Terumi Pong

24 hours in Portland. It was very helpful to have a car here and I really wish I had more time. ✨ Attitude of Gratitude by @findac @solterradev (near @pinest8biscuits) ✨ @2_hermanos_bakery ✨ Tree Farm building ✨ @portlandjapanesegarden (i missed out on the tea house because I didn’t make a reservation-they do take walk ins but it might be a long wait.) ✨ @otatofu the oldest producer of tofu in the USA ✨ @obonpdx vegan Japanese cuisine ✨ @voodoodoughnut (stopped by the Davis location because it is near @coavacoffee and the Tree Farm building. And I’m really excited we are getting a Seattle location soon too!) #portlandia #youcaninportland #onlyinportland #inpdx #pdxnow

I forgot how much I love Portland. Have you been here in a bit? It is so close to Seattle (like you could watch a movie or drive there close) but we don’t go here enough and like Seattle, it feels like it’s finally becoming more vibrant again after all we’ve been through in the past handful of years. Maybe it was the sunshine and warmth but walking around the city, things felt hopeful. And I think we need to fan all the flickers of hope this year as much as we can. This tofu shop @otatofu has been in the area for over 100 years and it’s expanding in the next little while and I forgot to ask if that means it’s moving to a different location or if this location is becoming bigger. I popped in yesterday morning because I noticed it on the map near one of the plant murals and I wanted to see up close-have you ever seen how tofu is made? I’ll post a little in my stories today. I really had no idea and they were so kind to let me peek in. I tried the soy milk and it was tasty-I wish I brought a cooler to bring some tofu home. Also, do you love buildings that are covered in plants? A friend gave me a book “The Curious Garden” by @peterbrownstudio for my son who has the same name as the character in the book and we’ve loved looking for plants in unexpected places ever since. So to see these murals, the “Tree Farm” and “Attitude of Gratitude” again with my kids will be a reason I want to go back soon. The @portlandjapanesegarden was a place I expected to see plants but I also thought I could just “see” it in a short time but it is so serene and nostalgic (oh my Jichan 💔) I wanted to stay all day. And suddenly it’s Friday. And I guess it’s hopeful and comforting that we are here again and I hope you have a lovely weekend ahead too! (And please feel free to share weekend plans 👇 so we can follow along. ) #youcaninportland #travelportland #inpdx #pdx #seattleblogger #pdxnow #portlandoregon

Today feels like the day after a big party, the weather was so extravagantly over the top this weekend (and yes, we were sadly some of the few who gave up on the Northern Lights too early and totally missed out!) But we didn’t miss out on trying to make the most of the weekend, thankfully. It’s hard to believe we were just skiing these slopes a few weeks ago and we are planning some big hikes this summer-the boys want to camp (I’m not sure about me) and I’m just really thankful for nature. I love how the whole pnw and beyond spent Saturday morning celebrating nature with every photo in our feeds full of spectacular sky colors and it was so refreshing to see the spontaneity and organic joy on this app again-I really hope we see more of this. Life and errands brought us to @seattlesouthside and we revisited a place we haven’t been to in ages and ended up with the cheapest breakfast ever (with free parking) any guesses? And I used the free @flysea visitor pass to pick up the hubs from the airport behind security in 1990’s style and found art that reminded us of Scout when he gets a flash of grumpiness-and somehow the photo didn’t make it into this carrousel so I’ll post it in my stories. (This pup is exhausted by the weekend today, he literally climbed up a mountain and refused to be carried at all.) Are you hitting the ground running this morning or are you easing into your Monday? And did you maybe miss the Northern Lights too? (We probably need a support group 👇)

We made it to Friday ✨have you been thinking it should be Friday everyday this week too? Happy weekend everyone!!

When I look back at when my guys were little, I remember it being so overwhelming barreling headfirst into motherhood with twins and so often it felt like we were just taking the days one moment at a time. I love how this quote reminded me of this memory I might have otherwise forgotten. We started cooking together when they were so tiny and we still enjoy cooking together now. #ad I love that @wysrquotes sends me a quote a day and these quotes often help me reflect back on moments like this in my life. They range from funny or serious to inspirational and when they really resonate with me I like to share them with my family and friends. It’s just one quote a day so it’s manageable and something I look forward to, and it’s digital so there is no waste or clutter. Because of this, I think a @wysrquotes membership would make such a thoughtful gift for Mother’s Day too. When you send an annual membership to someone you also get two weeks for yourself. I have a discount code for $10 off (use terumi10) Looking back, I guess the tiny moments really do add up to the big moments.(Also, I can’t believe we ever made pizza on the kitchen floor!) #wysr #wysrquotes #giftinspiration #inspirationalquotes #newapp #dailyreminder #mothersday

Sunny days are @pikeplacepublicmarket days and I think we have a few coming up in Seattle this week-is it really going to get to 80?!!! I especially love early mornings in the market in the months before summer when it’s still relatively quiet. Gorgeous spring flowers are popping up at so many daystalls and this weekend (May 11-12) it’s the 16th annual flower festival at #pikeplacepublicmarket . Even if the market is bustling, if it’s before noon on a weekday you can often get a table by the window at @lowells_restaurant on the third floor and the views are spectacular (I always get the panzanella salad) We also have a rule in our family that we get @piroshkypiroshky if it’s not lined up. (The same goes for @dailydozendoughnut too.) @marninsaylor is such a cute store in the underground shops and you can also find a fortune telling chicken deep in the market @orange_dracula as well. @pikeplacepublicmarket is not just a tourist attraction, but many of us locals shop there often and it does so much good for our local community with the @pikeplacemarketfoundation . I have volunteered with them a lot in the past and I’ll have more information about this organization in my stories, highlights and blog later this week just in case you want to know more about it and how you can get involved too. Have you ever been to Pike Place Market? And if yes, do you have a favorite shop or eatery? (Also if you need help finding these places feel free to message and I’ll do my best) #pikeplacemarket #shoplocalseattle #seattleite #seattlefoodie #seattlewashington

