kristikrass

Bend with My Bro

January 27, 2014 by kristikrass

My little brother. He is the rare bird who deliberately chooses February to visit us in Portland. The reason: the snow-capped mountains beckoning for snowboarders. Dave last visited exactly two years ago, and we covered a LOT of ground in a few days. This time we had a whole Tuesday-to-Tuesday to explore new places. Dave is our kind of guy: He loves his breweries and food. We kicked off his trip with a night at beer haven Apex, a pizza dinner at […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: bend, breweries, falls, mountains, parks, Redicks, restaurants, vacation, visitors

Rose Bowl Champions

January 4, 2014 by kristikrass

Happy New Year! If the first few days of 2014 set the tone for the rest of the year, let’s just say it’s going to be one heck of a trip around the sun. Jeff and I are still basking in the exhilaration from Michigan State’s win in the 100th annual Rose Bowl – the school’s first Rose Bowl victory since 1988. As soon as the Spartans crushed Ohio State in the Big Ten Championship we sprang into planning mode for a […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: california, games, Krasses, vacation

A Christmas Scrapbook

January 3, 2014 by kristikrass

Ah, Christmas. My favorite time of year. It darts by far too quickly. We welcomed the season with some festive times in Portland, before heading back to Michigan to split a healthy chunk of time between Jeff’s Brighton-based Krass family and my Linwood-based Redick family. I sure love these people.

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: holidays, Krasses, michigan, Redicks

Turkey Time with Tillmans

December 3, 2013 by kristikrass

Jeff and I have strung together an interesting run of Thanksgivings since we’ve lived on the West Coast. 2011: Cabo San Lucas. 2012: Fountain Hills, Ariz. This year, we headed south again, this time for Auburn, Calif., to visit our friends, the Tillmans. Surprisingly, the nine-hour drive down I-5 flew by. Jeff, Cooper and I left Portland at sunrise last Wednesday, and watched as the terrain morphed from woodsy to mountainous to farmland to high desert. We paid a quick (and […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: california, Cooper, holidays, mountains, vacation

Get Hopping on Holiday Shopping

November 24, 2013 by kristikrass

With Christmas and other holidays right around the corner, gift shopping is high on my to-do list. For me, the more I can accomplish online – and the more I can avoid crazed crowds at shopping centers – the better. If you’re in the same boat, I might have an idea or two for you. I consider myself a bit of a online shopping connoisseur. (Jeff does not appreciate my talent so much.) For instance, when I need cleaning supplies, makeup, […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: holidays, shopping

Northrup’s Got Spirit

November 4, 2013 by kristikrass

When it comes to Halloween, the folks in our Northrup apartment building commit. It’s serious stuff. With the recent addition of Andy and Catherine, who seem equally if not more into Halloween than the rest of us, we’re a little four-plex of hot bubblin’ love for the holiday. First step: pumpkin carving. We and the other building residents gathered last Monday evening – despite the fact Jeff and I just got back from Indiana at midnight that morning – for a […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: holidays

Wedding in the Woods

November 3, 2013 by kristikrass

We all know couples who just make sense together. Somehow, something brings together two people whose interests, quirks and personalities just fit, and you can’t imagine a better match in the world for either of them. That totally applies to Jerry and Chrissie, recent transplants to Dallas and long-time friends of ours. Jerry and Jeff met in grade school, and I got to know Jerry when we all lived in Chicago. Jerry first spotted Chrissie across the room at a […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: indiana, vacation, wedding

Books in the City

September 28, 2013 by kristikrass

It’s a girl weekend here. That’s right, “girl,” as in singular – just me! Jeff, his bro Rob, his dad, and family friend Mr. M. picked the gustiest, rainiest weekend of the year for a guys’ weekend at Bandon Dunes Golf Resort, home to four of America’s top golf courses, on Oregon’s southern coast. I thought about getting a visitor out here but I didn’t get around to it, so it’s just Cooper and me holding down the fort – oh, […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: books, restaurants

Feasting

September 28, 2013 by kristikrass

The Krass fam has been holed up in our apartment most of September, which explains the dearth of blog posts lately. Somehow we’ve hit a rainy stretch (blah) and Cooper is struggling through some issues that landed him at the emergency vet (the fantastic DoveLewis) twice in one week, and has kept us in frequent contact with his doggie oncologist, Dr. Cyman. Thickening of the bladder, it sounds? For now, I’m getting a lot of use of my rug steam […]

Categories: Our Oregon Trail • Tags: Cooper, festivals, restaurants

Our Oregon Trail

Portland through the eyes of a festival-loving, dessert-feasting, travel-addicted Midwesterner.

Author Archives: kristikrass