Portland Bazaar Favorites

I was up in Portland for a short visit this weekend for my nephews birthday party and after the festivities my sister and I popped on over to the Portland Bazaar. Grace Bonney (Design*Sponge), Greg Hennes (Antler and Co.) and Matt Pierce (Wood & Faulk) teamed up to create this holiday fair that celebrated the handmade work being produced in Portland.

My goodness, what a treat! There were so many amazing vendors, artists and designers. We didn't stay long as we had nephew in tow, but I loved everything I saw. Here are a few of my favorite finds:

Between Wind & Water
I am in love with these gorgeous bags and clutches. Seriously, go check them out.

Anna Mara Flowers
I literally stopped in my tracks when I saw the staghorn fern hanging from a wood post. One of the most beautiful indoor plants I have seen. My iPhone pic doesn't do it justice. We're still looking for the right place to hang it.

Woonwinkel
Woonwinkel is a shop focused on well made, handcrafted furnishings for the home.The pieces that caught my eye were the small neoprene knit bowls. I would love a large one to put magazines or blankets in. A small one would be perfect for a bedside table too.

 

There were so, so many more things I wanted to see.  If this event is put on again and you are in the area I highly recommend it!

Do Want

This new Free People dress is screaming my name. I must have it! Only problem is the price, go figure. Any ideas for a similar alternative?

Pinterest Goodies

One of my favorite things to pin on Pinterest are recipes. I love to cook and am always trying something new. I thought it'd be fun to give a review of sorts for some of the recent recipes I've tried that were found via pinterest. Perhaps you've seen some of the same and this will be helpful. :)

Baked Zucchini Sticks and Sweet Onion Dip

 This recipe takes a bit of time, but is so worth it. The combination of salty and crunchy of the zuchinni with the sweetness of the dip is incredible. The only downside is the amount of mayonnaise (I hate mayo), but you really don't taste it too much.

Hot Spinach and Artichoke Dip

This was so super easy and tasted amazing. This would be great for a party or a light snack. Jesse and I frequent McMenamins specifically for their spinach and artichoke dip and I have a feeling we won't be going there as often. Well, maybe for the tots and hummus...



Sweet Potato Salad

The main reason I tried this recipe was because I had some left over sweet potatoes (already peeled and chopped) I had purchased for a Thanksgiving recipe that needed to be used. Man oh man, is it good! I actually think this would be a great side dish for a holiday meal if your going for a non-traditional menu. It's surprisingly light, but packed with flavor. Definitely making this again.

A Tasty Pumpkin Treat

I'm so excited to have a few days off work to spend with family and friends! We're staying in town for Thanksgiving since both of our families are here. Tonight I'm making these tasty pumpkin scones. They are actually already in the oven baking. Yum! I can't wait to try one.

I hope all of you have a lovely Thanksgiving!

San Francisco

I love looking at photos of San Francisco. It's fun to look for a familiar street or place that I used to frequent or pass by. Andria Lindquist, an amazing photographer, just shared some photos from a recent trip and they are only feeding my desire to visit. Take a peak:

Angry Birds + Jack

My nephew loves to play Angry Birds:

Side note: that's not his real laugh, he was just being silly. However, he's still stinkin' cute.

DODOcase

I don't have an iPad or a Kindle, but if I did I'd definitely get a DODOcase for it.  There are so many different options to choose from. I like the simple design and that it folds open and props up the tablet. Here are some of my favorites:

Ork DODOcase for iPad2

DODOcase for iPad:

Patterned DODOcase for Kindle. J.Crew exclusive.

Patterned DODOcase for Kindle. J.Crew exclusive.

Thinking Positive

I have a tendency to let things overwhelm me. This probably has a lot to do with the fact that I over-think, over-analyze and dwell on things positive and/or negative (unfortunately usually more of the negative). Sometimes I get so caught up in what is bothering me that I don't take care of myself and find ways to overcome the negative.

Lately, I've been trying really hard to focus on only the positive and not let the negative get me down. This includes not venting to husband every night, which is hard for me not to do! Anyway, I'm trying really hard and here are a few of the things that have helped me stay positive:

• Clean and reorganize my space at work. I don't have a private office, but I have about the equivalent of 2 desks. I removed all the clutter, put up some pictures and brought a vase of magenta peonies to brighten the mood. It worked!
• Waking up early enough in the morning to enjoy a cup of coffee and watch the news or catch up on all you lovely bloggers. When I have time to enjoy my morning at home and not be rushed, my whole day is off to a better start.  
• Listen to music. I've started listening to music more at work and at home. At work it helps me focus on my tasks and not get distracted by all the noise around me. At home I'm able to unwind and relax much more when there are some good tunes playing in the background. 

What do you do to stay positive and not dwell on the negative? I'd love to add to this list if you have any tips! :)

And, speaking of good music here's a great song I've recently discovered by the lovely Ellie Goulding. Enjoy!

Mini Vaca in Seaside

Last week Jesse and I took a mini vacation to the lovely Oregon coast town of Seaside. It was such a treat since our schedules are so opposite right now and we rarely get the opportunity to get out of town to relax. We got there Sunday and my sister's family arrived on Monday. The weather was absolutely perfect.

