Let the Good Times Roll

Last weekend I decided to throw a little birthday bash for myself and celebrate another year on this beautiful earth with a few friends. I haven't thrown a party in a long while, but I certainly enjoy doing so! I tend to go a little overboard, and the perfectionist in me comes out. 

I am surrounded by all kinds of awesome creative inspiration at work every day and it gets my mind racing with ideas! We have festive tissue pom poms hanging in one of our windows, and I decided I had to learn how to do them and make some for the party. Then I found an awesome kraft paper flag that I decorated with muted pink and green paper and some sparkly alphabet stickers. The obsessive side of me even wrapped the wine bottles in matching paper. 

Oh, but it couldn't stop there. I had to coordinate the dishes, the cocktail napkins, and even the iced tea. I'm not a huge fan of cake (don't get me wrong, it's good stuff, just not my favorite) so I prefer pie on my birthday. My favorite recipe as of late is a peach and nectarine combo. Mmm! 

A few more photos:

And you better believe the night ended like this:

Oh How Time Flies!

My oh my! The past week and a half has been so busy and as a result I have sadly neglected my little blog. So much to catch up on!

I started my new job last week and so far it has been great! I am adjusting to a new schedule and to commuting via public transportation, and my poor feet are exhausted! On the upside, I am learning so much and getting to be surrounded by creative people and projects every day!

Also, I discovered Native Foods Cafe last week and I keep wondering why on earth no one told me about this delicious establishment before?! It's all vegan and oh-my-gosh-so-good. Seriously, check out this menu. I am forcing myself to bring my lunch to work or else I will be eating/spending all of my money here every day. I am going to make it a weekly treat though!

More posts are on the way!

Butter Goes to the Beach

Yesterday the Donahue clan spent the day at the Oregon coast. It's always lovely getting to spend time with the family, especially a pretty day by the sea. Here's some photos from our little adventure!

This fella decided this was a perfectly good spot to take a nap. Good for you, buddy!

We were taking a few obligatory couple shots when Mr. Butter's father thought it would be a good idea to photo bomb us. Well played, well played indeed.

We played a round of mini golf and Mr. Butter scored a hole in one on the first two holes! In the end though it was a pretty close game. 

We also went for a ride on a surrey. Last year all six of us went for a ride, but the bike that was supposed to seat six of us this year was not quite large enough for all of us...We were holding on for dear life! But it was fun as always. :) 

And of course, a trip to the beach wouldn't be complete without some taffy! I love roaming the aisles to see all of the different flavors, but I really only enjoy the hot cinnamon. 

I already can't wait for our next trip over to the coast! 

Butter Goes For A Hike

Last weekend my sister in law and I went for a hike through Forest Park here in Portland. When I first moved here I would go for walks through Forest Park pretty frequently. My first apartment was only a few blocks away from one of the entrances and I was in love with the fact that unlike Los Angeles, you could have nature and the city all in one. I have to admit, I am by no means the "outdoorsy type", demonstrated by the fact that we leisurely hiked through the park with lattes in hand. Regardless, it was a lovely way to spend our Sunday afternoon and it reminded me of just how much I enjoy Forest Park!

Look how beautiful it is! 

There is this little stone cabin down by the river in the middle of the park. I am so curious about the history of this little house. It has no roof and there are no signs about why it is there. It's two levels and you can walk around in it, but it is quite small. Time to do some research! 

I can't wait to go back! 

Mini Home Tour

Over the past few months I have been working hard to turn our little apartment into a cozy home. This is the first apartment we picked out together as a married couple. I think it does a good job of showcasing both of our personalities. It's classic with a twist (Tim's the classic and I'm the twist). :) Here are some previews:

From top left corner (clockwise): Bust of David; Framed photo of a lion statue, our built in fireplace, and a driftwood tree and flameless candles; Faux fur blanket and linen pillow case on our sofa. All from Restoration Hardware.

From top (clockwise): A selection of our books (mine are on the left- art and music/ his are on the right- lots of biographies); my jewelry display and a photo of us (Vintage frame, hooks from Restoration Hardware); our bed- taupe and ivory pinstripe euro shams, ivory pillow cases, stone quilted pillow shams, linen accent pillow, stone linen duvet cover (all Restoration Hardware). 

Just a little glimpse into our living room and bedroom style. I have to admit my favorite room in our apartment is our guest bathroom. It's probably because it's extra feminine, always smells good, and where I take all of my bubble baths. I know it's strange to love a bathroom, but it's just so lovely! I'll share more photos from around our little home some day. 

