explosions of color

Tomorrow morning I depart for Dallas to hug my momma, then road trip down to Austin with my Dad for a darling wedding with all my besties. A whirlwind weekend of too much fun to be sure.

I leave Portland when the city is exploding with color! As I rode downtown (for the final day of jury duty... whew!) birds were giddy with excitement, almost drunk with spring. Flitting in and out of trees, they would bounce on a wire for a split second before zooming off after some cute chickadee. I can't wait to see what else is in bloom when I get back!

Have a fantastic weekend!

oh so quiet

Sorry for my lack of adventures! I am serving jury duty this week, and all of last week. My weekend consisted of yoga, more yoga, delicious foods, and fantastic friends.

The sun is so shiny here... and next weekend I get to fly to Texas to see family, friends, and a wedding! I'll be back soon... promise!

sunshine day

Valentine's is a weekend Travis and I try to keep low key. We believe every day should be an expression of love, but we do step it up a little... Hiking in an ancient forest, biking across town to a rhododendron garden. That kind of stuff.



Monday provided a free day, a lovely opportunity to explore in my fair city, sweat at a new (to me) yoga studio, and read while snuggling with a sleepy cat. Somehow, all the knitting projects I have cast on aren't capturing my attention these days. I think I have overstepped my skill level with one, and keep having to start over with the other. Probably the return of the sunny hours of the day are influencing my interests... dreaming of butterfly gardens and summer yoga adventures.

fashionista friday

I finally remembered to bring my camera to work to shoot some of my new hats against this turquoise wall. Its the Portland building, which won the honor of Ugliest Building in America recently.



I am so inspired by fashion blogger, Tieka of Selective Potential. Her quirky, wintry style inspires my new northern wardrobe, with colors, layers, patterns and tights! She loves wearing tights, even claims they are warmer than jeans! (ha)



Ironically, the awesome pink scarf I am wearing is from Austin, TX! That is probably why it has lasted so many years, because there is rarely an excuse to wear a huge wooly scarf in Texas. Although this week's dumping of snow sure has surprised everyone.


Walking home after breakfast... showin off our awesome hats!



All hats knit by me!!

charming details

Jill Bliss is an artist residing in the heart of Portland, and was featured on an oh-so-special city blog, Space PDX, which highlights "neat people and the spaces they grace"

Her use of color, organizational details are incredible!

Her utility of organization plus color create foster such a creative atmosphere! Portland houses are so amazing, with their nooks, built in shelving and light, airy spaces. Seeing her get to work with some serious power tools strikes a chord with me, probably due to the times I would come home from school and find my mom with a power tool in hand, knocking down walls, tearing up carpet... :)

I feel so blessed to live in a city that celebrates its quirky, crafty people with such relish. Urban Weeds is portland style blog worth checking out!

view from Mt. Tabor

view from Mt. Tabor, originally uploaded by jena:rator.

Last night after work I pedaled across town to summit the resident southeast Portland volcano. By the time I huffed and puffed my way to the top, the last rays of sunshine were disappearing behind the west side hills. I was joined by my bike lovin Travis, and we sat on a bench and observed the steam rising off of his sweat soaked head.

After a bit of cuddles we rode down to the playground in the Mt Tabor park, and he worked on monkey bar chin ups while I did a few set of squats. Before leaving I jumped on the monkey bars and half-way attempted to swing across them, like the good ole days. No dice.

After remarking that we should make this a regular routine, I declared I should set a goal to make it all the way across the bars by summer time. With this empowering thought in mind, I jumped back on the bars and grunted and swung myself almost all the way across!

I can't wait until the view from the top returns to the flowery splendor in the picture above! Every day the sun stays out later, soon I will be squinty my eyes at the midnight sun, dreaming of fireside cuddles fondly.

inspiration: diary

Moleskine page 13, originally uploaded by Jo36.

All my life I have journaled. Sometimes more than others... usually when lonely, stressed. Writing manages to knock out all those swirling thoughts, whirlpools of dread and fear. Suddenly problems become smaller. My mind settles, and life goes on.

I don't write as much as I used to. My life is calmer, more serene now. I find things I enjoy, and I do them often. Whether its a relaxing hobby like knitting, or an adrenaline rush of chasing my handsome boy up a Cascade mountain.

But I should. Its a private documentary of my growth, the challenges and accomplishments that my mind, this ego needs to process.

I love reading The Diary of Anais Nin, her dream world is so colorful and brave! She lived on a houseboat in Paris! I haven't made it through the entire series, but someday I'll get back to that.

{Paper Sparrow}
I love Andrea's simple approach... snippets of life with a colorful doodle. 

There is also an online image collage site that I have seen used as a virtual diary, polyvore

{flickr}

{flickr}

Cutest nostalgic journal from 1982! I should photograph some of my old diaries when I go back to my parent's house in Texas for Lo's wedding!

{flickr}
I got Travis a watercolor Moleskine for Christmas, we need to take some long hikes and use it this spring!

one for traveling...


And last but not least... typography play!

{flickr}

forest underground

my heart leapt when I beheld these amazing rugs!

Angela Adams's collection features furniture, unique ornate rugs, and many other amazing designs! Someday I would love to invest in such a whimsical and beautiful rug.

{link}

I could spend hours watching the slideshow on her website... so many amazing forms, collections and colors!

colors of water

painting in stages post by artist, cellist, and blogger: Andrea Lauren

very inspiring!

chic

Magical images while Joanna Newsom serenades your adventure through the eyes of Coco.

{portfolio}

a few other links you should peruse:

supermarketsarah

maria's flickr

read and dream about visiting paris one day

Then get a good night's sleep in this dreamy nook

*vintage crochet bedspread available here - limited *

{the style files}

she wolf

In Texas I loved February for its few surprisingly summery days, when I could drive around with girlfriends in a convertible with the top down and start working on some tan lines. Now in my home of Portland, Oregon my seasons are well defined, and February seems like a stepping stone to March, the harbinger of spring!

Thankfully the blogs are exploding with love love love...

{poppytalk}

I love to explore the history of "Hallmark Holidays" and Valentine's Day has deep rooted traditions (muddled and fuddled by the Holy Roman Empire naturally).

"The Romans celebrated a holiday on February 14th to honor Juno Fructifier, Queen of the Roman gods and goddesses as well as goddess of marriage.

On February 15, Romans celebrated Luperaclia, honoring Faunus, god of fertility. Men would go to a grotto dedicated to Lupercal, the wolf god, located at the foot of Palatine Hill and where Romans believed that the founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus, were suckled by a she-wolf. The men would sacrifice a goat, don its skin, and run around, hitting women with small whips, an act which was supposed to ensure fertility."


Party!


Here's a funky cool diy project to get you in the mood for some she-wolf whip action. tee hee

{mint - DIY}

desire

just a few dreamy things for today on my "i really really need to acquire one or more of these" list

 a flowery quilt

{samantha lamb photography}

A tripod

{modish}

A little yellow friend

{anja mulder}

an early morning routine