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The VIP Lounge at Cave B Ridge

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Vacations are necessary. I suck at taking them. It never fails that I work some or actually take a vacation from work to work on another project. Well, recently, the husband and/or I had to take some time off to be with our kids as school was out for Parent-Teacher conferences and holidays. We decided that since we had to take time off anyway, we would make the most of it. So, after scouring Air BnB for a few hours we booked a trip to The VIP Lounge at Cave B Ridge. We had so much fun, I just had to share.

Note: This is not a sponsored post. Whether sponsored or not, I always share my real thoughts, but I also value transparency. I just really liked this location, enjoyed my stay, and wanted to share.

My goals for this vacation were three-fold:

  1. Relax somewhere beautiful. I wanted a beautiful space and a beautiful view.
  2. Spend time with the family. There needed to be family-friendly activities nearby.
  3. All me to be creative and get some computer time in. Yep, a vacation for me has to include the opportunity (at least) to do something creative that I love. I wanted to be able to write some on this vacation. I also knew I’d need wifi. Which, you know… isn’t too difficult these days, but it was a requirement none-the-less.

I discovered The VIP Lounge at Cave B Ridge by perusing Air BnB. Cave B Ridge is located near Quincy, Washington which is about 2 hours and 25 minutes from Spokane and about 2 and a half hours from Seattle. It is near the large amphitheater, The Gorge Amphitheater.

The views at this rental were insane. Waking up each morning and pushing the button to raise the shades was my favorite part of the whole thing. Walking from the rental in the middle of vineyards to the tasting room and to gorgeous hiking? Even better!

Favorite Touches in a Vacation Rental

I think that the designer of this particular rental could give lessons on how to create a beautiful, functional, and thoughtful space! Read on to see my favorite touches.

Coffee Station

Okay, okay… I know that nearly every rental has a drip system of some sort. Some of the things I enjoyed about this rental was that they not only had a automatic drip coffee maker but also an espresso maker and french press. They also had a selection of coffees available for use.

At the very basic, I think that it is very much appreciated when I am doing a rental to have a coffee maker and a couple of days worth of supplies. At the very least (pet peeve of mine) have filters for your coffee maker. I’ve been to so many rentals where a coffee maker is listed, I bring my own coffee, but they have no filters for their coffee maker. There are a variety of sizes and kinds of filters so its something you can’t really prep for in advance.

Great Linens

I get why a lot of rentals have crappy linens. Things go missing or get ruined. It happens. This rental had what I believe to be Ikea, but they were of a great quality! The towels were large and thick. The sheets were so comfortable. The comforters and pillows had a great weight. I think there are several places to grab good linens on the cheap including Ikea but also discount stores such as Marshalls, TJ Maxx, and Home Goods. It’s worth it!

Adequate and Beautiful Kitchen Supplies

I love to cook when I do a vacation rental. If my plan is to eat out the entire time then I’ll just rent a hotel room. Part of the experience, for me, of a vacation rental is cooking in another kitchen and eating in another dining space. This kitchen had all of the essentials (pretty sure most of which was picked up at Ikea) but it was also really beautifully put together. I loved their choices in dishware!

Entertainment Options

Sure, make sure there is Wifi and a TV. One of the great parts of this rental was that it also had a record player with records and musical instruments–in which they encouraged us to play! Board games, coloring stuff for kids, beach toys (if near the ocean), or yard games are such fun touches for vacation rentals that sets them apart from what you can get at a hotel.

What do you look for in a vacation rental? Share below!

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Camping Food Tips from a Restaurant Veteran | A Well Crafted Party
A Well Crafted Pantry

Camping Food Hacks

1 Comment A Well Crafted Pantry

I’m currently dreaming about campfires, sleeping under the stars, and getting out in the beautiful Pacific Northwest outdoors. It is camping season!  Camping for me is really a great way to reset and get away from it all.  Some years we get on more camping trips than other years, but each time we make the whole process more streamlined so that next time we camp it is even easier and more relaxing. We have spent a lot of time and effort making camping easy, affordable, and fun each and every time. Last September I had the opportunity to share some tips on making your next camping trip a breeze!

In my nearly 20 years of working, I’ve worked in several restaurants. I’ve worked in many of the different positions from prep cook to bartender. My time in restaurants has taught me so many lessons that I use every day. I especially utilize these skills when camping.

