courtney jade’s blog

I’m getting SO excited for my wedding in Costa Rica!!! I’m ALMOST ready.. and I’ve spent WAY too much money this past week getting everything I’ll need… but it is fun shopping!!!

I’m hoping that I’ll be able to get some great panoramic shots, as well as do a few little video montages. Maybe even a stop-motion! I’ve only ever done one stop-motion film before, and it turned out ok, but I’d like to dabble in it a bit more, and Costa Rica seems like the perfect back drop!! What would a cool idea for a stop motion be? Maybe walking on the beach?? I want to do something really cool, so if you have any ideas, let me know what you’d like to see!!!

Here is my very first stop-motion I did about a year ago.. man time flys!!

Yesterday my bestie Ben, and his sister Jenna introduced me to what is now my favorite restaurant in all of Portland: Jade Teahouse & Patisserie

Located in the adorable Sellwood neighborhood, off of 13th and SE Lexington, is a beautiful green building. One of the reasons it was love at first site was the design of everything. From the moment you spot the place driving by, to the second you walk through the door, it’s beautiful. The colors, the lighting, the furniture, even the fonts on the menu board create such an upclass, yet homey feel. You can tell that everything has been carefully thought out and cared for with a whole heart. These people want you to feel comforable!!

The atmosphere is completely beautiful and warm. There’s a peace about it, and there are fun little details everywhere. Just look at the rack of loose leaf teas!

And the menu, oh, the menu!!! Mark and I have a hard time finding a place with food that we both LOVE. Sure, there are places that he loves, and I like, or visa versa… but this place is the perfect fit! They have menu items that are more traditional or basic (but still completely flavorful and delicious), and also items for the more adventurous tongue, and everything in between. I don’t know anyone who couldn’t find something here that they didn’t absolutely love.
They have a huge variety of asian influenced dishes, as well as baguette sandwiches, soups, and delicous baked goods! The head chef pours her heart and soul into every single dish that’s prepared, and you can tell 100%. Everything tastes and looks like it was specially prepared just for you. The people are extremely friendly, and go above and beyond the norm to tell you about the cuisine, even recommending things! All of the ingredients are fresh, and though I’ve only been there twice now, it seems as though they make most everything from scratch! They have a bakery downstairs where the head chef (who apparently studied the art of french baking for a time in France [i think, can't remember exactly what our server said about this.. but I know she studied it over in Europe for a time]) prepares delicious baked cookies, macaroons, and other tastey treats!
I could go on and on all day, but I’ll let the photos speak for themselves

Mark’s Thai Iced Tea & my fresh squeezed strawberry lemonade

A few cute shots of my markie <3

Our delicious food!!!

Hands down, best Pho I’ve ever eaten. Mmmmmm so good

And of course, we had to have dessert!!! Jenna was raving about their traditional cake that they make! It’s green due to the banana peels that they use in it, and it tastes like a light vanilla. The cake is moist and fluffy, and the buttercream is smooth and creamy. There’s a surprise crunchy layer in the middle of some sort of flaky pastry, and white chocolate shavings on top To. Die. For. And not too sweet either!

We also tried this traditional sesame ball treat, which I forget the name of! It was awesome!! It was like a rice/bread doughnut-like ball that was crunchy on the outside, chewy on the inside, and it was filled with some sort of yummy almond paste and coconut. Then it comes with a sweet glazey honey caramel sauce (I think that’s what it was… it was all so delicious and went so fast I can’t be positive!).

Seriously. Best. Restaraunt. EVER. I’m officially in love, and SO excited to find a place that Mark and I are both totally blown away by! I can’t wait to go back, and I was just there 2 hours ago!!

Until we meet again Jade… <3

About a year ago I received an email from a gentleman who wanted to use my photo for the cover of their CD. They had seen the photo via my flickr page, and just loved it!

So we made an arrangement, and I sent off the full rez file… I completely forgot about it, and if it weren’t for the random email updates as to how the album was coming along it may have completely slipped my mind forever. So I was quite surprised and very excited when I went to the mailbox the other day and pulled out a package that read “ROYAL MAIL”. First of all, how sweet is that?! I mean, there’s really not much that’s “Royal” about the USA… I mean, we are the US Postal Service… so boring. Anyways! Here is what I was so excited to open!!!

