ruby jewel

With the nice weather comes ice cream. le duh. (That's how the French say it.)

Brad and I headed over to Ruby Jewels on Mississippi Ave. for a pre-dinner dessert the other day and gosh it was so worth it.  Whoever decided dessert comes last has been doing it wrong the whole time. I got to enjoy my ice cream and not feel like I was force feeding my full stomach the goodness. 

Here is the blurb from their website:

Ruby jewel creates extraordinarily delicious ice cream for all to enjoy. Every flavor is carefully hand-crafted daily in our North Portland kitchen using the best ingredients thoughtfully sourced from farmers and food producers in Oregon and around the Northwest. Family owned and operated since 2004, we are committed to supporting our local community, economy, and limiting our impact on the environment wherever possible.

preach it! 

Ruby J is known for its ice cream sandwiches, but you can also get ice cream cones as well.

drool worthy

Yeah, that is a double chocolate cookie with peanut butter ice cream sammie.  Brad picked a winner with that combo.

I went with espresso ice cream in a cone and it was lovely. I have also decided that espresso ice cream is definitely in my top three favorite ice creams. Along with cinnamon and maybe strawberry or chocolate chip mint? The last one is up for debate. Suppose I will just have to keep eating ice cream until I can come to a decision, daumn.

We sat outside but were still able to smell the waffle cones because the floor to ceiling windows were open and that's my favorite. If that doesn't make you stop for ice cream then you must have the heart of the devil or be extremely diabetic.

I told myself I am cutting back on sugar (which I have been), but this was too good to pass up.  Sometimes you just gotta splurge. Which I did! 

I wish ice cream was as beneficial for you ask Kale is. A girl can dream. Oh well...

Cheers to ice cream!

<3 BB

That One Time...

I had ice cream and went to a concert.  Surprise, surprise.  

Last night a small group of us ventured over to the East Side of the river to check out Local artist ZZ Ward who had a show at the Doug Fir Lounge. (PS. Check out the Doug Fir, if you get a chance.  Venue is super legit and very deceiving from the outside. Retro gone Forest Service.) Buttttt before we could get our concert on we first had to stop at Salt & Straw.  Yum. I have mentioned it before, but do yourself a favor and try their Cinnamon Snickerdoodle. You wont be sorry.

Zsuzsanna aka ZZ Ward killed it and had a great show.  I may be a little bias due to the fact that I now feel like I am a celb by association since we went to high school together.  You can pull that card when there are less than 300 kids in your entire high school.

Either way I was super impressed! She has come so far since talent shows in the Glide gym and I am super pumped for her.  She has what she calls a Dirty Shine vibe with her mix of blues, hip hop, soul, her raspy voice, and don't for get the harmonica!   The girl made the harmonica look and sound sexy, which is quite impressive if you ask me.

  Fact:  ZZ Ward is hotter with a harmonica than the lead singer of Blues Travelers. 

Not even a challenge. 

Sadly, I didn't stick around after the show, because I had a bedtime that was wayyyyy past due and had to get up early.  I am super glad I decided to go though, because when I first saw she was going to be in town, I wasn't sure if I was going to be able to make the show.   She is headed down to Eugene tonight, if you are in the area you should definitely check her out!!! 

ZZ Ward just droppin' caskets like it 'aint no thing!

Cheers to Oregon Talent! 

<3 BB 

Highlight Reel

Just a few highlights form the past few days!

First off - I think I have a problem... a concert problem.  Last week I went out not once, but twice on a work night for concerts.  As you all know, I saw Citizen Cope last Sunday and then on Thursday night I got to celebrate the birth of my dear friend Erica by seeing the oh-so-lovely Ron Pope.

But before we had Ron Pope sing to our sweet souls we had to feed our starving bellies.  We tried a place called Yakuza Lounge in North East Portland that my friend Jessi had recommended.  Like always I was too intimidated to take photos with the big camera, but the sushi was super yummy and the ambiance was lovely. The only small complaint we had was the service was a little slow, but if you're not in a hurry then it's not really an issue.

Next, we hit up Salt & Straw on Alberta.  Wow is their Cinnamon and Snicker Doodle ice cream amazing.  I paired it with their Coffee and Buron and they complimented each other perfectly.

The concert itself was everything I had hoped for.  Small venue (that had seating, my grandma back was thankful!), intimate show, great music and we even got to chit-chat with Mr. Pope for a second after the show. I was a HAPPY GIRL! 

 Ron Pope, you're perfect for me

The rest of the weekend I played nurse to my little sister and hung out with my family.  She now has a brand new ACL and started rehabbing the day after surgery.  The doc said she could have surgery day off, but after that it is time to put in work and I am super impressed with how much she is doing so quickly. as Nike says #makeitcount.

Someone got caught napping in between exercise sets

 Big 'ol brace

 It's so long, #twss

We colored in the super awesome Sesame Street coloring book I picked up, played with Legos, and had the longest game of Jenga ever.  (you know, pretty much things any 5 year old boy might enjoy).

 Cops and robbers anyone? 

 Didn't even need directions. Haha that's a joke.

Who doesn't love Jenga? 

 I am choosing not to say who won

Annnnnd my favorite highlight of the weekend was finally getting my new glasses that I had ordered.  Ever since I was little I have always loved picking out new glasses and then I get super impatient when I have to wait for them to be ordered.  I ended up with a cute pair of nerdy glasses (oxymoron?).  I had my eye on a pair of Tom Ford frames, but they were a lot more expensive and looked a lot like the ones I ended up with, so all in all I was happy with the Roxy ones I ended up with.  Look at my being fiscally responsible. 

nerd alert

Cheers to another weekend without rain!


<3 BB

First Day of Autumn - Hood River Style

Saturday Bradley and I decided to celebrate the first day of autumn by trekking up to Hood River.  So after a nice gym sesh we hit the road. 

Our first stop was Multnomah Falls. 

Which was super pretty.

But short lived, because I think all of Portland decided to stop there.  I don't get along very well with crowded places, so we stayed long enough to snap a few photos and then hit the road again.


When we got to Hood River we headed straight to the river to check out all of the wind and kite surfers.

It was like a little city of surfers.  

Brad took this photo and he would like his credit, so I suppose I should give it to him. 

The weather was lovely, but super windy, which was perfect for the surfers not so perfect for my hair.

He wanted you all to know that he took this one too. 

 

It was awesome to see the kites and boards up close. 

Plus they looked like dinosaurs.  

And who doesn't love that?! 

Action Shot. 

 Might have almost fell over when trying to take that photo.  I blame the wind.

Papa. Papa. Paparazzi.


After our afternoon outside, we were quite hungry so we headed over to Full Sail Brewery. 

The beer was yummy. 



 Brad played model for me all day.  Isn't he such a good boyfriend?! 

 

 Look at those pearly whites!

My bubbles!

I tried the seasonal LTD 06 and it was great.  It had hints of coffee which I am a big fan of. 

Gotta love a dark beer and scarf weather!

After dinner we headed downtown to wander around.  We stopped for ice cream at the cutest shop.  Kahlua Chip, wowza!  

 My favorite part of the entire trip might have been this purchase.

These large matches are awesome,
plus they were on sales.  Double Score!! 

Brad kept trying to give out free advice, but no one wanted it from him.  I think he scared the children more than anything.

If you're ever in HR, you should probs check out Mike's Ice Cream. It's precious and the ice cream is delish too.  


All in all, it was a great start to Fall and I can't wait to enjoy the rest of it before the rain sets in...  What did everyone else do to celebrate the beginning of the best season of the year?!


Cheers to Autumn!

<3 BB