a view of portland...

enjoying another great weekend in portland, soaking up the sun while we can! we hiked through washington and forest park. (this is the view from the pittock mansion.)

enjoying

yesterday i went frolicking downtown...to the farmer's market where i picked up a delicious chocolate chip hazelnut scone...yuuummm. (there were so many delicious fruits and vegetables, but i went for the bakery instead) went to stumptown coffee to work yet again. it is the perfect place to get my creative juices flowing. while i was sipping my coffee and working away...along came a couple of guys sitting next to me (with a british accent i must add) and pretty soon, there were about 8 people occupying a 2 person table. from their conversations (i couldn't help but hear, they were just inches away) i gathered that some of them lived in portland and were part of a band and the rest of them were in another band on tour. maybe i was in the presence of greatness...too bad i didn't know who they were!

and speaking of music, i've been delighted by sufjan stevens, sigur ros, the new ray lamontane album, the elizabethtown soundtrack, and gomez. (okay, okay, and i can't seem to get enough of "how to save a life" by the fray)

i've decided anything folk and acoustic is my friend. who would have guessed.

oh, and i finally went to the central library. i've been getting my books from some of the other branches, but the now the central library is right on the max line...what a beautiful historic building...It has a grand entrance with huge stairs. All the books are in rooms off to the side... I just picked up my books on hold and went onto the rest of my day...I'll have to do more exploring there later.

camping and hiking on the coast

travis and i went camping with some friends on the coast this past weekend. i just can't get enough of the coast.
we camped and hiked at cape lookout, then hiked mt neahkanhie with a beautiful view of the coast, ate at the famous mo's at canon beach...what a weekend...

oh bliss...

"deep calls to deep in the roar of your water falls. all your waves and breakers have swept over me."


life has been beautiful lately. there's a smile on my face and joy in my heart. it's times like this that i can say proudly...i'm so happy to have the world as my office!

I just got back from camping at silver falls national park with our new church community. it was so good to hang out and get to know new people...nothing better than sitting around the campfire sharing stories. and after the camping trip, i was able to plant myself in nature at silver falls with my journal and process through what God has been whispering to me lately.

oh, and then my trip to oklahoma last week...labor day is delcared the eight, where my college friends get together somewhere (maybe sometime i can get them all up here to oregon). this year we met in our college town in oklahoma (go cowboys!). so much fun! there was plenty to gab about and so much life experiences to share. it was so good to be around the familiar beautiful friends that i've experience so much with...my heart needed it. i cherish their friendship.

and while i was in oklahoma, i had a lunch with my grandma, visited my grandpa, had coffee on the back porch with my dad, dinner with my aunt, went shopping with my mom. dinner with trav's granparents and aunt and uncle. multiple coffee conversations with my best friend...and i managed to work at coffee shops in-between. oh what bliss.

Hoppípolla

a beloved song by sigur ros (translated into english)

what beauty...


Jumpin' Puddles

Smiling
Spinning 'round and 'round
Holding hands
The whole world a blur
But you are standing

Soaked
Completely drenched
No rubber boots
Running in us
Want to erupt from a shell

Wind in
Aand outdoor smell of your hair
I hit as fast as I could
With my nose

Hopping into puddles
Completely drenched
Soaked
With no boots on

And I get nosebleed
But I always get up
(Hopelandic)

And I get nosebleed
But I always get up
(Hopelandic)