some things are just worth money

This weekend Meg and I moved into our new apartment. We decided to hire movers, rather than driving a truck ourselves and begging our guy friends to help us load stuff. It was a fabulous idea. We used All America Moving and they were courteous, professional, and efficient. None of my things are broken, and I spent my entire move day in flip flops and juicy pants. Success!

Pictures of the new apartment coming soon. But right now there are just too many boxes.

emily's bridal shower

Saturday, Diana, Megan, Sheri, and I threw a bridal shower for our friend Emily. It was so much fun to plan and put on, and we all had a delightful time. Several people commented about how into it we got (maybe it was the tulle bows on the backs of the chairs that did it), but I just kept telling them I had no clue how long it would be until we got to plan another one, so we had to go all out. Seriously.Here are the invitations Di's sister designed for us. I love love love them. We mailed them in blue envelopes, because colored envelopes make everything more fun. We served a couple green salads, a couple pasta salads, homemade rolls (thanks Di), and fresh fruit. Then there was a variety of desserts: mini chocolate hazlenut bundt cakes, cupcakes, mini fruit tarts, and mint brownies. Good work, team.

Here is Diana's beautiful ice ring in the punch, don't let her tell you she's not crafty.

Everyone bought Emily lovely gifts that I will not post on this blog (Matt, get excited). You can also see the bowl of party favors, bride and groom glazed sugar cookies (that I think look a little like the cork people on the invitations). And, you can see the blue bows we used to try and make the church folding chairs look a little prettier (a very little).

Here I am running the "guess the love song" game, and dancing a little as well, because why not? I would also like to draw your attention to the small bride and wedding cake garland behind me-- this was my fav find of the party store.

L to R: Sheri, Megan, Emily, moi, Diana. Love these girls!

Awkward moment of the day (I'd hate to go a weekend without making a scene):

So we borrowed chairs from the church, which may or may not have been completely unauthorized. We took the padded ones from the baptistry because there was a wedding going on upstairs that night. All day we kept joking that it would be so funny if there were a baptism that day as well. So naturally, as we're taking the chairs back, there is a baptism just finishing. People had to get additional folding chairs from a closet and bring them into the baptistry, because we had "borrowed" more than 20 of them. And the best part? They were all from the ward I grew up in, so I got to stop and talk to like 10 different people and explain my situation, and why I was pulling so many church chairs out of my vehicle. Such a show.

food cart lunches

There are a lot of great food options in Portland. I once heard we had more restaurants per capita than any other city. I can't really substantiate that, but I tend to believe everything I hear and thought I'd pass that gem along.

A uniquely Portland trait is the heavy presence of food carts, serving gourmet food, not just hot dogs and burritos (although those are most certainly available). I can honestly say I enjoy the days I eat lunch from a food cart more than the days I attend a business lunch at a nice restaurant (microwaved leftovers at my computer come in last place). Today I went to Savor Soup as it is near my current client, and it was as good as I remembered.
Here is my to die for cup of clam chowder, and my build-your-own grilled cheese. Cheddar, Gruyere, sliced apples, and carmelized onions-- yes please!

photo shoot

It's totally normally to put on coordinating outfits with your friends and have someone take photos of you, isn't it?

I may or may not have gone to everyone's apartment individually and rifled through her closet to pick out an outfit for her. These are the "joys" of being my friend.
Totally candid, as are all of the laughing shots of the evening. Although really, you can only fake laugh for so long until it turns into real laughter out of embarrassment for yourself.
The best thing about this photo is that everyone clearly got a different memo about the face we were supposed to make.
The Pearl District really has some amazing places to take photos. And getting into this window was quite a climb, this photo doesn't do it justice. I even had to take my heels off for safety purposes.
There are an alarming number of photos in which I am laughing with my eyes closed. It's probably what prevented me from ever becoming a model, the only thing.
Em and Meg scored these flapper dresses on sale at H&M during their trip to DC over the Fourth. Amazing find girls!
We were quite a sight, but I'm used to making a scene so it was NBD.
I love this fountain in Jamison Square. I also love that the public is welcome to climb into any fountain in the city of Portland.
More than 250 photos later, and we've had enough.
Matt was the day's photographer. Emily is clearly going to look super hot in her wedding dress next month, not to mention the stuff I got her for her bridal shower this weekend. :)

sometimes, my life is fun all the time

This weekend was the ward campout. It started Thursday afternoon, but I didn't head down until after work on Friday. It was a lot of fun, and the only chance I've had to go camping this summer. After a fun evening and restful sleep (there was apparently some terrible animal noise that went on for a solid hour that no one in my tent heard), Emily and I left early to attend our 6th belly dancing class through PCC. We are starting to learn combinations, and it's exciting to have moves I could actually perform, if needed. :)

