Style // Here Comes the Sun

I love pattern mixing, but I also love easy outfits. When I was putting this outfit together, I considered just wearing the blouse and jeans, but thought this scarf was a great pop of color (and a fun way to mix patterns!). I’m not really an accessories girl, so you won’t ever see me wearing tons of costume jewelry, but I do love scarves and hats <3 Ultimately, I think the scarf was just what the outfit needed!

Days like this remind me how lucky we are to have the city as our backyard. The best days are spent exploring with my husband and being able to spend quality time together. And in case you were wondering, yes, he took these photos; he’s an Instagram husband, for sure ;) And he swears he doesn’t mind it!

Outfit details: Blouse // H&M | Jeans // Levi’s | Scarf // Forever 21* | Hat // Forever 21* | Shoes // Nine West (Macy’s)

*I'm actually not entirely sure where these came from, but when in doubt, it's probably Forever 21 or H&M ;)

DIY // Gallery Wall

The best way to make a place feel like home is to frame photos and hang pretty things. Or at least that’s what makes our rented space feel like home to me. In our last apartment, it took us a year and a half to get our gallery wall up and we only got as far as hanging the frames with no pictures in them! This time around it only took us about 5 months and we got the pictures in the frames before hanging them… what a concept! ;)

Everyone has their own way of creating gallery walls. The last time we did one we used a roll of white paper to trace the layout of the frames. Once the layout was finalized, we placed the white paper where we wanted it on the wall and hammered in nails where each frame would hang. Shoutout to my mom for the idea; it was a great way to get it just right.

As you can see, however, this time around I was a little lazier and just laid out the frames and signs on the floor. I didn’t worry as much about width or height, but used the couch length as a loose guide as I was planning. Once I had it perfect and had all the pictures printed and in the frames, I solicited Tim’s help so I could double check the spacing as he was hanging. It turned out perfectly!

The wooden signs we hung were part of our wedding decor. Tim’s parents made about 8 of them for us and they were just too beautiful not to keep. I’m so beyond thrilled we finally have a few hanging up. We’re planning on hanging a few more in our bedroom, but that’s a different post for another day.

When we were done, all I wanted to do was stare at it. I loved everything about it, especially that it made our apartment feel more like home. And it really does change up the look and feel of our family room, all while representing our style and taste to a T. There isn’t one thing I’d change about it <3

Wanderlust for the Wilderness // Columbia River Gorge

My brother, Shawn, and brother-in-law, Manny, came to visit Tim and I earlier this year. It’s always a blast when they’re here; they definitely bring the party with them! We had just a couple of things on our list: get food, get drinks, and get outside. They visited over Valentine’s Day weekend, so it wasn’t the warmest of weather, but it wasn’t pouring rain (or snow!) either, so we were still able to make the most of their trip. (Fun fact: They were the ones who asked us to come with them to the Oregon Brewers Festival in 2013 and, because of that, are basically the reason we fell in love with Portland.)

In all of the times they’ve visited, we still hadn’t made it out to the Columbia River Gorge with them, so that was definitely at the top of our list this time around. We didn’t necessarily want to pick an intense, all-day hike, so Tim was tasked with finding a moderate hike we could all enjoy, but not feel completely exhausted by. He stumbled upon the Horsetail Falls Loop Hike and we all decided it was the perfect one to explore. On the drive out there, we stopped at Vista House, this beautiful lookout overlooking the vast and breathtaking river. It’s one of our favorite places to take guests. (Excuse all of our squinty eyes. The sun popped up in front of us right when we started taking photos!)

After the lookout, we were off to Horsetail Falls. When we arrived, the falls were directly next to the parking lot! It seemed ironic that the falls were at the beginning of the hike, but then a friendly passerby told us about the loop and that Ponytail Falls (cute names, right?), part of the loop, was a definite must-see. And boy was he right.

The incline to get to this point was intense. Our calves and thighs were burning like no other. Or maybe that was just mostly mine. ;) Once we arrived, the beauty of the waterfall was absolutely worth all the huffing and puffing to make it to the top. I mean, just look at that!

There was a cave-like area where the trail looped back around, which is why you see darkness at the top of the photo above. It was pretty cool to say the least.

Once we were about halfway, we found a lookout to eat lunch and chat. There was a large tree trunk to rest on and the GORGE-ousness of the Columbia River to get lost in. (How popular do you think that joke is? Even though I want to claim it, I know it probably existed long before my time.)

After we completed the hike, we ventured to Hood River, an adorable town about 30 minutes away from the trail. We had pre-dinner drinks at Double Mountain Brewery and then grabbed food at Full Sail Brewery. The boys were happy :)

All in all, it was a great day spent with the best people. It was so nice to unplug and just be. It reinvigorated Tim and I to get out to the Gorge and take advantage of all the Pacific Northwest has to offer more often.