2012 Recap #3: Adventures/Experiences

Happy Friday!  We are celebrating this weekend because our home refinance finally closed this week and we got our car back from the shop!  I thought that our refinance would be a fairly simple process, but not so.  It took months and we ended up having to do a few last minute home improvements (like I mentioned in another post - having our house painted the week of Christmas - ack!).  After we completed all of the requested work, we had more problems because the appraiser who needed to come back to do the final inspection was suddenly out of the state on vacation.  I won't drag you all further into this very long and complicated story, but let's just say it was a very sticky situation.  The day that the appraiser returned was the day of our  (now extended) deadline and I had to have a not so nice conversation with him that morning.  Anyways, it's officially done now! Phew!

In looking back at my posts from 2012 to compile my other recap posts (2012 recap #1:  outfits and 2012 recap #2:  Purchases), I decided it would also be fun to reminisce about some non clothing/style happenings of the year.  There is certainly no way for me to compile a list of my absolute favorite moments of the year, but here are 5  adventures/experiences from 2012 that put a smile on my face:)

PARIS

Posts here, here, here, here and here

Ben and I went to Paris  in the spring of 2012 for our honeymoon.  It was such a lovely trip, full of beautiful memories that I will cherish forever.  

 

PLATE AND PITCHFORK

Post here

In July, we experienced an amazing dinner at the Domaine Drouhin winery via plate and pitchfork.  It was a beautiful day, the food was delicious, the wine was flowing, we were surrounded by good friends, and we enjoyed it all outside, right in the middle of the vineyards.    

SUMMER HIKES

Posts here, here, and here 

We enjoyed summer to the fullest, including lots of hikes on the Oregon coast, the Columbia River Gorge, and eastern Oregon.    

I QUIT MY JOB!!!

Post here

In September, I quit my job of 7+ years.  It felt SO GOOD to say goodbye to all of the stress and frustration associated with my old job.  I haven't looked back since.  I am enjoying my new job and I would do it all over again.  

BIRTHDAY WEEKEND

Post here

My birthday weekend was full of magic - my brother came to visit, I got a new pair of Chie's, we consumed lots of good food, we saw the wonderful Sallie Ford in concert, we went on a gorgeous hike at the coast and even spotted a whale.  Wow! Weekends like that only come around every once in a while.  I hold these memories close to my heart.      

Honorable mention:

After quite a few unsuccessful tries, I finally learned how to make french macarons this year (post here)!  I became obsessed with these darling little cookies after our Paris trip.  I haven't mastered them just yet, but I'm having fun practicing:) 

Birthday Weekend (+ new shoes!)

I had the best birthday weekend!  My actual birthday was on Saturday, but I started celebrating on Friday and stretched it out as far as possible:)  It was wonderful in so many ways, but the very best thing about it was that my brother was here (he came all the way from NC!).  He and his girlfriend flew in last Wednesday evening and they left yesterday.  We had such a great time and I loved being able to spend time with him.

We went out to Doug Fir on Friday night to see Sallie Ford.  She was amazing.  Her music is very interesting, quirky and fun (and conducive to lots of dancing:).  I had such a blast!  On Saturday, we went out to brunch at one of my favorite spots (Petite Provence) and then spent some time outside at the park.  Later that night, I got dressed up and we went out for a nice dinner at another favorite, Pok Pok. 

Sunday we took a day trip to the coast.  We ended up doing the Cape Falcon hike at Oswald West state park.  It was a lovely, sunny, beautiful hike.  When we reached the top, we sat down to have a little picnic overlooking the ocean.  We soon discovered a whale right down below us, hanging out around the cliffs!  We spent a good long time just sitting there, watching the whale swim around and come up to spout every few minutes.  It was magical.  All in all, I had a beautiful, fun, and very special birthday weekend.



Ben has been talking about my birthday gift for weeks.  Apparently, he purchased the gift a while back and he has been so excited about giving it to me.  I think he was even more excited about my birthday than I was!  On Saturday morning, the wait was finally over.  I rolled out of bed and was still in my PJs when he insisted it was time to open my gift.  I tore the paper off to find a box I have grown to love - a CHIE MIHARA SHOEBOX!!!!  I was shocked!  I still cannot believe that my sweet husband bought me a pair of Chie's.  He even did his research before purchasing and ended up finding this post over at Will Work 4 Shoes, which reassured him that he was making the right purchase (thank you!).  I could not be happier with my new shoes.

Chie Mihara Olivan

       

I 

Dress:  Anthropologie
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  Chie Mihara  Olivan
Bracelet/hair clip:  Anthropologie



Here are some other shots from the weekend:

Me and my brother

Sallie Ford at Doug Fir

Brunch

Cape Falcon  - whale sighting

Whale

Whale

A perfect end to the day!

Powdered Pigment

I hope you guys are enjoying the weekend.  I'm having a quiet, still-in-my-PJs kind of day:)  We ended up with free tickets to see Jim Gaffigan last night.  I'm really not a fan of going to see comedians.  Every other comedy show we have been to has been very cheesy/lame, but this one was actually pretty fun.  We definitely laughed a lot, so I will count it as a success! 

Last weekend, we celebrated Ben's birthday.  He is a whole 3 weeks older than me, so for the 3 weeks following his birthday, I like to really rub it in :)  It was especially fun last year when, for those 3 weeks, he was 'in his 30s' while I was still 'in my 20s'.  For his big day, we went out to dinner at Bollywood Theater, out for drinks at Bin 21, and then we made our way back home to enjoy some dessert I picked up from Papa Haydn.  It was a fun and delicious evening, plus I finally got to break out my Powdered Pigment Dress!

Dress:  Anthropologie Powdered Pigment Dress (Plenty by Tracey Reese)
Shoes:  All Black via Anthropologie