There is a place.

That is the slogan of Black Butte Ranch. I’m not just a weirdo.

Black Butte Ranch has been many things throughout my life. I would say there are 3 different labels for what it is/ has been. BBR (for short. obvs.) has been place of childhood fun, adventures and memories. It has been a place of escape with friends. And last but not least, it has become a place of true relaxation. All equally important!

My grandparents (Dad’s parents) built a cabin at Black Butte Ranch in the early 80s. Once they fell in love with BBR there was no going back. It was the perfect spot for a vacation home. BBR is a much more ranch like and serene than the rest of the central Oregon counterparts. All of the other places (Sunriver, Eaglecrest etc.) are resorty. (This is all personal opinion... don't hate!) Black Butte has this peaceful effect. I can’t really explain it. The ranch might be full, but if you choose to go to South Meadow pool for the day and a bike ride in the evening, you won’t be bombarded by masses of children or families (unless you go to the kid friendly Glaze Meadow pool). But with a multitude of pool options, there is no need!

Mom and Dad in BBR when they were 20 somethings! It is all coming full circle isn't it!? cray-zay.

As a child BBR was the best/ most exciting place. We would build forts in the back yard, slide down the banister, explore the ranch (w/o grown-ups… so cool), ride our bikes to the general store etc. There was a lot of fun to be had.

Obvi the cutest BBR kiddos EVER! Lindsey and I should re-create this.

Once we were older BBR stayed cool. We were allowed to bring friends, who would get to experience the excitement and adventure of the ranch for the first time. By college we would bring groups of friends for long weekends. We could escape from campus, play Mario Kart and have killer dance parties. I am happy to say that (a more subdued version) of trips like this still happen. (Even though Spence threw out the N64 …)

I love this photo. Circa 2006

Hiking the Butte. Check that view! Dang!

Same trip as the previous photo. Fall Break '07 where we came to learn that Cameron is a cheater at Monopoly.

If we went over Jan-term break we had justification to make a ski trip out of it.

ummm Jan-term '07?

This is hilar. Ty falls a lot and we have photo proof.

I just have too many good photos of the shenanigans that ensue. Enjoy:

Jan Term '09

Note: N64, dance party and adult beverage consumption documented in the same shot. Please examine closely.

What BBR means to me now. At this point in my life, I realize how lucky I am to have a place like this. It is a place of comfort, memories, love and solitude. My people are always down for a weekend of fun and relaxation. Also, my family has been utilizing the house more than ever. We can just “be” when we are there. No effort. Yes, there is a place.  

A recent trip with my lady friends. Aren't they sezy?

A horrifically heinous photo of my fam. It's all I could find.
(tight alliteration. I must have learned that in college...)

Black Butte. The actual Butte.

Okay, that is my random/ slightly lame/ not very entertaining post for today. Slater!

Black Butte Ranch on Dwellable

Too busy doing nothing.

Hi people. I took a brief hiatus from my little blog here. I did this in order to focus on things that really matter. You may be asking yourself, “What is more important than blogging?” Let me tell you. Apparently I took time off to read fashion magazines, lay by the pool, watch reality TV, eat obscene amounts of food and simply enjoy myself an extended Labor Day weekend. I originally took some extra time off in order to make last weekend count and to spend quality time with my family. Well, my sister and mother had the same idea to have a lazy vaca. It was awesome.

When I arrived at our vacation home, my mother had magazine binge shopped. It made pool time extremely enjoyable. Yes, lots of UV rays were soaking into my skin. Please note that some SPF was also at the party.

Don't you feel relaxed just looking at this? I love central Oregon.

This post is random, but I feel that I need to mention the season finale of Kardash. Did you watch that bologna? WTF kind of proposal was that? So lame. Also, please note: Kim did not say yes until she saw the ring. She also neglected to react to Kris. Instead she just said “Oh my God” over and over again. If I was Kris I would feel like a mega chump.

Lame.

Ways this episode would have been worth my time: If Kim had an anxiety attack over the rose pedals on her floor. If she had thrown up on Kris when he proposed (like projectile). OR if Kris yelled “PSYCH!” promptly after proposing.

Let’s be honest with ourselves for a minute. We are all stoked to watch the wedding special. It looks like may-hor drama!

Awesome.

Final note: Lamar is cemented as my favorite Kardashian-type person. Don’t fight it. He is clearly the best.

No Mom! It isn't cool to get hot lunch this year.

Can we please reminisce on what it meant to be ready for the first day of school? I mean, please. I know you had your first day outfits picked out weeks in advance too. The anticipation of the first day of school was intense! What classes are you in, who is in said classes? Very important. But not as important as the collage for the front of your three ring binder! You know… the one with the plastic covering on the front. My gurl Libby did a post about backpacks a while ago. And it was oh so true. The little details were game changers when it came to the first day of school.

