Heading to Georgia to visit my family. We'll be back in a week. xo

So here we are. Almost the end of another year. Another year older (almost). And we're both doing well, happy as ever and well, not as happy as this one girl that we know (she reminds me of, click here) but at least we're keeping it real. ;). What I'm looking forward to is hanging out with my family and showing Steven my old stomping ground(s). Oh and if you don't know this yet head over to Sephora and get your free birthday gift - a bottle of vanilla birthday cake shower gel from Philosophy. I got mine!

What am I thankful for? 2011 turned out to be a stellar year for us.

Previous years, click here. Here are my highlights from 2011:
January - things started off a bit rough with a wound on my back.
February - only went south from there when I suffered from really bad heel blisters after a grand day out snowshoeing. It took over a month to recover from it.
March - and then I had to work on my attitude.
April - checked out Float On, felt so relaxed afterwards.
May - scored a free pair of Keen shoes, toured Steven's brother Gareth around and wrote a little something about us
June - finally got a fancy schmancy camera!
July - camping trip at memaloose state park and took photos of my friends getting married in Pacific City.
August - took a few day trips, got a dog and moved out of the ghetto!
September - new apartment life! Amy visited me too!
October - hosted our house warming party, got a second dog and second time around being an aunt.
November - so far so good... took Steven's Papa out on the river kayaking, ate at Pine State Biscuits, SoHo, Clyde Common, a jazz show at the Mission theater & pub and checked out the Bodyworks & brain exhibit at OMSI.
December - Coming soon, next week to be exact, traveling back home to visit my family! Traveling back to P-town on my birthday!

We kayaked the Willamette and dined at Pine State Biscuits...

Photo taken about 3 years ago, location Ace Hotel lobby, off to the right is the photobooth.

Two nights ago, that was a Wednesday night, we all took in a few drinks at Clyde Common followed by a hop and a scotch over to the Ace Hotel where there is a photobooth. Always a challenge when there are more than 4 people in a shot we somehow managed to still capture some funny moments on film. I was lucky enough to be given tickets to go see Miguel Zenon at the Mission Theater and Pub. The guy is a pretty darn good jazz musician. It's Friday now... can I get a nap in here somewhere please? I mean really.

Steven's Papa arrived last night. The night was full of conversation and our tummies were full of spaghetti bolognese. He surprised us all (Steven, Steven's brother and girlfriend and I) with these super cute toy birds. Click here for my little cute don king look-a-like bird. By the end of the evening the what-ever-is-going-around bug made it easy for me to fall into a sweet slumber. And without further ado, I present to you what my nights are like here in Portland, Oregon (courtesy of Portland Nights - A Time-Lapse Project). See if you can find the building I work in.

I get much of my inspiration (or whatever you want to call it) from a woman's blog who simply blurts out exactly what is on her mind. All very interesting, she has no fear (in sharing), no shame, and has a great sense of humor when describing everything that she comes into contact with. I'd like to think that here on Freckled. Girl. Talk. that you might find a chuckle or two but I am definitely not one of those people who like to share (on this blog) my problems. If I've learned anything so far it is just to keep quiet and discuss them with loved ones. HOWEVER, when I find myself plugged into her blog I feel at ease knowing that we all have issues to deal with; some like to dish it all out and then there are bloggers like me that want to just talk about the beauty in life. The last few weeks for me have been a working progress towards finding inner peace in a world that I struggle with yet always conquer in the end. I know, I know super vague but man, if I could only go on like that one woman's blog does, I'd probably be just like her, the No. 1 woman blogger in the world. Yeah, yeah, I joke but that is what, to me, makes her and me different. It all boils down to how much of your life do you want to expose?

"The orchid is a flower of magnificence that brings a universal message of love, beauty, wisdom, and thoughtfulness." I gave this orchid to Steven last week. :D

So what's been on my mind? I'm about to turn to 38. Can anyone please tell me how a 38 year old is suppose to act? Haha. I suppose I'll keep on trucking the way I've been doing all this time. Seems to have worked out so far. I went ahead and bought myself a Timbuk2 bag and this rose ring from Flora in celebration of turning 38. Check out Flora's site and enter your name so you can win something of theirs. About to take off for Powell's bookstore with Steven and then later on to meet up with some friends at Alibi.

All I can think about is that I'm gonna get a good amount of relaxation in over the weekend.

Post more soon once I'm feeling all refreshed...

Instead of celebrating all things Halloween this year we took a different approach and decided to treat ourselves to some necessary upgrades. The trick was figuring out how to get all the wires connected and plugged in just right. The above is what I like to call our very own Dr. Claw setup. And let me tell you something I have fallen absolutely in love with our AppleTV. As Jill Scott sings, I'm living my life like its golden, golden.

Just Golden. No Drama. No fuss. Nothing.