ireland and then some.

It's rainy and green today. Suiting, because today happens to be Saint Paddy's Day. Am I the only blogger in the entire web mentioning this? Perhaps--ah, well. I have always loved Ireland, so I shall dedicate a few lines to its holiday. 

What is there not to love about Ireland? The cliffs, the stone fences, the mossy fields dotted with sheep, the thousand-year-old history still preserved among quaint villagers. 

I'd say I'm pretty lucky (four-leaf clover lucky, maybe?) to live in the one state that is most like Ireland. Oregon is wet, and green, and pretty--without the accents and old villages, perhaps, but still as like it as you can get. 

..Nevertheless, it is on my bucket list to visit Ireland one day; to explore the castles and crags and simply wander as a globetrotter. And I mean, seriously: 

;) 

-lucia

disclaimer: that quote goes for guys and girls, just so ya know--I'll listen to an Irish lass just as long as an Irish lad. And I really never call guys "cute--" I just thought it was a pretty funny quote. :) 

salt & straw. and other random portland things.

 

Do you like ice cream? Mm, me too. Pretty much every single kind out there, with the exceptions of Green Tea (bleh) and Pistachio (meh).

I'm an Oregon girl. More specifically, a Portland-er. (okay, so I don't actually live in Portland, but I'm about 1/2 hour away). If you don't know Portland, it's a beautiful urban city; very 'green,' very hip, and very health-oriented. Seriously, in the City of Roses (because yes, we're known for those, too), if you bike to work and shop at Whole Foods Market, you are majorly awesome.

One of the things I love about Portland are all the small, crazy cool yummy places. Oh, and I forgot to mention: for a foodie business, crafting local + being utterly unique = win. We have tons of little French-ish cafes, cozy bakeries, and, of course, creameries.  Like Salt & Straw.

This is a pretty random post, because for starters, I haven't even been to Salt & Straw.  But I saw an ad for it the other day, and was thinking, "Oh my goodness, this place looks amazing--" and then I realized it was right in my own homecity! So I thought I would post about it and file it under the categories of "filling you in about my home" and "things I love." A.k.a., "Portland," and "ice cream."

  

Salt & Straw is a pretty amazing ice creamery located in uptown Portland, Oregon. As I said above--I've never been there. But listen to this and gaze with me upon these pictures, and I think you will agree that this place should be on mine and your's "places-I-wanna-go" Pinterest boards. 

For starters, the ice cream is crazy, yet delicious--or so I've heard. I mean, here are some of the flavors:

Oregon Kiss

Ocumare Single Origin Chocolate

Catalonian Breakfast

Pear with Blue Cheese (not too sure about this one..)

Arbequina Olive Oil

Sumptown Coffee Cold-Brewed with Cocoa Nibs

Chocolate with Gooey Brownies

Lemon Basil Sorbet

Honey Balsamic Strawberry with Cracked Pepper

Double Fold Singing Dog Vanilla

Sea Salt Ice Cream with Caramel Ribbon 

Melon with Coppa

..and the list goes on. Apparently, Salt & Straw's ice cream is made with 17% Butterfat (helloooo calories!), churned with care "to be sure very little air is let in to ensure a nice bite," and kept low on sweetening "so the flavors can shine through." And listen what they do to ensure the caramel in "Caramel Ribbon" is amazing:

To take the edge off a bit, we've spent hours

over a hot stove perfectly burning caramel

for the sweet + salty combo that

you can't have just one lick of.

Um, yum. 

 

 

I guess all that needs to happen now is me visiting the place of glory. What flavor would you pick--or, more dramatically--what flavor will you pick when you come visit me and we go to Salt & Straw for reals?  ;) I'm thinking Big Hibiscus Sherbet or Grandma Malek's Almond Brittle with Salted Ganache. :] 

So there you have it. A little bit of Portland for ya. And just in the spirit of educating my readers about the places and spaces where I abide (because I am really and truly a real person and not just a blogging robot, in case you wondered), and in case there are some trivia geeks among us, here a few of my personal goods and bads about Portland.

