Up in the air

Last Saturday Josh and I rode the Portland Aerial Tram that runs from the south waterfront to OHSU, the teaching hospital up on the hill. It was rainy and foggy, so we didn't get to see any of the mountains, but it was still a cool experience. If you're in Portland, this would make for a fun afternoon, especially if you go on a clear day while the leaves are still changing colors.

I've already worn this outfit several times this fall, even though this was the first time it was photographed. It's perfect for cold and rainy days.

Striped cardigan: Cynthia Rowley from TJ Maxx

Jeans: Levi's

Boots: Jessica Simpson from Macy's

Earrings: free from my aunt

Belt: thrifted

This last photo is blurry, but I love it anyway because it still captures the beauty of Portland...

Island Cafe

On Saturday Josh and I took a trip to Island Cafe with some of my family members. It's a restaurant floating in the marina off Hayden Island (which is on the Columbia River), and it's only open during the warm months of the year. What I love about it, apart from the great food (and the excellent mango margaritas, and the pleasant experience of sitting in the sunshine next to the river), is that you can take your boat or kayak or paddle board right up to the restaurant and enter via the water. You can also look over the railing and see ducks swimming around in the water, and sometimes they hop up on the deck and wander around under the tables.

This is what I wore to the restaurant, and at the last minute I stuck on the hat because I figured we'd be sitting out in the sun. Until Saturday I forgot I had this belt, and I'm so glad I rediscovered it. I may have worn it backwards, but I liked it best that way.

Green patterned dress: vintage

Green sandals: Blowfish Shoes

Green hat: vintage, gift from my dad

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Brown belt: thrifted

Gold bracelet: gift from my mom, from Yosemite

Brown bag: Eva Messenger Bag from Ellington Handbags

The Rose Garden

On Saturday evening Josh and I headed up to the Rose Garden at Washington Park. It's such a beautiful park, and one of my favorite places in the whole city. Since Oregon weather has already turned towards fall (crisp mornings, leaves changing color), I figured I should probably wear these shorts and wedges as many times as possible before I have to tuck them away for the rest of the year.

White t-shirt: Walgreens (?)

Mint green cardigan: Old Navy

Pink shorts: Loft

Blue and green wedges: Nine West from Nordstrom Rack

Sunglasses: Oscar de la Renta from TJ Maxx

Gold necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Pink bracelet: H&M

Green bracelet: thrifted from Village Merchants

McMenamins Edgefield

On Saturday Josh and I were planning to head south of Portland to Estacada for a hike and a trip to a microbrewery, but before leaving he mentioned something about a brewery he had visited once years before, somewhere east of Portland, and we decided to go there instead if we could find it. All he remembered was that it had beautiful expansive grounds. One quick google search later, and we figured out that it was McMenamins Edgefield in Troutdale. After a short hike in the nearby Columbia Gorge, we stopped at the brewery. Oh, people - you must go there if you're ever in the Portland area and like beer. (Even if you don't like beer it's pretty enjoyable.) On the property they have a brewery, a winery, a distillery, a movie theater, a pool hall, a vegetable garden, an herb garden, a golf course, a spa, vineyards, an amphitheater (where Florence and the Machine performed recently!), lodging, and ten different places where you can eat or drink. And, they let you bring your booze anywhere on the property! We drank beer while sitting on the golf course, and then again while sitting in the herb garden. We had a fantastic afternoon there, and I can't wait to go back for a whole weekend someday.

Lucas Salon

Yesterday I got my hair re-colored. In the past I haven't invested much time or money into my hair. I've never put any fancy products into it. I only learned how to use a curling iron this year. I own a blow-dryer, but it's been broken for two years. And for about ten years, I dyed my hair with the stuff you get in a box at the grocery store. (Except for six months where I had black and blonde hair, which I definitely could not have done on my own.)

But earlier this year, I just got tired of the way my hair looked, so armed with a recommendation from my friend Lauren for a great new salon in Portland, I headed to Lucas Salon to get my hair cut and colored. The owner, Taylor Lucas, cut and colored my hair back in April before a friend's wedding, and it turned out so beautifully that I'm hooked on nice haircuts and hair color now. I went back yesterday to get my roots and my rose gold highlights touched up, and had the red deepened a bit. I'm immensely satisfied with the results, and wholeheartedly recommend Lucas Salon to anyone in the Portland area looking for a good stylist. If you're used to getting $20 haircuts and dyeing your hair from a box, the prices might seem a bit steep ($60 for a haircut and $85 for highlights) - but trust me (and this is coming from someone who typically spends next to nothing on beauty products), it's worth it.

