Tag: life

The Happy Summer To-Do List


I love a good to-do list to help remind me about all of things that inspire me, make me happy and are good for you! Summer is always a great time to tackle these simple pleasures.

1. Dig your toes in some sand
2. Take a good family hike and enjoy natures beauty
3. Wake up earlier
4. Unplug more often
5. Make a chopped salad. Ok, make a LOT of chopped salads
6. Plan a weekend getaway to a lake
7. Spend a whole day at the beach
8. Wear more color, it will make you smile : )
9. Practice more mindful time. Even if it’s just 5 minutes!
10. Feed your mind with inspiring books + podcasts rather than tv
11. Veggie. Fruit. More veggies. More fruit.
12. Enjoy more dinners outside with the fam
13. Take more photos (with your camera, not phone)
14. Go camping
15. Make a new summer music playlist
16. Try to do more yoga
17. Spend a lot of time with friends
18. Throw a party
19. Go natural with makeup
20. Play more tennis
21. Drink more water + infuse with basil, mint, cucumber, strawberries… you name it!
22. Get a new fresh summer haircut
23. Plan more date nights
24. Go to an outdoor concert
25. Face a few fears, do at least 2 things that scare you

Happy Summer, friends!! xx

Christmas Tree Cutting, Oregon Style


One of the best things about living in a place like Oregon, is that you get to go directly to the tree farm to cut down your Christmas tree. There are so many great places around where we live in Portland, but I specifically love Quail Creek Ranch. They’ve just done a great job organizing everything and they have everything you need there to make it an experience too.

jacket: obey-nordstrom rack | beanie: hm (similar) | turtle neck: old navy (similar) | coffee mug: target

Each year after we get our tree, we make our way to McMenamins Rock Creek Tavern for some food and drinks. This place is as cozy and Christmasy as it gets! If you live on the West side of town in Portland, you’ve got to check it out.

What kind of tree tradition do you have? I honestly didn’t really have one until I moved to Oregon. In San Diego we used to get ours from Home Depot (LOL).

Wishing you a very, Merry Christmas!

X
Lindsay

Slowing Down

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I am currently sitting on the couch with a cozy blanket while the food is in the oven and the rain is pouring down outside. Parker is next to me, getting a head start on Christmas by watching Tigger and Pooh Christmas episodes.

Lately, I have been spending a lot of time slowing down and off of the internet, so I apologize if I haven’t been posting as much. I’ve actually become a little obsessed with the idea of slowing down, particularly because the more I do so, the more I’m realizing how badly I needed it.

Between work emails 24/7, blog posts, social media, and the moments where I’m just trying to cross things off my to-do list rather than be present… it is just so dang easy to get distracted these days. It feels like this constant state of overdrive. We live in a world now where it is so easy to get wrapped up in material and digital things, rather than moments and tangible experiences. We’ve lost site of the things right in front of us, only to look at things through a screen…


I don’t know about you, but sometimes I fantasize about a life outside of the city, on a farm, or somewhere that life feels a bit old school. A place where the kids play outside all day, we can take naps in the middle of the day and dinners last all night long. And then I’m reminded that all of this is really up to me. Obviously some things will look different; my job still requires me to be online most of the day, my blog still requires content and social engagement, but it doesn’t have to consume my life. That is something I can control.

Slowing down might look a little different for each person, but for me lately it has looked like logging into Facebook maybe only once a week, not reading the news except main headlines, leaving my phone upstairs and out of sight when I get home from work, deleting people who I’m not friends with or those that don’t inspire me on social media, listening to more music, listening to more podcasts, reading more often, trying (I still suck) to meditate once a day, getting to bed earlier, spending more present time with my family and doing all things at a slower speed.

So, cheers! Cheers to a day of gratitude, slowing down, and doing what most great cultures do on a regular basis… feast and drink all night and spend time with friends or family, in person. : )

XO

Lindsay

To Valentine’s Day

In honor of Valentine’s Day, not only did I make sure we had pink roses in the house, but I also purchased pink rose champagne, got a pedicure with – wait for it – light pink nail polish and (not finished), have yet to take off my awesome pajama set that just happens to be pink. When being a female is the minority in your house, you’ve really got to get in as much girlie as you can, when you can. So I decided to capitalize.

Do you love or hate Valentine’s Day? I completely understand why people don’t like it. If you are single, it is just another way to remind you that, well, you are single! And if you are with someone, you ask yourself, should love really be celebrated just once a year? I totally get it. But for me, I’ve never really let it bother me either way. Maybe because I love the chance to celebrate anything. But truly, even when I was single, I treated myself like gold on Valentine’s Day. So I guess I remain impartial. BUT, its always a good reminder to not forget to love on yourself or someone else.


My husband and I said I love you with boat loads of sushi Friday night (can’t really handle the “day of” crowds). This was our first time going to Bamboo Sushi in NW Portland and we were pretty dang impressed. And of course, after we were done ordering just about everything they had on the menu, we just happened to walk into Salt and Straw next door. I don’t really understand how that happens, but I swear there are spiritual ice cream forces that lure you in. I didn’t even want ice cream, but walked out with scoop and a pint for later. Since I have given up gluten and dairy for a bit, I devoured the dairy-free, Missionary Chocolate’s Coconut Cinnamon Chipotle Rocky Road. Say that 5 times!

As for gifts- we haven’t opened them yet. I didn’t really feel that having Tyson open a present from She Bop would be super appropriate in public. LOL. I promise you it wasn’t anything too wild. Really, I wish I was cool enough to own some of the things they have in that store- which, by the way, is just about the classiest place around for a store like that.

Anyway…

On actual Valentine’s Day we will be hanging with our family. And taking at least 2-3 naps.

Happy Valentine’s Day to YOU! However you celebrate it, make sure to give yourself some extra TLC.

A Bear Bash

A pacific northwest bear themed birthday party for a baby
diy animal masks for a birthday party and gluten free birthday cupcakes

one year old birthday party food ideas
One year old birthday party food ideas
A bear themed birthday party for a baby ideas
gluten free bear cookies
party donations to oregon wild
Details: 

Gluten Free Cupcakes
Mac n’ Cheese (adult version, dairy free/gluten free version, and kid version). All homemade.
Chopped Salads
Veggie and Chicken Meatballs
Beer and Wine 
Animal Masks- made them myself
Bear books- amazon and the library
Black and White balloons
Bear cake topper- from amazon
Table cloth- from amazon
Wooden tree stumps- from michaels
Parker’s outfit- Baby Gap
In lieu of a gift, we asked our guests to donate to Oregon Wild. Check out more info on them here. 
Happy first birthday to my little bear cub. We love you!!!

There are Christmas Trees and Babies at the End of this Post…

I don’t know what has been going on lately, but I don’t like it. Maybe its because I’m getting older and this is what I was filtered from most of my youth. Or perhaps it is the dang news feed now on Facebook that I just happen to look at while I’m at work. Or even that Mom site I read. I wish I could filter out all the tragic stories about babies, and just go on there to read the informative ones or the happy stories.

I’m not trying to live in a bubble, but is there a point in life where we are far too exposed to things going on in the world? I mean, think about it. Before social media, we had local news and the newspaper, but never this much info, to this extent.

I don’t know where I’m going with this, but I have just felt heavy-hearted lately for so many things going on this world. I’m just trying to keep focused on the beauty in the midst.

So, here are baby and Christmas tree photos, brought to you by our annual trip to cut our own Christmas tree down.

These are the moments that mean everything.

Congrats Pop-Pop (aka Dad) on finishing radiation! Time to kick cancers ass for good.