Portland: Lan Su Chinese Garden

"It’s 16th century China, and you’re standing in the entry courtyard of the private home and garden of a wealthy family. The garden around you is their spiritual utopia, a peaceful and soothing place designed to help them escape the problems of everyday life and discover their true selves by connecting with nature." This description you'll find at the website of the Lan Su Garden in Portland, Oregon. And a very similar description you'll hear when you take a guided tour (free with your tickets to the garden). I've only visited this magical place twice, once in the middle of Winter when the persimmon tree was covered with bright "lanterns" - its fruit. And another time just two weeks ago, in early Spring, when magnolia, camellia and many other trees and bushes, the names of which I don't even know, offered their splendid blooms.

Lucid Dream

Yesterday, I took my family to listen to a lecture by one of the leading thinkers of our time, bestselling author Deepak Chopra. I have just finished his free 21-day meditation course which he offers in collaboration with Oprah Winfrey, and this was my second time meditating with them. (If you're interested, you can find more information and sign up for a newsletter HERE.) I really enjoyed this experience, so when I learned that Deepak would be in my American hometown Tacoma, I bought three tickets for my whole family to attend. (His next events would be in Zurich, Switzerland; Hamburg, Germany; Prague, Czech Republic; Eugene, Oregon; Paris, France; London, UK; Amsterdam, Netherlands and São Paulo, Brazil - an impressive international list.) It was a week night, so of course everyone was tired - really, it's hard to make it after a long day and in the middle of a busy week, and Anya even fell asleep a couple of times during the lecture, but at the end we all were happy that we made it - we felt uplifted, energized, and in the long run we all benefited from this event.

Portland: Bread and Bridges

Eats and paths, what can be more essential than that? Especially when it comes to travel. In today's post, I'm taking you on a little getaway to Portland, Oregon, where we spent a couple of days of our family Spring break. We will explore some Portland paths (a.k.a. Bridges) as well as learn about local eats (a.k.a. Bread), and my hope is that we will discover some of the elements that make Portland Portland. Of course, it's only a brief glance, and I hope it'll be interesting to those of you who have never been there and might plan a trip in the future. With Portland being only 2.5 hours from our home, it's surprising that we don't visit more often. Justin and I were there last time 5 years ago during my parents' stay, and for Anya it was her first trip. 

Modish Matrons #22: No Matter the Weather

Happy Easter and welcome to Modish Matrons, 

the party where my dear friends TINA und BEATE and myself get together to celebrate style and creativity! Each month, one of us offers a theme, and April was Tina's turn. "No Matter the Weather," said Tina, leaving it wide open to interpretations. "Hmm," said I and scratched my head trying to find a focus for my outfit.

Searching for Sakura

 

There are a few ways I approach weekends. Sometimes, I plan way ahead - for instance, I formed the habit to plan a coming theater/concert season, so I study what local theaters and concert halls offer in advance, mark my calendar, so I won't miss plays and other events that interest me, and start reserving tickets. From time to time, I revisit my list of events throughout the season and see whether something else catches my attention. I started doing it years ago, and for that Justin calls me our family's cultural ambassador. 

Contrasts and Variety

We did this photo shoot last weekend at the University of Washington in Tacoma. It's a beautiful campus nestled in the hills of Tacoma right in the heart of the city, from where you can see Commencement Bay and the Port of Tacoma, and take a short walk to the three museums across the street - Washington State History Museum, Museum of Glass and Tacoma Art Museum.

Another Day, Another Dress

Another spring day, another floral dress. I think the only time I showed this dress on the blog was over a year ago, in the FEBRUARY 2017 post. In real life, I wore it multiple times, and especially often recently. Its cheerful pattern and bold colors have the ability to lift up my mood, and the versatile style makes it a good choice for various occasions.