MAY I BORROW THAT?

I think I have always been a bit of a "Tom-boy". Don't get me wrong, I grew up imagining extravagant lives for my dolls and I would reluctantly allow my mother to dress me in pink and snap elaborate bows in my hair. I would have much rather been climbing trees or helping my dad with his car though. I suppose some of those "masculine" personality traits have lingered into my adulthood, because I have found little fear walking right into the men's section. I walked myself over there not with the intention of finding something for one of the many men in life, but to find myself something different. I tire of styles and I have a hard time enjoying wearing jeans, so I thought I would try out a new trend I admired from the opposite gender: joggers.

These are not only one of the most comfortable jeans I have ever worn, but they are exceptionally useful. Not only can I wear them, but my boyfriend totally could too. For now, I think we'll just stick to me borrowing his shirts to wear around the house.  

Jeans: Standard Cloth (Urban Outfitters)
Top: Forever 21
Jacket: Life in Progress
Shoes: Cathy Jean
Necklace: House of Harlow (ROCKSBOX)

Can't Stop Won't Stop Grooving

"It's like I've got this music in my heart saying, "It's gonna be alright."" It has been really difficult to get Taylor Swift (T-swift for convenience) songs out of my head this week. For my niece's birthday, way back in December, I decided to get her tickets to the T-Swift concert at Centrylink Field in Seattle. It still amazes me that I purchased those tickets so long ago. I requested the best seats left and it was still tough to see her from our view. It was a fantastic show, nonetheless!


I have always had a place in my heart for a little T-Swift, but the realizing moment was at the security check point. There was a sign next to each bag check table that said "no selfie sticks," and the sticks were piling up. I don't know if T-Swift had anything to do with this, but I hope she did because for some reason it made me like her more. No judgement to selfie stick users, I just think they are silly. Once we finished our climb to our seats, I explained to my niece that the little blonde person on the stage was her: T-Swift, in real life. She looked at me like she didn't believe me fully.

The show was well done with surprises from Russell Wilson and Ciara. Fetty Wap also made an appearance, he actually performed. I was hoping Ciara would have performed too. I thought to myself, "maybe Ciara didn't perform because her songs are not appropriate for all of the children at the show?" That thought quickly faded when I remembered that Taylor sang Fetty Wap's verse, "Sit your pretty ass soon as you came in the door." 

I'm still not quite sure if my niece completely understood that we were so close to one of her favorite performers. It's tough with my niece because she is absolutely brilliant, but I have to remind myself that she is still just four years old. She amazes me with the concepts she understands at her age. For example, just the other day I was finishing up "To Kill a Mockingbird" and she was laying next me pretending to fall asleep. She was just kind of staring at me and my book as I was flipping the pages in silence. She finally pointed at the book and with the most perplexed facial expression, she asked, "how are you reading without words?" I misunderstood her at first and asked, "you mean without pictures?" She responded with, "no, without words." At that moment, I realized that she just discovered the concept of people being able to read in their head. I explained to her that soon she would learn to read without speaking aloud too.

FYI, if you are coming from Portland to Seattle to see Taylor Swift, I suggest leaving several hours prior to your projected leave time. We ended up enduring a 6-hour-long drive from Portland to Seattle. The sky was dark, and we had a few drops of rain along the way, so I was glad to have worn some layers.

I can't seem to take photos without my niece wanting to play along, so here we are:

DON'T FORGET TO STOP

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Sometimes it seems that the most magnificent photo shoot locations are just outside of my front door. This was particularly true when my sister and I adventured out to take the shots below. (Before I get too deep in thought here, let's take a moment to praise my little sister for being so fantastic and helping me to take these photos. She is getting pretty darn good! My plan of building a convenient photo assistant seems to be working, her natural artistic talent helps too. Extra praise for her putting up with my directing.) We literally took most of these just blocks from my building. The first few photos, and the ones with the outstandingly beautiful windows, were taken across the parking lot at the new PNCA building. 

