So, I just finished packing up everything that's coming to Boston on the plane with me and sorting through everything that the movers will come to get in a couple weeks. Hard to believe my 19 weeks as a woman of leisure have come to an end, but as I look back over this blog (which started around the time that I left Melbourne and began this extended vacation) it definitely feels like time well-spent.
My last weekend here in Portland was a pretty good one. Maggie came over on Friday night for one last round of chick movies. We watched The Clique (produced by Tyra Banks! and pictured below, right), which totally wishes it was Mean Girls, and Another Cinderella Story (picture below, left), which was quite extraordinarily strange and cheesy and... strange. There was a heck of a lot more singing and dancing in that one than we'd anticipated... It also featured Moesha's little brother (who we had just enjoyed a couple days earlier in the fantastic Take the Lead) except that he was suddenly all grownsd up and his giant ears were seeming seriously (and oddly) adorable/attractive. Glad I got to share that one with Maggie. Very few people understand these things quite like she does...
Saturday (after I went out and got myself an awesome GPS thingy for my car, thus eliminating any preliminary stress about getting lost while apartment-hunting when I get to Boston) I went to lunch at Alameda Brewhouse with my parents. Probably the only stout I've ever tried that I like better than McMenamins' Terminator Stout is the Black Bear XX Stout at the Brewhouse.
We tried the herbed Artichoke Spinach Dip appetizer, which has a really strong rosemary flavor that is strange but good. Definitely a spin on Artichoke Dip that I hadn't seen before...
I went with Pan-Fried Oysters for my main course, which were served on a monstrous pile of fries alongside some very cumin-y coleslaw. Cumin is by far my favorite spice on the planet, but I'm not sure how I felt about it being in my coleslaw... It didn't taste bad, per se, but it didn't seem quite right, either... The jury is still out on that one for me. The oysters were cooked perfectly, but the oysters themselves couldn't really compare to the ones I used to get (and still crave occasionally) from Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, although the standard set there is perhaps unfairly high. Overall it was a nice lunch (and one that took away the need for much of a dinner, which was good since the rest of the day was dedicated to watching football...) and I'm glad I got over to the Brewhouse once before I left town.
On Sunday I made up some hummus and lamb kofta kebabs in the morning in preparation for a fantastic football-watching lunch. The NFL playoffs have been ridiculous this year, and only one of the 8 games over the first two weekends went sort of how I wanted it to (the Steelers (who I only sort of hate) beating the Chargers (who I loathe)). This is one of my very favorite football-watching meals and is super-easy to make, too. (Yes, the assortment of food on the table is strikingly similar to that when I make Grilled Leg of Lamb with Pitas, but I like this version because it's a lot easier to make for just one person when I'm on my own, whereas I can't make it through a whole leg of lamb by myself.)
After football I met up with Max, Midge, Micahoe, and Lucas at the Boiler Room bar in Kennedy School for one last round of beers before I leave town. The beer was great (as always), my Garlic Chicken Panini (picture below taken after we'd basically finished eating when Micahoe reminded me that I hadn't taken one yet) was pretty tasty, and the company was awesome.
And, with that, I guess I'm ready to leave Portland and get started on my new adventure in Boston (which, unfortunately, will involve having to actually go to work again)....
Saturday (after I went out and got myself an awesome GPS thingy for my car, thus eliminating any preliminary stress about getting lost while apartment-hunting when I get to Boston) I went to lunch at Alameda Brewhouse with my parents. Probably the only stout I've ever tried that I like better than McMenamins' Terminator Stout is the Black Bear XX Stout at the Brewhouse.
We tried the herbed Artichoke Spinach Dip appetizer, which has a really strong rosemary flavor that is strange but good. Definitely a spin on Artichoke Dip that I hadn't seen before...
I went with Pan-Fried Oysters for my main course, which were served on a monstrous pile of fries alongside some very cumin-y coleslaw. Cumin is by far my favorite spice on the planet, but I'm not sure how I felt about it being in my coleslaw... It didn't taste bad, per se, but it didn't seem quite right, either... The jury is still out on that one for me. The oysters were cooked perfectly, but the oysters themselves couldn't really compare to the ones I used to get (and still crave occasionally) from Santa Barbara Shellfish Company, although the standard set there is perhaps unfairly high. Overall it was a nice lunch (and one that took away the need for much of a dinner, which was good since the rest of the day was dedicated to watching football...) and I'm glad I got over to the Brewhouse once before I left town.
On Sunday I made up some hummus and lamb kofta kebabs in the morning in preparation for a fantastic football-watching lunch. The NFL playoffs have been ridiculous this year, and only one of the 8 games over the first two weekends went sort of how I wanted it to (the Steelers (who I only sort of hate) beating the Chargers (who I loathe)). This is one of my very favorite football-watching meals and is super-easy to make, too. (Yes, the assortment of food on the table is strikingly similar to that when I make Grilled Leg of Lamb with Pitas, but I like this version because it's a lot easier to make for just one person when I'm on my own, whereas I can't make it through a whole leg of lamb by myself.)
After football I met up with Max, Midge, Micahoe, and Lucas at the Boiler Room bar in Kennedy School for one last round of beers before I leave town. The beer was great (as always), my Garlic Chicken Panini (picture below taken after we'd basically finished eating when Micahoe reminded me that I hadn't taken one yet) was pretty tasty, and the company was awesome.
And, with that, I guess I'm ready to leave Portland and get started on my new adventure in Boston (which, unfortunately, will involve having to actually go to work again)....
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