A Decadent Sellwood Sunday and Secret Rooms

Yesterday, I headed into the neighborhood of Sellwood, in southeast Portland, Oregon, to spend a much-needed afternoon away with a lovely friend.  Danielle never stops short of showing me an amazing time each time I visit her neck of the woods.

You want to know about this secret room, don't you?  

Well, it all began down on the corner of SE 13th.

Danielle and I were minding our own business when we walked into the fabulous storefront,

Justin and Burks. 

Translation: massive vintage chandeliers, taxidermy at its finest, exquisite antiques, crystal, unusual sea life, and an aroma that will stop you at the table where it's burning before you continue on drooling. 

It was in that moment that I realized,

deep within me, the appreciation for the luxurious life lives.

...a life beyond chicken poop, paw prints and peanut butter faces.

I stood and stared. 

On our way out, the fabulous owner, who was wearing leopard print and drinking from a bottle of sparkling water, invited us upstairs.  "Go two doors down and up the stairs," she said.  "Everything is for sale but the books.  My son hoards them." 

Another book hoarder?  The stars had aligned.

And even though they weren't for sale, I had to see them.

Now I might just start hoarding collecting coffee table books. 

The walls of books and book shelves were stunning.

 Danielle, has been accumulating photos of her in yoga poses in the most creative of spaces.  Posing in this space couldn't be passed up!  Such a beautiful combination.

Over the next thirty minutes, we fell and fell harder in love with what I call, 

the secret rooms.

 

Justin & Burks is located at 8301 SE 13Th Avenue Portland, OR 97202,

and is ran by a mother and son.

 Make sure you ask to see the upstairs!

Thanks, Danielle!  It was the most decadent afternoon!

Weekend Crawfish Boil

We had a very sunny and hot weekend, and opted to spend as much of it as we could down at the river.  It was so nice to be able to relax in my chair with my feet in the water!  And it's a good feeling to have a suntan, too!  The kiddos had a great time "swimming," or river crawling, along the shallow bank, and stayed busy for hours. 

As we were getting ready to head to the river on Saturday, Husband said, "you know I'm going to need my crawfish gear, right?"  I did not know going to the river meant crawfish hunt.  But this is the same man who has headed up many a hunt, contrapted metal crawfish traps out of spools of wire and dropped them down the side of river walls into the current, had said traps stolen off the river, cooked up crawfish boils for friends, looked into crawfish farming, and the same man who knows all the words to Boondocks, and could fool folks into thinking he sings in a country band.  

Then off he went for his goggles and his sun hat. 

The crawfish Husband and his friend caught averaged 3-5 inches,

and once you boil them, they turn reddish-orange, just like lobster.

And they taste somewhere between lobster and crab, except their meat is in much smaller portions as you would imagine.

Nothing screams summer like a crawfish boil!

A Decadent Sunday

Sunday, I broke free...from the family and the franticness that is bazaar prep.

I headed past Portland with a good friend of mine, to meet up with her sister to run the Sellwood 5k.  It was a beautiful fall morning, so the pre-walk and 3.1 mile run made perfect segue into the rest of the day.  Not to mention, the run was followed up with some fro-yo (frozen yogurt, Mom).  My kind of run!

And the day just got better!

Breakfast at Hash
Two streets worth of antique shops
One alphabet letter for my alphabet collection
A soy pumpkin spice latte
A set of teal & turquoise vintage books for my family room
Heapings of eye-candy topped with inspiration overload
Two sweet friends
One patient Husband waiting at home with two happy kids
And to end a pretty perfect day--a pink sunset.  sigh.

It was good.  So good.  Just what a hunter's wife needed.

I hope your weekend was just as swell! 

