let the games begin

the olympics are amazing. 
the way the world comes together to celebrate athleticism and good sportsmanship is impressive, and downright inspiring.   and personally, i will always remember attending a cycling event with my dad when the olympics came to los angeles in 1984, and holding my newborn twins as we watched beijing from our couch in 2008.  yeah, i get a little emosh about the olympics.
so of course, i watched the (very theatrical!) opening ceremonies and the parade of nations the other night.  i'll admit it, there were even a couple countries that i'm not sure that i've heard of before, and quite a few more that i'd be hard pressed to place on a map.  but all that aside, from albania to zimbabwe, i watched them all, and did what everyone does- critiqued their olympic fashion!
here are my standouts, in no particular order:

 finland- don't understand the "zebra stripes" as my daughter called them, but i likey

sweden rocking the national colors in bold stripes and lookin' fresh

 love the green and yellow minis on the brazilian girls

 the polish team went a different direction with their poppy dresses- cool symbolism for the games

kazakhstan with the all-over logo print- visors, messenger bags, aviators and all- my #1 favorite!!

spain bordering on flight attendant, but still so cute in that yellow

and did you notice that team USA isn't on my list?  sorry, ralph, but your boring, psuedo-military uniforms are lame.  berets?  seriously?

and in case you are all fired up about this like i obviously am, here is a look at our team through the years, and here is a fun rundown of this year's looks.

i guess on kobe, the hat kind of makes sense...?!

that's more like it

tennis whites

though i'm not a great player, i really love tennis.  besides that the game is so fun that you forget you are exercising, i love that mini skirts are strongly encouraged as appropriate attire.
i was flipping through my new VF today, and saw this new, modern/elegant line of tennis duds designed by two fabulous moms. 
love-love, indeed!

summer staycation

on friday night g and i took advantage of the inlaws here in town to sneak away for a night...

 we stayed at the fabulously-updated hotel monaco- i loved everything about our room!

 refreshments at one of our old spots

 

a quick pose in front of our wedding reception site

 

sand in the city

we got down on our way to the concert

 

our first zoo show

 

sold out crowd

the head and the heart was amazing!

our name in lights

this two-foot-tall beauty is pretty high on my wish list right now...

my own way too much portland

if you live here, have ever visited, or even are just curious about this crazy little city, you should totally stop by way too much portland.  there are some real gems there, and it's updated frequently.
here are a few of my "way too much" moments- all were taken within about 10 minutes of each other on a drive across town. 

keep portland weird!  :)

sans stylist & trainer?

love these fabulously photoshopped celebrity  photos!

 kimye

 scarlett

gweneth

 see more here...

better-late-than-never-agram

 i think instagram is really cool.
i also love facebook, texting, emailing, blogging (duh), pinterest, and completely un-cyber real life stuff, too, like reading books and hanging out with my peeps.
anyway, just thought you should know that i finally decided to saddle up to the bar and instagram.  so follow me!
i'm hvkportland
who knows, maybe tweeting is next?!

riding DRT

 check out these legs

remember when i decided that i was going to learn to mountain bike this year?
today i rode the deschutes river trail for the first time, and it was so fun!  the scenery is gorgeous- how could riding alongside a rushing river and lava rock be a bad thing? and i got to have some alone time with my #1 dude.  so sweet.
and i have to say i felt so legit riding through the rain with all that mud on my legs.  really puts the dirty in the DRT, no?

el vee dot com

my fabulous sister just launched her new website.  check it!

lucky #7

seven years ago, and we love each other and this city as much as ever...

la maquina nueva

my old G5 is nine years old, and needed to be put out of it's misery. 
i am so not worthy of this beauty! 

chicago phone shots

i am still working on the images that i took in chicago with my "real" camera, but i couldn't resist posting a few of the fun things that i saw along the way, and captured with the iphone...

 downtown at night was vibrant and gorgeous!

 love the light up public art

my hosts are so cute

 

right?!

 big star is my chicago porque no

 hot-sun-patio-lunch at big star in wicker park

fancy drinks and food in the west loop

plate & pitchfork

the farm that we buy our fancy eggs from was hosting plate & pitchfork dinners this weekend, and i won a pair of tickets!  g and i have always wanted to go, and the experience did not disappoint.  as we drove to champoeg farm, the skies cleared, the sun came out, and we were positively giddy!  we walked up to the tents where people were already gathered, got a glass of wine, ate a few delicious apps, and then refilled our glasses for a walking tour of the farm.  it was really cool to be out there with our chickens, and the farmer who raises them.
after our walk, we sat down to a fabulous meal that was being prepared under another tent just a few feet away from us by two of portland's top chefs.  throughout the meal, different people spoke to us about the food that they had so lovingly grown/raised that we were eating at the meal.  the entire experience was so very portlandia, and it was so amazing!
we ate our dessert by the light of the moon, then drove home full and happy.  i know we will be back for another plate & pitchfork next summer!

we ate under the white tent

"our" chickens and their house

farmer mark & one of his pigs

 piglets

 the chefs & their kitchen

 rabbit with cherries and dandelion- best course of the meal, by far!

 perfect pasta with smoked salmon and nasturtiums