Why Knot {Explore}:: Philadelphia, PA

Holy smokes. It's been a while! Or at least sporadic. I'm in my last semester of classes for grad school so time is limited and blogging has not been receiving the kind of time it demands unfortunately. 

Last week I went to Philadelphia for the American Speech-Language & Hearing Association conference AND it was my very first time in the city/state! What a diverse city filled to the brim with history! So unique!! Now add 15,000 SLP's to the mix and you've got yourself a party ;)

This was my friends and I's first ASHA conference and the only way to describe it, would be- intense. I learned SO much and loved all the sessions I chose. I'm realizing my interests lie in traumatic brain injury and working with adolescents! Some of that probably has to do with the population i am currently serving (I'm at a children's hospital) but it's been fun to discover what really gets me excited. 

We wanted to make sure we took some time out of the busy conference schedule to actually see the city so we carved out some time on Thursday. We walked to Old City for coffee at Menagerie Coffee (delicious!!), Elfreth's Alley (stole my heart), Rittenhouse Square (pictured above), the Rocky steps (classic), and Boathouse Row. Oh! And we also strolled around where the liberty bell is, Benjamin Franklin's grave, Betsy Ross' house, Constitution center, and all the other amazing historic buildings. 

We also ate at some great restaurants! I had lunch two days in a row in Reading Terminal Market and while it was overly crowded and I was a bit overwhelmed, it was worth it for the delicious food. (I was told it is not usually as crowded as I experienced it. Us SLP's were taking over) For dinner we ate at Little Lion, Common Wealth, and we had Philly cheese steaks at Jim's Steaks. (Though we were told many times after the fact that we should have gone to Gino's!).  I highly recommend Little Lion for the atmosphere and the happy hour! 

I miss writing trip reviews and recaps! I wish I had more time in my schedule to escape more often. :) I have to say though, flying back into Portland make my heart flutter. I sure do love this little city. 

Happy Thanksgiving week! 

(I included links to all the restaurants and some of the attractions! Just hover over the words)

October in Review

 Now that it is November 10th, I thought a good October recap was a good idea. ;) 

October started off in the best way with a last minute trip to Las Vegas for my sister's 21st! We all got our hair done at Dry Bar, lounged by the pool, ate amazing food & had a blast. Can't wait to see her again so soon for Thanksgiving!

The following weekend I went on a retreat with my church to the coast! It was just what the doctor ordered and I had the best time. We trekked out to this lighthouse one of the days and it was absolutely beautiful. There was fog rolling in and out sometimes making the lighthouse disappear if you were standing back far enough. I love the rugged Oregon coast.

I also celebrated my friend's birthday! I love any excuse to have a bunch of us get together and eat out somewhere delicious!

Get ready for all the fall foliage!! 

This fall in the PNW has been un-real. Seriously. Even now I find myself in awe of the trees and all their beautiful colors. NW Portland has been showing off for a while now. One of my favorite spots in the city is at Barista coffee shop. You can sit facing out the window and people watch for hours. :)

 I took this one on the way to brunch with my cousin one morning. I drive down this street multiple times a week and on this particular day, it was really showing off.

 For Halloween weekend I decided to be THE most basic and go as Eleven from Stranger Things. Everything I'm wearing are things I already owned so it wasn't too hard to dress like a child from the 80's. I don't know what that says about me...

Then I celebrated actual Halloween at a memory care unit with some friends in my cohort. We had such a blast!! I wanted to be someone the residents would know so I dressed up as June Cleaver/a housewife. Again, I owned everything already so I'm not sure what that says about me either.

October was busy, fun, and went by so quickly!! November is already speeding by and soon it will be Christmas!! This fall has been going a little too quick for my taste. Next week I'm off to Philly for a conference and then it's home for Thanksgiving! 

Happy Thursday friends! 

Go out and hug someone today