Bread on It

LOL. My friends made a video spoof on the High School Musical 2 song "Bet on it." Check it out!



Just in case you have no clue what the song is actually supposed to be you can watch the actual video.



And of course don't forget that High School Musical 3 is out this weekend! Try not to get swarmed by 13 year old girls!

I Heart Tenth Avenue North

I just absolutely love Tenth Avenue North! I only recently heard about them this summer (see previous post about them) and ever since then they've grown on me more and more. I seriously start off my drive to work everyday listening to their song "Love is Here." For some reason it automatically makes me feel good inside and gives me the strength to get through whatever will happen that day. Watch this video to get a sense of who they are and what their music is all about.

Portland Adventures - Good Food and Good Company

Portland has a plethora of unique restaurants and hometown specialties. In every neighborhood niche there are local favorites and infamous eateries just waiting to be discovered by Portland newbies such as myself. I don’t often get the chance to try someplace new, nor do I always know where to go. But sometimes it’s the times when you’re not looking that can be when you find a treasure. At least it was true for me today. What was supposed to be a simple lunch in Portland to catch up with some good friends, gradually turned into a day of tasty discovery.

First off, I met my friends at No Fish! Go Fish! on Hawthorne. This local lunch spot had recently caught my eye on a Portland food blog. The description sounded unique and frankly, just what my stomach had been craving: hot soup and hot sandwiches. Their specialty is their $5.99 lunch plate, which includes a giant bowl of homemade soup of the day (4 soups you can choose from that changes daily), and two fish sandwiches. And no, they aren’t actually fish, nor do any of the sandwiches include any seafood. They are sandwiches in the shape of a fish, and grilled in a sandwich press. Sort of like a fish shaped panini…or maybe a cross between a calzone and a grilled cheese sandwich. Anyways, there are lots of delicious options to choose from for your sandwiches including ham and cheese, feta and spinach, curried vegetable, and even sweet fillings like apples and cinnamon, 

or nutella. All the food we ordered was great, filling up our tummies with warm goodness.

My friend wanted to find a coffee shop to get a little caffeine for the day so after chatting it up with the waiter and a No Fish! Go Fish! regular, we were directed to a coffee shop a few blocks down called Common Grounds. The place was friendly, not to mention very cozy and we instantly settled down on a comfy couch. Coffee drinks, or in my case, a tea latte, were served in mocha-colored mugs to enhance the cozy atmosphere. Decorations of old hardbound books were piled on various shelves and counters, and a bookshelf full of magazines and newspapers was nestled in one corner, inviting customers to take advantage of a relaxing afternoon to peruse through some literature.
So while one of my friends, who had insisted that she needed to get her homework done, busied herself in textbooks, my other friend and I entertained ourselves by looking through magazines to see what was happening around the Portland area. Browsing through a copy of PDX Magazine we discovered their section on happy hour places. 

As Portland is a big city, there’s bound to be many restaurants that have happy hour specials. However, I tend to go to the same old spots over and over again because I don’t know what else is out there. So this list that we found was a great resource and we began circling places that looked good. (I think our goal is to eventually visit all the places we circled on the list. Just maybe not all in one day lol). We chose a place in the Pearl district called Bartini that looked chic and fun. By the time my friend had finished her homework, it was almost time for happy hour.

Bartini turned out to be an upscale martini bar without the hoity toity nonsense. The selection of martinis to choose from was more than I could even read through, making decisions difficult. However, the plus side to the number of martinis is that you will always be able to find something to your taste. I tried the huckleberry martini which was my favorite (hmm I wonder why). We ordered several food items including a delicious cheese fondue. However, their food menu consisted mainly of fancy finger foods and we couldn’t find too many options that we could all share together so we brought out our friend, the PDX Magazine, to see what else was in the area. Out waiter happened to be walking by as we were checking out other places on the list. He was only too glad to give us some excellent recommendations. He took our magazine and circled the places that were awesome and crossed out which ones to avoid. He even told us about a new Matadors Restaurant that had opened up on 23rd, which serves great happy hour food. So thus began our next quest in the dining adventure. With only about 15-20 minutes of happy hour left we were anxious to make it to Matadors on time…but don’t worry…we got there in plenty of time to order a giant plate of nachos. Although very delicious, it was definitely more food than we could handle. And so walking back ever so slowly in sympathy to our full stomachs, we concluded that one happy hour place in one day would more than suffice. “The List” would have to be consulted another day because this girl was ready for a nap, or maybe a good run on the treadmill.

