Category: Summer

Wall Art from the Archives

~ Crystle ~ 13 Comments

I’ve got six months of gestation left before this kiddo comes. I don’t even know what we’re having yet but as far as I can tell from the sonograms, it’s a human. Whew! That being said, I’ve been thinking a lot about (gender neutral) baby room stuff. I know, gag. The baby room decor from major baby retailers has left an emphatic scowl on my face. I’m just not impressed. Aside from basic linens and an essential item here and there, I’ve decided I really don’t want to pull decor straight off a shelf. Goodness, I’m already way over thinking this…

In an unrelated turn of events, I went through all my old photos from the last 5 years last night. I have boxes upon boxes of film negatives, data CDs and prints from my earlier years of film photography. Scavenging through the photos, reliving my early college days was more fun than I thought it would be. But I thought to myself; what am I supposed to do with all these images?

Then it hit me. Why not pull some of my favorite nature prints from those old backpacking trips and make them into wall art for the future baby’s room? They’re certainly gender neutral enough! Suddenly my archive browsing brought on by boredom had a direction.

I’m still pulling prints from both the film and digital archives, but so far these are some of my favorites. I really like the soft light of the outdoors from a Colorado trip I took awhile back. I may take some filters to them in Lightroom or edit them otherwise. Not sure yet, but I’m sure I’ll be too excited not to share when the end product is at hand.

I’d love to hear your thoughts on which images you think might look nice either enlarged or on canvas!

Portland[ia]

~ Crystle ~ 8 Comments

Maybe the first trimester of pregnancy wasn’t the best time for me to visit neighbor-city Portland, OR. I thought I was feeling up for exploring Portland’s haunts and eats, and for the most part I was. What I did not bargain for was pod after pod of aromatic food trucks. Normally, you’d find me in a child-like state of giddiness at the prospect of eating any number of international foods from the same parking lot, but not this time around. Anyone who has had first trimester nausea (or the flu) can attest to how the mingling scents of a dozen international foods can make your stomach lurch.

After baby is born, or even as soon as the second trimester, we hope to go back to Portland so we can give the food trucks the chance they deserve. We saw some trucks, safely from our vantage point on the other side of the street, that looked pretty worthy. I feel terrible that my husband had to pass on this essential Portland pastime on my behalf.

We were 100% set on visiting VooDoo Doughnuts on this trip, but the downtown crowds were unrelenting. Instead, we headed over to VooDoo Doughnuts Too, their second store, where we chowed down on Maple Bacon (a favorite of Anthony Bourdain) and VooDoo Donuts. It was rich fun. For some reason, the sweet scent of fresh Doughnuts wafting in the Portland air was invigorating. It seemed to be the only scent that pulled my nose upward and lightened my stride. Pregnancy is weird, lemme tell you.

After an afternoon downtown checking out local shops and street performers, we were ready to head to the outskirts to see how “rich folk”  (a term coined by us poor people) lived in the early 20th Century.

At the Pittock Mansion I couldn’t help gasping at the detail of the marble staircases, drooling over the custom puzzle-piece flooring, and gawking at the ornate ceilings that adorn the entire home. It’s also worth noting that in the early 1900s, those affluent enough to afford it had something all of us can covet: breezy sleeping porches. I’ll take a slice of that luxury, any day. But they can definitely keep their ‘card rooms’, scary dolls, and fainting sofas…those are artifacts I have no use for.

If you have the chance to check out the Pittock Mansion in West Portland, you ought to. It’s perched up on an Uptown Hill that offers a beautiful panorama of Downtown Portland.

Plans are in motion for our next two-hour road trip south to good ole Portland. Until then, we’ll catch up on some back episodes of Portlandia…whose stereotypes of Portland hipsters are absolutely spot on.

Washington’s Wild Blackberries

~ Crystle ~ 7 Comments

I’m still learning a thing or two about our new stomping grounds in the Pacific Northwest. Just yesterday I ran across a humorous article on NPR that highlighted the joys of wild blackberries to the local newcomer. You Can Never Have Too Many Blackberries by Deena Prichep was absolutely spot on. Longtime locals learn the loathe the thorny ‘weed’ bushes while newcomers recoil at the prospect of cutting them back since they, ahem, give you berries.

 A month or so ago we noticed young berries growing in an uncultivated lot nearby. Over the next couple of weeks the fruity nubs of the prickly bushes ripened into a seemingly infinite supply of supple blackberries. We have been taking  full advantage of the free supply.

Tonight we went out on our second berry picking adventure. Our previous collection of berries went to my first canning venture where I made a delicious batch of Wild Blackberry Jam. We gathered as many blackberries as we could, unsure of exactly what five cups looked like, visually. After that experience, it was pretty clear that once you’ve got a colander full of blackberries and arm striped with scratches, you’ve got supply enough for a big batch of Blackberry Jam.

 Of the eight jars  of Jam made, we’ve finished nearly two and were all too happy to send four jars off to family in Oklahoma City.

Deena found some unique recipes calling for blackberries. Unfortunately, during this first trimester of pregnancy I’ve been an incredibly picky eater.  The nearly constant nausea has me wincing at the foods I used to love, and merely thinking of vegetables and international foods makes my stomach turn. I won’t be able to try any of the blackberry recipes that Deena recommends in the near future, but we plan on freezing up an extra supply so I can try them when I get to feeling better.

Until then, I’ll be chowing down on peanut butter and wild blackberry jam sandwiches.