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Vancouver Washington

/ jennced15 / 1 Comment

The first time I lived in Portland I never once crossed the river to explore the neighboring city of Vancouver, Washington. I never really felt the need to. Portland had more than enough to keep me busy. Now that I am back to stay in the area; it is a different story.

In some ways I am blessed to live in Portland but work in Vancouver and because I try to avoid as much traffic as possible; I find myself hanging around in Washington and exploring.

So here are 5 of my new favorites haunts in Vancouver.

  1. Frontier Public House. This was a recommendation by my hairstylist and I am glad she shared! 
  2. Speaking of my hairstylist . . . I love the salon I frequent! Way to offer excellent service Vata Salon!
  3. In an effort to stay cool this summer during the MANY 100+ degree days, I discovered this local gem–Moulton Falls. 
  4. I love my many options of farmer markets in the northwest but I love the lazy summer feeling of the Vancouver Farmers Market. 
  5. If you need to travel to Seattle, you should consider taking the train and avoiding the traffic and if you are going to avoid the traffic and the parking fees, you should take the train from Vancouver instead of Portland. But before you park and catch the train at the Vancouver Station, make sure you grab a bagel to eat from Sunrise Bagel Bakery. 

Items that I love

/ jennced15 / 2 Comments

So I have been shopping a little and here are some items that I have acquired that I absolutely love!

  1. Yes, I bought a salt lamp and you would think it is nothing but a marketing ploy to get you to buy one but guess what, it actually does what it says it does: it cleans the air. My allergies have been so much better since having this in the house. 
  2. This has been a big help for me. It really does make a difference when cooking chicken to have it all the same thickness. 
  3. This one is kind of funny but I have had a LOT of fun experimenting with all the things it can do and have been buying it in the 12 lbs bags.  
  4. I needed a new oil diffuser since mine died but I love how beautiful this one is. 
  5. This is also a funny item but it has been extremely helpful; a shower cap. I have started doing a coconut oil treatment every week for just healthier hair. When you have to let the oil sit on your hair for a couple of hours; you need a shower cap. Now my cap is the $0.80 special from Wal-Mart but there is no reason you can’t also have a pretty longer-lasting one like these.  

Out With the Clutter, In With the Clear

/ jennced15 / 6 Comments

I don’t live in a big place; which is good. Size helps me keep the “things” in my life in check. But it is spring and I get the urge like most people, to clean and update. I have done a lot of purging over the last couple of years and I would have thought, that I had purged enough. but my clothes told me a different story.

Almost every day I find myself staring at my closet wondering: what should I wear? Setting aside general mood, you might think I only have a handful of options but such is not the case. My closet was so tightly packed that it was hard to get clothes in and out. I dreaded everything being clean at once because I didn’t know if I would have enough hangers to hang the items.

Perhaps the most astonishing thing was the fact that I really only wore a handful of the clothes on a regular basis. 70% of my closet was just full of fillers. It became a constant source of discomfort for me. I really dreaded anything having to do with clothes.

While I don’t subscribe fully to the minimalist lifestyle; I do think it is necessary to declutter your outside life if you want to feel freer inside your body. So that thought and the dread, led me to articles on how best to go about cleaning out my closet like this easy to follow chart from Chasing Foxes. 

I took everything out of my closet and dresser drawers by dividing into piles. My pile for donation was HUGE, a substantial pile for clothes that could be sold and a pile of clothes that needed to be trashed. The result left me with more clothes than I thought I had. As I put things back in the closet, I expected to have only 6 shirts hanging up but I was amazed at how many clothes I was keeping that didn’t fall under any criteria for them to be withheld.

So I now have a decent closet full of clothes. All items are on individual hangers and extra hangers have been removed to the guest room. I have room to move the hangers around in my closet and am able to look at all items with ease. I even have a empty drawer in my dresser and I have no shoes stacked on top of each other.

I have breathing room and it feels great. Although, as I realized that I still have a lot of clothes, I have decided that any item left in my closet that isn’t worn in the next 6 months (outside of seasonal/formal) will be donated as well. I am a little addicted to creating more space.

But I might have to make room in my closet for something like this . . . capture

February is Here

/ jennced15 / 2 Comments

February is here!

Can you believe it?

Time is passing by very quickly for a new year. Girl just can’t catch a break! Even though I can’t believe we are already well into the new year; I am happy to be in February. Every month inches me closer to being out of winter and for that I am VERY excited. Besides that, I love all the red and pink you see during the month. It is bright against so much dark during the winter months and reminds me that the world is slowly coming back alive. Can’t wait to see it!

So in honor of red and pink; here are 5 things that I LOVE seeing in those colors.

  1. Red High Heels
  2. Pink Tulips
  3. Red Ivy on Buildings 
  4. Pink Cotton Candy 
  5. Red Barns