AAHHHHHHH!!! There’s my BABY on the cover of a CD!!!! SO COOL!!!!
view the original pic here; it’s had over 14,000 views to date, and while I’m not sure exactly HOW they found it, I assume it was through google or something

My boo-boo is FAMOUS!!!! Haha, well at least in the UK!
Anyways, I think it was really great that even though copy writes on photos these days are completely abused and consistently taken advantage of, these guys were awesome enough to not only ask my permission to use the photo but also to pay me for it, and then fulfill their word and send me a finished copy! I was ecstatic!!!

I haven’t popped the cd into the player yet, as I was just too excited to write about it, so I’m not sure exactly what they sound like yet, but you can check out their website here: The Strawbs
Today it is GORGEOUS outside!!! I took Quincey to a local Italian Greyhound meetup earlier, and then we came home. He layed in the sun while Mark and I did a little spring cleaning Here’s a couple of pics of my workspace/psuedo office

If you’re curious about all of the lovely things on my desk, you can check them out here

Until next time!

<3

valentine’s day is my most favorite day of the entire year.

What other day do you get to indulge in all of the hearts, pink, love, and romance you can imagine!?

Ok, ok, so maybe I do that more than just one day a year, but it’s nice to have a designated day set aside to plan for it I didn’t get to do or capture nearly as many valentine-y things as I wanted this year, but I did take a few pics this weekend.

My friend Jenn came over, and we decorated cupcake valentine’s! It was super fun, and there was a LOT of pink happening!!! I didn’t snap any photos of my cupcakes (i know, shame on me!), but I did snap a couple of Jenn’s! Here are some of her fabulous and adorable cupcakes!

First, I just want to say that my boyfriend is the best boyfriend ever. I seriously can’t believe sometimes how lucky I am to  have found such an amazing person to share my life with.

We have been wanting to go to this one particular restaurant for over 5 years… now you might be thinking “5 years is a really LONG time Courtney… just go to the dang restaurant!!”, and I know. However, being in college, broke, always living paycheck to paycheck, etc. we just could never bare to “afford” it. Our anniversary happens to lie on the same date our lease is up, so we’d either be broke from moving or just not have time. And as for other special occasions, it just never worked out right.

I’m happy to say that the stars finally aligned, and we were able to enjoy an incredible dinner together at The Melting Pot! I brought my camera along, but I knew it would be SUPER dark down there, so I wasn’t expecting any amazing shots, but I did catch a few good ones. Here are some fun moments from our Valentine’s day dinner!

We started with the cheese fondue. Not my favorite, but Mark sure liked it! they give you breads, green apples, and raw veggies to dip. I did like the apples with it, but I knew there was so much more on the way and wanted to save room.

Next we had salads, I took a photo but didn’t export it, lol, they weren’t anything amazing, just plated yummy dinner salads. Then the next course: MEATS!! Look at all of that delicious raw meat, just ready to cook. We chose the “Bajo Style” broth, it was a citrus-y garlic broth, and completely delicious!!! Our plate included lobster, filet minon, new york strip, kielbasa, shrimp, garlic chicken, and raviolis. We also got some raw veggies to cook, and a variety of sauces to dip the meats in after they cooked.

And last but most definitely not least: DESSERT!!! This was my most favorite part of the entire meal (of course), and I would go back a million times for it again!! Our server brought out the chocolate and then poured in the fire!!!

a little stir…

a lot of delicious things to dip…

and mmmmmmmm two very happy valentine’s!!! We chose dark chocolate with marshmallow cream

they give you SO many fun things to dip! Cheesecake, strawberries, bananas, pound cake, brownies, rice krispy treats, and different marshmallows… can you say heaven?? They are also all refillable, excluding the cheesecake.

SO yummy!!!

And of course, we had to take a pic of the bill. This is the most expensive meal Mark and I have ever indulged in to date. It might not seem like a lot, but I guess you can say we live on the conservative side. Oh yea, that doesn’t even include tip, hahaha… so awesome. Like I said, my boyfriend is amazing.

Then Monday I had the day off, and I was a total and complete BUM all day. I managed to take Quincey over to my cousin’s house to play with their pup (Quincey’s cousin and BFF) Rufus, so that was fun. I also did ALL of my laundry and folded/put it away. As well as re-arranging our bedroom. But BUM city it was, and it was amazing.

Overall it was a great Valentine’s weekend. Hopefully next year I’ll be able to document more! How was your Valentine’s weekend??

Now it’s time to get ready for Costa Rica!!! I leave in less than 4 weeks now- CRAZY!!! I’m so excited, but I’ve never travelled outside of the country. Advice? Tips? I’d love to hear them!! Also, what’s one thing I should make sure to do while on Vacation? I’ll be staying in Tamarindo, Costa Rica.

