Blow this popsical stand

I'm sure many of you have heard, some have not. For those of you that haven't heard the whole story... here goes. Shawna and I were in Portland for her birthday weekend of fun. Sunday morning we got a phone call from our friend Sara (another traveler living in the same appartment complex). Someone broke into her house!! Apparently this gentleman got confused in all his drunken glory and decided when his key didn't work in the deadbolt that he would rip the door off the frame and help himself. So poor Sara came home to find this creeper asleep in her bed! Anywhoo... because this loser was Major CreeperTown to begin with AND he was our next door neighbor, we decided to get the hell outta there along with Sara. Too many coincidences for comfort. So our company put us up in the local Best Western. I have to say... it was a little nicer and the people were more trustworthy than at the apartment we had lived in for the last 11 weeks.

 The caravan from the apartment to the motel. Wasn't quite as neat and organized as the first time we packed the cars (for the drive out to Oregon).

 Had to make a run to Big Lots for a few more tubs. It's amazing how much crap you accumulate even in 3 months. Clothes to be worn, books to read, even Christmas presents for friends and family.

 So much work for such a short day... a frozen yogurt break was definitely in order.

 The tiny little motel room we shared. We had to push our beds together (remember people, we are a Traveling Pair not a Couple) so that we could fit all our other crap in the room. If any of you have ever lived out of a suitcase for a month, you know what this is like. 2 weeks in a hotel + 2 weeks traveling cross country to visit SouDak = not my favorite time in the world.

The bathroom counter was awesome  for two girls to share, I tell you what.

But we made it, and we didn't even kill each other. Good for us!!



A little girlie fun for Shawna's B-day

It's here, and there's nothing any of us can do about it. What is it you ask? Well Shawna's DoomsDay of course. The infamous 30th birthday! After the morning tears were shed, Shawna was suprised by Riane, Amber and I with a sexy work-out class. It was SO much fun! We learned a naughty little floor routine that should be saved for private time... or if we dcecide our current positions aren't making us enough money we could always moonlight at the local gentleman's club. For obvious  reasons we couldn't film in there, but I do have some photos (stolen from Riane's blog) of before we got started to come soon.

 You can't see it, but we are all wearing 6" hooker heels for this class. I had to take mine off about 5 minutes into the class... don't know how those ladies do it.

 A little practice in Riane and Jake's living room (after a few glasses of wine). We'z gots skillz.

Anyone ever seen the Awkward Family Photos?? It's rad. This is our version of it.

 

After the dance class, we really wanted to get a complete make-up make-over. Went to the local Sephora where we struck gold... the Dior girls were there giving free make-overs! Here are a few pictures from the Bridgeport Mall in P-town.

 The only time you will see a picture of Amber sans make-up. She always has a PERFECT make-up job. It was kinda funny... she asked the Dior girl to do absolutely whatever she wanted. Amber was a true sport and was totally open to the experience. What did she end up with? The exact same color scheme and shading that she does every day. Just goes to show Amber is practically a professional. Nicely done, lady friend.

 Riane getting her face "prepped." I just love what they ended up doing with her eye make-up. Unfortunately, they also put foundation on her. Not a smart idea, ladies. We like them freckles!

 Shawna was first in line, of course. Now, this lady was pretty good, but I think she wasn't quite as "hip" as the girl who was working on Riane and Amber. Sorry, Shawna... but you ended up looking a little like a tranny. I love you!! What I MEAN is... you do your make-up way better than this lady did.

 Not sure what is going on with the extreme close-up. Guess it's because the manager of Sephora made for damn sure that we didn't get any products in our shots. Weird rules.

 The happy couple.

 Now it's Riane's turn in the hot seat!

 We had worked out sooooo  hard that morning (we really did work up a sweat), we decided, "what better way to refuel than Cheescake Factory?" So yummy.

At the local Costco, Shawna found some cami's that she needed. Since it was her birthday, poor thing couldn't possibly lift a finger so WE had to dig through the entire pile for 15 minutes looking for the right color combination and size. We didn't even find them. Sad. All cuz I love you Big T!



The real birthday.

The morning was September 23, the year 2011. It was Shawna's real birthday. After the crying was complete, she came out of the spare room (in Riane's house where we stay when in Oregon) to find a little suprise pumpkin bread loaf and decorations. Now, the decorations were pretty cool...  I think. :)  If there's any of you that didn't get the flyer that I made... it was fairly embarrassing for her. It consisted of a childhood picture of her (WITH a mullet, mind you), and one of her being all *sexy* after a few glasses of wine. Good times for me, maybe not so much for her. But she's got a few years to figure out how to get back at me for my 30th.

