Lazy summer day

I hope you all are having a great weekend!  I have been super lazy today.  Aside from going to an acupuncture appointment, checking out a new consignment shop (didn't find anything), and getting this recipe started, I pretty much just lazed around. 

Here is what I wore on this hot, low-key day.

Jeans:  AG Stevies via Anthropologie
Top:  J. Crew outlet
Shoes:  Birkenstocks
Bag:  Anthropologie
Bracelets:  Anthropologie


In out front yard, we have a huge cluster of fennel plants growing (we're talking ~8 feet tall).  They are gorgeous and attract all sorts of lovely bees, spiders, lady bugs, and lots of other little critters.  I love standing in front of all these plants just listening to hundreds of bees buzzing around, doing what they do.  It stirs my soul and makes me happy.  Here are a couple of pictures I snapped today.   

"Quietness has a strange, spongy hum that can nearly break your eardrums"
From The Secret Life of Bees (my most favorite book, which I just started re-reading)

Chie Mihara fall/winter collection - WOW!

Have you guys seen the Chie Mihara fall/winter collection?  Holy cow.  As I mentioned in my last post, I'm not really into  summer fashion, but fall/winter is a different story!  Chie Mihara makes beautiful shoes all of the time, but some of these new styles take the cake.  My wishlist just got a lot longer.

If you haven't already, check out Molly's picks.  She even included a list of online stores where these sometimes very-hard-to-find shoes can be purchased (thanks, Molly!).  Ped Shoes is one of my favorites.  They just added quite a few new styles and they even some some of last years/seasons styles on sale.  See the Chie Mihara section here. 

Here are my favorites (so far!):

BEGME

BICHITO (can be purchased here)

QUIRI

SOSEGO - Such a lovely color!

GUAL (can be purchased here) 

Summer update

In case you didn't notice by my lack of outfit posts :), I don't feel very enthusiastic about summer clothes/fashion.  I don't like the heat very much, and once things reach a certain temperature, I usually just end up wearing whatever will keep me cool.   That usually translates to a simple dress and sandals.

I did recently get some new sandals to show off!  I have plantar fasciitis, so I have to be careful about what shoes I wear.  If it's a pair of shoes that I know I will be wearing for long periods of time, they have to be comfortable and have a lot of support, especially arch support.  I haven't had a lot of luck finding sandals that are structured/supportive.  I've always thought about birkenstocks because they are known for their comfort, and support, but the pair that I wore in high school always comes to mind:

 Yikes!  Not what I really think of as stylish these days:)  This season, I started hearing more and more about birkenstocks.  I wondered, could they actually be "in" this year?  I first saw a post over at Corporette (here) talking about the resurgence of birks.  I took note and started seeing them on other blogs.  That piqued my curiosity and I finally took a look at the styles Birkenstock has to offer right now.  I was pleasantly surprised.  Some of them are actually kind of cute!  Seeing them for sale at my favorite store sealed the deal (see the Gizeh on sale at anthro here).  I wanted a brighter color, so I turned to Amazon and found these for a great price (here): 

So far, I am loving them!



Here are a few recent outfits and some photos from my weekend    

Ice cream from Salt and Straw - one of the best things in Portland right now.  The honey balsamic strawberry with black pepper is FABULOUS.

One of my go-to summer dresses and my freshly pedicured toes

Ben and I went out for lunch and dinner yesterday.  It was too hot to cook!  We had these delicious oysters at the Parish.

Berries!  We went berry picking today.  Our adventure did not last long because it was really, really hot!

Cold apple cider from Ned Ludd

Some beauty from our front yard

A gift from my wonderful husband:)  I LOVE it!

Plate & Pitchfork

I had the pleasure of attending a fabulous dinner last night with Ben and 4 of our close friends.  We went to the Domaine Drouhin winery for the Plate & Pitchfork dinner.  Plate & Pitchfork is an organization that coordinates amazing dinner experiences during the summer here in Oregon.  From their website:  "It started with a simple idea -- a meal that celebrated the amazing food grown in our own backyard. It has evolved into a summer celebration. A gathering that reinforces the connection between the farm and the food on your plate."

A summer celebration indeed!  We arrived around 5:00pm and had our first glass of wine out on the patio.  The view of the vineyards and the Willamette Valley was gorgeous.  We mingled and snacked on appetizers.  At around 6:00, we started on a journey through the vineyards to where the tables were set up for dinner.  We stopped along the way to hear the story of Domaine Drouhin and learned a lot about their grapes, and the process they go through to make the wine.  The dinner tables were set up outside, right in the middle of the vineyard.  I could not have asked for a better location.  Dinner was 4 courses and we enjoyed a different type of wine with each course.  Everything was absolutely delicious.  I think my favorite thing (besides the wine!) was the bacon brittle and blueberry salad.  At around 10:00, we finished up our coffee and started the trek back to our cars. 

It was a spectacular night filled with lovely friends, delicious food, and some of Oregon's best wine.  I loved being outside in the middle of the vineyard.  We watched the sun set as we ate dessert.  It was magical:)  

Adventures in Macaron Making

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that since coming home from Paris, I have been a bit obsessed with learning how to make homemade macarons  (see my Paris macaron post here).  It has been quite the challenge!  After lots of failed attempts, I was finally successful last weekend.  My first few tries resulted in very tasty, but also very ugly, cookies.  I couldn't figure out how to get the texture just right to create the smooth top and the ruffled "feet" (the sides).  Thanks to those of you who gave me tips on instagram and thanks to Dzung, from My Honeysuckle blog, for posting her  macaron youtube video tutorial!  It was very helpful.

While these are certainly not perfect, they actually look like macarons!!!  I was so very excited and proud of them:)  We had some fresh, local raspberries in the fridge, so I decided I would go for raspberry flavored (my first few batches were strawberry). I can't wait to try different flavors and maybe even some combos.