Birthday: Quarter of a Century

{photo circa 1995 of my sister and I at the Portland Rose Gardens}

This weekend I turned 25!! The day was absolutely perfect. We did exactly what I was hoping to do. Eat and walk my way around Portland. But before we get started with how awesome the day was, lets rewind to a few days prior. 

My twin sister and I share a birthday, obviously, but my brother is two years younger than us and was born just 4 days after our 2nd birthday. My sister drove down from Seattle for a night so we all could celebrate together. We ordered pizzas and just sat around outside catching up and talking about the year that was and the year that was to be. 

It was so special to have both of them there to start this birthday week off right. 

On my actual birthday I woke up to the smell of bacon being cooked in the kitchen by Cory. That man knows the way to my heart. After a light breakfast we headed to Pip's Doughnuts for the most amazing doughnuts I've ever had. I've been looking forward to going to the place for a while. Not only do they have perfectly small, delicious, hand-made doughnuts, but they have Chai flights (!!) , and on your birthday you get a free dozen of those little yummies. So yeah, this day started off perfectly! We were able to try all there little flavor combinations and taste every last drop of their perfectly made Chai. My favorite doughnut was the apricot-habenero and my favorite chai was the King and I. 

We walked around Fremont for a little while, perusing through little shops and just exploring that part of Portland. Some beautiful homes are in this neighborhood as well. We then headed over to Division where we knew we'd be having lunch. We walked around and explored some more shops, a fun one was Artifact; a place to get neat little gifts, up-cycled clothes, jewelry and furniture pieces, definitely Portland I'd say. We were halfway trying to find a new restaurant to try for lunch, but the Pok Pok wings were calling us and we just couldn't resist. 

Of course we weren't disappointed. After a delicious lunch we decided to head home to cool off a bit (it was 95 that afternoon) and to rest up before night time. 

Cory surprised me with dinner. He made reservations at Departure and completely surprised me with this gorgeous restaurant downtown. He's not the type who loves being downtown and after a day of walking around it I didn't think he'd be up for going back down. But he surprised me and it was oh so wonderful! We split a couple small plates from the restaurant and had a few cocktails to celebrate the day. We then met up with some friends at East Burn for some rounds of Skee Ball and Cornhole. We stayed there for a few hours before realizing we were hungry again. So we finished the night at Straight from new York for none other than a huge slice of pizza. 

The day was so wonderful and I felt incredibly special. I have an amazing husband who surprises and spoils me, I have a city that is just dripping with good food and fun places, and friends who love to have a good time. This birthday looks a little different than what I was expecting it to, but it was so wonderful and one I will always remember. 

Thank you to everyone, friend and family, who made this birthday time a lovely one. 

xo / leah

Birthday: 25 My Wishlist

In just a few days I'll be turning 25! A whole quarter of a century old! I'm excited for this birthday. I keep saying that every year it gets better and better, and it just is. I love making resolutions for myself and seeing where I am as another year passes. Birthdays are also a lot of fun. I like to treat myself to something special for the day, either something small like a Slurpee or something bigger like a new dress. So with that I thought it would be fun to make a little wish list. 

Earrings from Nordstrom

This Dress

Necklace from Seaworthy

Tshirt..duh

Beautiful Coasters

Loveology

Maybe I'll treat myself to one of those items this year.

Happy Birthday to me!

xo / leah

Birthday: Our Nephew Clive

Our Nephew Clive turned one this last week! It is something special to be an Aunt. Being apart of a little ones life, watching them grow up, and rooting them on through life is so much fun! This not-so-little man has been such a joy. He has this smile that never ceases. 

We celebrated Lumberjack style for a little family breakfast. 

He is kind of a little bruiser but it was a sweet surprise to see how gentle he was at eating his little pancake cake. I think he loved the attention too, because every so often he would cheer at us with his huge smile. I think he knew we were rooting him on!

Happy birthday little Clivers! Your Auntie and Unc love you so much. We cannot wait to see what the Lord has is store for your life. You are such a joy to everyone and we pray that your little joyful spirit will just continue to blossom as you grow. We love you little man!

xo / autnie wee-ah

Cory's Birthday Adventure

My main squeeze just turned 28 (!!) He's like a good bottle of whiskey, just gets better with age. We took the week of his birthday off and did some projects around the house (read: paint the whole upstairs and do about 15 hrs worth of yard work). We planned the week really well by having our relaxing, adventurous time at the end. On wednesday we headed up north to Seattle. I had a couple things planned for his birthday and was only able to keep one thing as a surprise. I'm terrible at surprises and he loves them. Good thing I have many years to practice my secret keeping. 

