The Enchanted Forest

We went to the "Enchanted Forest" theme park yesterday. The setting for the park is in a forest...surprise! It was actually quite scenic.

In the park, you follow a path that I think is called "Story Book Lane." Here is a picture of the castle that was at the beginning of the trail. It was kind of small, but I thought the secret passage inside was pretty cool.

We passed by the candy house from Hansel and Gretel.

Then, we came upon the rabbit hole from Alice in Wonderland. I crawled/scooted down it.

There was a witches head with a door for a mouth,

a crooked house,

and an old women living in a shoe. The shoe actually had a long slide coming out of it that I went down. It was pretty fun.

Then, we walked through a western village

and a German town.

The cost of admission was $10.50 for adults. There was a haunted house and some rides you could pay extra for, but we had the baby with us, so we didn't do any of that. I guess there's a fairy play  that has several showings during the day too.

 I thought the log ride looked fun. There's a part where everyone gets splashed with water.

We got rocky road and peppermint ice cream at the end of the trail.

There were a few things that were cheesy about the park, but we both had a good time there and thought it would be fun to bring our little girl there when she gets older. 

Mad Hatter

Last night I surprised my husband with a "Mad Hatter" themed date. He started out in our room where he found these treats, the drink and cake, like in the Alice in Wonderland movie. I found the old fashioned looking bottle, for the drink, at Walmart and filled it with blue Gatorade.  The cake came from Safeway's bakery.
I though it would be fun for my husband to wear a top hat like the mad hatter and I was able to find one for cheap ($6) on Amazon's website. I hung it on the door along with this sign.

The baby & I dressed up too. Here's a picture of most of what we wore. I got my hat and necklace from the Burlington coat factory. The sunglasses came from forever 21 and I found the baby's hat at a children's clothing store in the Lancaster mall.

We had a tea party in our dining room. I got a plain tea set, because I knew my husband would like it better than a frilly one. I thought it would be fun to try a new flavor of tea so I bought honey chamomile, which is an herbal tea (no tea leaves.)

Here's a picture of the treats we had. I got the tiered tray from Amazon.

 

For the food, I bought a cream puff from Konditorei and an eclair & other chocolate pastry from the European Bakery off of Commercial St. 

I got smoked salmon cream cheese spread from Winco and piped it on slices of a multigrain bagel. I topped the appetizer with a piece of smoked salmon & dill.

I bought mini croissants from Winco and made roast beef & smoked turkey sandwiches, which happened to be my husbands favorite thing out of all our fancy food.

After eating, we watched the latest Alice in Wonderland movie. The one starring Johnny Depp. It had been so long since I'd seen the movie that it was like watching a new one.

We both really enjoyed our date and I learned something new about my husband. When he was growing up his Mom grew chamomile flowers and harvested them for tea. So, he recognized the chamomile flavor in the new tea I got for our date. I thought the tea smelled fantastic, but it wasn't my favorite flavor. It's hard to compete with licorice and peppermint.

Romeo & Juliet

I loved the story of Romeo & Juliet when I was a teenager. I watched the movie so many times, that I practically had the whole thing memorized. It's been over a decade since I've watched the movies and I pretty much forgot all about the story, until last night when we went to the play.

It was put on for FREE by the "William Shakespear" non-profit organization at the Willamette Valley Vineyard. The setting was so picturesque.
I was surprised by the nostalgic feeling I got when watching this play. The lines were running through my head and I wanted to say them outloud, which I would have done if I were at home watching the movie.

 I don't know if my husband has watched the Romeo & Juliet movies, but oftentimes I say, "parting is such sweet sorrows" when we say goodbye. When the actress said that line in the play I looked over at my husband and we both smiled and laughed.

I thought the acting was pretty good. We didn't stay for the whole thing, but we did catch the famous "Romeo, Romeo wherefore art thou Romeo" scene.

Hawaiian Themed Date

My husband and I love Hawaii. We've been there a few times and think it's an absolute paradise. I'll never forget the night we spent dancing on a secluded beach in Maui with music from a nearby luau in the background. So romantic.

For awhile you could get really good deals on flights out of Portland. The prices have gone up over the last few years and it will probably be awhile before we go back, now that we have a new baby. So, I thought I'd bring a little piece of Hawaii to our home.

We started out our date by dressing up in Hawaiian print clothes. I wore flowers in my hair too. We played Hawaiian music in the background, thanks to Pandora Radio and I made candy leis for the two of us to wear.

I surprised my husband with this dinner.

A friend recommended that I serve teriyaki chicken sandwiches with a ring of pineapple and I loved  the idea. I used a chicken teriyaki recipe that I love and the meal turned out fabulous. I thought it would add a special touch to put a flower on each plate, like they do at many restaurants in Hawaii.

The last time we were in Hawaii we drank a pina colada slushy out of a pineapple at the Polynesian Cultural Center and I wanted to recreate that experience.

