Maine Squeeze

You know what reminds me most of summer? Green. Everything green. I know spring is supposed to be synonymous with green with its budding flowers, baby birds, etc, etc. But spring is brown, and muddy, and even kinda smelly since everything that died over the winter will now resurface. So green for me means summer, and hot days with cool nights, and BBQs, and smoothies.

Have you ever been to Maine Squeeze? If not, you're definitely missing out. I go there when I'm looking for a pick-me-up and am craving something fresh. Their Kale Storm and Green Light concoctions have all sorts of leafy greens in them but they're mixed with things like mangoes and dates so you don't feel like your slurping down pureed spinach (no offense Popeye).

It's been getting warmer lately, I even opted to go without a sweater today! *gasp* It's so refreshing to finally drink something that isn't pumpkin or cinnamon flavored. In fact, writing about this makes me want to run from my desk at work and grab a smoothie right now. I'm ready for summer!

Brunch III

We're at it again! Yesterday we took a nice stroll from our apartment up to the top of State Street where Petite Jacqueline sits. We previewed a bunch of restaurant menus and this one caught our attention. Mainly because eggs benedict. The restaurant has a cool retro 60's mixed with Paris vibe to it, very sunny and not too crowded as well. The menu had changed slightly than the one we saw online, but that definitely didn't sway our decision to eat there. 

The squeeze opted for the bistro burger with a fried egg on top. If they serve hamburgers in heaven I feel like this would be on the menu. The most tender and juiciest burger ever! At a French place! Who knew! Even the fries made your mouth water. I ordered the plat de saumon, or salmon benedict. Also mouth watering. That ramen-looking thing on the bottom right of my plate is called rösti, which is actually Swiss hash browns. It kinda looked like fried noodles, but had the consistency of mashed potatoes in the center.

I may have gotten a little carried away with brunch cocktails, two in and I was starting my Sunday off with a bang. Their mimosas are so very good, I also ordered some sort of a mix of gin, chambord, and champagne that had a sugar coated rim and lemon rind. J'adore Petite Jacqueline! 

Brunch II

Last Sunday we made our way over to Artemisia Cafe on Pleasant Street for brunch (of course). I gotta say, I really loved it! I ordered the huevos rancheros, for $10 you couldn't beat the amount of food on my plate. In fact, we spent a whopping $20 two feed the both of us. I knew this place existed, one night after a few drinks we even stumbled past it on our walk home and stopped to admire the cute decor. But we pretty much forgot about it until it popped up on my search for brunch hot spots.

It's small but quite sunny and cozy, above the bar there are several live plants with vines that have commandeered the exposed sprinkler system. There's some funky art here and there and the waitresses literally have rainbows dyed in their hair.

The food was so good! Lots of cheese and perfectly cooked eggs paired with tasty homefries. I'd go back again in a heartbeat. 

Butterflies

This is the time I almost convinced the squeeze to get a puppy. I finally came to my senses and realized we were not at a place and time to A) afford a puppy B) our apartment is way too small to add a fourth member C) we're moving in a few months and D) deep down I really want a corgi.

But here they are in their adorable furry glory. These little buggers are papillons, their name means butterfly (check out those ears) in French, how cute! I forget their names, but mum and dad were show dogs and had a surprise litter. Whoops. The woman who owns the pack of pups has an entire household filled with papillons, it was quite the glorious experience to walk into her backyard and see an army of frilly-eared toy dogs running at you. 

None of the puppies were apparently show worthy so they all needed to relocate to new homes. My friend who is a dog trainer invited me up to see them so they could become more comfortable being around people, besides, who would say no to visiting a bunch of puppies?! That was my first mistake, thinking I could be around them and not fall in love with each little butterfly. My friend even convinced the squeeze and I to take one of the puppies with us when we got ice-cream. Another fundamentally bad idea. 

