I WENT TO PORTLAND...

...and it is about time I said something about it because it was pretty nice (the weather was beyond perfect and made it very hard to come back to our dry nearly 100 degree heat).

We went to Chinatown (except there wasn't much to it except these gates where I pretended I new how to pose:

And to Voodoo Donuts which has some supremely wonderful donuts (which we waited 30 minutes in line for) including a maple bar topped with bacon (I am not even too embarrassed to say that I had two of these while in Portland) and this magnificent creation whose name includes language I don't usually use but would use again in a heart beat to get my hands on another one:

And to Powell's Books which is just about my favorite place in all of Portland:

And the Rose Garden which was much busier than this picture indicates:

And had the most divine grilled cheese sandwich in this Double Decker bus:

And traveled to Multanomah Falls:

We also visited the zoo, a couple food trucks (so much fun), the water front (during Portland's Beer Fest--maybe not so much fun), and hit Burgerville for their to-die-for milkshakes (4 times).

Really, the only thing missing was a trip to the coast--next time...

I'M BACK--REALLY

I've been back for a full 24 hours now and somehow I am still living out of my suitcase (because 2 weeks of doing that just wasn't enough). Actually, it all kind of sort of makes sense--or at least it does in my little brain. You see, while on my fantastic 2 week vacation (more on that tomorrow if all goes well) living out of a carry-on suitcase I had a grand epiphany: I am quite happy--happier even--living with fewer belongings. This idea has been growing and growing over the last two weeks and  so of course I returned home, dropped my bags and began working on my new "project." How I began is like this: I started on one side of my room with the intention of moving from one side to the other until I was done. I began by sorting stuff into various piles (keep, donate, throw away) as well as some sorely needed dusting. Sadly, I dropped my bags on the side of the room I haven't gotten too yet so they have yet to be sorted--except I did do laundry today.

Anyway, all that is to partially explain why I'm not giving a recap of that fantastic vacation today. Instead I thought I'd share a couple of great videos. The first I wish I had seen before I went to Portland so that I could have taken lots and lots of photos and copied this great creation. The second I have no hope at all of ever recreating but I still love it to pieces.

spotted at Stephmodo via Emily McCall Photography

spotted at Black Eiffel