SUMMER! More Magical in Oregon than Most Places…

happy summer!

i’ve been waiting for this day since we moved back to portland, oregon in january since this is how a lot of our days look:

it’s true. summer is more magical and intoxicating in oregon since we get so much rain. summers in portland almost drug you and you think “wow it’s so outrageously gorgeous here in summer that i can totally tolerate the rain and clouds for months on end.” i’ve been drugged for the past 5 years…

this week i’ve been singing this song at the very top of my lungs, which despite having asthma, can really allow me to bellow things out like the last 4 seconds of the video:

it’s sort of like my checklist.

actually, people say it stops raining on july 5-ha! and if you tell me you “don’t mind the rain” or “actually, i really like when it rains” and you don’t live in a rainy climate…zip it.

i don’t want to hear it because “i didn’t mind the rain and i actually liked it” since i grew up in colorado where there are 300 days of sunshine and when it rained we actually danced because we wanted to make sure it sank into the ground since that state is always on fire and in a drought. hmmm i must have some pent up feelings around people telling me that, eh?

as you well know…it was summer solstice this past saturday so we took full advantage of being out in the sunshine!

i ventured to portland’s saturday market with my friend alison (the one at portland state university) and holy smokes has it grown since i’ve last been like 1.5 years go!

i realized i’m becoming used to the strange things that exist in portland because when i posted this picture on my instagram (@the_new_wifestyle), people didn’t know about white raspberries! they are delicious and if you find some, buy them.

i stocked up on the important things since we are headed out late tonight for my sister’s wedding in south carolina! i made the mistake of telling my husband “look! i got you your favorite cookie” as opposed to “look! i got you your favorite cookie and i plan on eating 2/3rd of it” which is exactly what happened.

it’s fun to live in the pacific northwest in the summer because this photo was taken at about 9:15pm!

the sun also rises (please tell me you got the literary pun) at 5:20am so we get some long days of happiness. the consequence to this is that in the winter it doesn’t get light until about 8am and then gets dark by 4:30pm. this is why you can find me in bed by 8:45pm in the winter months. in parts of alaska like anchorage, it stays light out until almost midnight during their summer solstice! too cool (and i would have eaten three dinners constantly if i lived there).

our new pup, sugar (her portland name is “agave”) is adjusting well but she sure doesn’t like when we pack up a suitcase. she can feel we are leaving and i have already turned into a ridiculous dog lady because i would pay a lot of money if there was a way she could text me while we are gone.

our dog is also a model…happy summer folks and i hope everyone is having a great week!  my week was less than stellar last week but i know for a fact this week will be much better. i get to celebrate my sister, be with family and hang out on a beach! bring it.

1) did you do anything to celebrate the summer solstice?
2) favorite summer time fruit?
3) tell me something happy about your week last week so i can smile for you!