talk like lovers: me

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Summer 2015: Portland Family Visit!

For the final part of this incredible summer, my mom, her boyfriend, my aunt & uncle visited Portland for about a week. All six of us (& Myla, too!) rented an airbnb to spend our lazy mornings in & we spent the rest of our days experiencing the best of what Portland has to offer. We hiked to at least ten different waterfalls, walked along the Pacific coast, ate super scrumptious foods, swam in the Columbia River, stopped to smell the roses (at the International Rose Test Garden), & so much more! In fact, our week together was so action packed that it seemed to go by way too fast. Sad, tearful goodbyes were certainly had & I absolutely cannot wait to see these people again.

Summer 2015: Lost Lake, OR!

Shortly after our trip to Vancouver, Burton & I went on a spontaneous overnight camping trip to Lost Lake, OR. We wanted to make sure all of our gear was up to snuff before we left for our Colorado camping trip (more on that later!). Our spontaneous idea wound up being an excellent one because the weather was absolutely perfect, the water was warm-ish, & we had crystal clear views of Mt. Hood! Burton & I visited the lake once before, but it had been so cloudy that we couldn't even see the mountain. Needless to say, Lost Lake was incredible this time around & I kinda sorta wished we had stayed longer than just the one night :]

one year oregonians!

Yesterday was our anniversary of arriving in Oregon & I can't believe it's been a year already!! We began our special day at our friends' Vietnamese engagement ceremony, which was filled with so many interesting & lovely customs, including the groom's family gifting the bride's family with a whole roast pig! Afterwards, we met up with some other friends at a special brewery event which even included beer donuts & beer ice cream! Then we had yummy dinner at a nearby food cart pod, drank some more beer in our friends' backyard, & watched a movie once the sun set. It was such a fun day to mark the occasion :]

Our first year as Oregonians has been filled with such positive experiences, wonderful new friends, A LOT of scrumptious food, & unbelievable natural beauty :] It isn't difficult to imagine Burton & I buying a cute Portland bungalow & raising little kiddos out here. Since we arrived, I knew that this was the place I wanted to lay down some roots & we are very excited for many more years in our new home state!

chop chop!!

9 inches gone!! I needed a change & I'm so happy I decided to go for it :] I'm pretty low maintenance when it comes to my hair - no blow drying, straightening, or curling - & my long hair has starting to look frumpy if left unstyled. But I am LOVING the short hair because I don't even have to brush it anymore. Just scrunch in some mousse & it looks awesome. I should've done this years ago!!

adventures with Jess!

A couple months back, my beautiful Florida friend, Jessica, moved to Portland! What's even crazier is that her apartment is only 4 blocks from mine! Not only have we had lots of lovely brunch dates & pot luck dinners together, but we've also been going on lots of outdoorsy adventures as we show her her beautiful new state. A few weeks back, we all went to Cannon Beach (where "The Goonies" was filmed!) & hiked along the coast. We also had some reeaaaalllyyyy good ice cream :]

Needless to say, everyone was pretty tuckered out afterwards. But we rested up for another adventure the following weekend...hiking around the Columbia Gorge!

We hiked for about 5 hours on the Indian Point Trail, which has a 2800ft. elevation gain, making it one of our most challenging hikes yet. But those views!!! It was worth every single step. I'm not afraid of heights, but it was a little dizzying being so high up & so close to a sheer drop off - it was so thrilling! The rest of the hike was pretty mellow, with a beautiful picnic stop & music playing on our portable speaker :] We were practically running on the way back down. Which was fitting because after the hike we visited not one, not two, but THREE breweries!! That pretty much sums up my perfect day :]

school's (almost) out for summer!

This is the final week of school (yay!) & winding everything down has been HECTIC. You can see what my students have been up to on my art teacher blog :] I taught my final art classes today & I can finally breathe a sigh of relief. Burton & I have been so busy that we haven't even had a chance to firm up itineraries for our summer trips! We'll be leaving for Hawaii & Japan in just TWO WEEKS, holy cow!! We need to start doing some research...

As the school year winds down, we've been attending LOTS of school events - community BBQs, graduation, dance recitals, musical performances, etc. But my absolute favorite event was PROM! Burton never attended his prom when he was in high school, so it was exciting to be his first ever prom date :] We "chaperoned" by strolling through the beautiful venue, enjoying the sundae bar, making s'mores at the garden's fire pit, & dancing awkwardly at arms' length. It was such a great night - I hope Burton asks me to be his date again next year!

cinco de mayo!

We had such a blast this past weekend :] There was a huge Cinco de Mayo festival at the waterfront park, so Burton & I rode our bikes over the Willamette River into downtown to check it out. They were giving away free sombreros in an attempt to break the world record for most sombreros worn at an event. Only in Portland, right? Even the police officers were wearing them! I laughed my butt off watching Burton find a creative solution for getting our giant sombreros back home by bike :] Needless to say, it was an awesome day - nachos & tacos, sombreros & bike rides, beautiful weather & bridges. I just love this city :]