Places I’ve Been

And the Day Started With a Train Ride

/ jennced15 / 3 Comments

How easy was it for this to be the places I’ve been post and I just took a trip yesterday; easy! Wednesday I had a friend fly into town, I then on Thursday I played hooky and the two of us caught the train from Portland to Seattle for the day.

Now I have been to Seattle many times before. I am actually getting pretty adept at knowing my freeways and when to not be on them, towns that surround the area and the neighborhoods that I like to frequent.

One thing that I have never done was take the train to Seattle. I have always wanted to but for some reason I just found it easier to drive. The funny thing about driving is the money you spend in gas and parking and that fact that you WILL end up in traffic. There is no way around that one so why do I always drive? I have no idea.

The train was great! It was three hours and they went by pretty fast. We were able to just sit back and relax. I didn’t have to worry about anything except getting to the train station on time (which we almost didn’t do).

So here are some pictures to share with you from my day. Enjoy!

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Christmas vacation should be spent in . . .

/ jennced15 / 2 Comments

I think I am a pretty typical and predictable person. I like all the things most people like and 8 out of 10 times I want to spend my Christmas at home with my family doing all of our traditions but . . . there are times when I dream of far off places that I would love to experience during the Christmas season. My first real taste of this was when I spent my first Christmas away from family in Hawaii. I am not going to lie; I really enjoyed seeing lights in palm trees. I didn’t miss snow one bit and I loved that it was in the high seventies during the day. My most favorite memory was calling to talk to my family on Christmas morning and telling them that I was headed to the beach for the day while they were in a blizzard.

So here are 5 places I have only ever dreamed about visiting during the Christmas season. Who knows; maybe next year I will be in one of those places sharing with you the 5 things you should do while visiting. Fingers crossed!

  1. Paris, France 
  2. Malmo, Sweden 
  3. Pape’ete, Tahiti 
  4. Quebec City, Quebec 
  5. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico 

Thankful Heart

/ jennced15 / 2 Comments

With so many changes happening in our world today; I find myself constantly reflecting on the things that remain constant in my life. While I am excited for my future, I also see how my past has shaped me and I am reminded that I have much to be grateful for. I have shared many places that I have been and places I would like to go but as I write this month’s traveling post I find myself sharing the one place that I always want to be . . . home.

My home has moved locations many times throughout my life. My home has been in rainy places, snowy places and sunny places. It has been by the beach, by the mountains and in the valley. It has been big and small, multi-storied and single, large yard and no yard, driveway and parking space. In all of those things I find no ultimate definition of my home because I believe your home is what you make of it.

My home will always have food on the table for anyone that passes by. There will always be pictures on the wall and good music to listen to. There will always be a place to rest your head but most importantly there will always be love when you walk through the door.

I am grateful I have been entrusted with so much and I hope every day of my life, I am able to give back; to pay it forward. See your life with a thankful heart and you too will see all the beauty and good that is in the world.

Have a wonderful Thanksgiving everyone!

 

New Portland Favorites

/ jennced15 / 6 Comments

I have a lot of people visiting me or the last couple of months and all of them have been to Portland before with me so naturally they have all experienced my tried & true favorites. Now I have 5 more food and places to add to the ever-growing list.

Food

  1. La Provence: Small plates and small desserts. A great place to have a conversation with friends.
  2. Koi Fusion: Can we say Korean tacos?!
  3. Toadstool Cupcakes: The little cupcakes are soooo cute and pretty tasty as well.
  4. HK Café: The place to go for a plethora of Asian food options including the ones that you only get when in those countries.
  5. The Fireside: A great cozy place that you can chat with friends at and watch all the foot traffic on 23rd Avenue.

Places

  1. Collage: This is the greatest little store of craft and art supplies I have ever seen!
  2. Roloff Pumpkin Patch: I think this is a great place to look for a pumpkin and entertain little children
  3. Monticello Antique Marketplace: This place is huge and what I love the most about them; they have a ton of furniture and other big items to pick through.
  4. The Iron Gate Cottage: A great little place to just peruse on a rainy afternoon.
  5. Lee Farms: This is right by my house and is a great place for a last-minute gift, produce, pumpkins, activities and of course, apple cider donuts!