Happiness

Today was a beautiful day here in Portland. This winter has been unusually dry and full of sunshine-y days, which I am not complaining about at all. The rainy Pacific NW climate is much milder than the snowy one that I grew up in, but the perma- soggy socks and pant cuffs get to be kind of a drag after a while. Most of our winter days are notoriously grey, so on the few days that we do get sunshine everyone in the city seems to be in a great mood. Here are some of the things that make me happy all the time, even when the sun isn't shining:

1. Tweed Bike Ride

I'm sad that I heard about this event after the fact! Portland has tons of themed bike rides, but I think this is my favorite one so far. The 1st Annual Tweed Ride was held on January 30th, starting at Skidmore Fountain. Riders dressed up in their finest tweeds, and biked a 14 mile route that ended in a tea party and luncheon. Beyond adorable! After seeing some of the photos from the event, I must say I'm very impressed by how dapper everyone looked - there was some really great fashion happening. I especially love these shots, which were taken by BikeRanger.







2. Succulents

I decided to make a succulent garden the other day after finding this really pretty open glass jar at Goodwill. I have always loved succulents, not only because of the way they look, but also because I'm lazy and don't water my plants as often as I should. This was really easy to make - just get some succulent soil mix, gravel, and whatever plants and rocks you want!



3. La Photo Cabine

La Photo Cabine is a super cute French website that uses the web cam on your computer to take four photos of you, and they come out looking like old photo booth photos. It reminds me of Amelie! Here is the one I took today, while drinking coffee out of my favorite mug of all time that says "Sewing forever, housework whenever".



4. These shoes.

Hopefully they will be en route to my doorstep very soon. Available at Nasty Gal Vintage. At the rate I'm going, it won't be long before I need an entire closet just for shoes. So addicted!




5. Aerial views.

I found this image at Them Thangs. It reminds me of being on an airplane as a kid and looking down at the earth and seeing the patchwork patterns formed by fields growing different colors of grains, and the roads and rivers dividing them, almost as if they were the stitching on a quilt.



6. Surrealistic Pillow by Jefferson Airplane

I think I've listened to this record at least 20 times in the past week. This is my favorite song from the album - so beautiful, so haunting.



Also, this one is pretty great.



Alright, its time for this girl to go to bed. Stay tuned, I'm updating the Etsy Shop in the next few days with some exclusive experimental garments - most involving either lace or sheer fabric (!) so start saving your pennies.

I want to hear about some of the things that make YOU happy!