courtney jade’s blog

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

Oh, October. I love you.

It’s been a while since I’ve posted, that is partially due to lack of time, and partially to the internal debate of what to post.
I keep arguing with myself over what should and what shouldn’t be included in this blog. Part of me wants to use this as a blog to track my daily happenings, as well as my professional work, while the other part thinks I should keep it strictly business. I find myself contemplating this often, and not posting because of it. However, I have decided that all of my favorite blogs include personal posts, and therefore, mine will too. I want my readers to get to know me, not only as a photographer, but also as a person. I think it will be more entertaining also, as I have some fun/funny stories on occasion that I would love to share!

I ventured out to the Pumpkin Patch with my cousins, and their kids recently. I forgot how many different activities and fun things there are to do at the patch!!! A mini train to ride, hay mazes, corn on the cobb, elephant ears, a mini petting zoo, corn maze, a huge haystack, a flower garden, and of course– PUMPKINS!

I don’t remember any annual pumpkin-getting traditions from when I was a kid… this could be because I was too little to remember… I think we just went to random patches each year… I do remember one year, riding on a hay ride pulled by a tractor… could have been a school feild trip? I remember one year though, we went out to this HUGE field, and it was cold and rainy, and muddy all over, and my dad had a wheelbarrow for us to put our chosen pumpkins in. I believe there is a photo of this trip somewhere at my dad’s house… I should find that… Anyways, it was super fun It makes me wonder if these kids will remember these trips in years to come. Good thing I’m around to capture the memories for them

Some of my favorites from the day and a video at the end!

Here’s a video of all of us trying to get the kids to pose for a shot: exhibit one why I prefer being a “photo-journalistic” photographer, ha! So much more natural… but we got it eventually…

Here is the final shot:

What are you going to be for Halloween?! I still have to get some good pics of Quincey in his costume to post on here! Haha, oh, and for those of you who don’t know, Halloween is Quincey’s birthday! He’ll be two this year I can hardly believe it!!! He will always remain my baby though <3

I think mark and I have figured our costumes out… (yes, we may actually dress up this year!! I know!?) We’ll see…..

until later <3