This Fourth of July, Matt and I decided to make the trip to New Hampshire and drive up Mt. Washington. Although you may have never been there before, chances are you have seen the bumper sticker somewhere along your own travels. I always though the bumper sticker was kind of funny, I mean how hard could it be to drive a car to the top of a mountain. Turns out…. it’s CRAZY HARD.

The beginning of the road is super simple. It’s really pretty and you have trees on both sides of you. You think you are in for this really pretty drive thorough the mountains. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Firstly, if you are the one who is driving the car, don’t for a minute think you are going to get to enjoy the view after the first mile, you will be too busy trying not to kill yourself or another car heading back down from the summit. My knuckles were white but I was doing okay, until the road turned from black top to packed dirt. Once I made it through the dirt, where I managed to make all the hairpin turns and not end up in a ditch or careen off the mountain, I pulled over in a small turn around and made the decision we would be heading back down. There was no way in a million years I was going to drive another 2 miles up this madness. Then my loving husband starting pointing out big pick up trucks passing by, some couples in their 70’s and some cars that should not even be on a road at all. He did all but call me chicken, so we kept going to the top of what I will now refer to as Mt. Death. Seriously though, It was nuts! {note: Travis Pastrana, a rally car driver made the run in 6 minutes and 20 sec – it took us a half hour I think, granted he didn’t have traffic coming at him when he drove up… see his trip video here and think about traffic coming back out you as well, he is driving on a two lane road.}

We did make it to the top, and I had such high hopes of taking beautiful photos of the summit and the clouds around us. But. I was so shaky and petrified and concerned how we would get back down, that I planted my back to a wall and watched Matt walk up a big pile of rocks to the highest pint on the summit. I didn’t have it in me to carry around the camera. Oh how I wish i did, it was beautiful. I did manage to get a few photos when we stopped in a flat walking are on the way back down. I’m so glad I drove to the top. But I won’t ever do it again.

After driving down the coast from Seattle, we unpacked for a few days in Portland, Oregon. I think Matt and I were both pretty jazzed up for this trip and so excited to be on the west coast – but the time change and the early flight kicked our butts a bit. So we ordered some room service and decided to just start fresh the next day.

We didnt plan too much before hand for Portland. We had a list of places we wanted to check out, but mostly we just wanted to walk around and explore the city. One of our first stops of course was Powell’s Books. I’ll admit, spending so many hours at The Strand in NYC, I was skeptical, but I was blown away. I love this place, the staff picks and I even signed up for their e-mail list. We picke dup some local childrens books to add to our collection and to give as gifts. (Larf is one of our neices’ new favorites. )

One of the activities we did plan while in Portland was a beer tour with Brewvana. A group of strangers who barely talked to each other were bussed around to 4 different craft breweries and sampled their amazingly crafted beer. Needless to say everyone had a good time and any shyness at the beginning was soon gone. My favorite stop was Base Camp Brewing, I hope to see them on the east coast some day soon!

I tasked Matt with the responsibility of creating a list of amazing places to eat in each city we visited. He did an outstanding job! We had lunch one afternoon at Nostrana, they serve super thin crust pizza (among other amazing Italian food) that is served uncut, hence the scissors on the table. Voodoo donuts was a must have, and yes they are that bright (and yummy) in real life. Another lunch was had at Kenny and Zuke’s in Northwest Portland. Best Rye bread I have ever had in my life. And on our way out of town we stopped by Pine State Biscuits for breakfast, I wish I could have those biscuits every day, of course my thighs would hate me.

After packing up and heading out of Portland we decided to stop by Multnomah Falls, the tallest falls in Oregon. It was simply breathtaking and definitely worth the stop if you are ever in the area. There is a trail that goes all the way to the top, but we only went up to the bridge to take it all in. I could have spent another few days in Portland and the surrounding area. Matt and I decided the next time we will start in Portland, and head south.

You may notice a new look to the blog. I have decided to move to a wider format to be able to share larger photos and projects as well as change format just a bit. Of course I will still be sharing amazing finds from fellow independent artists and designers, but I also hope to share a bit more about myself and my adventures. So welcome to the new UpstateFancy!

I’ve been taking a photograph class online, with Bella Pop.  I’ve always been really interested in photography, but know that there is so much more to learn so I thought it would be fun to take a class and learn something new. So far these are my favorite photos from the ongoing class!

2012 has been one heck of a year for me. I had a few health scares. The company where I worked as the catalog designer was sold. I got married. I began working for myself. I decided to look back through my instragram feed and pick out two photos from each month to create a mini visual record of my last year.

January 2012: It snowed a few times & I took a class in Literary Theory which I earned an “A” in.

February 2012: Drove myself to the emergency room because i had a super high heart rate for no reason & my cheese markers were featured in Redbook.

March 2012: Took a weekend trip to Boston to celebrate Matt and my own birthday & it snowed again.

April 2012: Celebrated Easter by creating vessels to keep eggs from breaking while being dropped off a roof (mine did not survive) & enjoyed some local ice cream when they opened in the spring.

May 2012: Enjoyed some time paddling around on the kayaks & planted our mini garden.

June 2012: Matt and I got married on a sailboat & celebrated with Harry Potter.

July 2012: Matt and I got almost matching bikes & my family threw a party for us in Delaware where I helped my sister with her Criminal Justice homework underneath the stars (thanks WIFI).

August 2012: I redesigned packaging for my Peppersprouts coasters & went to my first drive-in movie.

September 2012: Traded in the first new car I ever bought (2004 Ford Focus) for a very fun Fit & cut down a christmas tree to photograph Peppersprouts’ ornaments.

October 2012: Spent a weekend with the in-laws here in Maine where we visited the farmers market & enrolled in a creative writing class (which I also earned an “A”)

November 2012: Cut down our real christmas tree & it snowed again.

December 2012: Was part of some amazing markets and craft shows & visited the families in Delaware and Central NY, where it snowed a lot.

I hope you have all had a wonderful 2012! Here’s to a fabulous 2013! Cheers!!!!