That Jolie Girl

Vacation in Seattle

 

Greg and I spent 4 days in Seattle to celebrate our anniversary and Greg's birthday.  We hadn't been on vacation in ages.  It was nice to return to Seattle.  We haven't been here for a couple of years.  Our hotel was 4 blocks from Pike Street Market.  Our first night here, we checked out the market.

 

 

The weather called for rain pretty much for our entire stay.   We got very soaked this evening, but other than that we really lucked out.  

 

 

I highly recommend happy hour at Japonessa.  Such great food and service.  It's very affordable for happy hour.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The next day we bussed to the Fremont district for the Fremont Street Fair.  I was so grateful that our hotel had a parking lot where I could leave my car for the entirety of our trip.  Driving in Seattle is just not any fun.  Their bus system is pretty darn good, although they seemed to run late always.  The street fair was HUGE!  It was a very sunny day and we had a great time looking at all the different booths.

 

 

There was a crazy car fair too.  The squirrel car was my favorite.

 

 

 

Greg had bookmarked all of the record stores in town.  We went to many record stores.  This one in the University district was my favorite.

 

 

On our third day, we took the ferry to Bainbridge Island.  I remember doing this with my cousin probably 15 years ago.  I loved getting out on the water.  The views were just amazing.  

 

 

 

 

We walked along the waterfront trail on Bainbridge which surprisingly wasn't along the waterfront all that much.  Once we hit the marina, we walked on the docks and admired the beautiful boats.  We had lunch right on the water and it was really just perfect.

 

 

 

OK, how have I never heard of the Gum Wall before?  I've been to Seattle many, many times.  This was the first time we heard of the Gum Wall located just below Pike Street Market in Post Alley.  Of course, we had to see it.  Yep, it's a lot of gum.

 

 

So many folks were also checking out the gum.  Several of them added their own gum to the collective.  I tried to not get too close to the wall.  

 

 

We headed to Capital Hill for more record shopping.  I'm going to make a confession; I'm a closeted hipster.  I take for granted how hip Portland is.  I was surprised that Seattle was lacking places with fancy cocktails and interesting atmosphere.  We finally stumbled across St John's in Capital Hill.  It was exactly the kind of establishment I had expected to find on every corner. It was nice to relax after a long day of walking with a cocktail.

 

 

On our way home, we stopped in SeaTac to visit the Museum of Flight.  Greg was able to check 2 more SR-71 planes off of his list. This is the only place (we believe) where you can sit in the cockpit of a SR-71.  That was great fun.  This is a wonderful museum.  

 

 

 

We also got to walk through a Concorde.  What an amazing plane.

 

 

 

This is the 3rd Air Force One we've been able to walk through.  I really like these planes.  So much history!  This plane was used by Kennedy and Johnson.

 

 

I took this self portrait in the mirror of the presidential bathroom.  

 

 

The last highlight was getting to see a B-29.  My grandmother worked on B-29s in the 1940's and that is how she met my grandfather.  This plane used to be used for target practice.  It's been completely restored now, but it's been shrink wrapped to protect it from the elements until an indoor home can be found for it.  

We had a busy, but still relaxing vacation.  As much as I enjoy Seattle, I was very happy to return to my beloved Portland.

Snoqualmie Falls - on the way to Seattle

 

Greg and I spent a long weekend in Seattle a while back.  On the way up, we made the excursion to Snoqualmie Falls.  This was the first time I've been to these amazing falls.  So spectacular!  Of course, the falls makes me (and everyone) think of Twin Peaks.  It was so amazing to finally see them in person.

There is a ton of construction happening at the falls.  The trail down to the water was closed due to this.  Still, it was great fun to stand in the mist and to hear so many different languages being spoken.  

 

 

After seeing the falls, we drove 4 miles to North Bend for a great lunch at the highly rated North Bend Pub and Grill.  As we were leaving, we noticed this train across the street and decided to get a closer look.  The train headed for a scenic loop of Snoqualmie falls was leaving in a few minutes.  We spontaneously got tickets and had a marvelous time.  

 

 

 

 

It was amazing to see worker bees so close to the edge of the falls.  What a dangerous job!  

 

 

The views from the train were stunning.  

