Showing posts with label outdoors. Show all posts
Showing posts with label outdoors. Show all posts

Thursday, September 2, 2010

Emergency Preparations


Even though we're likely to just get some wind and rain from Hurricane Earl this weekend, the storm has gotten me thinking about how we can be more prepared for emergencies. Other than water, food, flashlights, and candles, I think that this radio would make a great addition. Plus, with its compact size and solar panels, it would also be the perfect addition to picnics and meals on the patio!

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Backyard Camping


While I love the idea of camping in the midst of beautiful surroundings (see above), right now I'm smitten with the idea of sleeping in a tent a bit closer to home (courtesy of this article on Apartment Therapy. Now I'm dreaming of having a patch of land bigger than our little concrete patio...

Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Setting Sail





via

Even though I'm already starting to plan our (now) annual trip to Vermont for new year's, these photos have me wondering how I can squeeze in another trip to the beach before cooler weather arrives. I'm thinking any beach would do, but preferably one that has access to an outdoor shower similar to the one above.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Simply Succulent


Confession: I wish I had a green thumb. Sadly, I'm not sure this is the case, especially when it comes to indoor plants. I absolutely love succulents, but each of ones that I've owned have gotten awkwardly tall with spaced out leaves. I'm not sure what I'm doing wrong, but I'm thinking I may just need to admire these beauties from afar for the foreseeable future.

What about you- what are your favorite house plants? Any tips on indoor gardening?

Thursday, July 29, 2010

Portland's Rose Gardens

After our lovely week in Sunriver, we squeezed in a whirlwind tour of Portland before heading back to the airport. The bulk of our visit was taken up by our stop at the beautiful rose gardens of Portland. Although it was one big space, there were distinct spaces throughout, including the Gold Medal garden and a traditional English rose garden.

Not only was it beautiful in and of itself, but it also has gorgeous views of the city itself.


One thing that I loved were how fun visual elements were combined throughout the space, like this flower-laden lamp post...

And this sculpture.

Of course, the flowers were fantastic and, to be honest, a bit overwhelming. Part of the gardens were the International Rose Test Garden, where they create brand new varieties! There were so many to see that we easily could have spent an entire day looking at all of the different varieties.

They also had some phenomenal archways that were covered with roses.

I loved so many of the flowers, but these were pretty fabulous.

Overall, this was definitely worth the stop and was one of my favorite parts of our trip!

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

I Want to Ride My Bicycle

Now that I live in a town that is much more bike friendly, I keep meaning to use mine much more frequently than I have so far.

Although I'm currently blaming my lack of cycling around on the heat and humidity, I think it would also help if my bike were even a fraction as cute as the ones below.

via
 
 via

I'm thinking that I may need to at least add on a basket to up the cute factor at least a bit!

(Also, can you believe that second bike is from Target?)

Friday, July 23, 2010

Oregon Adventure

I'm still coming off the high from our fantastic trip to Oregon last week. Having only visited the Pacific Northwest for the first time in the fall (to Seattle/Tacoma), I'm so glad we had the chance to head out there again to do a bit more exploring!

Here are some of my favorite photos from throughout our journey.

Here's a pretty gorge we passed on the drive from Portland to Sunriver. I also love how the suspended bridge looks like it's sitting right beneath the mountains.

Although the subject matter isn't funny, K and I had a good laugh over this sign's image.

We stayed in a house with K's entire immediate family, so there were 11 of us total, including her five-week-old niece. Here's an early morning shot of our backyard. It's one of my faves from this trip.

We also had a nice little view of Mt. Bachelor in the distance and were only a few minutes away from the Deschutes River. One day, K's sister and brother-in-law went into town and got cheap inflatable tubes and we spent the better part of the afternoon floating down the river. It was heavenly. We also got to raft and canoe on other parts of the river during the week!

This is the photo from the top of Lava Butte, which is a cinder cone and part of the Newberry National Volcanic Monument. This is the crater at the top, and you can see where the lava descended into the forest below. We had several mini panic attacks here, trying to make sure K's three-year-old nephew didn't fall into the crater while running around!

Here's a pretty shot from our day trip to Sisters, a small town northwest of Bend. As someone who was obsessed with Oregon Trail growing up and is still interested in pioneer history, it was really cool to see details like this throughout our trip. Some of my highlights were driving and rafting past parts of the original Oregon Trail, since you can still see some of the tracks from the wagon wheels.

Me, in my traveling clothes, in front of the Three Sisters mountains. From left to right are South Sister, Middle Sister, and North Sister, also referred to as Charity, Hope, and Faith. Although they don't look like a whole lot here, they're the third through fifth tallest peaks in Oregon.

On our way back to the airport in Portland, we swung through Salem to visit Willamette University, K's alma mater. Don't you wish your campus had a pretty river running through it?

Our final stop before catching our flights was the Portland Rose Garden, which I'll be dedicating a separate post to sometime soon. For now, a shot of some of the prettiest flowers I saw there.

So, there's the recap of our trip in nine photos. I'm already wishing we had more time there to explore Portland, Eugene, and the coast. I definitely have plans for us to return eventually! What about you- have you ever been to Oregon? What are some of your Pacific Northwest must-sees?

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

A Walk on the High Line

A few weeks ago, while on a quick trip up to Connecticut and New York, I got to spend a bit of time wandering along the High Line, a new public park in NYC.

 

Stretching 1.45 miles and elevated along the West Side, the High Line was filled with stunning juxtapositions between nature and the city landscape.


Built on what was once a freight train line, the park now follows the same meandering path between buildings and over streets. One of my favorite parts was a sunken ampitheater with a plexiglass window directly over a street, allowing visitors to sit and watch the traffic zoom past.


Have I mentioned that I loved all of the flowers and plants? Because seriously, they're just beautiful.


One of the best parts, though? The gorgeous views of the East River and even a glimpse of Lady Liberty herself (you can't quite see her in the photo above, but I swear she's there!).

 

With beautiful views, lush flora and fauna, and plenty of places to sit and relax, what's not to love?

Wednesday, June 2, 2010

NC Wildflowers Get an A+

One thing I've loved since moving down South is that periodically along many highways are patches of beautiful wildflowers. I've seen them most prevalently here in North Carolina, as well as occasionally in Virginia, and they never cease to make me smile.

via scott185's photostream

I'm not sure who's responsible for them, but I'm thankful for whomever decided to make long (or even short) car rides just a bit brighter! Just another reason for you all to take a trip here, no?

Friday, May 7, 2010

Have an Above-Average Weekend!

I can't believe the week has already flown by! To celebrate being officially done with the semester, K and I are taking off to the Outer Banks bright and early tomorrow morning to camp by the beach until Monday. I'm hoping for lots of campfires, bicycle rides, seafood, and swimming. It sounds so dreamy and I really cannot wait!


I hope you all have an equally wonderful weekend!
xo