Accomplishments...

Got a wedding dress yesterday that I'm in love with.
Worked all evening with my friends on invitations/announcements.
The Dimes committed to playing my wedding.
Got a family friend to make my cake (for free).
Got a stylin' cake topper.

Not doin' too bad, now am I?

Movies

I was trying to think of my top 10 movies the other day, so I thought I'd make a rough posting, not in order and see what you guys think, and also what your favorite movies are too.

1. Gone With the Wind
2. Wizard of Oz
3. Grease
4. Matrix Trilogy (what? It can't count as one?)
5. Shawshank Redemption
6. Old School
7. Moulin Rouge
8. Braveheart
9. Gladiator
10. Young Frankenstein

A couple that didn't make my list that I love...Billy Madison, Dirty Dancing, and the Green Mile. Oh and I am almost ready to switch out one of these for Goonies. Which one is the question.

I tried to include all my favorite genres and represent myself well...if you haven't seen all of these...you better get on it!!!

Street of Dreams

We went to the Street of Dreams the other night and it was awesome. We really enjoyed walking around all the homes and seeing the newest gadgets etc in all of them. I liked seeing the differences between each of the home builders, and of course we all enjoyed fantasizing that we'll have homes like that someday. Gabe and I both loved one home above the others-I think it was called Bella Luce...but both it and the home all the way to the back were the most impressive. It costs $15, but it's worth it. Just make sure and wear good shoes :)

Talledega Nights

I went and saw it last night. It's hilarious, as are all Will Ferrell movies. For sure go see it!

Inside Man

We watched the Denzel Washington flick "Inside Man" the other night and I really liked this movie a lot! It's a very atypical bank robbery movie and had some good twists in the plot. Denzel is good as always, and Clive Owen is in it too, and he's really good. It's intense at parts...definitely a good one to rent.
And while we're on the movie topic. We also watched "Failure To Launch" last night and I thought it was a lot better than it looked like it was going to be. But REALLY what I wanted to say about movies...for some reason today I was reminded of a great cartoon that I loved when I was a kid..."The Rats of NIMH". It really was one of my all time faves, I would love to sit down and watch it again as an adult. It's a good one. Go get it!

Mike's Drive-In

You know how the best burgers always come from tiny little places that maybe even look a bit shady? Well Mike's Drive-In is small, but not overly shady. There is one in Sellwood, and then one on Hwy 224 in Milwaukie on the corner of 224 and Harrison. I highly recommend their burgers as well as their fresh milk shakes. I had marionberry and Gabe had raspberry. They were delicious! Mike's is a drive-in though, there is no inside seating, so if it's raining be prepared to eat in your car. Also, Gabe was REALLY excited to see that there was a Pietros Pizza down the street, so we're going to have to make a special trip to go eat there. He said it was the best pizza ever when he was a kid.

Secret House Vineyard

Last night Gabe and I drove to Veneta, Oregon to see the band "Death Cab for Cutie" in concert. Veneta is just about a half hour west of Eugene and in wine country. The concert was at the Secret House Vineyard, which was a pretty cool little place.
The venue is just out behind the main building and it's sort of just an open field where they set up a stage. No big ticket band would come play there, and I was surprised that Death Cab even played there, but it was really cool. The crowd was big for the venue, but small for a concert, and most people just sat on blankets and enjoyed the nice evening and mellow music. Death Cab was really good and we were impressed with how much the lead singer sounds like he does on the CD. Death Cab's last CD, "Plans", is one of my all time favorite CD's and I highly recommend it. It's really mellow and has lots of clever lyrics, sounds and beats.
We didn't buy any food there but I was eyeing everyone else's dinner and it looked like they had really nice quality food, which you don't see at concerts very often. I think Gabe felt like the grounds themselves could be better maintained. The seating area was just a dusty field, they could definitely plant grass there, instead of hay and improve it a hundred-fold. But all in all, we really enjoyed the concert, each other's company, and the people watching. The only bad part of the night was leaving the venue, because there's only one exit and it's only wide enough for one car to leave at a time, so it's a big pain. If you ever go there for a concert, get there early, and park all the way at the back from the entrance, because the exit is in the opposite direction from the entrance!
I wish we could have sampled some of their wine, but didn't get a chance to. They have a website also, if you ever want to check it out, they have concerts there regularly, and some good bands coming up. I think it's www.secrethousevineyard.com And go buy the Death Cab for Cutie CD. I promise you'll like it, no matter who you are and what music you like. Unless you only listen to heavy metal or only country. But even then, you might just be surprised :)

Bend, revisited...

I joined Gabe and his mom, sister and nieces and nephew in Bend this last weekend for a stay at the Inn at the 7th Mountain. I had never stayed there before, but we really enjoyed ourselves. We had a nice room with a good kitchen, and plenty of room for all 7 of us! We had a nice little balcony that was really private, and we enjoyed hearing the river and watching the chipmunks run around from it. The Inn has every sort of activity you could ever imagine! They have a few nice pools and hot tubs, as well as tennis, basketball and miniature golf. They even have a roller skating rink, but you have to rent the skates. We decided to do a little guided rafting tour, and we were all glad we did. We organized it through the Inn, and it was worth the $40, because our guide, Travis, was really good. The kids were all really nervous to go, but ended up having a fabulous time. This is a stretch of the Deschutes River I had never been on and has two 3 plus rapids, that were a pretty good ride! The kids all sat in the nose of the boat on their knees holding onto the rope and definitely got the wettest, and they loved it! Travis did funny tricks off the side of the boat, backflips and what not, and was really good with the kids. He also sat the kids on the very nose of the boat holding on to a rope, he called it the "bucking bronco". For how nervous the kids were in the beginning I was impressed with how they cut loose and let themselves really have a great time and enjoy it. I felt like the trip was too short, but we really did have a great time.
Travis, our guide works for Silver Moon brewing company, a local beer brewery in Bend, so we went to the bar at the Inn that night for a taste of what he was talking up so much during our trip. Gabe, his mom, and sister all tried it (I'm not a huge beer fan!), and they all said they really liked it. Right now you can only get it in Central Oregon apparently, although they're trying to make their way to Portland at some point. The bartender in the bar was really nice and we enjoyed chatting with him.
All in all, I think whether you have a family, or if you don't, the Inn at the 7th Mountain is a fun place to go to for a weekend or longer. There's so much that Bend has to offer now that you can't go wrong!
PS If you happen to drive through Sisters at 5am, like I did, and are in desperate need of some caffeine, I recommend this little coffee stand on the NE side of town, I had the most amazing white mocha ever!! They had the little ground up turd ice instead of the big chunks of ice :)

Grand Central Bakery

I went with a few co-workers the other day to Grand Central Bakery for lunch. There are a few locations in Portland, but the one we went to is in Multnomah Village. I love Multnomah Village for it's cute restaurants and quirky stores. Grand Central Bakery has great sandwiches and amazing bread and cookies! You can get a boxed lunch that comes with the sandwich, chips and cookies. They also have a nice little patio outside so you can enjoy the sunny afternoons that have been prevalent and perfect lately here in Portland. I had the turkey chutney sandwich which was delicious, but I might have enjoyed my chocolate cookie even more :)