happy thanksgiving

I would like to begin by saying, although I failed to take any photos that were not of food, the number one thing I am grateful for this Thanksgiving weekend is my family. In fact, this afternoon, my mom, sis, and I helped with a casual wedding luncheon for one of my mother's friends from her ward, whom she also grew up with. The friend's parents were there, who were dear friends of my grandparents in St. Louis, and it was so lovely to talk about my mom's parents and hear their memories of them. I wish they were still here to celebrate holidays with us, I miss them.
I was in charge of setting the table. This picture kind of drives me crazy, because I didn't realize how crookedly I had lined up those candles. Oh well, I'm still happy with the way the table turned out. Also, our decision to start with butternut squash soup this year was such a great idea!

We had briefly discussed simplifying the menu this year, but then decided to go ahead and make every single thing that sounded delicious to us. Good call.

One the menu: butternut squash soup, roast turkey, stuffing, sweet potato soufle, roasted brussel sprouts, green beans wrapped in bacon, mashed potatoes and gravy, green salad, fresh cranberry sauce, pumpkin chiffon pie, and pecan pie.

The bacon wrapped green beans were a new recipe this year, courteuosy of Our Best Bites. I'm never disappointed in their recipes, and this was no exception. I thought they were delicious and beautiful, and really very easy to make.

We often try to make one new thing alongside our old favorites, and sometimes the new dish becomes a staple (cue sweet potato soufle from a few years ago that hasn't left our Thanksgiving bounty since). I hope these green beans come back next year.

Also, I love putting seasonal fruit in water. The options are endless, it's totally beautiful, and totally easy. And totally has fewer calories than punch (we did have bubbly as well, it's just more festive to have something fizzy to drink).

happy halloween (careful, i have rabies)

Well the best day of the year has come and gone again. I took inspiration for this year's costume from all the ravers at the Kaskade show I attended in the Gorge this summer. Had I known I could dress like an animal to listen to house music, I most certainly would have. But Halloween worked just as well.
I ran into the store on my way home from work to look for a tunic top or something similar to go over my leggings, and found this tank dress. I originally grabbed a bigger size, but the sales girl assured me I would need a size or two smaller. So I grabbed the next size down, and ended up as a mildly trampy raccoon in a too tight dress. Oops. Probably no one was surprised by this.

You can tell this hat is homemade, but I think the lumpiness and crooked seams add character. :) The faux fur wasn't crazy easy to work with, and I had to modify the pattern a bit, which I obviously chose to do free hand to "save time." Also, the likelihood of me wearing this hat more this winter is high.

mother-daughter weekend

My mom came to visit this weekend and it was just what I needed. We had tons of fun, and mostly alternated between running errands and going out to eat. I'm finally all the way out of my old place, and the new house is most of the way there. All the stress of the past couple weeks has vanished and I'm looking forward to putting fun and exercise back into my daily routine. :) Amazing how much you can get done with mom's help!
Also, we wore matching outfits to church on Sunday. I'm seriously low on people who want to wear matching outfits with me, but I know my mom is always willing, because I inherited my love of matching from her!

i'm a problem solver

Sometimes your beautiful new bedroom has this for a closet.

Attic closets are totally the new thing!

27

This year I opted for ice cream in lieu of birthday cake. And no, it's not the camera angle, that double scoop waffle cone was seriously as big as my head, and I ate it all. Come to Portland and I'll take you to Ruby Jewel for a delicious treat.
Just this weekend my roommate asked me if I got to blow out any candles during my birthday weekend (she was out of town). And it suddenly dawned on me that I had not made a birthday wish and blown out any candles. And I totally didn't even care. This a sign of growing up, right? That I could have a fun, low-key (minus the part where we went to a drag show following by dancing at a club) birthday weekend, lacking some key traditions, and not even miss the candles?

portland fashion week

On Friday my friend D and I went to a runway show at Portland Fashion Week. There were four womenswear designers, and one menswear designer. It all felt very chic and glamorous, and I loved getting to see the work of some local Portland designers. The runway shows were held in a warehouse in the industrial shipyards on Swan Island, adding to the cool factor.
We were only willing (able) to pay for the standing room only tickets, but we got a pretty good view of the runway. I was jealous of all the people sitting in the front row, which was (not) shockingly lacking celebrities.

Models have such fierce walks. I wonder what kind of reactions I would get if I worked on developing a runway walk for my everyday life?

The menswear collection was to die for. I had a very strong urge to drag my non-existent husband to his store and dress him head to toe in Collier. The models didn't hurt the look of the collection any either.

Always love an excuse to dress up! D even got asked to pose for a photograph by a fashion blogger!

