We are checking out this place at some point during our little weekend getaway. Can I say I’m more than a little excited? Scratch that, I’m down right giddy. It will be perfect after a day of doing this. And I have to admit, I’m excited but also nervous. Something about the unknown that gives me jitters. What about you, are you up to anything fun this weekend?
photo: Strawberry Park Hot Springs
Jevan and I are heading out of town to officially celebrate our anniversary. The actual evening was spent with friends drinking beer and listening to some good ole rock and roll. Not exactly the most romantic of evenings, fun nevertheless. Here’s a quick list of what I plan to pack for the car. Do you have any road trip favorites?
1. A heavy weight utility tote to carry everything and keep it all organized. 2. The Drums and Fanfarlo will be on heavy rotation. We saw Fanfarlo last Sunday night and I’ve been listening to them on lastfm all week. By the way, are you on lastfm? Wanna share music? Look for me here. 3. You can’t go on a road trip without a great pair of sunnies, these Ray Bans are classics. 4. A camera to document the trip. 5. I hate to admit it but Doritos and a Coke are my all time favorite road trip snack. It’s probably a good thing I don’t do this very often. 6. I’ve really been into non fiction lately. My current read – Mountains Beyond Mountains. If you are interested in what’s going on in Haiti, I highly recommend this book. Paul Farmer is truly inspirational.
photo: a song under the sugar sun. Check out the website for more gorgeous photography.
All this talk of cabins and playing out in the snow has me excited for the weekend. I just might enjoy some time on the mountain at Beaver Creek or Keystone and maybe a frosty cold one or two. There’s even a little snow in the forecast. Good thing because we seriously need it. Who’s in? What are your fun weekend plans?
This weekend:
If you are in PDX check out the newly opened Woodlands Supply Store. Stocking some of the finest coffee, periodicals, fragrances, leather goods, hankies, soaps, knives and jerky available. They will also be featuring a small collection of vintage goods.
We are dog sitting Max, a chihuahua, for some friends over the weekend. This Chihuahuas post made me smile.
After our shred day we’ll be playing Pitch with friends and then hitting up a Super Bowl Party on Sunday. Hot links anyone?
Don’t forget about the Giveaway I have running for Valentine’s Day. The winner will be selected Monday, February 8! Have a great weekend.
Photo: 1.
Hi there. Happy New Year to you. It’s been a while since I’ve posted here and I’ve missed you. I just needed a little break so I could spend time with family and friends. As much as I enjoy every second I spend on this blog, and all of my friends out there in Internet world, the holidays became so jammed packed with travel, eating, drinking and visiting that I didn’t want to miss a second of it because I needed to write a post. Aside from my real work, I was determined to spend as little time on my laptop as possible.
But I’m back with new things to share. Even some photos from my past few weeks. I’m not in Nashville as the first photo might suggest, but I was over the holidays. The last time I was in Tennessee was 2 years ago. Once I stepped off the plane, I was immediately hit with how much I miss this state. I miss my family, my friends, the home cookin’ and even the humidity.
On our way out of town Jevan and I stopped to pick up wine for Christmas dinner (I happened to grow up in a dry county – and believe it or not, it’s still a dry county). I came across the Hatch Show Print wine bottles and remembered they were out of Nashville. We looked up their location and made quick a detour to check out the shop, fingers crossed they would be open. If you haven’t heard of Hatch Show Print, you might remember them from last summer’s Anthropologie catalog. Even more impressive is their history. Hatch has been in the letterpress business since 1879, making posters for everyone from Johnny Cash to the White Stripes. Tucked among all the Honky Tonk bars and shops selling cowboys boots lies Hatch Show Print, a great little piece of inspiration.
Snow, snow, snow. It’s been so cold here this week. I’m talking below zero cold. Today was the first time it was nice enough to get outside without bundling up like an unidentifiable blob of down. I took advantage of it and brought along my camera. Winston was kind enough to pose for a couple of photos before getting distracted by the geese. I love how the snow makes even the brownest winter seem festive.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend and it’s nice enough to get outside to finish all your shopping. If you’re in need of a few gift ideas, be sure to check out the blogger’s gift guides that ran all last week right here.