Camping Hacks Learned from Restaurants:

  1. Use a double bin system to wash dishes. This hack is actually one that I’ve gotten from a brilliant friend of mine and it is so simple that I can’t believe EVERYONE doesn’t do this! Working at a restaurant you learn to have a double sink (triple sink for many restaurants… but, for camping, two suffices). Go to your local dollar store and pick up two medium sized plastic containers with lids. Prep one of these as your soap basin with soap and water. The other as your rinse basin. You may have to change out the water a couple of times, but this way you’re not being wasteful and you get your dishes done in one go!
  2. Make a menu. Restaurants work off of menus so that they know what to buy and prep. When camping you usually don’t have the opportunity to just run to the store when you want an ingredient. Planning a menu for each meal and sticking to it is the best way to make sure you have bought, prepped, and packed enough… but not TOO much food items. Don’t forget to plan for snacking!
  3. Prep, prep, prep. Anyone who has worked in the back of the house of a restaurant knows that much of the day is spent prepping ingredients to actually use during the meal times. One of my first jobs including coming in early in the morning before we opened so that I could prep our freshly prepared onion rings. If we ran out of the prepped ones in the middle of dinner rush… well, we were out! When prepping for a camping trip I take my menu and think about how I am going to cook each item. If something needs to be sliced or chopped, and it won’t compromise the item to be cut early, then I’ll go ahead and slice those items and put them in a labeled container. If I only need a couple of cups of an item, but it comes in a large bag, I’ll go ahead and measure that out early and put in a labeled container.
  4. Label well. It is super important to label your prepped items well so that you can find what you need while cooking a meal. Restaurants label EVERYTHING with what is in the container, the date, and usually the use by date. I similarily prep my camping ingredients with labels of what is in there and sometimes what date that I need to use those items (using my menu as a reference). That way if someone else is helping me cook, they know which items to grab! Similarly, make sure you have aluminum foil, plastic bags, and masking tape to properly wrap and label any unused or leftover food items.
  5. Plan for leftovers. I try my best to make sure that we have just enough food for our party, and not too much… but, I also don’t want anyone to go hungry so I often will have leftovers. Many restaurants will use unused prepped produce/meat in a staff meal. I typically plan for a breakfast hash on one of the last camping days. I bring enough eggs for the meal, but then use any unused prepped produce/meat (hotdogs/brats are fantastic additions to a breakfast!) to accompany those eggs.

 

Read other posts on camping:

 

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East India Co. for Portland Dining Month 2017
A Well Crafted Life

East India Company + Portland Dining Month

No Comments A Well Crafted Life

Each year I look forward to Portland Dining month, devour the menu of each restaurant a few times, and select a couple of restaurants to try a three-course meal for just $29. This year I was offered the opportunity by Travel Portland to try Portland Dining month at one restaurant and share that experience with you the readers! Part of my meal was covered by this opportunity. All opinions are my own. 

March Madness?

The month of march is basically a holiday for foodies in Portland. Portland Dining Month (PDM) gives guests an opportunity to try an array of restaurant specialties at $29 for a three course meal. Each March I try to pick at least two restaurants that I’ve not been able to try (or favorites I can rarely afford) and take the opportunity to enjoy a three course meal at an affordable price point. There is a whole rating system for my husband and I when it comes to restaurants participating in Portland Dining Month. We check out their PDM menus, reviews, and local blog coverage. Places that give choices on their menus get moved up on the list. Ones we’ve tried before get moved down. It is an ordeal. So far this month I’ve only been able to try one restaurant, a great choice if I do say so myself, but I hope to hit one more before the end of the month. Best thing about this game of chance? Everyone is a winner. SO many great restaurants to choose from!

India Trading Company — Great Indian Food in Portland, Oregon

Setting up a reservation for India Trading Co. was simple, but I am glad that I did it! When we walked up to the door the place looked empty, however what we couldn’t see was a fairly full restaurant dining room just past the bar. We used OpenTable through the Portland Dining Month website so that our reservation also helped to make a donation to Oregon Food Bank (more on that below) and it literally took less than two minutes to get our reservation for a Friday night.

