Living the Creative Life

We're moving in less than a month to Southern California, so I thought it'd be fun to do a little pro/con list. I've lived in NW Oregon my entire life, so the culture difference is probably going to take some getting used to! Oregon : Love the rain and all the green it makes. SoCal : Won't have to worry about things molding all the time. Oregon : Love the seasons and the definite shift to colder weather for half the year. SoCal : I think I can get used to flip flops and shorts year round (or at least mostly year round). Oregon : Beautiful scenery which inspires beautiful photography. SoCal : Ditto. I can't wait to explore all the nooks and crannies of the state with my camera. Oregon : Cheaper places to live. SoCal : Better salaries available. Oregon : Nothing much to kill you in the way of bad weather or venomous creatures. SoCal : Wildfires, earthquakes, black widow spiders... Oregon : Fairly relaxed and laid-back. SoCal : Crazy drivers, more cr...

Today's prompt is to talk about something that I miss. The first thing that came to mind for me was living in Portland. I love the city atmosphere, where there are always things to do, places to go, etc. I don't mean necessarily going to parties every night (I'm definitely not the type of personality that enjoys being super social), but I loved having the opportunity to go to the ballet, for example, or the opera, or to a pro basketball game, even. It's just fun having those types of things within the city you live in, so you can do that rather easily in an evening if the fancy strikes you. I also loved having public transportation at my fingertips. Portland has a particularly good system for that, which fascinated me endlessly when I lived there. It would always amaze me that I could literally get from one end of the city to the other merely by walking/busing/taking a train. I lived there about 5 years before I even got a car... and even then, I would leave it at ...

Okay just to clarify... I've never actually been to New York, but... based on extensive research (via YouTube, Google Maps street view, and all of the many, many movies and shows that have been filmed there), I just feel like New York and I would agree with each other. 1. New York seems like a rather personable, friendly town. And by that I mean, strangers walking down the street would actually stop to help you if you needed it. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the vibe I get. 2. New York seems to have a very creative, anything-is-possible spirit. I don't know if this is because of the pulse and noise of the city or just because creative people tend to move there, but it seems like there'd be a mindset there of creativity and trying new things. 3. New York seems very grounded / here and now / tangible / touchable. Not sure the word I'm looking for there. Basically I mean that it isn't one of those places that you only ever see from the safety of...

This one's even more mesmerizing than the other ones I found earlier. So beautiful! NYC - Mindrelic Timelapse from Mindrelic on Vimeo .

Is it possible to be in love with a city that I've never been to? The rhythm and vibe of New York City is so utterly fascinating to me - I just want to explore every inch of it!! new york city. from James Ogle on Vimeo . And here's another pretty awesome NYC video by the same photographer. This one gives a little more personal spin on the city. 2010. from James Ogle on Vimeo .

... like RIGHT NOW! {via Julie Ann Art }

San Marino is one of a very few countries that is landlocked inside of another country (in fact, I can only think of one other off the top of my head - Lesotho, which is landlocked inside South Africa). San Marino can be found inside of Italy, and according to Wikipedia , "is the oldest surviving sovereign state and constitutional republic in the world..." having been founded on September 3, 301. Wow! San Marino is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and has a lot of it's economy in finance and tourism. The country has very low unemployment and no national debt. When do I move there? Sounds great so far! ;) Ironically it was this country's poorness that allowed it to remain independent all these years. Ha! But by the 1600's, the papacy recognized it officially as it's own country apart from Rome. When the Italian states united to form Italy in the 1900's, San Marino stood it's ground to remain independent, as it continues to be to thi...

Today's Where in the World series takes us to Togo! We have a sandwich restaurant in our area named Togo's, so this country's name always makes me hungry. I have no idea if the restaurant realized there was a country named Togo when they named themselves, but it is pretty funny nonetheless. But I digress... A Brief Explanation of the Country Togo is located in West Africa, bordering Ghana, Benin, and Burkina Faso (which I'm sure totally clears things up for you). Why is my African geography knowledge so much worse than my geography knowledge of anywhere else? Tell me it's not just me? Togo has a tropical, sub-Saharan climate, typically staying in the low to mid 80's (Fahrenheit), which is really good for growing agriculture. They mainly speak French, as well as some tribal languages. Religion consists mainly of indigenous tribal beliefs, but there are also large numbers of Christians and Muslims living here. Togo's main "export" durin...

Today's tour of nations will take us to Slovenia! Isn't that a fun country to say? Slovenia can be found in Central Europe at the hub of the European trade routes. It borders Italy, Hungary, Austria, and Croatia. According to Wikipedia , Slovenia has a very diverse culture and a high economic and social level. The Short and Sweet of It All Slovenia is situated in a unique juncture geographically-speaking. It's got some of the Alps in it, as well as a Mediterranean coastline. The country has a very rich, watered landscape, as well as many dense forests. Their climate varies depending on location from Alpine to sub-Mediterranean. Slovenia has been occupied by many countries over the years, including the Bavarian Empire, the Carolingian Empire, and the Roman Empire (this was all pre-1st Century AD). Slovenians started self-identifying as their own people-group around the time of the Protestant Reformation (1600's), but weren't their own country until the earl...

In light of the Olympic games starting this week, I thought it'd be fun to research some of the countries participating that I know little to nothing about. Today's spotlight will be on the United Arab Emirates! According to Wikipedia , UAE is a federation of 7 emirates, including Abu Dhabi and Dubai . Am I the only one that didn't realize these places were in the same country? I've heard of them both but never put that together. Anyway... UAE is in the Middle East, nestled in next to Saudi Arabia and Oman. A Brief History Lesson... 7000 Years Consolidated into One Paragraph Apparently people have lived in this region since about 5000 BC. That's... a LONG time!! Foreign trade by caravan and by seafaring has always been huge for them, and by the first century AD, they were exporting pearls as far away as China. Around 630 AD, Muslim prophets came to this region and the country became mostly Islamic (and still is, to this day). Portugal and Great Britain ...