 

 

I stood in this doorway, so I could take pictures without dirty glass in the way.  It was a tiny bit scary, but mostly great fun.

 

 

Half of the fun was checking out the old train cars.

 

It was really a great day and the rain held off until we were on the road to Seattle.  I can't wait to come back and hike in this area when the trail is re-opened.

 

Walking Through 2012

 

I decided that in 2012 I'm going to focus more on my walking blog.  I started That Jolie Girl Walks last January as a project to get me walking more.  It worked.  I love the combination of photography and walking. The main goal is walking, so I take pictures as fast as possible.  

 

I  love the simplicity of this blog.  I decided to only use one Hipstamatic setting (Pistil film, John S lens) on my iphone, because I liked that look, I knew how that lens worked, and I wanted to make sure my pictures would turn out.  I don't edit any of the pictures.  I also post pictures in the order of my walk with the exception of the first picture.  I write about pictures if I feel there is something to say.  Other times I'll post pictures with no text.  The number of photos varies with each walk.  Sometimes I happen upon lots of amazing things; other times, not so much.  I always post at least one picture to mark that walk.  

 

The ease of posting really helps make this blog a reality.  Everything about the entire process is fun and I get the benefit of talking long walks.  It's a win-win.  I have a button on my side bar, so you can easily access my walking blog.  I hope you check it out!

 

Plucky Maidens

 

Last Thursday, was the inaugural Plucky Maiden's Junk Fest at Edgefield.  This quarterly event will be held at different McMenamins which seems like the perfect fit for this event.  50 vendors set up their junk and upcycled creations outside on the Edgefield's beautiful lawn.

 

 

My good friend, Karen, and I had a great time at this event.  Happy hour prices on beer made it even more fun to explore amazing vintage items and some just crazy odd ball things.  Karen wrote about our evening on the Travel Portland's blog Portland Spoke.  I was thrilled when she asked to use some of my photos.  You can read her article here.

 

 

There is something for everyone at this event, I know my mom would absolutely love it.  It was also well attended by hipsters and tons of kids.  With live music and all of Edgefield's restaurants open, this makes for a full night of fun.  The place was packed! 

 

 

Plucky Maidens is organized by Maria, owner of Collage.  Talking to several vendors, they all commented about how well organized and how smoothly this event was run.  They were very excited about the next one in November.  And of course, no Portland crafty event is complete without a do-it-yourself craft project.  Collage had a table set up for folks to take a break from shopping and to make something crafty. 

 

 

I bought several things including a necklace made from an old watch chain and watch key, a viewmaster of the World's Fair in Spokane and a beautiful vintage compact that looks like it's never been used.  The compact is the perfect size to house my moo business cards.

 

 

The next Plucky Maidens will be held at McMenamin's Grand Lodge on November 19th.  Mark your calendars!  I already have a date to attend with my mom.  I'm so excited that this event started off so well and it looks like it's future is bright.

 

 

 

 

Central Oregon Vacation and iPhone Panoramas

I vacationed in Central Oregon last week.  I wrote more about my adventures and have lots of photos on That Jolie Girl Walks.  This post is creating panoramas with your iphone. As you know, I'm pretty in love with Hipstamatic.  I get so wrapped up using that app that I forget use some other great photo apps on my iphone.  360 Panorama is a 99cent app that lets you easily take panoramas.  Instead of stitching flat pictures together, this app lets you paint in the panorama on a grid.  I need more practice with this app, because it has huge potential.  I'm still figuring out how shifting the camera affects light (adhere the low light warning) and how to create seamless pictures.  

 

 

This is how the pano originally turned out.  I need to work on filling the entire grid, so that I don't have to crop the photo down so much to get a rectangle photo.  Using the free Adobe Photoshop Express app, I cropped and edited the photo.  I uploaded the top photo to Facebook to show my friends and my family what I was doing on vacation.  All done on my phone.  

 

 

 

 

 

The Birth of My Nephew

 

Last Wednesday, my newest nephew came into the world.  This was the 4th time I was privileged to see the miracle of birth.  There just is nothing like seeing a human being born; I think everyone should experience this at least once.  I was honored that my sis-in-law asked that I be her doula.  I had helped with her other 2 births and I'm so glad that I got to be apart of this one too.  

