abby try again

Thanks

Thanks for all the comments and emails. Still trying to figure stuff out. Thanks.

important-please read

Some one is going around on the internet, and using my name and email address to leave strange and sometimes mean blog comments. This is frustrating to me-some of you have emailed me asking why I left such a comment-and I want to assure that I did not. I am in the process of changing my contact info and blog name, so yeah...totally sucks. I am sorry if you are the recipient of any of these comments. I'll send out an update once I figure out what's going on. And if you are reading this-whatever person you are doing this-please stop.

cascade locks

 

A sleepy little mountain town with a beautiful bridge, a funny gift shop, and a classic cafeteria style restaurant that looks over the Columbia River. I love it.

My Dad's dad was the only grandparent I knew. It reminds me of somewhere he would've liked. He was a fisherman, and a camper, and an all around nice guy. We could have had fun here.

If you cross the bridge at the right time, you'll see this sternwheeler. I was so excited, I squealed. I made James go and find out where it docks, and how much a touring ticket costs.

Of course, the boat is nothing but a silly tourist trap....but I like to pretend perhaps it comes from a grander time...no boat ride was had...yet.

Happy almost weekend!

a nice afternoon...

  There are a lot of cute shops in Portland. We are lucky like that.  But yesterday, I went into a shop that was absolutely gorgeous. It was like some one knew that I was coming and stocked it full of my favorite things....
      Ink+Peat is this place, a stunning shop curated by owner Pam, who is the author if the blog Housemartin. Vintage enamel bowls, handmade vases, screen printed towels, beautiful blankets, fresh flowers, interesting books, and so much more fill the shelves here. I really could not believe how gorgeous it all was. I picked up a beautiful little card and a hand made vase for a gift , but there is so much more...The other great thing is that the shop is surrounded by all sorts of other goodies, namely a lovely little bakery and a letterpress shop.
If you are in Portland, you must visit!

autumn ....

Today I woke up and it felt like autumn. Yesterday, I was walking to work in the morning with sweat dripping down my neck, but this morning, it was different. After the loudest thunder clap I've ever heard a downpour so fast and thick began and thirty minutes later, our grass was green again.

     Luckily, I wanted to bake a bit this morning so the rain and cold were welcomed by me with open arms. The steady flow ceased just long enough for me to collect some blackberries from our alley and then James and I enjoyed a breakfast of Dutch Baby pancakes.

    

I was just describing to Katie how poorly my last attempt at the things had gone-I attributed it to using lactaid instead of real dairy and not stirring the thing well enough. She told me that Molly had a great recipe and of course she does. I used that this morning and it was just right.
     Too bad the light was too low....oh well, can't have it all ;)

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In my inbox this morning was a message from TOAST that their fall catalog is now online.
Since it feels like fall today, I browsed through and picked some favorites along with thoughts:

I want to live here

skinny pant+sack shirt= cute

color in winter is fun

dress wearing while baking is a must...

I'm pumped for more self portraits!

I want a haircut

thick socks sound nice

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Happy Monday!

mountains in medium format

 

       I'm still working on computer stuff, but finding temporary fixes in order to post...that's cool. Just wanted to share this photo I picked up yesterday. It was developed at Blue Moon, I do like that place. I went to see their staff show last night-if you get a chance, check it out.
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Happy Sunday!

all that I can

      A few weeks ago I realized that I was letting summer slip by. So, now I am fitting all that I can into the last little bit of summer. Here's my list

-visit as many waterfalls as possible (check)
-swim outside as much as possible (check)
-hike as much as possible (check)

 

-barbecue as much as possible (check)
-eat tons of tomatoes (need to do this more)
-bike ride (need to do this more)
-hang out with friends (check)

-ride on a boat (not yet, but soon!)
-pick and eat lots of berries (check, check)
-eat at seedy drive ups in Oregon (check kinda, does taking photos there count?)

-go to the farmer's market a lot (half a check)
-shoot tons of film (check, check, check!)

I'd love to hear your end of summer plans........
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My computer & scanner are still on the fritz, so my posts are coming from James' laptop...hopefully soon it will be fixed and I can share my photos and stories again! I have this giant stack just waiting...
Have a good weekend!

my favorite

(I'm away from my computer + scanner, so once again-I'm putting off vacation posts. I am having bad issues with typepad...Hope you don't mind when they pop up a few weeks late...)

Have I ever told you I am in love with seafood? Well, I am.
All kinds of it, too. I love it raw, fried, baked, breaded, but one of my all time favorites is clam chowder. 

   I grew up on this, which truly is the stuff of legend. You know I've made 3 hour trips there just for the chowder, right?

   The idea of eating sub par chowder makes me ill, so I was elated to find some decent stuff at my new favorite place, Fishwife.

   Now, it is not over the top delicious, but some of their fish sure is. James got the prawn basket and it was just right. Their fries are a bit funky, but hey-no one is perfect....

   When we went with my sis, she got a shrimp salad that was super yummy and fresh. Anyway-I highly recommend this little family run gem. And the decor is aqua+red=a little tacky=my favorite!

a day at the park

     Went to a beautiful park the other day, to test out the polaroid land camera. Wondered why I don't visit this park more often....I mean, there are horseshoe pits here and I love me some horseshoes!

This was the site of Portland's first rose garden, it is almost 100 years old and so gorgeous...

There is even a cute little community center with a pool.

Of course, this shot is a digital-not a polaroid-but isn't this rose cluster fantastic?

This is digital as well-but isn't this a cute little wading pool?

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Have a good Saturday!

recess

So, taking a small little break from vacation posts...
Yesterday, I bought film for this camera.
This is the first shot I took with it.
I am in love. The shots are better in "real life", there is something about them that just doesn't translate via the scanner.
Anyway, you know what I'm gonna be doing this weekend...
BTW...is anyone else excited by the Olympics?  I am not usually a sports fan, but I am obsessed with the Olympics. Ever since Seoul 1988 (I was in kindergarten) I have loved them. I even kept Olympic scrapbooks as a kid. Ridiculous.
I won't be that into them-but I am stoked. My favorite to watch: gymnastics and swimming.
Happy weekend!