Woodlark Hotel

Thursday, February 28, 2019



Last weekend, we enjoyed the rare treat of a night away from home at the new downtown Portland Woodlark Hotel. I had wanted to stay at the hotel after catching a glimpse of it while enjoying dinner at Bullard and the cutest bar in Portland- Abigail Hall.



I love everything about this historic and sophisticated boutique hotel. My only wish is that I was feeling better and could do the whole thing over again. 



Our room was small but, comfortable.  We had a city view and it was such a luxury to lay in bed uninterrupted Saturday morning and just enjoy the view. 


We didn't eat at Bullard this night, but we have before and it is definitely one we will be coming back to.  My absolute favorite new spot is Abagail Hall, a chic little bar hidden away at the back of the hotel. It reminds me of the Ritz bar in Paris with it's feminine details and cozy atmosphere. 


Everything about it is just perfect, including the guy at the bar ordering us a drink. 



The next morning we had coffee at Good Coffee- located in the hotel lobby. Even though I had zero appetite this spiced fig latte was really good. Next time, I'm going all out and getting room service from Bullard and this latte again. 



The worst part is that it was over too quickly and I wasn't fully able to really enjoy it due to a lingering sickness. I hope we are able to go back and do it all over again. 



Thank You Notes With Paperless Post

Thursday, December 27, 2018

I was raised to write thank you notes. My mom made sure we wrote them after every birthday and Christmas. I realize not all people grew up with this instruction and it can seem a bit old fashioned, but I can tell you that I know it's appreciated when received.  A sincere thank you never goes out of style, especially in today's world where most of our communication is digital- texts, insta messages, comments, etc. It's always nice to receive something beautiful and thoughtful.
I usually hand write my thank you notes, but this year I'm trying something new with Paperless Post. 
As everything continues to get more "digital" it's nice to merry a beautiful thoughtful note with the ease of technology. Plus, raise your hand if your handwriting isn't always on par and comes out looking more like chicken scratch then beautiful penmanship.

Here are a few of the ones I will be sending out.





Aren't they pretty!!  I can't wait to send them out and personalize each one to the recipient. Do you send out thank you notes?  

Thank you Paperless Post for sponsoring this post.



2017

Friday, February 02, 2018

I just finished our family’s yearbook and sent it off to the printer and in doing so, I realized there were so many things that happened in 2017 that never made it past a few small squares on Instagram. I’m not great at keeping up with a blog, I guess blogging has been replaced by the immediacy of IG, but it would be a shame not to keep something on here, at least for record. So without further ado here are some highlights of our year.


Brooklyn was baptized on January 1st, 2017. The most perfect way to start the year.


11 years in the making- we tore off the roof to our covered deck, that we never really liked. It was a year of some much needed home maintenance.



Brooklyn ran track from for Valor International School. It was a rainy cold spring but still fun to watch her compete.


We transitioned through our dear friends moving to Central Oregon.


Another transition of the year happened as we helped move A.M. Jannsen Well Drilling from it’s location of 40+ years. So many memories from childhood and bringing the kids to work here.


After the hustle to get Jannsen Well Drilling moved we flew down to Cabo for our first big family vacation, during which we broke some bones, celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, and tried to have some fun and relaxation. There is already more on the blog about our trip but it counts as part of our year.


We celebrated Colette’s first birthday in Cabo. A little untraditional- no classic first party with a cake and presents. My sister did buy her a cute small cake she ate by the pool, but a massive parental error in not properly documenting it.


We decided to experiment with opening an Airbnb rental and to our surprise it was booked out within 24 hours. We continued to host through the fall and became Airbnb super hosts.


Wallowa Lake was monumental this year. All 4 of our kids water skied with the help of their grandparents, aunts, and uncles. It took a village but we got it done!


We roofed our house then painted it and re-fenced the entire backyard. An expensive year of just upkeep, but much needed and it looks so much better.


The girls and I got to spend a special weekend visiting with my sisters in southern Oregon.


In the fall we spent a quick 9 days in France traveling from Paris to Provence and out of Nice. More pictures and information here on the blog.



