Summer Solstice Loving

Happy Summer, My Peoples! 

Can we talk about how it is officially summer?! This is mind blowing to me. I am already sad summer is going to be over before we know it and it technically just started this weekend. I have that feeling you get on Sundays when you know work is right around the corner. Get it together, Brooke. You have so much fun to still partake in this summer. 

With that being said I celebrated summer in style this weekend and did some paddle boarding on the Willamette River. We rented our Stand Up Paddle Boards from Alder Creek Kayak and met up with good people for some sunshine, some paddling, and a little workout even. This whole paddle boarding thing is no joke. A few hours spent on the SUP and you have yourself a nice core and stabilizer workout. You also have a little sunburn too, if you're lucky. 

After paddle boarding we headed over to one of my favorite breweries, Base Camp. It might not have the best beer in town, but it sure does have one of the coolest vibes. They were even having a summer solstice celebration too! Double the fun! Brad and I also learned that the nail and hammer game Hammerschlagen is harder than it looks. Also, the word Hammerschlagen is oh so German and oh so fun to say. 

Oh, and the fat kid in me wants to share a little secret regarding Portland Eats. We tried Smokehouse 21 this weekend. Rumor has it they have the best ribs in the city. Man, oh man, they weren't kidding. The ribs and the mac n' cheese with bacon and the deviled eggs and the cornbread and the pork cheeks and the collard greens were fantastic. Ok, I am hungry again. I need to stop myself. 

Cheers to Summer!

<3 BB

things I learned from my dad

Today we are doing things a little differently around here for 'Things I Learned This Weekend' when we link up with Katie Que. See, today is kind of a big deal... It's my father's birthday....And I am kind of a big fan of my dad.  He is pretty fabulous....So, with that being said, I wanted to share a few things I have learned from him.

//Always be the first in line for food at family gatherings.

//Hard work will get you far in both sports and in life.

//It can be hard to listen to your dad when he is your coach.

//But he usually knows what he is talking about when it comes to coaching.

//Family is number one.

//Seconds at dinner is always the right move. 

//Sometimes being stubborn is a good thing. Sometimes it's not.

//It pays to be a daddy's girl.

//Good music never goes out of style.

Happy Birthday, Dad.

Love you!

<3 Brookie

things I learned over Memorial Day weekend

Happy Tuesday, guys!

I am finally back to blogging after an extra long weekend where I stayed around Portland and had the perfect combination of doing fun things with fun people and doing nothing but laying on the floor (which happens to be my favorite place in the house). Let's check out all the things I learned over Memorial Day weekend. 

//Golf is not for the impatient type.

//I am very impatient.

//I also hate not being good at things. 

//Golf is harder than it looks.

//None of this matters if you have a cool Sponge Bob golf ball and look like a professional golfer with your outfit. 

//I just can't say no to new workout clothes, even when I don't need them. 

//New workout clothes are extra nice to wear on fun hikes with good people. 

//I am slowly getting better at yoga, but attempting happy baby pose in a room full of yogis just makes me uncomfortable.

//Angel's Rest hike is fabulous. The Gorge never lets me down. These pictures don't quite do it justice, but I will post more later this week.

//Thank the sweet baby jesus I was quite active this weekend, because when I was not being active I was eating things like Cajun Tots and Mac n' Cheese Pizza and sushi and everything else under the sun.  That is what Holiday weekends are for right? 

Cheers to extra long weekends. Now I have to remember how to work again. Ugh. 

<3 BB

Turnt Up or Learnt Up

As my alarm was going off this morning and I was waking up to start my day, Brad rolls over - thoroughly confused - and questions why I would be up before 6am....Bradley, honey, it's Monday, not Sunday. So yeah, happy Monday everyone! Let's link up with Katie Que and share what we learned, shall we?! 

//Did anyone else know that a camel with two humps is named a Dromedary ? Because I didn't, but naturally Brad did and gave me a hard time when I didn't know what he was talking about. I'm sorry? ----UPDATE: So, apparently Dromedary camels are the ones with only one hump, Bactrains have two humps. Brad was wrong, but also still kind of right because he even knew the word Dromedary. 

