LUSH Men's Review // Living Stephen

Hey guys!

I posted a video reviewing some LUSH products! I'm in love with this company and hope you guys check them out!

And go subscribe if you'd like!

Men's Hair Products Review // Living Stephen

Hey guys!

I posted a new video reviewing a couple of hair products! Go check it out and give it a good ol' blogger subscribe!

My Mom was Here! // Living Stephen

Hello everybody!

Since moving up to Portland, I have gone into this state of dismission. I have tried my best to not really think about how far I am from the comfort of Southern California and how unreal it still feels to think that I live in another state now. Luckily for me, I have had plenty of my friends and family come up and visit in the past couple weeks.

To my surprise, it helps so much more having a little taste of California every couple of weeks. Having someone who I love come up and stay with us for a week makes me miss it, but still feel alright about it. I haven't been forgotten since leaving and the ones I love the most have continued to reach out. My biggest fear about leaving was having to make "all new friends," like all of a sudden my friends from home weren't there anymore. Fortunately, that's not the case! I've been able to keep a balance of friends in Portland and friends in California.

This is all beside the point.. (haha.) Basically, my Mom came up and visited with my little brother, Christopher, for a couple of days. It was obviously really exciting and fun to be able to spend some time with my Mom. She is so supportive and amazing at giving advice. I was able to really delve into some of the emotions that only a Mom can bring out.

We did a couple of super exciting (tourist) things! I only snapped a couple of pictures because of the rain and the cold, but hopefully this gives you a little taste of what Portland is like!

One of the mornings, we went out to breakfast as a whole family. Tyler was able to take a couple of days off, and so was my brother, Robert. We went to Cafe Du Berry, which is a little French restaurant. Although the food wasn't what you would expect, it was still super delicious. (It definitely was not American, super food.)

We then headed up to the Vista House, which is just one of the first stopping points on your way to Multnomah Falls (if you're going the right way.) As you can see, it was clearly a pretty cold day.. So ignore the suffering all Tyler's face.

I had to add a couple of pictures from the falls. It was rainy and cold, so it was pretty difficult, but hopefully these two will suffice!

We went down to Saturday Market on the Waterfront of Portland. It is seriously one of the most fun things to do in Oregon, and I highly recommend stopping by some of the shops there. Unfortunately, I was a bad blogger and didn't take any pictures of the actual market, but did get a couple of my family by the water.

It really was such a fun little stay-cation. There's something so calming and unnerving about having your Mom around. All of a sudden the stress from day to day life disappears.

Anyways, I hope you guys are having a good week! I'll be posting a video on my Youtube channel sometime within the next couple of days. If you haven't already, go over and give it look! I'm so happy I started filming and hope you guys are enjoying it!

See you soon!

Stephen

Dealing with the Portland Rain // Living Stephen

I also posted my second video! Go check it out!

Stephen

OMSI Portland // Living Stephen

Hey guys!

Sorry it has been so long since I've actually done a post on here! It's been an eventful couple of weeks, with school starting back up and my Mom coming to visit for a week. 

Luckily, Tyler and I were able to get a day off together and explore some of Portland a little bit better. Portland is known for its artistic people and its complex art venues, so we decided to spend a day checking out some of the places we haven't been to before. One of the places that we knew we had to visit was OMSI (Oregon Museum of Science and Industry), which is a huge museum on the East side of Portland.

Unfortunately for us, it wasn't as worthwhile as we had hoped. It's not that the museum itself wasn't well kept or that the exhibits weren't exciting, it was just geared towards a different generation than us.. (and by that, I mean.. little kids.) Everything was extremely interactive, which would be awesome if we had brought our little brothers, but was not our cup of tea.

The museum was huge though, and I could tell they had put a lot of thought and effort into making it useful for children. It was also spring break in PDX, and I think a lot of parents just brought their children, so that they had something to do. We still made the most out of it, and actually had a good time looking at some of the artifacts they had.

