lovely Portland weekend

To sum up my weekend: satisfying



I kicked off the weekend attending a Halloween party that Martha Stewart would have been proud to attend. We're talking festive decorations in every form in every nook and cranny of this fantastic house, four kinds of homemade chili and all the accoutrements, a chocolate fondue fountain, orange and black jello shots, a full bar complete with Halloween goblets and glow in the dark shot glasses, karaoke, a putt putt green on the front lawn, party favors, and lots of candy candy candy. It was unbelievable.

Lucky for me, I woke up bright and chipper the next morning and Ben and I headed out for a rare morning date to some fun places in Portland.

First stop was the Catlin Gabel Rummage Sale. If you haven't been before, hopefully you can make it next year; it is certainly worth attending. This was the third day of the sale, so things were a bit picked through, but we still found some gems -- mainly books, toys and clothes on the cheap.

Next, we headed to this coffee and teahouse, where I had a chance to browse through this lovely book. I found myself brought to tears by a few of the stories, and just adored looking at the fine art pictures through the whittled down theme of love. I was able to notice the subtle looks between lovers, the tiny gestures that make the works so fantastic and their artists so genius.

Then we headed to Saint Cupcake to pick up some treats. My brother and sister both have birthdays in the first half of November, so my family gathered together to celebrate.





My mother surprised us all by showing a compilation of all the silent "home videos" from our early early childhood. First feedings, learning to walk, coming home from the hospital, and all of those memories that would otherwise be completely lost. I had only seen this footage one other time in my life and that was when I was eight. It was a special, special treat and it wasn't even my birthday! Thanks Mom!

We enjoyed dinner together at the Rheinlander, one of the best places in town for a large family group on special occasions. This restaurant gave us a private room and excellent service, and our cute accordion player played some great tunes. They even let us bring in the cupcakes! We really had a great time.



We made one other trip to a fantastic place downtown that so many of you lovely bloggers have mentioned.



I can't wait to more of share my photos from Cargo with you tomorrow!