July Adventures

Guyyysss! How is it July already?

I feel like it's been a while since we chatted up life updates! I missed this post in June because I felt like June was kinda boring, and not a whole lot happened, but holy cow July has been busy! July was a blur of a lot of travel, some big changes in the housing department, a bunch of food, and some fun in the sun!

July Adventures!

As I said before, July was super busy! We finished June on a positive note at the Bite of Bend - a food festival in one of my favourite places in Oregon! Bend! The weekend was filled with fun, laughs, drinks, amazing food, and some awesome mountain biking trails! I love Bend, if I was to move anywhere else in Oregon, it would be Bend!

July started with me scoring a new job at a cafe in the city which has been great! It's given me more freedom to work on my blog projects and I feel like having the extra time has really helped me get my head around some new ideas and has allowed me to build up a lot of good content and engagement.

In saying that though, I still feel like I am busier than ever!

At the start of July I travelled to Denver to participate in the USAFL Western Regionals Competition for Australian football. Denver was very hot, humid and unfortunately we suffered losses in all 3 games. Adam and I had a great time though and it was great to see another city in the US.

We had a super chilled 4th of July catching up with friends and hosting a small get together at our old house. We had a barbeque, and just some simple salads which was really fun. The weather has been amazing lately and we've been loving getting outside!

Probably the biggest news of the month, is that we GOT A HOUSE! It's not ours, we are just renting but it is SO nice to have more space. Adam and I were going slowly insane living our apartment life and hated it by the end.

Our new house has so much more space, including a spare room that we are using as a study and blog room (I can actually put all my props out on my shelf!), a big basement for Adam's projects, a small backyard for the impending arrival of the pup, and a beautiful big open living room.

I am feeling so much more relaxed at the new house, and am actually getting some decent sleep which has been blissful!

The week after moving into our new apartment, we went camping with a friend to Olympic National Park and holy cow it was amazing! If you're planning a trip to the PNW I would highly suggest going!

We camped in the Hoh Rainforest which was absolutely stunning and spent the days hiking, exploring the coast, drinking wine, playing card games and relaxing! It was actually a perfect weekend and we saw yet another part of America we hadn't seen before.

Reality set back in yesterday when I realised I had a ton of stuff (yet again) to complete as I am making my way to NYC today! I am so excited! My parents are over visiting and we are meeting in the city before they come to PDX to check out our house and home!

Portland is expected to have a heat wave over the next four days, so I am actually kinda glad I am missing it!

Apart from that, we've been chugging along as per usual! Summer time is always such a great time of year, and I love that we are so busy!

IN OTHER NEWS ||

ON THE BLOG ||

I feel like I have had some huge wins this month with the blog, but also a lot of struggles trying to consistently post new recipes. With moving I just couldn't find the time to get out a post for the end of July which I was disappointed about.

In saying that, I was excited that THCK traffic tripled from last month which was hectic and amazing!

I revamped some older posts from last year, which I was really happy about and it was great to see how I progressed! As you could tell, I was loving all things fresh and fruity with a couple of watermelon recipes and strawberry recipes!

I'm a little worried about how I am going to go in August with my parents visiting, but I will do my best. If I'm a little quiet over here, it's because I want to focus all my attention on being present with my parents as I haven't seen them for so long!

I will be back next month with another 'come dine with me' menu installment. I loved doing our simple dinner for four, and endeavor  to come up with a wicked menu plan for you guys in August!

JULY POSTS

Frozen Watermelon Raspberry Margaritas - the tastiest freshest margaritas! perfect for summer!

Watermelon Mint Feta Salad - we made this for our 4th of July BBQ and everyone LOVED it!

Pumpkin Feta Green Bean Salad - a staple for entertaining when I don't know what to cook!

Parmesan Crusted Chicken - also featured on our first menu plan.

Strawberry Basil Ricotta Bruschetta - a quick, easy and super delicious brunch recipe.

FOOD ||

The most exciting thing to happen to us this month (or was it last month? either or, it's still exciting) was the opening of an Australian cafe Proud Mary in Portland. Seriously, AMAZING food and it is SO good to have a little taste of home in Portland.

Australian brunch is the biggest thing I miss about the food back at home, and now I don't have to miss it anymore! If you're in Portland, check it out!

We also made a decision to check out some more restaurants in our local area considering we haven't spent too much time in the SE of Portland yet!

LISTENING ||

I've been rocking the old playlists at the moment and have been going for the super chill beach and indie vibes of Jack Johnson, Angus and Julia Stone and Mumford and Sons.

We have also been listening to Freakonomics Radio in the car lately, and it's something I would love to continue to do, so I'd love some recommendations on new podcasts if you have them!

READING ||

Sadly reading hasn't been a major priority this month, unless you count countless blogging articles and research?

But I have started to (re) read 'A Fine Balance' by Rohinton Mistry again which is one of my all-time favourite books! I am looking for new books too so any more recs would be fantastic!

WATCHING ||

GOT... enough said.

And Canada's Worst Drivers. I know, what's wrong with me?

Oh and the most recent series of Criminal Minds came out on Netflix!

NEXT MONTH ||

As I said, next month will be super busy so apologies if I'm a little quiet! I have my NYC trip today, then I want to take my parents to Seattle for a weekend, and take a couple more trips to the coast.

I'm still in full summer mode, so I'm dreaming of berries (blueberries in particular), cocktails, grilling, and fresh salads! Can't wait to share it with you!

So there you have it - our July Adventures!

OVER TO YOU

What did you get up to in July? What have you been doing/reading/watching/eating? I'd love some more recommendations for books, podcasts and films - tell me your favs!