The first day we spent in Seaside, on the beach and exploring the town and also checked out Cannon Beach. Tuesday we went up to Astoria. Oh my goodness! I had no idea how cute Astoria is. Tons of great shops, cafes and history galore. I would definitely go back in a heart beat.

We had the best time. Now I'm just trying to figure out how we can do this more often!

Beautiful view from our morning walk on the boardwalk.

Jack! 

Uncle Jesse and Jack. 

Gorgeous view!

Astoria Column.

Walking up the column.

At the top! I was a little nervous.

Goonies house!

Fort George Brewery. If you ever visit Astoria you must go to this place. Not to mention the great beer and food, the atmosphere is amazing. 

Lately

To start the week off I thought I'd share a few things that make me happy this October.

1. I got a promotion! The best part, I totally didn't see it coming. 

2. Today is my 3 month anniversary. Can't believe it's only been 3 months!

3. We're off to spend a few days in Seaside, OR. I'm so unbelievably excited to get out of town for a few days and relax. We never get to do this, so it's definitely a treat. (I'll hopefully have lots of great photos to share when I get back!)

4. My sister and her family are joining us at the beach! This lil man is getting so much fun to play with. He's talking so much... I love hearing him say, 'auntie'!

5. Our pups. They've been a lot to handle lately, but I'm so grateful they're ours and would do anything for them. Trying to raise and train two pups from the same litter is not easy, but I wouldn't change a thing.

My New Do

I've had my new do for a few weeks now, I've just been waiting to get some good photos so I could share with you. Turns out, I'm not good at taking pictures of myself or having Jesse take some of me. So... my laptop camera will have to do, for now anyway.

I'm a huge fan of the ombre dyed hair look and have wanted to try it since the beginning of summer. However, being that I was getting married mid-July, I wanted to wait til after the big day. Afterall, I'd been growing my hair for quite some time and hadn't colored it in years. It was definitely time for a little change.

The thing I love so much about the ombre look is that it's perfect for an undone look and that's what I do best (or so I think). Here are a few of my hair inspirations:

(via)

(via)

(via)

And, here's me! What do you think of my new ombre color? 

DIY Chevron Curtains

I don't know about you, but our house always seems like a work in progress. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that we can't afford to just go out and buy everything we'd want for our home, but in a way I kind of like it. It forces me to be more creative with what we have and gives me excuses for all sorts of DIY projects.

The one room that we've been working on since the wedding is our living room. I want this room to be cozier and more inviting. It's pretty small so there are only so many ways we can arrange furniture. I've grown quite fond of chevron stripes and have been wanting to make my own chevron rug. However, having two rowdy pups doesn't really lend itself well to a rug with white in it or even one that I care about (they tend to eat any carpet/rug they can, given the opportunity).

So instead I decided to take two of our four white curtain panels and paint a chevron pattern on them. Jesse and I decided on mustard yellow. This color complements the rest of our room well and stands out just enough to make a subtle statement.

Here's how we did it:

All four white panels before. 

(not the greatest before pic, but you get the idea)

Jesse used graph poster board to cut a stencil. 

We lined up the stencil on the panel. *The tape didn't really help and we stopped using it after we moved the stencil down. 

We used sponges to apply the paint. This gave it a sort of weathered look. I wasn't planning to do it this way, but it actually looks really cool. 

 We ran out of paint after the first panel and had to go get more. If you try something like this, I would definitely recommend getting more paint than you think you'll need. It goes really fast!

The finished look! I love it!

Injured Pup

I had a fun DIY project that I finished up this weekend I had planned to share with you today, but our pup Frank had an injury yesterday and so instead I'm going to snuggle him and make sure he doesn't get too rowdy.

Hopefully I can share my project tomorrow!

Our Wedding: Part 3

Now on to all the reception fun! Like I mentioned earlier, Jesse and I really wanted a laid back and fun atmosphere for the day. We literally took a completely empty field and turned it into the most beautiful setting for the reception. A few things that I insisted on were: string lights, simple table decor, fruit + soda crates and sparklers for our exit. There was really only one thing that Jesse insisted on and that was the grass dance floor. At first I completely disagreed, but soon realized I should just trust him. And, so glad I did! People loved it.

Our food was also a huge hit. Jesse and I knew right away that we wanted Mazzi to cater with his pizza oven. It was the perfect fit for us (we LOVE pizza) and complemented the casual atmosphere perfectly. Not to mention Mazzi was a total blast to work with. Every time we met with him pre-wedding to discuss details I was beaming for hours.

In addition to the pizza, we served appetizers prepared by our mothers. Caprese skewers, veggie cups, fresh fruit, cheese and crackers. We really couldn't have done it all without them.

We decided early on not to do a formal cake cutting, so cupcakes were an easy choice for us. The Sassy Cupcake is a local cupcake shop run by the sweetest woman, Melissa. She, too, was incredible to work with! I really do think we had the very best vendors.

People always tell you that you're going to be too busy to eat at our reception and I definitely did not believe them. We had amazing food! Why would I want to pass that up? But, alas, Jesse and I were buzzing all over the place greeting as many guests as we could. I think I had just one bite of pizza and maybe a cupcake all night!

We ended the night with toasts, dancing and the perfect sparkler send off! This was an incredible day shared with the most amazing friends and family a couple could ask for.