Crafty Sam

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 02:12:00 +0000

Due to the persistent badgering from my friend Christie AND my mother, I've decided to start blogging again. We'll see how long this lasts...

As I seem to be the Brooklyn social chair, last Saturday I convinced Marta and Christie to attend the Brooklyn Skillshare with me. The first ever in Brooklyn, this was basically a day-long series of free workshops teaching all sorts of random skills from arts and crafts to cooking. I found out about it from Brooklyn Based - which you should all sign up for if you live in Brooklyn. Pretty much every week it tells me about something awesome I really want to eat, go to or participate in.

The first class I went to was Bike Mechanics 101. I had wanted to go to a screen printing class, but that was the only one requiring sign up and it was full. I figured I should learn a little about keeping up my bike since I have become a bike commuter in the last 6 months, so Marta's boyfriend Kenneth and I popped a squat for that class while Marta and Christie went off to learn about Henna. I learned a few new things about taking care of my bike, but more importantly, I learned that I am not mature enough for bike class. Way too much talk of lube, nipples and nuts. Sure, these are all bike parts, but I was one hot giggling mess.

Second up was Upcycling 101: Bottles into Glasses and Vases. More simply: learning how to cut glass bottles and turn them into useful stuff. This was by far the coolest class with the most awesomely fun energetic teacher(s). Jackson, who writes for the blog Super Forest, was bursting with energy - which could have easily been annoying, but was actually entertaining in this case. The demonstration pretty much consisted of showing us how to make the top of a glass bottle break off like magic in cold water over and over again, but that never ceased to be amazing.

Finally, I hit up Natural Jewelry Casting. I really had no idea what to expect with this one, but I have always been fascinated by learning how to cast jewelry and I thought I might be able to pick something up. As it turns out, this class wasn't really something one could pick up easily to try at home like glass cutting, but it was still pretty awesome. In a sense, it was like having an open studio session with the teacher Timothy Gasbarro as he melted down silver and poured it into a can of beans to make cool casts that he turns into rings, earrings, and cuff links. Pretty neat.

Overall, an inspiring day. Definitely made me want to go home and get out my craft box, laminating machine, sewing machine, scraps and all sorts of other artsy fartsy supplies and projects I've been ignoring for awhile. Like this blog... Does that count?

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 17 Feb 2009 00:20:00 +0000

What have I been up to the last month, you ask?

I have been reacquainting myself with this great country we call the U.S. of A.

First, there was a trip to see the PBR at MSG.

Three things of note:

1) They really do say a prayer before the bull riding begins.

2) The tour is sponsored by the US Border Patrol. I think this says a lot about the demographic.

3) Best ten bucks I've spent in a while.

Between pyrotechnics and riders being tossed about, I was thrilled from the start.

We (and all the other hipster kids) wore our finest Western wear for the occasion.

Yee HAW!

NEXT up? Friday Night Fights: Boxing and Muay Thai fighting in a church basement.

Again, pretty rad.

They had ring girls and everything.

The Muay Thai fighters do some sort of prayer ritual before the bout...

and finally, on Saturday! SATURDAY! SaturDAAAAAAY! it was off to the Izod Center in New Jersey for MONSTER JAM!!!

Yes ma'am, monster trucks in all their exhaust fume-y, eardrum bursting glory.

The day started with the wheelie competition, wherein the trucks drive over the junk car lines whilst popping wheelies. They are then given a score from each of three judges, who, as far as I can tell, are actually just random dudes sitting in the audience holding up paper signs...

This was the driver of Superman, the winning truck. Please note the Superman costume. I was kind of embarrassed for him, but he seemed like a good guy. Very well-spoken.

The second event was racing: two monster trucks going over the junk lines at the same time, trying to get across faster.

After a brief break, we got a special treat - my absolute favorite thing in the whole world: freestyle motocross!

My camera wasn't doing a great job capturing all the action, but, trust me, these are dudes on motorcycles doing rad tricks off ramps.

The donut competition was next, and I think my favorite. So simple, but so entertaining to see giant trucks spinning in circles.

