Thursday, February 11, 2010

Portland Get-Away

Last weekend Dave and I made a quick trip down to Portland.  Our main objective was to get a new bird - a canary that Dave had picked out after a week of researching breeders and varieties of canaries.

Once he decided to go with the breeder in Vancouver, I begged for him to take me to Portland (just a few miles out of the way) because my all time favorite knitting store Twisted is there.

Not only did he consent, he suggested that we go a day early so we could make it to Twisted's Knit Night!  Have I told you how much I love this man!  Sooooooo much!  :)  So Friday afternoon, we dropped Sammie off at school (Grandma would be picking her up) and took off.

This is my car knitting project - the "Twisted one-skein" club project for February - a beautiful cowl in chunky Malabrigo yarn.  YUMMY!  I got it about half done.


While we didn't have to fight traffic, we did have to turn around and go home once, stop for gas, and stop to feed Ruby along the way.  That meant we got to Twisted just a few minutes late.  (And meant that dinner would have to wait until AFTER we finished knitting).  Dave is such a good sport!


This is just a part of their sock yarn selection.  Can you see why I absolutely love this shop!?!

Dave works on his scarf:

After the knit night was over, we found a Red Robin and splurged for dinner.  We got drinks, burgers, fries AND split a sundae!  Oh so yummy... and worth every calorie!

Then we drove back downtown and found our Hotel.  We used Priceline and stayed at a pretty deluxe place for only $70!!!  It was called Hotel Lucia - and while the room was small, it was pretty swanky.  This is the view from the bathroom.  I only brought my 50mm lens so getting pictures of the whole room at once was impossible.

Here we are being silly.

I liked this shot of Ruby.  It isn't often I get her in profile.

We watched cable tv (HGTV and Food Netwark) until we fell asleep - another luxury we go without at home.  The next morning we hit our favorite coffee shop.  The concierge at the hotel suggested a local roastery, but we just couldn't do it!  The bux called to us...


Then Dave and I walked and shopped downtown Portland.  We went to a brand new spice shop, the Verizon store, and Nordy's - among other places.  Dave got a new cover for his phone:


...and I got a new pair of shoes.  Unfortunately they weren't in stock, so I have to wait for them to come in the mail.  Hence the pouty face.


We made one last stop before heading north to pick up the bird.  It wouldn't have been a mini-vacation without sushi!  This joint had great food - and each plate was only $1!!  We made it out (with tip) for $10.  Gotta love that!


Finally, this little guy was the reason for the whole trip.  Sammie wanted to name him "Sweetie" and we wanted something a little more suave and debonair - with a big band/mob boss sound to it.  So we settled on "Sweetie Valentino".   He sings beautifully and we love him already.

11 comments:

Crafty Jenn said...

Hee hee! Such a great story! Love the sad face. ;)

Dave is such a terrific husband! Guess it helps that he likes to knit too.

Hopefully Sweetie Valentino likes his new home!

Sparkplug17 said...

I'm glad you guys had a great trip! Yeah for shopping tax free! :)

Kari Seals said...

Nona you are a lucky girl! I have a very supportive hubby too! I so need to know about the new spice store. I only know of one on the east side of Portland so it would be good to hear of another! This story makes me want to have a mini-cation in my own home town too!

Barb said...

What a wonderful uplifting post! I'm so glad I stopped by this evening. Dave is impressing me with his knitting skills. I thought he would give it up and lookie, he's still doing it! So cool that the two of you share that. TWISTED looks awesome!! I would love to visit. And baby Ruby...just so adorable. Thanks for sharing your mini-vacay with us...quite enjoyable reading.

Blessings!
Barb

Jeanne said...

What a heartwarming post, Nona! From beginning to end it sounds like a wonderful adventure, and so close to home! Thanks so much for sharing. Sweetie Valentino looks like a suave bird (if a bird can look suave) and I love that Dave knits with you!

Shirley Ross, rockin' heARTist said...

sounds like so much fun! Love your blog!

Unknown said...

What a fun trip. Thanks for sharing all of the exciting photos. I almost feel like I was there with you!

Sharli Schaitberger said...

What a wonderful trip! I love Sweetie Valentino - but there is no-one to compare to Dave! ;-)
I like that you, too, buy shoes at Nordy's - I have bought my shoes there almost exclusively for many, many years. They have a great selection and are so good about returns if something doesn't work out (I have awful feet - hard to fit). The yarn store is awesome - and while I don't eat sushi, I can appreciate that you had a real treat!

Yippee!

Anonymous said...

Sweetie Valentino is a beautiful little guy. Glad I got to hear him singing away at card class the other night. :-)

Melanie said...

Hi! I’ve been a follower of your blog for some time now (I actually link to it on my blog: www.melanieharmsma.blogspot.com) and I was wondering if you might help me out in promoting a video I’ve created about clear stamps. As you may know there is a competition to create a 3 minute video about Close to My Heart stamps, and I’m hoping mine is good enough to win a prize! Would you consider embedding my video in your blog, and even sending out the link to friends through facebook or e-mail? I’d really appreciate your help! If you’re in the competition yourself, just ignore this message, and good luck to you! Thanks!
The link is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6VgLmhwsVc

By the way, love the photo of the oatmeal! If only I wasn't allergic to almonds!

Susan said...

Hi! Nona haven't posted in awhile but love your blog. If you're ever in need (or want) of another bird we have a breeder just down the road from us. Check it out at

http://www.singing-wings-aviary.com/

love the fact that your husband is so supportive (and that he likes doing things with you)

and your babies are gorgeous

Keep up the great blog.