Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch

Fall has officially arrived in the Northwest after several sunny weeks with temperatures in the 70s. I still haven't seen all of the rain that people talk about but I'm excited because November is right around the corner and is officially the start of the "rainy" season here. As I write this post, it is 10:00pm on Halloween and we have just finished carving the pumpkins we picked up at the Sauvie Island Pumpkin Patch a couple of weeks back. Visiting the Pumpkin Patch was so fun! It brought back tons of memories of picking pumpkins at the Al Bussell Ranch in Bakersfield. I really wish that Fall hung around for longer. It's so cozy and definitely my very favorite season. Here are some pics from our pumpkin-picking trip!

Searching for the perfect one

With our pumpkins, Bradley and Carmen (I don't know why...)

Then we got lost in a corn maze!

Ross stopped for a snack along the way.

The lovely view high above the corn field

The finished products

We don't know where we might be in a year or two, but as long as we are living in Oregon, Ross and I will make this an annual trip!

Japanese Gardens

Ross and I both had a recent Friday off, so we decided to take a Japan-inspired trip... to the gorgeous Japanese Gardens in Washington Park. We had both been wanting to visit the gardens for awhile, as we'd passed it on various hiking escapades. We figured that it was the perfect time because the leaves were a perfect blend of reds, oranges, and yellows and the weather was nice and drizzly!

After our time in the gardens, Ross and I headed down to Chinatown for Dim Sum. It was definitely not the experience we were expecting but I'll spare you the nasty details. Luckily, we had a great memory from the gardens to make up for it!

Apple-Zucchini Muffins

It's official. I have turned into an old married woman. Perhaps this is why I am extremely content to watch QVC and bake muffins all day. On a Friday. My day off school. Oye.

Below you will find a recipe for yummy apple-zucchini muffins, which I adapted from allrecipes.com. Instead of using 1 cup of vegetable oil (as the original recipe called for), I substituted applesauce in the interest of making these addicting muffins a little healthier. Also, the applesauce gives the muffins a "bouncy" feel. Almost like they'd bounce if you threw them on the floor. But you won't want to do that with these... I promise :)

Apple-Zucchini Muffins

yield: 24 muffins

Ingredients:

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 teaspoons ground cinnamon

3 eggs

1 cup applesauce

1 cup white sugar

1 cup light brown sugar

3 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups grated zucchini

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

2. Sift flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, 
and cinnamon together in a bowl.

3. Beat eggs, oil, vanilla, and sugars together in a large bowl.

4. Add dry ingredients to the creamed mixture, and mix well.

5. Stir in zucchini until well combined. Pour batter into pan.

6. Bake for 18-20 minutes.

Sunday Fun-Day

Today after church, Ross and I went to check out the Sunday Farmer's Market in the NE King neighborhood. It was so cute! There were a dozen or so booths selling everything from Jalapeno-soy popsicles to homemade chocolate croissants to organic Walla Walla onions. Everything looked so yummy but I practiced restraint and left with a few pounds of green beans, zucchini, and tomatoes. Maybe next time I'll try something exotic :)

I think visiting Farmer's Markets is becoming one of my favorite weekend activities. I can't wait for Fall to come so that we can go pick our own pumpkins and go through the corn maze on Sauvie Island!

Ma and Pa Come to Visit!

T and P drove all the way from Bakersfield to visit us last week. It was so fun taking them around to all of our favorite places like Washington Park, Cannon Beach, Multnomah Falls, City Grill, and the Outlets (for my mom of course)! Though we didn't manage to do everything on our list, I'm glad that we got to share the essence of the NW life with my folks. They can easily see why we love it here.

Here are some highlights from the trip:

"No-Car-Day" Take II. We tried to navigate through the whole city using only public transportation - the MAX, streetcar, and yes... the bus. But first, we took the aerial tram to the top of Marquam Hill where OHSU is. It's a fun ride and gives the most gorgeous view of the city. Once we got to the top we learned that there was a mini Farmer's Market that morning so we decided to stop by. We also walked around the hospital grounds which was fun because I'll be applying to OHSU's nursing program in the fall.

The next day we went to Pittock Mansion for a picnic. After that, we headed to Willamette Park for some good old fashioned fun at the playground!

On Thursday we headed to Cannon Beach and Seaside. My parents loved it so much that they want to come back for a week at the beach next year. Wahoo!

We wrapped up the trip by visiting Multnomah Falls. We weren't planning on hiking the trail, but decided to at the last minute. Unfortunately Mom and I weren't prepared for this so we ended up lugging our massive purses to the top. Or rather, our husbands did!

Thanks for a fun week Mom and Dad! We can't wait to have you back up here!

PDX Digs

After five months of marriage, we are finally settled into our apartment. Not that we weren't settled before, but we have finally taken care of the smaller details, like putting pictures in frames and hanging said pictures on the wall. It's fun putting our stamp on a place and I'm glad that we can agree (for the most part) on the decor!

Here are some before and after pictures...

Before

After

Before

After

Before

After

We had a minor setback in April when a torrential downpour caused some crazy flooding in the kitchen and our bedroom. Thankfully, we dried out pretty quickly and I don't think we'll be seeing anymore floods in the near future. Oh Portland... :)

Wedding Recap

Ross and I were married on February 28, 2009 at Portefleur in Orange County. Even though the engagement was only 4 months, we managed to get everything ready to go on time due to an incredible amount of help from family and friends. We were blessed to be surrounded by so many special people on that day. We are so grateful for all of your support!

To see more pictures from the wedding, visit Ross's online album at:

www.pbase.com/rgunn4/wedding

Another Try...

As some of you may know, Ross and I have attempted to create and maintain a blog more than once. Well, we're jumping on it again, mostly because we just moved 1,000 miles away from most of our friends and family and it's impossible to keep everyone updated (as much as we'd like to!) Please check back often to hear what's going on with us and to find out when we'll be visiting CA... maybe we can hang out when we're in town!

Toodles...

R & K