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    Outfit, Travel

    Cathedral Park

    July 2, 2014
    Photos by Laura Nolan
    Outfit:
    Free People Top
    H&M Trouser Shorts
    Target Tights in Black
    Madewell Stacked-Heel Loafers in High Shine
    Madwell Bag
    In my Portland Photo Diary, I had mentioned how much I loved spending time in Portland’s beautiful parks; that is probably why I ended up taking all of my outfit photos at the parks that I visited during my trip. These photos were taken by my best friend Laura at Cathedral Park, which is located beneath the beautiful St. Johns Bridge on the east shore of the Willamette River. Since I was looking to relax and spend more time outdoors during my trip, I really liked that Cathedral Park was so close to the river and that there was so much open green space all around. However, it’s the bridge’s beautiful arches that give the park so much character and make it truly breathtaking. Laura took my photos on a stage at one end of the park where, as you can see, the view of the arches was simply amazing.

    I had to make the last photo of this post a silly one! When Laura sent me the photos that she took of me, I couldn’t stop laughing at some of them because I came out making the funniest faces and poses. All my Portland friends were standing around looking at me as Laura was taking pictures and, since I’m not used to having an audience, I started to feel extremely self-conscious and doing silly poses. It’s truly thanks to Laura’s awesome photography skills that I even managed to look decent in some of these photos.

    While I’m on the topic of taking silly photos, I have to say that working on this blog has served as an opportunity for me to practice self-confidence and self-love, and to learn to not take myself too seriously. I used to hate how I looked in pictures to the point that I would avoid taking any at all, and would dispose of any that I didn’t like. It kind of makes me sad that I’ve missed out on documenting so many memories because of such a silly insecurity. As funny as I look in that last photo–and trust me when I say that it’s not even the most laughable picture of the set that Laura sent me– it does make for great comic relief and it really portrays the fun mood that I was in at the moment.

    I’m really sad that this is my last set of photos from Portland. I’m so glad that I was able to have such a fun vacation, and I hope to make a trip down there again soon. Are there any fun places that you have visited or are planning to visit in the near future?

    xoxo,
    Helen Grace
    Outfit

    Laurelhurst Park

    June 30, 2014
    Photos by Kelsey Yocum and Laura Nolan
    Outfit Details:
    H&M Sweatshirt
    CottonOn Leggings
    Madewell Stacked-Heel Loafer in High Shine (Similar Here)
    Madewell Bag
    During my visit to Portland, I had the pleasure of visiting Laurelhurst Park with my friends Kelsey and Laura. I have to say that Laurelhurst Park is one of the most beautiful parks I have ever seen because there are so many trees and green space, and you feel so close to nature. Many other people at the park seemed to agree, since there were several wedding parties taking pictures in the area. I was lucky enough to snag this staircase to myself, where Laura and Kelsey took some of my outfit photos.
    What I also loved about Laurelhurst Park was how peaceful it was. It’s the type of place where you can go and relax, and just get some fresh air. I could have easily spent my entire day here reading a book, or working on some sort of project. It’s spaces like this that make me seriously want to move to Portland in the future. Again, don’t get me wrong–although I do love Los Angeles, it is lacking in green spaces in comparison to Portland.

     

    I’m happy to say that I had a fun and busy weekend, which made it easier to transition to being home after coming back from my trip to Portland. On Saturday, my friend Summer and I went to Underwood Family Farms, which is located West of Los Angeles, to go berry and vegetable picking (basically, we went grocery shopping). The farm was pretty huge, and we had such a great time roaming around and picking out different crops.
    Sunday was also super fun and eventful. I spent some of the morning watching the Mexico vs. Netherlands game with my family. I started feeling super anxious while watching the game, which reminded of why I don’t often watch sports. I stopped watching the game before it was completely over, because I had to meet up with my friend Sara so that we could drive to Abbott Kinney in Venice Beach for Brunch. I think it’s needless to say that I was a nervous while driving there, but I was quickly able to relax a little once Sara and I started walking around and exploring the area.
    I’m really grateful for these past few weekends because I feel that I’ve really had time to focus on self-care, and find ways to relieve some of the stress and anxiety I deal with on a daily basis. I’m glad to have people around me that are more than willing to help me do that by joining me on fun activities.
    xoxo,
    Helen Grace
    Travel

    Portland, Oregon

    June 26, 2014
    I’m excited to finally share some snapshots from my trip to Portland with all of you. This is my second time visiting this wonderful city, and I feel like I’ve fallen even more in love with it. I had such a great experience on my trip that I even got a bit teary-eyed at the airport upon realizing that I was about to leave the city and my friends. You can definitely say that reentering the work life has been quite challenging for me.
    I have to say that it was really hard not to post every single picture that I had since I have so many great memories from this past weekend. The funny thing is that I wouldn’t have been able to compile these photos without the help of my bestie Laura. I unfortunately forgot my DSLR at home and, therefore, I had to resort to taking pictures with my iPhone. Laura was kind enough to send me some of the pictures that she took with her camera.
    One thing that I really enjoyed about Portland is how many beautiful parks there are and how close you are to nature. Working at a desk job, I constantly spend most of my time sitting in front of a computer; I do the same when I get home. Over the weekend, my friends and I visited both Laurelhurst Park and Cathedral City Park, and I realized how nice it was to step away from a computer screen and spend time outdoors hanging out with my friends. It was also nice to see so many people outside with their families and friends, interacting as a community. Living in Los Angeles, it seems like everybody is always in their car and in a hurry to get somewhere. Therefore, it was a nice change to see people making an effort to interact with each other.
    During my trip, my friends Kelsey, Laura, Candace, Linda and I went berry picking at Columbia Farms U-Pick and had a blast! They currently have raspberries and blueberries in season, and we stocked up on both. I definitely want to do some sort of similar activity at home, since it’s so much fun and more affordable than buying berries at the supermarket.
    My favorite part about Portland has to be the food and coffee culture. If you know me well enough, you probably already know that I’m constantly hungry and that most of my social life revolves around eating food and drinking coffee. I really enjoyed eating at the many street food vendors around the city. However, my favorite food experience had to be the Portland State University Farmer’s Market. They have so many cool food vendors and live music, and it’s a very lively place to spend the weekend.
    As I mentioned before, I love drinking coffee. My friend Candace, whom I visited, and I actually developed a strong friendship because of our love of exploring new coffee shops. My first coffee stop was Heart Coffee Roasters, where I met my friend Candace after I arrived in Portland. I of course loved the coffee and the minimalistic style of the shop, and I have to say that Heart Coffee Roasters was my favorite coffee shop; I’m such a creature of habit that I visited more than once while I was in town. During my weekend coffee crawl, I also visited Stumptown Coffee Roasters at the Ace Hotel, and The Fresh Pot Coffee which also brewed Stumptown. I also really enjoyed getting coffee at Pearl Bakery because they had amazing pastries!
    There were many things about my trip to Portland that made me rethink about where I’m heading in life. My vacation made me realize that I hadn’t been feeling very at ease in a while, and that I need to make it one of my goals to be in an environment or place that makes me feel comfortable and happy. I feel like lately my sole focus in life has been my career. While thinking about my career path, I’ve also been very adamant about leaving Los Angeles. The short time that I spent in Portland made me realize that maybe I could use a change of scenery for a while, and that I can be happy living somewhere else than where I currently am. With that in mind, we’ll see where life takes me.
    xoxo,
    Helen Grace