You go in after 3 months of fun. You don’t have any homework yet, you are still tan and you are excited to see everyone. Plus, you are super confident in your awesome fall outfit (that it is still too hot out to be wearing).

Mom: “You can’t wear that sweater. It is going to be 80 degrees tomorrow.”

Me: “But the stripes on this sweater go perfectly with my overalls, doc marten sandals and butterfly clips!”

That is clearly an exaggeration. But you get the idea. It wasn’t just the excitement of the first day. New school supplies were the best. You would have them all organized perfectly. Your pencil pouch filled with #2s and gel roll pens. Everything smelled like pencil shavings and new spiral notebooks. I’m not sure if you guys will know what I am talking about, but I swear school supplies had a specific smell. Next week I will probably be thrown out of Office Max for walking around and smelling school supplies. I can see it now.

I am glad to be beyond that phase in life. I wouldn’t dare write a post about the excitement of moving back on to my college campus each year. Mostly because I would for sure start crying uncontrollably. You know, due to really missing college and still being in denial about this so-called adulthood.

Take a moment to curl your bangs, listen to the first 'Nsync album and put some butterfly clips in your hair. You owe it to 13 year old you.

Fresh Prince cheats with Jazzy Jeff. PSYCH!

This post is not funky fresh! It has been a week since the news of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett-Smith’s alleged separation. I have now had the appropriate time to reflect on the situation. If Will and Jada get divorced I will loose it. I freak-yeah love them! I refuse to believe that Jada cheated with Mark Anthony. He is just not attractive. period. I think I am having a strong reaction to this because Will and Jada are one of my favy couples in Hollywood. Not to mention their kids rock my socks off! (For the record, Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner are my favorite Hollywood couple. Will and Jada are probs second.)

Say it isn't so!

Back to the kiddos:

Just take a moment to reflect on Jayden Smith’s cameo in that J.Biebs song. Come on people, you know it was the best / you love to sing along to J.Biebs. Please admit that you saw Never Say Never 3D. My people saw it! We didn't see it in 3D but none the less, it was an outing. We were the only ones in the theatre on a week night and we danced and sang along! And I can’t forget my love for little Willow Smith. Gurl totally represented the hair flip in her song, ‘Whip My Hair.’ A slightly annoying song… but I love myself a good hair flip.



Awesome looking fam/ awesome pants! haha

It is true that Will Smith does the same movie over and over again. Those premieres probably get old… but who wouldn’t want to stay married to the Fresh Prince!? I hope these rumors are false… although, I doubt they are.

Brunch in Bridgetown: Mother's

Mother's Bistro and Bar is another popular spot in Portland. I promise to do some obscure ones eventually. I have just been really generic the past few weeks in my dining choices.

The only way to do Mother's is with one other person. If you go with more than two, you are looking at an hour+ wait. BUT if you go with two, you can usually grab a seat at the bar within 10min. The bar at Mother's is first come, first serve. You may have to get a little friendly with a stranger, but whatever! Once you dig in you won't care that they have their elbow all up in your space. Again, bomb BM. They use pepper infused vodka in their homemade mix. I didn’t have one yesterday though. It seems that people really rave about the mimosa/ bellini options. They have 7 different sparkling wine/ champy bevs on their drink menu. And as I sit at the bar for brunch (regularly) those are the most frequently made drinks. I am not a big breakfast drinker, but champy with fruit puree sounds like a winner to me! I am a big coffee drinker. One of the perks of mothers is the French press for two (Helzer's also offers a French press). Perfect for the bar sitting duo! Yesterday we ordered the Holler Mountain brew. It was outstandingly smooth and delicious. 

The ambiance of Mother's is less trendy than Screen Door. You are more likely to see sundresses vs. skinny jeans or American Apparel. But isn’t that just the east/west divide? Think velvet and chandeliers. It is a beautiful spot. There are more families, couples and groups of girls. People show up with cakes for celebrations to hand off to the hostess etc. If your parents are in from out of town, take them to Mother's. I do love the friendly atmosphere of this establishment. When my friend and I sat down. One of the bartenders may or may not have said “welcome back girls!” While the other said “salmon hash right? How do you want your eggs today?” Does this mean we go there too much?  

Back to the important stuff. What to order! My favy meal at Mother's is the wild salmon hash. I will go on the record and say it is the best breakfast dish in the city of Portland. Please, I welcome a challenge to this statement. It is AMAZING. Fresh salmon. Not smoked. This is the big difference. A lot of places carry smoked salmon hash. Vom. It does not compare to the fresh salmon hash at Mother's.

