It has been a sparse couple of weeks on the ol’ blog. Some of the reasons are work-related, some are family-related. I keep pretty quiet about very personal things on the blog, so let’s just say there have been some steep emotional ups and downs in the past week and a half. Nothing to worry about, but it has kept me away from writing at my normal frequency. And that’s OK. It was a good idea to truly focus on some things that deserved focus. And I’m feeling better now, and I’m enormously thankful that I married Dave.

After getting back from Minnesota this Saturday (where we saw my entire family, which was so restorative), Dave’s lovely parents were waiting for us in Portland, with our almost-complete kitchen. It’s undergone such a transformation. I can’t wait to share some photos.

I also went on the most fun Resale Bus Tour with my friend Aggie – a day-long shopping excursion around Portland’s consignment shops. We started at Here We Go Again in John’s Landing and were bussed from shop to shop, with bubbles and snacks along the way, and breakfast and lunch from Elephants Deli was included. It was so much fun.

And finally we celebrated our volunteers and vendors at the Montavilla Farmers Market today, which just had a wonderful energy. We brought food, potluck style, and had some donations from local businesses. You’ll never see a potluck so amazing as one where everyone grows/raises/catches food for a living. Plates upon plates of beautiful salads and gorgeous salmon steaks! And a group of very hardworking and delightful people. It was a great celebration of an awesome season.

And after we came home and cooked the first dinner in our kitchen since forever. I had been away since Monday, and we finally have everything installed and even paint on the walls, thanks to Dave’s dad. The only thing that’s missing is shelving, which will happen soon. But we had the best dinner – roasted Brussels sprouts, rice, salmon with dill and lemon, and a bottle of white wine. Home-cooked food is the best medicine there is! It was a welcome return to normalcy.

So, with that, I would like to return to blog normalcy too, starting with a Cocktail Diaries post of one of my favorites, the boulevardier.

I’ve heard it described as a negroni but with bourbon. That is close to the truth, but the proportions are not the same. If you like one, you’ll probably like the other. The boulevardier’s a strong one – bitter and real, for those times when you are working on your masterpiece/epic novel/plan for world domination. And that’s exactly what I like about it. I’m always planning world domination, you know.

Here’s what you need:
1 1/2 oz bourbon
1 oz Campari
1 oz sweet vermouth
1 maraschino cherry for garnish

Stir the bourbon, Campari and vermouth in a mixing glass full of ice until very, very cold. Strain into a coupe or cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.