Rainy Day Update

Well hello...It's a very uncharacteristic rainy mid-July day here in puddle-y Portland, giving me the opportunity to unexpectedly have the morning off from work. As I was sipping my morning tea and catching up on my blogger reading list,I realized I haven't had a post on Pdxpectations in almost two months! My how time flies. Listening to the rain pitter-patter on the roof of my computer room, (and flow freely into our fantastic rain barrel) I decided this might be the perfect time to bring all you Pdxers up to speed on what we've been up to.
So, you know we built the barrel, and the obvious next step was to plant a garden so the barrel has a purpose. The first step was to rent a sod cutter to get rid of the "grass" in the area of our front yard where we wanted to plant.

Good thing I have Shawn to figure these things out.

Once we cut the sod, we had to bring in soil, till it all in and then build the raised rows so we could plant. Again, I am very happy for the manpower of my future husband during this point of the process.

Next up we planted all of our seeds. We have beets, squash, spinach, arugula, carrots, romaine and cantaloupe, just to name a few. The last step in our garden process was to keep our little creation watered everyday, and our fingers crossed. Shawn built the raised rows on a downward slope so we can run the hose right off of our barrel and it will gradually water the whole garden.

It's a small photo, but this gives you an idea of the finished product.

Now it's all about picking, pruning and eating all of our deliciously home grown organic produce! It's a project that's been a lot of work, but overall very rewarding.

Of course, this is just one aspect of what's been keeping me busy...what else has happened since my last post? Well, we went back East and attended and helped execute the fabulous wedding of my brother and his new husband. Congratulations again to the Léger-Small's!!! I learned a TON about the do's and dont's of putting on a DIY wedding, and am feeling more confident than ever that we will be able to pull off our own wedding pretty seamlessly.
Oh yeah, that reminds me, it's less than three months to our own big day!!! Let's see, I've had my first dress fitting, bought my shoes, ordered the invitations, met with the Baker, DJ, & Reverend, hired a bartender and coordinator (it sounds fancier than it is, these two are just my co-workers), and I'm creating my own centerpieces and decorations. The bridesmaids dresses are in, as are the flower girls. What else? Oh, we're planning and executing our own menu and hoping that everyone can actually make it to the venue on the Wedding Day...we just found out the Portland Marathon is happening on the same day. Last but not least, I've been working my tail off down on the waterfront, including a very long and profitable Blue's Festival and Fourth of July Weekend.
So, you see, this is why Pdxpectations has taken a back seat to just a few of the other things I have on my plate right now. I'm not complaining though. I'm thrilled to be a thoroughly happy and busy little bride-to-be. Life could not be better and I'm thrilled to share it all with you. Here are a few more pictures to highlight what we've been up to.

Just a bit of the pre-wedding set up.

Great job on the fire pit Shawn!

One of my favorite pictures of the soon-to-be newlyweds.

We're up next. Hope our wedding can be as amazing as theirs was!

Honeymoon on My Mind

With a little over four months until our wedding, I am definitely starting to feel the push of all the things that still need to get done. Times have been a little bit tough, stress levels have been a little bit high and through it all my fiance has been amazingly supportive. I'm sure all soon-to-be brides and grooms go through this, but right now we are finding ourselves dreaming more about our glorious honeymoon, hopefully to the San Juan Islands, than our actual wedding. I've been caught saying things like, "why didn't we just elope", and "how did we ever think we could pull this off". I would much rather peruse the internet for honeymoon ideas than look at anything that has to do with linens, tent rentals or wedding planning in general. That being said, I thought I would post a few pictures of all the relaxing we hope to be doing after we eventually pull off the biggest and most complicated party of our lives. That way, I'll have a place to escape to in my mind when all the details become just a bit too much...

Yes Please!

