Flower Arrangement of the Month: June

I raided Sarah's garden to make a flower arrangement for June. 

But the peonies begged me to make a second.

And the spray roses and lavender called for a third. Oh how I miss these sort of English Garden plants! They all have such a lovely fragrance that I find mostly absent in the tropical flowers of my adopted Hawaiian home.

Do you have a garden? What's blooming in your neighborhood?

Visiting Eugene Oregon: Part III

Take your friend shopping. Nowhere fancy. T.J Maxx will do. She hasn't had the luxury of trying clothes on in a fitting room in years. (Toddler wrangling makes it tough.) Try on silly hats. Giggle a lot. Help her choose a stylish new fedora. Find a pair of swimsuits perfect for her post baby body. (And a cool one for yourself too!) Later, lie out in the sun in the backyard in those perfect new swimsuits and read for an hour or two while the babies sleep. 

 Finish your stop in Eugene with a visit to the excellent Morning Glory Cafe which has a splendid menu of vegetarian and vegan fare.

Admire the oil cloth upholstered booths, the light fixtures made from upcycled salad bowls, the amazing bakery case stocked with a selection of vegan baked goods studded with pumpkin seeds, quinoa, glazed with icing and apricots all shining like jewels. Check out the wait staff too. Dread locks, turbans and hemp never looked so cool. You will be impressed with the extraordinary quality and flavor of the locally sourced food and I promise, you won't even think about missing the meat.

Get up close and personal with the textile artwork of Mari Livie, a talented and passionate Eugene artist. Marvel at the intricate detail and warmth she pours into each hand stitched canvas. Make a mental note to arrange a studio tour with her on your next visit.

Then, grab your suitcase and stroll across the street to the train depot. It seems unchanged by time- inside is all wood floors and glowing oak pews that call up Grand Central Station on a tiny scale. The train will take you to Portland... eventually. 

Don't count on Amtrak to be on time, the journey from Eugene to Portland is just one hour by car, but took me about three via train. Enjoy the journey anyway. You aren't in a hurry, after all. 

Watch the fields roll by, they are green and lush with the first days of summer. Spot clumps of grazing cows, and a field full of freshly shorn sheep resting in the grass. See people sitting on the steps of their trailers, having a smoke. There are so many tiny, ramshackle towns in this giant country of ours. Pass over meandering streams. Get there when you get there, and be thankful of the ride. 

Visiting Eugene, Oregon: A Rough Itinerary Part II

Go to the park with your friend and her babies. This is a nice one. Watch the kids in swimsuits playing in the water on a chilly, overcast day while the grown ups looking after them are bundled in sweatshirts and scarves and marvel at the magical power of a water fountain.

Amble down a side street and admire people's gardens. Consider planting your lawn all in poppies and giving up mowing forever.

Pick a colander full of strawberries from Sarah's marvelous garden. Eat as many as you put in the bowl. Lie in the sunshine in the grass.

Watch your dear friend sharing her love of life with her baby girl.

Rock baby Charlie to sleep. Smell his little baby smell and feel his heavy little head on your arm. Fall crazy in love with him.  

Then take Greg up on his offer to babysit, hop in the car with Sarah and sneak off to Tuesday Boozeday at the Vintage. Have some delicious cocktails laced with homemade herbal and floral infused liqueurs. (They are lined up on the bar in a row of beautiful glass apothecary jars. Lovely.) Have a crepe stuffed with veggies and gooey cheese. Have another cocktail. Why not? They're half off on Tuesdays and you know you want to taste everything this world has to offer you. 

Visiting Eugene Oregon: A Rough Itinerary

My first trip on my summer adventure was Eugene, Oregon. My best friend Sarah has just had her second baby and I wanted to see more of her life. Eugene is a great place for people who love the outdoors. Her husband Greg is an avid cyclist and disc golfer, and their whole family loves to hike in the mountains and valleys of their adopted home. 

One of our first stops was Riverplay Discovery Park  where Norah enjoyed some playtime in the mud puddles. This gigantic park features an old fashioned Western town scaled to kid size, complete with a stagecoach. There is also a mini river and water mill that kept the kids busy as beavers damming things and then watching it all overflow. A giant jungle gym done up to look like an amazing fort in the forest is the topper.  The park is obviously a favorite with families in Eugene, though Sarah says she will enjoy it more when Norah is older. It's so huge (and popular!) it can be difficult to keep tabs on a toddler. 

We popped in for lunch at The Hideaway, a bakery tucked into a chalet style building on a corner and featuring a wood burning oven and some serious baked goods. 

I enjoyed a grilled ham and gruyere sandwich with a pop of mustard, a perfectly made latte and a molasses cookie. Sarah had the tempeh salad which was a glorious riot of colors full of shredded purple cabbage, carrots, mixed greens and all doused with a delicious cashew sauce.

One of Norah's friends came over for a princess dance party (Can you guess which Abba song was the favorite?) and a good look at baby Charlie.

Our evenings were pretty quiet once the kiddos were asleep. Most nights Sarah and I popped open a bottle of wine (or a bottle of port!) and sat talking well into the night. It's a special thing to see an old friend settling so contentedly into motherhood, marriage, life as an adult. I could tell by the quiet, calm way she manages her home and her two kids that she is enjoying each moment of watching them grow.

We did manage a few more highlights in Eugene, and I'm looking forward to sharing them with you. Oregon was a great way to start off this trip.