Portlandish

So Portland was wonderful. We went for the main purpose of hanging out with my sister and her husband who are moving to Philadelphia this summer. From start to finish there were grand times. 



Giving you the play by play will be quite tiring, and if you're like me you'll just skip to the pictures, so I'll just let these pictures speak "a thousand words".



Good music on the drive over

  


Beautiful Sights



 



  



 
 

Pshh that one guy I like.

 


More records





 



Some of the real gems we left for other people.





 


Tired feet at record stores



Oh yeahhh





  


  

Sugar Coma



Coava Pour-Over Coffee

So Perfect

Birthday Necklace from Amy



 

Roses To-Be

  

Our spotted squirrel tour guide




Portland Rose Gardens

 

  


Tights and bright lights

    





Lilacs!

  


In your face



"Max, take a picture of me"







So wonderfully fragrant









 

Friendly Daisies

 

 Although there was much temptation, we didn't buy this.

As you can see there were some wonderful adventures.

Not pictured, but nonetheless fun-tastic was...

shopping @ Ikea, H&M, UO, and Crossroads Exchange, and Little Things,

the new Jane Eyre movie,

great beers and delightful coctails,

bouldering (more info to come on that adventure),

and Powells.

Gosh now I really feel like I ought to have snapped some more shots, especially with Amy and Robert.

 I guess we were just having too much fun.

  

Hopefully by the time I have another series of pictures I will have mastered this photo-inserting-formatting thing and I'll get them up sooner. It tool absolutely all of my patience to get them in order and decently put together. Such a frustration for my organizational mind.

Also,

I've been researching the Coava pour-over coffee and I shall soon have a post to share 'bout that.

Until then, too-da-loo!



Another Detour

Please excuse this detour from tales of Portland, but I had to share my current thoughts...

I saw this quote and just can't get away from it. It's the last line that prompted some serious thought.

I won't play coy here, I can feel pretty ridiculous myself.

Frequently. 

I have a terrible [terrible] habit of comparing.

Every time I do, it's a swift jab to the spirit; The things I want and believe are not normal.

At all.

To most they are foolish, naive, and you know that one word... [ridiculous]

The quote is by Marilyn Monroe, who is by no means a hero of mine. In fact, a lot of things she represents I would strongly stand against. But here's yet another chance to keep that baby and throw out the dirty water.

So here are my musings:

In The Case Of

Absolutely Ridiculous

Vs.

Absolutely Boring

One seeks high and low to find life, and the fullness thereof;

While the other submits itself to a flat line perspective.

One invests passion, soul, and energy;

While the other holds back every asset in fear of being emptied.

One accepts challenge with grace and wit;

While the other falters at even the quietest doubt.

The case is made.

The research and testimonies prove it all.

Now we are the judge and the jury;

Harriet Beech

How truly ridiculous is it 

William Wilberforce

To 

Harriet Tubman

Be 
Truly  
Ridiculous




Martin Luther King, Jr.



Portland vs. Homeland

And we are back!

Max and I had a fabulous trip to Portland and I have many fun things to share, but I can't quite organize my thoughts today. I'm still trying to get out of my lazy-vacation thinking and figure out what was going on and what I was doing before we left. I do know that there is close to zero food in our house. oh my. If you know us, that is NOT GOOD. So basically I've got lots of lists and calendar making going on in my head.

Portland = Lots of coffee, shopping, walking, good food, good drinks, good music, and very good company.

Not to mention one of the best birthdays yet.

After some time of reflection and evaluation I have made a decision, followed by this statement:
Having nothing to do and thus doing everything exciting is grand.

But having everything to do, yet living in peace and contentment, this leaves much more to be admired.

Which leads me to this verse that I have been ruminating on today:
"Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow. He chose to give birth to us by giving us his true word. And we, out of all creation, became his prized possession."
James 1:17,18

Now that's some good stuff!

Stay tuned for picturific portland posts!

Flash Flood

This weekend came and went in a flash. I really don't think I could have fit in one more thing. Boring you with the details is no goal of mine, but I will give you a few tidbits. Cathedral Pearls recorded our first song on Thursday- Winter's Return. There's also some incredible dance footage that will become a video to accompany it. Friday the band took a quick jaunt to Kenniwick for a show.

Saturday was a special treat to go out with Max's family for some birthday celebration-ing.  I've decided that I'm going to start liking fish and am easing myself in with salmon, so that's what I got. Fantastic.For.Sure. I really like spending time with my new family; filled with a lot of laughter and good food.

Sunday we had church and then got to hangout afterwards with several wonderful couples. Our Birthday Soiree that I had planned was moved indoors due to unrelenting rain. Our home was definitely cozy with 30 people well-wishing Max & I. Not to mention Max's first drink out. 1 beer. 'Twas good.

And still, in all of the business and lack of sleep, I was hit by a flood of thankfulness. I have the most fantastic friends, family, and husband. I love having such a variety of people in my life. They all have such different dreams, styles, and personalities.  It is so inspiring and encouraging to see their journeys. Having so many wonderful people into our little house made my heart 'bout burst at the seams.

I got some really wonderful gifts
yet,

Of all the gifts I could receive, love is surely the most precious of all.

Rolled Paper Flower Bouquets

Last post had some fun ideas for Mother's Day, so I thought I would share a couple pictures of what I made. I did have high hopes of detailing the journey in wonderful little shots, but my hands ended up with hot glue strings and red burn marks, and thus a bit preoccupied. So, I'll skip to the end product.

I had a lot of fun making them. It took a couple practice flowers to figure out the right thickness of the strips, then getting the layers to stay in place, and trying to arrange them in the vase was a bit harder than I thought. The Mothers both loved them though, MISSION ACCOMPLISHED! Max and I just made a jolly little piece of decor for our birthday "soiree" and I'm trying to think of a couple more ideas to spruce up the house before Sunday. No stress is number one priority though, so may the force of simple, unique creating be with me!


(and you too!)

M.O.T.H.E.R.S

After my last post I've been thinking a lot about mothers and how incredible they are. I really am baffled by them. They are the everyday heroes of our lives.

Mothers Day is coming up and this year I am looking forward to a chance to show my appreciation. I think the events of the last year have made me especially thankful. Love and support go a long long way when there's a lot of change and transitioning. And I couldn't have asked for two more wonderful mothers.

A few years back I took a creative writing class which proved very interesting. I'll just say this part and save the rest for another time: I discovered that which let the life and all that was inside of me out. I am no athlete, scholar, or doctor, and the music thing is still a bit rough, but in writing, I came alive. It was fantastic. One of our assignments was to take a break from class and find inspiration from outside objects. This is what I saw and heard:

Our Mother's words were as a handrail,
Strong and stable to her followers.
Rain, snow, shine- they remained.
Sometimes we ignored them,
Convinced we could keep our balance.
But then came the ice,
And grip with our toes we might,
We could not refuse her safety.
So our hand sought her guidance.
And though the ice melted,
Weariness took its toll,
And our feet proved too weak,
To support our sagging frame.
So our hand sought her guidance.

Anyways I thought I would pass along some very useful links to help out those who want to show some love this Mother's Day.

Here's some fantastic tutorials (from one of my very favorite blogs) if you have a little spare time this weekend to make a very special gift.

{rolled paper flowers}

{gathered flower}

{woven pin board}

{more tutorials} 

Here are a couple download-able cards.

(If you are like me and hate paying $5 for a cheesy card from the store)

I think they are pretty fun because you can just drag them into your word processor and add any sort of text.
{summer soiree}

{pink stripe&scallop}

{orange stripe&scallop}

Or you should just buy something from her shop.

{jonesdesigncompany.com/shop}