Ahh, Portland.
Within 4 hours of my plane landing on Monday I was intoxicated. 
Amby and Joosh took me to 
Jake's for happy hour - where the yummy (and substantial) appetizers start at $1.95 and the drinks are divine. We had several of what they called a Gin Delicious (I think... my memory is hazy) which were essentially gin mojitos. Delicious is right.
We then moved the party to 
Tugboat, a small micro-brewery located off an alley not far from Jake's. The bar-keep (and owner) cheers when you enter (and others join in) then they boo you when you leave. They have good beers and yummy nachos. Yay Tugboat!
The next day Amby and I took a road trip up to Seattle to visit the Bakkens in their new home. We had a yummy pasta dinner and 
chocolate lava cakes for dessert, washed down with a lot of red wine and topped off with at least 3-4 hours of 
Rock Band, Holy crap is that game fun. I discovered I can sound like Joan Jett and the guitar is my instrument of choice. It was glorious.
On NYE we cooked dinner with the 
Watsons and had a relatively mellow evening. We played 
Cranium over multiple 
white russians, which led to much laughter.
On new year's day, we got a late start, heading out for a lovely "breakfast" at 
Bijou, more drinks at my favorite gin joint, 
Ringler's Annex, then movie watching (
Wanted) at the Watsons. 
Friday was another mellow day... got to have a girls' day with Mrs. Watson, which started with a yummy lunch at 
Bread & Ink Cafe. We then strolled(in the rain) to 
Presents of Mind, a store full of never-ending goodness. From cute baby clothes, to endless cute cards and stationary, to one-of-a-kind jewelry - you can get overwhelmed by the cuteness. I got out of there only spending $10 (I purchased a pendant made from a 
mah-jongg tile) but I almost bought 
this. 
We popped into Peet's before heading back home for another evening of chillaxing. A group of us played 
Blokus (so fun) and had several Rum & Cokes - which again, led to much laughter.
I have a few days left here in P-town, which will involve more drinks (of course), yummy food, and sweet friends... I wish it didn't have to end!