 Barbie candle, check.

 Of course there are party hats! I had to make her wear hers, she was not a fan. It was probably cutting off circulation to her turkey waddle. Hehe.

 Shawna's birthday party. Had a few family members over, a few drinks and good food. Melinda made the Barbie cake... fits, huh?

 Ashley finally giving me some love. Took her about a year and a half, but we got there. She's being super cute probably only because she wants something.  :)

If there's *pretties* around, Ashley is there! She's allowed... she picked this scarf out for Aunt Shawna.

The morning of. It was so foggy! This is looking down the hill from Riane and Jake's porch towards the valley. So jealous they get to wake up to this every day.



Shawna Tagler RN... Let's go to P-town!!

Can't remember which trip this is from, but we decided to go to P-town for a little retail therapy. Love Portland.

 There's the Starbucks.

 Miss Molly and I striking a pose.

 Downtown Portland, there was seriously 3 city blocks full of food trucks. Didn't get to try any, but I swear it smelled so delicious.

 Yay, Portland!

 In the famous Pearl District in Portland. Awesome group of people working at the Keen store. Shawna branched out and bought a pair, and I got a pair of flip-flops.

This lady was sitting in the middle of the park along the side of the road (by the bathrooms) just jammin' out on her violin. Was pretty good too!!



Dinners and Wine and Dresses, Oh My!

I have so many pictures of food and dinners and such. It's kinda embarrassing and borderline weird. I get it. But for some reason it makes me happy to share the lovely things I get to dine on.

 38 Central. Menu's on clipboards, Oregon wine ever flowing.

 Shawna in a dress. WWWHHHHHAAA?? So pretty.

 Champagne Fish and Chips with Rosemary french fries.

 For me? The "All Grown Up Macaroni and Cheese" with fresh Oregon made cheese from the creamery in Medford.  For an appitizer we had Braised Pork Belly with apple and cinnamon sauce and a Green Apple Cole-slaw.

 The waiter didn't laugh to loudly when I asked him to take our picture. Of course, we were one of two tables on a Tuesday night so he had better humor us!

 This was a different dinner at Cicily's Italian right down the road. I was craving something, ANYTHING with rich marinara sauce. Decided to step outside the box and have some clams for an appitizer. (I am not a fan of seafood, but need to try it all to see if I like it!) These are Clams in a white wine reduction sauce with fresh basil and Roma tomatoes. Fairly tasty when paired with a glass of red wine and fresh baked  baguettes schmeared with a little pesto butter.

 Shawna had the Spaghetti Bolongnaise and I decided to go for the Grandma's Recipie Spaghetti and Meatballs. Both exceptional decisions.

 Shawna Tagler RN.

 Jessica Evans RN

 For dessert we went for the Italian Cheescake and coffee. Yum-o.



 Hot Hot!

Then, because we are movie whores, we topped it all off with The Help. Yup... I cried a lil (totally soft and lady-like though). Shawna even squeaked one out! She tried to hide it, but I heard her sniffling.

 This is at a great little restaurant called Four Daughters. I guess four Irish sisters were not so impressed with the over-abundance of Asian food and the lack of the Irish spirit, both in tasty treats and atmosphere. Thank goodness they thought that, this place is too cool. I tried the Guiness Meatloaf with garlic smashed potatoes and garlic green beans.

 Shawna went with the Classic Shepard's Pie. We ended up switching because we both liked the others' dish better. We did try the Tiramisu there, but I since I am not a fan of soggy desserts Shawna lucked out on that one.

 These were some sort of potato and bacon and cheese deep fried bites. They had a fancy name, but I can not remember it. Suprisingly went well with the sweet marinara sauce and lemon glaze stuff on the side.

Did you know that the headquarters of Harry and David is in Medford, Oregon? True story. The store right down the road is pretty cool. All the fresh goods are organic (of course), and they have the largest selection of wine and treats.




 

Pretties

I think I need to start posting just some Random Stuff (hehe) that I take pictures of. Probably won't mean anything you all of you who read this boring blog, sorry!

Random Stuff (4 of 4)

Just some random's.

 A few peppers at our favorite family farm, Seven Oaks.

 Stinking love this place and their little hand-written signs.

 Riane was thrilled with the "U-pick" flowers and herbs. Have I said that I love this place?

 Lovely colors of fall.

 We sure tried hard to keep our eyes open for this one. So Bright!

 Outside the old General Store that was in the previous post about Seven Oaks.

 This time there was an extra fence between the geese and my fingers. Accompanied by a sign talking about "If you pester the geese, they will be taken away."

At Yo-Topia, a frozen yogurt shop right down the street. It was hot, we needed to cool down...