Beau and Meggan of the World Effect aren’t new to this blog. I’ve posted about them here, here and even here. Meggan and I’ve known one another for 13 years and were immediate friends when we met. She’s like the sister I never had. Over the years we’ve argued, bickered and had more fun than two friends should be allowed. So when it came time for another ‘day in the life’ series, I felt like Meg and Beau would be the perfect finale to wrap up the year AND decade.
While this post won’t give you links to eat, drink or shop, what I hope it will do is encourage you to get out there and explore or even take a few photos. You never know, you might have that budding photographer within you. Meg and Beau started traveling back in April and haven’t been back to the United States since. Each day is different because they rarely stay in a location longer than a week, sometimes just a day. During their year long expedition they have encountered some incredible things all cataloged on their travel blog, the World Effect. Most recently they posted about Mount Everest but they also have posts on their 2 week ride along the Trans Mongolian, the Mountain Gorillas of Rwanda and Machu Picchu to name some of my favorites. They are due back to Colorado this Spring, if they don’t change their minds to stay longer. If you have a second, drop by their blog, check out their photos and wish them a Merry Christmas. Thanks you two for sharing your day and Happy Holidays!
7:45 AM
Beau: Beep…Beep…Sweet, my Ecuadorian watch still works. I think I will keep my eyes closed for a little bit longer.
8:00 AM
Beau: Well Meggan isn’t moving. I guess I have to get up first. Shower time.
Meggan: Beau’s up. I have 15 more minutes to sleep.
8:20 AM
Beau: I need to do wash. I guess I will wear what doesn’t smell. Meggan is still in bed. Typical.
Meggan: I have to get up. Beau is pacing. What country are we in anyways? Asian decor? Huh? Oh Thailand!
8:25 AM Beau: Coffee… I need coffee. I boil the water and then boil it again. Just in case. Instant coffee, what swill. I guess it will have to work. I power up the laptop and search for directions to the Vietnam Embassy.
8:50 AM
Beau: Are you ready yet Meggan? Ready now? Ok, ready? Why are you just standing there staring at your bag?
Meggan: I hate my clothes! Maybe if I stare at my bag long enough an outfit will pop out at me. I wish I had my cute little black dress from Anthropology with me. Why didn’t I pack that? Ok I have to pick something. What doesn’t smell?
9:20 AM
Meggan: Ready to leave. Beau found a great website with directions describing every step you need to take, including pictures of signage and landmarks to look for on your way there. I love the world wide web! Off to the skytrain.
10:00 AM
Meggan: We found the embassy and it was relatively easy with the great directions. Beau and I fill out our required documents and wait in line. After standing in line for 20 minutes we find out we need more money. Off to find a 7-11. They always have ATMs and they seem to be located a block and half away in every direction here in Thailand.
10:35 AM
Beau: After waiting in line again we pay for our visas and intrust them with our passports. The clerk gives us a piece of paper and says “you come back monday”. Ok.
12:00 PM
Meggan: Exploring the streets has made us hungry. We head to a recommendation from my mom, Cabbages and Condoms. The restaurant is decorated with mannequins covered in condoms and slogans for safe sex. After our phad thai, they give us two condoms. It beats after dinner mints I guess. This is a restaurant with a mission. The restaurant’s proceeds go to a population and community development program that helps educate on safe sex, AIDs awareness, and birth control.
1:30 PM
Meggan: On the way back to the hotel, we stop at the third 7-11 we passed. We load up on water. I also grab some thai design magazines. Yes, I won’t be able to read them but there are several great furniture and interior mood shots.
1:45 PM
Beau: Time for me to shut down the grid. I plug in our power strip and start charging our video camera battery, DSLR camera batteries, and both our laptops… the hotel lights dimmed and flickered. I am send off a few emails to set up meetings with artisans. Then I continue with my editing of the trans-mongolian video, downloading photos and writing a post.
