Vancouver Explorations

delicious baguette from finch's tea & coffeehouse

my fantastic tour guide!

nood

i love lamp.

boneta from the street

Down by the Bay

We are headed to foggy bayside city explorations in San Francisco! I've been scouring my beloved blogs for some advice, and since I tend to read food/recipe blogs, I have a full list of places to eat! Heidi, the famed blogger of 101 cookbooks, provides a delicious list on her blog, starting with the Mission District! We reserved a couple nights at the Hotel Mirabelle right in the heart of Mission/Guerrero, it look so freaking cute. A restored Victorian hostel with themed private rooms, right in the heart of a bustling, fun neighborhood.

My my dear childhood friend, Jenny, recommended the neighborhood for its bike-ability, and variety of activities! Shopping, parks, munchies, music, I can't wait. San Francisco was high on my list of places to live, however I can't imagine ever wanting to leave Portland. We were originally planning to go for my birthday (which also happens to be on Easter!) but changed our plans when we discovered Jenny and her husband are embarking on a world-wide traveling adventure! So we'll be there for the last few weeks of their San Francisco time, how perfect. They live up in Mill Valley now, a perfect place to go hiking with a young puppy.

Travis is especially excited to wander around Haight Ashbury :) Such a silly hippy boy. I love him so much. We are taking almost a whole week to explore, staying downtown during the week to get a lazy weekday feel of exploring, and hopefully getting out of the city and finding some lovely hills to climb during the weekend!


I am so filled with gratitude and joy! Happy Valentines Day friends!

Running away to the Circus

Finally realizing my dream of joining the Circus.

Circus Yoga that is! Next weekend I'm headed up to Seattle with some lovely Portland yoginis to attend the Ring One Immersion workshop. I was blessed to receive the Social Change Scholarship in order to aid me on this path I have found myself walking. It is so amazing to finally feel myself falling into the life I never knew I would live. I was never one of those kids that planned to be a doctor, or teacher, or anything in particular. I loved graphic design so working for a magazine seemed like a gorgeous fit, but it never truly materialized, and I never felt the impetus to drive me there. But yoga. Oh yoga, how it has led me to places I never knew I could find!

Circus Yoga is also coming to Portland for a very special Street Yoga workshop! Its open to all Portland yogis who want to learn more about Street Yoga and experience the very special fun of yoga play.

{Check out the write up on Circus Yoga in Yoga Journal this month!!}

Now it is time to embrace my inner clown.

Viva Oregon!

Viva, originally uploaded by NaPix -- Hmong Soul.

This weekend I am headed out to camp at this spot, for some sunshine escapist fun. Peacocks, drum circles, camping, hammocks, trails, campfire... pretty much all of my favorite things in one place.

I hope you all have a fantastic end of the week, and much love to all the Mothers. I plan to call my Grandmama, better carve out an hour or so... !

hello today

This moment reminds me of a recent stop travis and i took as we got lost somewhere off highway 5, searching for a perfect yoga stop.

{sarah kate via - frolic!}

My darling is embarking upon a brand new career of bicycle building. What a perfect city he chose for us to rest our heels. This has led to fits of day dreaming about a cross-continent bike trip we will take, bike mechanic tools in one hand, camera in the other, and yoga all the way. Canada to Argentina and everywhere in between. Then perhaps catch sailboat home. Perhaps I should become a sailor to engineer that part of the adventure. {more details soon!}

I spent a lazy weekend practicing with our fancy camera... learning to love the Aperture - focused setting (if that is what it is called!) I do have the manual, but haven't peeked at it in a while.







It fills my soul to dig in the dirt, playing hide and seek with big fat earthworms. Phoebe quietly joins me at my side, curious for a moment, then silently moving on to a sunny spot to warm her fur. That's Jenny in the stripes, she joined me for a little photo session in the backyard.

I planted strawberries, chard, dill, cilantro, carrots, turnips, arugula, wildflowers, cucumbers and zucchini. Yum!

The Scenic Route

Travis and I headed up to Vancouver, BC this weekend for his niece Fiona's 1st birthday! We drove up the Olympic Peninsula and drank in the mountain views, verdant meadows, and made sure to pee outside as much as possible. Gas station bathrooms are so grody! When you commit to finding perfect hidden spots among the trees, think of all the fresh air and good stretching you can get! Travis and I marvelled at our amazing idea. I'm sure I am grossing out many of you, but we had a blast. Best adventure buddies ever.



Travis's binoculars have become one of our favorite accessories... We were able to see the elk grazing, napping and showing off thier huge white bums. What sweet, deliberate animals. All the male elk seemed to run off and hide when we showed up. I saw a couple fuzzy antlers at first but then couldn't find them again! Maybe some kind of territory thing. The ladies just plopped down and said "this is our spot, suckas. just try and come over here. see what happens." We declined the challenge.

When we finally arrived in Vancouver, it was party time!

Gramma's balloon was the best present all day!

Big sister love

Carson and Uncle Travis play ball... such stylish dudes!

Such a ham! 

Look at all those teefs!

escapism

An exclusively maritime adventure I have added to my list of favorites is ferry time! These engagement  pictures by Kristen Marie capture the romance of ferry rides...

a floating reverie

until... 

the time comes to frolic in the island woods with loved ones!

oh yes, I love ferries

and this silly boy

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}