//Friday workouts at the office make me feel less guilty about eating my body weight in sushi for dinner.

//Spilling your entire glass of water on the floor, your feet, your purse, and your crotch while out to dinner is cold and a embarrassing. It will also take your jeans a long time to dry after you have spilled said water.

//I have not forgotten any of the worlds to the movie Grease. You better shape up... Cause I need a mannnnn. 

//Went to an actual Yoga class with other people on Sunday morning. Yoga is still hard.

//Cleaning on a Sunday weirdly makes me happy. 

//Vacuuming your stairs is a cardio and ab workout. 

//Wine with dinner on a Sunday evening was pretty much is the highlight of my weekend.

//My new coffee mug is the tits. I probably should not use the words tits to describe things on my blog. Too late. 

//Timbers' games in the sun are much more enjoyable than in the rain.

//Scratch that - these shoes I got as a just because gift were the highlight of my weekend.

I miss the weekend already!

<3 BB

Things I Learned Over Mother's Day

Happy Monday Everyone, 

This girl had a fabulous weekend at home for Mother's Day and I learned a whole lot that I want to share with you all. To do so I figured I would link up with Katie Que, read this, then hop on over to her blog and see what she learned this weekend (it's probably much more entertaining than what I learned.), and then link up with us to share what you learned.

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//Surprising my mom and coming home for Mother's Day was probably one of the better decisions I have had in a long while. 

//Rifle Paper Comany makes the best cards. 

//The only thing that has changed about my mom in 20 plus years is her hair style. She's still got it. 

//Outkast Pandora station will play hit after hit on your 3 and a 1/2 hour drive. Including this song.

//Tupac knows how to honor Mother's Day. 

//The movie Neighbors not that good, not that I expected it to be. Sorry, Helene. 

//When you're in Southern Oregon, you do Southern Oregon type things - like shoot guns in the mud. Don't worry though, my little brother is getting ready to into the Police Academy, he knows what he is doing. Me.. not so much. 

//My mom's pond is the best place to drink your morning coffee.

//Hiking in the sun is fun.

//And the most important thing (that I already knew, because I'm so smart) family is the bestest.

Cheers to Mother's Day! 

<3 BB 

Things I learned over derby

As always for this fine Monday, I am here to link up with Katie Que and tell you about all the things I learned this weekend while celebrating Bradley's favorite Holiday aka the Kentucky Derby. 

//Chocolate chip cookies taste better with Bourbon and sea salt in them.

//A horse with the name A Rod will never treat you right and is totally overrated.

//I am really good at making messes while preparing to host a party. Flour and Bacon grease were poured ALL OVER MY KITCHEN FLOOR on separate occasions. 

//Brad takes his Derby outfit very seriously.

//I am bad at remembering to take photos when I am enjoying the people around me. 

//I am not sorry for not taking many photos while co-hosting an awesome party. (also not sorry for using the word not too many times in this sentence.) 

//The best way to top off celebrating the Derby is honoring Cinco De Mayo and getting Mexican food. Yum! 

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Cheers to the Derby!

<3 BB

things I learned in Tacoma

Hello blog blog,

I am back from Tacoma and oh so happy to be back in my own space and my own bed. Since I have been gone all weekend and learned all this new knowledge while I was away...I wanted to link up with Katie from I'm Your Kaite Que and share a few of the things I learned. Link up with us - the info is below! 

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//First thing I learned over the weekend - As the team mom aka the only female assistant coach to a track team full of college athletes, you do a lot of waiting around for Track kids to get ready.  The best way to wait is to obviously take selfies.

//I forgot how nice it is to have a hotel by yourself for an evening. 

//I was happy I had a hotel room to myself to finish the The Fault In Our Stars. It made me cry and cry and cry some more. So, so, so, so good. 

//I also just learned that the girl from Divergent is playing Hazel Grace in the movie. Mind blown. Who knew?

//I learned that rain free days at the track make me the happiest.

//I also learned that rain free days will give me a sunburn on my forehead, even though it wasn't actually that warm. I learned I am just that pale. 

//I can cook a mean salmon dish when I want to. You can be jealous of this beautiful, colorful meal. 

