nostalgic spring

thursday thrills

♥

Lately I've been loving black and white patterns.

Homemade bagels?  I'm in.

Bright-colored tights are my jam. This outfit has the perfect amount of playfulness.

Inspiration from ModCloth lovers.

She & Him has a new album coming out this May.  I already pre-ordered a vinyl copy!


Have a lovely weekend, my friends.  I'm planning on getting ahead on homework and maybe visiting the Portland Art Museum to check out one of the exhibits because I bought a year pass ($15, only $3 more than a day pass) when I went last weekend for a class and want to take advantage of it.

the big 2-0

Last weekend Ted and I celebrated my 20th birthday.  We went to SE to our favorite restaurant,  Screen Door for brunch.  It's always busy, with good reason.  Luckily, it wasn't too long a wait (which was our only bit of good luck that day--we had a few mishaps)!  While we waited, we browsed a nearby vintage shop, which was a lovely time.  Just as we got back, they called our name!

And then we ate.  We ate a lot.  Of course they delivered our three big plates of food right when Ted left the table to go to the restroom.  I got a few looks--I must have looked very ambitious.  Ted and I put up a good fight, but we had plenty of leftovers to take home for dinner.  In fact, we didn't eat those until midnight.  Now that's how you do brunch.

After brunch, we went downtown and I spent the last of my Christmas gift cards on some bright tights, chocolate, and awesome dog pajamas.  I'm so grown up.  After a little difficulty, we went to Alberta to pick up the pendants I made a couple weeks ago and to get some desserts at Petite Provence.  Ted and I might be a little addicted to this place.  We have now been to three of the four locations in the past month or so.  Once for brunch, once for croissants and a tart, and then this time for two birthday treats to share--a "Versaille" and a pear tart.  We found a boulangerie that we love, so no regrets.

On my actual birthday, I was delivered two dozen cupcakes from Saint Cupcake from my family to share with my friends (okay, I shared most of them--the three toasted coconut ones, and then some, were obviously for me only)!  I was so excited, because I had just seen the bakery a few days before and wanted to try it.  Ted also made mini tarts and a normal tart for me and my friends to have that night with the cupcakes, cookies, and other assorted sweets I had acquired.  It was a lovely way to end my birthday festivities.

So, now I'm twenty.  It's a bit weird if you think about it too long.  I'm  counting on this year to be my best yet--traveling, meeting the blogger family, studying abroad, and doing other fun stuff.  Should be pretty great.

finding my inde-pendants

I moved to Portland for many reasons: to explore a new city, to be around like-minded folks, and to be independent.

When you get a boyfriend a month into your freshman year, that last reason takes on new meaning.  Sure, we explore the city almost every weekend, and we have a blast.  But that's just it--we.  The rare few times I have gone into the city on my own, I end up meeting up with Ted after a couple hours.  I love Ted, and I love that we get out so much together to experience Portland.  Just last night we saw War Horse (INCREDIBLE) at the Keller for free thanks to school connections--the second time we've been there in the last few days (Swan Lake on Friday).  We get to do a lot, and I feel very lucky to have found a guy that loves to do the same things.

This school year I have been working on reclaiming that last reason for moving away from everything I know.  I've been looking for the independence I had hoped to embrace in coming here.  It hasn't been easy.  Don't get me wrong, I'm a pro at being on my own--I am a homebody through and through, and love a quiet night in drinking tea and working on a project.  But even when I'm at home in Phoenix, I don't really go out on my own much unless I have to run an errand, go to an appointment, or have plans with someone.  When I have free time to myself, I usually opt to stay in and craft, hang out with my family and dog, or have a friend over. I never think to myself, "I should go get lunch and go window shopping today--on my own!"  I think part of this is to save money, but mostly it's because I just never thought about it as necessary since I already spend a considerable amount of time on my own crafting and whatnot.

It's necessary.  For the kind of person I am, at least.

This past Sunday I went into the city truly on my own for the first time.  I didn't meet up with Ted, or anyone else.  I went downtown on the school shuttle, took a bus to Northeast (the part of Portland I know least about), and spent the afternoon exploring the Alberta neighborhood, looking at shops, doing some homework with a iced chai at Barista, and taking a two-hour jewelry class at Collage where I made two pendants.  It was an absolutely delightful day, and such a refreshing experience for me.  As silly as it may sound, I am so proud of myself for doing this because one, I'm horrid with directions and got there without a hitch, and two, I really needed a "Kaylie" day to remind myself how important it is to my happiness to go out and do my own thing once in a while.

Independence and two pendants--what could be better?

i love you, you love me

On Valentine's Day, I found a beautifully done menu in my mailbox. I mean, look at those fonts!  There is no greater love than one that appreciates a good typeface.  That night, Ted made us a delicious home-cooked meal.  Really, he's incredible.  I don't usually like to brag, but come on. This guy is the best.  Unfortunately he had to leave that night to catch a flight to the east coast for a family gathering.  That's okay though, because I was sick (my nose matched my red dress!) and ready to go back to sleep after such a heavenly meal.

This Friday, we dressed up (my dress is from my awesome grandparents who knew how much I loved it when I saw it months ago) and wrapped up our festivities with a date night.  We went to Bamboo Sushi (pricey, but really top notch) for dinner and dessert next door at Salt & Straw where we got our favorite, Pear & Blue Cheese, and also tried Oregon Kiss. We are obsessed.  If I had one of these in Phoenix, I would go broke during the scorching summer months.  

After dinner and dessert, we went to the Keller for Swan Lake.  I found us cheap tickets on Groupon and we were looking forward to trying something new.  I've only been to The Nutcracker, and Ted's never been to the ballet at all, so it was a great first experience!

It was such a lovely night.  ♥