Thursday, February 26, 2015

Thankful Thursday: Embracing The Shine

Hello there all,

I have a secret that may come as a real shock to some of you, but I am a girl. In the past, I tried to fight some more typical girly things because I bought into the fact that it meant that I was going to become this vision of the overly girly girl. You know the stereotypical girl that wears hot pink everything, rhinestones everywhere, and requires everything to be done in her heels. This lead me to reject my love for shiny things. Guys, I so didn't want to be the sparkly lover that I yearned to be. There were days that I would try to convince myself that I did not need some sparkle and shininess. However, I love it. I don't know what it is, but I just love me some tacky glitter on things. I would legitimately bejewel all things, and I would totally rock a pair of ruby red slippers with anything. Sometimes, we fight against liking something or not liking something because of societal notions, but we should say screw it and love what we love. Liking some glitz and glam doesn't make me any less powerful or badass (if anything it makes me more badass because I'm not buying into others suggestions).



Sparkly things make me happy, and it is just the thing to brighten up a long week. Today, sparkles made my week a little brighter. Yes, it is so cliche and ridiculously true, but rocking the sparkles on my headgear made me feel so much better.. It isn't material objects that mean something, but the feelings they elicit that make you a rockstar. Shininess is my jam.

What is your jam?

-Autumn

Monday, February 23, 2015

Portland's Idea of Rebellion: Cleanup

Hello there all,

Last weekend after The Mister and I watched the Imitation Game, we started talking about problems that we see in the world, and this lead to us discussing what the solutions to the big problems are. During this time, we also discussed that it is easier to talk about what needs to be done instead of actually doing something, and we didn't like that we were sitting around waiting for things to be done. So, we decided to make a date for the next weekend to do a local cleanup.



The idea is that we wouldn't be so down on how ugly our neighborhood is on our walks, to encourage others not to litter, to have a safer space for community animals, and to embrace the concept that areas that are cleaner tend to experience less crime (this is a tested and proven fact within the criminology field). This is a neat little read about cleanups and what it does for a community.


Who Helped Us
It was The Mister and I, but we found a cute little kitty that helped amuse us during the couple of hours that we did our cleaning. He was a cutie, and I think that he was hanging out with us as a thank you for making it safer for him and his little furry buddies.



What We Found
In our cleanup,we walked .3 miles. Yes, we only covered .3 miles...However, we got THREE bags full! Anyone else think that is sad? Why are we treating our neighborhoods like this?  We found many things that you would expect to find: cigarette butts, food wrappers, newspapers, broken glass, etc. However, there were some peculiar finds including:
  • pregnancy test next to a dirty diaper
  • 2 dog leashes
  • dental mirror
  • perfume bottle AND cologne bottle
  • half a can of olives with some left for nomming
  • heroine needle. Yum!

It was a really great feeling to be proactive and do something that made us see some immediate results. What problems do you see that need fixing in the world? What should we do to fix it?

-Autumn

Sunday, February 22, 2015

Snapshots

Hello there all,

It has been a very busy week this week! This weekend has been very relaxing and chill-zo after the crazy week. Catch a glimpse of it all:


My work had a retreat at Oregon Garden's Resort this week, and I got to spend lots of time with my co-workers handsome puppy, Varsity. I am seriously in love with this dog. Isn't he handsome?

Some of the prettiness at the garden

How I spend my time during very important conferences.

Valentine's Day package from The Mister's Mama Mia!


I don't know what it is, but I keep finding random stranger's journals. This is the second one within the last month.




A blurry pic of my brother's family from the Portland Children's Museum



My nephew knows how to get down. This little guy makes me so happy. He cracks me up!

Also, I notice that I do some fun stuff that I just forget to take photos of like I went to Guardian Games this week for Beer, Pizza, and Games night, but I totally forgot to take photos. Although, I love documenting life, some events are best spent just enjoying life.

