New In

I made the mistake of "walking around" the Pearl district of Portland today...because we all know that "walking around" places like Powell's bookstore and Madewell is harmless, right? I was just doing some Sunday browsing, right? Well.....I headed home with a couple of goodies.

I got my hands on this denim jacket from Madewell that I've been lusting after for a while. I have a few denim jackets already, but this one has such a unique look to it, I couldn't resist--let the denim obsession continue.

And of course nothing makes for a better Sunday browse around Portland than the famous Powell's bookstore. I went in with the intention of finding a new cookbook and I wasn't disappointed. The last few months, what with final exams and traveling and moving apartments, I've been eating way more takeout than I care to admit and I'm ready to get back on the healthy eating bandwagen; I'm excited to dig into Clean Slate and see what tasty recipes lie within. I also picked up Big Magic by Elizabeth Gilbert which seems to be all over the place lately. As an aspiring creative, I'm interested to see what she has to say about the creative process and how to keep the fresh ideas flowing. Finally, I couldn't resist grabbing The Cool Factor as I was walking by the street style section. Because, who doesn't want to know how to be cool? Or at least dress to appear so, which is probably the closest I'll ever get to being cool.

Finally, I'm loving these Dr. Scholl's lace up shoes that I got at a cah-razy good price from Adorn with a employee discount. So far, I've been really good about not spending my entire paycheck on all of the amazing clothes they have, but I'm afraid these shoes may have opened the floodgates of outgoing money...self-control is a tricky thing, isn't it?

Onward

Every time I come back here, I find it so hard to put into words exactly what it is I want to say. Taking pictures is the easy part; writing is so much trickier. Sometimes I have to laugh a little bit at how much effort I put into my blog posts when I think about the measly number of page views it gets (the majority of them from my parents and most of the others inexplicably from Russia), but I also think keeping up with this blog is such a good exercise for me. So I guess we'll just see what direction this blog takes! Either it will keep getting better and better, or it will get shittier and shittier until I surrender to the fact that I am not good at this. Your guess is as good as mine!

I did indeed graduate college two weeks ago; they didn't yank the diploma away from me and yell "PSYCH!" and laugh maniacally when I went to reach for it, as I irrationally feared. Then again, I haven't actually received my real diploma in the mail yet--so maybe I'm speaking too soon. 

My parents and I spent the rest of the weekend wandering around Portland, eating way too much food and enjoying the fact that our schedules were wide open for two whole days. It's always nice when people come to visit because that means I have an excuse to explore the city as if I'm a visitor too. I especially loved being able to bring my parents outside of downtown, which, truth be told, is really not the best part of Portland. We ventured into some of my favorites areas in Northeast and Southeast and they got to see what it really is about Portland that I have fallen so deeply in love with.

Of course, we had to make one final pit stop before heading to Arizona, and that was to see the Lewis and Clark campus one more time--not that I won't be going back all the time just to walk around and enjoy its beauty. But it was nice and sentimental to walk around as an alumnus for the first time. The blooming flowers and lush landscape at this time of year is reason enough to make the trip.

And here's where my life as a student ends, at least for now. Into the big, scary world of adulthood and finding "what I want to do with my life"....

New Beginnings

So here we are again: another time of my life that seems to be defined by things ending and starting. In a week, I’ll be graduating from college. I know everyone says this, but I really don’t understand how this moment snuck up on me. Looking back on my years in college, I see so clearly the number of opportunities that I didn’t take advantage of. And I could very easily let these feelings take on the name regret, but I refuse to submit to that; instead, I’m bringing this awareness into the next phase as I keep an open mind about finding opportunities to do the things I love, the things I’m good at (aaand maybe get paid for it.)

In other news, I recently invited a new family member into my home—his name is Bagheera and he’s a cuddly little guy. Our first weekend together involved a lot of crying (from both him and me), and I realized that I picked out a cat that was as emotional and anxious about new situations as I am—so in between crying, I had to laugh at the irony of the whole situation. Since then, we’ve started to feel more at home with each other and it’s nice having someone to come home to! He's pretty adorable, right?

Even though I’m still facing one more week of final projects, presentations, and exams, I’m so looking forward to a short hiatus with my family in Tucson, AZ after graduation. I’m dreaming of sunsets like this and I can’t wait to get back there with my camera. After this little vacation, I’ll be returning to Portland to start my adult life….yikes.

Gratitude in Tucson

To the Coast

This past weekend a friend invited me to take a little day trip to the Oregon coast, and since I'd never been of course I said yes. We stopped along a few beach towns throughout the day, taking a quick little walk around each of them. It was a great, classic, rainy Oregon day that involved hot clam chowder, salt water taffy, and sea lions (seeing them, not eating them.) This is the life, isn't it?

Coffee Date: Commissary

Anyone that knows me knows that I'm quite the coffeeaddict (although I'm slowly transitioning out of using that email address anymore, being that I'm 21 years old and have gotten to the point that reading it aloud to strangers has gotten a bit embarrassing) and, regardless of the time of day, am almost always down to grab a hot cuppa somewhere.

Not only do I love coffee but I love the ritual of going to new spots around the city, exploring the different atmospheres and clientele of each shop. So I thought I'd start a little series called "Coffee Date" where I just share my excursions to different cool coffee shops around Portland.

A friend and I made a little trip to Commissary a few Sundays ago to get some work done and have a change of scenery from being home or at the library. Commissary is a pretty new spot that opened up on 21st in NW Portland, a cool area that's far enough from 23rd to be pretty quiet and chill, even on the weekends. The building was previously a movie distribution center which is pretty cool; it's named after the place that actors in Hollywood would typically meet up for food in between shooting scenes. 

The atmosphere in here is so lovely and clean; the space itself has a very industrial feel to it, but the vintage decor and natural light coming from the huge windows really brightens it up. As it is October, I had to go for a fall spice latte (my first of the season), and it was really tasty: smooth without being too sweet. We've now pegged this place as a favorite study spot so I'm sure we'll be back soon.

Transitions

Lately my life has been punctuated by a lot of different transitions; it's been five years since I've lived in the same place for more than one year at a time. But I'd be lying if I said that I haven't kind of loved it. The places I've lived, the experiences I've had, and the people I've met have really shaped me into the person I am now. Some have inspired me to be better, some have shown me what I'm not looking for in my life, and some have widened my perspective to the point where I can't imagine going back. Basically, I'm loving life right now, if for no other reason than this: my world is wide open. And I get to fill it, piece by piece, with the people and the things that make me happy. To quote my favorite yoga teacher, Adriene Mishler, I'm finding what feels good.

Things that are making me feel good nowadays:
1. My new space and the opportunity to make it my own.
2. This beautiful city. Damn, PDX. You got it going on.
3. The world of food and cooking--what a beautiful thing it is to create something that nourishes my soul and body!
4. My daily yoga practice, keeping me grounded.
5. New people. Although meeting new people and putting myself out there is always kind of scary, it's a challenge I'm willing to accept.
6. This blog: another wide open space to cultivate some creativity.

That being said, I have no idea where this blog will be going! There are so many things I want to use it for: to explore different spots around Portland, to develop my photography and writing skills, to document my cooking progress, and generally to share the things that make me happy. So I guess we'll just see where I can take this blog, and maybe more importantly, where it can take me. And if I collect a few people along the way who are interested in following this journey, even better!
Happy Sunday everyone! Until next time.
-Audra-