Adventure

Today, we went on an adventure.  We packed up and the 3 of us loaded into the car early this morning.  We stopped for croissants and coffee and enjoyed our breakfast in the car while Hugo napped.  We arrived at the coast mid-morning to a beautiful sight.  The fog was just starting to lift and the sun was shining (which is a somewhat rare thing at the Oregon coast).

I suggested we go to the coast today, instead of doing our usual grocery shopping/errand running/laundry catch-up, after reading this post.  Alison over at A Little Blueberry is headed back to work after being off for the summer (she's a teacher).  She wrote about how difficult that transition is and what she is doing to stay positive.  I can relate to her post so much because my transition back to work after maternity leave has been very hard for me.  It's so easy to get caught up in the day-to-day tasks and responsibilities and fall into a rut. I love what Alison wrote about being a weekend warrior, "where I don't just spend my weekends grocery shopping, but instead go on an adventure with my family".

We spent the day at Ecola State Park introducing Hugo to the ocean/beach for the first time, exploring the tidepools, walking on the beach, relaxing on our blanket, and hiking through the forest high up along the cliff side overlooking the ocean.

Poppy fields

Ben, Hugo and I went on a hike last weekend at Silver Falls state park.  We met some friends there and spent the afternoon hiking and enjoying all of the waterfalls.  This was Hugo's first long-ish hike (around 5 miles) and he did great!  We stopped once to nurse and once for a quick diaper change.  Otherwise, he was in the carrier (ergo) and loved being outside.  On our way home,  we saw these gorgeous poppy fields on the side of the road near Mt. Angel, Oregon.  Of course we had to stop.  This was definitely one of the highlights of the day.

McCall Point hike

We still haven't located our Paris film photos.  I'm holding out hope that they will turn up but honestly, we have pretty much searched the whole house.   I think that they most likely got thrown away by accident.  Such a bummer!  We have the worst luck with photos.  It all started about 9 years ago.  Ben and I had only been dating for a short time.  The two of us and a mutual friend flew from NC to California, rented a car and spent 5 weeks touring/backpacking/camping/hiking all around the west coast, Nevada, and Idaho.  We visited 10 or 12 different national parks and saw so many cool things!  We took lots of photos as we went and every few days we uploaded the photos onto Ben's laptop.  Once we got home, Ben decided to transfer all of the photos from his laptop onto a PC.  Somehow in that process, every single photo got deleted.  It was terrible!  He tried very diligently to recover them, but they were gone.  We ended up not having one single photo from the trip.  We've had other mishaps along the way, including my camera malfunctioning at my wedding and our "photographer" making errors that resulted in lots of blurry pictures. Now this - our lovely images of our Paris honeymoon captured on film - gone.   Boooooo!

I will stop whining now.  I'm very thankful that we still have so many digital photographs of the trip to enjoy and cherish.  

Here are some photos from a hike we went on this past weekend (McCall Point hike in the Columbia River Gorge).  If you follow me  on instagram, you have seen most of these already.

Eagle Creek

Yesterday was great - one of those days that feels like what a weekend day should feel like.  Ben and I slept in, went out to brunch at a new spot, went on an absolutely gorgeous 10-mile hike, and finally went out to celebrate a friends birthday.  

We had brunch at Broder, which is Portland's only Scandinavian restaurant.  This place has been on my 'must try' list for a while, and I'm so glad we finally made it there.  I had the friterade applen (fried apple fritters) and Ben had the lefse special (Norwegian potato crepe).  Everything was delicious.  As one of the reviews says, the food is "basic, but inspired".  Seriously, it is worth the long wait.  The space is small, but very cozy and fresh.  We will definitely be going back.  

After filling our bellies with deliciousness, we made our way out to the Columbia River Gorge.  We decided to go on the Eagle Creek hike (about an hour east of Portland).  We've been on this hike quite a few times, but always in the summer.  I remember it being very hot and dry.  In the winter, it seems like a totally different hike.  This time of year, things are very green/wet/snowy/mossy.  There are a few huge waterfalls on the hike and numerous smaller ones that sometimes run right through the trail.    

Winter Wonderland

I picked this little purple skirt up at Adorn back in the fall.  I think this is it's first appearance on the blog, but I have worn it many times this fall/winter.  It is simple, versatile, and an all-in-all great skirt.  

Cami:  Calvin Klein
Tank:  J. Crew  Factory
Skirt:  Adorn
Cardigan:  J. Crew Jackie
Tights:  Hue
Shoes:  Gee WaWa oxfords
Necklace:  J. Crew
Belt:  J. Crew Clearance Store


Ben and I went on a beautiful hike last weekend. Although the sun was out, it was cold, cold, cold.  The sun was casting a magnificent light on the frozen forest.  The ground was frozen, the air was cold and crisp, and the sun was attempting to warm the earth.  It was stunning.  It makes me think of that song, "Sunshine on my shoulders makes me happy"♫♪♫♪.

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!