Birthday Bliss

Birthdays come and go, and this year's wasn't feeling too exciting for me, as turning 31 isn't really that big of a milestone. Two years ago I decided to start Pdxpectations, as I was turning 29, and feeling quite anxious about embarking on the final year of my twenties. Now, I'm actually thrilled to be done with my twenties and moving on to bigger and better things. At the age of thirty-one I will watch my brother get married, and then be married myself just a few short months later. I can honestly say that these two events alone will probably make 31 one of the best years of my life...or as a great friend of mine recently put it, thirty-wonderful.
Last year, for my thirtieth birthday, I had a fabulously wild party in my front yard, complete with homemade red chili enchiladas, a vibrant blue pinata and some very tasty bubble gum vodka. In the company of great friends, we danced the night away to Deee-Lite and Lady Gaga. It wasn't until the authorities stopped by to ask us to turn the music down, to which I replied defiantly, "It's MY birthday party and I don't know when we'll be quieting down!", that I realized we weren't quite acting our age. That being said, this year I wanted to keep my celebration much simpler and low key. After all, I'm about to be a wife and eventually a mother, it's time to start showing some restraint.
I feel like I've actually been celebrating my birthday all month. With my best friend just recently in town for a long weekend, we were out and about around town much more than I typically am. We had a lot of fun, but between her visiting, all the wedding planning that's been going on lately, and the planning and execution of our new vegetable garden (more on that later), I really wanted a relaxing day in celebration of my 31st.
Enter The Barefoot Sage, one of Portland's best kept secrets. Located unassumingly on SE 18th & Hawthorne, this amazing sanctuary could not have come into my life at a more opportune moment. Thank goodness for my dear friend who set up our amazing afternoon of relaxation.
Walking in to this oasis of "foot zen", I was immediately struck by the sweet soothing aromas of lavender and peppermint. The entire space is decorated in tones of purple and blue with subtle accents of gold, giving it a very relaxed Mediterranean feel. As soon as I set eyes on the plush purple couches, I knew we were in for quite a treat. So we settled in for an hour of foot soaks, complete with heated neck wraps, hot tea served on silver platters and the most amazing foot massage I've ever had. This decadent pampering was exactly what I needed to ring in my 31st with the type of vibe I hope to carry with me for the next year. I certainly forgot all about my wedding stresses and woes, and for a moment actually relished in the thought that it will all work out the way it's supposed to. 

The lobby of the Barefoot Sage.

Soothing colors and the couches hidden behind the curtains.

From the street you would never guess the oasis that exists inside.

We finished off the afternoon with a late lunch at Jake's Famous Crawfish, a few glasses of bubbly and a fabulous shopping trip in NW Portland that included a stop at my new favorite shop Little Things, owned by the fabulous Andrea Angell. All in all, I couldn't have asked for a better way to celebrate the beginning of the first year of the rest of my life. Check out my link to the Barefoot Sage under my favorite Portland Places to learn more about the holistic therapies and treatments they offer to soothe your tired feet. This place is a must visit, especially if you're a member of the ever exhausting service industry. Birthday or not, you owe it to yourself!

Stay Tuned...

It's kind of been a whirlwind around here lately. I promise something new after this weekend so stay tuned.

Play Us Some Music

Perusing my reading list this morning, I came across a post on 
Design Sponge
all about the best road trip songs. This got me reminiscing about my own three week road trip when I moved out West, and then about all the other mini road trips I have been on since. I actually like a few of the picks on the Design Sponge post, but of course, being the music lover that I am, my mind immediately started reeling as to my own perfect road trip play list. Here are just a few of the songs I have busted out to while cruising the open road...

I could go on all day long, and actually this has been quite a pleasant trip down memory lane. There's just not enough room in this post for all the fantastic music that I want to include (and for the sake of explicit lyrics I'm not going to post the Dr. Dre & Eminem song that was a favorite on our cross country trip-you know the one Lady!). Anyhow, I hope this post has struck a chord with all of you...what would your perfect road trip play list sound like?

It IS Easy Being Green.

Well, we had quite an eventful weekend this past week, dealing with all things sustainable around our house. Earlier, I promised a post about how to build a rain barrel. Our weekend turned in to so much more, so instead of an article just about the barrel, here is a recap, through pictures, of everything we got done.

First up, some great guys from Energy Trust of Oregon came out to do an "energy assessment" on our house. We live in the Lent's Neighborhood and therefore qualify for some wonderful grants that could help us make our home much more efficient.

Testing to see how pressurized the house is.

Next, we got down to business on building our barrel. It was not an easy task, but we figured it out.

Building the base.

Connecting the gutter to the downspout to the lid.

Installing the spout where the hose will connect was the hardest part, but we made it work.

The finished product!

The icing on the cake...it rained like crazy that night and the entire barrel filled up! Now we need to get our garden in ASAP so we can put all this water to use.

There's no better way to top off an early spring day filled with hard work than grilling for dinner.

YUM!

Check out Shawn's "instructional video" or visit the link below for step by step instructions on how to build your own rain barrel. Happy Conserving!

http://www.portlandonline.com/shared/cfm/image.cfm?id=182095

Also, here is the link for Energy Trust of Oregon, if you want to see how you can qualify for some of these awesome programs.

http://energytrust.org/residential/

Up Next...Building a Barrel