Monster Jam! The Donut Competition from Sam L. on Vimeo.

And last and maybe least was freestyle - wherein the trucks each got 60 seconds to do anything they wanted. The downside was that all the junk cars had been smooshed to smithereens at that point, so there wasn't much good smashing to be seen.

Monster Jam! Freestyle from Sam L. on Vimeo.

By the time everything was finished, we thought we might pass out from all the exhaust fumes. Never have I been so excited to breath in "fresh" New Jersey air.

Next up, I'm thinking Wrestlemania.

God bless America.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 19:38:00 +0000

New Year's Resolutions:

1) Gain 5 Pounds
2) Don't become a vegetarian
3) Update this blog regularly

Well, at least two out of three are in the bag...

This year, I flew right over home in the Midwest and landed in the Northwest for the holidays... bringing with me the biggest snowstorm Portland's seen in 40 years. Luckily, my flight was only delayed a few minutes, but my mom and Keil's mom had 6+ hour delays. Ouch.

Heather's really kicked her inner Martha Stewart up a notch these days, so the first thing we did Christmas Eve was make our own marshmallows.

They were actually pretty easy to make, but very messy when it came to licking the beaters.

After that, we made some of our more traditional favorites:

Apricot Squares

and Russian Tea Cakes (known by others as Mexican Wedding Cakes - I'm guessing they're neither Russian nor Mexican in origin).

And for dinner, it was Zuni roast chicken and bread salad.

Praise be to baby Jesus, I love food.

So does Ursula.

We woke up the next morning to even more snow...

presents...

and, more importantly, Bloody Marys.

Later, a few of Heather and Keil's new friends who got stranded due to snow came over for Christmas dinner, and I'm pretty sure I was asleep on the couch by 8:30pm that evening with this little cutie...

It doesn't get much better than snuggling with a warm puppy on a cold day. No wonder my parents seem concerned about my love life...

The next few days found us tromping around a very slushy city...

...ingesting many a cup of good coffee and local brews.

As far as I can tell, the typical day of a Portlander looks something like this:

1) Wake up.
2) Enjoy an amazing cup of coffee.
3) Look at the clock - is it after noon?
4) If so, have a pint of local microbrew. No? Keep consuming coffee until it is noon and then switch to beer.
5) Around 3pm, switch back to coffee.
6) Oh look, it's 5pm, it's time for Happy Hour!
7) Go to a fancy restaurant for their Happy Hour menu. Enjoy a $5 fancy cocktail and some cheap small plates.
8) Go to a bar to consume more regional beer.
9) Hit the sack to rest up and do it again tomorrow.

Not a bad way to live if you ask me.

On Sunday, we finally got motivated to break the cycle and headed out to Mount Hood to check out the slopes.

The weather was actually pretty grodie and I had zero ski equipment with me, so we let Francie and Keil go cross country skiing, whilst Heather, my mom and I enjoyed a cup of hot cocoa in the "lodge."

The next morning, my mom left town, Heather and Keil went to work and I hit up Stumptown to do some travel planning the rest of our week - and by travel planning I mean looking up all the places Anthony Bourdain has been in Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. In the afternoon, Heather met up with me for some sister bonding time. What better way to show your sisterly love than sharing a maple bacon donut from Voodoo? (Yup, another "No Reservations" stop)

Then it was Keil's mom's turn to go, and phase two of project "Christmas Vacation" kicked into gear.

New Year's Eve day, we hit the road and drove up to Seattle. Our hotel was right across the street from the new public library, so we popped in to check out what turned out to be a super cool building.

The building is almost all glass at crazy angles, which makes for some fun views:

They were super into fluorescent yellow there - which I felt made for a good fashion shoot:

Then we hit up the Pike Place Market, cause, you know, that's what you're supposed to do in Seattle.

Thanks to some research on Yelp, I found out that one of the bigger tourist trap restaurants actually has a super awesome Happy Hour oyster special, so we took a walk over to Pier 56 to take advantage (and check out some beautiful water views).

My compliments to the chef on some damn fine clam stew,

oysters,

and some other tasty treats from the sea.

