#waterfall #oregon #punchbowlfalls #columbiarivergorge #featured #nature #hiking

I seriously love the ocean and would give nearly everything to go back to Bandon and spend a couple carefree weeks on the coast. However, since I must work and maintain some level of responsibility (most of the time) I just wanted to share with you, again, the beauty of Portland, Vancouver, and the Columbia River. We live in Vancouver, Wa which is just a hop a cross the Columbia River and Washington/Oregon state borders (so we’re basically just another Portland suburb without

I’m late with this post again because, well, Portland rocks and I’m still recovering. But for real, we have gotten incredibly busy again and as always the new year brings new changes! So, what’s happened in our lives: 1. Andrew’s internship ended and he started a full time, PERMANENT position! 2. Our high school friend Britta packed up her cute coastal home in Bandon (the first place Andrew and I stayed on our move out here) and moved up to Portland and in with us! 3. I start

Now that Christmas has come and gone and the tree is finally put away time to reminisce about the beauty that is the holiday season! I absolutely love Christmas, so recently my Instagram has been spammed with twinkling holiday photos. Let’s start off the holiday reflection with a bit of a comparison between Christmas in Iowa and Christmas in Washington: 5 Biggest Differences Between Washington and Iowa: 1. There is no go go to trying to make it between the 6 different Chris

A few weekends ago, I know I’m behind again, Andrew and I decided to soak up as much of the remaining beautiful fall weather as possible.  Our first stop was to grab food!  I feel like we are buying groceries constantly, but somehow once the weekend comes and we actually have to feed ourselves 3 meals, we are always out of food!  As much as we love the food in Portland, we are trying to check out more of the restaurants in Vancouver.  Here’s a disclaimer on the Vancouver food

So it is officially Fall in the Pacific Northwest, which means it gets dark really early and it rains…a lot! I absolutely love the rain so the past week has been amazingly beautiful, almost magical! I seriously love how bright pumpkins and Fall leaves look on dreary, rainy days; having a cozy house (with a fireplace) to come home isn’t too bad either! As much as I love fall I’ll still miss the beautiful summer sunsets, hot summer days by the waterfront, and camping without fr

Having a house is “the best thing since sliced bread” in my opinion.  Since I moved out of my parent’s I have always lived in an apartment.  Which means that I have always had neighbors who were literally in just the next room over, I have had no yard, or porch, or any sort of access to the outside, and that I have had minimal space and opportunity to decorate and actually personalize the space that I am living in.  We are still renting, but this spot is going to be more long

Day 2 of anniversary weekend we decided to take a roadtrip to Astoria! I absolutely love The Goonies so this trip was a must for me….I may have drug Andrew along 😉 The drive was long, but pretty! We took Hwy 30 (yes, the Iowa Hwy 30) through the trees and along the Columbia River most of the way. After brunch we headed the the Astoria column (probably a bad idea right after lunch), but it was still fun! If you visit Astoria make sure you drive a vehicle that can handle hills