Portlandia| Friendsbians

My bestie and I took a trip up to my favorite city, Portland for a much needed girl's day. We went to sizzle pie for lunch. I tried a vegan pesto, tomato, dried cranberry, and sliced pecans and then a ricotta, spinach, dried cranberry, and olive oil slice.

Both were amazing! After that, we went to the Ace Hotel to fuel ourselves with coffee and to take advantage of their photo booth. 

After wandering around vintage shops and window shopping at stores we cant afford, we stopped at Salt n Straw for some ice cream. I ended up getting half a scoop of the salted caramel and half a scoop of the coffee and bourbon. I was basically in a food coma.

After I got back from the date, I was inspired to make a flower crown, so we stopped at Michael's for the supplies and I made a $5 crown as opposed to the crappy $20 dollar crowns I saw at Urban Outfitters. Now, I just need an occasion to wear it. 

Here's a photo of my favorites for the day: the $8 boho flower shirt I got at a vintage store, my crown, and a strip from the photo booth. I love Portland.

Mary's Peak

My mom and I decided to try another hike we've never done, so we drove a little over an hour to a little town called Philomath (just outside of Corvallis). We ended up doing a 5 mile hike up and around the beautiful Mary's Peak. It is the highest peak on the Oregon coastal range. Once we finally hiked to the top I felt like singing "The hills are alive" and spinning around like The Sound of Music. It looked just like a scene from the movie. It was so nice to sit and have a picnic with this gorgeous view surrounding us, and it didn't even matter that I looked completely ridiculous with a gopro strapped to my chest and a giant fanny pack around my waist. The hike wasn't too difficult and I definitely recommend it! If you're not one for hiking, you can drive almost to the top and just walk up a short gravel road to see the view. I couldn't believe how gorgeous the day was, I didn't need to use photoshop on a single one of these photos. 

Lazy Sundays

Since being out of school I really haven't known what to do with all my extra time. I've been coming up with creative ways to keep busy and to get things done that I normally don't have time for. Today, I decided to catch up on one of my guilty pleasures: Pretty Little Liars. Normally I don't like to waste my time watching television all day, but I went for an early run so I thought I would spend the rest of the day indulging. I not only indulged in the show, but I pulled out my stash of Justin's dark chocolate peanut butter cups and enjoyed those as well. Once in awhile I love a lazy day in bed...with my cat.

Wednesday: Friendsday

Today, for the first time in years, my friend and I had the same week day off. We spent the morning at the Wednesday Farmer's market, then grabbed some Thai food downtown, and ended the day thrifting for gems. It was so great to have the whole day together just to hangout and catch up. I really miss having similar schedules.

I also had to snap a photo of her outfit she wore. She usually wears all black. This is the first time this summer (besides Cancun) that she's worn some color.

(Dress: Target,  Belt: Vintage,  Shoes: Target)

Cancun| Part 6

 The week went by at lightning speed. Our final day was spent mostly between the pool and the ocean. We really didn't do anything except drink and swim. I was definitely not ready to come back, but I am so thankful I got to enjoy a wonderful vacation with some amazing people. God has blessed me with more than I deserve.

Mexico doesn't have a legal limit on billboards so the control tower was a giant Corona advertisement. Both flights went smoothly and by the time we got home (2 am) I was exhausted and ready for bed.

This trip is definitely going to be the one to beat. I don't foresee any trips being as cheap and perfect as this one. 

Cancun| Part 5

Friday in Cancun, we went to the town of Chichen Itza to see one of the seven wonders of the world: The Mayan Pyramids/Ruins. The pyramids were two hours away so we took a tour bus that luckily eased the trip by providing libations (Corona). Our first stop was in a small town, Valladoloid, that had the third Catholic church built in North America (in the 1500's). We only got to stop for twenty minutes, but I'm glad we did.

Our second stop was at the Centotes (Cenotes means sink hole in Spanish). It's where all of Mexico gets their fresh water. The water is crystal clear and is deep underground in caves. The water was ice cold, but was incredibly refreshing since it was over 100 degrees outside. There were tons of fish that swam right up to you, which may have been the reason why Erick refused to join us. It was so beautiful there and it was an incredible experience to actually swim in it. 

Our last stop on the tour was of course the ancient Mayan city, Chichen Itza. The size and architecture of the pyramids was breathtaking. We were all sweating buckets during the tour, but the details in all the sculptures and ruins that took hundreds of years to create and was so worth it. 

We learned about a sport the Mayans played where they had to get a 7 pound ball through 25 ft high hoop without using their feet or hands. The captain of the winning team had his head cut off as a noble sacrifice to the Gods. They believe in reincarnation so no one was scared of winning. 

I was bummed we didn't get to climb up the pyramids, but apparently it is forbidden ever since 2009 when some idiots decided to run down the tiny steps and tripped, causing an avalanche of people and killing two of them in the process. Unfortunately, people have also vandalized the inside of the pyramids with graffiti, which makes me lose faith in humanity. 

It was a very historical and memorable day. I am so blessed that I got to experience this part of history in person. We had a photo of us snapped at the beginning of the tour and it was put on a Mayan elixir bottle as a souvenir. The sample we got of the alcohol tasted like an extremely sweet licorice. We are going to all break open our bottle and have a little reminiscent reunion sometime when we get home.

Cancun| Part 4

My favorite part of the trip was the three dives Paul and I did together. I have never done a warm water dive before so I was enormously thrilled that all I needed to wear for diving in the Cancun sea was just my swimsuit. We did our first two dives sequentially and then went on a snorkeling tour with Erick and Becca two hours after. I have never been more tired in my life! Our first dive was 60 ft. under water and we got to swim through a cave. Our second dive was only 25 ft. deep, but we got to see a ton more marine life because of the coral reefs and the light. It was gorgeous! We didn't get much footage of either of those dives because Paul had the gopro strapped to his chest and all you could see was the sandy bottom on the first dive and on the second dive the gopro froze.

Paul and I had to practically force Becca and Erick to go snorkeling. Neither of them seemed that interested until we got out there and they actually did it. Our snorkeling guide took us to almost the same spot we dove. Except for Erick swallowing too much salt water and throwing up, they had a great time and we were able to see quite a bit of marine life. 

We finally spotted a turtle while snorkeling and I got so excited that I tried chasing him to get a good picture and didn't realize I had swam into super shallow water. A big wave came and threw me into a coral reef and I ended up cutting up my whole thigh, ankle, and butt cheek. When I got back on the boat, I was bleeding pretty bad and the guide yelled me a lecture. It was totally worth it to see the turtle though, not going to lie. 

Day One and then Day Two after my coral accident: 

Mine and Paul's last dive was a 90 ft. deep shipwreck dive of an old mine sweeper. It was the absolute highlight of the trip. The ship was purposely sunk to create a reef for marine life. It was completely covered in coral and after another lecture from the guide about me not touching the coral he informed us that we would be able to swim through the entire ship. Before we even got to the bottom, we saw a two stingrays swim up from the bottom. Fish of all shapes, colors, and sizes were everywhere! It was an incredible experience to partake in. I even saw a barracuda! Because of how deep we were we only got to stay under for 25 minutes, which was way too short. Before I knew it it was over. Luckily, Paul got the entire dive on video and even a couple awesome candid shots with the gopro. I really hope to do more dives like this one in the future.