If you peek really closely in the first picture, one of the little green onions in the miso soup is in the shape of a teeny tiny heart and if you multiply that by a million it’s probably how my heart feels today. I had no idea it would be this kind of weekend, it started out at the airport and then at the opening of a new Seattle coffee shop @sofaseattle by @tuttabella (and because of this you probably know I’m already a total fan) where they have delicious @sonrisa.donuts donuts, a mini grocery shop and really cool art in the building @liverenseattle too. And then I convinced my kids to head up north (how lucky are we in Seattle that @destination_vancouver is only a couple hours away?!!) so I could have tea in my bff’s new kitchen, the guys got haircuts, we went to my nephew’s ball hockey game, got nostalgic in the hometown with my sister and had my favorite mall sushi with my mom. And then we met my baby niece for the first time- how do babies (even though I find them terrifying) just instantly grab our hearts? Do you find that some of the best memories unfold when you least expect them? (Also Scout got to hang out with his grandpa, and that is his best kind of weekend too) how is it Monday already?

One of my go-to easy Seattle lunches is stopping by @pccmarkets for their perfect protein salad on the way to my piano lessons-it’s filling and tasty and I can quickly eat it in my car before I go in. I recently found out PCC has the recipe for this salad posted on their website (along with a whole bunch of other recipes I also want to try.) Here’s the link or you can write “recipe” in the comments below and I’ll send you one you can click through: https://www.pccmarkets.com/recipe/pcc-perfect-protein-salad Spelt berries are one of the ingredients in the recipe and I hadn’t used them before so I appreciate that @pccmarkets has a bulk foods area where I could get just enough for making the salad without having to buy a whole big container. Do you buy anything in bulk? I also saw a cool peanut butter machine there I really need to try one day too. Let me know if you make this salad or if you have another salad recipe you love that you can share-thanks!

I don’t usually read a lot in the romance genre but I was invited to interview @robinnelee the author of “Idea of You” and you can find out more about this on my blog👇and the fact that I took a pause thinking about a 40 year old woman dating a 20 year old man in a society where men can do this without too many of us batting an eye made me think I better read this book before I judged it. And then I couldn’t put it down, it was such a compelling read. And when I got to ask my question to @robinnelee and we talked about women and self-definition and being in your 40s she is so honest and real and you can feel this so much in this book. (We so need more reads like this for this stage of life) I wanted to ask her about all the art in the novel-I am just learning about art and there are so many real pieces in this book, I’m going to have to go back and google them. And she just finished the draft of her next book and I wanted to ask if it’s going to develop the story of the same characters or is it in the same genre or it going to be something completely different? Somehow I misplaced my original copy of this book so I ended up buying another one at @elliottbaybookco this week. They were so helpful helping me find this book and I read a bit while sipping a Seattle fog in their cafe thinking about how thankful I am for books and bookstores. I’m curious to see if you read the book or watch the movie too. I’d love to hear what you think.

I wish Mondays were as much for crepes and brunch as weekend days but today we all visited the breakfast table at four different times before heading out to our separate days and Scout is unimpressed with how chilly it is and only wants a cuddle and his warm mat. We spent a very Seattle weekend working on our yard and visiting various garden places in between shuttling teens and that’s my day today too. (I am having a little trouble figuring out myself in this stage of parenting-it is so strange to be parents of teens. Is anyone out there finding this too? I feel like some days unexpectedly we have a ton of free time and then out of nowhere we have only minutes to breathe between activities and events, meals and emotions and unlike when they were smaller it’s so hard to just pack up and escape) so this was a weekend where suddenly the hubby and I had a few free hours and we tried a new restaurant @haerfestseattle and everything we ate was delicious (and of course it was because we realized midway through our meal it’s part of the @ghpastapizza group which we really adore) and we went for a little longer bike ride than our regular loop. It’s incredible how even a “do nothing” kind of weekend can really fly by but I’m so grateful for the bit of time we had to just breathe a bit too. Is it a faux winter morning where you are too? I have almost put away all my sweaters….(but ps I finally bought an air fryer.)

Last little bits of a two bike ride week, last of the blossom confetti, a lot of thankfulness for my husband who carries my bike up all the steep Seattle stairways, public art (we need all the art-isn’t it is so good for our souls?) and do you like taking pictures of buildings all the way up from the bottom and marveling at how high in the sky they go? Everytime I get stopped under the @stgpresents marquee I feel compelled to take a photo. I would love to hear if you have faraway plans in the future and I hope you have such a good weekend. I had big hopes for this summer but our time keeps getting squished by soccer tournaments and a few school things so now I’m not too sure what we are going to do about it. And today is the last day of high school soccer for us for this year and it’s a little bittersweet knowing the year has gone almost as too quickly as it arrived.

My new favorite snack at @costco just arrived in Seattle and I was so excited to spot them the other day #ad Have you tried @puffworks Honey Peanut puffs? They are gluten free and have 4 grams of plant protein in every serving and I love their delicious crunch. I also find it really cool that @puffworks is a Pacific Northwest plant-based snacking brand based in Portland, Oregon. You can find @puffworks at Costco stores in WA, OR, ID, UT, AK and MN for at least the next month and I’ll let you know in my stories where else you can get them too. #puffworksatcostco #costcofinds #puffworks