language? Well, I have been seeing advertisements about Portland's Greek Festival since I arrived and last weekend, I went! Let me tell you that I think festivals of any kind are pretty great but Greek festivals, specifically, are the jam. Great food, dancing, cool music and my new favorite thing, iced coffee. 

Iced coffee, greek style is the perfect mix between a frothy frappacino and iced coffee. Not too sweet and really smooth. If you were thinking of trying to make Greek iced coffee yourself, which I would highly  recommend because it is seriously good, here is a recipe that looks pretty similar.  

Another really great thing about the festival, besides the delicious gyro that I had, was the dancers. We saw two groups that ranged in age from 5 to 12 and they were adorable. It was really neat to see young kids that are already so aware of their family heritage. Their costumes were also pretty rad. 

I hope you had a great weekend and maybe even had a little cultural experience too!

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily 

the happiest season of all.

Is autumn here? Could it be true? Crisp fall air, hot beverages, sweaters, scarves, boots, chili, cornbread, flannel...holy moly, this is great. (!!!) It's possible that I get a little too excited about fall or more specifically, pumpkins. I'm saying it's possible. But I would like to suggest that perhaps it is exactly the right amount of excitement. There will be no judgement here for your lack of enthusiasm during this time of the year but just know that I think you are missing out on something particularly great. 

There are so many reasons to love pumpkins but one reason is because they are orange! On the whole, I think orange is an extremely underrated color. This thought may stem from my aversion to it in college. You see, it was the primary color of the Florida Gators and since they are the opposite of awesome, I guess I figured orange was too. But since college, I have found a new fondness towards the pop of color. Maybe pumpkins are to thank, maybe. Another fabulous reason to fall in love (see what I did there) with this time of year is because of all things you can make with pumpkin. You could most certainly have pumpkin in every meal if your little heart wanted to. (This little heart has considered it). I would suggest this shake for breakfast, this soup for lunch, this mac & cheese for dinner and these delicious little cookies for dessert. Pumpkin all. day. long. Just once, just do it. 

Everybody has their favorite little things about life that they think are totally worth celebrating and for me, one of those things happens to be a round gourd-like character. So my friends, consider this  your warning, there will probably definitely be a surplus of pumpkin pictures around these parts in the next month or so. 

Enjoy this season, buy a pumpkin. 

Fondly from Portland,
Emily

p.s. go seminoles! 

waterfall or water fountain?

Howdy folks! 

Have you ever filled up your water bottle from the top of a waterfall? I most certainly never had...until about a week ago when I threw caution to the wind and climbed down to fill up. Let me tell you that if you have the chance to do this - do it. Cool and fresh my friends, cool and fresh.

I'm not going to lie to you, (even with caution was to the wind) I was thanking myself for buying the Camelbak with a filter.

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily

amateur foodie.

Happy Monday Friends, 

foodie - noun

a person having an enthusiastic interest in the preparation and consumption of good food. 

I do not claim to have an extremely refined palate but I do love to participate in the consumption of excellent food and Portland has some pretty incredible options in that department. And by some, I mean a ton. It's actually quite overwhelming for someone who has a bit of trouble making quick decisions. Thankfully, one nice thing about being in a new place is that people will recommend places for you to try. The other thing is bad restaurants don't really survive here because they have such excellent competition. From what I've heard, people come from all over to taste what Portland has to offer and I'm starting to understand why. 

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily

Below are a few of my favorites thus far:

Staccato Gelato - banana chocolate sundae 

Screen Door - a southern style pulled pork sandwich with coleslaw and sweet potato fries 

Three Friends - vegan pumpkin spice cookie...bike delivered (I know, I know)