With a Little Help from my Friends

Well, it is official: our plane tickets are purchased, and we are coming to Florida for Christmas! I have to admit, I couldn't be more ready to return to Orlando and visit my family and friends. Don't get me wrong, I love living in Portland. In fact, I am incredibly sad that we will be leaving the mountains, snow, and fresh winter squash to return to the fire swamp. However, the one thing we don't have here - the thing that makes Christmas my favorite holiday - is the people that we love. So many exciting things have happened to our friends back home in the year since we relocated; people have moved (and moved in together in some cases), received promotions, found new jobs, become pregnant, and broken up. As much as I have grown fond of everyone's daily 'status updates' on Facebook, I miss being involved in the larger picture. As a southern girl, I am prone to being both nosey and gossipy, and I have been out of the loop for far too long now.

Speaking of friends, my best friend in the universe (excluding my husband, of course) is coming to visit Portland in three short weeks! Although she has visited here many times before, as one of her other friends moved here a few years ago, I am excited to show her my new city! Basically, I have two full days of play time with her, so I've been casually collecting a slew of ideas for things to do. I have been told (as if I needed to be) that the only necessary component is vodka, although I think a little holiday shopping is also in order. So far on the list I have:

The Sapphire Hotel for drinks, yummy eats, and awesome atmosphere
The Farm Cafe for the best happy hour, food, and ambiance in the city
New Deal Distillery for a vodka tour and tasting session
Presents of Mind for amazing cards, journals, and local jewelry/gifts
The Gold Door for kickass jewelry, gifts, and Dia de los Muertos figurines
Imelda's Shoes so that we can drool over boots that we won't be able to afford
The Buffalo Exchange for the BEST second-hand shopping in town (seriously, I bought two Gap sweaters there last week for a total of $20)

Okay, so basically this list will be supplemented with various other shopping and food adventures (maybe we'll hit up Por Que No for some delicious, homemade corn tortilla treats), but that's what I've got so far. It's kind of a 'welcome to my neighborhood' setup, which is fine with me. In my opinion southeast Portland is the best place to be! One of the days we may even venture out to Vancouver to visit, in my opinion, the best movie theatre in the country: Cinetopia. I mean, how often can you go to a theatre, relax in a huge, comfy leather chair, kick your feet up on an ottoman, and enjoy a glass of fine wine and a bowl of creme brulee? It's the haps!

So, aside from school and baby-sitting, my energy has pretty much been spent on thinking about friends, family, and festivities this week. I'm not sure what Christopher and I are doing for Thanksgiving, but I'm positive that it will involve a delicious vegan and gluten-free feast, including: creamy risotto, mac-n-squeeze, country-fried tofu, collard greens, and roasted garlic mashed potatoes. I promise to post as many recipes and pictures as possible.