wedding.

(Beautiful wedding shots by Taryn).


My best friend since the 6th grade Michelle Worden got married on Sunday to Chris Bates, officially making her Michelle Bates, resident of Memphis, Tennessee and counseling grad student.

...we can deal with the psychological ramifications this is having on me later.

Michelle is my bell. Pre-teen and teen years of unadulterated bliss. Snocone summers. Enough inside jokes to make it to the moon and back.

And important weddings are hard to grasp in the moment, it all feels like it flies by your face in a rush. Leaving you a little empty after the cake has been cut and the crudely decorated getaway car has driven away.

But I did cry three times:
Once at the rehearsal dinner, watching the pictures flick by on the slideshow and witnessing how happy Michelle seemed in every single shot. A girl with a happy life.
And again when we got to see Chris and Michelle see each other for the first time right before the wedding, and it hit me how much my friend is completely loved.
And when Michelle walked down the aisle with the important music playing, her bouquet covering her face as she was so characteristically excited. A totally official, this-is-really-happening moment.

"once in his life, every man is entitled to fall madly in love with a gorgeous redhead" (lucille ball).

Well, successfully helped throw a personal shower/bachelorette party. Check that one off the my-life-to-do list.

The theme was red in honor of the two redheads getting hitched and it included tears, a beautiful cake, homemade sangria, a red candy bar, white Christmas lights, ending the night at Ihop, the crazy good dance skills of Harding alums, paperbag surprises, Michelle calling a group of random girls at a bar sluts and a glass bowl of tortilla chips catching on fire.

Taryn Sheehan takes beautiful pictures - all photo credit goes to her.

Christa Town's is the best toast giver.
Jenna Williams coming into town makes everything a little more special.
There is no one I would rather dream up party details with than Kori Hamman.
And basically, I've been lucky enough to call some really amazing people my best friends for forever and I plan on keeping it that way, forever and ever.

The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy.

"the more i see of the world the more i realize how much we are haunted by our childhood dreams."

that's so port.

A sampling. Photo Credit: Kelly Sheline.

Right before graduating, Kelly, Paige and I forged an unbreakable bond over happy hours at The Library. This led to the inevitable conclusion that we would be ideal traveling buddies and the decision to absolutely test this theory.

The original plan included coveted, abstract destinations like Morocco and Turkey until we came to the realization that we really, really did not have the money to take that kind of trip.

So with Portland's reputation for being one of the coolest cities around, plus the amazing generosity of my mom's friend Holly (beautiful little yellow house on Lake Oswega and loaning us her husband's car) and her daughter Claire (adorable apartment in the heart of Portland) - we decided on a fun, affordable vacation over Memorial Day weekend.

Little Red Bike Cafe.

So I'm a creep and I've been following this Portland couple's blog for a long time, falling completely in love with their cooking, their city and their way of life. There's something so pure and life-affirming about it for me.
Seeing them in person, behind the counter of their restaurant that I've been so looking forward to visiting, exceeded all of my expectations: the breakfast dishes were amazing, the orange juice fresh squeezed and the coffee melted in my mouth. Plus, I kinda just felt like I'd bumped into my favorite celebrities - they were exactly as I'd imagined them, salt shaker tattoo cool.

The Matador.

Thoughtful recommendation from Claire and a fun bar within walking distance to start off the night.

Voodoo Doughnut.

Maybe only perfect after 2am. Kelly picked the winning doughnut: double chocolate penetration. Yup.

Canon Beach.

Cold and beautiful. Like something out of Twilight. People out in their parkas, walking the beach with their huge, Oregonian dogs.

Limo.
How to do Peruvian: lots of appetizers and a bottle of wine.

Alloro Vineyard.
There are many vineyards in Oregon, but this one fit us perfectly in so many ways. Unreal scenery, like Tuscany and Napa combined. And the actual wine tasting.

Japanese Gardens.

International Rose Test Garden.
When in the city of roses...

Powell's.
Largest independent bookstore in the nation. A labyrinth. Of course, I was in heaven. I bought a used copy of Valley of the Dolls for myself, because I've always adored the cover and a copy of Ferdinand the Bull for Walker who I feel missed out on childhood reading.

The Ram's Head.
Ruby beer. Outdoor seating.

Pizzicato.
Loved the olive hummus. Never got around to the actual pizza.

Mumford & Sons at The Aladdin.

Quirky venue, amazing show. Melted into nervous, giggly preteens meeting the band.

St. Honore Boulangerie.
Bread!

Forest Park.
Hiking with the mud, barefoot runners, slugs, moss and trees from Avatar.

My own observations...
We knew we liked this city when the toilets at the airport had different degrees of flushing.

More badass tattoos than hipsters.
It must be a requirement that all families be utterly beautiful: cool parents and their heartbreakingly adorable children.
Huge, happy dogs.
50 on the highways. Annoying!
It is illegal to pump your own gas. Seriously.
Oklahoma suntans are covetable.
It is as rainy as they say, which might be to much to bear for me - but all the lush greens and flowers make up for the lack of sunlight and everyone is always out. Plus it was a nice reprieve from 90+
I secretly love it when airplanes hit bouts of turbulence.

