Lost my mind in Oregon

Have I mentioned lately how much I love Portland? And how much I miss Oregon?



Don't get me wrong: I love New York, too. But where else can you just climb a mountain and stand on the edge of the world better than you can in Oregon?


I took a much-needed vacation to Portland over Memorial Day. First on my must-do list? Hike. Nicole and I climbed Saddle Mountain this time.

We were supposed to see Mt. St. Helens, Mt. Hood, Mt. Rainer and the whole Pacific coast from the top.


But by the time we go there, our heads were literally in the clouds.

And this was as good as it got. But I'm not complaining one little bit.

Then we headed to the coast—Ecola State Park—which may be my favorite place in the entire world. The rest of the weekend was filled with bagels, coffee, crossword puzzles, Sauvie Island, Portland Saturday Market, four-square, beer, barbecues, good runs, beautiful weather and sun.


But most of all, I saw the people I miss. It's true—I don't think I'll ever be able to shake myself from Oregon.

Scotland Run 10k

On a very very rainy Saturday about a week ago, Ivy came in from Boston and ran a 10k with me around Central Park—the same route I'll run twice on Sunday. (Sunday!)

We got up early-ish and ate our cereal and bananas, dressed in our warm running gear, and headed outside ... to rain. And 45* temperatures. And did I mention steady, cold rain? But we braved the elements and joined about 7,600 other runners for the Scotland Run.


Notice we're the ones without ponchos. They came in our race packages, and these two college-educated girls said, "nah, we won't need 'em." Ha. That's funny. We did have an umbrella, though ... but we ditched it before the start.

Too bad I don't have Ivy for the half marathon. It'll just be me and my iPod—and nearly 10,000 other women. Ten thousand!

But I'm feeling confident ... aside from some fairly awful stomach stitches during my runs yesterday and today. So long as they go away for Sunday (oh, please go away on Sunday!) I'll be ok. I'll finish. That's what matters.


Send me good race karma on Sunday, please!

theBUNGALOO!

I have some ridiculously talented friends. There's Julie, Ms. Writing-Teaching-Yogaing Extraordinaire. Then there's crafty Cara, who dreamed up her business of creating recycled candles and and other goodies, landing her smart self in Country Living. Kristin travels the world for a living, Susan whips up the most gorgeous earrings and other lovelies, and Mrs. French takes ethereal photographs that even Urban Outfitters can't resist.

You're all pretty swell, really.

So, I gotta spread the love to my friend John, owner and creator of theBungaloo! He's pretty amazing, too. I bought this scarf (in brown) from him and proudly wore it yesterday. I was bored in a meeting and spent a good 5 mintues or so trying to figure out how he so immaculately created the silkscreen for this:




He also makes some pretty clever T-shirts:


But his bread and butter are his posters and paper stuff, which a few people in the media have caught wind of, here and here:

I may have also bought a test print journal, and he may have thrown in some magnets with my order. Maybe:




Shop around at theBungaloo!'s etsy shop, whydontcha?

Mary Marie Handmade Goods

So excited to announce (a bit late, I admit) that my good friend over at Failed Feminist, Cara, has launched her new Esty site, Mary Marie Handmade Goods.

Recycled candles, buttons made into magnets, and more re-made/handmade/lovingly-made crafts to come.

Get thee over there!

This was Fall

Although winter's upon us (Christmas? What?) I sadly neglected much of fall. Here was life:

Food

Running along the Brooklyn Promenade

Apple picking upstate (last picture by Sarah)

Pumpkin carving and cupcake making (cupcake photo by Jes)

NYC Marathon-ing (er, volunteering)

Celebrating

Reuniting in Boston

Ani

They Say It's Your Birthday

Turning 25 has come and gone. Nope, don't feel any different than I did last week, so in case you're waiting for something grandiose to happen when you hit a quarter-century, I wouldn't hold your breath.

I will miss 24 a bit, though. After all, I moved to Portland a day (two days?) after I turned 24, then I moved to New York 11 months later. I think I'll remember 24 as one of the best years: I fortuitously re-connected with an old friend and made some fantastic new ones. And I discovered a part of the country that will always be special to me. It's amazing how much can happen in a year, huh?

So it's kind of daunting—and exciting—to have had such an incredible year, filled with so much, and to look to the year ahead and wonder what it holds. Chances are, though, I will not be moving to a brand-new city all alone. That I hope never happens again. If I go anywhere (Austin, Chicago, Seattle, Portland, San Fran, Paris?!) I'm dragging one of you with me!

Now, onto the festivities. I am pretty damn lucky because I've only been here a month, yet I had about 15 people show up to my birthday party. In the rain. All the way to Brooklyn. And on debate night!

Trader Joe's is my savior. I honestly get a little tingly in there. Only $33 on food (including fruit, cheese, crackers, chocolate, bread, and hummus), and $15 on five bottles of wine (three-buck Chuck is incredible) and I was set.

If only I had money, and this would have been caviar.

Those five bottles of Chuck turned into this dangerously yummy sangria:

It's easy: wine, brandy, OJ, sprite, sugar, and fruit. You're done!

Then Jes showed up with dessert. That girl. She's amazing!

Frosting is a hard job.

Sara approves.

I agree.

I swear more people than these three came to the party; apparently I just stopped taking pictures after the sangria set in. All in all, it was fun to have had a Brooklyn birthday. And seriously, who knows where I'll be at 26.

Kansas City, Here I Come

Or, more accurately, Kansas City, Here I've Been.

It's been two weeks since I've left Portland. And since then, I've been to nine states: Oregon, Washington, Georgia, Missouri, Kansas, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Iowa. It's been a busy few weeks. It's keeping my mind away from being currently unemployed (which really, I'm not, considering I've kept up my income and then some freelancing ... thank goodness).

My days are filled with applying for jobs, working on freelancing, sending out packets of cover letter, resume, clips, cover letter, resume, clips.

And somewhere in between, I went to a good friend's wedding, saw my friends from college, came home, (cover letter, resume, clips, yet again) then went up to Des Moines for a few days. I mostly went to get a bit more freelance work, but ended up squeezing all I love about Des Moines into 48 hours: went to the fair (you do know it's on of the 1,000 Places to See Before You Die, right?), had salad and pizza at Centro, enjoyed wine and cheese on a good friend's porch, had a bean burrito at El Rodeo, sat outside at Snookies, and woke up early to spend all morning at the world's best farmers market (sorry, Portland, I love you, but Des Moines kicks your butt when it comes to farmers markets).




I realized one thing: I'm lucky. I'm a lucky lucky lucky girl. Not only do I have friends all across the country, I have good friends who honestly care about me and my happiness and success. And who will eat bad Mexican food with me, go for a swirl cone at Snookies right afterward, then sit around and watch the Olympics on a Friday night.



For a while upon coming back to KC and leaving Portland, I was afraid I couldn't really ever come home again; that things change too quickly and they won't ever quite be the same when you return. To be honest, I did feel a bit like an outsider in Des Moines, not living there anymore. And I think what I'm really afraid of is that some day, I'll go back to Portland and it will be so different than when I was there this year -- that Portland will have forgotten me.

But, I never felt such a warm homecoming as when I did going back to Des Moines. I was booked solid with breakfasts, lunches, coffees, and dinners. I can only hope New York welcomes me back with such open arms; and that Portland will, too, when I find my way back there even for just a visit.