No Fish! Go Fish!
3962 SE Hawthorne Boulevard

Portland, Oregon 97214

Common Grounds
4321 SE Hawthorne Blvd
Portland, OR 97215

Bartini
2108 NW Glisan St.
Portland, OR 97210

Matador
1438 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210

If You Like Vegetables

So I've been getting some delicious fresh veggies from people at my church like zucchini, tomatoes and the likes. I made this awesome salad that I get so excited to eat. I decided to share that recipe with others so that they can enjoy the goodness. So if you love veggies you will love this!

You can use whatever proportions you want or sub in other veggies for different tastes. This salad is alway different each time I make but here is the basic of what I put in it:

1 large zucchini cut in small quarter or half slices

2 medium tomatoes diced

1/2 cup broccoli cut into very small pieces

handful of cilantro (this gives it a really nice flavor!) finely chopped

1/2 cup black beans

1-2 ounces of cheese chopped into small pieces (you can also use feta cheese too)

handful of chopped walnuts (optional) 

dressing: equal parts olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I usually mix 1 TBSP of each)

Put all the chopped veggies in a bowl and mix together with the salad dressing. Salt and pepper to taste. Mix in the beans, cheese, and walnuts. This tastes the best if you let it marinate in the dressing for a few hours.

I also want to try adding in chopped red onion and chopped grilled chicken too. I think that would be awesome.

Love is Here

This is my new favorite music video. Even in its simplicity it somehow still speaks volumes to me. Enjoy!



The lead singer, Mike, is awesome by the way! I saw him at an artist talk-back at Creation Fest. He's all about ministry in terms of quality, not quantity. I liked what he had to say because let's face it, it's really hard to not count the sheep because sometimes that's all people see. But that's not what true ministry should be about. He also said that if you are deeply in love with God and living your life for Him, people will not be able to help but wonder what gives you so much joy. What do you have that they don't? Truly devoting your own heart to God will bring people closer to Christ more than anything else. In my experience, when someone was on fire for God, their enthusiasm would rub off on me. In ministry, if you don't believe it and live it yourself, how do you expect those you minister to, to believe what you preach?

The List

I've been thinking a lot lately about what I'd like to do with my life.  I don't have it all figured out but there's always the little (sometimes silly) things I want to do. You know those stupid things you might never do but think it would be fun to imagine anyway...like opening up a cupcake shop (random, I know). This is my list of whimsical dreams...that might just come true someday so you better watch out.

1. be a writer - you know...like take my macbook to a cool Portland coffee shop and write articles about things I enjoy such as concerts, bands, faith, family, etc.

2. be a speaker - this one is a bit more on the realistic side. I think I would enjoy speaking at events like youth rallys, retreats, and other special events. I could even use my guitar skills in combination with this. I could be the next Matt Maher! Or I could marry Matt Maher (haha I'm totally joking...sorta).

3. be a guitar player singer songwriter (say that 10 times fast) - I have never felt comfortable playing for people before, but lately I have been wanting to start performing at coffee shops. So far I've performed twice now at Soul Espresso which is a young adult "coffee shop style" faith gathering.

4. start a band with my sisters...now if they'd only learn their instruments lol

5. backpack through Europe - nuff said

6. create fun videos - I do this sometimes with my job when I make memory videos or slideshows for my youth group, but I want to do my own stuff too. 

7. learn to surf - as obsessed as I am with all things that include beaches, tropical places, ocean, sunshine, and surfing, people are surprised that no, I really don't know how to surf. But one of these days I really will accomplish my lifelong goal of surfing in Hawaii.

8. have a vegetable garden - I'm serious! I love vegetables! As soon as I get a house I'm growing a garden.

9. start my own magazine. Just kidding! I think I just watch too much Ugly Betty.

10. Go to the next World Youth Day in Madrid, Spain in 2011 - This one's for sure! I am so excited!!!

I'm only just getting warmed up but I guess I'll stop at 10 things...for now. That was pretty fun actually. With the exception of a few (like starting a band with my sisters...because THAT will ever happen) I think most of these are do-able to some degree. And the moral of the day (that I just taught myself two seconds ago) is that you should go for your dreams even if they do seem whimsical because anything can happen. Ciao!