My memory is a little foggy, but I'm pretty sure at that point we went back to the hotel and ate potato chips for dinner.

I was a little nervous planning New Year's Eve in a city I don't know, but, thanks to some more Yelp research, I actually found three great bars for us to hit up that evening.

The First stop was The Zig Zag Cafe - home to one of the finest bartenders in the U S of A.

That guy in the background still had the security tag on his coat...

The next stop was the White Horse, a little hole-in-the-wall on Post Alley that turned out to be a super cool spot. They had minimal choices of beverages, but that was totally fine by me, because one of them was an amazing porter...and they gave us peanut M&Ms, which turned out to be a magical pairing.

After quite a few Sam Smith Taddy Porters and some lively discourse with a few Canadians, we headed to what would be our final stop, Shorty's. The moment I read that it was a bar specializing in hot dogs and video games, I knew we'd be making a stop.

By the time we scarfed down some amazing Chicago-style dogs, we were all pretty tipsy, so we pretty much bailed for the hotel at the strike of midnight... and there was a pretty ridiculous walk home.

I was very excited about the SAM (Seattle Art Museum).

At this point, I really have to yelp about Yelp at this point as an awesome resource for finding cool non-touristy places to hit up when you're on the road.

After a pizza bagel breakfast of champions the next morning,

we headed to the great white north: Vancouver.

What completely stunning surroundings. This was the view from our hotel room:

After checking in to our hotel, we went for an evening walk in Gas Town.

This is one of only a few steam-powered clocks in the world:

The next morning, we walked over the Granville Street Bridge...

to the Granville Island Public Market.

We picked up some fresh bread, cured meats, pate and cheese and called it "brunch."

After a long afternoon of taking in views and exploring, we stopped for a snack at Japa Dog (thanks again, Tony Bourdain).

We chilled in the room for a little bit, enjoying the wonders of Canadian sports coverage: NHL, Pro football, college football and the World Junior Hockey Championships all on at once. God bless TSN (Note: In Canada, it's spelled "Sportscentre").

For dinner, we went to what is http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifsupposed to be the best Indian restaurant in Canada, Vij's. There was a really long wait for a table, but they plied us with snacks at the bar, so that was nice. The dinner itself was very tasty - the pork tenderloin was to die for.

The next day, we tried to go to the Museum of Anthropology but found it closed, so we went to Stanley Park in the snow. Stanley Park is the Central Park of Vancouver and is really quite amazing. Not only is it huge, but it's real woods and, like everything else in Vancouver, has spectacular water views.

This collection of totem poles from Northwest tribes looked beautiful in the snow.

And then it was time for another tasty meal - and a chance to warm up inside with a view of the English Bay, so we hit up Rain City Grill.

Keil got some insanely tasty mussels with garlic confit.

I went for a heavier dish... A perfectly cooked burger with a side of poutine - even though it was the wrong part of Canada.

After an afternoon of sitting in a pub (also with a bay view) watching the NFL playoffs, we went out for an outstanding sushi dinner at Tojo's. Tojo's is said to be the best Japanese restaurant in Canada. I'm not sure if that means much but it certainly says something in a town like Vancouver where there's such a large Asian population. AND, of course, Tony Bourdain also visited Chef Tojo on "No Reservations." We did the Omakase - meaning we told our server how much we wanted to pay and Tojo (who was the most adorable man) made us 5 courses of whatever he felt like - and he certainly didn't disappoint. The fish was incredibly fresh and practically melted in your mouth. The crab that we had in the rolls was clearly fresh out of the ocean and in season. A completely amazing meal.

Overall, I have to say that Vancouver was a bit disappointing. For years, I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the town, so my expectations were high, but my biggest complaint is that it just doesn't really have much character. The scenery was gorgeous, obviously, but the buildings are all identical high rises, the stores are all chains or just generic, and there are just about zero bars. Not that I need to go out and get crazy every night, but it stunk that if we felt like going out there really wasn't any place to go. It seems to be a result of high taxes on alcohol and really strict liquor license laws. I would certainly recommend making the trip in warmer weather and using the city as a launching pad to do outdoorsy things in the surrounding areas of British Columbia, though.