I am always in awe of the quick reconstruction of the once Federal Building, especially because it seems to have been completely renovated within the last year.  Over the course of this year, I watched the transformation while clutching the leash of my dog, and walking him over to his favorite resting spot. I would sort of zone out and I would attempt to notice any changes. I noticed that the outside looked very much the same, but everything else was dramatically different.  

I too have changed just like this very building. Thinking back on this period now, there were so many different and significant events that happened in my life. I am forever grateful for those moments and how they have all led me to where I am now. I am appreciative of the work done to preserve this piece of art of a building. Not simply because of its beauty, but because in a way, it feels representative of the transformations I have made myself. 

My sister and I didn't get very far out of my heavy apartment building door, before we looked at each other and realized how ridiculous we must look. I was wearing this fire engine red outfit below (incredibly over dressed, nothing new) and she was wearing a Beatles tank top, Adidas leggings, and flip flops. Yes, I said Adidas. We laughed at each other briefly and continued on. We have never been know to worry about walking around in unusual outfits and getting a few surprised looks. We figure, we can't be the most weird people walking down the streets of Portland anyway. 

Keep Portland weird, or whatever it says all over those walls around the city. 

Jumper: BCNU (TJMaxx $13.00)

Shoes: Charlotte Russe

Necklace: Perry Street | Kayla Necklace (Rocksbox)

SUMMER SUNDAYS

EVERYDAY THINK AS YOU WAKE UP

TODAY I AM FORTUNATE TO HAVE WOKEN UP

I AM ALIVE I HAVE A PRECIOUS HUMAN LIFE

I AM NOT GOING TO WASTE IT

I AM GOING TO USE ALL MY ENERGIES TO DEVELOP MYSELF

TO EXPAND MY HEART OUT TO OTHERS

TO ACHIEVE ENLIGHTENMENT FOR THE BENEFIT OF ALL BEINGS

I AM GOING TO HAVE KIND THOUGHTS TOWARDS OTHERS

I AM NOT GOING TO GET ANGRY OR THINK BADLY ABOUT OTHERS

I AM GOING TO BENEFIT OTHERS AS MUCH AS I CAN 

- THE DALAI LAMA

Everyday, especially as of late, I have awaken in the morning with a feeling of absolute happiness and  appreciation for the world around me. I want to think of each day as a moment to improve myself and as The Dalai Lama says, "expand my heart out to others". 

But, what is self-fulfillment? How is that defined? To me, it's the feeling of pure happiness shining out of me like a light from within. It's like a fire that fuels me towards the new and exciting. I once read in the book, The 4-hour Workweek by Timothy Ferriss that "The opposite of love is indifference, and the opposite of happiness is boredom.” I could not agree more with Mr. Ferriss. I am rarely ever bored, I always seem to have so much to do, even on a Sunday! 

Today, I am spending my time working on a few of my new projects. One being a work in progress and I can't be sharing all of the  juicy details of it just yet. You will have to wait and see! My excitement about it is incredibly difficult to contain...so, I'll have to share a bit in a completely vague way. It has something to do with exploring the beautiful city and surrounding areas of Portland with one devastatingly handsome favorite person of mine.

Let's be honest, I typically have several new projects forming in my head at any given time, that keeps life exciting to me. I try to always be planning ahead, but be appreciative of what is happening in the present. It seems to be easy to get distracted with what the next thing is rather than what is happening in front of us. I think once someone chooses to gain perspective each day and lessen or lose expectations completely of how things "should be" and turn that into "this is how I am going to build my life," a person's entire life can change for the better. It seems to me that when people have so many expectations of how they wish their life to be, they tend to dull the value of the wonderful things that are occurring around them, and appreciation is lost. Don't you think it's time to stop wishing and start making changes to fuel your own flame?

