{Checking In}

Well, after several comments from friends and family about my lack of blogging, I finally decided it might be time to check in! It’s hard to believe we’ve already been back home in Portland for a month (as of tomorrow!). I am happy to say that my reason for not blogging isn’t just because we’ve been busy catching up with people, but also just because we’ve spent a good portion of time just being lazy and getting settled into life in Portland! Corey are I have both been back at work for a while now (took a whopping 3 days off!) and have been living between my in-laws’ house and my mama’s house. We’re currently searching for a place of our own and hoping to be out of the parent’s house by the end of the summer. But I can’t complain about living rent-free and having dinner cooked for us when we get home each night. Yeah, we’re pretty spoiled at the moment!

A lot of people have been asking if we miss Amsterdam. Mostly, I must admit we’re just happy to be home. Everything feels so familiar and comfortable. But there are certainly times my heart aches for those canals or our perfect apartment where we made such amazing memories. There will always be a big, special place in my heart for Amsterdam.

So what have we been up to? Lounging by the pool, eating lots of home-cooked meals, venturing downtown for dinner + drinks with friends, welcoming our new nephew Ryder into the world, and working on checking things off our summer to-do list. Time is flying!

I have an overwhelming amount of travel posts to blog (some even going back as far as Switzerland in December!) and I can’t wait to get back to it. I keep telling myself this week is the week I’m going to get back to blogging. And somehow it just doesn’t happen. I know I just need to make it a priority! I’ve just been having too much fun being lazy :) So bear with me… I’ll be blogging regularly again soon…

Hope you’re all doing well out there! I’ve so appreciated the few emails and comments I’ve gotten from those saying they miss my posts. It makes me feel so good, you have no idea! And a little guilty, but mostly just really good. I miss you guys and can’t wait to be a regular blogger again soon! Thanks for hanging in there with me! Below you’ll find a bunch of iPhone photos from the last month at home!

{We're Moving! + A Portland Summer List}

If you follow me on Instagram or Twitter, this is old news... But, we're moving home to Portland! We always knew we wanted to live in Amsterdam 2-3 years and somewhere along the way it just became clear that two years would be best for us for a mutltitude of reasons. I can't say enough about the experience of living abroad, especially as a carefree newlywed. We really lived it up and traveled our hearts out, and now it's time to go home. 

This is a little earlier than we were anticipating to move, but Corey got an amazing job offer back home that he would've been crazy to pass up. Luckily I was also able to land a job back home, so things have already started to fall into place. We have plenty to sort out with our move coming up in less than a month... Corey's finishing grad school this week, my in-laws arrive in Amsterdam tomorrow and I'm off to Italy next week. It's going to be a crazy few weeks, but I'm excited to soak up every last second here.

As we deal with our mixed emotions of leaving Amsterdam, we are also getting really excited to return to Portland. To get us a bit more excited, we put together a quick sumer bucket list. It's a work in progress, but so far it's looking like it's going to be one super fun summer in the Pacific Northwest! If you're familiar with the area, I'd love to know... What would you add to the list?

{1} We're planning a weekend at the Allison Inn & Spa to celebrate our 3-year wedding anniversary in August! It looks incredible and I'm so excited for a weekend of pampering in Oregon wine country!

{2} A trip to the Oregon Coast - always a summer must!

{3} A trip to the Portland Art Museum. We haven't been in ages and all our museum trips in Europe inspired us to plan a trip to our local art museum.

{4} Go to a Portland Timbers game (our local soccer team) - there's that European influence again!

{5} Go to the Organic Brewers Fest. We went a couple years ago and had so much fun, we're looking forward to going again!

{6} Visit Smith Rock State Park. We want to expand our horizons and see new places in Oregon - we're both natives and have never been to this beautiful state park. 

{7} A vist to David Hill Winery - the place we said "I do"

{8} Go to the Portland State University Farmers Market. A favorite summer weekend activity!

{9} We want to try at least 5 new restaurants in Portland. A lot of great new places have opened in the last two years and we're excited to give them a try!

{10} Attend an Oregon Zoo Summer Concert. The perfect way to enjoy a beautiful summer night.

{11} Go to Hood River - maybe go for a hike, definitely visit Double Mountain Brewery - who happen to make one of our favorite IPAs :)

{12} Participate in the Color Run on September 7th in Portland. I've heard so many fun stories about these runs around the U.S. and can't wait to finally participate in one!