Take a looker:

Our delish French press coffee.

Yummy yummy wild salmon hash.

Mar and her (vegan) veggie scramble w/ avocado.

After our meal I got into a discussion with my neighbor at the bar. He was raving about the cornflake crusted French toast. Yes, it looked delicious. He gets it every time and I told him that I get the salmon hash every time. We discussed savory vs. sweet breakfasts. I prefer savory. Not because I don’t like sweet breakfasts, but because you can generally make versions of sweet breakfasts yourself. Pancakes, French toast etc. My mother taught me that if you are going out to eat you should order something you wouldn’t make at home. If you are spending money on your meal, you should make it count! The crab cake benedict from Seasons and Regions or the wild mushroom omelet with fresh herbs and goat cheese from Besaw's are two things I wouldn’t make myself. The omelet is a bit more likely, but who goes to the store and buys a variety of wild mushrooms for a random breakfast dish? The heavenly wild salmon hash from Mothers fits perfectly into this category. It is too much work to make yourself. And even if you tried, you would not be able to replicate the perfection that is this dish. Instead of a review of the restaurant this post turned into a rant about good breakfast… whatevs. My breakfast this weekend was da bomb!

Portland on Dwellable

Very Pinteresting.

So you need outfit inspiration or a new recipe? Where should you go? Pinterest. It is where all of the pretty things on the internet hang out. It is the new hot spot of the Internet. For you wildcats, think roof top on a Thursday night. Everyone wants to see and be seen on some Pinterest pin boards. How special do you feel when you get re-pinned by a stranger? Such a compliment, it means you have good taste…Or at least the same bad taste as someone else. My darling sister welcomed me into the world of Pinterest a while back. Listen ladies: you no longer have to be held down by copying and pasting an image and emailing it to yourself! You see something you like? Pin that bologna!

I took this from life is reed-iculous. She is awesome! Appropriate image for this post.

I don’t pin that much and all the britches that I follow pin the same crap because they read the same blogs. BUT if you go to the “everything” page or use the search option you can find AWESOME things. If you don’t have a Pinterest yet you are behind the times, email me if you need an invite! I’m happy to spread the pinning joy. Slater gators!

PS. TGIF! (Not the show. Just the saying... since it is Friday and all.)

The rapids ahead are not yet rated.

My dear friend Ben is a river person. I don’t mean like scary possessed river people that live in the currents and grab the ankles of unsuspecting humans. I mean he grew up spending a lot of time on the water. You know, some families are ski people or golf people etc. Well, Ben grew up on the McKenzie River near Eugene and they (Ben and his twin sis Teagan) grew up rafting. Selfish moment: I love that they were raised like this because I get to benefit from it! Ben knows how to “read the river.” For example, I think we are about to hit branches or rocks, but he knows otherwise. He was a raft guide for at least one summer during college and all that good stuff. In addition, Ben likes to take his friends on killer raft trips. I have participated in the day trips down the McKenzie a few times. But I only journeyed on a week long trip down the Rouge once. No matter what suits you best, they are all too much fun for words.

Ben (the river person/ raft guide extraordinaire)

Besides the games, songs and PB sandwiches, you get to live a little bit adventurously for a short period of time.

5 things I learned on the McKenzie River (2011 addition):

1. Do not blow the whistle attached to your life jacket. If you do so repeatedly, people will get annoyed and threaten you. OR they will think you are drowning.

2. My sister is crazy. Well, I may have known this previously. But I learned that my sister (on the river) will body check you during rapids. Basically, do not sit in front of her because her paddle will leave a mark on your back or a bruise on your leg.

3. PB and honey sandwiches taste better outside.

4. Apparently nudity is accepted. Maybe it was because we were near Eugene… but there was def a nude lady sitting on the river bank at one point.

5. Circus Animal cookies are AMAZING! Remember those? (the pink and white ones with sprinkles) We brought some with and they were killer. Buy them. It will take you back/ they are delish.

The one day adventure of 2011 was as fabulous as any. We drove south on Friday evening after work and stayed at Ben’s folk’s home. There was food and wine in play that evening, as well as good conversation. Then we got up bright and early for some breakfast and river time!

Take a looker here:

The most hard core rafting crew EVER.

Action shot. Note: so hard core/ not wearing life jackets.

BFF4L (best friends forever for life) Duh.

Ben, since I personally added my blog to your home page... yeah, I'm that girl. I am hoping that you read this/ love it. Thank you so much for taking us down the river! We love you!