The Best Food Trucks in Portland

There are hundreds of food trucks to choose from in Portland, narrowing down your options is the hard part. Portland is world-renowned as a popular food destination, mostly because of it's large food cart and food trucks offerings. After my wildly popular Best Food Trucks in Seattle post, I thought I'd follow it up with a post on the best food trucks in Portland. Here are a few of my top picks.

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Easy Hair Scrunchie Sewing Tutorial

So, part of me has died a little inside knowing that half of my adolescence is now coming back into fashion. I went shopping with my daughter and I'm grabbing clothing item after clothing item and thinking, I had something like this when I was your age. Geez. Why did I not keep it all??? And why do they have to be looking for this elusive white wash "mom" jean? Please baby Jesus come save us all! But first, let's make a super easy hair scrunchie because if we are going out, we are going out with a coordinating hair tie in holding our messy bun in place! I actually learned how to sew by making hair scrunchies. I can't even count how many I made, but dozens upon dozens. It's funny, how years later, I can still remember how. It's why I'm teaching you my dear friends, because we all need life skills and if sewing your own hair scrunchie doesn't do it, I'm not sure what will!

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Spend a Weekend in Seattle

I didn't grow up in a tourist destination. No one was coming to visit my town on purpose for vacation. It's still a little strange to me to live somewhere that people intentionally come to. I can see why. Seattle is a beautiful area and its got a little bit of everything from water to mountains and everything in between. Our summers are the absolute best! If you want to escape the insane heat of some of the other great states, Seattle's mild weather will be a welcome relief. And it's safe to say that the rain will stop for most of the summer leaving beautiful blue skies so you can enjoy the outdoors or the indoors and not be limited by running between the raindrops, though we've got you covered if that happens too! I've got everything you need to know so you can spend a weekend in Seattle.

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Painted Wooden Hanging Plant Stand with Chalkboard

I love a good hanging basket but I have one problem. Every year I kill the ones I buy. They hang up so high that I usually forget to water them because out of sight, out of mind. Also, I'm never quite sure how much sun or shade a plant gets so it's usually trial and error. But I got to thinking, hanging baskets are so pretty and when they hang you kind of miss like 50% of the flowers and plants inside because you just can't see them. So, why not move them down to a plant stand? I saw one of these wooden hanging plant stands at a home last year while I was going to garage sales and I thought it was genius. So come see how I made it my own and now I have this painted wooden hanging plant stand on my front porch to enjoy all 100% of the plant. Now here's hoping I keep it watered so it stays alive!

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The Best Food Trucks in Seattle

It all started with the ice cream truck. Somewhere along the line, the ice cream truck evolved into the food truck and people started buying gourmet cuisine from the side of a truck. Totally normal. Everyone's doing it. In fact. there is even sometimes a social media hunt to find out what neighborhood your favorite food truck will be in. Seattle has some of the best food trucks in the Pacific Northwest. Heck, Seattle has some of the best food in general, so come hunt down some of the best food trucks in Seattle with me.

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The No Stress Guide to Preparing for Your Tropical Vacation

Sometimes you need a vacation from planning to leave for your vacation! It's a lot of work! Getting ready to leave home for any amount of time can be a little stressful, so why not ease the stress a bit and make sure you plan ahead with these easy steps so that you can not only be prepared to leave for your trip ready to unwind but that you can come home to an organized clean house ready to welcome you back to the harsh reality of life again. 

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Packing Smart and Traveling Light: A Vacation Pro's Tips on How to Pack

Disclosure: I've partnered with Stitch Fix to bring you this post. All opinions are 100% my own. I wouldn't share them with you if I didn't love them!
Have you ever unpacked after a trip and then looked at your what you brought and been like, I didn't even use half of what I packed?! Yep. I've been there. I like to pack light. I didn't start out that way, I just kind of fell into it. I realized that when I was packing I was bringing so many things I wasn't using, so through the years I've streamlined what I bring with me on a vacation or trip and am able to pack smart for all my needs, but also travel light too. I've got all my pro tips on how you can do just that too! Maybe you already pack light but are open to learning a thing or two, either way, read on!