Meggan: Work time! I start downloading my photos and write a post. I sneak a look at facebook and my favorite design blogs every once in a while. Then I move onto sketching some concepts.
7:00 PM
We can’t ignore our bellies any longer. So we head to the Suan Lum Night Market for dinner. We jump on two trains to get to the market and exit the train station right at the entrance of the market. We begin to wandering through the maze of battery operated flashing t-shirts, globe shaped christmas lights, jewelry and fake purses and are surprised to find some cute shops. There are several individually owned stalls with fashion boutique concepts and artisan furniture. We were happy to see some stalls with personality and unique identities.
8:30 PM
Meggan: After being distracted by all the shopping, we make our way to the food section of the market. Actually I should say beer garden with open food stalls. There are too many options, we ended up picking the busiest stall. Busiest always means freshest. Beau got squid and chili curry and I got fried prawns. After eating we decided it would be nice to relax, thai market style.
9:15 PM
Meggan: Beau and I indulged with a neck, shoulder and back massage for $8/hr. Heaven! Then we decided to be daring and throw away our concerns for hygiene. We went to Dr. Fish to have little fish nibble at our feet. I wish I could explain what it felt like. All I can say is that it felt weird and I had a strange fear that i might accidentally crush one of the fish. No fish were injured in this activity.
10:30 PM
Fully relaxed we hopped back on the trains and headed home (the hotel).
11:30ish PM
We fall asleep watching a bootlegged copy of Che we bought in Kathmandu for a $1.
2:00 AM
Meggan: What country are we in?
There is so much inspiration in New York City. It’s literally around every corner, on every person and in each bite. I’m already thinking about my next trip. Maybe next time, I’ll have a camera. Below are a few highlights from the trip. I hope you all enjoy your long holiday weekend.
The lobby and rooms of the Ace Hotel are fantastically curated and while not the ideal hotel for everyone due to the oddities, Jevan and I found complete comfort where old and new collide. Drink the Stumptown Coffee, have an Old Fashion in the bar, check out the taxidermy, look for the mummified cat (check the bottom left drawer in the lobby), and cross paths with rent stabilized tenants that wouldn’t budge (good for them) when the hotel took over. Rumor has it they only pay $200 per month. I’m serious on all parts, even the kitty.
Images from top left: The Ace Hotel Lobby, Chinatown Ice Cream Factory , Brooklyn shopping at the Future Perfect, Lower East Side shopping at In God We Trust, soup dumplings at the Shanghai Cafe, beer and brats at the Radegast Hall and Biergarten
We spent little money for food while in the city. Strange but true. Most of our choices were modest but completely delicious. Some highlights were the Soup Dumplings from the Shanghai Cafe, lychee and almond cookie ice cream from Chinatown Ice Cream Factory, a shared bowl of Ramen at a little noodle place on St. Marks, and a Brat and Fries at the Radegast Hall and Biergarten. Our first night in the city we had a tequila at Los Feliz. What seems to be a tiny little Mexican joint in the Lower East Side serving tacos and good tequila. Later we found out there were two levels below us. On the fringe of Chinatown is the East Side Company Bar. It’s a speakeasy of sorts, as the only sign you’ll see is a tiny gold label on the door. It’s dark, intimate and has tin ceilings and candles everywhere. Walking in you get a faint whiff of, get this, honey, it’s part of the bartender’s mise en place. The drinks reminds me of the cocktails of years past. I had a sazerac and it was near perfection.
Images from top left: Tim Burton Sketch, East Side Company signage, Los Feliz Taqueria, Tim Burton sketch.
If you’re like me regardless of how many times you go to NY, a museum trip never disappoints. This time we checked out the Tim Burton exhibit at the MOMA. Little did I know Tim Burton was and is such a prolific artist. There were hundreds if not thousands of sketches chronicling his entire life.