Beautiful McIver state park, on the Clackamas river.We played this amazing game called kiss and tackle and it was like high impact spin the bottle. It was so fun, and I can't believe I lived my entire BYU career without knowing about that game. One person sits in the middle, and calls out a number (all the guys have a number) and a letter (all the girls have a letter). If it's a girl in the middle, then the guy is trying to kiss the girl on the face (she pretty much just sits there). The other girl is trying to kiss the guy on the face before he can kiss the girl in the middle. It gets really intense. I look kind of bored in this pic, but I spent most of the time laughing really hard.

Jon wins for the most awkward photo of the evening. Here, Susan is losing this round, and Thorn doesn't get a kiss.

Saturday afternoon, some friends and I went to the Street of Dreams, Portland's annual home show. This year they held it downtown in the Pearl District for the very first time. I loved exploring the penthouses, as I know it is the only time in my life I will be allowed at the top of those buildings. The designers did fascinating things with the homes, some I loved and some I didn't care for at all. I consistently loved the art on the walls, and the cool wallpapers and other textured walls used commonly throughout the apartments. I consistently did not love the bathroom and kitchen sinks and fixtures, as they all reminded me of the bathrooms and kitchens in IKEA (not something you spend a couple million on). I wonder if the designs had something to do with the fact that all of the apartments were eco friendly and energy efficient, which is very cool. I would really, really love to live downtown in an amazing apartment like that, but I certainly can't afford it while I'm young. And, if (big if) I could ever afford one when I'm older, it will no longer be practical for me to live downtown. Oh to have a trust fund. :)

Saturday night I went to an awesome concert at the Doug Fir lounge. Meet my newest obsession: The Portland Cello Project. They're seriously amazing. They mix classical and contemporary music, working to bring the cello into new venues. This concert focused on covering 80s hit, and dancing and singing along to MJ, Madonna, ABBA, and others was amazing (they also did fab renditions of JT and Britney). Each song had a different guest singer from other local bands, and it kind of felt like watching really quality karaoke. Needless to say I had an amazing time, and will be going to more of their shows in the future.

This man opened the show, singing JT, and he was hilarious. His dancing was crazy, and I sort of wished he could perform all night.

My friend Jon and I went earlier than the rest of our friends to pick up tickets. In a tent just across from the venue, there was an erotic arts festival. (Just one google search told me I should NOT try to post a picture for all of you to see.) After almost accidentally buying tickets to the wrong show, we got a good hour of people watching before the others came. You guys, the people coming in and out of this tent were to die for. A man in leather chaps and a leather thong, and several covered in body paint that I'm sure continued past their little coverings were my favorite. I kind of got the impression there might have been some live art exhibits as well. I cannot think of another friend I would have more thoroughly enjoyed that experience with.

I love weekends when the stars align, and you truly love and enjoy every minute of your life!

a funeral, of sorts

Last weekend Kirstin, Lindsay, and I held a funeral for "Magic Genie." I won't go into detail, but know that this represented the end of an era. Wearing black clothing while wandering the campus of our alma mater under the cover of night was most certainly in order. I hope we're still doing stuff this weird slash creepy when we're in our forties.

I can't get enough pics with Brother Brigham, and this occasion was no exception.

I have such a history with this duck pond, and as it evolved into the burial place for magic genie, it just seemed meant to be.

Searching for the perfect spot.

My red plastic cup digging skills were no match for the hard ground-- on to Plan B!

We hexed this family into stone. Or something like that.

This is the point in the night when we became witches in addition to funeral attendees.

This photo spot is perfectly eerie.

RIP Magic Genie, you will be missed.

i almost blogged about a weekend trip and didn't post any food pics

Mother-daughter lunch at the Beehive Tea Room. Darling place full of intimate rooms, antique mismatched furniture, and a simple delicious menu. (L to R: Mom, Aunt Jill, Tessa, Me, Kirstin)
Are these maybe the prettiest doughnuts you've ever seen? My normal breakfast routine contains much less color.