Also, is this street light outside the warehouse not the most flattering light ever? I thought these pics made us look great!

party hard

Celebrated my 27th birthday with these ladies of Darcelle's XV last night. Such a good idea!

on birthdays, and twinning

One time, during a discussion of friends, the topic of what you think about when there's nothing to think about came up. I felt more than a little panicked at the thought of answering that question, as I was afraid it would reveal a very vapid person. The things I think about when there's nothing to think about are largely ridiculous. For example, my hair washing schedule gets a lot thought. For another example, this text convo with my sister (which was preceded by updates on her bus ride from DC to NYC which I insisted she give me every 30 minutes during my work day):

Me: So fall conference tends to line up with our birthday weekends. Do you have memories of that being the case as a child? Because I don’t.
She: No. Do you have memories of watching anything more than Sunday morning as a child?
Me: No, but still. Doesn’t it feel like we were usually celebrating our birthday through Sunday?
She: Yeah. But after this year conference won’t be on our birthday weekend for another 5 years.
Me: But won’t it be on the weekend close to our birthday?
She: Next year our birthday will be on Sunday so conference won’t be until the weekend after.
Me: Oh ok. Are you like looking at a calendar?
She: I just know.
Me: No you don’t! No one just knows these things!
She: A few weeks ago upon discovering our birthday would be shared with conference I looked into how much longer this would be the case.
Me: YES. And it’s totally been on my mind too. Twinners! Twinning!

dear new house

I think we're going to be very happy together. I'm excited about your wood floors, your original 1901 molding, and your open cabinets in the kitchen.
See you next month!

pyramids and camels

We just got back from five days in Jordan and Egypt, wherein we saw Petra, the Red Sea, and Cairo (pyramids et all). More details to come, but for now I'll leave you with this beauty:
Our camel guides also doubled as photo-taking geniuses. I mean, these guys were effing professionals-- this pose wasn't even my idea!

ashkelon

still traveling

We're just hanging out in our hotel in Istanbul, waiting to fly to Tel Aviv and connect with our dad this afternoon.

Flying yesterday was uneventful. Delta had a pretty fantastic selection of movies so I watched 4 1/2 movies in lieu of getting any sleep on the way to Amsterdam. Then the next flight to Istanbul was too cold for me to be able to fall asleep. This resulted in a short nap upon hotel check-in, that maybe extended to three hours. By the time we were a little awake, it was 8pm and we didn't feel like navigating our way downtown anymore. Kind of lame, but we're coming back in two weeks with several days to explore the city.
I've got my maxi dress and keens: my uniform for the next three weeks. I'm happy to be here safely, and so excited for the upcoming adventures! Kirst and I will stay in Israel with our dad for just a day(beach, anyone?), then the three of us will drive to Petra and meet up with mom and Daniel, who are flying into Jordan. We have a whirlwind tour of Jordan and Egypt planned, then the five of us will head back to Israel. My mom and brother leave before Kirst and I do, so we'll get some extra days in Israel, then a few days in Istanbul before flying home.

so not worth it

I don't think I've ever spent $100 on a pair of shoes and felt so meh.

But they're going to be perfect for my trip. Plus? Everyone third person on the streets of Portland is wearing a pair of Keens, so I can continue to wear them when I get home and fit right in.

shark week

What do you bring to a pot luck shark week kick-off party?

A fruit tray, of course.

bad people

This very real and very sincere text conversation just occured between my sister and me:

K: We went on a hike and grandpa fell off the trail. It was amazing.

C: What?? No!!!! I can't believe I had to miss that!!! How many people got to see? Was he bleeding at all?

K: Dad, Maren, and I got to see him clinging to the side of the mountain, but none of us witnessed the actual fall. His elblow had a gash in it. Needless to say, we ended the hike early.

C: Of course he was off by himself doing something against the rules. Did Dad have to go save him? I'm guessing there's no chance you took video footage or else I'd already be watching it?

K: I was cursing myself that I didn't bring my phone with me to snap a picture of Dad helping him back up. It would have made a great blog post.

Normally I'd try to explain how you wouldn't be so horrified if only you knew Grandpa Dick. But this conversation looks pretty awful, so I'm just throwing in the towel and admitting we're going to hell. Meh.

Update: Mom's response: Wow, sounds that almost worth going on a hike with him.

lunch break

New client sites often mean new food carts to try. Here is today's adventure:
I'm missing the company BBQ this afternoon, so I treated myself to a brisket burger for lunch. Amazing. Next time I'm trying the pizza.

This little wood pile next to the cart let you know this guy is so not kidding about the wood fired part of the sign.

coasty

I really love living within an easy day trip distance to the coast. Despite all the responsible things I should have done this weekend after a week out of town (and a general lifestyle of negligence to chores) I cleared my entire Saturday to head to the beach with some friends.
It was perfectly sunny and mid 70s all day. There was quite a bit of wind, but that just allowed the kite boarders and wind surfers to come out and it was a delight to watch them. I'd never seen either of those sports peformed in the ocean before, just on rivers and lakes!

