anniversary #12

Our 12th anniversary fell on a Sunday this year. We decided a few weeks before that I would take the week off from worship team and we would do some stuff in Portland. We rarely go to Portland. Phil used to work downtown and once he came home, he didn't want to go back. We get the occasional concert or Christmas-y thing in, but for the most part, we stay away from the city. Well, I had read about this place called Off the Waffle and wanted to go, so that's where we went and had brunch. Seriously, the best waffle I've ever had in my life. It's some sort of special Belgium waffle that has sugar pearls that melt in the waffle iron and make the crust a little crunchy. Mine was covered in Nutella and sliced bananas and I got a side of some amazing maple flavored bacon. It was really good. I don't normally do sweet things like that for breakfast, but with it being a special occasion and all, well I did this time (and I would totally order it again).

                              

We walked around the area where the restaurant was and then we headed down to the Portland waterfront. It was the last day for the Rose Festival and it was very busy. We meandered through the Saturday market and then we headed to the Rose Garden where we got engaged, but it was packed and there was no place to park (sadness), so we drove further up in the hills to Pittock Mansion. I'd heard of this place lots of times, but we'd never been there. There was only a half hour left until the tours shut down, so we didn't go inside, but the outside was beautiful and there were nice flowers everywhere and a fantastic view of Mt. St. Helens and Mt. Hood.

I also pretty much took the day off from doing homework (the only thing I did was record my 1 minute video discussion board reply before we left) and it was so nice to just have a normal day again. We ended up in Sellwood and browsed some antique shops for a bit, then we had dinner at a little Mexican restaurant called Cha Cha Cha. We had patio seats and it was a beautiful night. I loved celebrating with my guy. I love him so much.