 

 

I haven't gone through doula training, but do have a massage license.  I think that if you have a strong relationship with the parents, you don't need to have any training for what I did to help my sis-in-law through the birth process.  Being the mom's doula or helper/advocate/coach/etc is such an important role that I wish every woman in labor could have one.  

 

 

How I Helped During the Birth

• Never left her side.  That's probably the number one thing that I did to help.  From the moment we got to the hospital until the baby was swaddled and sleeping, I did not leave her.  This gave her a safe environment to know that help was always going to be there.  From getting her juice to finding a barf bag, all of her needs would be fulfilled immediately.  

• Talking her through contractions.  When my sis was hooked up to the fetal monitors, I could see when the contractions were coming and, even more importantly, when they were tapering off.  I kept her posted on this as well as reminded her to take deep breaths.

 

 

• Helping her get around.  From helping her with the bathroom to walking around the hospital to taking baths to getting in and out of bed, acting as a supportive arm I was there to make sure she could get around in the most comfortable manner possible.

• Updating health care workers.  Often my sis and I were by ourselves during her surges.  I timed contractions and kept track of how much pain she was in.  When we were checked on, I made sure to tell people exactly how she was doing and get her anything she needed.

 

• Letting the new father have space.  This is the first baby for my new bro-in-law.  While he was a great support for his wife, he also needed time to chill out from the intensity of the situation.  Knowing that I was not going to leave his wife, gave him the freedom to have his own anxiety.  Being a father is a lot to wrap your brain around, as is seeing your wife in a lot of pain.  

• Staying positive.  Words of encouragement are so helpful during times when my sis felt that she couldn't do it because the pressure was so intense. Reminding her that this pain is what will ultimately give her her baby is a good way to make the pain more positive.  

 

• Massage.  I didn't perform any massage that needed any kind of formal training.  It was all common sense touch.  I rubbed her legs and feet in between contractions to distract her mind.  I pressed on her lower back when she was having contractions standing up or leaning over.  I kept my hands on her to keep her steady when she was having contractions standing up.  With eyes closed and lots of shallow breathing, I didn't want her to fall down.  I checked in with her often because her needs changed over the course of the labor.

• Took pictures.  After all the fun was over, I grabbed my camera and documented my nephew being measured and weighed.  I also caught great images of family holding him for the very first time.  I made a picasa album of 181 pictures that captured the hightlights of the day and will help them remember how wonderful his birth was.  

 

 After 5 hours of very active labor (she had been having contractions for almost 2 months), she gave birth on the bathroom floor at the hospital.  It was really one of the most amazing things I'd ever seen.  I got to hold her steady (she was crushing my hand!) while she was on her knees and the midwives delivered on the floor.  Mother and son are both very healthy and happy.  When I left the hospital that evening after such a perfect day, I saw this beautiful rainbow.  

 

Photo by Greg Griffin

Printing Press in Toronto

While running errands with my cousin in Toronto before the wedding.  We stumbled upon this small printing press.  My cousin found beautiful thank you cards and it took some time for the very diligent and friendly guy to fold each card and wrap them up to travel.  

Since there was time and with permission, I took some photos of this beautiful space.  

 

 

 

 

Toronto

Toronto is an amazing city!  A huge city with 4 million people which makes Portland feel like a very small town.  While most of my time in Toronto was focused on wedding details, I did get the chance to see some beautiful parts of this magnificent City.  Here are a few of my favorite pictures of Toronto

 

 

 

 

Art and Fitness

I've decided that this year I'd like to focus on fitness.  I've signed up to walk a half marathon in May and will follow this training schedule. To help keep me motivated, I've decided to add photography to the mix.  I've started a photography blog called That Jolie Girl Walks.  Besides a place to keep myself accountable to keep training, it will also serve as a place holder for all the photographs I take.  I don't want this blog to be dominated by photography, so this seems like the perfect solution.  I'm excited for this new adventure and this first step in creating better habits.    

Seagull

 

When I was at the beach over Thanksgiving, my husband and I enjoyed a morning of walking on and around Nye Beach.  I ran into this very vain seagull there.  I love when impromptu photo shoots happen when you least expect it.  This is what happened with this guy. 