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The Many Benefits of Family Travel

Some of the best family memories surround adventures that take place during a family vacation. For a moment during the course of our busy lives, we are frozen in time so to speak, taking in all the majestic sights and enjoying amazing activities with each other. These memories of a family vacation bring a sense of togetherness and absolute joy and create lifetime conversations because of shared experiences.

These days many parents are choosing to take their family on vacation in the place of traditional gifts over the holidays or for birthdays. Family travel can be extremely beneficial for every member of the family, having everyone come back with a new memory to look back on and experiences to treasure.

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8 Skin Care Essentials You Need in Your 40's

This post is brought to you by USANA. All opinions are 100% my own. I wouldn't share anything with you if I didn't love it. Promise.
It's a big year for me. I'm turning 40. I've spent a lot of my adulthood putting other things in front of my skin care routine. I've been busy raising {and now launching} kids, volunteering in my community and starting my own business. All of life is hitting me as I enter into {dare I say it?} middle age. What was something I once neglected because I didn't think I had the time, {or maybe I thought I had plenty of time,} has left me without much of a skin care routine in place. I used to get away with the basics like using a daily moisturizer, maybe you did too, but I'm finding as women claw deeper into adulthood, those basics just aren't cutting it anymore. Which is why I put together 8 skin care essentials you need in your 40's. 

I've been working my way into a good skin care routine with all eight of these in the past few months, and I've noticed a definite difference in the way my skin looks. Heck, I even spend more days going without makeup now than I did when I was in my twenties. We've seen a lot of life my friends and our skin has been exposed to a lot of things, but not to worry, it's not too late to get started! Those of us with more {ahem} experienced skin, just need to have a multi-faceted approach to our skin care routine. I think I've got all the secrets so you are covered!

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25 Delicious Mojitos to Make this Summer

When you talk about a summer drink, most peoples first thought is a margarita or a daiquiri, but a mojito has long been a warm weather drink. It's clean and simple and an easy cocktail to make and customize. No need to stick with the classic mojito when there are so many amazing options to choose from. I've got 25 delicious mojito recipes you need to make this summer. Think you can challenge yourself and make all 25?

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How to Plan the Perfect Beach Picnic

Thank you to the Chinet^® brand for sponsoring this post.

I didn't grow up around the water so I definitely don't forget how lucky I am to live near the beach. When the weather is warmer I try to spend as much time as possible around the water. The views never get old! One of my favorite things to do is to bring a picnic down to the beach and enjoy a meal with some of my favorite people with the best view around. I've got a few friends who love the beach as much as I do, and it's not uncommon for us to give each other a call, clean out our refrigerators and meet in under an hour to share whatever food we have found in our home.

Click the above image to shop!
I love the planned trips to the beach too, which is why I'm sharing with you tips on how you can plan the perfect beach picnic. Not all picnic supplies are created equal, and I've tried a lot of products, which is why I'm excited to share with you my favorite Chinet® Classic White™ products because no beach picnic is the same without them. As long as you have them in stock all summer in your pantry or picnic basket, you will be ready for a picnic just about any time!

 

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How to Repair Your Own Refrigerator and Save a Service Call

Last weekend, I received a text from my husband telling me that our fridge was no longer working. He said the ice was melting in the ice drawer and the temperature was climbing in the refrigerator. I'm kind of old school in thinking that you should do your best to work with what you have. And that even means, repairing before replacing if at all possible. Thankfully, my husband is pretty handy and was willing to try a few things before we made a service call. I've got a few simple fixes for some common refrigerator problems so you can save yourself the money of a repair call. 

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Exploring Seattle Like a Local-20 Places to Visit Downtown

I'm a Midwest transplant living in the greater Seattle area now for nearly two decades. I love the beauty of our area. We have water, mountains and lush greenery surrounding us. You combine all of those together and you create the trifecta for exploration! One of my favorite things to do is to get lost in the city. I head into Seattle and never do the same thing twice, which is why this list of 20 places to visit downtown Seattle will have you exploring the city like a local. You won't find Pike Place Market on the list, though that's worth a visit, but everyone knows that! This is all about those hidden gems you may not have added to your list. Are you ready to explore?

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