Off With Their Heads, Pippi the Pumpkin Patch Princess, & National Dessert Day

I went to Portland again last weekend to do makeup for my cousin's homecoming dance and of course hang out with her, my aunt, and their dog.

On the way up, Bart and I stopped at the shelter we adopted Pippi from to drop off some blankets and treats since the weather is getting colder out here and they asked for donations. Seeing all of the doggies who need homes makes me so sad and I wish that I could bring all of them home with me but realistically the best thing for me to do right now is just drop off donations whenever we're in the area (it's an hour away from where we live).

When we arrived in Portland, we went to a McMenamins because we haven't been even though there's one in town. I got this amazing veggie wrap that was so filling I could only eat half of it and was completely stuffed. After that, we went back to Aunt Teri's and hung out watching Netflix and catching up on the last month while we waited for Elise to get home from her water polo tournament that was out of town. Of course I also took this opportunity to get in as many Libby (their dog) cuddles as possible.

Saturday was homecoming, and Aunt Teri and I made card corsages (which I forgot to get a picture of) for some of Elise's friends and finished up her awesome crown while Elise was getting her hair and nails done. The dance was Disney themed, and her and her friends decided to do a group costume based off of Alice in Wonderland. Elise was the best Queen of Hearts ever of course.

I did her makeup before we went to her friend's house, where I set up a little makeup studio in one of the bathrooms and did makeup for four of her friends. I forgot to ask them for pictures too because I was so worried about getting them all done in time, but three of them wanted silver and black smokey eyes and one wanted natural makeup with false eyelashes, so it wasn't anything too crazy exciting. Here's a picture of Elise being perfect though!

After I finished doing makeup on the girls, Aunt Teri took us out to her favorite Thai place and we got these Thai teas that tasted so good it should be illegal. I had yellow curry, Bart had a curry that tasted like Chai Tea (in all the right ways) and Aunt Teri had a mango chicken plate. She also ordered two appetizers because her goal is to send us home fifty pounds heavier every time we visit obviously...not that I'm complaining because FOOD.

Elise got me this absolutely perfect train case to thank me for helping out with homecoming stuff. No more lugging my stuff around in random boxes and bags when I travel!

On Sunday we went to Multnomah Falls, which was breathtaking. Aunt Teri and I went up about halfway and decided we wanted to go back to the bottom and get coffee while Bart decided to try and go all the way to the top. It was really crowded and the bridge you had to cross to continue on the path was so crowded it was essentially at a stop, which is why Aunt Teri and I decided to chill instead.

While we were sitting on a bench, every kid that passed by exclaimed "Mom! That lady has purple hair!" which my Aunt thought was a hoot, but I'm used to by now because I get it everyday at work and it never gets old.

After that, Bart and I went home and were greeted by a very happy Pippi who had clearly missed us. She turned six months old on Sunday and my mom brought her to the pumpkin patch with my little sister and her friend to celebrate. I got a text from my mom that said "Pippi got a pumpkin because she licked it and said 'I want this one' so I had to buy it for her." She also sent me some adorable pictures of Pippi having an awesome half-birthday (or should I say un-birthday to keep with the Alice in Wonderland theme?). This one is my favorite.

In honor of National Dessert Day on Tuesday, I baked cream puffs and sugar cookie sticks dipped in frosting. The cream puffs had a thin layer of boysenberry preserves (because they're pretty strong) and chocolate expertly globbed on top by my little sister. I'm really happy with how they came out.

That's basically how my week has been! I wanted to share it with all of you since it's been such a crazy but awesome week! I'm baking viking cupcakes tomorrow for my friend's daughter's third birthday which is How to Train Your Dragon themed and I'm really excited about it. Until next time...
Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise

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My First Trip to Portland

I went to Portland for the first time this past weekend. My main reason for going was to see my aunt and cousin because I haven't seen them in about ten years. I've lived in Oregon for about six months now and wanted to get completely settled in before taking any trips, but it was hard waiting to see them when I knew they were so close. The other reasons my boyfriend and I decided to take a trip to Portland were to see my suitemate from my first year of college (he hadn't met her before), and to explore the city in general.

We left Bend on Friday and got to my friend Christine's house around 12:30. She had lunch waiting for us, so we ate while catching up on things (Bart opted for playing with her housemate's new kitty while we had "girl time") before taking a bus downtown. We went to the Chinese Garden, which is absolutely stunning. These are some of the shots I took while we were there.

After that we went to this awesome ice cream shop called Salt & Straw that specializes in funky flavors. You can tell it was a really popular places, because there was a line out the door and about a 30-45 minute wait even with four people working the line, one person making fresh waffles cones, and one person on the cash register. SO WORTH THE WAIT THOUGH.

I got Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper, Christine got Freckled Woodblock Chocolate, and Bart got Apricot with Citra Hops. It was a magical experience.


After that we went back to Christine's and hung out some more (while Bart played with Ricky the cat some more) until it was time for us to go to my aunt's house. When we got to my aunt's we obviously were excited to see each other so we caught up in her living room and ate pizza before calling it a day. Also their dog, Libby, is basically my new best friend now and I regret not taking a picture of that majestic creature.

The next morning we went to breakfast at a place called Biscuits before heading to the maker's market in downtown. There were so many cool booths that it was hard not to spend an hour at each one. My favorite was definitely the one with nerd themed prints. We talked to the guy for awhile and definitely plan on buying more prints from him, but bought these two to start (pictures are from his website [outnerdme.com] btw because I couldn't get good pictures of ours without mad glare). I picked out the Big Bang Theory one and Bart picked out the Firefly one.

But if we went to Portland and didn't stop at Voodoo Doughnut, does the trip even count at all?

After that we went downtown, browsed through some shops, and then we went back to their house to relax for a little bit before going to the mall (Elise had a surprise party to go to, but the rest of us went). I replaced my foundation and eyeshadow primer at Sephora and bought a new nude eyeshadow palette because I'm down to 3 neutral shadows that are all almost gone which is how I justified buying the palette in my head. I DON'T FEEL BAD AND I EARNED IT OK

After the mall we went back to the house, watched Big Bang Theory with my aunt, and then went to bed.

On Sunday we went to the Rose Garden, followed by the Japanese Garden before eating lunch at a pub called The Public House and then saying good bye...for now.

Elise can't pass up an opportunity to study...

The pictures from the Japanese Garden didn't turn out as well as the others, but you can still get the idea of how gorgeous it was.

Overall it was an amazing trip and I'm so happy that I got to reconnect with family that I haven't seen in ages and a friend I haven't seen in years while exploring a new city. I can't wait to go back!


Stay Stellar,
Paige Elise