 

 

He was pearched on a pole and everytime I got close to him, he would jump to the next pole about 3 feet away.  He was completely not scared and he had no desire to fly away.  So I just kept walking up to him and he kept jumping back and forth between poles.

 

 

I could only take one photo each time he jumped.  It was a crap shoot as to what I would get.  There was no time to frame the shot or to think at all.  I just kept clicking.

 

 

The very top shot is the money shot.  I love it so very much.  But I had to take many, many pictures to get that one shot.  But that was more than half of the fun.  I loved hanging with this very vain guy and the experience of trying to catch him in flight.

 

 

Looking through all of the outtakes was great fun.  I've posted a few of my favorites.  Sometimes the not so perfect pictures are pretty darn great too. 

 

 

Below is my guy looking oh so very cool.  He was still there when I walked away.  I don't think he was ready to end the photo shoot.





 

Thanksgiving in Newport

 

I spent Thanksgiving with family in Newport this  year.  Here are some of the highlights of my trip.

 

 

We went beach combing in Lincoln City.

 

 

We went to the Grease Sing-a-long.  The words were added to the 35 mm film and we sang our hearts out in very small theater with about 30 people in attendance.  Such a fun thing to do with the whole family.  

 

 

We ate lunch at Newport's historical bay front.  I can't believe my luck at finding this pelican.

 

 

I helped my niece with a photography assignment.  I even acted as a human tripod, so she could steady her shot in the wind.  

 

 

I took my husband to see the Washed Ashore exhibit in Nye Beach.  I had seen it before and knew he would love this amazing exhibit made from waste washed up on the Oregon Coast.  Definitely check this out if you are in Newport.

 

 My husband and I had a great walk on the beach with the rain holding off until the very end of our trek.  It was great to see family and have time to relax.

My Niece's Halloween Project

                                                               Scared

 

My niece turns 17 today!  17.  Wow, it just seems like yesterday that I was in the delivery room watching her come into the world.  My niece is becoming an incredible lady.  She is smart, talented and pretty darn cute too.  

 

                                                                Curious

 

This year she was bit by the photography bug and I couldn't be happier.  Amazingly, she is taking photography from the same teacher I had in high school.  I still take pictures based on what she taught me so many moons ago.  It was the best class I took in high school.

 

                                                           Surprised

 

For Halloween this year, my niece and her best friend dressed up as Velma and Daphne from Scooby Doo and pulled off this hilarious photo shoot.  I'm so impressed and I can't wait to see what she does next.  

 

                                                                 Sad

Dharma Bums at the Doug Fir

 

Last Saturday, my husband and I went to see the Dharma Bums play at the Doug Fir.  Anyone who was around Portland in the early 90's knows how big and beloved this band was.  They hail from my husband's hometown and toured all over the world.  

 

In the past year or so, they have gotten the band back together and have been playing sporadically. We've saw them months ago at the Crystal Ballroom and had a blast.  My husband is always joined by folks from his high school and these events feel like a reunion of sorts.    Saturday's show was so much fun.  The Doug Fir was just crowded enough that I could dance and sing to my heart's content.  

I also got out my iPhone and gave my Hipstamatic a work out.  I would take a few pictures and then shook the phone, so that the Hisptamatic settings would change randomly.  I didn't see any of the results until I got home later that night.

I had just downloaded the brand new Dali Hipsta pack and I'm deeply in love with the mirrored results you can achieve with the Salvador 84 lens.  If you haven't gotten it yet, it's well worth 99 cents. Here a few of my favorite shots of the night.

 

 

 

 

Vase

At the Pottery Guild Show last spring, I bought this little guy because I had seen a display of one that had dried lavender in it and I loved it.   It's just so unique and quirky.  This summer I dried some of my lavender just for this reason.  Now finally my vase  is in a perfect spot where nothing else will fit. Sometimes it's worth waiting 6 months for a project to happen.

 

Taking Trimet - PDX Bus App

Last Saturday I had a very jam packed day.  I had matinée tickets to Burn the Floor, MFNW tickets to see the Decemberists at Pioneer Courthouse Square and concerts at the Crystal Ballroom after that.  The bus was the only way this day was going to work.  

