Mad World

The beginning of May I told myself after a pretty hectic April I would get my act together and get back on track with life. Ya, that didn't happen. May has turned out to be just as crazy as April. 

I thought with graduating from college I would have all this free time to catch up on things I put aside for my studies... wrong. I find it kind of funny that college was the thing taking up most my time and giving me an unbelievable amount of anxiety and now that I am without it I feel completely loss. I just don't know what to do with myself. 

Despite being in a mess of extra work hours and trying to put everything into place, I still have time to procrastinate with YouTube (doesn't everyone?).

One of my favorite artists from YouTube just posted an AMAZING cover. If you haven't discovered her yet then definitely give Poppy a listen. She has such a strong voice for such a little body. By strong I mean developed, she sounds pretty soft spoken but everything just flows together. Plus she has an intriguing accent - she's from the states but it's nothing I've ever heard. 

Mad World - Tears for Fears Cover by Poppy

Where have I been?!

Happy May, everyone!!

I was so surprised to get a message from a reader where I have been. I honestly didn't think anyone would notice I was gone. I write for my own enjoyment and haven't really expected "followers". So, thank you!

April was a busy month for me. It flew by! 

It started with wrapping up some final paper work from graduating. Having to physically go back to school when you're not enrolled anymore was such an odd feeling. I think I'll pass on future visits. 

Early April I took a short trip to Seattle, WA with some friends to surprise my best friend for his birthday. It was only overnight but it felt nice to get out of Portland for two days. 

Coming back from Seattle I started to feel as if a cold was coming on. And what do you know, I spent the next two weeks horribly ill with what I like to refer to as, "The Death Cold".  For two weeks I coughed, couldn't breath, sleep or eat, had a stuffy nose and fever, and completely lost my voice. I was miserable!! I couldn't go to work and going out with friends was out of the question. Thanks to this lovely cold my entire life was put on hold. 

The last week of May I had to take yet another week off of work for a previous commitment. So May will be some frugal living. 

I anticipate the first half of May will be spent catching up on everything I missed out on April. I have lots of paperwork to go through and projects I'd like to start. During April I started quite a few blog posts but never finished any due to feeling like I was losing my mind. I plan to do an update about the Peace Corps, the Mayday exchange, and a few DIY projects I've had going on. Keep your eyes out!

So here's to catching up! May is starting out nice and warm and sunny in Portland. I've been able to ride my bike on a daily basis, giving me some vitamin D and keeping my spirits up. I hope everyone is off to a good start this month. Don't forget Cinco de Mayo is this weekend (nothing's better than a margarita!) and Mother's Day is coming is May 12.

Hearts out to Boston today.

Deadly Attack at Boston Marathon

It saddens me that such tragedies are capable of taking place.

Everyone wins with beer and ice cream!

I recently had a friend visit Portland. A week after returning home she called me up and begged me to find a way to get Salt & Straw ice cream sent to her. Portland is ahead of the game in a number of culinary creations but we have really outdone ourselves with ice cream.

Portland's Salt & Straw was an instant hit! The first time I drove past one of their two shops there was a line half way around the block... and it was raining! I knew I had to try this place. The next weekend I grabbed a friend and waited in line for 40 minutes. And every single minute was worth it. I found flavors you won't find anywhere else in town, made with local ingredients.

Unique Sweets does a pretty good job of summing up what Salt& Straw is about,

"Adding flavors you would not expect in your ice cream but once you taste it you want it there."

Adding to their already eclectic flavors Salt & Straw has announced their sixpack of beer flavored ice cream. A few posts back I mentioned Portland's love of beer, so of course beer flavored ice cream comes as no surprise to me. 
Six ice creams will each feature a Portland local brewery - 
Breakside Brewery

Gigantic Brewing Company

Hair of the Dog Brewing Company

Logsdon Organic Farmhouse Ales

The Commons Brewery

Widmer Brothers Brewing (A little disappointed to see Widmer on the list as they don't have that local feel anymore. There are plenty of other breweries deserving of this spot.)

The article goes more in-depth behind the flavors. I'm excited for this to hit the shelves this June. And for those of you not from Portland, they will be available for shipping nationwide. What a great Father's Day gift!

Best City For Your Skin!

I live in the US city that is best for your skin. How lucky am I?!

I also live in one of the wettest cities... not so lucky.

Either way I am happy to call Portland home.

I've never really given much thought to how the environment affects my skin, besides seasons changing. I can imagine that air pollution would eventually take a toll on your skin. I can definitely tell a difference on how my respiratory system feels when I leave Portland and head down to LA. I mean, you can straight up see the smog. Just imagine what that's doing to your body.

I'm curious if anyone has noticed how the environment affects their skin.

DIY: Decoupage Easter Eggs

Ukrainian Easter Eggs, known as Psyanky, as so beautiful.They are created by melting beeswax and using a stylus to draw multiple layers of designs onto eggs. The eggs are then dipped into dyes to create different hues. This process typically takes 3 to 11 hours to perfect an egg.

Considering I don't have the skills to come anywhere close to recreating one of these beauties I went with more of a decoupage route.

Materials needed:

Eggs

Napkins/thin paper

Pastry/paint brush

Olive oil

I decided to take this route last minute and had to make due with what I had. If I had more time I would have liked to of hunt down the perfect napkin prints and create a theme, but luckily the ones I had on hand fit well with Easter.

Boil your eggs and let sit till room temperature. You could also choose to go a more decorative route and hallow out egg shells.

You can choose to cut shapes or wrap the entire egg with a napkin. With either option you will want to separate the layers of napkins. Simple peel apart the top layer with print from the bottom layers. 

Wrapping the entire egg would mean cutting the napkin down to size and dealing with at least some overlap on the egg. I chose to cut shapes from various napkins. Although this route took much longer, it allowed for a lot more creative leeway. I wasn't sure how small or large the shapes should be so I cut a variety. I found cutting smaller, more delicate patterns a bit tedious but appreciated them as fillers when larger pieces were left with bald spots. 

Once your napkins are cut and eggs are cool you'll take a trip back to that grade school art project. Pasting the napkins reminded me of doing papier-mâché when I was young. I supposed you could use Modge Podge but I used egg whites as a paste. Gently whisk the egg whites (you can add a little water if you feel this is too thick) and use this as a paste to glue on your napkins. You can use a brush or your finger to spread the egg whites, both work fine. Position your napkin on the egg and start brushing the whites from the center and then out to the edges. If you use too much whites your napkin could rip, so don't overdo it.

 

If you're using the egg carton to hold your eggs make sure you let them dry a little before placing them back  otherwise your napkins will dry and stick to the carton. Once eggs are dry put a little olive oil on a napkin and brush the eggs to give them a glossy look. And then you're done!

These eggs are really that simple - cut, paste, and dry. I had way more fun doing these eggs than actually dying eggs. I also found the clean up to be virtually nonexistent. Really the only clean up I had to do was wash and dry the egg whites bowl.

What's your major? Beer.

One week after I finish my love affair with Portland State's School of Business they introduce this baby...

"The Business of Craft Brewing program is designed for anyone with an interest in the business side of craft beverages, from grower to glass. Our focus is primarily on craft brewing, but we include business models for distilleries and alcoholic cider facilities as well." - PSU SBA

SERIOUSLY?!

Anyone who has ever step foot in Portland knows how much we love our beer. In fact, we claim an impressive 52 breweries... more than any other city in the world . Try to beat that. Check out the Oregon Brewers Guild for some pretty impressive Portland brew facts.

Probably 1 out of every 5 people I know has brewed their own beer. It was only a matter of time until PSU offered this course. With no doubt I see this being a success.