The day before our date, I learned that the best way to hollow out a pineapple is with a pineapple corer. I picked one up at Walmart for less than $6 and it is my new favorite kitchen tool. So easy to use. It cores and slices the pineapple into perfect rings.

I found pina colada concentrate at Safeway that you blend with water and ice to create a slushy. I filled the hollow pineapple with it and both of us agreed that it tasted just like the drink we had in Hawaii.

I was able to find really cute Hawaiian straws at the dollar store and used a metal cannoli tube to cut out circular holes in the pineapple lid for the straws to fit through.

Snorkeling was one of our favorite things to do in Hawaii. So, we watched a BBC episode of the "Great Barrier Reef." It brought back memories to see all of the tropical fish and sea turtles.

We both really enjoyed our date. It brought about feelings of nostalgia, which is what I was going for. I'm sure we'll go back to Hawaii someday, but until then, we will find other ways to enjoy it from afar.

Piece of Cake

We went to Konditorei's for a slice of birthday cake this year. I was surprised by how many desserts were on display. They have four cases full of cakes, cheesecakes and other pastries. I guess the owner has been a chocolate cake tasting judge for something like 30 years at the fair. So, they know their cakes.

I got the chocolate mousse cake

 and my husband got the raspberry cheesecake.

They were $5.95 each, which is about the price you would pay at most sit down restaurants. The cake I got was good, but rich. I liked the texture.  The layers went from dense, to medium light, to light. My husband's cheesecake was dense and not as sweet, but he liked it.

The baby slept so we were able to enjoy our desserts and visit a little. One of the things that I like about our dates is how they create memories. I have driven by this restaurant many times and will be reminded of the date we had there when I drive by in the future.

Norwegian Food Cart

I was introduced to Portland's food cart culture when I moved there years ago. There are hundreds...maybe even a thousand food carts in Portland. When I worked downtown I would see flocks of business people lined up at the carts for lunch and for good reason. You could usually get large portions of good food for cheap.

I always preferred eating at the Thai booths, but my two favorite Thai carts either closed up or moved out of town. So, recently I decided that it was time to try something new.

I did an online search to find the best food cart in Portland and after reading journal articles, top 10 lists, and reviews, I decided to try "The Viking Soul." The food cart stood out to me, because they are the only ones to sell Norwegian food in the Portland area, from what I understand. I was also intrigued by their menu, which seemed to have innovative flavor combinations and the reviews they got.

One yelper said, that they could venture off and try a different food cart, but what if it wasn't as good as "The Viking Soul?" The horror...lol.

I've waited to write a blog post about this date, because we had to go there three times before we got to try everything we wanted.

The first time we went there, they were closed. The second time, I tried their wrap with meat balls, purple cabbage, and cream sauce. My husband got the mushroom patty and blue cheese wrap. Then, the owner gave us a free honey nut wrap, because they ran out of the smoked salmon wrap that we really wanted to try.

We went back for a third time to try their wrap with smoked salmon, pickled shallots, dill creme fraiche, and watercress greens.

Now I know why they are so highly rated. All the wraps were good, but my favorite was the smoked salmon wrap. The balance in flavors was spot on. I am going to try and recreate it at home this coming week.

The second best wrap was the meatball and purple cabbage wrap. We have already recreated this one at home. We use tortillas instead of lefse (potato wraps.) We fill them with turkey meatballs, a cheese sauce and purple cabbage. I like the balance of flavors (sweet/salty) in the ones we make. It reminds my husband so much of the wrap we got at the food cart that he thinks about our date when he eats it.

Wrap Recipe
*Tortilla wraps

*Purple cabbage recipe (I omit the caraway & pepper, I use oil instead of butter) - link

*Turkey meatballs - I buy them frozen at the grocery store 

*Cheese sauce - 1 Tbsp oil, 2 Tbsp flour (combine & cook in skillet for a min), add 1 cup milk, 1/4 tsp salt, 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, and a little roasted garlic from the jar. Cook & stir until thickened.

We lay out a tortilla. Spread cheese sauce in a line down the center. Put meatballs on top of the cheese sauce. Cover the meat with 1/2 cup or more of purple cabbage and wrap it up. Serve warm.

Rooftop Dining

I thought it would be fun to have dinner on a rooftop somewhere. So, I began searching for rooftop seating at restaurants in our area. That's when I discovered the Departure restaurant. It's located on the top of the Nines Hotel in downtown Portland and has partial indoor and outdoor seating.

We went there for the first time last night. I thought the restaurant had a contemporary design/layout inside. The rooftop had an interesting seating arrangement, with couches and wicker chairs on the sides and tables in the center.

I loved the views up there. It created such a romantic setting.

We went in the evening and there was a nice breeze. We were shaded by large umbrellas too.