We drove home Sunday (probably 5.5/6 hours) and I took the red eye back from Portland that night.

Not too shabby.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Mon, 15 Sep 2008 00:29:00 +0000

In the ongoing fun that is "Meredith September," this weekend was her bachelorette party.

Festivities started with dinner, drinks (and more drinks), and a "lingerie shower" at Cowgirl - a fitting locale for our Texas bride.

I bought Meredith a sexy sailor outfit, flavored whipped cream and edible undies...and in classic form ran into an old coworker in the checkout line. Awkward.

Erica was excited to discover that we're hand twins - including both having thumbs that face forward instead of to the side. Apparently that's a thing.

Erica also introduced us to a new drink - half beer, half frozen margarita. We call it the "marga-beera" though the technical term appears to be a "rickey." Whatever. I would call it "tasty."

The second half of the evening was spent at Second and Second for some karaoke action.

This guy did an excellent Meat Loaf.

Meredith did an excellent Kelly Clarkson.

I did an excellent Celine Dion.

"It's All Coming Back To Me Now" still brings the house down every time. My favorite "fan" was this big jock/i-banker dude who sang every word with me at the top of his lungs. It takes all kinds...

I have no idea how I managed to not only drag my but to street hockey today, but to also play a halfway decent game. Stefan and I stopped at the Pickle Festival to celebrate a Sky Fighter win and discovered that Gus' pickled tomatoes are incredible. I'll have to attempt to make my own with some green tomatoes from the rooftop.

In other news, I'm starting soccer again Friday. Will the bionic knee hold up? Only time will tell...

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Wed, 10 Sep 2008 00:54:00 +0000

I'm on a roll, people.

Two days in a row I have gone to the gym and two days in a row I am updating this blog.

Clearly the summer social life has cooled off a bit.

Speaking of my social life...

For the holiday weekend, the gang made the usual voyage to sunny Point Pleasant, NJ.

And participated in all the usual activities.

If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

And what IS the usual?

1) The Beach

2) The Pool

3) Boardwalk Food

4) Red's Lobster Pot

Marta and Chip participated in a healthy (more like unhealthy) dare wherein Marta had to drink a cup of her mussels juice...

...and Chip had to drink his garlic butter.

I think Marta got the better end of the bargain.

5) Pop 5 & Grandma Bern's Famous Pizza Rolls (aka The Reason There Are No Pictures of Me in a Bikini on this Page)

6) Drunken Putt Putt at Castaway Cove

They moved my boyfriend - which confused and saddened me at first...

But then I found him by the exit. Thank goodness.

This year we did have one addition and that was a fantastic cowgirl-themed Birthday celebration for Jenn.

And a pinata of course.

Which Jenn demolished.

And Andy decided to eat?

Good times. Good times.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 03:32:00 +0000

I've been a bad bad blogger. My bad.

I will do my best to make my way through the past month in pictures, but it may jump around a bit. Let's start with Sunday, shall we?

After holing up with Erica on Saturday with mucho TV and movies to ride out the rain, Sunday was gorgeous and the perfect day for Meredith's bridal shower in NJ.

I always feel weird at such things a) because there are many adult type people I don't know and have to make small talk with and b) because I suddenly realize that, holy crap, my friend is actually getting married.

It was a nice shower though. Beautiful flowers, good vino, and great food. Definitely couldn't have asked for more.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 13:19:00 +0000

Before I finish catching up on my last month, a brief check-in from crafty sam correspondent, crafty andy.

andy has been home in Indiana for the past week, and, after living with me for three and a half years, knows all too well that he couldn't go to the Indiana State Fair without sending me pics.

Andy's email:

Harley is the world's largest boar weighing 1121 pounds. the others should be self explanatory. enjoy.

okay, if all those were a little too morbid for you - this should make you feel warm and fuzzy (no pun intended...)

and what state fair would be complete without something carved out of a giant block of cheese?

Thx, Andy! And the rest of you can thank me for not posting the picture he sent of Harley's balls.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Thu, 07 Aug 2008 00:24:00 +0000

Hi, strangers!

