A Flower Study

It's no secret that I'm one of those people who buys fresh flowers regularly for their dining room. I don't a specific reason why I'm willing to shell out a few bucks 2-3 times a month for flowers, other than the fact that I believe having fresh flowers in your home brightens the mood. For those rainy days in Portland (and there are plenty of them!) I need something to look at that can transport me to a better time - spring, when the weather is full of sunshine and opportunities. It's a psychological thing for me - instead of spending my money on cigarettes or alcohol, I rely on these little gems to keep me going.

Carnations are something that is always available at the stores; hence, I tend to buy them quite often. They're not very expensive, which helps the wallet - I'm a stickler for staying on budget ($15 or less) while having something sufficient to last me at least a week. These guys were purchased recently, and today I spent a little bit of time really getting to know them through my camera. Although I'd prefer ranunculouses and lilies, I still think they are magnificent. You can learn more about them here.

Can you tell that yellow is my favorite color for flowers? :-)

It Was A Good Day

I don't know about you, but this heat wave we've been having lately has put me into a funk. It's made me cranky, uncomfortable, and worst of all, lazy...which is shocking to say, since I grew up in an extremely hot & humid environment. 

Growing up in Vietnam, I am no stranger to heat. I got used to it and didn't know any other type of weather. Which suffice to say, I've been spoiled living here in America. I may grump about the rain and cold sometimes but the heat sure has its downsides too. With that said, I gave in and bought another small AC for our living room to prepare for the next week or possibly longer heat wave in the forecast. And I'm daydreaming about days like these....when it was in the mid-70s with a slight breeze - taken early May 2015. 

 We went downtown to TomMcCall Waterfront Park, and to check out the Saturday Market. Now, if you're familiar at all with the market, like most Portlanders you'll know that it also happens on Sundays from March through December. Rows and rows of stalls flock both sides under the Burnside Bridge and stretch alllll the way to the waterfront park area. I don't know why I didn't shoot any pictures of the market that day- that will have to be another trip in the future - maybe I was just so entranced by the blue waters of the Willamette River and how picturesque the waterfront looked on a nice, sunny day. Definitely worth checking out.

A Date With Myself

I'm not gonna lie - as an introvert, I like spending time with myself. You must wonder what I actually do during these "quiet moments" with thee? A variety of things....as of late, I've been going to places around town to take pictures. Ever since my husband surprised me with my first DSLR I couldn't wait to practice with it! 

As luck would have it, he took our daughter for the day yesterday. And instead of catching up on the millions of magazines I have laying around, I decided to trek on foot to a nearby bakery and coffee bar. Hence, this time is what I'd call "an indulgence period" AKA date with self. 

About 25 minutes of brisk walking later (who'd want to drive when I can walk and enjoy the sun?!?), I passed by the Rose City Food Carts (more on that later), and arrived at this little bakery, owned by Kim Boyce. She opened Bakeshop in 2010 after gaining a tremendous resume in the food/baking industry, (including author of the book Good to the Grain ) and the results clearly show in their baked goods. I had a candied coconut muffin and it was to die for - just the right hint of sweets but not overpowering, topped with flakes of coconut. Of course, I ravaged this bad boy before stopping in to the coffee shop next door.  (Next time there'll be side by side shots of baked goods with coffee).

Case Study Coffee is a local coffee shop with three locations in Portland. Although they are fairly new to the coffee scene in Portland (just 5 years old like Bakeshop is), they've made their mark in the NE/ SW areas. Their menu is simple, exactly what you'd expect in a coffee shop - including cappuccino, latte, mocha, and cortado, and only one size to choose from. I ordered the cappuccino because it's a drink that I haven't had in awhile anywhere. Believe me, this is definitely not like a Starbucks cappuccino at all. The espresso art itself makes it too pretty to drink. :-) I must've ogled over this pretty cup for five minutes before sipping. Ahhh how I appreciate the beauty of coffee well made now. 

They have the coolest coffee machinery and light!

Total cost: muffin $3.00 + cappuccino $3.75 = $6.75. I'm a pretty cheap date, huh? ;-) Good thing oregon doesn't have a sales tax or it would've been close to $10. :-D

A Week Ago

To make the most out of the nice weather we've been having lately, my family (consisting of myself, husband plus daughter), including my mom, sister-in-law & her three kids, all trooped on towards Seaside, OR. Two hours & two drivers later, we arrived safe and sound, albeit one of those drivers got lost because she must've turned too soon (can you guess who? ;-P), we came to find that there was a volleyball competition on the beach. The first I've ever seen in all the years I've been living in Oregon and going to the beach! I guess there's a first time for everything...

This is a first in a series of photos that I'll be posting about my family. For a long time it was just my mom and brother plus his family, and we were all scattered and hardly got together. I don't know why that was the case but it's all in the past now. 

My oldest brother and his family came to America back in January, after a very long debacle of sponsorship that started in the early 2000s. What a great relief to see them off the airplane finally this year! Since then, there's been an endless amount of visits (we go over to my mom’s 2-3 times per week on average), and this beach trip was their first ever since arriving in America and a return for us since February. 

Although I brought my camera for this trip, there wasn't a whole lot of opportunities to take pics, starting with the extra chilly breeze on the beach itself in the morning. Seems like the sun barely peeked through and winds were still hanging around. So we decided to have lunch at a restaurant there. Turns out, because the town was so busy with people (finding parking was a nightmare) due to the beach festivities and whatnot, all of the restaurants had long waiting lists. Luckily, my husband found one that only had a 10 minute wait. Hence, the pictures below were in this restaurant. 

I thought it would be different to change things up a little bit and go black & white. Lighting in the restaurant was less than ideal, so I had to crank up the exposure a little bit; other than that, they had great light coming through one of the windows where we sat. 

What's not featured here are the bumper car rides and the Tilt-a-whirl, a blast of speed and excitement for $2.50 each. I can't remember the last time I had so much fun on these rides. Definitely worth coming back for, and especially recommended if you're ever in the Seaside area. We didn't have enough time to check out the video arcades, but enough time to browse some shops and really get a feel for the "beach scene." Next time, I'll have to bust out my camera more. 

Finally, an iPhone shot..

Happy Father's Day

....To this guy.

To quote Frank Pitman, MD in the book Man Enough: Fathers, Sons and the Search for Masculinity,

"These guys who fear of becoming fathers don't understand that fathering is not something that perfect men do, but something that perfects the man. The end product of child raising is not the child but the parent."

Baby vs. adult - who's going to win this staring contest?

As cliche as it sounds, I always knew he'd be a good dad. On our first date, I figured he was a family man. Turns out, my teenage instinct was right. :-) Lily loves her daddy - it shows from the beginning here. We are both very, very lucky.

Some old iPhone shots from back in the day...

Current (iphone) shots.

Around Town: Portland Nursery

Yesterday's trip to the Portland Nursery yielded these results:

With two locations in the Portland area, this nursery is a gardener's paradise. For someone who knows next to nothing about gardening, I always enjoy coming here with my husband. Gardening is his thing - just like baking is mine - and I feel that for us, it's best to keep our hobbies/interests separate. Still, every time we go here, there's always an abundance of natives, shrubs, flowers and everything in between. They even have a battery-operated caterpillar toy! (My daughter really enjoyed this; however, when it came time to pick up the toy, she got scared & turned the other way).

I couldn't look away from these beautiful pots!!

Finally, after we picked out some annuals to bring home, my camera decided to call it quits (checked the battery before I left and it lied to me :-( )

Hence, this one is an iPhone shot, with minor edits. I present to you.....BEGONIAS!!!