getting away: olympic peninsula

Spring is here people! Although the weather can be a little unpredictable this time of year, it can't stop me from exploring new places and new adventures! A few weekends ago my friends and I took a trip to the Olympic Peninsula. I had heard it was really beautiful with plenty to do and see, so I was so excited when my friends suggested getting a cabin there for the weekend. The trip was a little bittersweet though, since it was a final hurrah for my bestie Loc (check out his blog+awesome photos from the trip!) who just moved to NYC last week. We lucked out with amazing weather! So sunny and warm, we were running around in our swimsuits! It was so nice out I couldn't help taking hella photos. I absolutely loved it out there, Miles and I will definitely be planning a camping trip there this summer! Enjoy the photos, xoxo whit.

our morning view from the cabin

miles and me tide-poolin'

i ♥ barnacles

dungeness spitin' game

 friendship tattoos with loc, my love

miles and his pentax

bloody marys+kerry in a leopard print one piece

 proof of sun from the cabin deck

forever besties

miles making a run for it

i see you little guy

i was really into this nature made camo print

getting away: cape disappointment

A few weekends back, my friends and I took a short trip to Cape Disappointment State Park located in the very southwest corner of Washington State. Spoiler alert...it was absolutely gorgeous! The Pacific Northwest is so beautiful it kills me sometimes. Luckily not really though, so I got to spend the weekend hiking around to beautiful beaches and checking out super old, super haunted light houses. We stayed in a yurt (since March in the PNW means freezing rain + tank top weather + freezing rain again) and didn't even bother pitching tents. Totes worth it, since a yurt that sleeps 5 is much easier for drinking and card games. I highly recommend the trip! See for yourself and check out the photos below! xoxo, whit

getting away: doe bay resort, orcas island

A few weeks ago, Miles and I took a wonderful little weekend trip with our friends William and Brittany to Orcas Island in the San Juans. We went to Doe Bay Fest last summer and had the most amazing time (see some really great photos from the festival here!), we had to make the journey to Doe Bay Resort to purchase tickets for this year's festival. It was a bit strange being at Doe Bay without mass amounts of music lovers and festival goers, but refreshing at the same time. We lucked out with beautiful weather Friday afternoon and got to the resort in time to catch a ridiculously gorgeous sunset. We had rainy weather for the rest of our trip but made the best of it with delicious meals at Doe Bay Cafe, yoga classes, reading and plenty of time in the resort's hot tubs! This was only my second time visiting Orcas Island, and I hope to make it to the rest of the San Juan Islands sometime very soon. It really is magical out there, the scenery is like something out of a storybook.
Here are a few photos from the ferry ride over and our time at the resort. Enjoy! -whit

weekend snapshots: a visit to pdx + seattle snow!

This past weekend was awesome for many reasons. Reason number one: Portland. I LOVE PORTLAND. So when Miles asked if I could take Friday off work to head down to see his band, the Torn ACLs, play at the Big Ass Boombox Pop Festival, my answer was a simple yet effective "duh." I had so much fun at their show, they sounded great and I danced my butt off (not true, it's still there)! Besides the show, the highlight of my trip was seeing my wonderful and supper funny friend Megan and romping around the Alberta neighborhood, my favorite place in all of Portland. Here are some photos I took of my favorite places to shop on Alberta Street, plus a few shots of me and Megan just for fun.

Billy Goat Vintage is my favorite vintage spot in PDX. They have beautiful clothes for reasonable prices plus super cute decorations! I tend to work up an appetite when I shop so Miles and I always have to stop at Alberta Co-Op Grocery Store for fresh local produce, baked goods and yummy local coffee. Lastly, Miles' favorite spot (and one of mine!) on Alberta is definitely Ampersand. They have a beautiful, open, design-y type store with vintage and modern books, photographs, prints and local art. Not to mention a ton of vintage post cards, my personal weakness. I had to have this postcard with hungry little Kodiak Bear Cubs on it! Anyways, reason number two this weekend was awesome: Seattle Snow!

I was born and raised in the sunny, dry Central Valley of California. So, any time there is snow I FREAK OUT. I love the snow! Not in a "hey brah, heard there's some fresh pow pow let's hit the slopes" sort of way, but in a "want to grab some hot cocoa, spike it with booze, and then walk around in our cute hats and mittens?!" sort of way. I was so excited we got back from our Portland adventure early enough to enjoy a lazy, snowy Sunday in Seattle. It doesn't snow a lot here, so when it does Seattlelites relish in it and take full advantage of a blanket white cityscape. Makeshift cardboard sleds, ironic hipster snowmen in the park, an excuse to drink warm alcoholic beverages in the middle of the day. These are just a few reasons I love Seattle snow days. All in all, it was a great weekend.

a dog photo shoot with breanna carin!

  photos by breanna carin photography

A few weeks ago I took a trip to the Bay Area to visit with my wonderful friends Breanna and Jamie. I have known both of them for years and they are both so fun and incredibly talented. Case in point, Breanna of Breanna Carin Photography flew up to Berkley to take these adorable photos of Jamie's dog, Roxy! We've known the lovely Roxy since 7th grade and I assure you, she has always been this cute. Breanna did a great job capturing her essence, no?

1. Jamie and Chris, our super cute hosts 2.Breanna snapping a photo of Roxy 3. Jamie getting Roxy's attention with treats 4. Look at that face!

While assisting with the dog photoshoot (true story) I snapped a few photos of my own with my iPhone. Roxy was such a good model! The fact that we were feeding her doggie treats all day probably helped. The photos turned out great. Breanna is so damn talented with that camera, it kills me! See for yourself, check out her photo blog here!

getting away: smith rock

Since I am playing a little bit of catch up here, I thought I would share some photos from an amazing trip I took with Miles and some friends in October. Miles and I have taken up rock climbing in the last year (he is much better at it than I am) and some of our climber-type friends invited us to Smith Rock, a beautiful state park in Oregon's high desert. This was my first time climbing outside of the gym and on some real rocks, so I was a little nervous, but luckily I have amazing and patient friends that were along for the adventure with me.

Aside from Smith Rock being a rock climbing and hiking hot spot, it was incredibly beautiful. We lucked out with amazing weather and got to take in breathtaking views of the park and the surrounding rural towns. Maybe it's the holiday spirit creeping up on me, but looking through these photos reminded me of how thankful I am to live in the Northwest. So many beautiful places to visit that are just a short road trip away. Not to mention how thankful I am to have great people to share those trips with. Doesn't get much better than that, folks. Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!