Earlier this week my best friend turned the big 3-0 and swung by for an extended Portland visit. We took him out for a fancy meal at VQ (bacon wrapped dates stuffed with chevre and marcona almonds– zomg!) and on Saturday we had an impromptu picnic in the NW.

This was the first trip to Washington Park all three of us had made since becoming Oregonians and, while we just barely scraped the surface, I can’t wait to do some more exploring with my camera.

Huge trees, beautifully maintained rose gardens, it was the perfect setting for a weekend snack-fest.

And man, did we snack.

Like I said, it was an impromptu picnic so there was no preparation ahead of time. We just stopped off at the nearest grocery store and loaded up before crossing the bridge.

Sundried tomato hummus, spinach dip (which I hadn’t had in years!), peanut butter cups, sourdough bread, Fritos, baby carrots… The list goes on. Needless to say, I didn’t cook dinner that night.

Of course, we played video games, too. Mother Nature and Nintendo DS is a really underrated combination, in my opinion. In this photo Chris is trying to beat the first castle in Super Mario World for me (I suck at castles and ghost houses!), but I also just picked up Scribblenauts and am having a lot of fun with that.

Just before packing up we shot some awesome/ridiculous photos of each other. Ban fired off a good number of me being my usual obnoxious self. You can see that whole strip here.

Next weekend is my birthday and I plan on having an encore presentation of this afternoon. But, as I type this, it’s pouring rain outside, so we’ll just have to wait and see if the weather holds up.

The results are in!

I had so much fun reading your guys’ adorable kitty stories– Paul, your poetry about Tux was hilarious! And Jackie, I love that your Ed is a big fan of malted milk balls… So am I. :)

But, as these things go, there could only be one winner. According to random.org, that winner is… Brittney! I’ll be contacting you for your address soon.

Stay tuned for lots more giveaways that’re in the works.

Felix gives Longcat a run for his money. I think he looks like a ballet star in this photo.

Just a reminder, you have until 10:00 PM PST to enter to win an 8×12″ print of Snidely Kittlash. To enter, just leave a comment on this post telling me about your favorite kitty!

Happy Caturday, everyone!

This week I’m offering up something a little different. Instead of supplying photos of what I’ve been eating lately (which is a buncha the same ol’, same ol’) I’m going to present you with a challenge.

Below is a list of some of my favorite unlikely food combinations. I double dog dare you to try at least one of them! And, just so we’re even here, if you’ve got some weird pairings of your own, leave it in a comment and I’ll try my best to give it a whirl.

The one and only time I had this was at a friend’s birthday party some 6+ years ago. We were all playing Epic Duels together (nerds!) and some were eating ice cream, others Cheez-Its. I think this originated as a dare, but a ridiculously tasty dare at that.

Did you know that another version of this– vanilla ice cream + frosted flakes– is the official food of the Having Fun Club? It’s a scientific fact.

(photos via my Flickr and Nina)

I didn’t even realize it until just now, but I first had this at the same friend’s birthday party, some 6+ years after the Cheez-It incident. Weird! His mom had made a salad with watermelon, purple onion, peanuts, cilantro and some other stuff. It was delicious.

(photos via Nina and zeenes)

This suggestion comes from the hubby; it’s one of his favorite snacks. I’ve actually never had it, so maybe I should take myself up on this dare…

(photos via Homesick Texan and Ms evinrude)

To be sure, the french fries should be dunked in the milkshake. The combination satisfies both my sweet and salty tooth, plus the pleasure of “hot bite bite with a cold bite.” Gotta love it!

(photos via Scott Ableman and Melissa Kaye)

“Nooch” is common hippie slang for “nutritional yeast,” a shameful habit I picked up while living in Humboldt. I know every tree hugger and their mom loves to put nooch on everything in sight, but seriously– this is the only way to eat popcorn.

(photos via my Flickr, lush bella and rr0cketqueen)

A year and a half ago I visited New York for the first time and stayed with some pals in Brooklyn, who introduced me to this concoction. One of them is big, scary, red-headed man whose last name is Jonas– hence, the “Orange Jonas” was born!

While my pals like to go 3/4 OJ to 1/4 vanilla soy milk, I admit to indulging in my sweet tooth and enjoying a 1/2 ‘n’ 1/2 version.

(photos via my Flickr and Yeommy)

Okay, this isn’t exactly an unlikely pairing, but I did catch some grief on Facebook for not drinking beer with my Doritos. What can I say? I not only look like I’m 12, but act like it, too. ;)

(photos via my Flickr and JustABigGeek)

Feline… Good, even?

You guessed it, I finally got my proof copy in the mail. It all looks great and is available now on Blurb. You can preview the first 15 pages over there, and I’ve taken some shots of the second half of the book, below.

To celebrate, I’m going to give away an 8×12″ print of everyone’s favorite Kitler. All you have to do is leave a comment below telling me all about your favorite kitty. Don’t forget to include your name and a way to contact you!

Contest ends on Caturday, September 26th at 10:00 PM PST, and winner will be chosen at random and announced on Sunday morning.

I did notice some slight artifacting on a couple pages, which probably wouldn’t bother anyone who isn’t a photo geek. Other than that, I’m very impressed with Blurb’s service.