PORTLAND RUN

Once again, I find myself back in Oregon. All thanks to my sister that is. Lindsey made the University of Oregon Cheer Team so my mom and I flew up to support her while cheering at her first football game. We arrived early Friday morning after flying in from Los Angeles. We had a full day in Portland ahead of us, which started with breakfast. We were starving after a full night of traveling.

Our first stop was Pine State Biscuits, which is said to have the best biscuits in town. We went to NE Alberta location, which is a cute town filled with lots of cute shops and eateries. My mom and I got the biscuit with apple butter and marionberry jam (Oregon fav). Our drink of choice was Stumptown coffee for my mom and organic chocolate milk for me. This small meal totally hit the spot and was the energy boost we needed for a long day. What I love about Pine State is they only use fresh, local ingredients and boy can you tell the difference.

The next stop on our list was Ikea. Ikea is a department store where I can literally spend hours in. There are so many amazing pieces for such a great price. Hawaii needs an Ikea ASAP. But we found a lot of great pieces for my sister's new apartment such as a coffee table, desk, storage and much more. The other purpose of our trip is to help my sister move into her new place and boy did we.

After spending some time getting some apartment stuff, we sure did work up an appetite. My mom and I went to a joint featured on Diners, Drive ins and Dives called Blueplate in downtown Portland. It is a small hole in the wall that features homey comfort food. I got the grilled cheese and tomato bisque soup and my mom got the sliders. It was a great size and filled us right up. It was fun exploring downtown Portland.

Next we headed to Salt and Straw, which is a unique ice cream joint native to Oregon. I never come to Portland without stopping here first. Salt and Straw makes super unique flavors of ice cream with fresh, local ingredients.

This time my mom and I got Rocky Road (made with Oregon Hazelnuts), Coconut Petunia with Caramel Bars and Stumptown Coffee with Bourbon. What did I tell ya? Pretty off the wall. My favorite at Salt and Straw is the Honey Lavender but I decided to try something new. I have never been disappointed at Salt and Straw so be sure to give it a try. 

Across the street from Salt and Straw is a bakery called Two Tarts that makes yummy sweet treats with fresh, local ingredients. We always stop here to get some sweets to go for later. 

Now it is time for the 2 hour drive to Eugene, which can be a drag. But we stopped at Woodburn, which is a huge outlet mall in Oregon. Theres always time for a bit of a shopping break. After finally getting to Eugene, we got to see my sister. We all had dinner together at Chipotle (of course) then crashed out. It was such a long day but an even longer day is ahead. Game day tomorrow.

xo. Laur