We spent the day in Manzanita, stopped for dinner in Rockaway, then drove home through Tillamook so we could visit the cheese factory. A childhood favorite that was long overdue for a re-visit.

Learning about the cheese-making process and observing the machinery was *almost* as impressive as the cheese samples at the end of the self-guided tour.

original gangsta

You know I planned this photo the minute I got word I'd be heading to Detroit.

imported from detroit

I must say I've been pleasantly surprised with Detroit. I've been having a nice little business trip, and last night finally checked out downtown. Atrocious humidity aside (for real though, how do people even function in this weather) the Motor City is kind of nice.
GM building, isn't it cool-looking? Also, this statue commemorates the underground railroad. Did you know Detroit was a major stop on the underground railroad? I sure didn't.

Oh hey. This is the closest I would get to the camera-- I'm a sweaty mess. Downtown Deroit is really quite big and quite spread out.

We had dinner in Greek town at Pegasus. So delicious.

We also took the People Mover around, which was fun. Think Disney monorail meets public transit.

there are so few things i love more

Than a hot afternoon spent boating.

Kirstin, me, Whitney.

kayla and courtney do the rose gardens

My childhood friend Kayla and I had one day of overlap in pdx with me not working before I headed to UT for the holiday weekend. We chatted, brunched, and took photos of ourselves. It was lovely.
The Portland International Rose Test Garden is so close to my apartment, I'm not sure why I don't go there more often. Like every week. I don't even have to get on the highway (and anywhere you can get to without driving on a highway is naturally very close).

It was sunny and warm, and a little breezy. Every time the wind picked up we got a whiff of delicious flowers. Such a perfect place to spend an afternoon.

at peace with my restless heart

This week my visiting teacher came over, and shared the following scripture with me:

D&C 53:93

And, verily, I say unto you, that it is my will that you should hasten to translate my scriptures, and to obtain a knowledge of history, and of countries, and of kingdoms, of laws of God and man, and all this for the salvation of Zion. Amen.

Do you love this as much as I do? I have never had this scripture stand out to me before (and maybe I’ve never read it). It’s so full of meaning and the applications to my life are limitless. Here is encouragement for world travel, for continuous learning about all cultures. This verse has really been on my mind since she shared it with me.

My first thoughts relate to the benefits I receive when I travel:

· I find different cultures are filled with people who are not, in fact, so different from myself. While cultural norms may vary greatly, human nature really doesn’t.
· I learn to appreciate the different ways people live, and the different ways they view the world. And I hope this appreciation leads me to a more clear view of the world, and a more effective approach to the challenges I face in my life and in my community.
· I put my problems into perspective. It’s so refreshing to go some place where no one knows about your problems, and no one cares. Not because you aren’t individually important, but because the challenges you face aren’t important, and aren’t unique or worse than the problems other people face. Sometimes, I even come to the realization that I’ve created the problems in my head, and they aren’t actually real.
· I have increased confidence in my capacity to figure things out and get stuff done.
· I am more comfortable in my own head, more comfortable being alone, and more comfortable with silence.

Some of the lessons learned while traveling are hard, and there are some dark moments, but the memories of trips tend to be wonderful. I have long believed that people are at their worst at airports, and I think that’s largely because travel pushes us out of our comfort zones, where our best learning can then occur. When I wait too long between trips to new places, I begin to feel restless. Maybe this isn't a a reflection of my inability to be happy in the moment, maybe it's just my soul telling me I'm ready to learn something new.

The last thoughts I have are related to a recent blog post by my friend Jon. In fact, I’m just going to quote him, and leave it at that. He said it better than I could have. Go read his whole post, but here is an excerpt of what he had to say:

What if our salvation is an all or nothing deal? Not in a you-have-to-be-perfect-in-order-to-be-saved kind of way. More like either we're all saved together or none of us is saved. And not because we're all perfect, but because we learn how to love and accept everyone in all our necessary differences. What if we can't be saved without those with whom we vehemently disagree? What if the tension that exists between two opposing points of view is completely necessary and the solution is to simply listen to each other and seek to understand what it means to be in another's shoes. Who are we to decide that what we perceive as another person's sins are any worse or better than our own? Maybe it's more about loving unconditionally instead of categorizing and ranking sins.

Yes, yes, and yes!

instagram how i love thee

I've been very slow in adding apps to my iPhone. I mean, I feel like I have a lot, and I'm constantly playing with my phone, but I know there is so much more goodness out there. Today I downloaded Instagram, and I'm not sure how I was ever happy without it. I've gone back through previous photos, and made them look much better. Here are a couple examples from my somewhat recent trip to Hogle Zoo:
This baby elephant was to die for. Seriously adorable and so playful. But the angle was hard (not to mention my lack of skill) and the pics I took were poorly centered and too far away. But now it's cropped, zoomed, and given a new finish. So much better.

