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Darcie Bakes //

May 29, 2015

Random Sides // I’m Going to Germany!

I haven’t talked about this on the blog yet. But you read the title right: I’m going to Germany!

I’ve never been out of the continental U.S. [nope, not even to Mexico or Canada!], so this will definitely be a new adventure for me.

{Image via Pinterest.}
{Image via Pinterest.}

Like most great adventures, the opportunity for the trip kinda came out of nowhere. At the beginning of 2015, one of my undergraduate instructors invited some other alumni and me to attend a study abroad program in Germany this summer. So, I’m going to an IT security seminar at a university in Deggendorf, Germany. On the days in which we’re not required to be at the seminar, I’ll have time to myself. My instructor has scheduled some touristy activities for us to do, and then I’ll find some of my own adventures on the other days.

I’m flying from Chicago to Dublin to Munich, and I’ll be in and around Munich for a few weeks.

That’s all I want to share for now; I need to finish packing and organizing blog posts! I am trying to schedule some blog posts ahead of time so that my regular schedule doesn’t get too thrown off. In the meantime, I’m getting super anxious about my first international trip! I’m certain that it will be amazing, but I am definitely nervous.

You’ll be seeing regularly scheduled posts from me, plus a few updates on the trip every now and then. I’m going to do my best to take a lot of awesome photos while I’m in Germany.

Here’s to my first adventure abroad! Prost! 😀

Leave a Comment Filed Under: germany, life, randomness, sides, travel

March 11, 2015

Random Sides // Scenes from Portland.

A few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to spend approximately thirty-six hours in Portland, Oregon.

Thirty-six hours was not nearly enough, but I have the sneaking suspicion that I’ll be back [read that in an Ahhnold voice!]…

I was traveling to the Puget Sound region for work, and I had permission to extend the business trip into a little whirlwind personal trip. So I spent about four days in the Seattle area, then drove down I-5 on a Friday night to spend all day in Portland on Saturday, then rush back up to Seattle on Sunday morning to catch a plane back to Saint Louis.

Yeah, it was definitely a whirlwind. But it was so worth it. I thought I loved Seattle – and believe me, I do – but I think that I might be a bit more partial to Portland [shh, don’t tell Seattle]… I have been to Seattle many times, and only Portland once, but I just really enjoyed it. I guess that’s because I’m a #hipster.

But in all seriousness – Portland is downright amazing. I just got that awesome vibe from it, ya know? I was too lazy to drag my DSLR around, but I did try to get some snapshots with my good ol’ iPhone. I made a little collage with some of the highlights:

portlandcollage

Overall, despite its hipster-esque reputation [I did see a lot of hipster-lookin’ folks, so that stereotype exists for a reason…], Portland’s food scene is on point, and they’ve got a boatload of delicious coffee. There are also vintage and/or vintage-inspired shops everywhere. All of the people I encountered were super awesome, and as for the weather – I was blessed with an absolutely gorgeous day.

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{Summary of Scenes from PDX}

01. Top Row, from Left to Right:
– Latte + Almond Croissant: I got this amazing almond croissant and vanilla latte from a cute little neighborhood coffee shop called TwentySix Cafe. My AirBnB host recommended that I try it out, so I walked there for breakfast. I didn’t even realize how much I love almond croissants, but man, they’re tasty as heck. The coffee is also very good!
– Juno the Pug: My AirBnB host has the most adorable little pug – her name is Juno. Michael/Santha, if you’re reading this: give her a hug for me! I’m more of a cat person, but I do enjoy dogs, too. In this picture, I was holding her little donut toy and she definitely wanted it!
– Keep Portland Weird: I had to get a photo of the infamous “Keep Portland Weird” sign.
– Gnocchi: This small picture is of some delicious gnocchi I got from a restaurant called Ned Ludd. I had a lovely experience there; I would highly recommend trying it out if you ever find yourself in Portland.
– Chickpea Burger + “Dirty” Fries: For lunch on Saturday, I tried out Lardo in downtown Portland. It’s just delicious. Neat space, too.
– Saying Goodbye to Portland: I took this photo real quick while I was waiting on my rental car to fill up with gas before heading out. {Side Note: Did you know that in Oregon, all gas stations require an attendant to provide full service? I haven’t dealt with that since I lived in Philly and occasionally visited New Jersey!}

02. Second Row, from Left to Right:
– Rerun: Rerun is a little hipster secondhand/consignment shop within walking distance from the house I stayed at. I hit the jackpot there and found two vintage Pyrex pieces, and some cute vintage clothes. They also have really good prices.
– Powell’s Books: This is another quintessential Portland spot. This bookstore is huge – it takes up an entire street block! It was a fun place, and I spent about an hour nosing around. It was a bit packed with too many people, though.

