Au revoir...

It's been a great four years - au revoir Portland! 

Image from tumblr.

The last burst of summer...

...is upon Portland. Blissfully warm, still days, and wonderfully cool nights.

Image from North Hawaii.

Precipitation...

Weather forecasts that refer to precipitation may be technically correct, but really, I think rain (as in it's raining cats and dogs) is less ambiguous, and more suited to Portland forecasts.
Image by Andrew Paynter (found via Aubrey Road).

A shot of colour...

...and a billowy silhouette on a somewhat grey Portland day.

For more of the same have a peep at Jil Sander's Spring 2011 collection.

Image from Style.com

For no other reason...

...than I love this image. I hope your week is trucking along. Portland is basking in the most incredible sunshiny autumn weather. Utter bliss!
Image from arrondissement-a.

A soggy Monday...

My oh my! Portland has bit hit by a deluge. Surely the clouds have run out of rain by now? Anyhoo how was your weekend? Ours was...well to be honest it was a little scratchy. Turtle, Mu and me were all feeling a little bit this side of cantankery. Dear R was really rather patient. Thank goodness we seem to have shaken off our scratchiness just in time for this week's super-duper exciting expedition to NYC. Whoohoo!! 


Image from Jennifer Squires.

Hello and Happy New Year!

My it has been a looooong while. I hope you all had a fab Christmas and New Year, and that the sun shone or snow snowed wherever you were. We had the most wonderful Christmas and New Year in New Zealand (above) with family and friends. On our way back to Portland we were lucky enough to spend a few days in the Cook Islands (below). Bliss! We're now back home in our perfect little apartment and slowly getting back into the swing of things. I hope you're all enjoying the New Year - it's so nice to be back!

Please Portland snow...

I'd like to be able to look out the window and see what Reid Carrescia saw. I've been patiently waiting, and waiting, and... waiting for the past week. Please can we have just a little bit? Goodness knows it's been cold enough lately.

Video from Reid Carrescia.

Rain boots...

How was your weekend? We got up to nothing-much-at-all. The rain that makes Portland Portland has arrived and we spent a good part of Saturday jumping over (and in) puddles, some of which resembled small lakes! Don't you think there is something about the crisp fresh air when the rain has passed that makes it really lovely? Another lovely thing about rainy weather is rain boots like these.

Image Hunter.

Thinking of summer...

Even though Fall (Autumn) has abrupty arrived in Portland and we're piling on the layers I'm still think of summer and summery things. All my seasons and times of year are still muddled, and given we'll have two weeks of summer in New Zealand mid-way through winter no doubt I'll become even more muddled. I think I'm definitely a warm weather person - how about you - warm or cold weather?

Speaking of summery - well spring-y things I adore the soft organic shapes of Farncisco Costa's Spring 2010 collection for Calvin Klein. You can see a video of the show here.

Images from here.

Portland love...

It's official - I've fallen in love with Portland! There are so many interesting, beautiful and inspiring things. Do you ever have that sense of belonging somewhere? I'm in awe of the small businesses and endeavours people undertake here. And as for the scenery - jaw dropping. Some recent discoveries include...

Ink & Peat - A wonderful collection of homewares, furniture, flowers, and objets d'art.

The Japanese Garden - Beautifully tranquil and proclaimed as one of the most authentic Japanese gardens outside of Japan it is one of my new favourite places.

Lark Press Printing - Tucked away over on N Williams is a lovely letterpress printing studio and retail space.

Laughing Planet - Scrum-diddly-umptious, wholesome, quick-service cafe. And there's one just a few blocks from our wee home. In fact there are so many great dining options here - our new family plan is to try a new one every Friday night - yum!

The Oregon Coast - One word - sublime! Oregon has such a diverse range of scenery and ecosystems. Put simply - jaw-dropping

J Crew - OK so not officially a Portland exclusive but I love it all the same.

Turtle & Mu's new school - Such a wonderful place - we feel grateful that they get to experience such a warm and inspirating place.

There are so many more things, places, and people I could go on for ever...