Photos: [Ace Hotel - New York Times; Chinatown Ice Cream Factory via Qype; Radegast Hall and Biergarten - Melissa Hom; Los Feliz - Jim Knapp]
Cold weather inevitably makes me think of the beach. I’m not sure why because the thought of putting on a bikini at this moment makes me want to hide in my closet. Something about my skin being the color of skim milk. And winter is kicking in, so that means my extra layer of winter warmth is as well. While day dreaming of the beach and me in a sweater (because of the aforementioned skim milk skin and winter fluff) I remembered I never posted photos or told you about how wonderful the Mediterranean coast of Turkey really is.
Jevan, Meggan, Beau and I all took a little commuter flight from Istanbul to what we thought was a tiny town called Antalya on the Med. Little did we silly American’s know this town, and I say town in the loosest of terms, is nearly 1,000,000 people. After renting a car and being laughed at for not knowing where we were going, we finally navigated our way, with the help of countless Turkish folks, to Old Town. Old Town is charming with it’s cobblestone one way streets and proximity to the coast. We spent one night here and headed out the next morning in search of beaches and ruins. We drove west following the Mediterranean for a couple of days. On our last day before returning to Antalya we came upon the beach below just outside of Kaş, Turkey. It’s called Kaputaş Plaji and surrounded by cliffs and water. Hands down the most gorgeous beach we saw.
We were only able to stay one night in Kaş, a bohemian of a town, but if you are looking for a great beach town go straight to Kaş. It’s far enough away from any major airport so the tourists are minimal but there are plenty of shops and restaurants to keep you occupied when sitting on the rocky beaches has you bored. I could have spent at least a handful of days wandering the streets, rug shops and beaches. Beau and Meggan also have some incredible photos up from our trip. You can check them out here. Actually, check out all their photos. National Geographic should be knocking down their doors.
Don’t forget to buy a few Turkish towels. This shop has every color and size. This was the only thing I bought when in Turkey other than food and drinks.
I don’t care what anyone says, street food is the best way to get a feel for a culture. Try all the street food in Turkey. It’s some of the best we had. This little street cart is called Bi Lokma, translated to Mama’s Kitchen. It’s actually just down the steps from the restaurant ,Mama’s Kitchen. I’m not sure if this is Mama or not but have a good feeling it is. These are the Turkish version of donut holes.
Do you ever have a moment when you realize, your life is good? It’s so easy to get caught up in the negative hullabaloo of the world we often forget how good we really have it… am I off base here? What I’m trying to say without scaring you with my sappiness, is in a world with a lot of bad stuff happening, it’s good to sit back and see the upside. I’ll even go first. I’m married to the most wonderfully supportive man. I’m healthy, I have food on my table and a roof over my head (although I often question my home’s 1908 bones), I’m starting my own business doing what I love, I have a fantastic group of friends and family and am slowly gathering a steady readership full of fantastic people like you. Wow. I finally feel like things are coming together after a rough few months. I’m happier than I’ve ever been and writing the good things down truly made me realize how lucky I am. Try it.
As a birthday gift, Jevan surprised me with a quick trip to New York. We’re hitting up the Pop Up Flea next weekend. Buddies Sam and Mark will have a Tanner Goods booth. Hopefully I’ll get to see Erin and Lauren. Remember those lovely ladies? And of course Rory and Dan! I can’t wait to tell you all about the grits Rory makes at 4AM. It’s been too long.
I’m putting together my list of must-sees but I don’t know the city all that well. And. Well, it’s really big. What I’m getting at is, you New Yorkers happen to be at the very top of my readership, and maybe, just maybe, you could share a favorite place to eat, drink, play or shop. It doesn’t have to be the fanciest or hippest spot either. Just something you think I might like. Or maybe something you love. I would be super flattered. Even if you don’t live in the city, I would love to hear from you. Hope you have a wonderful weekend. Snow is predicted for mine!
[Photo: My New York Minute and The Pop Up Flea]
Gorgeously intricate cut maps of New York, Paris and London by Studio K. Looks like Boston is in the works. They aren’t small either. Each one is around 36×48. How incredible would these look framed with a bright mat color and thick black frame?
[Via: Atelier A+D]
