fields of flowers

Last week we ventured out to the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm for their annual Tulip Festival.  Usually this isn't something I would ask my husband to go to with me, but I casually mentioned I wanted to possibly go and he surprisingly said he would take me.  Mind Blown.  Brandon is a die hard dude and in all reality I imagined him 'taking me there' meant he would drive me and sit in the car while I walked around looking at flowers, but I was shocked when he got out and enjoyed it with me.  Obviously I'm using the word enjoyed very loosely =) Still, I'm glad I was able to get out there before the end of the festival and even better- it was on a weekday during a break between some wind & rain showers so we practically had the place to ourselves.

If you are local or just plan on being in the area, the festival is almost over and finishes up this weekend on the 4th.  It was totally worth the little 1/2 hour drive from the city to see fields of flowers and it will be fun to come back in October when the same fields are full of pumpkins!

explore: street-14-coffee

Last week I decided that I really wanted to take a day trip to the coast.  Its such a nice drive and under two hours makes it extremely ideal to visit often.  I mentioned it to my friend Andrea and we decided to make a day of it on Saturday and I'm so glad we did!  Our main goal was to visit a vintage shop (which I will share tomorrow), but I absolutely fell in love with this coffee shop called Street 14 Coffee, that is located in the historic Commodore Hotel that I just had to share.

One of the employees shared a story about the Coffee Shop sign and mentioned it still has the original working bulbs (neon) from when it was in use at its first shop back in the day in Portland.  Another reason I heart old things.

We were fortunate to visit on an incredibly beautiful day, check back later this week to see more of the adventure!

life on a ranch

I've been going through the thousands of photos I have on my computer- slowly deciding what needs to go in the trash and what needs to get transfered to the hard drive.  I came across these photos I took last summer when I shot a really sweet wedding ceremony at a place called Willow Witt Ranch (the reception followed at a house on a nearby lake).  

The ranch itself seems like it is out in the middle of nowhere -although its only 45min from me & 10min from the main town of ashland- and thats what makes it perfectly beautiful. 

    Willow-Witt Ranch is proud to be a good steward of the earth. We work every day to provide sustainably-produced food, products and services for the local community while enhancing the health of our land, water, and air, as well as the health of ourselves, our family, our employees, and the community. 

They have a camping area near the ranch property itself that hosts a large outdoor kitchen and a large tent with a full size bed, wood stove & deck.. You can see it here.  I took my husband to see it and he agreed we need to stay there soon.  If we do I will make sure to check out their open market & farm tours and get more photos of this amazing place!

a sad winter garden..

The color of springtime is in the flowers, the color of winter is in the imagination.

~terri guillemets

My backyard has been suffering and I can't wait to get out there again soon to start preparing it for spring.  The fall and winter have really got the best of me and kept me indoors most of the time (mainly with business not the cold since it has been so mild here in Oregon), so I didn't plant a winter garden.  We have a giant oak tree right in the middle of our back yard that dumps twigs and leaves all year long, making for great mulch.. but also a great mess!  More then likely I will get my mom (the green thumb) out here to help me in the next few weeks and I will update you then, is your garden as sad as mine? <--- please say yes so I don't feel alone!