Last weekend, OJ came with us for a quick road trip down south. It was my cousin Devina's baby shower and OJ was able to come with us - so we made it into an overnighter and booked a hotel in Portland.
Devina is so clever - I knew her decorations would be cute. Love the big chalkboard. Always a sucker for these.
My Aunt Deanna and Aunt Victoria was there - back left. It had been a long time since I'd seen them and they'd both never met Elyse - so that was great! OJ and I loved the simple decorations with blue mason jars, baby's breath and daisies.
This is Devina and her husband, Keith. Full disclosure - I took these pictures off my cousin's FB. I'm actually not very good at snapping pictures at events.
Grandma Debra, Mommy and Baby Tucker - cute.
Love the cupcake display!
OJ says, "Who makes that face?" So funny - when I saw it, I said, "Oh, I totally do all the time!" In Courtney-speak it means something like "noooo way...."
Elyse gets the prize for this one! I'm not sure what that face means!
Kiddos are so great. They make instant friends. These three are all the same age - they romped together and here they are playing ring around the rosie.
Being puppies.
She zonked out as soon as we left, so we took the scenic route. Stopped for some NYC pizza - so good - and ate it in the car while Elyse snoozed away.
Drove to Multnomah Falls - so pretty!
She woke up just in time!
We checked into our hotel and then headed back out to meet Aunt Victoria for dinner. The Tin Shed Garden Cafe is a DDD and it was amazing. So good. I had a quesadilla with sweet potato, black bean, jalapeno, jack cheese with raspberry jam - dipped in chipotle aioli. It sounds crazy, but it was delish! OJ, Aunt Victoria and Elyse all loved their plates too! OJ ordered an appetizer of artichoke dip and had some potato dish. Aunt Victoria had the sliders and she said the beef was very good. All this and it was Happy Hour too so dinner was super reasonable.
I had to share this picture because OJ thinks it is so funny with the random guy!
It was "so Portland" to see a roller skate wheel when I opened my car door. And yes, I'm the nerd taking a picture of it.
After dinner we went to Salt and Straw for the most delectable ice cream I've ever had. Take the time to click through their link and check out their flavors. I had the Alpine S'mores: graham cracker crumble, marshmallow fluff, freckles of locally roasted chocolate and ribbons of huckleberry jam. OJ had coffee bourborn and Elyse had the "Singing Dog" vanilla. It was so amazing. They are known for their wild flavors like Honey Balsalmic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper and Pear Blue Cheese (which OJ tried and said it was quite good).
It was raining and OJ was laughing that we were using umbrellas - but Elyse thought it was super!
We got back to the hotel and played for an hour in the pool. Showered, got into jammies and the big girls had glasses of Skinny Girl White Cranberry Cosmopolitans (PS: new favorite flavor - dangerous!) This was Elyse and I before we knocked out for the night. Our plans of watching a movie were quickly ended!
In the morning, we headed to a friend's recommendation for breakfast - Gravy. The line was super long so we went to a place across the street instead. It was just okay. But, we did try chicken and waffles for the first time - CHECK!
We headed to Home Goods next. I just love that place and OJ had never been. I got some fun things like serving platters and down pillows for great prices. We went to Lloyd Center and did some brief shopping at Ulta before we headed back on the road. Elyse didn't sleep a wink the entire way home. I slipped into my jammies and a sweatshirt as soon as we got home. After all our stuff was put away, I settled into my rocker to watch Grey's Anatomy with Bill. Elyse put her princess dress on and approximately ten minutes later there was this... Wilson too. I think he missed us.
Sleepy angel.
Such a fun time with our dear friend. Love our girl time, but happy to be home too! OJ, when's our next adventure?
