wonders of this world.

Hello dear friends, 

Many of you might remember that when I began to plan my temporary stay in Portland, it did not involve driving my little blue bug across the United States of America. Instead, I decided to dive in head first and really make this thing an adventure. It's also possible that I had two free flights from Southwest Airlines for opening up a credit card and figured this might be the optimal time to put them to use. But hey, adventure was still going to be a part of the equation, no matter what the motive was. 

It turns out that there are some pretty rad folks in Portland though. Four awesome people have let me borrow their cars while I have been here which has made my car-less adventure to the pacific northwest a little more convenient. It is actually one of the most humbling things I have experienced as well. Often times, I am quick to cling to my worldly possessions because I "value" them but I am continuing to learn that although they are worth something monetarily speaking, they are worth pennies in comparison to the joy that comes from being able to share them with others. 

Having a car for the past couple of weeks has been such a blessing and I really couldn't be more thankful. When I started to think about it though, I realized that walking places has been too. You see a lot more of the world when you're among it. Here are just a few things I've seen on my walking adventure that reminded me of all the beautiful things that surround us everyday.

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily 

time is on a bike.

Hello Monday and hello friends, 

I hope you all found lots of things that made you appreciate the fall season this weekend! Can you believe it is almost the end of October? I feel like time is riding a bike downhill! Pretty soon pilgrims, turkeys and stretchy pants are going to be coming our way and then we'll blink our eyes and have pear trees...with partridges in them!!! My oh my, the holidays are indeed approaching. Swiftly. 

Ok, ok, ok, I'm getting ahead of myself. In an attempt to appreciate the here and now, lets just continue to think of the joyous October season we find ourselves in and let these little orange babies brighten our day. 

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily

ps. If you think all the hype about pumpkins is overrated, I think you are mistaken but you might want to check out this hysterical article about a man who decides that he is going to eat all of the pumpkin things Trader Joe's has to offer...in one day. He is less than impressed. And to think, I suggested doing something like this! 

corn nostalgia.

Hey there! 

How do you take your corn? I'm an off the cob kind of lady. Somehow the added commitment of picking kernels out of your teeth for hours just doesn't seem worth it. Cutting it off the cob though, sign me up. When we were younger my family lived in Guatemala and I remember days when we would walk down to the market. The local people would be grilling corn on the cob and it always looked so delicious. They would squeeze lime and a dash of salt over the corn, put it back in the husk and then throw it on the grill until it was nice and toasty. Ahh, I can almost smell it now. So good. 

Last weekend I went to a corn maze and while I enjoyed walking through maze and figuring out the life size puzzle, I also was taken back by the beauty of the tall green stalks. Who knew corn could be so lovely?

Fondly from Portland, 

Emily 

p.s. If I have a farm someday, it might be called 'Call me crazy, Call me corny'. Ok, that is all.