I always use the PDX Bus app on my iPhone because it's extremely simple to use and is mind boggling accurate.  It's never been wrong once for me.  Luckily I live close in, so my options for buses are good.  We were home (across the river) from the Crystal Ballroom in about 20 minutes and we had to change buses.  The new bus mall is gorgeous and well lit even at midnight.  It's such a convenient choice.  It will be even cooler when the new Milwaukie Max line is put in.  I only have to wait about 4 more years. 

  

Whiskey

Last week I went to Branch Whiskey Bar with Diana.  You can read about our adventures here.  It seems that whiskey keeps popping up in my life right now.  There is something just bad ass about the idea of drinking whiskey.  "It'll grow hair on your chest" -  It doesn't get much manlier than that.  This could possible be the very reason why I'm  drawn to it.  At regular Happy Hours with co-workers, I now find myself asking for Old Fashioneds which is considered to be the very first cocktail.  My aunt and uncle rented a house at the beach this summer, so I had the opportunity to spend some time with them.  We caught up over straight bourbon.  And now I found myself ordering a whiskey flight at Branch Whiskey Bar.  I had such a fun evening with a dear friend and expanded my knowledge on whiskey by just a smidge.  I still don't know much about it, but I'm excited to learn.  

 

Newport, OR

My 16 year old niece and I headed down to Newport to spend the weekend with my mom.  We had fun filled days filled with walking on the beach, the Toledo Art Walk, an old time Jam session where my niece played her ukulele, re-learning the card game Casino, going to garage sales, watching Monks, kayaking, laughing and taking photos.  It was a relaxing vacation and I enjoyed every minute.  Here are some of my favorite pictures from the weekend.

 

 

    

 

 

     

 

  

 

Panoramas - Lake Tahoe

Here are some panoramic shots from my vacation. They are easier to look at if you click on the individual photos.  I'd like to learn more advanced photos stitching software like Hugin to make these images even better, but for now I'm using to Windows Live.  I'm not thrilled with it, but it was fast and easy.  

 

Vacationing at Lake Tahoe

I spent the last 4 days vacationing at Lake Tahoe.  My husband and I didn't have any set plans which is rare for us.  My husband is the king of the itinerary and we usually have each day planned out, but it was nice to see where the day would take us.  Here are some highlights from our trip.

We stayed a block from the lake and had access to a private beach.  Watching the sun set was wonderful.

We walked from our hotel to Heavenly Village and rode the (very scary) gondola to the top.  There we hiked for hours and saw stunning views.

We drove all 72 miles around the lake and stopped at vista points like Emerald Bay and many historical landmarks. 

This trip was in celebration of our 10th wedding anniversary.  My husband and I have been together for a total of 17 years.  After all these years, we still make each other laugh and enjoy spending time together.  I'm so lucky to have him in my life.

All of these pictures were taken with my new iPhone 4, including this one of Crater Lake.  I love the freedom and flexibility of being able to take pictures where ever I am.  It's definitely changed my philosophy of photography. 

Hipstamatic

Believe me, I spend a lot of time on my iphone.  It's one reason why I haven't been blogging as much.  I'm hooked on Facebook, Lexulous, Plants Vs Zombies and now Hipstamatic.  A friend started posting her Hipstamtic photos on Facebook and I knew I had to get this app.  The app is 2 dollars and to purchase all of the lens, film and flashes is an additional 4 dollars.  It's worth every penny.  

It takes practice to compose your photos.  The little photo display can be a bit deceiving.  Sometimes what you get is not what you were expecting, but it's hard to take a bad photo.  Each picture is a surprise which makes taking pictues so much fun.  If all the options seem overwhelming, you can always shake the iphone and Hipstamtic will randomly select the settings for you.  

 

This history of the original Hipstamatic 100 that two brothers in Michagin created in the early 1980's is very interesting.  I had no idea that this was an actual camera made completely (even the lens) out of plastic to give folks a camera that was cheaper than film.  Only 157 cameras were ever created. 

 

As you probably have noticed, these are all pictures of Atty.  My thirteen year old kitty has cancer and is nearing the end of his stay with us.  It's been an emotional time, but death is always a part of life.  It's been really wonderful taking pictures of him with the Hipstamatic.  I'm hoping to make an art project of the photos I've taken.  It's also been a great excuse to spend even more time with him.