A week or so ago I spent a little over a week with my family in Portland.  I was only supposed to stay for a long weekend, but at the last second, we switched my flight and I nearly doubled the length of my stay.  Here are a couple of highlights from the trip…

1. My “little brother” Murphy, wearing Bonnie & Clyde via Bonlook.
2. A glorious city chicken at Pistils Nursery in the Mississippi district.
3. Midnight breakfast and milkshakes with my little brother at the Original Hotcake House.
4. Got upgraded to Economy Plus for the trip home.  Love that 5 extra inches.
5. Visited Mecca (aka the Schoolhouse Electric Showroom).
6. Vintage card file heaven at Schoolhouse Electric.
7. Sun!  My last couple days in Portland were beautiful and warm-ish.
8. Mount Hood saying “goodbye” during my sunrise flight back to Ohio.

For more of my trip and day to day life on Maple Street, add me on Instagram.

We needed a weekend away.  After a handful of searches for a getaway in Ohio on the internet, Jared tracked down the Homestead House Bed & Breakfast in Willoughby, Ohio.  It had amazing reviews on Trip Advisor so we booked right away.  We were not disappointed.  The room was spacious, clean and cozy.  King sized canopy bed, fireplace and large jacuzzi tub.  The perfect room to relax and unwind.  Of course I made a classic mistake and brought my camera, but forgot my memory card, so you’ll have to live with phone photos.

Let’s start with breakfast…

Seriously serious breakfast.  Every morning the innkeeper made a full 3 course breakfast from scratch.  From our room I could smell muffins (the most amazing white chocolate blueberry muffins fresh for the oven, still warm and gooey) baking.  The muffins were followed by egg cups with sausage and a blueberry black raspberry cobbler for dessert.

We left right after breakfast on Saturday to drive out to the Wildlife Center at Penitentiary Glen Reservation.  The wildlife center serves as a temporary home for local animals who need rehabilitation and a permanent home for animals who are so injured they cannot safely return to the wild.  These animals work as “ambassadors” to educate the public on local animal life here in Ohio.  It’s free to the public and is connected to a small nature center full of local history and taxidermy specimens from the region.

The lady fox is my favorite.  She has so much personality and is so active.  We also love the birds of prey.  It’s amazing to see them up close.  We arrived just in time to see some of the residents eat breakfast.

With so much of the day left we went to the Cleveland Museum of Art.  Jared hasn’t visited since way before the huge renovation.  It’s always free so we spent a long 6 hour afternoon browsing the collection.

 We had lunch in the atrium, admired our favorite pieces and giggled quietly in the galleries at less-than-flattering portraits.

We made it back to the B&B by 6 0′clock and spent the rest of the evening watching cable in our king sized bed and eating junk food until we both passed out.  I woke up in the middle of the night to find ourselves in the middle of a blizzard.  In morning we had a second amazing 3 course breakfast (cinnamon rolls, puff pastry stuffed with eggs and ham, fresh fruit and panna cotta).  We had a slow morning and packed up.  We were eager to see our pup, but made a pit stop in Chagrin Falls, Ohio

We killed time in a bookshop where I picked up a handful of used books for my upcoming trip home.  Jared found this charming finch book that reminded us of when we had a flock of finches.  Jeni’s Spendid Ice Cream opened at noon and we were the first ones in the door.  I never miss a chance to savor a bowl of Jeni’s ice cream perfection.  I had the classic buckeye and dark chocolate.

We were on the road again by 1 o’clock.  It was so nice to have a short drive home, instead of a long road trip.  Logan was happy to see us and exhausted from a weekend at the Pooch Palace.  Logan and Jared both collapsed in bed when we got home.  It was a great trip, but it’s always nice to come home to your own bed.

Is it time for you to take a mini-vacation or have you gone on a little getaway lately?  I’d love to hear about it!

Last weekend I made my quickest trip home to Portland ever.  My little brother (if you could call him “little”, he’s over 6 feet tall now!) was graduating from Pacific Northwest College of Art.  With a BFA myself, I know firsthand what an achievement that is.  I couldn’t be prouder!

5 AM flight out of Akron.  By the time I reached Denver I was feeling that 3 hours of sleep I snuck in.  Iced coffee and a blueberry muffin have never tasted so good.

I love flying west.  It’s seriously like time travel.  Being in Portland by 10:30 in the morning is an amazing feeling.

They don’t wear gowns for graduation, so in true Drew fashion, he managed to find a tux that fit the day before commencement.  I am so proud of him!  And I’m so glad was I was able to be there to see him walk across that stage.

As a parting gift PNCA brought in a drumline for the graduates that marched right into the theater as they were declared graduates.  The whole city could probably hear us.

I also did a little shopping on Saturday and for my birthday my mom got me a brand new pair of Nike Free Runs in beautiful “Hot Punch” neon coral.  I was hesitant about the color, but something was drawing me to them and my mom finally convinced me in the end.  It’s the first step in achieving the fitness aspect of my Before 30 list.  Time to get running!

Happy to be home.  Our garden sprouted while I was gone.  Jared also brought home an early birthday present for me while I was out of town.  Details on that soon.  I’ve been thrown a couple of curve-balls this spring and it’s going to be an interesting couple of months.  I’ve been slacking around here lately and I apologize.

With warmer weather comes adventure!  I hope your spring/summer is kicking off well.