-Autumn

Saturday, February 21, 2015

Salem Trip

Hello there all,

Over Valentine's Day weekend, The Mister and I went on a trip to Salem. Why? It is so close, but it is far enough away to feel like we were getting away. We were able to get a schmancy hotel downtown (because who tries to live the schmancy lifestyle in Salem?) for a way cheaper budget than Portland. During college, I lived rather close to Salem, and I never understood the intrigue of it all. However, I have a secret: I have a bit of a crush on Salem now. It has some neat architecture, some delicious noms, and it is rich in Oregon history. Nerdiness love!

The drive there

Me and "Dr. John McLoughlin" at the Oregon Birthday Celebration at the capitol

The capitol

Oregon birthday cake

Mental Health Museum at the Oregon State Hospital

Finding my Great Grandpa George Evans at the WW2 memorial

Brewery tour at Gilgamesh Brewing

A+A Declaring gross love at Gilgamesh


The Coin Jam an arcade and grill

Eco-globe on the Salem riverfront


Carousel on the Salem waterfront


Milkshakes and Jaipur at Rock N Rogers

Watched the Imitation Game which spurred a lot of conversation

It was a ridiculously, lovely weekend. Sorry for all the pictures, but this doesn't even begin to show all of them.

-Autumn


Friday, February 20, 2015

Thankful Thursday: Silly Ideas

Hello there all,

Here's a secret: I do not think like you. Heck, I don't think like anyone which is such a wonderful thought. We all have our own framework to generate ideas. How wonderful that we all think differently! With all of that crazy idea generation, we are able to develop unique thoughts which form into ideas and into actions.



I love that I think differently and in a very unique way. Yes, it is incredibly difficult to communicate my ideas or to have others follow them, but it is the lens that I see the world through. Because I have a unique formulation of ideas in this brain of mine, I am able to develop fairly original and sometimes strange ideas. I was the weird kid, and the only thing that has changed is my height. I am a weird adult. However, I have had some time to understand the workings of my brain and the 48 different tabs that are open at one time. Today, I am proud to have my silly ideas because it makes a much more kaleidoscopic, whimsical trip out of life.

Doesn't everyone do things like this during conferences?

Here's to crazy, silly ideas! Without them, the world would be a very dull place.
-Autumn

Sunday, February 15, 2015

Snapshots

Hello there all,

The Mister and I had a pretty stressful week (due to work related stuff), but we just had the weekend that we needed. I feel so relaxed and so much better after a weekend getaway to Salem (more on the trip later this week).

Here's the week in photos:


Isn't it funny how sometimes you walk by things everyday, and you can still unlock new secrets? I walk by this artwork every weekday, and I just noticed this week that the art was done with reflectors. How clueless am I? And Super neat-o!


With this stressful week, Alfredo took to making the Mister a Pina Colada and me many margaritas this week. 


The Mister and I went to Cha! Cha! Cha! after work to get the nommiest Mexican noms. I think that I was a  Mexicana in a past life.


Look at this handsome guy! Seriously!


We celebrated Valentine's Weekend in Salem.


We even show our grossness in public. Here is some A+A action at Gilgamesh brewing. It was nice enough that we could actually sit outside for awhile. I love and hate this. It means cuddly winter months are leaving me, but it also means that I don't have to wear my ginormous coat everywhere.

Have a fantastic week,
Autumn






Saturday, February 14, 2015

Happy Vale-hate day

Hello there all,

In the bitterness of my solo college years, my friends and I would celebrate "Vale-hate Day" or single awareness day. I thought that finding someone would make me all mushy/sappy about the holiday, and yes, I do appreciate the holiday much more than years past. However, I feel like this holiday is such a silly thing. We shouldn't need a holiday to remind us to love each other. We should do it everyday and celebrate the feelings we have constantly. With that said, I do love a good reason to celebrate love, so the Mister and I are running away to get out of town for the holiday.