In the monkey house this huge gorilla came right up to the glass. Super cool. Also a little depressing, because he looked kind of bored and unhappy. The same listless gaze all zoo animals have. But the fuzzy pic I took through the glass wall didn't do his fierceness justice. Until I added this finish, making the fuzziness work for the pic, and darkening the colors so he looks way intense.

Gosh, these pics are so artistic, I think I'm going to create a separate photography blog to display all of my work. JK! Seriously though, I love this app.

farm to table

And by farm I mean my own (and Di's, obv) community garden plot.

Last night I made a salad with our first harvest from the garden. We have so. much. lettuce. Nothing else is ready yet, but it's coming along, and we keep weeding and watering. Sort of. It rains a lot, and I don't really like weeding.
And for organic gardening at its best, this little slug had crawled out of the bowl of lettuce when I went to put it in the fridge last night. Gross. But just a necessary hazard of being a committed, semi-professional, organic gardener. :)

I'm seriously loving having a garden, and cannot wait to eat more food I've grown myself. Best summer activity ever!

cold meds, cough drops, to-do lists, late nights at the office

Yeah, that pretty much sums up my life right now. But, press release is next week, and then busy season will for real begin to wind down. Just in time for some lovely spring weather (fingers crossed).

do you ever forget that you love something, then get to fall back in love when you are reminded?

Something like beef jerky.

dear kirstin:

I am very proud of you for graduating from law school last week. I think about how much your extensive studying ruined my own fun over the past three years, and I cannot even imagine how hard it would have been had I been the one spending all of those hours in the law school. :)
I know great things are ahead of you, Ms Esq. I know you will totally pass the Bar exam. I know you will totally find an awesome job for this fall.

my name is courtney, and i have a problem

Last week I got a seriously funny email from my friend Diana. She took a screenshot of my facebook page, noting there were three posts with a comment about hot dogs in four days (one by me, two by friends, referencing other times when I ate hot dogs). It's no secret that I love hot dogs. But this seemed a bit excessive to Di, and I had to agree with her. She posed the question: What would Freud have to say about this? But I think we all know. :)
So naturally, last Friday, when my brother and I popped into J Dawg's for a quick and delicious meal before Kirst's graduation, I had to snap a photo and post it to facebook to add to the collection. I guess it's now just a waiting game to see how long I will keep consuming hot dogs as a replacement for a boyfriend. :)

silent warriors

Saw this beautiful sight on the way to the drinking fountain at a client today: As an auditor, I get to visit many companies. I enjoy observing the different dynamics between companies of varying size and industry. However, sometimes I wish I could actually be part of the culture, and better know and understand its members. Like, if I worked here, I bet I'd know who exactly wrote that on the cup to the right, and who wrote the response on the cup to the left. And then I'd find this passive agressive exchange even more hilarious than I already do.

keeping it classy, all weekend long

I'd like to thank Chopsticks III for providing another fabulous evening of karaoke. How so many people know about this seedy bar slash Chinese restaurant in ghetto northeast Portland is a mystery to me. Seriously, this place is always crowded. Probably as much of a mystery as why I continue to get up and sing, even though I'm really awful.

How Can Be Lounge? For heaven's sake, your sign is nonsense. Glorious nonsense.

Then, to keep the weekend excitement going through Sunday morning:
To be fair, these did not come from someone's yard. And I saw someone else doing it first. :)

this can't be good for my chi

Sorry, bamboo, for the neglect.

However, having my Saturdays back (even if just temporarily) is good for my soul, and the many unfinished projects and laundry piling up around my apartment.

snacks

This is both the best and the worst part of my current work situation. Good luck taking off that busy season chub, lady.

gaga-oh-la-la

Last weekend I flew to SLC to attend Gaga's Monster Ball Tour with these lovely ladies.

L to R: Me, Adrien, Kirstin, Lindsay, Katie. We met for dinner beforehand at the Wild Grape, then rushed off to the concert. We had to push dinner back an hour as my flight was late, so we missed the opening band, The Scissor Sisters. I'm sure they were great. But, Lady Gaga was absolutely amazing. She puts on such a good show, and sings and dances her heart out. Plus, she's all about loving yourself and accepting people for who they are-- a platform I can definitely get behind!
I have never had so much fun at a show. We were dancing and singing along the entire time. Gaga is amazingly fabulous and weird and outrageous. One of the best parts of the show was seeing what everyone else wore. Gaga has some fiercely stylish and devoted fans. I was pleasantly surprised by the number of twenty-somethings in attendance, I thought for sure we'd be some of the oldest attendees, but that was definitely not the case. Also, how much do you love this unicorn t-shirt I bought? This is definitely going to become a wardrobe staple. What a great night!