:)

Let's Go For A Walk

Portland had been rather generous with it's weather lately, and I actually fell for it. I thought the sunshine and clear skies were here to stay for the summer, and oh how I was wrong! Portland decided to go back to it's old ways this week and bring forth misty rain and gray shadows. But miraculously the clouds lifted and the rain departed for a few hours this afternoon. I wouldn't dream wasting such a lovely moment so I went for a walk! It was a bit windy so I popped into a few of my favorite stores as well. Here's some photos from this pretty afternoon:

Above: Fun colorful watches at Anthropologie, Giant oil paint sticks and playful papers at the art store, and vintage dresses on the street. 

Beautiful display inside Anthropologie.

I always love the window displays at Anthro. It would be SO much fun to make these.

I love how these turned out. They are so funky. 

I hope you had a pretty afternoon too!

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It's Good to be Back...

Saturday morning I finally made it over to the Oregon College of Art and Craft for their Open Life Drawing Class. And oh was it good to be back in that setting! I really enjoyed college and I love everything about an art studio setting. The first thing I noticed when I entered the room was the smell. The wonderful scent of oil paint. It smells like hard work and passion and happiness. 

Another wonderful thing about studios are the floors. Concrete splattered with gesso and paint and the blood, sweat, and tears of art students. So many hours are spent in these rooms. The history is on the floors. My painting studio space during my senior year at UCLA was...well, it was a mess. But a mess that I loved. See for yourself...

Time to get to work! I can't make that kind of a mess in the studio I have now, but someday I will be able to unleash my wild messy side again. :)

Drawing

The Oregon College of Art and Craft offers inexpensive Open Life Drawing Classes every Saturday morning at 10:00. This is something I discovered a while ago but for some reason I always forget about it! So I have made grand plans to attend this Saturday's open studio. It's a great resource for artists since they provide the space and model at a low cost. I am looking forward to get my creative juices flowing! I haven't worked with a live model in years so this should be fun! The photo above is of a sketch I did while attending UCLA as an undergraduate. I still remember that day fondly. Here's a sketch of an abstract version of the same figure:

I love getting to experiment with different techniques and materials to create something new and different. Sometimes it is nice to just allow yourself to be free and not over analyze every detail. This technique quickly became a favorite of mine. Here's another example:

I apologize for the terrible photo quality. These were taken when I was still in college, and clearly wasn't concerned with editing. Yikes!

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Spring Has Finally Sprung!

Dear Portland, 

I hope you are not playing a evil trick on me. It has been beautiful and sunny for three whole days in a row. And we're not talking the kind-of-cold-and-windy-but-still-sorta-kinda-nice sunny. This is full on blue skies and almost 80 degrees and happiness in the air! It's oh so loverly. Thank you, thank you, thank you! My poor little heart couldn't take much more of the dreary rainy cold days. You see, I am not a true Oregonian. I expect for sunshine to make a daily appearance along with it's good friend warmth come April or May. It's reasonable, no? But don't get me wrong dear Portland. I do love your beautiful crisp falls. You have definitely perfected fall. 

So if you love me at all my dearest PDX, please (pretty please!) keep this gorgeous weather comin'. I appreciate it ever so. 

Yours truly, 

Mrs. Butter

P.S. Here is my spring-has-finally-sprung wish list!

1.  Those are some good lookin' yellow pants. 

2. Saltwater sandals pretty please!!!

3. I tried on this skirt at Top Shop in NYC and now I can't stop thinking about it! I love how it's sheer on the bottom. 

4. I am lovinggggg chambray tops of all kinds right now. This would be adorable paired with a flowy skirt! Good job, Madewell.

:)

And It's Monday Once More

I hope you had a great weekend filled with sunshine and mexican food! Luckily we had both of those! I also made waffles with our brand spanking new waffle iron purchased by my sweet and loving husband. After a delicious brunch o' waffles we took advantage of the gorgeous sunny weather here by enjoying a cigar (i know- but it's actually fun! It's one of those manly hobbies my manly husband enjoys every once in a blue moon) out on our balcony with our good friend Chris.  Afterwards we visited the Donahue side of the family for the first BBQ of the season and oh my was it delicious!

Ah but alas, Monday has come again. Thankfully the week ahead looks quite promising, including a chocolate tasting extravaganza this Friday night.

Here's some highlights from the weekend:

I love this photo of our friend Chris because it really captures what a fun and happy person he is! He definitely brightens up our lives with his infectious laughter!

I'm keeping it gansta at the Donahue house.

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Happy Lazy Saturday!

Today I took part in what I have named "The Lazy Saturday." I got out of bed at a reasonable hour, but shortly after kissing Mr. Butter good-bye as he headed off to work I decided to simply relocate to the sofa and eat a bowl of cereal and watch some TV. After that exhausting endeavor I debated whether or not it was too early to take a nap and decided that yes, indeed it was. However, it was not too early to take a bubble bath, eat macaroons, and watch my favorite guilty pleasure show. So I drew myself up a oh so delightful bath, got out the last of my macaroons, and put on Gossip Girl to watch while I lounged around in my warm tub. It-was-great! 