A way that the Mister and I celebrate our love daily is a "Today, I love you because..." board which I made for the mister a couple of a Christmases ago. It is something that I really appreciate because it forces us to celebrate all the little and big things about each other. I think individuals sometimes forget to celebrate that love, but this is a perfect example of integrating the celebration of your love constantly. It is also kind of fun to try to think about new things that we love about each other.


making ginger basil lemonade





Happy Vale-hate day,
Autumn

Friday, February 13, 2015

Thankful Thursday: Yellow (late)

Hello there all,

I remember asking my great grandma what her favorite color was, and she told me yellow. I also remember the repulsive feeling that I felt when she admitted that. Who would like the color yellow? Scratch that, who could like the color yellow? It is the color of pee! It was a disgusting thought to me that someone liked the color yellow. At this time, my favorite color was pink, and I thought that it was weird that everybody wasn't as infatuated with it as I was.


Growing up, I steered away from pink and fell in love with orange (still one of my favorite colors along with burgundy. My name is Autumn after all.). However, I still could not fathom that anyone would even want to even wear the color yellow. In my book, yellow was still the ugliest color. Even though I fell in love with yellow's color wheel neighbor, orange, I just couldn't wrap my head around anyone liking yellow.


Fast forward to today, I am so smitten with yellow. At first, I was reluctant to even admit it to myself. Me? Liking yellow? What? Am I sick? Now, I wear yellow more than I wear either of my favorite colors. At first, I fell in smitten with mustard, and that became the gateway drug to "canary yellow." I constantly want to paint everything canary, and I am always drawn to mustard clothing. Who have I become? I am just the walking pee color lover. Judge away.



Smitten with yellow,
Autumn

Monday, February 9, 2015

People Watching

Hello there all,

I have a secret: I love to people watch. Not only do I love to people watch, but I love to observe and assume life stories based off of these observations. Constantly, I am observing and wondering basic facts on lifestyle choices and relationships.

When I am immersed in a crowd of others, I sit around and become intoxicated with thoughts of others. I catch myself investigating relationships between others (brother/sister?, couple?, friends?, etc.), others ongoings, or even mood of complete strangers. It is almost a game to try to figure it out. I used to think this was something that everyone did until I kept bombarding the Mister with questions like "Do you think that the guy over there is meeting his girlfriend's parents for the first time?" This was when I realized that not everybody ponders about these things.



Yesterday, the Mister and I went to a coffee shop, and I was quietly thinking about "what are they drawing over there? (above picture)" or "What are they typing? (below picture) Is it a paper? Is it a blog post? Is it a Facebook status? What is it?" or "I wonder how long that couple has been together...She probably works as a yoga instructor, and he is a software developer." My head is constantly in motion thinking these thoughts about those that are around me. I am unnaturally curious about the stories of complete strangers.



Is it me being nosey? Probably, but I like to think that it is an intrigue in the stories of others. It really makes sense because I also am ridiculously smitten with blogs, movies, books, etc. Anything that has a story with some good substance.

Does anybody else people watch? When you do, what types of things do you observe or think about?

-Autumn

Sunday, February 8, 2015

Snapshots

Hello there all,

What has been going on around here you ask? Well, take a gander.

1.)

2.)

3.)

4.)

5.)

6.)

7.)

What are the deets?

1.) The mister and I visited American Dream Pizza after a very long workday. We went here a couple of weeks ago with some friends, and we decided to experience it again because it was pretty nommy. Also, they have the coolest tables there. I am serious: the coolest. I super dig the atmosphere. Also, fun fact is they were rocking some awesome 90s music that night. So good.
2.) I have been by this place so many times, and we finally got to go explore in there for a bit. It has so many odds and ends, and it is full of home goodness. When we land a casa, I will probably be here everyday.
3.) Solstice Mocha at Rain or Shine Coffee House. This place has amazing coffee, and the veggie bagel sandwich makes my heart sing. Just saying.
4.) We did some thrifting at a couple of different places this weekend (surprise, surprise!). We got nothing, but it is always amusing to see what is out there. This was at House of Vintage
5.) Mini animal explosion. I bought a couple of sets to make earrings with. I am pretty excited!
6.) First dentist trip in 10 years. It wasn't as bad as I expected, but it wasn't as good as I was hoping for. People, make those appointments.
7.) The sky has been KILLING it this week. Gorgeous!

-Autumn