Thanks to the wonders of Time Warner Cable (cough cough) we've been without internet for a month. Hence the not posting.

BUT it's back and that means...

I have a whole lot of catching up to do.

A whole lot has happened in the past month. For instance, my garden grew:

Also, I got a giant street hockey ball shaped bruise:

And, you know, it was summer so, yeah, a whole lotta stuff went down.

I've taken the first step by actually transferring the zillions of pictures from my camera to the computer, so I'll try to actually post said pictures within the next week.

First things first...

Almost a month ago we went out for Debbie's Birthday.

Guess what came out with us?

A SUPER BOWL RING!

Katie's roommate works for the Giants and since they won and all, the entire staff got rings. Man, that thing was heavy.

Oh yeah, we also sang karaoke.

And then went to the Slipper Room for some burlesque hosted by a creepy donut man.

Alright, that was just a taste. Much more to come.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 15 Jul 2008 23:17:00 +0000

Okay, I support Obama and all, but he's got to come up with some more current ad spoofs...

After noticing this Got Hope? tee, my coworker and I came up with some alternatives....

From me:

Obama: Taste the Rainbow

Wassssssssssssup, Obama?

Yo Quiero Obama

Can You Hear Me Now, Obama?

Snap Into Obama!

Obama: Mikey Likes It!

Obama: Bet You'll Bite a Chip!

From my coworker:

Absolut Obama

Obama: It’s the Real Thing

Obama Tastes Good Like A Candidate Should

Obama: Just Do It

Obama: Melts In Your Mouth, Not in Your Hands

Anyone else have any others? I'm sure we could go on forever and they'd still be funny...

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Thu, 10 Jul 2008 00:39:00 +0000

The weekend didn't go downhill from Coney Island.

Oh no. Much more fun was to be had.

Usually drunken putt putt is reserved for the Jersey shore. BUT, now that I know about the Randalls Island Golf Center that will certainly change.

Lisa, Shmu, Katie and I headed over there on Sunday for some beer, putt putt and drunk driving - driving balls that is. The golf center has a "beer garden" to hang at, or you can bring your beer out on the course (which we obviously did). Our game rules required a beer in one hand at all times whilst putting.

Beer + Golf Clubs = Friskiness

We may or may not have picked a fight with a father and his small child about hockey...

The theme of the day was "Sam's puts things in her mouth." Wow. That sounds bad.

Um, yeah.

Then it was time to hit the driving range.

I'm pretty mediocre at golf. Out of twenty swings, I'd say I hit approximately, uh, one ball. But when I DID hit the balls I got some decent distance and they went fairly straight.

After a brief burger break, we decided, "Aw, what the heck~" and played the second mini golf course. This time sans beer.

Another fabulous vacation day without leaving the city.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Wed, 09 Jul 2008 23:45:00 +0000

My new favorite photo? The "down the hatch" shot.

These are from the 4th party on our roof.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 02:05:00 +0000

I love the Fourth of July in NYC. It's so great to stay in town and chill when everyone else is away traveling. Always a great time for parties and adventures. This one certainly didn't disappoint.

If you remember, last year, my sister and I dragged our hungover asses down to Coney Island to watch Joey Chestnut bring the Mustard Belt back to America. Though it was awesome just to be there, we were sadly a gazillion (scientifically speaking) miles away from the stage. I vowed to one day make it within' "reversal" distance of my personal heroes...

AND this year I made it happen. I rocked a few connections through work, and VOILA- VIP passes! Yes, folks, if you were watching on ESPN, I was that speck in the red dress standing front and center in the crowd Friday morning.

And now, a dream come true in pictures:

The pre-show included a performance by the US Trampoline Champion...

...which scared the crap out of me. Especially when they strapped on wake boards. Who thinks of these things??

And then the eaters were brought out... Aren't Pat Bertoletti and Sonya Thomas adorable?

I was actually standing with Patrick's family. I thought I heard the girl next to me say she was his sister, so I asked her if that was the case. Her response? "Sister-in-LAW. Not by blood, thank GOD." Yeesh. If I were Pat's sister I'd be super excited to claim him as my own.