The restaurant serves Asian cuisine. We ended up ordering sushi to share. We got crab rolls that had a sweet, spicy, citrus flavor that I really liked and a smoked salmon roll.

It was a neat place to have a date. My favorite part was the company (hubby+baby) and the views of the city. My husband said that it reminded him of a restaurant that you might find in a city like New York and I agree.

Chocolate Board Game

I thought it would be fun to play a board game with my husband for a date night. So, I did a search to find the best game ever. I found lists of recommendations and read several reviews before stumbling across the chocolate board games. Chocolate incorporated into a game? What could be better?

There were three games with chocolate to choose from
1) Monopoly
2) Scrabble
3) Clue

I decided to go with Clue, because it's my favorite of the three.

The chocolate pieces were the playing cards that have room, guest name, and weapon information on them.

The gaming board was made of paper.

I could tell that the chocolate pieces weren't made with super high quality chocolate, but the idea was fun. We will probably buy our own chocolates and reuse the card info in the future.

The insturctions for the game were simplified, but we just played the game like the original, because we thought it would be more fun.

My husband was not surprised that I would buy a chocolate game, lol. We both had fun playing it though and when we finished he said "everyone should get chocolate after playing a game instead of points and the winner should get a few extra pieces." lol. The chocoholic in me would have to agree. 

 All three games are sold on amazon. This one cost about $10 with shipping.

Birthday Free Stuff

Years ago I learned that there are some restaurants that will give you free stuff on and around the time of your birthday. I've come to look forward to these deals, being the frugal person that I am. We don't usually cash in on every deal, but we try to at least make it out to Red Robin for a free burger and Panera Bread for a free pastry. These two deals cut the cost of our date last night in half and we got to go out to eat, which we don't usually do.
I ordered something new at Red Robin. It was a chicken sandwich called "burning love." I wish I would have taken a picture of it, because the presentation was really cool. It came out with a whole roasted jalapeno on top. I enjoyed the flavor, but the level of heat from the peppers inside was a little too much for me. My husband got a chicken sandwich.

Afterwards we went to Panera bread for dessert. We shared a brownie and a cinnamon roll.

One thing I should tell you, is that you have to pick up a membership card and activate it months before your birthday to get in on the deals at Panera Bread and Red Robin. Then, you'll be able to cash in on them anytime during the month of your birthday.

I've listed some of the other birthday free stuff that I know about below. All you have to do to get these deals, is sign up on the companies website to get their email notifications.

Baskin Robbins - free ice cream
Noodles and Company - free pasta (Portland)
Chevy's - free meal (Portland)
Denny's - free grand slam (on the day of your birthday)
iHop - free breakfast
Shari's - free slice of pie
Pietro's Pizza - free personal sized pizza & salad bar
Acapulco Mexican Restaurant Y Cantina (Portland) - free meal

I know there are more deals out there, so if you're interested I would recommend doing a search online.

Honey Bee date

My husband loves honey. I think he's even talked about having honey bees someday. When I was growing up my family always had honey around, because our home teacher was a bee keeper. As a child I grew up eating it on sandwiches mixed with peanut butter, but since then I've learned that I also really like it on freshly baked bread. 

For our date, I made challah bread and served it with honey. While we ate the bread I read off "bee" trivia questions that I found online. My husband knew most of the answers, but I think we both learned a few new things. One thing that I think is really interesting about honey bees is that on average each one produces only 1 1/2 teaspoons of honey in their lifetime. Crazy, huh?

I could tell that my husband enjoyed answering the questions and I had fun quizzing him. The warm honey bread turned out great too.

We didn't have time, but it would have been fun to watch the "bee movie" as part of our date, or to tour the honey making process of a bee keeper in our area. I bought clover honey, but they have different flavors at Winco and Roths that would have been fun to try. Maybe next time.

Bee trivia (see pages 73-77) link

Challah bread recipe link

50's Photo Shoot

My husband enjoys photography. So, I thought it would be fun to have a vintage photo shoot. We decided to dress up in 50's style clothes.

A friend let me borrow her dress and shoes and I made a Kate Middleton inspired hat.

I wanted to wear red lipstick, so I bought the "Russian Red" color from MAC, which ended up matching the trim on the dress perfectly.

I picked out a hat and vest for my husband to wear at a thrift store. He also wore a white collared shirt under the vest, grey pants and brown vintage style semi formal shoes that he already had.


I dressed the baby up in all white. She wore a lace bonnet, onesie and ruffled eyelet skirt.

We took pictures at a lookout point at Akeny National Wildlife Refuge. It was very scenic with ponds, rolling hills, tall grass and wildflowers. It reminded my husband and I of the old frontier.

 I like how the photos turned out. Some were formal and others were playful.

My favorite part of the date was dressing up and all the compliments going back and forth between my husband and I. I liked the fun playful family moments too with the baby.

We both enjoyed our date and it's fun to be able to look back now on the pictures we have.