Category Archives: Drinks

portland weekend!

February 4, 2016

This past weekend we traveled with friends to Portland to meet up with even more friends. Everyone else thought it was mainly to see a Portland Trailblazers game together but secretly I was celebrating OhSoAntsy’s 5th anniversary. The drive down wasn’t so bad (especially since our friends drove) but it was raining kind of hard when we arrived. Of course we live in the northwest and should be used to it but it was real raining out. Like faces getting all wet and water falling down onto our jeans from our raincoats kind of rain. Basically the kind that’s not fun to walk around in. Anyhow we had fun watching the game and when it was over half our group went one way and the rest of us got a beer. That beer was really good. I had been wanting one since we had arrived but there was no way I was going to spend 10 bucks on just one at the game. So I waited patiently and it was worth it. Of course it was also nice catching up with our friends since we could all actually talk and see each other versus being in a long row. It was nice. We stayed with our friends a little outside the city so we hopped on the MAX (train) and headed to our beds for the night. We stayed up a little longer talking and having snacks and I felt like a college kid when my head finally hit my pillow at 2 am!

All of Saturday we did what we usually do when we get together. We drank. Of course we did it in the classiest of ways. After brunch we went to Enzo Urban Winery. One of our friends had tasted their sangria and loved it so we decided to check it out and also let her stock up while we were in town. I’m glad we did because they have the cutest space. There was only one other group there so it was quiet and lovely. I should also mention we were totally digging the music (hello Lauren Hill). The wine was nice and I enjoyed trying their reds. There were some that I really loved but full disclosure there was one we all agreed smelled like dill and then I just couldn’t get over it.

After the winery we dropped one friend off at the bolt bus station since she had to head back to Seattle a bit earlier than the rest of us. Next we made a quick pit stop at Clear Creek Distillery to try their Douglas Fir Eau-de-Vie before meeting our other friends at Burnside Brewing. It was one of my favorite brewery experiences in quite some time. First I’ll say they let you try every single beer they have (4 oz) of each for only $16. There were 18 beers! What?! That’s a crazy good price. I was pumped because I honestly wanted to try almost everything. We ordered 2 for the table and went to town tasting. It’s been a while since I’ve liked that many beers from one place. I was especially excited because hops did not overpower all the beer. Hooray! Anyhow if you like beer and are in Portland go! The one I can’t stop thinking about is the Duke of Earl Grey. Yum!

For dinner we all agreed on Screen Door. Some cool things about it: -a few of the trailblazers were finishing up when we arrived to put our names on the list. -the food was crazy good! Ok that was only 2 things because mostly the food was just really, really good. We stayed up super late again but this time because we played some games and laughed a lot. The next day we made a quick stop at Pip’s donuts. Again it was super good. They had 6 flavors to choose from and they were mini so a dozen is like $5 so we got a few of each flavor. They also have some really creative chai flavors. I got a smokey one which was interesting but not as tasty as I was hoping. After a full weekend of eating and drinking it was time to get back home. The drive was surprisingly fast and our bunnies made it their first weekend without us. Oh did I not mention we have rabbits? Perhaps a story for another time.

New Year’s Eve 2015

January 5, 2016

If you don’t know by now New Year’s is a big time of the year for me. My birthday is on January 1st so growing up New Year’s Eve was full of traditions and after midnight full of birthday wishes and present opening (more on that in the next post).

This year we had plans to head to a few parties close by to drink, mingle, and watch the fireworks off the space needle. BUT I didn’t want to wait until 8 or 9 to start celebrating. Super last minute (on the 30th) I decided to host a small dinner party at my house and I decided it would be a 7 course affair with pairings. I researched all over and looked at some menus and substituted as I saw fit and finally came up with a wonderful menu. I cooked all the courses (after a moment of what was I thinking I was really excited to see it coming together) and my friends brought cheese for the cheese course and wine and champagne. Below is the menu:

A few more details: We had French Champagne, Washington dry Riesling, the Klinker Brick is a Zinfindel from California, Walker helped make the plum wine and we all picked plums for it last summer, the port is a 10 year Tawny from Kopke-a port maker in Porto that we visited on our honeymoon, and finally the grapefruit was served 2 ways-fresh and dried. It was seriously so fun. We enjoyed the rest of our evening but we all agreed this was our favorite part. It was especially funny when I started to get a bit tipsy about half way through was stopped paying any attention to when what was supposed to come out. I seriously can’t wait to do it again and I’ve been dreaming up some fun ideas.

A couple photos from the rest of the evening and a close up of Walker’s Michigan cuff links.

Belize part 2: ambergris caye

April 8, 2015

A couple of weeks ago I shared the first part of our Belize trip (it’s the previous post if you want to take a look) about our time on Caye Caulker. During our stay we look a day trip to Ambergris Caye and I was even more glad we decided not to stay longer. It was fun but I much preferred the laid back atmosphere on Caye Caulker.

We walked around the main area near where the ferry lets off but the day was heating up and we really wanted to be near or in the water. I had heard of a bar that’s at the end of a dock called Palapa Bar and Grill that had inner tubes you could lay in and drink beer. It was pretty much all I wanted to do. After discovering it was a few miles away we chose to rent a golf cart. It was well worth it because we had so much fun riding around the island on it.

I was super excited when we pulled up to the bar because it was exactly what I had imagined from what I had seen, inner tubes and all!

We sat on the upper deck and ordered fancy tropical drinks and lunch. The water and sky and breeze were perfect and we got a bit of relief from the sun. It’s such a great moment when the things you’ve been dreaming about and planning are finally happening. I was pretty pumped.

Everyone was pretty content to hang out on the dock but I was determined to get in the water and on those darn inner tubes! I headed out into the water and climbed in and enjoyed my beer. A few minutes later Walker decided he wanted to lower a bucket of beer down to me. He used the rope provided and once it was down he had me go get it. The water was kind of deep so it was a bit of a struggle and I just about got salt water in all the beers but I made it back to the inner tubes. Once I was back on I realized my side was stinging. Walker tried to convince me I was fine (which yes I was) but my side my stinging anyhow. We finally concluded that I was stung by my first jellyfish. It stung for a few hours on and off but no harm done. Apparently the little suckers hang out in the sea grasses that you can see floating around my tube. So, yes, do go here and get in the tubes but just watch out for the grasses and the jellies.

After Palapa we rode farther down the island in the opposite direction and went to anther bar on the water. We couldn’t stay for long though because the cart was due back. The golf cart ride in itself was an adventure so it was ok plus we got to finish our drinks on the ride (except the driver of course). We returned the cart and water taxied it back to Caye Caulker.

I mentioned in my last post that I wore a Belize necklace on our trip and it was a great reminder of the fun we had and my first tropical vacation when I returned. If you are looking for a great way to remember a special time or place head over to the shop.

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