New Duds

Thankfully, the heat stayed at a manageable 90-95º this weekend, so we were able to actually cook, ride bikes, and enjoy ourselves. That's not to say we didn't sweat quite a bit while doing these activities, but it certainly wasn't hot enough to make me want to die.

Friday afternoon, I decided that I needed a sundress. So, I made one just in time to go out for a date night. The fabric was cut from a free pattern by Heather Ross and I was pleasantly surprised at how well it fit with virtually no alteration. It's incredibly comfortable and perfect for these hot afternoons that we've been experiencing. Since it's really only held up by the elastic faux smocking that I created, I'm still playing around with some form of straps so I can ensure that it doesn't accidentally get pulled down, say when I ride my bike. With my summer dress on, we rode our bikes over to the Produce Row Cafe in east Portland, largely because Jesse read about their interesting beer and whiskey pairings in one of our local newspapers. I never would have thought to drink rye whiskey along with a cream stout, but it was delicious and they complimented each other quite nicely. While at the Cafe, I also had the best tuna melt that I've ever tasted. It had all kinds of herbs -- fresh parsley, dill, chives -- along with scallions, red onion, and celery on sourdough bread. MMM.

Saturday was not nearly as fun, we cleaned the apartment and scoped out laptops at the Apple store downtown, but nothing of great consequence. After we got back from the bike ride downtown, Jesse decided that it good afternoon for a nap. I wasn't very sleepy, so I walked over to the grocery store to pick up things for dinner. I decided to make a dish inspired by the Produce Row Cafe's pasta of the day -- chevre mac & cheese with peas and fresh parsley. It was perfect for a hot day, not too heavy and didn't require the stove to be on for a long time. After dinner, I cracked open a couple of travel guides and started really planning for our September trip to Belgium and Germany. (I'll post on that sometime this coming week.)

Today, Jesse and I had planned on going on a hike near Multnomah Falls, but we got so into planning for the trip that we decided to hang around the apartment to continue to fill in our tentative itinerary. We were so inspired by one of our tour books in particular, that we rode our bikes out to Belmont Station (the best beer store I've ever visited) and picked up a variety of Lambics to try. I'm getting really excited about the trip, which officially is now only one month away.