Annual Holiday Soiree

We like to host a white elephant party in our home during the holidays. This year was really laid back. We had our good friends over, and some people were understandably out of town.







In the rare case that both my sisters and I are together, we really party!

Burnt Fork BBQ, Decatur, Georgia

I was drawn by the vegan items on the Burnt Fork BBQ menu, so we decided to drive all the way to Decatur for dinner.







All in all, it was good but not great. It would be a good option if I was in the Decatur area and hungry. Otherwise, I'd skip on over to Raging Burrito.

D.I.Y. Holiday Gifts

Most years I try to come up with a gift that I can take to the hosts/hostesses of holiday parties and people with birthdays in December. This year, I was inspired by my visit to The Meadow, as I referenced in my Portland post. The store is a wonderland of salts and chocolate from around the world, but most importantly salt. I never knew there was so many different types and varieties.

I started doing my own research and found a great resource to buy five pound bags. Thus my idea was born. I purchased a couple of different styles of Weck jars that I would fill with the three salts I bought and wrap them up furoshiki style to give as gifts. I really loved how the fabric and paper tags came together in the end.

Stitch + Wire Party, Atlanta, Georgia

Shannon and Beth have joined together to create Stitch + Wire. Their inaugural event was a crafty party at Youngblood Gallery, and it was a great time to meet other craft-minded folks in Atlanta.

Sheik Burritos, Atlanta, Georgia

I decided to try something "different" at Sheik Burritos. However, it really wasn't different, it was just MORE. I typically get the Dog Style Tofu Kababs with Rice, Black Beans, and Southwestern Salsa. This time, my eyes were much bigger than my stomach, and I ordered pretty much the same thing but Sag Style, which ultimately is two dinners on a plate.

Raw, gluten-free, vegan cheesecake at Cafe Sunflower

It melts in your mouth. Need I say more?

I.C.E. Pop Up Shop Setup

Our friends, Shannon and Christy, needed help setting up the I.C.E. Pop Up shop at Criminal Records. Luckily we weren't too busy and were able to lend a hand. It was fun to design the layout of some of the shop and create product displays before the Scoutmob party the next night.



We were back the next day to put the finishing touches on the shop, and we took a break at the Porter. We had their insanely potent vinegar popcorn.



The Scoutmob party was a success, and tons of people came out to do their holiday shopping.



We even got to sell our letterpress stationery, Camp Paper & Goods.

Senbei Cracker Disaster

I've been doing my best to go gluten-free with an occasional slip. One of my favorite gluten-free snacks are senbei crackers, but they can get expensive. So I decided to make my own. It's not so easy. The rice flour comes apart really easily, and it was really difficult to get the flavor right.



Not looking or tasting so hot, I decided to keep buying them.

Indie Craft Experience Holiday Spectacular

Every year, Andy and I help out with I.C.E., put on by our friends Shannon and Christy. Andy loves running the bar with David, Shannon's boyfriend.



We always have such a blast because the whole craft community comes out including a lot of our friends, so it's great to catch up with people over the two days during the event.

No Mule Riding for Me

My girlfriends and I get together once a year (we're scattered across the country) for a little R&R. This year we planned to ride mules into the Grand Canyon. Everything was planned and paid for. I was even arriving a few days early with my family to do a quick tour of Las Vegas, Antelope Canyon, Lake Powell, etc. Alas, I came down with a serious case of bronchitis, and for the first time in my life had to cancel all my plans. The girls went ahead with the trip, there is no stopping them! I sent Joanna with some supplies I had put together for the ride.



Here are the ladies visiting Hoover Dam. So glamourous!

Culture Shock Halloween Party at the High Museum

Back to Portland/Columbia River Gorge, Oregon

We were nearing the end of our trip and really sad to leave the Coast behind, but we were looking forward to driving through Portland to see the Columbia River Gorge.

We stopped at Bunk Sandwiches in Portland for a quick lunch, and I may have overdone it with the grilled tillamook cheese, but dang, it was delicious! And I am salivating for some as I write this...





We took the Historic Columbia River Highway which wound its way through the Gorge.



Stopping at the Crown Point Vista House. The octagonal structure reminded me of the entrance to the Georgia Tech Library, which is done in a somewhat similar Art Nouveau style.





We drove by and stopped at too many waterfalls to count, but the most majestic (and popular) of them all was Multnomah Falls.



Once we got our fill on waterfalls and beautiful scenery, we made our way back to Portland and stopped at Fred Meyer as I hunted for an Oregon magnet to add to my collection. We marvelled at the enormous beer selection. Might this be enough to entice Andy to move to Portland?



We met up with Travis and Lizy one final time at Sweet Hereafter, a vegan bar in SE Portland. Ok, this place was yum-tastic, and I wish we had gone sooner so I could try their entire menu.





It was a great way to end our two and a half week trip in the Pacific NW!

Oregon Coast - Part II

Breakfast was included in our stay, so we ate at the Inn and then drove to the gorgeous Ecola State Park just north of Cannon Beach.







For lunch, we drove back to Cannon Beach and ate at Seasons Cafe. I had a really great veggie wrap.





We continued our drive down the Oregon Coast toward Manzanita and stopped at Smugglers Cove, which came highly recommended from Travis. We spent a good amount of time in this magical place.







It was quite cold and windy, but surfers were coming in droves to surf in Smugglers Cove. When we got cold enough, we returned to Cannon Beach and Haystack Rock.



We ate supper at Morris' Fireside Restaurant. Then we settled into our room to watch Whip It.

Oregon Coast - Part I

From Portland, we drove through Beaverton heading towards the Beaches. I had read an article about Astoria in the New York Times, so I wanted to stop there first. We ate lunch at Fort George brewery which was recommended by Lizy's friend.





After lunch, we explored downtown Astoria by foot and wandered into this antique store.



Astoria is also best known as the town Goonies was filmed in, so references to the movie were found everywhere. We even stopped by the house where the main character lives.





The house has an amazing vantage point of the town, and we could hear sea lions on the piers barking, so we decided to investigate.





It was starting to get late in the afternoon and we wanted to get to Cannon Beach before sunset, so we took off and drove about 40 minutes south to the Inn at Cannon Beach where we were staying for two nights. From the Inn, we walked across the street to the beach and Haystack Rock to enjoy the sunset.





It was such a beautiful evening, photographers had flocked to the beach to capture the rock bathed in light at dusk.



We got a closer look at the creatures clinging to the rock at low tide.



As we returned to the Inn, rabbits had emerged from their hiding places to eat from small patches of grass. They were the biggest wild rabbits I had seen, unfortunately the light was too low to take photos of them. Once we got to the Inn, we ate granola for dinner and watched Goonies on DVD.

A good resource for the Oregon Coast is a publication called Coast Explorer.