{simple pleasures} strike up the band: démarrer la bande

“I would like to be remembered as a person who wanted to be free so other people would be also free.”

— Rosa Parks

the peninsula park: this historic park, also known as the rosa parks park, is portland's first rose garden, with original features including a bandstand, expansive brickwork, a 100-year-old fountain + lantern-style streetlight.

{simple pleasures} the cheesecake chronicles: les chroniques du cheesecake

“I’m a dessertarian!”

— Bill Watterson

cheesecake chronicles: some people dream in color. others dream in black + white. i dream in desserts. this rich, creamy pumpkin cheesecake was phenomenal. if you're in portland, have a smoothie or a slice of delicious at canteen, a lil shaker-inspired mdoern cafe. all vegan, all the time. for my vegan guide to a weekend in portland, oregon with plenty o’ pics, hop on over here!

remember, eco boys + girls, drinks sans straws! get your own darn straw here.

{simple pleasures} être comme l'eau: be like water

“Always be like water. float in the times of pain and dance like waves along the wind which touches its surface.”

— Santosh Kalwar 

be like water: nature's architecture in oregon offers up a splendid display of mountains, waterfalls + verdant landscape. feels just like heaven here good reads: currently reading about bottled water + plastic consumption. learn why your choice matters via the new york times. scoop up a zero-plastic filter for purifying your tap water at tiny yellow bungalow, a great lil eco shop with a gaggle of green options for greening your home.

{simple pleasures} montagne bleue: blue mountain

“There is no such sense of solitude as that which we experience upon the silent and vast elevations of great mountains. Lifted high above the level of human sounds and habitations, among the wild expanses and colossal features of nature, we are thrilled in our loneliness with a strange fear and elation – an ascent above the reach of life’s expectations or companionship, and the tremblings of a wild and undefined misgivings.”

— J. Sheridan Le Fanu

a walk in the woods: a trip to oregon + a hike along the pacific coast trail, among the unspoiled terrain brings a sense of balance + peace. so many shades of green dripping from the pine forests of mount hood. so many new and delicious sounds + smells. does one ever really tire of the sight of such strength + beauty, as found among the hills + mountains?