What are these? - Part 1

I saw this scene downtown on Friday and thought it was intriguing.  What do you call these vehicles that they are riding? And where are they going?  Two of the women are dressed as if they are exercising, yet they are not.  I have seen the cops at Atlantic Station ride these, but touring downtown is taking it to another level. 

Looking forward to Monday

A stack of new fabric makes me so happy.  I can't wait to get started on my outfit for New York Fashion Week (starting September 6).  Geometric prints and boxy silhouettes are big right now.  While boxy doesn't look that great on me, I love the geometrics.  And the sweater material on the bottom was inspired by Beatrice on Project Runway.  Although she has already been kicked off, she reminded me that you don't have to knit a sweater from scratch. 

Balance - Know thy limits

Our last outing before school starts -

We went to the High Museum.  We didn't necessarily need an educational trip.  We needed to get out of the house.  I love my kids, but this summer has shown me my limits.  My balance will come on Monday when the children go to school.

On a side note, the Picturing New York photo exhibit is totally worth the trip to the museum.  If you are interested in photography at all, you should go before the exhibit leaves on September 2.  However, Picturing the South is everything about the South that makes me want to move to New York.

Stumbled upon

We were walking around Chinatown in Portland when one of the children suddenly realized they had to go to the bathroom - "NOW".  In Atlanta, that is an annoying yet solvable problem, because there are bathrooms available in every store.  However, in Portland every store has a sign on the door that says, "No public bathrooms - Don't even ask"  (probably due to the large homeless population.) 

So, we went from store to store trying to figure out what to do.  Finally I realized I was just going to have to make a deal.  We walked into a restaurant and I said to the hostess, "Can I pay you to let her use the bathroom?"  The hostess was a little taken aback and mumbled some words as she pointed to where the bathroom was.  I don't think she quoted a price, but as we were coming out of the bathroom discussing what size tip to give her, we realized how good it smelled in the restaurant.  Instead of handing the hostess money, we asked to be seated. 

They had some unique food, and it turned out to be a really cool place.  Of course, we weren't able to eat much of our dinner later, but at least we got something yummy for our bathroom fee.

Portland style - Part 7

Portland style - Part 6

Whimsy in design

We had the pleasure of staying at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Portland. The hotel is beautiful and prides itself on being "artful and eclectic".

There are so many whimsical details, and every corner showcases a mixture of color and print and pattern -

It was certainly a feast for my eyes.