Mason Jars & Peanut Butter: Dear Portlandia...

You were good to us.

Husband and I spent 4 solid days in the beautiful city of Portland, Oregon, to celebrate our 3rd wedding anniversary and we had the best time. Husband even said it was his favorite trip that we've ever been on! It was a good mixture of relaxing, active, and full of good food and good people! My cousin and his wife live up there and this was our first time visiting and seeing where they call home. It was a little rainy and overcast the first day, and then after that it was sunny and in the 80s. If it stayed like that all year long - we'd seriously consider moving there because that place is beyond beautiful!

Ready for a dump of tons of photos? Here's our trip (in a nutshell):

Of course we grabbed some In n Out to go before taking off Wednesday night. We were hoping to see an awesome sunset, but the overcast weather decided to take over instead.

We made it to Portland! Apparently the PDX carpet is famous...seriously - it has 10K followers on Instagram! That classy, stellar, 1970s carpet warmed our hearts for our vacation arrival.

Our first day there, Thursday, my cousins had to work so we decided to use it as a recovery day from a few busy weeks of work. We went for a run downtown, then walked to a delicious spot for brunch, Mother's Bistro & Bar, then did a little bit of walking around downtown before taking a nice long nap before dinner.

This was our view for the weekend. We spent most mornings and evenings just sitting and staring at this beautiful city.

Meet Beans. The beautiful Frenchie that gave us our puppy fix while we missed our sweet Benny at home.

That evening, we had appetizers and drinks at the Whiskey Soda Lounge, followed by dinner at Pok Pok. These restaurants have the same owner and Whiskey Soda Lounge is really good at accommodating for people who are waiting for dinner at Pok Pok (which always has a super long wait), so it was perfect! We then, of course, went to the infamous Salt & Straw for ice cream. They were so friendly and let us try all of the crazy flavors they offer - plus, the ice cream was delicious!

Friday morning was another slow morning for us. We went to Ristretto Roasters for some coffee and the most amazing toast (bread from Grand Central Baking Company) and then grabbed some sandwiches to go from Kenny & Zukes for the road.

We then headed up to Triple Falls for a little hike. Gorgeous back country and so fun to see the waterfalls!

We then stopped at Multnomah Falls, which is a must see if ever in the area and doesn't require any hiking. This is the tallest waterfall in Oregan and it's beautiful!

We ended our afternoon excursion stand up paddle boarding in the Columbia River Gorge. This was one of the biggest highlights of the trip for me. The scenery was amazing and we were the only ones on the river. Take me back!

The next morning was spent watching this sunrise. Hello gorgeous! That is Mt. Hood in the background.

Then we all went on a run in Forest Park...

Followed by some amazing donuts at Blue Star Donuts (apparently Voodoo Donuts is overrated). We then had a delicious lunch at the PSU Farmers Market.

Our evening then consisted of trying the delicious beer that Portland brags about. Throughout our trip (not just one night!) we tried beer at Bridgeport Brew Pub, Henry's 12th Street Tavern, Hair of the Dog Brewery (our fave), and Deschutes Brewery. We also had a delicious dinner at Boke Bowl on Saturday night.

Our last day, Sunday, began with breakfast in hipsterland at a restaurant called Screen Door. Hello, most amazing meal of the trip! The cinnamon rolls were to die for and everything else was amazing as well. It had an hour wait, but was so worth it. If you find yourself in Portland, please make time for this place!

After brunch, we headed back to the Oneonta Trail to see the Oneonta Falls. This trek apparently had more water than the last time they had gone there, so we had no idea we would need to basically swim to see them. Fortunately, we both have strong husbands who carried us there to keep us dry. Awesome!