Post-bath I decided it was time to repaint my nails and went for a bold gesture with half hot pink, half black. I thought it was fun and unexpected but when Mr. Butter came home he proceeded to ask me "What's on the tip of your nails?". I took that to mean they were not approved. What do you think?

After the nail update I came to the conclusion that it was now an appropriate time to take a nap and snoozed for a bit on the couch under our cozy faux fur blanket. Ah, but the laziness had to end. I finally rose from my slumber, did a load of laundry, made the bed, and walked over to the grocery store to pick up some treats for today, the fifth of May. I made us a feast of chips and guacamole, vegetarian tacos with all the fixins and some "cold beer" per the husband's request. 

I picked out a mixture of beers because I wanted to try a few kinds and we don't really have a favorite. I got one called "Lucky Buddah" (despite being told by the grocery store worker that "it was awful") because let's be honest here, the bottle is awesome. And it was cheap. So even if the beer was awful the bottle rocked my world and it would be worth it. By the way, it kind of just tastes like Coors Light. 

That husband of mine had to run back up to work after dinner so now I am finishing up my Buddah beer and waiting for him to return home to me. I don't know how on earth it is possible but I am ready for another nap. 

:)

At long last, it has arrived!

It's a little late in the day, but happy Friday! I can't wait to go home and relaxxxxxx. I think a delightful bubble bath is in order made with all of the goodies I brought back from NYC and Sabon. I am looking forward to going to bed early and getting some much needed sleep. I know, I am quite the party animal!

The weather is supposed to be nice here this weekend (cross your fingers for us!) and I hope it is for you as well!

xo!

7 months and Counting

On May second Mr. Butter and I celebrated seven glorious months of being joined together in matrimony. I know, it's silly that we're counting months but I get giddy like a school girl when the second day of each month rolls around and my sweet ginger husband greets me with a "happy __ month anniversary, baby!". Sometimes he kicks it up a notch and surprises me with a lovely bouquet of flowers that he proudly put together himself. So in honor of our little anniversary I am going to share our engagement story!

A little over a year ago I went on a weekend trip to San Antonio to visit with my family. When I arrived back in the Portland airport I was expecting to simply go home and see Tim when he got off work. I was on my way down to the baggage claim and curbside pick up when I spotted a handsome gentleman looking rather dashing out of the corner of my eye. I had to do a double take to realize it was Tim since I was not expecting to see him at all! I was so excited that he made a surprise visit to pick me up and wow, he even brought flowers! I had a good one, that was certain. That good one of mine kept wrapping me up in hugs. It was a little suspicious but I thought he must have just really missed me. As I was distracted by admiration for the gorgeous white bouquet he brought me Tim got down on one knee (in front of the whole world! And by whole world I mean PDX) and held up the most gorgeous sparkly vintage ring for me and popped the question! I am not entirely certain what happened next but I believe I started jumping up and down and saying yes over and over and over. He tells me that I didn't even let him put the ring on my finger, I snatched it up and stuck it on immediately!

Everything after that is a blur. I just remember my cheeks were hurting because of all the smiling I was doing. People always ask us what everyone's reaction was in the airport but neither one of us can remember! We were completely wrapped up in each other and our happiness.

Here are some photos from our engagement session done by the fabulous Kelly Lindmeier of K.Lindmeier Photography:

I love looking back on these. It was such a special time for us. And oh my! Tim's hair was so long!! 

xo!

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Happy Places: Parks

I am a city girl at heart but nothing makes me swoon quite like a gorgeous park in the middle of a big city.  You can see why I am looking forward to visiting Central Park in NYC- it's the ultimate city park! Today I thought I'd share a few of my favorite city parks.

VONDELPARK: Amsterdam is already a terribly charming city and when you add in a gorgeous park like Vondelpark my little heart swoons. I love watching all of the adorable Dutch families and usually bring along a little snack and fresh juice to enjoy in the sunshine.

FOREST HEIGHTS PARK: This park holds a special place in my heart. Tim brought me here when we first starting dating and it has been one of our favorite romantic spots to visit ever since. It's a small park nestled in the west hills of Portland but it's quite lovely. We grab a coffee in the little village nearby and walk around until we find a bench to sit at and talk or admire the beautiful scenery.

VILLA PAMPHILI: Although this park is a little out of the way it was one of my favorite spots to visit in Rome. It's huge and full of gorgeous umbrella pine trees. You can easily spend an entire day roaming the grounds, visiting the historic villa, and hanging with the locals. 

There's oh so many more I'd love to share but they will simply have to wait for another day!

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Vondelpark photo via switchimage; Villa Pamphili image via this site