<3

Have you ever read the book “The Five Love Languages” by Gary Chapman? Well, if you haven’t you should, it’s a very interesting book!

“Of the countless ways we can show love to one another, five key categories, or five love languages, proved to be universal and comprehensive—everyone has a love language, and we all identify primarily with one of the five love languages: Words of Affirmation, Quality Time, Receiving Gifts, Acts of Service, and Physical Touch.”

At the end there is a quiz that you take to determine which of your love languages are the strongest. My top results were “Receiving Gifts” and a tie between “Words of Affirmation” and “Quality Time”. Everyone speaks all 5 languages to some degree, but it’s natural for most people to have a dominant one or two.

This was no surprise to me by any means. I value gifts, little and big, immensely. Whether it’s a quote written down on a napkin, or a beautiful sparkly something, it has the power to take my breath away. I also love giving gifts! I feel like it’s a great way to show that I’ve been thinking of someone, and I always put great time and effort into selecting and preparing special presents for people.

I believe that this is why I love photography so much. When you take someone’s photo, and then give it to them, it’s a very special gift. No one can ever relive the moments that have passed, and memories fade with time, but a photograph lasts forever. Those little moments frozen in time to remember and hold on to forever. There’s just something so special about that.

So it was to my complete surprise when I opened my mailbox this evening and there was a “You Have a Package in the Manager’s Office” slip sitting atop my mail! I racked my brain trying to think of what it could possibly be… did I order something? Did Mark order something? A print order? A large envelope from the insurance company (you know, one of those horribly ridiculous packs of paper that they are required by law to send out once a year or something.. waste of trees!) None of those. I raced up to the office since it was about to close, and eagerly handed her my slip.

“Ah!” she said as she turned around and picked up a medium sized brown box.

She handed me the box, and it was sealed with SAINT CUPCAKE PACKING TAPE!!!! Saint Cupcake?? But, who? How? Why??? What was in there?! My mind went racing, thinking who would be so nice as to send me something so amazinly sweet and awesome… and what was in it?! I thanked the manager and raced back to my apartment. Once I got in the door, I cut the tape and opened the package.

The glory of it all. I LOVE this place. It is the first cupcakerie I ever stepped into years ago, and I’ve been in love ever since. My good friend is friends with the owners of the place (one who is a graphic designer superstar– in case you couldn’t tell..) How gorgeous is this presentation!?! I flipped the card over…

Of course!!! My lovely bride (and friend of MANY years) Jesse from last Saturday’s wedding! She had asked me for my address and I thought nothing of it. WHAT. A. DOLL!!! At this point I have serious little pink hearts floating all around me, I’m so happy. Pink + cupcakes + amazingly gorgeous packaging/design= DROOL!

I realize that it’s not just cupcakes, but an entire “Saint Cupcake cupcake kit”!!! What the heck!? Completely amazing.

Six un-frosted cakes, 6 containers of different flavored frostings, six spreading sticks, and six little baggies of sprinkles! No sparing on the presentation, this is completely adorable and to die for! Not to mention tasty!1

Naturally, I had to take some fun photos of my kit before indulging

Hot fudge!? That’s my fave!!!!

pink, pink, and more pink!!!

a pile of frosting cups!

YUMMY!!!

Thank you SO much Mr. & Mrs. Thiel & the Davis’s!!! You totally made my day SO much sweeter (literally & figuratively!) You rock, and I was honored to be a part of your special day!!!

Now, something sweet for you… a sneak peek pic from your wedding day!!! Enjoy!

Now if you’ll excuse me, IT’S CUPCAKE TIME!!!!

<3 <3 <3

I just realized that I haven’t posted this yet. I didn’t order enough this year to send to everyone, even though I thought I ordered more than enough… but that’s the way it goes I suppose… so if you didn’t get one, please know that Mark and I still love you.
Here is our Christmas card for 2009 <3

*photo by my friend Kevin Russ!

One of my all-time favorite bloggers that I follow does a “10 things i love Sunday” post every week, and I adore it! So I’ve taken her idea and run with it, because it’s something I look forward to reading on her blog, and also it inspires me! I also think that in general, it’s good to focus on the good in life, so what better way to do that than to stop, think, and share some of the things that I love about life, or just love in general with all of you?

Here are ten things i’m loving this week…

one.
Hostess cupcakes! I know, it’s completely horrible and they are awful for you, but for some reason, I’m totally addicted! <3
I bought 2 boxes at the store today because they were on sale! Good thing one of my goals this year isn’t to lose weight, haha! Here are a couple “hostess cupcakes” that I made last year for valentine’s day…

two.
Romance. Romantic gestures. Particularly boys who do out-of-the-ordinary, sweet, creative things for their girls. Something about that just gets me every time. Whether it’s in a magazine, book, movie, advertisement, a friend’s story, etc. I just can’t help but get butterflys in my tummy. Absolutely adorable.

