Pieces of Glitter

Portland is so pretty when the sun is shining

Purple and pink sunrises

I never get over the view from my balcony

Hikes in the Gorge

Fuzzy caterpillars!!

How kitty and I say goodnight

Pink Glitter nails with inspiration from Emily

Bingo on Monday night at the Woods! Totally doing this again.

Reflections and Clouds

Tying t-shirts over dresses

Car washes for $5. Makes my whole day.

Sunshine and solitude 

Neon nails

A perfect night for my first and only Last Thursday in Portland

Spending time with this lady

Happy Friday my dears. Life is good isn't it?

xoxo

Fall is in the Air

Though we didn't have much of a summer here in Portland, I will say that I am kind of excited for fall. It's one of my favorite times in Oregon, and I plan on soaking up every crisp, cozy day before I move back to "The Land of Few Seasons." Boots, scarves, coats, and fall-ish nail polishes are a few things I'm looking forward to wearing the next few months...

Clockwise from top left: Dress $89.90, Trench $32.80, Trousers $69.90, Boots $149, Deborah Lippmann Billionaire $16, Scarf $10.80, Cardigan $69.90, Skirt $79.90

What's your favorite part about fall?

Neon Gems

I think I first spotted this totally gorgeous and borderline tacky Tom Binns necklace on the Glitter Guide and I pinned it immediately. It brought me back to the days of fluorescent dress-up beads, but included a fun grown-up charm to it as well. Too bad it's over $2,600. Um, seriously? Here's another awesome Tom Binns necklace:

Radical. But for $2,175, I think I'll pass.

So when I saw this necklace, I was obviously drawn to it, but expected a similar price tag:

Nope! This fab necklace is only $36 from Etsy seller Spike the Punch! So fun. I started seeing them across the blog world as well and am hoping to get my hands on one at some point (they're currently back ordered because of the high demand - not surprised). Here are some other ones I love from there:

They're all the same price, and you can even layer several together to really make a statement. 

Don't you love when fun fashion is cheap??

I do!! 

xoxo

A Day at the Zoo

We rode lions

We practiced being ferocious 

We spotted a giraffe

We fed colorful birdies

I was kind of nervous

We saw this big cuddly guy! My favorite!

Oh hello

Sea lions showing off

Nicole and I got to enjoy a fun day at the zoo thanks to her mom (btw, Nicole has a new blog that's awesome, check it out and follow along with her too!) and we had a super fun day. Otters and polar bears are always my favorite, but we saw plenty of other cute animals that made us laugh and be amazed as well. Oh the life of the unemployed :)

What's Next

Hi friends! So it feels funny to be writing about this, because I have already been telling people slowly but surely for so long. But I still wanted to fill my blog readers who don't know me personally in on a big change that's coming up in my life. And make it somewhat official by "announcing" it I guess. 

After four years of living in Portland after being a native southern California girl, I've decided to make the move back at the end of my lease!! (in about two months) It is such a bittersweet decision because I truly love the city of Portland, the people I know here, my church, and all of my experiences and memories. But I came to a point where I knew I probably couldn't put up with the rain and cold forever and it just seemed like the time to move. Getting let go from my job didn't hurt the decision either haha.

I came up here over four years ago to go to grad school and get my Masters in Marriage and Family Therapy, and because my boyfriend at the time lived up here and I wanted to experience something outside of the southern California bubble I grew up in. We broke up 2 months after I got here, and I decided to stop school after one semester. But I still decided to stay, and I have truly loved living here. It has been such an amazing chapter of my life.

My feelings about moving change almost minute by minute. Sometimes I am so excited I can't even take it, other times I am sad, then I get stressed, then I get happy again, then I start reminiscing on everything I've done here and the people I'm leaving and I get super melancholy again. So maybe that's why this post sounds a little more somber than excited - cuz you caught me at a sad moment.

Good news is that one of the things I did when I was down in Orange County this week was secure a place to live! And I am sooo very excited about it. If all goes to plan, I will be living with two girls in an adorable house on Balboa Island in Newport, and that couldn't be any more perfect for me right now. I've made some progress with the job search, but haven't quite found something yet, so send some prayers my way if you think of it :)

I feel like I have lots more I want to say, but this post already feels like it's rambling, so I'll let the details unfold in posts to come. But now you know what's next! I'm excited to share the journey with you, and take it all in one day at a time. Have a very happy weekend and I'll see you next week!

xoxo

P.S. If you're a blogger in southern CA or know other ones that you love to follow, please let me know! I'd love to start connecting with the blogging community down there :)

This dock is at the end of the street where my house is, just a block away from me :) 

California Wedding

I'm back! What an incredible week I had. I feel so full of love and joy after being surrounded by family and close friends, and meeting wonderful new additions to our family. And the wedding itself was literally perfection. Possibly one of the best days of my life haha. The perfect amount of sweetness, sincerity, love, good food, and fabulous dancing. Congrats again Rich and Lisa! Love you both and couldn't be happier for you. Here are some pictures from my trip:

Me and Lisa the night I met most of her family

Brother

New siblings (and cousins) :) With my freakishly long arm.

Off to get manis and pedis with the bridesmaids!

Rehearsal

Mama

Rich, Grandad, and me

Rehearsal dinner at Old Venice. Such a wonderful night.

The church they got married in was a chapel on campus at Point Loma - where I went to college too

My two besties were there! Shayda and Molly.

Some of the ladies in my family

The Bacons

It was the most beautiful night, with the most gorgeous sunset

Love

Known these people since kindergarten

Haha

My mommy and two of her best friends. Very special ladies in my life.

Bestie time

The view from where I stayed at my mom's best friend's house on Lido in Orange County

Not only did I get to see tons of family, but I got to see high school (and elementary school) friends, and hang out and have a mini vacay in Newport. While also being productive. I'll explain what I was up to tomorrow, I have big news to share! Though most of you who know me well already know. 

Hope you sparkly people have been having a fantastic week!

xoxo