Of course by the end of our visit I was so attached to one puppy that I nearly cried when we left. I know, you don't have to say it, I'm ridiculous. The squeeze and I went back and forth about the pros and cons for bringing one home, it was obvious the cons outweighed the pros by a mile, but I refused to admit it. I finally came around and realized how unfair it would be for this little butterfly to live in such a small space and then travel down south with us in such a short period of time.

So alas, we are puppy-free. Hopefully not forever though!

Crawfish

I had never had crawfish before visiting TX. I'd heard of crawfish and had eaten everything in between, but this little crustacean never made it to my plate. Despite being a Mainer I'm actually not a big lobster fan, I'd opt for crab or shrimp any day. Maybe subconsciously I convinced myself they would taste like little lobsters because that's what they look like. I'm a little upset I went so long without trying them though because they are delicious! While in Austin my friend took us to the Crawfish Shack & Oyster Bar, a casual little spot where they serve you delicious cajun style seafood goodness in a giant metal pan. Buckets are of course provided to toss the remains of your sloppy meal. We got a mix of half shrimp and half crawfish all mixed in with red potatoes and corn.

Nom nom nom.

I love spicy food, perhaps in another life I was a southern native. I'm looking forward to diving into one of these enormous dishes again, that's for sure.

Palaces

I have been fortunate to travel outside the country once more since moving to the states. When I was 16 my sister got married and we flew to Ukraine to celebrate. I hadn't been back since coming to Maine at four years old, so it was exciting to see the type of culture and lifestyle my family came from. It was quite a trip to see such a different environment, from the rusty Soviet cars to the industrial apartment complexes. 

We were in Odessa for nearly a month, but had planned a trip to Moscow half-way through our stay. We traveled by train that took 24 hours (yes, 24 hours) to arrive at our destination. Being on a rickety, and sometimes violently shaky, train was definitely not my idea of a good time. We crossed the border of Russia at some crazy hour in the morning and border patrol had to board the train and check all of our visas and passports. If you didn't already know, Russia is very particular about visas.

Eventually we arrived in Moscow and got settled into our hotel. One of the first sites we made our way to was the Red Square, there I got to see the picturesque St. Basil's Cathedral. And yes, it's just as beautiful up close as it is in photos! While we were in the Red Square we also checked out the Lenin Mausoleum, quite gruesome if you ask me. We weren't allowed to really linger and take in the view of Lenin's waxy corpse because the men armed with guns in each corner ushered us along. 

But then again, this was Russia.

Spring

Or at least the calender says yesterday was the first day of spring. It's actually snowing right now. Surprise, surprise. Honestly, at this point I feel as though I've forgotten what summer even looks/feels like, I'm so used to the cold air hitting my face and the snow smudging my eyeliner that if it were nice out I don't think I could handle it.

On an uplifting note, look at the beautiful flowers we have at home! These guys scream spring despite what's going on outdoors. A little color goes a long way this time of year.

Top of the East

This is actually from last winter, but we haven't been to the Top of the East since then. This was about the same time last year, the only scenic difference is Portland's infamous colored lights, this time around those in the center are purple, red, and white. We can currently see the Top from our apartment, and if we trekked up to the Top I'm sure we could probably see our apartment.

The new irony is that the well known bar located at the top of this large Portland hotel has been called the Top of the East for some time, but now the actual hotel has changed its name and is currently dubbed The Westin. East, west, north, south? I don't have an internal compass of sorts, if you were to give me directions and tell me to travel east on blah blah blah, I would have no idea where I was going. But that's OK because Portland is the smallest big city there is, you really don't have to travel far and end up memorizing locations. In fact, I find it comical when 'out of towners' can't find their way around the city, the one-way roads and cobblestone often confuse people.

I'll be one of those people once we move so I should really swallow my words. It'll be scary not knowing where anything is, but exciting as well!

