heather & olive

It's no secret that I love to cook, and I'm really excited about the upcoming release of three cookbooks this fall.

And if that means a plethora of leftovers, so be it.

nothing fancy, Alison Roman

Alison Roman is a queen, and I can't wait for her second cookbook, Nothing Fancy to come out on October 22nd. The Stew is one of my favorite recipes of all time, and I love her no-nonsense approach to food (especially her Instagram responses to people asking for substitutions). Nothing Fancy is touted as making impromptu gatherings easy, and I think I'll definitely need to add this one to my bookshelf.

half baked harvest super simple, tieghan gerard

When it comes to comfort food, Tieghan always hits it out of the park and I'm really looking forward to her second cookbook, Half Baked Harvest Super Simple, to be released on October 29th. A lot of the recipes are crockpot/instant pot friendly, and you can't beat a "set it and forget it" approach.

pastry love, Joanne Chang

Joanne Chang is the mastermind behind Flour Bakery and Myers and Chang in Boston, and her new cookbook is supposed to be the next baking Bible. Pastry Love takes you from beginner level recipes to those more advanced, and as someone who loves to bake, this is totally on my list to firm up my skills (it's out November 5th).

my autumnal mantle.

Oh, hey. It's been a while.

I was talking with my parents a couple of weekends ago about the old blog and whether I should just shut it down, and my dad somewhat bluntly asked "Does anyone even read it?". And while I think the answer to that question is no, I've decided I'm not quite ready to give it up. Granted, that means coming here and writing something down more than once every two months, but I'm up for the challenge. Even if there's no one out there (aside from the sporadic spam comments), I'm going to give this another shot for me. I like it here.

So summer is over and the leaves are changing and I've been welcoming the cooler temps with open arms (the loss of daylight, not so much). August and September were pretty good over all (albeit with some bumps in the road, including Olive having stomach problems that lasted for way too long), but we're on the up and up! I would call my summer bucket list a 30% success, and I'm okay with that. Sometimes I'm a little overeager with my goals.

Other than that, the summer to fall closet switch has taken place, the crockpot has made its annual debut, and I'm really looking forward for the next couple of months. October through December are truly my favorite times of year, and I have some fun things on the horizon.

So I'm back. Here's to blogging.

SoYoung Lunch Poche  because I need to carry my leftovers to work in style, and I love the long (optional) strap.

jenni kayne cheetah pony hair mule because there is nothing chicer than a leopard mule, and these are supposed to be exceptionally comfortable.

the ZOE strap by SALT because it's a chic way to switch up all of my satchels.

no.6 old school clog because I think I've become a clog person.

buca boot lockable rear bike basket (currently sold out, but I'm stalking the site until it's restocked) because I'm all about bike accessories.

house goals on scarborough beach.

bicycle rides.

harbor views.

pittsburgh rooftop.

deep menu thoughts at portland hunt and alpine club.

Oh, hi! It's been a minute, hasn't it? I hope your summer has been exceeding your expectations.

Things have been pretty great around these parts: I'm slowly but surely crossing some items off of my summer bucket list (namely, going to the beach and commuting to work on my bike) and I'm determined to make the most of August. I want to try out a new neighborhood restaurant (Flood's) and I need to make it to the Farmer's Market ASAP--maybe this upcoming weekend?

Work has been good, Olive turned eight and I went to Pittsburgh to visit my sister and had a blast. We went to a million restaurants, ran a 5k, saw John Mayer, and trekked out to Mill Run, PA to see Frank Lloyd Wright's Fallingwater which was absolutely incredible. We also went to an all you can eat crab legs dinner and I was stuffed for days.

So that's what's up. Here's to savoring the next couple of weeks.

a most welcome friday mai tai.

delicious smelling flowers on a walk with olive.

a gorgeous yacht club saturday.

I'm all about making the most of this summer. Here's what's on my list:

• Take a goat yoga class. I've never really been into yoga, but there's something about taking a class with goats that's calling to me. Luckily, Smiling Hill Farm in nearby Westbrook offers a number of classes with Ashley Flowers Yoga until September. I'm definitely planning on saying Namaste among some four-legged friends. 
• Farmers' market Saturdays. I'm pretty embarrassed to admit this, but I didn't go to my local Farmers' Market once last year. It's 1/2 a mile away so all I need to do is grab some cash and a reusable bag and I'll be in fresh veggie heaven.
• City bike rides. Yet another thing I didn't do last year was ride my bike--I'm still a little nervous about navigating city streets on two wheels, but I'm not going to get more comfortable sitting on my buns. (Also, it's going to cut my walking commute time in half so I need to just suck it up and hop on it).
• Utilize my beach pass. I mentioned this before, but I pulled the trigger on a beach pass for the summer--it's good at four local beaches and I'm all about taking advantage of sandy toes and salty water
• Take a stand-up paddle tour. Yet another thing I meant to do last year and never did was take a stand-up paddle board tour. With options for sunset, harbor and full moon tours I'm going to dive in (hopefully not literally) to what Portland Paddle has to offer.
• Try new restaurants. This isn't restricted to the summer, but what better time to walk around and try new restaurants than when it's not subzero temps? I certainly have my Portland favorites, but there are a bunch of places I haven't tried yet--and I sure do enjoy a nice meal out.

honey lavender latte.

northern california coast work trip.

king lear at the cort theater.

cheese dreams coming true at the portland cheese shop.

post-dinner york harbor views.

Hi! I can't believe we're almost halfway through June and it's been a month since I checked in here (just kidding, I totally can). The past few weeks have been super crazy and every weekend I was all over the place--I'm really glad I have nothing planned for the near future aside from a trip in July to visit my sister in Pittsburgh. I'm really looking forward to soaking up summer in the city and making the most out of my local beach pass.

But the past few weekends have been great--my work trip to the Northern California coast was somewhat exhausting, but really good (and I continue to be happy on the work front--I truly love my job and the people I work with). After California, I had a few trips to my parents' house--the first of which to celebrate my mom and her retirement. A bunch of family congregated over Memorial Day weekend in Massachusetts and it was really great to raise a glass to toast my mom. I'm so proud of everything she has accomplished and I can't wait for her to enjoy this next phase.

The second trip was to meet my mom and a friend to trek down to NYC and catch King Lear at the Cort theater--it starred Glenda Jackson, Ruth Wilson and Pedro Pascal among other amazing cast members, and it was so cool to see the performance in such an intimate setting. I'm bummed it's closing early, but so grateful for the experience.

And last week my mom came up to paint my kitchen cabinets (before and after to come soon). It has completely transformed the space and I'm obsessed and super thankful that her first act as a retiree was hard labor at my humble abode. She's the best. She also came to cheer me on at the Twilight 5k and I think that might have been the inspiration/motivation I needed to get back into a running routine.

That's pretty much it! Spring has finally arrived up here and I've been loving the extra sunlight and warmer temps. I can't wait to settle back into a routine and relish in all that is Portland in the summer (including hitting up the local cheese shop on the regular because I finally went and it's amazing).