An hour in lovely Portland

Nathan and I left Eugene yesterday to join my family up in Ocean Shores, WA for one last family vacation before we settled in Oregon. We ended up leaving about an hour and a half earlier than my family did, so we had some time to spare and weren't sure how to spend it. But I had found some canisters from Williams-Sonoma online, and had gotten very attached to them.

I looked through several other stores and couldn't find anything I liked as well, so I was planning on ordering them as soon as we settled back down in Eugene. But the extra hour and a half was the perfect amount of time to drive into Portland, snag the canisters from the actual store and save the $11.50 shipping fee. So that's exactly what we did. It was my first time in Williams-Sonoma (and Pottery Barn, too, which was right next door!), and we had a blast (even Nathan loved looking around :)). I found way too many things I wanted and couldn't afford, and drooled over the beautiful bedspreads and clocks and dressers and dishes.

After scooping up the last full set of canisters left, we walked around town to find something affordable for lunch and stumbled into a hole-in-the-wall called Escape from New York Pizza.

It was probably the most amazing pizza I have ever tasted: the perfect combination of crisp crust, melted cheese and seasoned sauce. If any of y'all go to Portland, I would definitely recommend swinging by the Alphabet district and trying out some of that pizza (3.25-3.75 a slice!); it would totally be worth a detour.

It was such a fun little diversion, and the perfect layover during a day of driving! And I even saved $11.50 on those ceramic canisters. Happy day :)

Packing

Well, today is our last day in Moscow, and packing/cleaning is well underway. The living room is almost impossible to walk through for all the boxes sitting in the way, and the bedroom is now simply a blanket of dust. I would never have imagined that two college kids could amass such a huge amount of junk in just a few years, but considering the two dump runs that have happened, I guess I was wrong. Getting rid of some old junk never hurt anyone, and you can actually see the floor in some closets that haven't been cleared out in years. :) Nathan and I bought two cases of vacuum bags in an attempt to save space, and managed to fit all of our clothes (coats and all) into one big box. Fun times. We loved watching our clothes shrink down into small manageable packages. Can't wait to unpack it all and set up house. Picking up the UHaul in a couple of hours... Eugene, OR, here we come!!

Blogging as a Snider

Well, here I go with a renewed attempt at blogging. I've tried to start a blog several times, and I've never gotten very far. Buuuut, Nathan and I are moving to Oregon in a week and a half, so I thought I would try one last time. What with all my friends getting married and moving away, and my family still being back in Moscow, I wanted some way to post tidbits about the Snider household without always using Facebook. Inspiration for this blog goes to two people who definitely deserve a plug: My sister Hope (ellisandhope.blogspot.com) and my sister-in-law, Lizzy (mildlyamusingmusings.com). I have really loved reading their blogs over the past couple of years, getting ideas for cooking endeavors and artsy projects, and so here I go!

So far, as a Snider woman, I have

1. Had my car totaled

2. Visited family in Oregon (the best :D)

3. Been to the weddings of my best friends, Kaitlin and John Hundscheid and Sean and Heather Johnson

4. Walked the Village of Hogsmeade and Hogwarts Castle in Orlando, FL

5. Driven across the country and back with Nathan :)

6. Cooked my very first homemade bread (Soooo excited. This was on my Bucket List).


AND 7. Cheerfully watched my nephew Brody smear his first birthday cake all over his face :)

It's been a whirlwind of a summer so far, but I've loved almost every minute and I can't wait for what's ahead.