Aww. Kobayashi and Sonya like each other.

A smiley "Black Widow" with a smiley hot dog.

And now, one of the best moments of my life.

Kobayashi actually looked directly at me and gave me a thumbs up. I'm totally blowing it up and putting it on my wall.

Kobayashi checks out the Mustard Belt.

"Kobayashi eats chestnuts for breakfast"

(notice the eye contact again)

Pat gets into the zone before the contest.

This man proposed at the contest. Brilliant.

Juliet Lee was named rookie of the year. Sorry, Dr. Bigtime.

And, of course, Badlands Booker rapped as usual.

Erica and I couldn't wait for the eating to begin.

The eaters not only choose their dipping beverage, but they bring it with them and pour it themselves. Joey Chestnut had warm water- it was steaming. The popular red Kool Aid choice made for some nasty spew.

***WARNING***
The following pictures are not for those with weak stomachs. HOWEVER, if you are brave, click for the enlarged images and be amazed and astounded.

Regulation ended in a tie of 59 hot dogs. But after the first-ever dog-off, Chestnut was again victorious.

"USA! USA!"

Kobayashi shows off his full belly.

I think I'm still glowing...

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Sun, 29 Jun 2008 00:44:00 +0000

After staring at it from my living room for three years, today I finally stepped foot on Governor's Island.

There was some sort of arts festival going on which we took very seriously...

and along with the arts came some "arty" people (read: bizarre).

Apparently I'm not the only one into hula hooping. It's so hot right now.

The main draw for us was this free putt putt course. Sadly, it was pretty crowded & frequented by a woman who decided underwear was optional and pieces of cloth wrapped around the waist count as clothing...but it will be up all summer.

I also got up close and personal with one of the new waterfalls. I had seen the others on a bike ride this morning, so I can officially check that one off the list.

Another thing I got to check off the list? David Byrne's "Playing the Building" - which conveniently kept us out of the insane downpour.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Thu, 26 Jun 2008 22:21:00 +0000

A big congrats to the Doody Family.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 01:21:00 +0000

Grown Men + Small Bikes = Hilarity

The 1st (Annual?) BTSH Tricycle Race from Sam L. on Vimeo.

I just realized I never posted the footage from the first (annual?) BTSH tricycle race. Have I mentioned how glad I am I signed up for this league? As if the actual street hockey weren't enjoyable enough, the people that play said sport are also a ton of fun.

I'd like to point out that the video is under four minutes long and four beers were consumed during that time. You do the math. Needless to say, my pal James was highly intoxicated for the rest of the afternoon.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Sat, 21 Jun 2008 17:08:00 +0000

Overheard in my living room window from the street below this afternoon: "Ex-CUSE me, do you know where I-KEY-YA is?!"

And so it begins.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Sat, 07 Jun 2008 21:33:00 +0000

Riding the Bull from Sam L. on Vimeo.

Inner thighs of steel, people, inner thighs of steel.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 04:40:00 +0000

I can't go to bed until I post about...

THIS:

Yes, folks, my Wings won the cup.

And there was drinking out of the Wing Nut hat.

AND off of Chris' playoff beard.

What a joyous night.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:57:00 +0000

Guess what I had for breakfast this morning?

Okay, two strawberries don't really make a full breakfast, but they sure were tasty. I can't wait for more to develop!

Let's check in on my plant babies, shall we?

Beans and Beets:

Sunflowers:

Tomatoes:

Peppers:

And, of course, the strawberries:

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Sat, 31 May 2008 20:20:00 +0000

I heart Portland. It's like Brooklyn as an entire city. Or like the Austin of the Northwest. Or just like, you know, a really cool town. I wish my sister and Keil were still here, but after visiting them, I definitely know why they would decide to pack up and head to Oregon.

What do people in Portland love besides beer and espresso? Chickens. These chickens were for sale at a nursery. For ten dollars, you too can have fresh eggs every morning.

Heather and I took the pups to Wahkeenah and Multnomah Falls for some hiking.

Yeah, you try and get these dogs to sit still...