The Good:

The gorgeous gardens. >> We have many--the Rose Garden, which absolutely stunning during rose season, and definitely one of our trademarks, the Japanese Gardens, etc.

The many running/walking/hiking paths. >> Portland is quite literally a city in the woods. There is city, and then, out of the blue, there are...woods. Trails are numerous, and I like that.

The coffee shops. >> I don't spend much time in these, due to lack of funds and the state of being, currently, a non-coffee drinker (though I do like it), but we have tons of cute ones. :)

The Bad:

Portland is the Human Trafficking hotspot of the nation. >> Just found this out this year, and believe me, you will never catch me walking around the city alone at night. Eek.

Portland is insanely weird. >> Yup, I wouldn't blame you for seeing hippies waving peace signs and sporting dreadlocks when you think, "Portland." And you will see numerous bumper stickers saying, "Keep Portland Weird!" ..if you ever travel our way. o.O

Portland is insanely and annoyingly liberal. >> 'Nuff said.

---

So. There's my little random post about Salt & Straw and other random Portland things. :) Come and visit me, whydontcha?

-lucia



ps-on second thought, honey balsamic strawberry with cracked pepper looks pretty sweet. wacky but interesting.  i wonder...

march photo challenge // night. // + february winners

March. It's a month of winter-breaking-into-spring, fickle weather (at least for us Oregonians--today was sunshine + sleet), and timid blossoms. I'm not crazy about this time of the year; I don't like these in-between-seasons months. Full-force for me, that's what, whether it's winter, spring, summer, or fall--I just want one direct season.

No matter what the season, though, I can usually count on a beautiful night. It can be stormy, it can be clear, it can be snowy, dusky, warm or chilly, but night it night. And tricky as darkness is to capture with a lens, I love to do it.  And I want you to love it, too.

This month's photo challenge is night. Capture the lights of a city piercing the darkness. A bonfire illuminating a beach. The full moon rising. It's a harder one, and this time the winner of our challenge who best captures night will receive:

 

A camera strap of choice from

A Handmade Heart 

Um, pretty sweet, right? Thanks to Mae Anne for generously donating this prize! 

So, time to get clicking! I never cease to be amazed by the many talented photographers that fill the blogger world and somehow find their way into my photo challenges. I hope you have as much fun as I do. :) 

---

Last month's photo challenge was black-and-white love. The winners are posted below--great capturing, ladies! If you have been following the polls on the sidebar, you will see that it has been a close match all week, and we even had a tie for first place. I guess that just means that everyone's photos were equally spectacular. ;) 

 

1st place -- Jennoelle

&

 

Beth 

 

2nd place // Marie

 

3rd place // Neigh Girl 

4th place // Hannah E. 

5th place // Mary Katherine

So. Ready to take on the new challenge?


Grab your camera (or your computer's picture folders, whatever is most handy), take an amazing shot, and then come back here and link up your blog post, flickr photo, or whatever you want to use to link it up. Just fyi:

-"Linking up" means to copy & paste the link to your blog post containing your photo, or the link to your photo on flickr, into the linky box below. Just submit your name, and voila! You're all "linked up." 

-Please include the button in your post, or beneath your flickr (etc.) photo, give the link to this challenge. That way, others can join in, too!

-If you can, visit other entries and give them some support. :) Everyone likes a comment or two! 

Have fun--I can't wait to get started. :) This challenge ends on March 31st, 2012. Finalists will be announced soon afterwards, and we will all vote on a winner the following week. 

  

<center><a href="http://one-beloved.blogspot.com/2012/03/march-photo-challenge-night-february.html" target="_blank"><img alt="lucia, etc." src="http://img850.imageshack.us/img850/9465/photochallenge.png"/></a></center>

-lucia