i left my heart in brooklyn

I may be obsessed with New York, but I think my obsession for Brooklyn is greater. It could be because we hit the borough on the most beautiful 67 degree day in February, or that I was with my closest lady friends, or because it has some of the cutest places I have ever seen. For any one of these reasons, I'm obsessed and a morning here could never be enough. As we walked the streets we talked about how we have to come back just for a trip in Brooklyn. It would take days to tackle everything we wanted to do. We were able to hit some high priority spots like Woops! Bakeshop (looking for macaroons? Head here!) and Loosie's Kitchen (looking for the most delicious Nutella beignets? This is the place.) but guys, there's really so much more. 

the perfect cabin

The model cabin resides in Hood River. The tucked away location, the all white design, the ability to slow down time-- all make this dream perfection.  When the thought of birthday gifts with Megan came up this year, this place was it. We arrived and all we could say was, "oh my gosh, so cute. It's perfect" over and over. There is no wifi or TV, which allows you to really escape. By Saturday afternoon, we really discovered the magic of this place. We were ready to set up dinner until we noticed it was still only 3pm! If you're looking for a nice weekend away, this place is it. 

a birthday well spent

Visiting Crater Lake has always been on my bucket list, and since my birthday fell on Labor Day this year, I thought what better way to spend the long weekend!? It was seriously the best birthday I think I've had, even though we were road tripping back home for the majority of my actual birthday. We set up tent at Diamond Lake which is about 20 minutes away from Crater, and let me tell you, the campsite views were just as grand. We were surrounded by trees the whole weekend and could see the entire night sky at night. This is definitely a weekend I'll always remember and I can't wait to plan the next birthday destination.

Those clear blue waters though.

Us girls conquered another National Park together! We took on the Grand Canyon together as well.

My babe, the captain.

Rooney was happy too.

So the wind wasn't our favorite, and neither were the freezing nights.

Those tree views!

If I thought Crater Lake couldn't get any better, it did. Steph, Megan and I headed back to watch the sunset, and I'm sure happy we did. 

conservatories

Can we all just agree that there needs to be more conservatories? Check out this beaut! I headed to Seattle just for the day last weekend to check out the Volunteer Park Conservatory, among other things. I'm so lucky my dad agreed to hang out with me for the day so that I didn't have to venture around the city alone. The $4 fee to get in and wander was well worth the views:

please note that my dad is the ultimate "dad" check out that dad outfit

spontaneity

I usually wouldn't consider myself the spontaneous type, as I am more of a planner. However, this weekend that may have all changed. As the Portland heat crept in and hit the 100's this past weekend, I needed an escape. We were sitting in houses without air conditioning throughout the day and slowly soaking through our clothes. I couldn't even pretend sitting on the couch was satisfying. Then I mentioned the beach to Erik as he quickly shut me down. Understandable considering it was 3 in the afternoon. I sulked on the hardwood floor. About half an hour later in a moment of silence, he murmured "the beach house is available." I jumped for joy as he informed me I had 10 minutes to grab my things. I'm not sure I would have survived this weekend if we hadn't headed west. As we drove back into town on Sunday and slowly watched the thermometer rise, all we wanted to do was turn around. Thank you for being spontaneous with me, Erik.  

cape perpetua

"Yachats, Oregon, what's that?" A question I was often asked after I mentioned to people that's where we were headed for our weekend getaway. A place I had no idea about until one weekend at the coast, Erik and I drove south down 101 and through Cape Perpetua. This beautiful cape is the reasoning for our trip to Yachats, Oregon. Well, besides the A-frame cabin. This cape is where we spent our Saturday morning, and this view is how we decided which hike we'd take. If you've never had the chance to see this part of the coast, it's a must. I still need to head back, as we couldn't see everything in the short weekend. So much green.