Happy Father's Day!

happy father's day!!!!

to all you dad's out there.

but most importantly...to my dad.

he sure is great! 

and me (my mom, my niece and all my siblings) sure are lucky to have you as our dad/husband/pop pop.

so happy father's day dad! 

love, your favorite daughter ever ;0) 

** All photos taken by Ifong Chen

Strawberry Mojitos

i don't know about you, but i could sure go for a summertime cocktail (or two) right about now.

and i'll take a side of summertime with it too.

lucky for me, it's 80 degrees in the pdx right now, and it's the weekend.

so, i'd love it if you'd join me for one of my favorite summertime cocktails...

strawberry mojitos!!!

husband, my MIL (mother in law) and I went strawberry pickin' this weekend.

and as soon as we got home,

i whipped up some homemade strawberry mojitos!

they were delicious!

check out the recipe below and you can enjoy one too ;)

hurry up! the weekend's not over yet!

Strawberry Mojitos
Makes one large mojito

4 strawberries, hulled
6 mint leaves
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp fresh squeezed lime juice
2 oz white rum
Club Soda, as needed
Ice

In a cocktail shaker, muddle together the mint leaves, strawberries and agave nectar. Add in lime juice and rum. Shake well.

Fill a pint glass with ice and pour in the contents of the cocktail shaker. Top off with club soda and serve.

Enjoy!

Cape Meares, Oregon

on the same day that we went to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, we headed out to Cape Meares to check out the lighthouse. 

it was a beautiful day. 

and the cape was breathtaking.

and the lighthouse...so cool!

i'm telling you...

i could get used to exploring this beautiful state of Oregon. 

it sure does have a lot to offer...and we've only seen such a teeny tiny piece of it. 

here are more photos from our day trip!

husband and his mom :)

we also drove down to lincoln city...this is the only photo i took down there...woops!

Tillamook Cheese Factory

cheese!!!!!

i love cheese!

seriously.

any recipe is better with cheese (or chocolate, but that's for another post). 

so this past weekend, husband and i took a day trip with my mother-in-law to the Tillamook Cheese Factory, in Tillamook, Oregon. 

i was in heaven!

cheese heaven. 

all that was missing was a bottle of wine (or two ;0)) 

here are a few photos from our day!

Check out info about the Loaf Love Tour here....for cheese coming to a location near you ;0)

and if cheese wasn't enough....we ate our hearts out with Tillamook ice cream fresh from their creamery

squeaky cheese curds! you can only buy them at the factory. and they really do squeak!

i "loaf" tillamook cheese!

taking home some goodies!

50 things i love...

sometimes, i get caught up in the negative. 

everyone has frustrations and nobody's life is perfect.

but i think it's important to focus on some of the good and all things we love, big and small.

so in honor of that...here are 50 things i love:

1. the sun. shining in portland. (thank god for vitamin d!)

2. red wine

3. weekend trips to the beach (we're going this weekend!)

4. flip flops

5. pedicures

6. cheese (everything is always better with cheese)

7. same thing goes with chocolate...everything is better with chocolate

8. morning grapefruit mimosas at work (yes my job is cooler than yours) (and if you haven't tried grapefruit mimosas. please do...they are amazing

9. old movies

10. fires in the fireplace (indoor/outdoor or anywhere)

11. photography (does someone want to buy me a new camera lense??)

12. wanderlust (take me anywhere)

13. roadtrips

14. outdoor concerts

15. new york city (i miss you everyday)

16. good friends ( i find myself missing my friends back home in Spokane (and elsewhere) more and more these days

17. Edie Sedgwick

18. my slippers

19. kiehl's lip balm

20. lovetaza.com

21. instagram

22. our weekly csa basket

23. my kitchenaid

24. cupcakes

25. the pdx

26. red lipstick

27. aviators

28. willamette valley wine country

29. date nights

30. technology free saturdays (we just started this!)

31. being organized

32. babies (seems like all my girlfriends are having kiddos these days and they're just so darn cute!)

33. experimenting with recipes

34. summertime cocktails

35. woody allen movies

36. vanity fair

37. dancing

38. thunderstorms

39. mississippi ave

40. breakfast

41. hiking

42. continuing to explore this new city i love

43. large coffee mugs filled to the brim with foamy lattes

44. the smell of coffee beans

45. bacon

46. wine fridays

47. sunsets

48. star gazer lilies

49. paris

50. husband :)

iFoodagraphy...

man...moving is tough

and on top of the big move we've had the past week...

we still don't have internet.

trying to post photos, or type on your iPhone, is so not cool

but here it is ....

may's iFoodagraphy (aka life lately according to instagram)

enjoy!

oh and happy monday :)

 husband came home from Arizona and cooked up a storm!

 i recreated my favorite salad from Cowboy Ciao

 i made some homemade banana bread for the coworkers

 husband and i enjoyed some wine on our patio (old apartment view)

 and then we hiked multnomah falls!!

 and rewarded ourselves with a little waffle window

 and then we moved...ugh!

 and got dolled up for a wedding of a dear friend in seattle

 a date night at lardo...yum!

and then we cheered on the Timbers!!!!!!