Friday Nights

These days I can't stay awake past 9pm. Forget going out on the weekends, I'm in my sweatpants the moment I step foot in the door. I know, we're in our 20's and we should be going out and enjoying our youth, frankly when it's cold out I don't want to do anything that involves me leaving the building. So last night I opted for some homemade vegetable soup and threw Jurassic Park into the PlayStation. Dinner by candlelight with my favorite movie?? Heck yes.

We do exciting things, don't get me wrong. The squeeze has traveled to more places than I can recall him telling me, and I've crashed a motorcycle. So you see, we're adventurous when the time comes. These days the weekends are reserved for boring things like laundry and dusting. I know, we're totally out of control.

Lot Cat

When I worked for Portland Volvo I frequently ran into this ham. I dubbed her (or him since I honestly never checked), lot cat. This cat was massive, but sweet as pie. She (or he) always ran up to me when I walked the parking lot, they were always purring and wanted nothing but to have their head scratched and their belly rubbed. One day one of the technicians caught glimpse of me petting lot cat and laughed, saying I was pretty courageous for touching something that probably had mange. I never found out who or if they belonged to someone, but I think it was safe to say the worst thing that lot cat brought was maybe a flea or two. Regardless, lot cat always looked so happy. Laying in the sun in-between the Volvos on the hot pavement, having grass to roam around in, and plenty of people to get attention from. I was always afraid I was going to run her (or him) over when I left work, I'd do an entire scoping out of the premises to make sure lot cat wasn't sleeping behind my tire. 

I wish we had a lot cat here at Subaru. Unfortunately no one in management likes cats, or pets at that matter, so I'm sure any lot cat appearance would be a brief one. 

I don't trust anyone who doesn't like cats.

Cocktails

The squeeze surprised me with a date last week, and not only that but it was at one of my favorite places. I dream of Zapoteca's guacamole and watermelon habanero margarita in my sleep! Just look at these magnificent cocktails. Mine had chunks of watermelon while the squeeze ordered a pineapple habanero margarita, same idea just with different fruit. Refreshing, sweet, and spicy, yummmm. They're not for the heat sensitive folk (sorry Birdman), but despite the fact the squeeze looks like he just stepped out of a sauna after just one drink he usually manages two. I grew up with my dad putting chili peppers in everything we ate so it doesn't bother me any. Bring on the heat!

Brunch

I loveeee me some brunch. I am all about eggs benedict and am on a constant journey to find the best plate. The squeeze and I frequent Hot Suppa often, it's about a five minute walk from our apartment so that helps too. But mainly we go there for the delicious eggs benny. I opt for the fried green tomato and he the Canadian bacon version. I feel like this is the only place in Portland that does hashbrowns?! Everywhere else it's homefries this and homefries that. 

I told the squeeze I wanted to try out as many different brunch spots as possible before our big move. He obliged wholeheartedly. So yesterday we stopped at Caiola's in the West End. It's a cute little place that's longer than it is wide. I ordered the veggie benedict while he got his fill of protein with the steak and eggs. Brunch was yummy! But if we're being totally honest with each other... I still think I prefer Hot Suppa.

On to the next brunch location!

Evil Combs

I'm not sure what was happening here. Pig didn't take too kindly to the comb I was using. Cats are strange beings like that.

Today it's been relatively slow moving at work. There's a lot of downtime so my mind is all over the place. Currently I'm reaching out to all of my friends who have moved out of state, I'm picking their brains apart as to how they got where they did and by what means. Truck, trailer, shippers, everything crammed in one car in the back seat? I've heard it all so far. Some people found jobs and apartments before arriving at their destination, others found something after they crossed the state line. Some shipped their belongings there, and others crammed their life into their car.

So many options and alternatives. It's rather overwhelming to say the least.

Pig will unfortunately have to stay in Maine while we make our way down. This makes me extremely sad and I hate thinking about it. I know cats are aware. but I always wonder if they understand the entirety of what's going on around them.

So many things to plan.

