The New

One of my favorite things about my relationship with my husband is his shared sense of adventure.

From the moment we started dating in 2005, it was day trips to Monterey, San Francisco, Napa, or silly local fun like mini golf or the beach with friends. I LOVE making memories with this guy! Our adventures really started when we moved to Southern California in 2006. We spent that year with a list of things we wanted to do and every single weekend we were on the road. Whether it was the Getty museums in LA or Malibu, San Diego tourist attractions, or amusement parks, we took pictures and made life something full of activity. When we moved to the Portland area in March 2013, the adventures became completely new!

I am a notorious list maker. Although I tried to succumb to the “ease of technology” with list making on my phone and computer, nothing quite compares to the hand written daily planner for me!! So, what goes with a new home? A new adventure list! I combed pinterest and read books stumbling across all of the top tourist things. I wanted to tackle the obvious first; get comfy in the “known to all”. I needed to get a little more Portland in my blood before I could feel comfortable stomping into local-love terrain. And we did: VooDoo Donuts, Stumptown Coffee, Jetboat Tours, Christmas Light Trolley Tours, Became Portland Zoo Members, Saturday Market, Farmers Markets, Spring Tulip Farms, Fall Pumpkin Farms, Brew Fests, Food Trucks, Wine Tasting….you get the idea. I ate it up!

Heading into our 2nd year here, my list’s radius has expanded. After a bit of instagram hashtag investigating, I have added some fun eats to our “quick & close adventures” list. Today we went to the NE side of Portland and discovered Kerns Kitchen. From 7am to 2pm Monday to Saturday they serve Coffee, Tea, and Breakfast but come 5pm they turn into a neighborhood pizza hot spot.

The food was SO good, the coffee was DELICIOUS, the service was SPOT ON and it was completely comfortable to go to with our 2 year old. What most people talk about in Portland is how great the food is {and it is} but what I love even more than the food is the no-apologies-creativity that people have. People have trades and know how to do things. They let their space reflect tho they are more than what others want to see. I  find myself so wrapped up in how “at home” a place can feel and a business owners personality is reflected in their work.

So today we had a quick-close adventure of the culinary kind! We dined on biscuits, burritos, scrambles and dare I say it: bourbon caramel lattes with 1 of our 2 munchkins. It was the perfect thing to light my day, fill my tummy, spend time with 2/3 of my boys, AND check something off my wanderlust addict list!