What were your highlights?

images courtesy of Danielle T.*

*You said decadent at the start of the day, and decadent it was!

xx



Things I Learned Over a Good Weekend

Naps are good.
Nutella is dangerous.
My kids aren't afraid to wrangle a baby goat.
Swinging high on a swing set will bring childhood flooding back.
Camas is capable of reaching 90 degrees in the summer!
And Top Burger is a perfect place for dinner when your house is 85 degrees.
Zucchinis can triple their size after one watering.
God wants us to ask large, ask big; go deep, go wide.--Pastor Frank
Wearing my hair in a messy bun all weekend is fun.
There is the most beautiful U-Pick Dahlia farm in the hills not far from our home.

You?  What did you learn over the weekend?

Hello August! Featured on Papernstitch!

Woah!  It's August!  Are you ready to make this month one long, summer hurrah?!  I plan to!  July went out with a bang.  Over the weekend, we enjoyed the Newberg Festival, I took a stroll through Camas Antiques, (a place you must visit if you're in town!), attended a baby shower for a dear friend who is so patiently waiting to find if she is having a boy or a girl next month, got to catch up with a bunch of my girlfriends from high school and college, and last night, we enjoyed a mouthwatering salmon dinner.  It was a great weekend!  

On another fabulous note, beginning today, my shop, Between the Lines is featured in Papernstitch's, Back to School Exhibition!  The exhibition runs August 1- September 4th, and there are many new bookmarks on display.  Plus, there are some other very cool handmade shops on exhibition, too.  Isn't handmade great?!

Like my shop on Facebook?  Please do!  There will be promo codes linked through the page around the holidays and I'll even be doing a drawing for all my Between the Lines "likes" in the next few weeks.  Thanks so much for helping me grow my business!

From my hands to yours,

image 1 via pinterest

Festival Fun

Yesterday, we went to the Newberg Old Fashioned Festival to support our friends and their band, Casanova Cowboys.  They did such a great job and drew in quite the crowd!  It was a perfect evening spent in a sweet little town nestled between farm land, and was topped off with some good old fashioned festival foods.  Had the line for the elephant ears not been fifty yards long, I would have enjoyed one of those for sure.  Mmmm...that still sounds good!

You?  Did you spend your afternoon??

Today (a definition)

To-day (adv.): 1. a quiet rise with children fast asleep; 2. joining Husband on the porch to bask in the already 55 degree am sunshine with our personal preference of caffeine; 3. jumping in my workout clothes and hitting up the trail for a five mile jaunt by the water; 4. returning home to two happy children and a Husband tending to the garden; 5. Husband sending a message to me via my five year old to say, "you wont be a country girl unless you get off the computer!"; 6. work, work, work in the yard; 7. witnessing a mass tadpole population growing in our upper pond; 8. farmers tans; 9. an afternoon drink on the shady porch with Husband and talking about our good friends and how blessed we are; 10. anticipating another full house of visitors this evening so we can celebrate the sunshine BBQ-style.

Now, I'm considering what sweet treat I could make to top off this perfect day?  Any suggestions?

How are you spending your weekend?

xx, Cassie

pinterest

weekend highlights

four hours to myself, in where I did what I do best:

roamed a bookstore,

sipped tea

and read.

I concluded this leisure time with my second ever manicure.

I'm a fan of the soft pink on my nails, you?

This weekend also included wearing this frock that had been waiting to be worn,

with black leggings and my cute Jessica Simpson black pumps.

A full picture you ask?  Well I tried and I just couldn't bring myself to post one...

In my new frock, Husband and I enjoyed a seafood dinner and called it a night shortly after.

What can I say?  We've got toddlers and love our sleep.

But this is not to say that Husband didn't break it down in the parking lot to Usher,

 before our return home.

Because he did. 

And I may or may not have it on video.

Much of yesterday was spent outdoors--

a five mile run along the lake

and gardening at our soon-to-be new residence, while the children ran rampantly around the acres.

Lucky for me, the dirt washed away from my new, pale, pink nails.

I've also began the initial planning of our garden, and I am beyond excited.

I have so much to share with you!

Pictures of the new place soon!

How was your weekend?