a summer love letter

dear, portland -

i love you in the summertime.

i love you for warm, sunny days with no humidity. days where we can hang out on our lawn with our neighbors.

i love you for the beautiful berries you produce, which jill picked, and made into a smitten kitchen cake for us to devour (i love jill for this as well).

i love you for the delicious reisling that i sipped while eating said cake.

i love you for being such a walkable city. i'm not eligible for a student bus pass or a gym membership this summer because i'm not enrolled in any classes, so i'm walking the 2.5 miles (free + exercise) to work every day. it doesn't hurt that this is my view.

i love you for outdoor dinners made on our tiny little grill. dinners like homemade black bean burgers.

served on a bed of cabbage with salsa verde + guacamole.

love, lauren

ps - penny loves you too. she especially loves you for making us open the windows, letting her see the great big world outside.

home again, home again

it's hard to believe that almost a month at home has gone by already. 

are you seriously putting me on a plane again?

it was a wonderful vacation filled with friends, family, reading on the deck, lounging at the beach, sushi dates and numerous shopping excursions. sadly enough, it actually felt like a luxury trip compared to my normal life. i had a car, a washer + dryer (no more hoarding quarters!) and television. 

but, there is a handsome man, a job, and a beautiful city experiencing prime weather right now waiting for me. plus, this blog is titled 'lnk in pdx', so i should probably get back to pdx, right? i'm really excited to get to work on my summer goals. we also have a few visitors in the upcoming months that i can't wait to see.

the hardest part of leaving home is saying goodbye to these people:

 

i'm just a little bit obsessed with my family + how much fun we have together. because my dad sheltered me was overprotective, the first time i ever spent any significant time away from home (read: more than a weekend) was the summer before my freshman year of high school. then, i went to college at uconn. then, i moved across the country + locked myself into three years there. one of these things is not like the rest. perhaps this is why i struggle so much with bouts of homesickness. or maybe i'm just a big baby who needs her mommy + daddy. regardless, i love them more than words can say.

see you on the west coast!

four things friday

i thought five things friday was going to have to be canceled earlier today, when i woke up at the crack of dawn feeling feverish and nauseous. it's unfortunate that i felt so awful on my last full day home, but i'm grateful it happened today and not tomorrow (flying with a stomach bug = no bueno).

here are five four (hey, i'm sick) things that are cheering me up right now...

toile. it's my absolute favorite fabric, and one day, i hope to fill my home with toile everything. toile wallpaper, toile linens, toile chairs, toile couches! drew's stepmom, donna, brought me one step closer to achieving my toile dreams by giving me this shower curtain.

treasures from my grandmother's store. i'd say the style i'm attracted to most is somewhere in between bold southwestern patterns + dainty vintage florals. does my grammie know me well or what? i have plans for a fun project with the handkerchiefs when i get back to portland.

moving right along with the vintage floral theme, check out this adorable shirt i got from urban outfitters yesterday on sale. allie thought it was an extremely weird shirt, and that only i would think it was perfect. i love it!

manicures. i used to scoff at the idea of wasting money on a manicure when i could just give one to myself. so i gave one to myself, and turns out, it looks like a toddler did it for me. my sister and i have been going once a week to get manicures, and i've become slightly addicted to trying a different color each week. i also find the whole experience relaxing. this week's color of choice: absolutely shore. "a soft sea foam green".

almost over

as the end of my visit in connecticut nears, i find myself running a million errands and trying to squeeze in as much time as possible with friends + family. why must portland be so far away? it's cruel that i only get to see the people i love the most once or twice a year.

today, i managed to check one of my summer traditions off my list: poppy's pool. in past summers, i spent my days off from nannying at my friend sarah's grandfather's (poppy) pool. poppy is a cute little italian man who makes candles in his garage. his pool is the perfect place to catch up on gossip + escape the sticky, humid air.

a patriotic poppy's pool.

after sufficiently bronzing freckling myself, i drove north to new haven to see my other college roommate, allie. i love allie. she's my strangest friend. she's studying to become a parasitologist. you've never seen someone get so excited over parasites. we spent hours shopping + had dinner at the incredible claire's corner copia. i had a lavender lemonade (much better than my own) + the quesadilla california: whole wheat tortilla baked with mozzarella, tomatoes, avocado, mushrooms + served with their black bean salsa. so good.

yale.

she seems normal...

...but no.

the one errand i strategically "didn't have time for" this trip was going to the dentist. i know teeth cleanings are necessary every six months, but i really really really despise them. sorry, mom. i promise i'll go when i get back to portland...

fourth festivities

this past weekend was filled with sun, delicious food + most importantly, spending time with people i love. 

lavender lemonade

my favorite summer drink is fresh-squeezed lemonade, so i decided to make some for the holiday with the addition of lavender. you still get the refreshing tartness from the lemons, but there's a slightly floral undertone. i spiked mine with a little vodka, poured it over ice, and deemed it the perfect sunny day cocktail.

lavender lemonade adapted from martha stewart

3 lemons 
1/2 cup fresh lavender (straight out of drew's dad's garden!) 
1/2 cup agave nectar 
5 1/2 cups water

zest 2 lemons and place in pot with water. bring to a boil, add lavender + simmer on stove for 10 minutes. strain liquid from pot, and add in agave nectar + the juice of the lemons. let cool completely, then pour into a container with ice.

happy fourth of july!

five things friday

today i'm loving ...

this blazer that i bought at the j.crew outlet. it's lightweight and comfortable. it will be perfect for work, play + to wear out on a chilly night.

this little teacup that i found thrifting with my dad. it's the perfect size to store my bobby pins + looks much nicer than the strip of cardboard that they come on.

midnight in paris. this woody allen gem was so charming. the costumes, music and characters (ernest hemingway, f. scott fitzgerald, picasso) perfectly captured paris in the 1920s (which i became fascinated with after reading a moveable feast).  i've been to paris once, for 24 hours exactly, and i really regret not eating my weight in french macarons when i had the chance.

 

picnics on the beach. my college roommate was visiting from brooklyn, so i drove down to see her + we enjoyed our packed lunches on the beach. i've been spending as much time as possible at the beach (with plenty of sunscreen!) before i have to go back to the land of gloomy skies + rain. unfortunately, this means my face is now plastered with freckles. how am i supposed to look over the age of 15 with all these freckles?

baking. i made these lemon bars to bring to a bbq tomorrow. except i subbed whole wheat pastry flour for the all purpose flour + added in fresh blueberries. i'm serving them on this platter that i put together from more thrift store finds!