I couldn't resist showing a close-up of my hair - I hope it doesn't sound vain of me to say that I think it looks awesome!

Paisley dress: from an antique show

Jean jacket: thrifted from Rerun

Brown sandals: Nordstrom Rack

Brown bag: Eva Messenger Bag from Ellington Handbags

Brown belt: thrifted

Bracelet: vintage, gift

And here are some photos of the fabulous Lucas Salon!

Black and white on a summer evening

Here's an outfit from yet another one of our evening strolls - we can't seem to stay indoors on these beautiful summer evenings, and we also can't stay away from Salt & Straw. (On this trip we shared scoops of double-fold vanilla and mixed berries - some of the more normal flavors there.)

Striped shirt: Target

Black and white shorts: Loft

Gold sandals: Asos

White purse: free from my aunt

White necklace: H&M

The other day I went to Pix Patisserie in SE Portland with my mom and brother. If you're in the area you really should stop by - the desserts may be expensive, but they're delicious little works of art. My mom got the Shazam, which is the wavy chocolate tower in the middle below, and I got the macarons pictured at the bottom (pistachio, blackcurrant, and salted caramel).

Salt & Straw

I think choosing outfits would be a lot easier if I didn't have this blog. Instead of just throwing on whatever is comfortable for an evening stroll with Josh, I spend twenty minutes agonizing over my outfit, trying to find something that is Totally Innovative and Never Seen Before By My Blog Readers. The other evening, though, I got so tired of trying to be creative that I just threw on what I really wanted to wear, which was this.

And on our walk we stopped at a new ice cream shop that opened in our area called Salt & Straw. Oh. My. Goodness. I've never had better ice cream in my life. It was so good I wanted to cry. If you're ever in the Portland area, you really should try it. We shared the sea salt ice cream with caramel ribbons - the salt was, surprisingly, the perfect touch. If I could, I'd eat that flavor every day for the rest of my life.

Floral shirt: Marshall's

Jean shorts: free from a family member

Red wedges: Jeffrey Campbell from Lulu's

Gold necklace: Evidence Jewelry, won in a giveaway

Gold cuff bracelet: In Pink

"S" pin: vintage, gift from my mom

I took this photo on our walk; lately I've been obsessed with photographing flowers with the evening light shining through them...

Thanks Dad - Remix #7

Dad:

Thanks for being the dad who coached all our sports teams growing up. Thanks for buying me really cool vintage clothes. Thanks for making corny jokes even though everyone says they're awful. (I still like them.) Thanks for being the only family member who didn't freak out when I got engaged after a month of dating Josh. Thanks for keeping a positive spirit whenever bad things happen. Thanks for sending me to college. And thanks for this white shirt. (I hope you didn't need it anymore.)

So yeah, I'm wearing my dad's shirt. (I promise, I didn't really steal it.) It's the first time I've worn it, and only the second time I've worn this striped skirt, and yet for some reason I felt compelled to include them in my 30 items. There are actually a couple other items in my collection of 30 that I've never worn before, but they were new right before the challenge started, and I knew I didn't want to go a whole month without wearing them.

Black tee: Forever 21

White button-up shirt: free from my dad

Skirt: Forever 21

Tights: Forever 21

Shoes: Jeffrey Campbell via Lulu's

Belt: free from aunt

Earrings: free from aunt

Necklace: Simply Jo Designs

Necklace (worn as bracelet): owned since 2nd grade

It rained all day yesterday, and it was so cold that I had to wear tights, so Josh and I walked down to a local coffee shop, Coffeehouse Northwest, to get a cappuccino to warm up a bit. We'd only been there once years before, and that was to see some of our neighbor's artwork hanging on the walls. We're really bad about always going to the same places over and over again and never trying anything new, so we decided to branch out and try something fairly new this time! It had a wonderful, cozy ambiance along with really fun art on the walls, great table lamps, and an adorable heart-in-the-foam on our cappuccino...