1 year and going strong

Two exciting events came together this past weekend that warrented a celebration slightly more epic then dinner at Outback. I finished my classroom portion of culinary school and Lenny and I had our 1 year anniversary! That's right, we survived the first year of marriage, which I've always been warned is the toughest year- however I don't really seem to remember it being difficult at all. That is a good sign, right?

We chose a long weekend in Seattle as a way to celebrate both occasions- We had our first kiss on top of the Space Needle way back when, and Seattle has some awesome food places for us to try. Seemed like a natural fit for us. So, bags packed and tears drying on our cheeks as we dropped Ryker off at Gramma and Grandpa's for his first long weekend away from us, we hit I5 like 2 teenagers on our first date. Giddy, excited and carefree. It felt great. We spent 3 days in the Emerald City and ate so much food. Luckily, we chose to walk everywhere (well, the $5 hourly parking fee really made that decision for us), so I think we negated all the calories, but I will cherish every single one of them.

If you have the opportunity to eat in Seattle, I suggest you try Serious Pie- a pizza place by Tom Douglas. As a Beard Award winner and all around amazing chef, this guy knows how to make a pizza. Andaluca gave me my first experience with ground duck- and it's an experience I won't soon forget! I could name all the places we went, but I want to let you discover the culinary treasures on your own. What a wonderful way for us to commemerate our love for each other & our love for food.

While we thoroughly enjoyed our time together sans child & still had many more places we wanted to try, we were happy to return home to our little tornado of distruction. It's fun to spend adult time together, but at the end of the day we are a family unit, and when a piece is missing... things just aren't quite right. Thank you, Seattle, for the beautiful weather, the outstanding food and the romantic memories. Oh, and if Chef Douglas would like to open up a Serious Pie here in Portland, I'd be willing to help him out.

And that's a wrap...

If you had asked me 8 hours ago if I thought I was going to make it through the end of this day, I would have slowly lowered my head and meekly shook it "no". The idea of accomplishing everything that I needed to accomplish today was enough to drive me to insomia this weekend. Visions of sugarplums NOTHING! Try nightmares of tarts, caramels, nougate, cookies, chocolate tortes... and this list goes on and on. Before I was a culinary student, baking a cake was quite the daily accomplishment, so it's easy to understand my nerves as I sketched out my plan to bake and finish my 27 piece buffet.

All the intimidating (yet incredibly scrumptious) images aside... I'M FINISHED! I have offically finished all grade work for my Baking and Pastry Program at OCI! I am in disbelief just typing that. Enrolling in culinary school has been such a lofty, dream-like goal in my life for a very long time. The fact that I have completed it is mind-blowing! I have to tell you, it is an amazing feeling to pursue one's personal goals and see them come to life. Now, as I am about to start an intership at Ten01 with their fabulous pastry chef, Jeff McCarthy, I am beside myself. I am getting the chance to experience something I use to daydream about. Am I a blessed little lady or what???

Now to enjoy a little R&R the next couple of days. Hey, pursuing your goals is exciting... but it's hard work too!

Greetings from Mrs. Portland 2011

Today was the first "Meet & Greet" for the contestants of the Mrs Oregon pageant & as the newly crowned Mrs. Portland, I was on pins and needles. Libby, our director, graciously held a workshop for us in her gorgeous home, allowing us all to meet each other in person and start creating those amazing bonds that come with participating in a pageant together.

I went, knowing only one of the contestants (thanks to the wonderful world of Facebook). My emotions were a mix of excitement and nervousness. This workshop marked the beginning of the pageant season for me, which is always fun and adventurous. However, not knowing the ladies I am about to embark on this journey with put me a little on the defense. I'm not sure what it is about my personality that makes me think like that, but anyhoo- there it is. As usual, I'm not sure what I was worried about. The ladies are fantastic! I don't know how Libby does it, but she seems to attract the most beautiful, caring and professional women you will ever meet. We range from stay-at-home moms to business owners, yet this pageant is bringing us all together on common ground. We are passionate about our families, our communities and about setting a positive, inspiring example for all married women.

Pop your head in from time to time to follow me as I begin the process of preparing myself for the pageant. The next several months will be filled with community service, new friendships and a lot of smiles. I simply can not wait!