Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts

Friday, September 3, 2010

Eat Pray Shop

The other night K and I had a date to see the movie 'Eat Pray Love.' While I wasn't as inspired by the film as I would have liked, I did manage to fall head-over-heels for Julia Roberts' entire wardrobe. I loved its simplicity, with bright pops of color while she visited India and Bali. Since I'm on a bit more of a budget, I decided to pull together some of my favorite looks for a bit less money than her's probably cost (with a few pricier items thrown in for fun, natch).

Have y'all seen the movie yet? What did you think of it, and her paired-down wardrobe?



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!

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

Currently Craving


This past weekend, while visiting my lovely friends Chelsea and Liesl in Charleston, I had a truly fabulous time. We spent plenty of time sitting at the beach (and getting thrown around by the waves), sampling delicious food, doing some shopping (TJ Maxx and Marshall's/Home Goods have massive, well-stocked stores right near each other. Dangerous!), seeing some live music, and catching up.

Although I would be hard pressed to choose my favorite food from the weekend (aside from the box of frozen cream puffs we devoured...), my favorite drink was potentially the best iced tea I've ever tasted. Since moving to the south, I've learned that such things are an art form, much more serious than the Lipton variety I grew up with in Connecticut.

The secret ingredient behind this particular variety? Cinnamon. Even though I got the unsweetened version (very un-Southern of me), it was so flavorful that I didn't need to add any sugar. It was wonderfully refreshing and perfect for a hot summer day.

I already have plans to recreate this at home, with my fingers crossed that it turns out even half as well!

Friday, July 23, 2010

Have an Above-Average Weekend!


I can't believe Friday is already here! Even though it's been absolutely sweltering out here (why did I leave the West coast?), I'll be heading even further South to visit two of my wonderful friends and sorority sisters in Charleston. I can't wait to catch up with them, explore the city some more, and partake in what they refer to as BBB- beach, bars, and brunch. Personally, I'm more interested in the first and last of those, but I'm just generally excited for the weekend?

What about you all? Any fun plans? Whatever you're up to, I hope the next two days are wonderful and relaxing!

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?

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Road Tripping

 via

Even though I recently returned from an amazing trip to Oregon (more on that tomorrow), I'm already concocting my next vacation. Right now I think that an extended road trip with K sounds perfect, perhaps with Montana and Wyoming as the ultimate destinations.

Until then, I'll ogle all of these great WPA posters, particularly the ones advertising national parks.

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?

Friday, July 9, 2010

Have an Above-Average Weekend!


As you read this, I'm likely to be flying somewhere over the country on my way to Oregon! I'll be meeting up with K's family for a week-long vacation that I hope will be filled with lots of hiking, relaxation, and cooking, with some rafting and horseback riding thrown in for good measure!

There are a few posts scheduled for next week, since I'm purposely leaving my computer behind (!), so feel free to stop by until I get back next Friday.

What are you up to this weekend?