This painting is done by my favorite artist- Kurt Halsey. He used a photo of Mark and I as inspiration. One of the most precious things in my life <3

three.
A&W cream soda. Completely delicious, and completely bad for me. Yummy!

four.
HGTV! I have been totally addicted to this channel for about the past 2 months. I used to watch it a lot before, but now, from the time i get home, to the time I go to bed, it’s on. And I love it!! Can’t get enough! They have so many crafty ideas and projects, plus there is so much to learn about renting/buying/owning! Loves it!

five.
Bangs. Straight bangs particularly. It’s probably because it’s been completely dark and gloomy here lately. Rain, darkness, gloom, cold, wind, snow, darkness…. it all equals blah! But for some reason, it also reminds me of London… which is somewhere that I hope to travel to someday, but from what I hear it’s dark and rains a lot there… although I could be completely wrong. Anyways, yes, loving the straight bangs!

six.
Cupcake flavored foods! It’s funny how things become “popular” and then everyone jumps on the bandwagon. This week I’ve discovered and purchased Cupcake flavored Magic Shell, and Cupcake Pebbles cereal. I love both! So weird, but so fun!

seven.
Goals. As the first week of the new year, everyone is making lists of goals and aspirations, and everyone seems so positive about life! I just love it. I’m such a list-maker and goal oriented person that it’s hard when other people don’t “get” that, but this time of year, it’s almost like everyone is on the same page. It’s quite refreshing! Not to mention, I have my very own list, which is exciting

eight.
Blogging! I have been doing such a good job at blogging every day! Even though today is only day five, I already feel like it’s part of my daily routine. It encourages me to not only write and connect with you all every day, but also challenges me to think more creatively, and makes me more productive! I can’t wait to start shooting again so I have more photos to post on here for you all.

nine.
Sunshine. It’s dark when I leave for work, and dark when I get home. It’s even dark out during the day on the weekends. This has made it extremely challenging to play with my new camera, since my main light source is natural/available light. It’s been quite discouraging, and I cannot wait for the days to be longer and the sun to come out more! Oh sunshine, I love you so much, please visit again soon!!!

ten.
Laptops. I finally got my laptop, and it’s been SO nice to have! Not only can I now work on the go, but I can watch movies in bed, surf the web anywhere in the house, and just be more mobile in general. Such a luxury, but I love it!!!

Well, it’s time for bed, my puppy keeps scratching my arm because he’s ready to go cuddle up
What is one thing you’re loving this week!?

*all photos not by me were found on weheartit.com

Well, I went to New York almost two years ago… I’ve finally found a little time to go through some (and when I say “some”, i’m being completely literal!!!) of the photos I took while I was there. Thinking back on my trip, there are SO many more things I wish I would have taken photos of, but I am still happy with a lot of the photos I did take.

I went to New York with my best friend Ben, and his sister (also my friend) Jenna! It was a great trip, but a week in New York is just not nearly enough time to explore everything. There is definitely still a billion things there that I’d like to visit and do.

I have to say, I’ve been horrible, and Ben and Jenna haven’t even seen these photos yet… I know, 2 years is awful! It’s just been crazy with everything going on, and I took so many photos it’s overwhelming to look at them all!! But here are a select few that I thought I would share with you all Enjoy!

Every morning for breakfast we’d enjoy a cappuccino and a pastry from a nearby bakery. I should mention we stayed in a little hotel in Little Italy! How perfect!? This was just one of the delicious pastries that we enjoyed for breakfast (I know, naughty!!!)

I think that this photo was taken after dinner actually… while waiting for dessert! (also below!) Ok, so we had cappuccinos more than just for breakfast I can’t help it, EVERYTHING in New York is soooo delicious! The food, oh the food!!

Tiramisu!!!

Central Park was amazingly beautiful!! Everything I imagined it to be, and then some…

The John Lennon memorial, in the “Strawberry Fields” of Central Park

We also made it up to the top of the Empire State building! Such beautiful views, and even birds!

I think about half of the photos I took during this trip were of Ben, lol.

Who could forget Dylan’s Candy Bar!? This place was magical! Like a candy wonderland, they have EVERYTHING!!! And how cute is their logo!? Perfect design.

