What a Way to Make a Living

Today was a good day. Given that Evan and I both love what we are doing, a lot of the work we have done so far doesn't really feel like work at all. Today was a day which seemed to follow that formula to the Nth degree. I'll attempt to give you an idea of just what I mean:
We awoke a 7am this morning to a beautiful clear Pacific Northwest Summer morning. I am beginning to cherish these causal mornings that we still have. Neither Evan nor myself consider ourselves 'morning people,' and we have pretty much forced ourselves to eventually become said people given the hours of operation we have chosen for the cafe. But that is still some weeks away, and for now we can relish the fact that 7am just ain't that early...not yet anyways.

After we get ourselves out of bed we know only one place can provide us with the fuel we will need for our trip up to Seattle and back: the Flavourspot. Ev opts for a double espresso and we each get our own peanut-butter and jelly waffles (we go for natural PB and organic raspberry jam). Once our tanks are filled we hop back into the car and start heading North, google map in hand, ipod playlist raring, knowing it's Seattle or bust.

Along the way we cannot help but feel as though we are not only on the right track but in good company...

After 2.75 hours we've reached Evan's Mecca, Synessso headquarters. We have waited four weeks for our machine to be made and finally we are here to meet her and bring her home. An unassuming and modest building, here is where we meet Sandy and Mark, Synesso's proprietors and all around nice people. We are walked through the "shop," and I cannot help but feel as though we've entered a secret world. Several machines are in various stages of production which allows any visitor a literal inside view of the guts and craftsmanship behind these fantastic contraptions. We watch. We mingle. We gawk. AND we happen to be served (hands down) the single best shot of espresso we've ever had to date (thanks Jeremy). Today is definitely a good day.

She is a beauty, our machine is. 170lbs of flawless stainless steel. We're still working on a name but its enough just to see her sitting there on a piece of wood with a sticky note slapped on her that reads: Little Red Bike. Yes. She's ours. We're bringing this baby home.

We are on the road headed back towards Portland a little after 12pm. When we arrive back in North Portland we phone our friend Todd, who is kind enough to help us carefully, and slowly take her out of the car and inside the cafe, where Evan has cleared off a dust-free space on the service counter. As soon as her legs hit the countertop Evan quickly goes to work wrapping the machine in plastic to ensure that no dust or paint fumes will be able to reach a single square inch of her stainless exterior.

Once she is bundled, we call our friend and future employee Tim, to see if he is still working at the Interstate Farmers Market. Tim and his fiancee Lindsey were nice enough to pick some peaches for us this past weekend, which we plan on transforming into the first batch of peach ice cream we've ever churned. We enjoy the beauty of the market as well as our visit with our lovely friends, but our grumbling stomachs and the hot afternoon sun are doing their best to make our chat a short one.

The best way to finish off a day like today is one ending with cold margaritas and roasted vegetable enchiladas (served Christmas-style and with fried eggs on top) from our friend Mike's amazing New Mexican inspired restaurant, Encanto. Now all we need is for that fresh peach ice cream to harden in the freezer.

Yes, friends. This was our day at "work." We are lucky. We know this. But in the end no idea pleases us more than to think about flipping on that "OPEN" sign, throwing open our front door, and hearing all about YOUR days. Quite simply, we just can't wait.