Washington Trip January 2017: Blue Star Donuts

Ok, last food post...

Last Friday Jeff and I picked up some donuts before meeting the fam for a trip at the Oregon Zoo. We have gone to Voodoo Doughnuts before and Jeff wasn't a fan, so my dad recommend we try Blue Star donuts. After doing a little research we discovered that the Voodoo Doughnuts was for tourist and Blue Star Donuts was the real deal! Of course that meant that Jeff and I needed to try them! We picked up a dozen and to say that Jeff liked them would be an understatement. Jeff thought they were way better than Voodoo Doughnuts. They were a little dense for me, but I totally liked them!

I think the real test would be to get a maple/bacon donut from both Voodoo Doughnuts and Blue Star Donuts and do a taste off! I will make sure to do this analysis next time I'm in Washington. It's important to see which one is better, right?

 

Washington Trip January 2017: Date Night in Portland - Little Bird

Another food post!

After Jeff and I saw the movie Lion, we headed to a nice little French restaurant called Little Bird. We both really enjoyed what we ate. It wasn't the best place we have ever eaten, but we would both totally recommend it (for a special celebratory dinner, since it was a little expensive). I'm assuming we will never go back (unless Jeff succumbs to his desire to have their Double Brie Burger), but not because we didn't like it, but because in doing research to find out where we should eat, we found a tone of awesome places we would love to try! Love Portland.

I had the Fried Chicken “Coq au Vin.” Jeff said it wasn't a real Chicken "Coq au Vin," but I really liked it! The wine sauce was a little strong, but the crispy chicken and mushrooms were divine!

Jeff had the Hanger Steak Au Poivre with a side of Roasted Brussel Sprouts, Dijon Butter, Black Pepper Walnuts. I'm not a huge brussel sprouts fan, but we both LOVED them!

I didn't get a picture of the dessert (because we started eating it too quickly), but we actually thought it was the best thing we had. 

Washington Trip January 2017: Date Night in Portland - Pearl Bakery

My mom and Kari were kind enough to watch Cohen while Jeff and I spent an evening in Portland for our date night. I've always enjoyed visiting downtown Portland, but after this trip I've decided thatI love it.  It has an amazing atmosphere and both Jeff and I really enjoyed ourselves.

We met Kari at PSU for lunch before heading to Pearl Bakery. Those of you that know us well,  know that we are all about the food. We always do research before heading out to try new places. Pearl Bakery was one of the bakery's in the area that had good reviews and it wasn't a far walk from our hotel. We weren't blown away, but it was definitely good.

I had the Gibassier. I loved the texture (totally fluffy) and the sugar on top, but it had a black licorice aftertaste that I wasn't a fan of.

I also had the Chocolate Hazelnut Croissant. This isn't your traditional chocolate croissant (you know the one with just two small strips of chocolate in the middle). It was full of chocolate and hazelnuts! It was amazingly rich, but I enjoyed it.

Christmas Break: Portland Saturday Market

I figure I better get my Christmas Break pictures up before February :)

Jeff and I went to Washington for Christmas to spend some time with my family. I love going home and wish I could visit more often. We spent one of our first days there in Portland. We went to Gracie's for Brunch and then went to Portland Saturday Market. I remember going to the Portland Saturday Market when I was younger and let me say it's a lot bigger now!

We walked around looking at all the booths and then finished our trip with an Elephant Ear! My favorite!

Birthday Brunch at Gracie's

We had Kari's Birthday Brunch at Gracie's. I just LOVE brunch! I had the eggs benedict and it was really really good! I actually had eggs benedict agin the next day at Norma's (favorite brunch place in NYC) and I will have to admit Graci'es is better! I can't can't believe I said that! I really hope I get to go back again someday :)

I then took some pictures of the streets around the hotel before heading to my parents house. It was just so beautiful with the leaves changing color. Portland is really charming.

Afternoon Tea at the Heathman

Kari and I went out for afternoon tea after our facials. I just love afternoon tea! We went to the Heathman Hotel which was only a couple blocks from our hotel. While it wasn't as good as the Palm Court at the Langham in London (not surprising...It's LONDON!), it was a really nice treat and Kari's first time having afternoon tea.

Pinkies up!

Birthday Breakfast at Voodoo Doughnut!

On Saturday, Kari and I got up and went to Voodoo Doughnut for breakfast before getting facials at the Aveda Institute.

These doughnuts are out of control! There were so many choices and we couldn't decide, so we had them give us the Voodoo dozen where they just throw in 12 random doughnuts. I will admit that these doughnuts were a little sweet for my taste, but the were still really good! I so want to go back and get more when I visit for Christmas.

A Trip To Washington.....Happy Birthday Kari

This is totally late, but that seems to be my mo these days :)

A couple of weekends ago I flew home to Washington to surprise my sister, Kari, for her birthday! Mom and I had planned this for a several months and were just so excited! The plan was for Kari and I to spend the weekend in Downtown Portland in a nice hotel and live it up! And live it up we did! I'll follow up with some of our adventures later :)

The pictures below are of the hotel and the room that Mom and I decorated for the festivities.