Do you have a summer bucket list? I'd love to see it! Maybe I'd get some good ideas from it :)

{image credit: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 {me}, 6, 7 {me}, 8 {me}, 9, 10, 11, 12}

{Meghan + Jeff via iPhone}

I wanted to share some iPhone snaps from the wedding I was in last week. I’ll post more about the wedding when I share the “real” photos, but what I’ll say now is this wedding was a true testament to Meghan and how unbelievably creative and detail-oritented she is. This would’ve been an impressive fete to plan no matter what, but knowing she has a full-time job and a small baby at home made this even more extraordinary. I was so honored to be a part of Meghan + Jeff’s big day and couldn’t be happier for them! Can’t wait to share more!!

{Long-Haul Flight Essentials}

Greetings from Portland, lovely readers! I made it safe and sound and pretty much conquered jetlag like a champ, so no complaints here!

Over the last 14 or so months, I’ve made the trek home 5 times.  Writing that down just now I thought that couldn’t be true, that sounds like so much, but it is in fact true! Between work and weddings, Portland is constantly calling my name :) And not to brag, but I’ve become kind of a pro at this whole long-haul flight thing. Hopping on a plane for 10 hours and landing in Portland feels a little too normal nowadays.

I know that long of a trip can be intimidating if you don’t do it often, so I thought I’d share with you  a roundup of some of my favorite in-flight essentials. Hope this is helpful – and if you have any to add to the list, I’d love to hear!

1. First piece of advice -  layer up! The temperature fluctuates

throughout the flight and you want to stay comfortable. I bought this amazing wrap cardigan sweater from ASOS a few weeks back (mine's a different color) and I am not kidding, I pretty much live in it. It’s so warm and cosy and can be worn a couple different ways. It was the perfect layer on my flight over!

2. I invested in some wool socks from J.Crew last year and I am still singing their praises. On long flights I like to get rid of my shoes (stinky footers, please refrain!) and switch them out for a cozy pair of wool socks. They keep my feet warm and then I feel more comfortable throughout the flight.

3. This L'Occitane Lavender Hand Cream is incredible. The cream feels so luxurious and hydrating and the lavender scent is extremely soothing. The soap and water on the plane dries out my hands so I like to have this lotion with me to counteract!

4. I never used an eyemask until I got one on my first business class flight over to Amsterdam a few years ago for work. Now, they are an in-flight essential for me! I have to sleep in complete pitch black, so my mask helps block out the tv screen lights coming from my seat mates next to me. You should try it!

5. I swear by this Kiehl’s lip balm. I carry it with me everywhere I go. And just like my hands, my lips feel super dehydrated after a few hours on a plane, so I keep this lip balm on hand to soothe them!

6. Noise cancelling headphones – such a luxury, I know. A couple years ago I had no idea what to get Corey for his birthday, so I decided to splurge and get him a pair of Bose Noise Cancelling headphones. After using his a couple times and loving them, he sweetly gifted me with a pair of my own (mine are Able Planet brand). I never fly without them!

7. The number one thing I do on flights to keep myself feeling good – especially when I land after 10 hours – is drink a ton of water. Sipping that free wine or beer on the long haul flight is so tempting, but after learning the hard way (landing totally dehydrated making my jetlag 10 times worse) I now sip on sparkling water with a lime the entire flight instead (Picture: Lifefactory Water Bottle).

8. Miss Sarah Tucker turned me on to the J.Crew Pixie Pant last year and I have to echo her love for them. They are sturdy enough to not look like scrubby leggings, but stretchy enough to be super comfortable. They are pretty much the perfect travel pant! 

So there they are - some of my favorite long-haul flight essentials. Do you have any you swear by?

P.S. Check out my awesome new sponsors on the right! And if you're interested in joining the club, shoot me an email, I'm still running a special on ad spaces! exploredreamdiscoverblog {at} gmail {dot} com

{Portland Love}

Things have been so crazy around here that I nearly forgot I am heading back to Portland tomorrow! I am going back to be in this pretty lady's wedding! I can't wait! So in honor of my trek across the ocean - here are a few of my favorite things about home - all snapped on our trip back in August. 

{Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}

{Libby + Scott 8.25.2012}

Wow. Before I get into today’s post I just want to say a huge thank you for all of your incredibly kind and encouraging words yesterday. I was this close to not publishing that post because it was so personal and made me feel very vulnerable. It made me realize (yet again) what an incredible community of friends I have made through this blog. I truly can’t thank you enough for taking the time to read my rambling and respond back such thoughtful remarks. It means the world.

Although I’m still not 100% out of my funk I am already starting to feel a lot better today (thanks in large part to your wonderful comments & emails and also to a good nights rest). I’d love to share with you some photos I took at my good friend Libby’s wedding. It’s the main reason I was home (I was a bridesmaid and wouldn’t miss it for the world!) and it was such a ridiculously beautiful, genuine and special day. Since I was in the wedding I didn’t get the chance to take as many photos as I would’ve liked, but of course I snapped a few! Hope you enjoy them.

  {Photos ©  Liz Denfeld}