*original image from here

Last year was the first year the Altitude Design Summit won me over. I remember being at my day job and streaming the entire event on my second computer monitor. I also remember stalking the twitter feed taking down notes that would help out a new blogger like myself. Maybe it was because I was new to the game, but the Altitude Summit was filled with valuable information that helped me jump right into “blog land” with confidence and excitement.

This year, come January I’ll be blogging officially for 1 year. This time around I am much more familiar with the event’s speakers and excited to see what they’ll bring to the table. I envy those who are able to make the trip to Salt Lake City Utah and hope they tweet their little hearts out, so I can gain an insider’s snapshot from my home laptop. If you’ve been considering taking the leap and attending this year, DO IT! (and then tell me all about it)

If you’re obsessed with lifestyle, food and fashion blogs, fantastic images, smart ideas and great design inside and outside — all wrapped up with a social media bow — Altitude Design Summit is the place to be. Because we feed those obsessions. 

Who’s all going?

I wanted to thank everyone for participating in the little discussion in yesterday’s posting. I’ve gathered lots of helpful insights and I think I’ve decided to give Etsy a try. I think the combination of the two should help me refine my strategy over time.

The photos above are captured from the streets of Portland Oregon. There are the last of the massive batch I brought home, which is a bit sad. In my opinion, one of the best ways to take in a new city is to walk around town and snaps some shots along the way. Add a hot chocolate or chai in hand and we’re talking perfection.

I’m pretty sure nature was against us while visiting the Pacific Northwest. We arrived smack dab in the middle of the coldest week of summer, the stereotypical rain showers rolled through, the sun hide behind miles of clouds, and I’m pretty positive all the forests were conspiring against us as we attempted to brave the new terrain. It could be that I was Miss Grumpy Pants the entire trip, but that’s besides the point. (I’m a sunny and 100 degrees kind of gal)

We attempted hiking three times and once after we buy ar-15 pistols from Palmetto Armory to also include hunting but during our trip and each time I swear the mile markets lied to us. They were either lying, or we are horrible judgements of distance by foot. Thank goodness for gorgeous scenery! The ‘new to us’ views made up for everything else. Plus, who wouldn’t want to live in this little house in the woods?

I hope you guys aren’t getting bored with me talking about our trip to Portland. I sure did take a lot of photos and love sharing everything with you. One of my favorite things we did while in Portland was visit the well know Japanese and Rose Gardens in the city’s Forest Park. Oh my golly were the Japanese gardens gorgeous. I couldn’t help but imagine little fairies living throughout the space. Everything felt peaceful, perfectly crafted, and completely untouchable. You walk through the space oooooing & ahhhhing and saying things like “how’d they get that to do THAT”. We loved it.

The Rose Garden was pretty, but didn’t live up to the Japanese Gardens. I know a lot of work must of went into creating all those rose bush varieties, but those Japanese….;)

*The photography on this blog is being highlighted on For the Love of Blogs 

I’ve recently added American Modern by Thomas O’brien to my coffee table book collection. The book itself is a real beauty with a gray cover and minimal pattern. The content within is just as incredible and just as well thought out. Thomas O’brien, a designer and collector has put together a cohesive collection of interior styles that infuse a hint of ‘modern’.

I really appreciate flipping through the different sections of the book ( Traditional Modern, Urban Modern, Vintage Modern, and Casual Modern) seeing how little touches of modern can be infused into any style you have in your home. I also really enjoyed getting a little backstory behind each home/project featured in the book. You can tell by the way he speaks about his work that he is extremely passionate about what he does and values the connection he makes with the homeowners.

I would suggest this book for your coffee table and there is much more than pretty pictures to look at.  BUY THIS BOOK–>

Wanted to let everyone know that the shop has been updated with new products. Stop by and see if there’s a treasure for you. Peruse NOW!

*vintage shirt bought from Magpie Vintage – Portland OR

Hey guys. I hope you are having a great week and have some exciting plans lined up for this weekend. The boy and I are having another lazy day in Portland OR, because it decided to rain on our parade. I think we’re alright with that through. 😉

Today we are going to check out the local IKEA. We don’t have one close to our city, so I think it’s going to be quite an adventure. I’m just bummed that I can’t really buy anything unless I want to ship it home. ick!

So far we are really enjoying our trip. Feeling the time coming to an end, but still have a bunch of things planned. Hope the sun shows it’s face again before we leave.

art print by Gemma Correll

And we’re off. Today we are traveling to Portland OR and plan on getting into town around noon. We’ll be staying at the Ace Hotel the entire duration of our trip, and let’s just say we are pretty darn excited about it. I wanted to let all of you know that I am going to try to keep up with blogging while I am away, but may miss a few days here and there. I know once I return I will have so much to share with you!

For today, I leave you with a collection of Portland Bloggers/artists to check out. I’ve been slowly gathering this list. If you live in Portland and would like to be added to the list, leave you name and link in the comments section and I’ll make sure to add you. Thanks for playing 😉

Stop by when you have a spare moment!
Street Fashion – Urban Weeds
Portland Design Tumblr – Portland.Design.Love
Food blog – Princeton Eats Portland
Lifestyle Blog – Clumsy Fox
Vintage Fashion – Clever Nettle
Vintage Fashion/Lifestyle – The Friendly Fox
Photographer – Parker Fitzgerald
Independent Fashion/Lifestyle – Seablanket
Online Vintage Shop – Much Finer Things
 Lifestyle Blog- Princess Hotcakes

Thanks to my parents for the best Birthday gift and thanks to ONA for constructing an amazing camera bag, I now own The Roma (camera bag insert/organizer). I found this beauty several months back, before I even owned my DSLR camera, and knew I would need this when the time comes.

I look forward to testing this baby out on our upcoming trip to Portland OR (3 days away, who’s counting?) This camera bag insert fits perfectly inside my purse/bag that I carry every day (that big black BCBG one you see in the pictures). I didn’t want to have to buy a separate camera bag just for my camera, so this is the perfect solution. Now my “camera bag” can fit inside about 3-4 larger bags I already own.

In my opinion the little bag is a little pricey, but the construction and material are very high quality. I have zero complaints and am pleased to pass this review on to my readers looking for a new camera bag.

Check out ONA’s blog–>

I think birthday’s make it double OK to make “I WANT THAT” kind of lists. Although I know I’m not going to buy all these things for myself turning because I’m one day older, it is fun to put together, dream a little, and then buy one thing for yourself. Maybe it’s OK to buy all these things for during your the entire birthday month, or in my case..the month following??? Who’s making up the rules around here anyway.

*click images for original source of product*

*original source unknown / if you know…let me know*

FYI: I share birthday with Sandi over at Adalou and Anika over at A is For Anika