Kitten-Pig

That was the original name I gave this little one. Her previous owners (may they fall into a big hole and never escape) thought it would be a brilliant idea to dye her pink. So she came home with me like this. Bright magenta. She eventually shed the color away, but for the longest time I had pink cat hair on everything. No one believes unless I show them this photo. She reminded me of a little piggy so that's where the name came from. Now that she's older and lacking any pink, it's just Pig.

I don't know how old she was when I brought her home many years ago. I make up birthday dates for her when I remember, but if I had to guess I'd say she's somewhere between 6-7 years old. She still acts like a crazy kitten, chasing her own tail and sticking her tongue out. She will always be Kitten-Pig though.

BBQ for Days

The same resort I stayed at in Austin, Travaasa, held an event with food vendors of epic proportions. We also had to wiggle our way into this party, basically slipping in with our non-existent tickets and flashing a smile like we were supposed to be there. There was BBQ everywhere! I mean of course, it's TX, but still! It wasn't limited to just delicious grilled meats that melted off the bone, there was a bakery that had endless amounts of cupcakes and cookies on display, and even vendors that were offering up their rums, vodkas, and collection of beers. Grapefruit infused vodka was a big hit there, apparently it's popular down south? No complaints from this girl, I eat half a grapefruit every night.

The scenery was completely fitting. There was a live band that played banjos while wearing cowboy boots, and scattered from the trees were mason jars with lights inside. The picnic tables sat underneath a large white tent to shield us from the sun, but it was just the perfect amount of heat for a summer day.

One of the vendors was the owner and crew of The Salt Lick, a very popular BBQ haven. I say very popular but that's probably an understatement, they have 2,300 reviews on Yelp alone. After sampling their BBQ at the party, my friend Katrina took me to the actual restaurant for my last dinner in TX. It was, of course, on point.

I told the squeeze we'd go there together.

Woman Inherits the Earth...

“God creates dinosaurs, God kills dinosaurs, God creates man, man kills God, man brings back dinosaurs. Dinosaurs eat man, woman inherits the earth” 

If that isn't a great quote, then I don't know what is. I was at a bar in Austin when I discovered this staring back at me inside the women's bathroom. The excitement was instant and before I knew it I had whipped out my pink lipstick and attempted to finish the quote. I was a few cocktails in so the negative impact of smearing my lipstick on a public bathroom door hadn't occurred to me, I was just thrilled with the coincidence of being at the right place at the right time to see my favorite movie quote from my favorite movie.

If you weren't already aware... Jurassic World comes to theaters on June 12 this summer...

Bring on the Spring

Since it's officially the month of Spring, I felt inclined to post about something that reminds me of anything other than snow and the freezing cold. Since TX was the theme last time, I'll stick to it for now. Remember how that resort was nestled atop a mountain surrounded by forests overlooking a lake? Here's a view of that from their pool. I'd never been to a place like this, let alone travel much, so I needed to snap a photo so the memory could stay alive. I grew up in a family where your work ethic took precedence over everything; if you didn't have three jobs, you weren't doing it right. If you weren't always tired, you weren't doing it right. If you had time to take a vacation, you weren't doing it right.

These days my dad does travel a lot. He's worked very hard his whole life and now takes 1-2 vacations a year to travel overseas. Granted he still puts in 60 hour work weeks and has two jobs which allow him only Sundays off, but he does that so he can take those trips to France, Egypt, and Cyprus. This is all still very recent though, within the past five years or so.

Surrounded by people who never took a break made me nervous to ever take a break. I felt as though I was lazy if I had too much free time, I was concerned that spending money on a vacation was considered frivolous. But now I see my dad enjoying himself, even my sister who is also a workaholic traveled to Jamaica before starting her new job as a probation officer recently. 

Basically the moral of the story is that I need to take a damn vacation. We are going to make this move down south EPIC. I can't wait to travel down the east coast, stopping at major cities and sites, visiting attractions like the zoo (I've never been to a zoo so bear with my lame excitement). Maybe even Disney?? My mind literally can't handle the excitement of seeing so many new things. Cheers to that.