Here is me this very Sunday. I am not done up, not even close. There was no significant styling involved in this outfit, besides the choice to wear one of my favorite shirts (a cherished gift). I actually quite literally "woke up like this" (Thank you Beyonce). I then rolled out of bed with a smile on my face at around 10:15am. My hair is still in tangles from my locks blowing dramatically in the wind, while riding down the Willamette at 65mph in a boat. I also have a slight sun burn from enjoying a little too much sun watching the Red Bull Flugtag. I, of course, asked my sister to shoot a few shots before she ran out the door to grab some chicken strips, mac and cheese, and cookies (as per usual, like HOLY CARBS). 

P.S. My dog Klaus may have made a cameo appearance or two below.

PORTLAND DERBY

This year I made my first visit to the Portland Derby, which was held at the Left Bank Annex in NE Portland. Prior to traveling over the Willamette, a group of us Southern-inspired attired women met at my studio for some brunch and other event prep. It was such a wonderful experience to see the most beautiful people of Portland at their absolute best! 

I am looking forward to next year. 

Here's a peak at the event: 

Dress: Hotmiamistyle

Shoes: Cathy Jean

Hat: H&M 

AT A MOMENTS NOTICE

I was all set on the coast last weekend. I decided that I would stay there and simply relax without taking my routine trip up to Portland. I had changed into my head-to-toe running gear and was putting my earbuds on when my very good friend Karly called and said, "hey, what are you doing?". I knew just then that I would not be running or staying on the coast. Karly has an unusual work schedule and something told me that I had to head up to Portland that weekend. So, as quickly as I could, I switched gears, changed my outfit, and dashed up to Portland. 

This was the result. 

        

Coat: Nordstrom/Glamorous

Clutch: Urban Outfitters/Deena & Ozzy 

Boots: Urban Outfitters/Silence + Noise

Pants: H&M

Top: XXI 

For Your Health

I have several loves in my life including my family, my friends, art, and food. I am actually probably what some might call a "foodie." I don't generally like terms like that, but it is what it is, I suppose. It's a funny thing for me to say, frankly, as I was once an extremely picky eater and hated eating. I think most of the food that my parents could get me to eat had to contain an unhealthy amount cheese and carbohydrates. (My diet was something like: cereal, grilled cheese, quesadillas, mac & cheese, etc.)  

Some things have luckily evolved as I have aged and I have grown to love trying new foods. I am (usually -- minus some mishaps while traveling or on holidays) very health conscious, and I have developed a sense of how foods make me feel. It is an absolutely incredible feeling to know exactly what I am consuming and how it changes my daily functioning. I think the foods that we consume can have such an incredible influence on how we feel and even how we think. I think we often forget that food is fuel, and not just there for tasting good. Thankfully, there are so many ways to have the best of both worlds! 

Here are a few of my most recent, quick and easy recipes. 

Tropical Cucumber Smoothie 

Ingredients

2 Cups Organic Kale, Spinach, Chards

1/2 Cucumber 

1/2 Fuji Apple

1/2 Cup Organic Frozen Mango Chunks 

1/3 Cup Almond Breeze Unsweetened Vanilla Coconut Almond Milk 

Prep the fruit for blending. Peel the skin off of the cucumber and apples with a potato peeler. Cut cucumber and apple into smaller pieces (If you have a not-so-great blender like me, this really helped!). Place all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. I would suggest putting the larger fruit pieces in first and the greens on top. My blender had a hard time getting through all of that dark-leafy-goodness and I had to stop blending midway to stir the ingredients around a bit with a spoon. 

This recipe is perfect for one. 

Cucumber Rolls 

Ingredients

1 Cucumber 

Spread, like hummus or cream cheese 

Kale

Smoked Salmon 

** You will also need toothpicks 

Begin by cutting the ends off of the cucumber. Use a potato peeler to cut the skin off of one side of the cucumber. Place peeler perpendicular to cucumber and peel at one side of the now flat side of the cucumber. Peel cucumber into thin, flat strips. Lay out cucumber strips flat. Spread a thin layer of a spread of your choice along the strips of cucumber. Place a layer of kale on to the spread. Then, place a layer of small pieces of salmon on to the kale. Carefully roll together and apply toothpicks in an "X" to secure.