Now, you know I couldn’t very well go to New York and not try the “best cupcakes!”. My friend Dan told me about this place, the Magnolia Bakery. I have to say, they were pretty good, but they look prettier than they taste I couldn’t resist taking a million photos of them! I’d also never spent $25 on cupcakes before… but hey, that’s what vacations are all about, right?!

The vendors on the streets are insane, it’s like Saturday Market every day!!! I just had to snap a pic of these yummy fresh pretzels

Another memorable part of New York was the Taxi rides (sometimes a little crazy!!!) and all of the amazing advertisements and signage.

And of course, I just had to take a photo of this…

I can’t believe it’s been almost 2 years since this trip!!! I can’t wait to go back someday again and explore some more

Oh, here’s a video of Ben and I ice skating in central park, one of my favorite parts of our trip (other than the food! lol)

<3

today, i found the best thing ever!!!

CAN YOU EVEN BELIEVE IT!?!?!

Also, my darling boyfriend surprised me by having my new Tiffany’s bracelet re-engraved with the same thing as my original one, plus the word “Forever”. I was seriously so happy I cried. He is the best, I love him more than words.

As I sit here in my living room turned to office, cuddled up in my hot pink and zebra minky blanket (with a beautiful silky edging, might i add!), it keeps ringing in my head that today is the very first day of the year. The first day of 2010.

How should we say it? Twenty-ten? Two-thousand ten? oh-10? Just 10? I guess that part really doesn’t matter much anyways…

So, it keeps coming to my attention, that as the first day of the year, today is a day to start new things, new routines, traditions, regimines, etc. I keep thinking “I should blog EVERY day”. Well I only have about an hour and twenty two minutes left of today, so I thought (in-between netflix movies) that I should take a moment to jot down some thoughts for the day.

How did I spend the very first day of the new year? Well, I woke up at 8:08 wide awake as could be. I tried to roll over and fall back asleep, but I simply could not (go figure, I finally get to sleep in a little and my internal clock refuses). So I get up, shower and get ready for the day. I had plans to go to breakfast with my dad and cousin, so I went to pick my cousin up and we headed to the breakfast joint.

One of my favorite breakfast places here in Portland. They are small, a little grungy, and very old school– The Gateway Breakfast House. They have the most awesome sign up on their wall (one among many!), and as a former waitress I appreciate it all the more. It reads “All children left unattended will be given a large espresso and a free puppy”. Also, on their menu, it reads “rude and grumpy customers are subject to a $20 fee” (or something close to that anyways). Hilarious! I love little hole in the wall gems like this. Plus, the food is to die for, and the prices are insanely low! (If you live in the area, you MUST check them out!). Oh, and I also love the assortment of white sphere lights that hang from the ceiling, some working, some not. Here is a pic from a previous breakfast at the Gateway Breakfast House via my iPhone, and you can view another on my flickr if you like

Anyways, we had a lovely breakfast, bid my dad adeu, and Alishia (my cousin) and I headed off towards the movie theater! We have a habit of seeing movies and eating at the Olive Garden, our date night usual when we’re able to get together. We ended up seeing Nine. I honestly had no idea what it was about going in, other than everyone I know wants to see it and it had some big name stars in it. It was very well done! I recommend it, quite entertaining!

After our little day-date, I dropped her back home and headed home to my boy. He was, of course, cleaning While he finished up and got ready for dinner, I cleaned the bedroom (my, it feels SO good to have a nice clean vacuumed bedroom with no clutter and no dust!) We went out in search of a delicious dinner from Trader Joes, but they were closed so we settled for Subway It was nice though because I had been craving Subway since everyone at work yesterday was eating it… lol.

Anyways, we came home, relaxed a bit, and I FINALLY got to see Confessions of a Shopoholic! I’ve been dying to see it since it came out and I’ve even read the book! It was quite excellent, I just adore Isla Fisher (and her hair!!!). The colors, music, storyline and humor all just lined up. I know, I’m a sucker for those movies, but what can I say??

Anyways, the first day of the year has felt like Sunday all day… except it’s only Friday!! That means two more whole days of weekend! Woohooo!!! Today is also the anniversary of Mark and I being together- 5 1/2 years, officially! Seriously crazy how time flies.

Hopefully I will be able to blog at least once a day this year. I will really try, even if it’s just one image, or one sentence. I hope that my personal blogs will help you all to get to know me a little bit better, and please feel free to leave comments, suggestions, or smileys on any of my posts! I’ll leave you with this photo I found online of Isla Fisher, and how I wish my hair looked… sigh.. how does she do that???

Happy New Year!!! <3