Linus couldn't get enough of the waterfalls.

Me neither.

Ursula? Not so much. Poor thing freaked out.

The postcard shot:

Saturday was a beautiful day so we went to Oregon wine country: the Willamette Valley. Our first stop (at 11 AM) was the Argyle Winery for some superb sparkling wines.

Drinking at 11 AM? That's crazy! They tried to send Heather to the nut house...

Next stop? The very picturesque Elk Cove

What with all the really adorable boys I saw on the streets of Portland, I started imagining my future wedding there...

Heather fully supported such an idea.

Then we had to head back to watch the Red Wings kick some arse. Another great thing about Portland? There's at least one hockey bar! Yay for Claudia's, a place where a Red Wings fan can actually go see hockey on a projector screen with sound with a bunch of other fans. New York, what's your problem??

Our final field trip was to the coast. Pictures speak louder than words in this case.

On our drive up the coast we stopped for some amazingly delicious Tillamook ice cream. They sure had some bizarre crap in their gift shop - like this wiener dog with a...butt plug?

The Oregon coast is a lot like the Northern California coast. There were a million places to just stop and take in the gorgeous views.

Trust me when I tell you there's a bald eagle in this tree... 'Tis but a speck in this picture, but it was there.

Of course, I also consumed a whole bunch of good food, great beer, and the best cappuccino I've ever had.

I leave you with these words of wisdom:

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Wed, 28 May 2008 00:59:00 +0000

I just flew in from Portland... and boy are my arms tired!

But seriously, folks, I truly am pooped. I took the red eye overnight and went straight to work. Therefore, while I'd love to catch you up on my (almost) week with Heather and Keil, it will have to wait for another day.

Meanwhile, here's a picture to whet your appetite:

Yeah, I'd say Oregon is maybe a little pretty.

PS- Go WINGS!!!

Game three versus Pittsburgh is tomorrow night at 8PM. Go, Ozzie, go!

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 20 May 2008 12:57:00 +0000

Last night I got to see The Swell Season (the adorable couple from the entirely lovely movie "Once") at Radio City Music Hall. Splendid.

Tonight I leave straight from work to go visit Heather in Portland.

Also, the Red Wings made it to the finals.

I'd say it's a good week.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Tue, 13 May 2008 23:51:00 +0000

Pardon me, have you met my plant babies?

Yeah, you know you're jealous.
(Unless you're my sister and live in Portland with a real backyard...)

I've got: Strawberries, red peppers, yellow peppers, heirloom tomatoes, grape tomatoes, mint, cilantro, basil, rosemary, dill, green beans, beets, sunflowers, morning glories, poppies, and several other flowers I can't remember but will discover when (and if??) they bloom.

Okay, so I went a little crazy at Lowes...

Strawberries:

Peppers:

Tomatoes:

Herbs:

Mystery flowers:

Sunflowers:

A big shout out to Christie and Marta (plant aunts) for helping me plant these guys!

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Mon, 12 May 2008 16:11:00 +0000

I’d like to take a moment to introduce you to the the most ridonkuolous reality show you won’t find on VH1, “Groomer Has It” on Animal Planet. It is, I kid you not, the search for America’s next top… animal groomer? Wha??

I tuned in for the judges evaluation this weekend and almost peed myself when two judges in all seriousness got in a giant fight over whether a groomer should put cotton balls in a dog’s ears before giving it a bath.

Set your DVRs and thank me later.

noreply@blogger.com (sam) — Mon, 12 May 2008 03:07:00 +0000

Christie and I decided to take advantage of the nice day today and head to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens.

The best high in the world? Huffing lilacs.

Sadly, the cherry blossoms had already fallen from the trees, but we did find some other pretty flowers such as these peonies as big as my face...

We came across a cute little renegade duckling...

Christie had a long talk with the duckling telling him he really should come over and let her pet him...

She almost convinced him...

Until his mom came over and chased him away.

After the gardens we headed to Prospect Park to meet the gang. Sadly at that point it was a little chilly, but it was still nice to get in our first park day of the season.

TGI-Springtime.