sarea: (stiles faceplant)
This is a very good article on why I love Earl Thomas so much as a player, and why I'd commission two pieces of art of him (maybe one day I'll have the entire Legion of Boom!). OK, it might also have a little bit to do with how adorable he is. [personal profile] slitherhither sent me a link to an interview he did during the Chargers preseason game last night, and he was so cute in it! His laugh at the end! <3

Speaking of the game, I was nearly as meh about the results as I was about last week's loss to the Broncos. There's not much to be proud of in crushing an opponent when you play your starters for way longer than they played theirs, imho. I mean, I guess maybe they were trying to ensure a win for the first game back at home of the "season" to give the 12s something to be happy about, but beating up on a lesser opponent is almost as cringe-worthy as not being able to play up to the level of a really good one. It's like, okay, so we're way better than the Chargers, big deal. We still lost to Denver. Bah. Also, I rather like the Chargers, so that's part of it, too.

It was nice to have the game on for the drive back from Portland to Seattle, though. I was in Portland just for a couple of days (one overnight) with my mom. I didn't have as good a time this time. Partly it was that my mom didn't seem all that into it, partly it was that the people seemed way snooty this time (actually they kind of seemed like it last time, but I think I cared less because I was with T. and B., and when you're having fun with your friends you can overlook a lot of crap), partly it was that transportation was a pain in the ass (we drove instead of taking the train/public transport), partly it's that there's really not that much to do in Portland other than eat, and with my mom it's even more limited.

We went back to Veritable Quandary, Tasty N Alder, Pok Pok, and tried a place new to me, Andina. Andina was REALLY good. It was actually my mom's favorite meal of the bunch. We also went to Salt & Straw twice. The sea salt and caramel is still soooooooooooo good. I tried the bone marrow and bourbon cherries and pretty much thought it was disgusting. My mom tried several flavors, and once got an olive oil and Stumptown coffee split scoop, but ultimately liked the olive oil the best. We went to the location on Division the first time, and the one on 23rd the second time. Funnily enough, we sat down at a table next to a woman seemingly giving an interview to a man who was typing up everything she said. I had JUST read the "About Us" on the Salt & Straw website, so recognized the woman as Kim Malek, one of the founders. Not sure what publication the guy was interviewing her for. But how funny is that?

My mom and I were both worried about Talis, who tends not to do well in kennels. We picked him up first thing this morning. He had dried dog shit on his nose. -.- I don't think I will use this kennel again. It was just unimpressive all around, including a new vet that when she saw him a couple weeks ago for his mandatory pre-board checkup, seemed afraid of him. I know Talis is a problem dog, but over the last year he's seen soooooooooooooo many vets, and they have all been calm and collected, so that they seemed in control and confident. This vet inspired exactly zero confidence. She couldn't get a look at his left ear in the backroom, so I offered to hold him down for her (as I am unafraid of him). There was a pause and then she said, "I don't feel comfortable with that. Is that okay?" Well of course it's okay, but I also felt like she was not someone I wanted to entrust the health of my dog to, if she doesn't even have enough of a spine to examine him fully. SHE'S A VET, for god's sake. There will be problem animals. And mine is only 20 pounds! Anyway, when we got him home he kept begging for food like a starving thing. Which he probably was, because he doesn't eat well when he's not at home. He's a weird dog.

Oh! I nearly forgot! I have joined an NFL-managed Fantasy Football league. I have never, ever played FF before, and have ZERO clue what I'm doing. I actually joined two, and the draft for the first one starts on Monday night. I really need some pointers before then. If anyone on LJ has ever played FF, I'd appreciate someone cluing me in. I'm not sure how I should draft and in what order. >
sarea: (Default)
It's only been a week since Portland, but I already miss it. I mean, yes, it's partly because I hate being at work, but I also really liked Portland itself, which was basically Seattle lite. :)) Here are some of the things I enjoyed most:

- The public transportation. So excellent. You could get anywhere you wanted to go using their light rail, streetcar, and buses. You wouldn't need a car if you lived there. It reminds me of when I lived in D.C., except then I only took the Metro, no buses. Oh if only Seattle had great public transportation! It'd be so awesome to be able to hop onto a light rail and get to work. Unfortunately I think we're too spread out. Not as bad as LA, but bad enough.

- Salt & Straw. I believe we went to all three locations. SO good. We have something similar here in Molly Moon, but I've never tasted anything as good as that sea salt caramel ice cream from Salt & Straw. I think about it at least once a day.

- Dragontree spa. My massage therapist was Brandon, who did my sugar scrub, Swedish massage, and scalp massage. He was so nice and awesome. It seems unlikely because therapists seem to move around a lot, but maybe next time I'm there I can get him again! Also there was Anders, who had a Dark Mark inked on his forearm. Which is kind of awesome. I wish I'd noticed it when he was giving me a foot massage, except I wasn't doing much thinking or observing during that time. Foot massages are the BOMB. Dragontree actually has a lot of male therapists, which I thought was surprising but cool. Surprising because many women, who make up the usual spa clientele, don't feel comfortable with male therapists. Other than the initial awkwardness, I prefer them. They tend to have a natural strength that doesn't come as easily to female therapists, and I really despise being petted. (That said, I had a massage yesterday with a new therapist at the place I normally go to, and she was great.)

- Pok Pok's chicken wings. We had a ton of good food in Portland, which you probably know if you've checked out [personal profile] adelagia's travel journal of our trip, but those wings are life changing. They are SO incredible that they completely overshadowed the rest of our meal. I bought the Pok Pok cookbook recently, and the recipe for the wings is included. It seems like a huge pain to try and duplicate at home, but I think I have to attempt it at least once. The other two dishes that stand out in my mind as being particularly spectacular were the grilled squid from Tasty N Alder (sister restaurant to Toro Bravo, which has a cookbook as well, but no recipe for the squid), and the pancetta-wrapped trout from Veritable Quandary.

- The fact that there's no sales tax!! Our bills at restaurants always so neatly ended in .00. I could not think of anything I wanted to buy while I was there, and of COURSE when I got back to Seattle thought of like a million things. ><

I did order a couple of camera lenses that were delivered to the hotel: Nikon 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S ED VR II Nikkor Telephoto Zoom and Nikon 50mm f/1.8G AF-S NIKKOR FX.
sarea: (stiles faceplant)
What is LJ's new default font on the comment pages (for those of you who don't make it use your style)? I like it!

So, [personal profile] adelagia, [personal profile] slitherhither and I are back from our trip to Portland, where we ate, went to the spa, ate, visited the waterfront, ate, had mani/pedis, ate, watched 22 Jump Street, and ate ate ate. Basically if there's now a food shortage in Portland, we're at fault.

It was a super-fun trip, and taking the train down was one of our better ideas. (We have so many of those, though, it's so hard to choose just one.)

I took a bunch of photos of our mouth-watering food (though the photos didn't always capture just how delicious everything was) and resized/uploaded the good ones, while T. wrote up an exhaustive post about our exhausting (but awesome) adventures. Rather than just re-say everything, I'm just going to point you over to her post(s). Yes, there's two of them, because did I mention how much food we ate?

Part One
Part Two

In addition to food, there are funny*, heartwarming* stories! We will make you say, "Oh, Portlanders" at least once*! And there is even a story of how we embarrassed ourselves+ in front of a hot guy.

* Not guaranteed.

+ Guaranteed.

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