portland bloggers

Today I had the lucky opportunity to meet and mingle with some of the finest bloggers this little city has to offer. We met up at the Belmont Library and spent the afternoon learning photography tips and tricks from local pros Becky Nerpel and Macey Snelson.

I loved that there was a session on taking better photos with your smartphone. Even though most everyone there had fancy cameras (the Canon Rebel seemed to be the trend), it was a consensus that our iPhones do most of the day-to-day heavy lifting.

Though photos with the iPhone are great, we all agreed apps are what push these images over the top. Here are some of the top photo apps being used (most FREE!). Who knew these possibilities existed using your phone?

• Photoshop Express
• Magic Hour
• Vsco Cam
• Pic Jointer
• Camera Plus
• Snapseed
• Color Effects

With photo sharing one of the biggest communities on the Internet, it is essential to protect your images. Watermarking can help. Yep, there are apps for that too.

• Impression
• iWatermark

I plan to continue using my point and click and iPhone, but also want to save up for a more professional camera as it is a hobby I really want to pursue. And this workshop definitely inspired me!

A big shout-out goes to Jenni and Suzannah for wrangling this together. And it was great to finally meet all the lovely ladies that I engage with often via our blogs and Twitter. Check out http://pdxbloggers.com/ for a list of bloggers and info on upcoming activities.



friday fun

WHEW - we made it to Friday! As usual, the week has been mentally draining so am psyched to enjoy the continued summer weather this weekend. It is finally supposed to hit the 90s here in Portland so I'll have to come up with some fun way to take advantage.

By the way, while waiting for the Olympics coverage to start last night, I stumbled across a bull riding competition on TV. That shit is crazy awesome. It ain't your mechanical bull either. Extra goodness comes from the commercials for chewing tobacco, Levi's and farm equiptment. Plus the crowd watching? Amazing.

Once again, I am filling in the blanks with Lauren. Have a great weekend!

1.  I am proud of what I have accomplished and experienced so far in life. I feel truly blessed. Also proud of how far I have come as a person and am finally feeling pretty grown up!

2.   This weekend I will   be enjoying the summer weather in some form. Nothing is set in stone this weekend and I love that feeling. Especially after a draining week.

3.  A secret dream I have is  to become a wedding planner someday. I’ve always enjoyed event planning.

4. I can't handle   guys who lie, play games and are all around disrespectful. Didn’t your mama teach you anything?

5. The most annoying thing in the entire world is   traffic. At any time of day. I can’t stand other drivers.

6. The most relaxing thing in the entire world is   laying in the sun, on the beach, when it’s actually warm out. Heaven.

7.  I think everyone should  take more moments to breathe and enjoy life. Life is so short and it makes me sad that we don’t stop to appreciate it more. Tomorrow is not promised.

Portland Timbers

Last Sunday I attended my first Portland Timbers game. It was a reserve game, which meant less people and no Timber Army - but it was such a blast. You could sit anywhere you wanted and beer was only $2. TWO DOLLARS! OK, so I think it was Bud Light, but it was awfully good to sit in the sun and have a couple drinks. And I'm not even a beer drinker.

This was clearly a big weekend for me.

Someone asked me at work who we played - and I couldn't remember - but now I now. We played Chivas USA. Please pardon my amateur ways. I'll get the hang of this soccer thing eventually. At least I can talk football/basketball/baseball with the best of 'em.

Not that it matters but, by the looks of the photos, I obviously didn't give a hoot about what I looked like this day. Thank goodness for Instagram filters. There is also a fun 15 second video where I thought I was having a picture taken but it's really an awkward video recording. I'll spare you.

Jenni from A Well-Crafted Party was also there and we tweeted back and forth. Can't wait to meet her at the Portland Blogger Meetup later this month!

Have you been to a Timbers game - reserve or otherwise? How did you like it?

 

you scream, i scream, we all scream for...

ICE CREAM!

Tis' the season to celebrate my favorite food. For reals. I've eaten it for dinner before. Shhh. What is being an adult good for if you can't eat your dessert first once in awhile?

West Elm is having an Ice Cream Social this Saturday, August 4^th from 1pm – 3pm to celebrate their recent milestone of 100,000+ Facebook likes. The store is bringing in ice cream trucks and carts to 10 stores around the country and the Portland store will be treated to ice cream from Scoop!

If you aren't from Portland, you can see the full list of participating cities over at West Elm’s blog post and Facebook page.

Cheers to that!