03. Third Row, from Left to Right:
– Montucky Cold Snack: You know I had to try various craft beers while I was in PDX.
– Pig Out: This is the first thing I noticed when I entered Lardo. It was love at first sight, and probably propaganda… But hey, I was going to pig out, regardless. 😉
– The Wishing Tree: I stumbled across this cool tree in one of the neighborhoods during a walk. I don’t remember which street it was on, but it’s this tree with a bunch of paper tags where people record their wishes. There were no more blank tags left, otherwise I’d have added a wish!
– Outdoor Shower + Sauna: You guys, I think this is the part I’ve been dying to talk about the most! My AirBnB hosts have an outdoor shower, bathtub, and sauna area. Now, I’ve never showered outside before, so I was a little apprehensive to be in my birthday suit outdoors. However, it’s in a pretty secluded area in the hosts’ backyard – so there’s privacy – and trust me when I say it’s not as weird as you might think it sounds. Honestly, once I got over my self-consciousness, it was one of the most liberating, refreshing experiences I’ve had yet. Plus, it’s in a gorgeous setting.

That being said, if you’re looking for a place to stay in Portland, I would definitely recommend Michael and Santha! Look them up on AirBnB, if you’re curious. [Side Note: I may write more about my experiences with AirBnB soon, as this was my first experience with it – luckily, it went splendidly well!]

04: Fourth Row, from Left to Right:
– Gorgeous Park: This is a neighborhood park, and I had to take a picture to illustrate how gorgeous it was outside. I was in heaven.
– Brioche Bread Pudding:
I decided to indulge in a little dessert from Ned Ludd; this is brioche bread pudding with orange marmalade and sour cream sauce as the toppings. Amazing.
– Coffee Stop Number Two: I tried my second latte at Heart Roasters, as recommended to me by another food blogger. I wish I knew how to make latte art, for realz.

Thanks for being such a cool cat, Portland! 😀 <3

**Trees in the center graphic are from The Noun Project, by Jon Testa.

Leave a Comment Filed Under: beer, coffee, life, randomness, sides, travel

November 10, 2013

Scenes from Seattle

I have always been enamored with Seattle – something about this city is just amazing.

In fact, I was originally supposed to move to Seattle to start my full-time career, but thought it better to stay near my hometown/support system for awhile. But who knows – perhaps I’ll be back out here permanently some day!

All that to say, I’m fortunate enough to travel to Seattle for business trips. I went on my first business trip to Seattle in early November 2013. Along with my coworkers, I got a lot of work accomplished. But I also got to try some awesome local restaurants, which meant that I gorged myself on delicious food, and tried several amazing new ciders.

Unfortunately, it was too dark in the restaurants to really capture good photos of the food. But I did manage to snap a few iPhone pics for Instagram. I thought it might be fun to share some of the photos from the trip here. Enjoy.

leavingseattle
Leaving Seattle. Don’t worry; I wasn’t the one driving.

 

dahlialounge
Dahlia Lounge. I love their lights. And they have delicious food.

 

clouds
Looking out the plane window as we get closer to Seattle.

 

pikesplace
Pike’s Place market at night.

 

toppot
Top Pot Doughnuts’ donut truck in Renton.

 

I will be going to Seattle again in mid-January 2014. Hopefully I’ll have time to snap a few more photos. Whatever I do capture, I’ll be sure to share it here. Yay for business trips, and yay for the awesomeness that is Seattle! 😀

Leave a Comment Filed Under: life, randomness, sides, travel

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I'm Darcie. In a nutshell: I'm a baker and mental health advocate in the tech industry.
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