Luckily, the Planetarium kind of rounded out the entire experience and made for such an amazing ending to a hectic day. OMSI offers shows every hour in their Planetarium and it was honestly one of the coolest things to watch. It was literally like being Ross and Rachel (if you get that reference, bravo.) OMSI also offers late night days, where adults can come, grab a beer and explore the museum without children. Hopefully the next time we go, we'll have a drink in our hand instead!

It really was such a beautiful view though. OMSI sits right on the waterfront, so Tyler and I explored the area a little bit more once we left. It was a rainy day, but the perfect weather for a little walk.

Portland is seriously one of the most beautiful cities, and I'm so fortunate. Although OMSI was a little bit disappointing, I'm super happy we got to experience it. Maybe next time, we can go, drink a little bit and play with the kids stuff.

Until next time,

Stephen

(OHH.. #ARTSY)

I Posted a Video! // Living Stephen

Hey guys!

I am so excited to announce that I finally started my Youtube channel! It's been a long time in the making, and I feel really proud of the outcome.

Go ahead and slide on over to my channel, and give it a good ol' subscribe!

See you soon!

Stephen

Fast Forward a Month // Living Stephen

Happy March!

I can't even believe that the last time I made a blog post was a month ago! February came and went so fast, it's hard to even catch my breath. So many fun and exciting events happened this month, and I feel so relieved and thrilled to get back into the normal habits of life again. There are a few big things that I wanted to document for you and myself, so enjoy a little montage of snips from February.

The first huge life event that occurred during February was that I quit my job at Urban Outfitters. I had been working for the company for a couple of months, and although I loved working there (Aka, I loved the discount), it was time for me to move on. I am still working for Starbucks, and going to school full-time, so it was beginning to get a little bit emotionally and physically exhausting having three full time jobs. I'm hoping with the free-up of space, I'll be able to focus a little bit more time on myself, my body, my relationships and this blog! All very important things, but all got put to the back burner when school started! So there's that.. no more discounts for me! Back to full price payer!

Another big part of the month was that my best friend from California, Cheyenne, came up and stayed with us for a couple of days! It was the perfect timing for me, having her here. I hadn't had a day off in over a month and a half, and was desperate for some quality days off. The time I spent with her and Tyler really put my life back into perspective (which is why I quit Urban.) I was spending so much time worried about how much I was working, and not spending enough time focusing on the end goal: getting my degree and starting a career. She helped me (indirectly) get my life back in order.

We spend a good amount of time sitting around and enjoying each other's company. Staying inside, drinking coffee during the day, laughing about our old adventures when we used to live together; then going out at night, grabbing dinner and drinks. One of the days, we ventured out to the coast to go to the Tillamook Cheese Factory (We love cheese.) We spent a good amount of time there, eating free cheese and ice cream (with regrets later, ew.)

*the only picture I have from the Factory, hahaha*

As we were driving back home, we decided to take a little detour. We pulled off the road, ran down a muddy hill towards a river (I don't know which one), and took in nature. I snapped a couple of photos because of how breathtaking it was.

As for the last (and the serious, biggest) event of this month was that Tyler and I became parents! We have been going to a little adoption center, run by the Oregon Humane Society, by our house for the past couple of months, looking for cat or two. We knew we wanted a younger kitten, and a possible playmate as well. When we went in two weeks ago, we both didn't have the highest expectations, but we fell in love with two little kittens.

Introducing..

 Mia! She's a year and a half old little Princess, and one of the sassiest cats I have ever met. She has all the qualities we need for a "Haus of Gays" cat.

And also, Eugene! Our little guy is 9 months old, and one of the funniest and cutest cats ever. He has so much energy and we're obsessed.

Well it's been such an eventful month, and I couldn't be happier with how this month turned out. Hopefully from now on, I'll be able to post a little bit more often and write more on fashion and such! 

Have a good one!

Stephen