little things

 

i woke up today feeling refreshed and giddy, thanks to yesterday's beautiful weather. all of the portlanders crawled out of their hiding places, donning sunglasses and smiles. i neglected my usual sunday routine in favor of walking around the neighborhood, doing a little shopping, and enjoying dinner + a fancy cocktail with my love. i'm always in awe of how just a little sunshine and (warm) fresh air can be so restorative.

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friday

happy friday! last weekend, a bird pooped all over me about one minute into my walk to the grocery store. so that pretty much guarantees that this weekend is going to be awesome, right? isn't that how it works?

neon + tan

currently loving the combination of pink neon and tan. the addition of stripes doesn't hurt either.

 

{clutch, shirt, sandals}

potato pancakes with smoked salmon

one of my favorite menu items at navarre is the potato pancake. it's perfectly crunchy, salty and topped with a dollop of creme fraiche. from the moment i tasted it, i knew i wanted to recreate it at home (with my own little twists, of course).

potato pancakes with smoked salmon (makes 4 large pancakes) 

1 1/2 lbs baby red potatoes 
olive oil 
1 shallot 
juice of 1 small lemon 
soft goat cheese 
capers 
salt + pepper 
wild smoked salmon

wash and dry the potatoes, then shred them with a cheese grater into a large bowl. if there is excess water in the shredded potatoes, squeeze it out before frying. in a pan over medium-low heat, add about a tbsp of olive oil and fry up the sliced shallot, until translucent. add shallots to about 2 tbsp of soft goat cheese, lemon juice, salt, pepper and some capers. mix and set aside. next, form shredded potato into a patty and place in pan (you may need to add more olive oil). flip the patty once the bottom has a nice golden crust. when both sides are browned and crispy, top pancake with a slice of smoked salmon, the goat cheese mixture, and a few extra capers.

friday

happy friday! i hope your weekend involves less time spent in a coffee shop writing papers and presentations than mine.

next adventure

since discovering that anthony bourdain's no reservations is on netflix, drew and i have been playing the "where should we live next?" game. probably one more year in portland, then home to reunite with family and friends, but our future destination has yet to be decided. the contenders, in no particular order, are as follows: 

1. charleston, south carolina
2. portland, maine
3. northampton, massachusetts

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pho

this past weekend, i tried pho for the first time. many people would say that technically i didn't try pho (it's traditionally made with beef broth), but regardless, it was delicious. i couldn't get the craving out of my head, so we went to silk, our favorite vietnamese restaurant in portland. i took my time slurping up the large bowl of sweet and salty vegetarian broth with mushrooms, bok choy, tofu, fresh herbs, and rice noodles. i squeezed lime and sriracha all over the top and deemed it the most comforting meal i've had in a while.