Ok there’s plenty I could catch up on from the last month, like our weekend trip to Astoria or our weekend trip to Lincoln City but this weekend was just so nice that I want to write about that instead.
Friday I went out with my sister and her friends to go out dancing to celebrate her 30th bday. I can’t believe my little sissyturd is 30!!!! Then, Saturday morning we went to get manipedis and eat brunch at her favorite place, Jam, which was back in my old neighborhood. Mmm loaded bowl of goodness. Lots of Portland activity but since my parents were out of town biking Reach the Beach, I was in Aurora housesitting for them. By the time Sunday came around, I had driven around so much that I just wanted to go home to Hillsboro.
Now, I recently moved to Hillsboro and it’s been a bit of a culture shock from SE Portland. People, they don’t believe in brunch over here…how do they survive without loaded bowls of goodness?? I’m slowly adjusting to the idea that this is home (maybe too slowly) but today, home felt amazing.
We went to the Farmer’s Market at Orenco and talked with a bunch of vendors. We bought some avocado, lime, and cilantro white bean hummus to use in wraps for dinner. We tasted some beer from Ambacht Brewing which is just down the road from us and is hoping to open their tasting room soon. We ended up buying a ginger beer that he wasn’t sampling but he convinced me that it was what ginger lovers have been waiting for in a beer. Nick’s making me wait to open it until we’re watching Game of Thrones tonight. I’m so excited to try it. AND! I found out there is a knitting store in Orenco!! I had NO idea. They’ve been there a year and are totally hidden. I drive past the yarn store every time I go to New Seasons and have never seen it. Plus, Nick and I drove past twice LOOKING for it, and still didn’t see it until the 2nd time. I’m really excited to go there, they have a knitting guild on Thursday nights so I’m gonna head down and make new Hillsboro friends
After we’d sampled everything there was to eat at the farmer’s market, we headed to the new Orenco Taphouse that just opened this weekend. It’s modeled after Bailey’s Taproom, which is my favorite bar in Portland (and where Nick and I had our first date). It was awesome!! Huge open space, plenty of seating, and 20 rotating taps that you can track online and on the huge monitor inside. Nick knows the owners since he works with one of them and I’m really excited to become regulars. We sat at the bar so we could chat with the owners and everyone around us. So happy we have a nice bar to go to!! It’s really filling a void. That area is about to have a lot more restaurants open too, can’t wait to go to the Lebanese one.
We got home and I started making dinner from our goodies from the market (wraps with the white bean spread, veggies, and local chicken sausage) and we ate it on our brand new patio furniture!
I love it SO MUCH. I’ve been wanting and wanting chairs and a table for our little front porch since I picture us sitting out there in the evenings and talking with our neighbors. And of course, knitting out there with some tea or a martini. (I’ve decided we’re also going to become martini drinkers at home, just need to buy the vermouth…and get more gin.)
I was so pumped from getting the front looking so cute that I decided to tide up the back patio area too:
Still has work to do (we’re going to put in pavers) but I’m soooo in love with my yard:
We have hood strawberries about to turn red, hops growing taller than us, flowering tomatoes, and tons of goodies growing in the garden bed. I’m so freaking happy today. Such a nice Hillsboro day and such a good home.


