 

East India Company - Indian Food in Portland, Oregon

We haven’t had Indian food in years. YEARS. That is seriously shameful. I love Indian food but have only ventured to make it on my own one time. We kept talking about going back to one of our favorite local restaurants, but with the kiddos it has been difficult due to the spice levels of my favorite dishes. My husband prefers milder dishes and I personally enjoy medium to spicier flavors. This was the perfect date night opportunity and we now added another local restaurant to our favorites list.

 

East India Company Cocktails - Rangpur Chill

 

We started our meal out with something that isn’t on the PDM menu… cocktails! We love trying house-recipe cocktails. I had the Rangpur Chill, a refreshing and spicy combination of gin, chilis, and cucumber. My husband enjoyed the Harabi Lassi that features a Saffron infused vodka, lassi and mango. Both were delicious. His sweeter and mine spicier… kind of like us, really.

East India Co. Portland Dining Month Menu

 Let’s talk about the menu for a bit. As I said before, I like options on my Portland Dining Month menu. It doesn’t mean I won’t order off menu. I will and did on this occasion. But, I really like to stay true to the form of Portland Dining Month and try out the selection that was given! East India Company had two choices of appetizers and two choices of entree. The dessert came with THREE different flavors of Kulfi. YUM.

East India Company Grill and Bar Portland Dining Month Menu 2017:

First course (choose one):

Papdi chaat: mini crispy poori and spiced garbanzo beans topped with curd, tamarind and mint chutney
-Or-
Bhel Puri: puffed rice with sev, tomato, onion and potato, tossed with a tangy tamarind sauce and green chutney

Second course (choose one):

Navratan korma: vegetable blend of ginger, raisins and creamy cashew gravy, served with saffron rice and tadka dal
-Or-
Chicken tikka masala: chicken marinated in yogurt and spices with tomato masala sauce

Third course:

Kulfi Trio of mango, cardamom and chocolate

East India Co. Tikka Masala

For the Portland Dining Month menu we chose to eat the Bhel Puri first course, Chicken Tikka Masala, and Kulfi. We then went off  the PDM menu and tried the Tandoori Khumbi which were grilled mushrooms marinated in five herbs, with ginger and lemon and a spicy Tamarind-Date Chutney. We also tried, on recommendation of our server, something completely off-menu! We did their Korma (“a characteristic Indian dish which can be traced back to the 16th century. The flavor of a korma is based on a mixture of spices along with cashew nuts, fresh ginger, green chilies and cream”) with lamb. It was amazing and SPICY. I always like asking the servers favorite. They are almost always in the know about the best menu (or off-menu) dishes. We also added garlic naan to our order. Naan is perfect for getting all the amazing sauces from the dish into your mouth.

We loved the entire meal, but I have to say my favorites were the grilled mushrooms and the chicken tikka masala.

East India Co Kulfi

More info on Portland Dining Month

Portland Dining Month, now in its eighth year, returns to the Rose City this March with a host of new restaurants serving up three-course dinners for just $29 every night of the week. Portland Dining Month, a Travel Portland initiative, gives visitors and locals the opportunity to try Portland’s fan-favorite restaurants and newbies on the scene at a significant discount.

This year, more than 120 restaurants have joined Portland Dining Month, with award-winning chefs preparing three-course prix fixe dinner menus. New additions to the 2017 roster include buzzworthy locales Tusk, Bar Casa Vale, Headwaters, Jacqueline, La Moule, Rue and Wayfinder Beer, as well as classic Portland standbys Huber’s Cafe, Higgins, Jake’s Grill, Mother’s Bistro and Paley’s Place. A full list of participating Portland Dining Monthrestaurants and their menus can be found at PortlandDiningMonth.com.

“Portland has become a world-class culinary destination, which is evident in the seemingly never-ending creativity and fresh concepts that Portland chefs bring to the table,” said Jeff Miller, Travel Portland president and CEO. “Portland Dining Month is the perfect opportunity for locals and visitors alike to try a new restaurant or old favorite while celebrating this incredible food destination.”

Reservations That Give Back 

During Portland Dining Month, diners are encouraged to make reservations online through PortlandDiningMonth.com. Once again, Portland Dining Month will partner with Oregon Food Bank, making a donation to the hunger-relief organization for every reservation booked through the OpenTable links on PortlandDiningMonth.com.

 

 

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