[pho]ever and ever

i was introduced to the vietnamese soup know as pho several years back from a group of friends when we were all nursing a new years eve hangover.  since that day, i've been a fan.

pho is definitely one of those dishes where you can get into great heated discussions on which place has the best as well as brag about any place you've "discovered."  when i lived in wichita, i had my preferences on which places to go; however all that pho knowledge was lost when i moved to maine.  to add to the problem, not many of my new northeast where as familiar with the dish as my drunken wichita friends were.

thankfully a few years back i introduced my wife to this perfect bowl of soup so she has had no problem hitting up different vietnamese places around town to try out their pho.  over the last three years we've been on a small quest to find the best pho in portland maine.  well i'm pleased to announce we found it, and it's in westbrook, maine.

my wife, ever looking for a new pho restaurant to try, heard about a place from a local food blogger 207 foodie called phoever maine.  one snowy winter weekend, which is just about every weekend here, we drove to westbrook to try it out.  it was located in a strip center, which in my experience actually means it's off to a good start.  we walked in and it was fairly full...another good sign.  we both ordered pho and anxiously awaited our bowls.  a few minutes later we were both peering over the bowl breathing in that sweet pho aroma.  with pho it doesn't take long to know if it's good or not.  one sip of the broth and you'll know.  we both tried a sip and were immediately in love.  adding a few sauces and garnish and we were off.

if this was a movie rather than a blog this paragraph would just be a montage of us eating, because we were there a long time enjoying every last drop. 90 minutes later and we had finished the entire bowl and my wife asked me what i thought.  i was hesitant to admit my true feelings because up until this meal, i had been the one to find the best pho place, but i knew that she had indeed found it; a competition i really don't mind losing.  needless to say we have been back and it was just as good.

[be] aggressive

being fed up with all the slipping and sliding i do on my walk to work on the snow and ice covered sidewalks, i decided to do something about it.  last saturaday i went to the shoe section of the sporting goods store and explained to the salesman how much i hated the winter and how bad my morning commute was on the icy deathtraps they call sidewalks.

the salesman looked at me and said, "it sounds like you need a more aggressive sole."

i couldn't agree more.

year in pictures [2018]

year fourteen for the [year in pictures] post.


every year i’ve done this post, i’ve been able to come up with a theme that seems to encompasses the entire year.  sometimes it’s very apparent, other years it takes a while to discover.  this year was the latter.  i’ve stared at these ten pictures the last four weeks trying to figure out what binds them together; what’s the common thread weaving itself around each one? 

i think i might have figured it out with just a couple of days in january to spare….

in this social media world we live in, where you scroll through pages and pages of pictures of people showing you what they’re up to, it's easy to fall into a “grass is greener on other side” mentality.  even when you post a picture yourself it can give you anxiety wondering, “how many people will think what i’m doing is cool?”  as cliche as it sounds, the grass isn't greener on the other side, it’s greener where you water it.  

that’s what 2018 was for me; realizing that putting time and effort into your situation and the relationships around you are really what’s most rewarding; basically [watering your lawn]. now i understand the irony of saying all this on a blog post where i’m basically showing you pictures of what i was up to last year, but believe me…. this is just me looking back and appreciating what i've [watered.]

after moving away from my friends and family three years ago, to a city i had never been to before, nearly all my relationships were new.  with the perspective of time, i’m able to look back and see how those early interactions have grown into true friendships.  as a newly married man, i can also see how that rings true with my relationship with my wife.  if marriage has taught me one thing, it’s that i’m no lawn care professional.  hell, sometimes i wonder how was even lucky enough to acquire a lawn.  although there’s a lot to learn, i feel i do know one thing, and that is, even a little bit of water makes the grass greener.  also....don’t shit on the lawn…that’s a big one too.  i also know how important it is to take care of relationships with friends and family [back home] and how i need to keep those lawns [watered] with phone calls, texts and face time chats.


like i said before, this post and the following photos are just a look back at my life and appreciating the time and effort i’ve put into the last three years living in maine and enjoying the product.  i know all of you out there have your own wonderful lawns you’re taking care of as well.  this neighborhood called life we all find ourselves living in really is better when we can all sit back with a beer and enjoy a nicely maintained and watered lawn…and trying not to get too terribly mad when you find shit in it.

that being said…. here is my [watered lawns] of 2018

 ice_friends_1.20.18

 i've made a lot of good friends here in maine and they're all very active people that do maine things.  you meet someone, you hang out with them a few times, you become acquaintances, then you become friends and pretty soon your freezing your ass off with them in the middle of a frozen lake.
[frozen lawn]

 

 snowy_steps_3.8.18

 i hate the winter. 

let me rephrase that; i hate the winter when it lasts into april, which is what it does here in the northeast.  as awful as it is and as tiring as it can be to deal with it, one day you walk to work and look up and admire how the snow is falling on a historic building, and it almost makes it all worth it. 