I hope you're having a lovely weekend - what:nots will be posted later this evening, and I'm aiming to update the 'our house' set on Flickr with some pics from our home away from home.

Images from Ink & Peat, Portland Japanese Garden, Lark Press Printing, Laughing Planet Cafe, J Crew.

Weekly what:nots...

Things are back on track - and I'm back to weekly what:nots (I don't think I should mention I've been planning to post these since Wednesday....). Enjoy!

With the late Portland summer - new sandals are on the agenda and these would be perfect!

A sweet bud vase by Mitsuru Koga for late summer blooms.

I just love the colours in these images by Maison de Vacances.

And while we're on bright colours - this painting from Ines de la Fressange's home is fab.

Garance Dore's illustrations are now on tee-shirts!

The stunning Grace Kelly via Tumblr.

Hanging in the window of Bowen Galleries a beautiful oil painting by Gary Collins.

Elle Russia - love the cool blues and greys - via This is Glamorous.

A very pretty vignette from Christine Lane Interiors.

And to end with - a simple, and rather lovely desktop wallpaper by Lena Corwin for Design Sponge.

Images from Moochi, Mitsuru Koga, Maison de Vacances, The Selby, Garance Dore, Tumblr, Bowen Galleries, This is Glamorous, Christine Lane Interiors, and Design Sponge.

There's been a lot happening....

I am loving Portland's Indian summer! Pure heaven. Our home away from home is fab, but lacking in some things - like a decent radio or stereo. I'm seriously thinking of acquiring a Tivoli - it's just a matter of deciding which one? I love how Elisa Carlucci has incorporated her little stereo in her living area.

We picked up a great desk this afternoon - it's so nice having a space for all my little things, and somewhere to work! I'm always intrigued to see how other people set up there workspaces. I'm quite taken by Kelly of Succulent Love Design's workspace.

Our apartment has a lack of lighting so we have started acquired a few lamps - one or two more wouldn't be amiss especially if they looked as lovely as this one by Sarah Foote of Bonne Nuit (ooh...there's another Tivoli).

And since I sold our bed before we left New Zealand, we're on the lookout for a new bed. We've found one quite similar to the one in this image.

And we've put a deposit on a fab new couch. So exciting.

Images from: Design Sponge, Design Sponge, Bonne Nuit, and Lili Diallo.

Hello...?

Oh dear I seem to have taken a much longer break than I ever expected. Things certainly haven't been helped by a lack of internet. Although we arrived in Portland last week, we have only just been 'hooked up'. We are however settling in and Turtle & Mu have started their new school. And although we have moments that are rather disorientating, it is all overall an exciting wee adventure. Must go - lots of lovely bits and bobs coming soon - promise!

It's all go....

We have found somewhere to live in Portland - hooray! And we have also found tenants for our home here in the little city - hooray, hooray! And R is home tomorrow, so it's all go. Only 14 and a bit days to go. On an entirely different note - love this letterpress print, and adore this wee pewter salt n' pepper set.

Images from Hijirik, and Ethanollie.

Colourful, round & stripey....

It's been a somewhat bewildering and busy few days. Our plans have changed and we will only be in Portland for six months. Although that may change once we're there. Hmmm. So instead of shipping our 'life' we are storing pretty much everything. Not too bad once you get your head around it, and have a chat to the helpful man at the freight company. Onto the colourful, round and stripey - above is an artwork by Julian Dashper, who very sadly passed away late last week. You can see more of Julian's work here. And below are some incredibly lovely wet-felted pebbles by the gorgeous Reya Veltman. Enjoy!

Images from Te Papa and Reya Veltman.

Hooray it's Friday!

What a busy week! The decision has been made - we're relocating half way around the world to Portland, Oregon in August! How exciting - there's so much to do and sort out. R will be away for most of the coming months - so Turtle, Mu & me will be packing and planning alone. I hope we find somewhere lovely to live - I will miss our sea views. Hopefully we find somewhere with lots of character and a lovely vibe. So very exciting! Here's some lovely desks and inspiration boards from Martha Stewart Living.

And as it's Friday - that means riding - yippee!

Image from The Equestrian Corner.