Backyard Crab Feed

This is a rather belated post, and if you follow me on Instagam, you might be wondering why I haven't posted about this sooner. To be completely honest I have been so exhausted with work and suffering from Portland withdrawls, there's hardly been any time to do anything other than sleep!

Well my dear friends, here it is: the most amazing backyard crab feast I have ever experienced.

For dear Abby's birthday, she & her hubby graciously hosted everyone for an afternoon birthday celebration. They had a mimosa bar and a gin bucket (with turkey baster shots) for cocktails. Tab cooked the veggies in rotation in their new outdoor turkey fryer. When they were ready to serve, he dumped the cooked goodies on the newspaper lined table for people to munch on.

When the crab legs were cooked and piled onto the table, it was time to feast!

Tea Time at the Secret Garden

Over the weekend the girls and I did the most elegant thing we could think of: we went to High Tea.

On Sunday afternoon we put on our preppiest dresses and headed down to to the Secret Garden Tea Room. It actually isn't a room at all- it's a gorgeous old Victorian house set in the picturesque valley of Sumner. Although this isn't my neck of the woods, it's worth the miles. 

We sipped our respective tea (I had the Afternoon Garden Party Tea), and chatted while we waited for our lunch. Loose quotations on the word "lunch"... it was more of a delicious, miniature feast.

First, a lovely cup of soup. Today was a light lemon chicken with rice soup. 

Then, of course, came the scones. And there would be no scones and tea without Devonshire Cream, apricot jam, and lemon curd.

After that, it was a Marionberry sorbet to clean the palette. 

Then came the main course: our tiered rack full of tea sandwiches, fruit, savory pastries, and topped with fabulous desserts. 

There are several different types of tea you can have here at the Secret Garden. I had the Hollycock High Tea, which was absolutely fabulous. If you're looking for a fun little getaway with your girlfriends, this is the place. Daydream like you're in a Jane Austen book (though, significantly more modern) and dine on a traditional English High Tea. It's quite lovely. And makes you feel rather sophisticated, if I do say so myself! x 

Soup House Obsession

Now, when I say "Soup House" I'm sure many of you are thinking of some Eastside restaurant with a busy happy hour and mood lighting for the evenings.

As much as I love the Eastside, this soup spot is far from anything you would find in the 425.

Lect's Soup Stop is in Georgetown, right down the graveled and pot-holed street from the Georgetown Brewing Co. This little converted house has been transformed into the local hot spot. The walk-up window gets surrounded by patrons ordering the soup of the day, or else waiting patiently around for their to-go lunch.

They feature one new soup each day. Whatever leftovers they have, they sell the next day at a first-come-first-serve basis. So basically if you liked the soup from today, you'd better get there early if you want it tomorrow.

It's hard to image that something so simple as soup gets this much praise! But trust me- it is well deserved. This place is popular for a reason: they make damn good soup.

Yesterday I had the shredded chicken tortilla soup. Delicious.

Today I was so excited about their Brazilian Chicken Stew that I zipped out of the office in my heels down the gravel road to get some!

 

Lect's Soup Stop prints their Soup Calendar every month so you always know what soup their featuring. I'm almost positive half the office has this lying around their desk somewhere- I know I do!

You can find out more here and check out their calendar here!
xx

Rose City

At last-- back in the Rose City!
It had been far too long since I had been down to the 503, and with the weather so nice, there were hardly any excuse to be made why NOT to go down.

First stop: Koi Fusion food truck on Mississippi Ave. My absolute favorite food truck. These boys really know how to make delicious food, Mm Mm MM!

Next stop: the Blues Festival. This was one of the main reasons I went down, quickly followed by seeing my gorgeous best friend who I have not seen in months. Problem, solution.

The Hot 8 Brass Band

One of the many characters to be found on the Waterfront

2 days of music, sun and good friends is enough to get your appetite going.
With that said, I finally took Katz to Pok Pok Noi! We dined on the scrumptious Vietnamese cuisine and got caught up on the latest happenings.

Pok Pok's Famous Fish Sauce Wings!

Spicy Papaya Salad with Pork

Saturday night I did the most American thing I think I've ever done in my life: I went to the St. Paul Rodeo. South of Portland by about 20 or so miles, this little town hosts a rodeo every year and it draws a huge crowd. Red necks, cowboys, hipsters and city folk all congregate to watch the show.

It was a very eventful weekend full of a few of my favorite things (and people!)
On the way home, I couldn't resist another stop at Koi Fusion. I Instagramed my excitement and hey- check it out! I found myself staring at my face on the Koi Fusion Insta!

You can follow me on Insta here: @Tomoks425

Cheers! xx