say 'cheese!'

This term I have met some really awesome people through my time on campus. Two of my new friends: Milli (a highly intelligent and fun-loving young woman from Nigeria) and Carrie (an impressively smart and newly saved young woman from China) ... both LOVE to learn to cook new things. So we decided to get together try some 'American' things. Milli was getting sick of her mainly rice diet, so by request, PIZZA was first on the list. Due to our shortage of time we opted to buy the crust pre-made instead of allowing the yeast to rise, etc... We bought a TON of grated cheeses, some pepperoni, and pizza sauce. Mostly we just had a lot of fun in the kitchen together. In fact, none of us left the kitchen during the entire process, and when the pizza had been baked we stood in the kitchen devouring our steaming hot pieces of pizza straight from cutting block. Delicious!

work in progress

I've had this poster since college. Love it, but it's getting ratty, since I never framed it. So I decided to paint it. Took a while to sketch in the proportions, but then I went to town throwing the paint up there. I'm not done yet, but it's the first painting that I've worked on in a long while so I wanted to set it up here to inspire me to finish it. I did this much in one day, now I just need to get back to it and finish it. Cheers to Jack Vettriano for his work on the Singing Butler.

hanafoto ROCKS !

.hanafoto.

My friends at .hanafoto. ROCK. They truly do. And this is not because I've actually won their drawing, because I haven't yet, but I definitely would love to. :) But they do excellent work. I have a number of husband-wife photography teams, and I just think they're awesome. That said... check out their blog and take a look for yourself.

saturday coffee

I love a sweet Saturday coffee with my Schatzi.

We chose Cafe Umbria in the Pearl.

They serve a delicious cappuccino.

Coming home to the gorgeous fall foliage surrounding

our neighborhood has been a treat as well.

home sweet home.

Now that's music to my ears.

fall fun-ness

We bought this Portland deal-of-the-day for the Kruger's Farm Market's October events that wheeled us a deal for:

• 2 Pumpkins (20 lbs each)
• 2 Roasted Corn Cobs
• 2 Corn Maize
• 2 Candied Apples

all for $15

(which turned out to be quite a steal, because people were there without this coupon spending $6/person on Maize tickets, purchasing pumpkins by the pound, paying $4+ on the Roasted corn, and waiting in a forever line for $3.50 Candied apples).

We were having such a great time listening to the live music and roaming around the farm, that we didn't end up taking too many other photos. But all in all it was a GORGEOUS Fall day to be outdoors in the country.

apples to apples

apples to apples . . . pears to pears too !

It's that time again. That's right Apple Tasting time at Portland Nursery. Free apple & pear tasting. Free apple cider. Free popcorn. And loads of apple baked goods to buy. Num num num! We couldn't wait to go! Wish my camera would have held out so that we could have gotten pics with my DH's sister who showed up near the end of our time. Here are the few pics I did get this year... not so different than last year... but still the same delicious endless samples!

look it's Charlotte! ~ and fall 'Cord-ination'

this is us listening to Trashcan Joe play. Good band, btw.

walk the dog!

Mila's Daydreams has got to be the cutest most-creative photo-blog ever! Check it out. *smile*

scavenger hunt mania : part 2

My DH's Photo Scavenger Hunt group had some great photos too:

Photo of someone on your team on a motorcycle.

Group photo: Human pyramid.

Group photo with a mexican food cart.

Group photo with everyone's feet in the LoveJoy Fountain.

Group photo with a bridge.

Group photo with a bronze elk (landmark).

Photo of someone in your group with a mannequin.

Group photo with someone in uniform.

Group photo with an out-of-state license plate.

Group photo with a STOP sign.

scavenger hunt mania

This fall we hosted a Photo Scavenger Hunt with the Zoe Club at PSU. It was a blast. In addition to the photos we also had to collect items along the way (without paying for or stealing). Here are a few of my favorite photos from my group:

Someone in your group braiding a stranger's hair.

Group photo with a stranger posing near a fire hydrant.

Group photo with something that starts with the letter Z.

Group photo with a stranger who is 85 years or older (with ID).

Photo of someone in your group walking a stranger's dog.

Photo of someone in your group washing a stranger's car window.

Group photo with Portlandia (landmark).

Group photo with Parking attendant writing a ticket.

Photo of someone in your group in a shopping cart.

Group photo of everyone with their feet in the Lovejoy Fountain.

(It was a very warm day, and with all the running around that we did, we should have ended with this one!)

oysters roasting on an open fire

I know many will post something sweet and memorial since it is the 11th of September. . . but I for one would like to just tell you about the lovely evening that I had with my DH and a few friends. We took a drive out to the coast in Gearhart, Oregon to enjoy the sunset and to roast oysters. As you will see from the photos, it was an extremely awesome evening. The sunset did not disappoint. And having fire roasted oysters for the first time. . . they did not disappoint either. Sure, they may look a little scary, but believe me when I say 'They were delicious!' and that's not just because I was REALLY hungry by the time they hit my mouth. The added Guda, fresh basil, garlic & olive oil really made it sooo delicious! Honest.

tending the fire . . . watching the sun go down.

Recipe : garnish with fresh basil, cheese, and garlic-olive oil.

Throw back on the fire to melt the cheese. Mmm. Delish!

Then to add to the perfect evening. . . the silver moon came out for a little while, then fell and it was pitch dark with the stars shining so bright EVERYWHERE. Wish my camera could catch them and the milky way we could see.