First stop, iFly Seattle. 

We spent the next two hours learning how and taking our first "flights".  I've never been actual sky diving and from what the instructors said it feels pretty realistic. I was surprised by a couple things. We both did pretty well keeping our flight-position. The instructors are in the flight room the whole time and help to fix your position if you are not doing it quite right. One thing I was surprised with was how easily you could move with just a small adjustment of your body. Keeping your chin up helped you not fall so fast, moving your arm in towards your body made you turn one way or the other. We only flew for about 3 minutes each, but it was well worth the price! Such a fun experience and really great for people like me who have that inner want to go sky diving but will never, never actually go.  

We met up with my sister that evening in Seattle and went out to celebrate with some great food and drinks. We stayed the night in downtown and then headed to our next stop. 

Tree House Point

The unique overnight stay was one we will never forget. Something I would considered glamping, we decided to stay in a tree house for our last night up north. Nestled away in some trees, not far at all from downtown Seattle, were these beautifully built tree houses. We stayed in the Nest. A cozy thing that lived up to it's name. 

This place was right off a main road leading out of Fall City, Wa. Which by the way have some of the friendliest people I've met. 

We only stayed a night and would have loved if we were there a bit longer. They served a home-cooked breakfast in the morning and had a main lodge with a fire to make smores that night.  The fact that there were only 6 tree houses to stay in made it a little community of visitors. We all communed in the main lodge and talked about how we got there and what our tree houses looked like. 

We will definitely be back and will be trying a different house each time. Next one, maybe the Bonbibi (as shown below). 

Happy birthday my love! Birthday adventures are so much fun, and I'm so blessed to be able to celebrate my man. He is a special one. 

To Adventures  and birthdays // leah

Seattle

Stay: Courtyard Seattle Downtown/Lake Union - close to some great eats and the Space Needle. Nice Lake view too. 

Eat: Crow , Roux , Quoin

East-Ward

Stay: Tree House Point

Eat: Finaghty's Pub , Fall City Bistro

A Birthday Hike: Angel's Rest

My Dad has always loved being outside. Hiking, biking, walking, whatever it was to get us kids outside, that is where we would be. With him. So it wasn't a surprise that for his birthday he wanted to go for a hike. We all piled into the family mini-van, all 6 of us + 3 dogs and headed to the Columbia Gorge. He chose Angel's Rest for the hike and some other popular views around there. So great celebrating my dad amongst such beauty!

 

The views were stunning. I've done lots of hikes before, especially in the Gorge, and everytime they cease to amaze me. How much land we have here in Oregon. Uninterrupted green. The day was perfect too. It had been calling for rain all week but sunshine was all to be had. It was like this place was waiting for us to come and see it in all it's glory. It was also so wonderful to have my sister, her boyfriend and our brother all along on this hike. My mom was at home prepping the dinner..and the Easter lunch that was to be had the next day.

 

So fun for a birthday day!

 

To hikes and birthdays // leah

 

My Niece's 3rd Birthday

My niece Fern celebrated her 3rd Birthday last month. Of course, this years theme had to be Ballerina. This little girl is all about pink and things that twirl. She was just middy obsessed with the Nutrcracker this year, and I think my sister-in-law chose the most perfect theme for her birthday party. 

The decor was so cute and so well done. My sister-in-law used some of my own old pointe shoes for decorations; each little girl even got their own tutu. I seriously think I could throw myself this very same party and be just as happy as Fern was...

As every little ballerina showed up you could tell how happier and happier Fern got. The party also got more and more adorable. Imagine ten little three year old ballerinas practicing their pirouettes and plies. 

My brother-in-law built her her own mini ballet studio in her room. Just Fern size. 

I was able to really enjoy this party by having a little 'ballet class'.  I used to teach classes when I was in high school, so being able to dance around with my niece and all her little friends was a dream come true. 

Pink cake per the birthday girls request was served;  gifts of ballerina barbie dolls were opened; and little ballerinas danced around the house all afternoon. 

Even Clive (my nephew) joined in on the party.

It was so much fun and so magical seeing how happy she was. Even if she doesn't remember this party,  her mom will have these photos to remind her how special her 3rd birthday was. 

We love you little Fern Winter and are so excited to see what this life has in store for you. You dance to your own rhythm. You are more loved and special then you know!

xo auntie wee-yah 

All photos by Pamela Montanez