[snowy lawn]

bowling_team_3.28.18

three years ago i joined an architecture board. during that time i got to know several of the people on it.  in january of last year, a few of them asked me to join a bowling league they were on.  not only did this help make the winter months a little more bearable, but it also turned acquaintances into true friends. 

[lawn league]

hunting_5.18.18

my wife and i spent most of 2018 looking for a house.  weekends were filled with going to open houses and setting up showings with our realtor. it's been a long, boring and sometimes stressful process.  it's also created many high energy discussions between my wife and i, but in the end,  there's no one else i'd rather go through all that with. hopefully we'll find a home in 2019.

[my own lawn]

under_the_falls_5.31.18

my wife and i took our honeymoon to jamacia almost a year after we got married.  one of the many activities we tried was climbing up dunns river falls.  between, the water, the rocks, the climbing, me helping her and her helping me, it almost felt like marriage counseling.  we were there for each other and had a blast doing it.  it was one of my favorite memories of the trip.  with all the stress we had with the house shopping, spending a couple hours climbing up a waterfall, with our only goal being not to slip and fall, was as priceless as it was enjoyable.

[waterfall lawn]

 time_to_sketch_6.5.18

sometimes you have to take a little time for yourself too.  while on our honeymoon i found time to draw in my sketch book, which is one of my favorite things to do.  although it's not a picture, this sketch sums up how relaxed i was during our trip.
[lawn relaxation]

 casco_sunset_7.21.18

sometimes i still can believe i live here.  this statement has a different tone when said in the summer.  witnessing a summer sunset from peaks island was one of my favorite moments of the summer.
[lawn sunset]

glass_house_8.24.18

sometimes i forget i'm in the northeast.  several places i studied in school that were thousands of miles away when i first read about them, are only a few hours away from me now.  with the glass house only being four hours away, there was no way i wasn't going to visit it.  also, introducing my in-laws to mid century modernism was a memorable and fun experience.

[minimalist lawn]

 boothbay_with_the_fam_9.7.18

i miss my parents...a lot.  it meant the world to me they drove from kansas to maine to spend seven wonderful days with my wife and i.  i was also able to show them my favorite spot in maine, boothbay harbor.  if absence makes the heart grow fonder, my heart is full of "fond" for these two...
[family lawn]

date_night_11.16.18

the last few months of the year, my wife and i went on a mission to find the best ice cold dirty martini in the city of portland.  every friday night, we'd hit up a different bar looking for the elusive cocktail.  the goal was to find the best martini, but what i really enjoyed was quality time with my best friend.  this picture was taken one night as we waited on our martini's.  not as exotic or exciting as a honeymoon, but little adventures like this seem to help create a healthy relationship.
[date night lawn]

[christmas lights] on the water

this year my wife and i checked out the "parade of lights" in casco bay, an event we've always wanted to see.  we watched along the shoreline as several boats all decked out in holiday lights cruised the bay, a few even shooting off fireworks.  it was a wonderful start to the holiday season although next time i might bring a heavier coat...and maybe some coffee...and maybe some alan's coffee brandy....and maybe a tripod.

 

family [captures]

like a lot of people, i enjoy taking pictures.  being an architect the majority of my digital camera roll usually consists of buildings or other structures, but occasionally something else finds its way into my viewfinder... people.

during my thanksgiving trip back to kansas, my sister asked me to take pictures of her family, a request i was more than happy to do.  not only is it a hobby i enjoy, but it gave me a chance to spend some quality time with my niece who is growing up far too fast and too far away for this uncle.  with the help of my parents and wife, who were behind me making noises and actions, we were able to get a few shots of her looking at the camera, just perfect for a frame.  however several of the "outtakes" were too precious to delete.  below are a few select pics, i hope you enjoy looking at them as much as i had taking them.