city of dreams

Map Custom Bicycles

Seriously, what is it about Portland, OR?! This morning I awoke to a ton of fabulous Portland things in my feed reader. What is it about Portland that supports such creativity? I was recently interviewed by a local magazine and they had asked me what makes Vancouver so creative and I answered that it's hard to be a successful creative in this city. Laws, bi-laws and so much interference by the Man make things hard, so you have to be creative to get around things.

Stardust Glass Tile via PoppyTalk

In Portland, it just seems to be so easy. Portland, the city, just seems so welcoming to great ideas. There are cool little shops and businesses and small independents thrive. My husband jokingly says it's because Portland has such short city blocks compared to Vancouver. It could also be because of the chickens. If so, Vancouver now allows backyard urban chickens. Maybe the chickens will help Vancouver win the war on creativity!

Dutch Taco on Whipped

aaaaarrrrrrrgggggghhhhhhh

There's so much to do and I just don't know where to begin. The cold that never really took hold 2 weeks ago is still doing it's darnedest to keep me hanging on. Let me go, sore throat, I'm just not that into you. Plus, I've got emails to write, packages to package up and mail out and work to do. I've got so many fun ideas swirling around in my head so I've also got to set up some time to just draw and go with it.

Vancouver is grey today. Instead I'll be looking at this photo which makes me so so happy.

total spazzzzzz

So earlier this week, I was ready to send out my email newsletter for The Beautiful Project. But then, I realized that I hated the design...not just of the email but of the whole dang website. I've hated it since the moment I designed it (it was designed & coded in one hour this past summer and you really do get what you pay for!) So earlier this week I designed a whole new website (which isn't ready to go live yet since it will require all kinds of fancy features like online ordering for retail shops), but I did redo the site to the more current design so everything is nice and branded. I also re-coded the eletter and it will be ready to go out live next week. Have you signed up? Go now and do it! Did I say I was a spaz? I really, really am.


I'm also featured in the local free entertainment weekly along with a host of other Vancouver bloggers. You can read the interview here.

We're also heading to Portland tonight with friends for the long weekend. On our last vacation we went there with the same friends and had a great time, so I'm sure it will be a blast. King Khan and the Shrines will be playing there this weekend and while it seems funny to be seeing a Toronto band in Portland, I think it will be a great show.

road trip suggestions - Bend OR and area

I'm so excited! Next week we'll be hitting the road for a little road trip. We will check out the Painted Hills, visit ghost towns, do some hiking and spend almost a week camping our way throughout Central and North Eastern Oregon. Then we will meet up with some friends and visit my most favorite of all cities, Portland! While I think we have Portland covered (although suggestions are always welcome), I'm definitely looking for things to do and see while around the areas we'll be visiting. Where's the best place in Bend to eat breakfast? Great thrift shops? Best beer? Best town in the Cascades?

portland was great.

We ate a bacon & maple donut and loved it.
We soaked our naked butts in the same place Will Oldham soaked his naked butt.
We drank lots of great beers. Copecetic IPA, I ♥ you!
We bought shoes, and lots of 'em. Well, 1 pair for Cornelius and 2 pairs for me. Portland has no sales tax so it's extra worth it.

Road trips are awesome and I hope we can squeeze in one more before we head off to Europe later this summer.

portland bound

In a few days I'll be heading to one of my favorite cities, Portland, OR. We'll be visiting good friends and definitely drinking lots of good beers, eating awesome meals and doing a whole lot of thrifting. Throw in a trip to some hotsprings and a hike in the Gorge and it's pretty much a dream mini-vacation. Although we'll be with our well-heeled Portland hosts, any must see/do/eat/shop tips are more than welcome!

Next stop, Portland, OR

I haven't posted in a while because life is hectic and busy and rife with change. No worries, it's all good. So just to keep things interesting, here are a couple of links that I'm clicking. I promise a much more exciting post in the near future.


Is there anything better than a great pair of tights? I don't think so. I wear skirts often and I'm always dreaming of the perfect thing to clad my legs. This might be it. It comes in red, of course, and a brown pair would also make me love them more.


Loaded Hips Press is another site that makes me want to shop. Lots of really affordable letterpress & block art prints and postcards that make me swoon. (Link via Poppytalk).

Hmmm, funny that both of these sites originate from one of my favorite places, Portland, OR. Lucky me that I'll be visiting that city and my best friend who lives there this May. Hooray!