Create an amazing day by developing a fresh start routine using my 5 tips for creating good morning bliss! Good Monday morning! I’m so excited to kick off another exciting week! How about you? I used to be a morning person. I’d jump out of bed, ready to tackle the day! And then… I had…
Silky Avocado Chocolate Mousse (Dairy Free, Vegan)
This sexy little number is perfect for Valentine’s Day. It’s dairy-free, vegan, and a delicious sweet treat with a twist: avocado chocolate mousse! Sometimes kitchen experiments turn out horribly wrong the first time around. Recently, I made a batch of vegan, gluten free stuffed mushrooms made with different ingredients than I usually used. They were…
Headwaters Extends Russian Tea Experience in Portland, Oregon
Headwaters restaurant extends the Russian Tea Experience at The Heathman Hotel in Portland, Oregon to a year-round service. Russian food is quickly rising to the forefront (and not for political reasons, mind you, although the timing is interesting). In Portland, we are lucky to have the fabulous Kachka to educate this foodie town in the deliciousness of full Russian…
TRAVEL BLISS: Day Trip to Cascade Locks, Oregon
If you live in, or are visiting, Portland, Oregon, consider a day trip to Cascade Locks along the Columbia River Gorge. With beautiful recreation areas, fresh seafood, and new breweries, it’s a fun family stop! Oregonians know: you don’t have to go far from home to go on an exciting outdoor adventure. A drive along the…
FOOD BLISS: 25 Decadent, Delicious Valentine’s Day Desserts & Drinks
Looking for the best Valentine’s Day desserts and drinks? I’ve got you covered with the sweetest, tastiest, most delicious treats to celebrate the day of love! Whether you’re throwing a big Valentine’s Day bash for adults only, a happy and hyper Valentine’s Day kids’s party, or planning a romantic dinner at home for two, you’re…
Food Bliss: Tina’s Restaurant, an Original Oregon Wine Country Dining Experience
Warm and intimate, Tina’s Restaurant in the heart of Oregon’s Willamette Valley serves fresh wine country flavors. In late 1999, my then-boyfriend whisked me away for a romantic wine country weekend in Oregon’s relatively new, blossoming wine country. Back then, there were just a few wineries in the Willamette Valley that had tasting rooms regularly open to the…
LIFE BLISS: Love is Timeless
Today’s Life Bliss is a love story 23 years in the making. It involves delicious food, wine, and a really cool watch. If you’re looking for food wine and travel tips, be sure to check out my recipes, restaurant reviews, wine reviews, and travel stories and tips! With Valentine’s Day around the corner, I thought I’d…
FOOD BLISS: 15 Best Game Day Recipes
Gearing up for the Big Game? Throw the best tailgating party ever with these best game day recipes! The Big Game is coming up and I cannot wait! Oh, not because I’m a huge football fan. I mean, I enjoy watching the game, and it’s fun to have an excuse to yell nonsensical randomness at…
Food Bliss: Park Kitchen Expands Happy Hour Menu
Park Kitchen is a One House, gratuity-free restaurant in Portland, Oregon, offering diners inspired farm-to-table meals featuring Pacific Northwest cuisine with a subtle Southern thumbprint. In May 2003, the Pearl District of Portland, Oregon was in the middle of its awakening. I was working in one of the anchor businesses of the fancy new Brewery…
FOODIE TRAVEL BLISS: Zesta Cucina in Yakima, Washington
Zesta Cucina is the place to go for casual fine dining when visiting the budding craft beverage and wine area of Yakima, Washington. As part of the Yakima Craft Beverage Tour, I had the pleasure of dining with our media group at Zesta Cucina. It was our last meal of the tour, and an amazing way…
LIFE BLISS: 3 Everyday Ways to Thank Good Friends
Today’s post is about good friends…a little different than just about food, wine, and travel. It’s about Life Bliss. Feel free to hop over to my latest recipes, restaurant reviews, travel stories & travel tips, or wine reviews! To say it has been an emotional 2017 is an understatement. Between the election results, my grandmother passing…
FOOD BLISS: Mini (Lolli-)Pop Tarts
These Homemade Mini Pop Tarts (or Mini Lolli-Pop Tarts!) are a fun homemade twist on an old classic, and are sweet treats for Valentine’s Day! I ate horribly as a kid. A child of the late 1970’s, I was brought up in a household that was holding onto Filipino heritage but also excitedly soaking up American…
Food Bliss: Q Restaurant & Bar in Downtown Portland, Oregon
Portland’s Q Restaurant and Bar is one of the best things to happen to downtown Portland in a long time. Downtown Portland, Oregon is an interesting collage of businesses. It’s a mishmash of big business and tech startups, fine dining and old school diners, vacant spaces with seemingly forever For Lease signs and food cart…
Wine Bliss: Fullerton Wines: Wine Courses
Fullerton Wines offers fun, approachable, and affordable wine education courses in Portland, Oregon. While I enjoy wine as a delicious drink, I also have a deep admiration and respect for the winemaking process. I am constantly trying to learn more about winemaking, wine styles, wine pairings, and share what I learn here with you. Many…
TRAVEL BLISS: Easy, Beautiful Day Hike in Oregon: Latourell Falls Loop
Looking for a quieter, less crowded but still beautiful hike or picnic spot in Oregon? Check out Latourell Falls Loop along the Columbia River Gorge Highway in Oregon. Some days, you just want to escape. Like right now, when, say, you’re on Snow/Ice Day #9 of the school year, and you’ve been stuck inside with your children…
FOOD BLISS: One-Pan Thai Coconut Chicken
This post is sponsored by Draper Valley Farms. As always, all opinions, recipes, and photos are my own. This One-Pan Thai Coconut Chicken recipe is healthy, easy to make, and full of flavor. Perfect to make for a special dinner with a loved one, or for any busy weeknight family meal! I have an AMAZING…
FOOD BLISS: Tortellini with Steak and Creamy Pesto Sauce
Mmm….steak pesto tortellini. This recipe can be made vegetarian, and is sure to make the whole family happy at the dinner table! Fresh pasta is my kryptonite. I love it, can’t get enough of it, and filled pastas are most definitely my weakness. If you’ve watched any of my Instagram stories, you know I do a…
Food Bliss: Cauliflower Fritters with Avocado Aioli
Crispy Cauliflower Fritters make a tasty breakfast or snack, especially with Dairy-Free Avocado Aioli. While I am not a fan of following food trends just because, I do find that sometimes it takes a food trend to help me realize a food’s full potential. Take kale: I never gave it much thought before 2012, but…
FOOD BLISS: Red Star Tavern Serves Updated Northwest Cuisine
In the heart of downtown Portland, Oregon is Red Star Tavern, a bustling restaurant serving updated Pacific Northwest cuisine. When I first moved back to Portland, Oregon after college, I worked at a small private college downtown on SW Washington Street. A block away, a new restaurant called Red Star Tavern was opening up. It…
Wine Bliss: Angela Estate Winery
In the heart of Oregon Wine Country is Angela Estate, a winery with a unique pedigree whose roots stem from South Africa, Kentucky, and Oregon. When talking about Oregon Wine Country, there is no shortage of stories involving Oregon wine industry pioneers whose wineries are now run by their children, the second-generation winery owners. Nor is there…