It just made me realize more and more how badly I want to live in a city around this size and walk everywhere or use great public transportation.
I bought a car this year with the intention of never having to buy one ever again and if/when I get married my dream is to share a car with my husband. I just think cars are such an inconvenient waste, endless money pits if you will.
(Not that I don't see the flip side - I feel the most Oklahoma when I get in my car and drive around aimlessly, just listening to music and feeling free. Takes the edge off).

But most of all, it was just nice to be reunited with two great friends who, as cheesy as this sounds, inspire me as strong women.
Fun, fearless Paige who can so easily find the best places to eat at the airport by charming total strangers and my soul mate Kelly who had mapped out the entire trip before we had even arrived.
Or as Holly more simply described them in a text to my mom after dropping us off at the airport: Paige = tall and beautiful, Kelly = blond and beautiful.

saga.

I am seriously considering devoting my entire blog to the trials, tribulations and small victories of attempting to finish the masterpiece that is War & Peace. Track my progress, keep me accountable.

I just checked The Dud Avacado out from the library. Again with the distractions.

momentarily.

The Last House by Richard Hawkins on display in Los Angeles along with other variations of the fabled haunted house. Via NYT's Moment Blog. Seriously love it.

I want to shout from the roof tops about my Memorial Day weekend trip to Portland with Kelly and Paige, but truth be told I'm still processing everything. It was seriously amazing and left me with a lot of inspiration and longing.
Plus, Kelly's camera took the best pictures so I figure I'll wait until she finds a moment in her crazybusy schedule to upload them onto facebook, then I'll steal them and have them accompany the post.

Meanwhile,
I finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's The Lacuna. Really good, thought provoking: Frida Khalo, the startling parallels you can draw between the McCarthyism of the 50s and the outrageous accusations being made today and the most important thing about a person is always the thing you don't know.
Reading The Poisonwood Bible changed my life - or really, how I came to perceive religion. Kingsolver is just always the perfect blend of fanciful story and a punch in the gut.

I'm just not crazy about alternative radio.
I've decided this type of music, though it's my favorite, is just not radio friendly. I turn on the radio, I want something campy and oversexed, easy to run to and instantly likeable.
They're probably even playing The National (High Violet is soooo my album of the moment) and I probably wrote it off as more of the same.
I think it's because I need this type of music to wash over me, I have to immerse myself in it and hear it over and over before I'm in love.
I think Walker put it so well when he said something along the lines of: there's some music that meets you where you're at in your current moment.
Where I'm at:
Conversation 16 & Lemonworld, The National
Pretty Wings, Maxwell
Little Lion Man, Mumford & Sons - saw them perfom in Portland and also smoke by the back door. Spiritual experience + winks in Paige's direction.
Every Ryan Bingham song ever.

When I was younger I'd stare out the car window and get lost in the scenery whizzing by and feel like the world was infinite, endless, epic like Jane Austen novels and Braveheart and Apollo 13.

The other night I ran and ran and ran and ran through so many neighborhoods and it felt so good. I was really proud of myself, I didn't keep score of the miles or time or how many songs I'd listened to on my iPod, I was just infinitely running and had no desire to stop. It was one of those Elle Woods, this is so much better than that moments where you really feel like a world conqueror capable of anything.
I really hadn't felt like that in a long time - the real world really can be a little defeating and you end up accepting things as they are, only seeing closed doors, the realities of needing money, etc.
But I decided whatever I eventually end up doing with my life, I want it to empower me.
I want it to challenge me. I want it to make me feel energized. I want it to make me feel proud.
And forget continually saying and thinking eventually. I want it sooner rather than later. Life is short. Seize the moment. Etc.
It's like you have these dual personalities when your in the transit stage of life: I'm only 23! and I'm already 23!
On the flip side, maybe there is a bit of a realization that the real world really just won't quite satisfy you. That instead, people find this within themselves, in vivid imaginations, religion, loved ones...
I remember listening to Jason Reitman on NPR, he was discussing how he really made Up In The Air (excellent movie) for his wife, who had come to the conclusion that nothing in this world was really going to satisfy her professionally and the challenge of coming to accept that as a part of her life.
So maybe for me, this is domestic street running.

Oh the blog world is blissfully filled with all things summer - especially summer goals.
My summer goals: popsicle walks, sunscreen skin and swimming pools, sunkissed, sun kisses, lots of running, complete and utter use of that sweet time after 5:30pm on weekdays, maybe finally writing about those epic summer Callahan/Butcher road trips, how to dress right for work in 90 degree+ heat, late night cheese and cracker picnics when the day has finally cooled off a bit, my bike, long hair, my sisters, grapefruit juice, reading, savoring every moment of my best friend's wedding, bruce springsteen...
I am so thankful that life is so good.

okay Obama, i believe in you. and that is why i'm suggesting you focus on the following to-do list:

1. need more toothpaste.
2. pick up some flowers for Michelle, just because.
3. read the girls a bedtime story.
4. PLUG THE DAMN OIL HOLE IN THE GULF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. suit tailored.
6. don't forget dog food.
7. catch last half of game 2. go Celtics!