//Lastly, I learned that sleeping in your own bed after 4 days of being away from it - is a beautiful, beautiful thing. In fact, I wish I was still in bed now.... 

Cheers to making it to another Monday! 

<3 BB 

Things I learned from easter weekend

Hi Blogland, 

I wanted to linkup with Kaite Que and share a few things I learned over Easter weekend. 

//First, it is hard to blog when you leave your phone at home all day and that is what all your photos are on. Hence me blogging on a Monday night. Who does that? 

//Do not go to Costco the day before Easter. Holy packed. Good lord, sometimes I don't like people. Saturday afternoon before Easter at Costco was one of those times. 

//Brunch on a Saturday afternoon is always better when it is with good friends and gravy. Tilt always does it right.

//Ice cream treats after over a month without it tastes better when you eat it on your Friday off from work.

//Portland's Spring Beerfest is always entertaining. 

//Easter with family makes my heart happy. 

//I always eat too much food at family gatherings. 

//If you haven't caught on yet from this post - my life revolves around food.

//Bubbles are still fun to play with when you are 25. 

//The Fault In Our Stars is a great post Easter coma read. 

Cheers to learning new things! 

<3 BB 

Things I learned at tedx

So Tedx - Portland....was pretty fabulous. I learned so many things at it on Saturday - which ties in nicely to the fact that I am linking up with Kaite from I'm Your Katie Que to let you know what I learned this weekend. 

The topic of this year's Tedx Event was perfect. Does it exist? If so, what is it? Ask a thousand people and you'll get a thousand different answers. Whether you're talking about a person, place, thing or idea, this word provokes discussion. The desire for it pushes people to think of bigger and better things, challenging them to make their own definitions and maybe even make them a reality.

All the speakers were wonderful at TedxPdx and here are some of the things they taught me this weekend. 

Aaron James Draplin
//Invest in your life
//Invest in your clients

Nong Poonsukwuttana
//You will always chase perfection
//Give first
//Chasing meaning is a much better approach than avoiding discomfort

D'Wayne Edwards
//Leave your mark

Lisa Sedlar
//Perfect is the enemy of good enough
//Perfect can paralyze you with fear; being real does not

Frank Moore
//Invest in the art of living
//This cute 91 year old WWII Veteran (and his wife) will make an auditorium cry tears of joy and loss in 18 mins.

Cody Goldberg
//Don't think so much
//Use hearts more than minds
//PLAY is perfect

James Keller
//If your technology choices are making you feel bad about yourself. Change your choices

Zach King
//Hard is not relevant. Hard is hard

Zalika Gardner 
//In order to truly listen you must quiet your own experience to make room for someone else's

Isaiah Holt
//There is always room for second chances
//Ask yourself daily: What do I want to accomplish today? What does it take? What can I do to get there?

Ben Haggerty aka Macklemore
//The easiest thing to do is to not live presently
//It is important to slow down and remember what you are doing and why you are here


What did you guys learn this weekend?! Link up with Katie here.

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Cheers!

<3 BB

Things I learned this weekend

Ok, so here's the deal, guys, Katie, from I'm You Katie Que, does one of my favorite type of weekend recaps and I wanted to steal her idea. So without further adieu - here are a few things I learned this weekend.

//Oregon weather has a harder time making up its mind than I do. At the meet on Saturday, we had rain, rain, more rain, lots of wind, and sun all in the same 15 min span. Mostly it was rain and wind though.

//3 courses of Fondue will make you full.

//Sugar gives me a head ache

//Urban Fondue is delicious

//So is melted cheese.

//Cheese hurts my stomach.

//My clean eating was anything but during our fondue time for Portland Dining Month at Urban Fondue.

//The soundtrack to Divergent is legit. 

//Movies just don't get everything from the books. I mean Divergent tried and I really like the movie - but it just couldn't come close to my love for the book (which I finished over the weekend, so I could go see the move.)

//The name Tobias will forever remind me of never nudes.

//I would like to see Tobias from Divergent in a pair of never nudes.

//I love clean sheet night.

//I hate doing laundry

Happy Monday!

<3 BB