Renovation celebration

And, we're done! Finally. We got the ball rolling back in October when we picked our contractor and started drawing up plans, started demolition in early April and now, at the end of July, we finally have our finished master suite! Please click that October link to see the "before" pictures and marvel at the difference 9 months of dust, sweat, and tears can make :)

A master bedroom with a little bit more breathing room. We still need to get artwork up, but the big pieces are in place.

The glorious--and enormous!--master bath

I think I'm most excited about this big a$$ closet. All my stuff in one place. What?!

All in all, it took a little longer than expected, but we stayed pretty close to budget and were very happy with our contractor. We'll probably take a year off before tackling the kitchen, but I must admit, I'm getting antsy for it. We've got the team. We've learned a thing or two. And we desperately need more counter space and updated appliances ... stay tuned :)

She's 7!!

Can you believe it? Happy birthday to the Molls! We've been celebrating for weeks ... water park in Denver, family celebration at home, manicures and ice cream with one best friend, and an afternoon at the arcade with the other. Whew. We spoil this girl, but can't seem to help ourselves. She's sweet and kind and always appreciative. I've loved every minute of her first seven years.

Family birthday party at home - opening presents under the close supervision of cousins James and George

Enjoying her gifts

Relaxing at the water park with Cousin Will. She's starting to look SO grown up!

More fun with Cousin Will

Solo shot of the birthday girl

Portland part 2: The gorgeous gorge

We probably spent more time outside of Portland than we spent in it ... but that's because the Pacific Northwest is absolutely beautiful. We took a half day waterfall tour and then spent a full day with my friend Jeremy from college hiking in the Columbia River Gorge and then exploring the awesome breweries around Hood River.

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves for now, even though they don't even come close to capturing the beauty of the area.

Portland part 1: City pics

We're finishing up the Portland part of our 10-year anniversary trip and have absolutely loved it out here. People are kind, the food is outstanding, and there's so much to see and do.

It's a smaller city and pretty easy to get around. We walked along the riverfront and Pearl District, visited the Saturday market, walked along Alberta Street, hit up the food trucks for lunch and the breweries on Mississippi Street.

We haven't made a wrong step for restaurants, so I'll list them here in case anyone has plans to visit.

• Han Oak - inventive Korean food in a converted garage
• Departure - food by Top Chef runner up Gregory Gourdet and a fantastic view
• Pine State Biscuits - because ... biscuits
• Deadshot - Monday night cocktail and bar food pop up from the restaurant Holdfast

I feel like we've barely scratched the surface, so will just have to come back!