Seattle and Portland

From the Northeast to the Pacific Northwest in and out of week. Talk about whiplash. We would only endure such depletion of the mind, body, and wallet for two people: J Willi, my fabulous sister-in-law and B Web, my absolute favorite of the mister's friends-- and the only person cuckoo enough to complete our twisted little musketeers vibe we have going on. Suffice to say, hijinks ensued☺

Evergreens have the be the official symbol of the Pac Northwest, no?

OK, kids-- about as touristy as you can get, but still wonderful...

First things first: Piroshky Piroshky — I've been dreaming about this deliciousness since we last visited in 2009. This teeny tiny little shop has tons of sweet and savory handheld pies. Between the four of us, we sampled the cheese onion garlic, beef and cheese, chocolate hazelnut and cinnamon cardamom rolls. Oh what is there to say other than "Yummmmm"?

I think this is a Seattle thing {correct me if I'm wrong}-- very interesting... melted down booze bottles into cheese boards. I am so into this. Amwilli was eyeing that Maker's Mark bottle {on account of his penchant for whisky}, alas, we left empty-handed.  

Can't. Resist. Cute. Monkeys. 

Public Market has scads of fresh flowers for $5-$10 per bouquet. The flower merchants even customize bouquets--does it get any better? 1-800-Flowers, who?

Quintessential Seattle: Space Needle, hills, SUBARUS. 

 The first of many happy hours... and this one was at...

...wait for it...

{brilliant}

 Happy hour, numero dos... I was clearly S.D. Churchill's bff in a past life.

Post happy hour things...

 Seattleites are into chalk it seems...

Molly Moon's - carmelized peaches and cream. I may have found the perfect ice cream flavor. Just sayin'.

Someone challenged me to a game of pool...

...and there you go. 

Well, hello gorgeoussss...

Just steps from J Willi's place-- I'm officially jealous. 

Onto the next happy hour... 13 Coins. It's a place where high end dining meets lounge lizards meets supper club, and it was a great time. Fabulous live music, insane people watching, and ridiiiculously delicious bar food. Meatball sliders, anyone?

BWeb's alarmed...

...probably because this just happened. Oops. 

Onto PORTLAND! Beware of bears...

 ...and big ass dogs. Seriously, Portland has got to be the big dog capital of the US. Newfies, great danes, rhodesian ridgebacks, and a variety of large hounds. They're probably needed to scare off the bears.  

Portland is an eccentric town, separated into different neighborhoods and districts. After spending the first part of the day in the Pearl District, we headed to Hawthorne neighborhood for shops and dining. I found all these little ditties in ONE shop {I wasn't lying about the eccentricity}:

What's that you say, another happy hour? Bring it. The land of evergreen trees believes in LATE happy hours, and dangit, so do I. 

One of the few friends he's kept in touch with since high school-- if surviving Catholic school doesn't bond you, nothing will.

A cobblestone alley full of hipster bars, but they had a bunch of picnic tables under twinkle lights. Why don't we have anything like this at home??

 I'm so OK with this kind of trouble!

 What's so funny?

 Ohhh... {Jersey Shore fans didn't have to think twice about this}

Voodoo Doughnut: Perfect way to end the night...

The world famous, bacon maple. Finger lickin' good {and I don't like maple flavored anything}.

Voodoo doll, naturally. Check out that pretzel stake-- it's complete with raspberry filling for the blood and guts. Wild.

Waffle Window: Perfect way to end the trip!

What can I say about Seattle and Portland? Great towns, a-mah-zing food, and perfect company. It was really an unforgettable way to end the summer-- and I can't wait for the next adventure!