Brooklyn & Ella ran cross country for Valor International School. We enjoyed watching them continue to develop and grow as competitors and athletes.


We took our annual family pictures with sweet Kirstyn of Sweet Mint Photography. As always they turned out so cute.






Brian celebrated turning 40 in Mexico (a few days late) and I turned 40 in November with lots of family here for the Thanksgiving weekend and my Aunt’s 60th birthday.





One innocent day I decided to take apart our sectional (which does not configure into any other arrangement) and rearrange our family room. We liked the options but realized it was time (maybe past time) to sell our 10 year old big brown comfortable sectional.


So we sold it!


Hundreds of couches later we settled on two from Crate & Barrel. One thing leads to another and 3 months later I think the “rearranging” is finally done. Maybe.


That about wraps up some of the highlights of our year.
Happy belated 2018 everyone!

Pretty Provence

Sunday, November 19, 2017


Provence is like no place I have ever been. Having experienced Paris three times, I was excited to venture outside the city to get a taste of the other France, and it didn't disappoint! It's so beautiful and old that my new world brain can hardly wrap itself around it being real and not something created for say Disneyland. It's truly magical. 



Prior to our trip I read at least three of Peter Mayle's books on Provence and listened to/read/watched everything Rick Steves on the area.  It was hard to choose a town or village as home base, but we settled on Arles.  A three hour train ride from Paris and we arrived in Avignon and then rented a car and drove 45 minutes to Arles.  Actually, we were starving and in France you can't just get "lunch" all day.  Most restaurants serve lunch from 11-2 and if you don't make it during that time frame you are out of luck. 


We'd read about the charms of St. Remy and we thought we had a chance of getting some lunch if we found a restaurant quickly.  We barely made it and were turned away at several places before finding a friendly restaurant owner who let us get the last serving of the day. I was excited to finally experience Provencal food after reading Peter Mayle's books and listening to Rick Steves describe the unique and flavorful cuisine unique to the area. 


Maybe it was that we were starving or maybe it was just that the food and the atmosphere were so truly beautiful but it was a lunch I will never forget.  The food was simple and uncomplicated compared to the foie gras we had in Paris the night before, but it was just as good.



We sat in a courtyard and watched couples coming to a hotel for their wedding receptions.  It then started to rain and we were entranced by the mood, the food, and the excellent cheap wine. 




After strolling St. Remy in the rain we loaded up and drove the remaining distance to our our Airbnb in Arles.











After the tiny cramped apartment in Paris our home in Arles was both charming and peacefully quiet.
Several of the beams in the house had dates inscribed in them and it's likely the original house was built around 1859.


Arles is famous for several Roman ruins that are arguably better than any you will find in Rome.








Arles is also famous for being an inspiration for hundreds of Van Gough paintings. You can actually go to the places where he sat up an easel and painted many of his most famous works of art.









We spent our days traveling outside of Arles to other Provencal towns like Isle Sur La Sorgue for it's huge outdoor market. If I had the luxury of bringing it all back I would. Olives, olive oil, salt, herbs, lavender, soap, linens, cheese, meats, the most inexpensive wine.  It's truly incredible. 






We also visited Châteauneuf-du-Pape, the world famous wine commune in Provence. It was Sunday so most things were sadly closed but we happened upon a tasting room set back into a wine cave where we enjoyed a complimentary tasting of their world famous wine.








Another highlight of our trip to Provence was a visit to the ancient roman aqueducts at Point Du Gard.  The history here was fascinating and breathtakingly beautiful.





After walking around the acquedoct we ate lunch at the outdoor cafe. It was surreal to be sitting in Provence eating lunch in front of one of the world UNESCO world heritage sites.



Also, a bucket list type moment was getting to eat at a Michelin star restaurant.   Although we opted for the cheaper of Jean-Luc Rabanel's two restaurants in Arles it was a memorable meal. 





And, because there are just too many pretty pictures to post I'm going to wrap this up with a few more. Oh what a life it would be to live in a country home in Provence. One day I would like to try. 



















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