It's about to get crazy // Living Stephen

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

It is officially the day before Thanksgiving! I can't believe it's already this far into the year. I keep thinking back to August, and how this all seemed so far away. This is the first holiday season away from my family and friends, but I feel so grateful to be able to have my boyfriend, Tyler and my brother, Robert. 

We're having a little baby Thanksgiving with a couple of friends tonight, which will hopefully help with the loss of Thanksgiving I'll be getting this year (it may be a positive, since I'm a little sad I'm not home). I've been working at Urban Outfitters for the season, so my schedule the past few weeks has been a little bit crazy. This week especially, I will be working from noon tomorrow to Friday at 6 PM, with about eight hours worth of sleep time in between.. so you could imagine, it being a lot.

This is all brings me to the topic of not really being able to get out of the house this week to take pictures, or being able to put together a post for the week. I told myself that I'd post at least once a week, and to keep a schedule going, but this week has just been too much! (It's all positive, I promise!)

So I will see you all next week! Have a great Thanksgiving, and remember to take a minute to realize what you are grateful for!

Stephen

PS. Can we discuss how beautiful the trees outside my house are?? I mean, damn!

Fall Fashion Essentials // Living Stephen

Hello everyone!

Now that we have officially gone into the fall months, and it is officially cold as hell outside, I thought I'd put together a little list of some of the essential clothing you'll need in these colder months. It's been absolutely freezing in Portland, and we actually got a little bit of snow yesterday, so I thought it was finally time to start bundling up for enduring the cold.

It's a lot colder up in the Northwest than it ever was in Southern California. The colder months got down to maybe 60 degrees, at the coldest, but up here, it's been a consistent 30.. and this is only the beginning. Luckily, the weather is still nice enough outside that you can still dress relatively cute without being completely bundled from head to toe.

As you'll be able to tell, I'll be trying to keep a consistent essentials list throughout the next few months, including winter. It's really hard to put money aside from a lot of clothing, so I always recommend recycling your clothes as much as possible, and using different pieces in different ways! Hopefully you'll feel inspired to go out and look cute.. even it's snowing.

1. Hoodies with Leather Jackets

I think this is one of the most important looks to keep in mind during the Fall time. I think sweatshirts can be really dressed up when you throw on a nice jacket over it, and it keeps you really warm as well! Also, pullovers seem to be relatively on the inexpensive side, so it's really easy to change out the sweatshirt, keep the leather jacket, and have a completely different look!

Leather Jacket: Cotton On (similar)

Sweatshirt: Urban Outfitters (similar)

2. Multicolored Pants

One of the clothing pieces I always forgot to focus on at every time of year is pants. I always feel like I end up just putting on jeans or a pair of black pants because I think it looks good with everything. This fall, I want to try and spice things up a little bit and change out the pants I wear. I've chosen a couple of neutral darker colors for this season, like greens and tan, just to kickstart this new "pant revelation" I have. We'll see how I do.

Pants: Urban Outfitters/Levis/Pac Sun

3. Fun socks

I always feel like this is the most random accessory to be obsessed with, but I am in love with socks. I think they are perfect for fall because you can wear them for warmth and for style. I also feel like I usually wear a lot of button ups and nice boots, so it always makes me feel a little bit more fancy having a fun pair of socks that ties my outfit together.

Socks: Target (same)

4. Beanies

One of the biggest struggles I face during fall is finding accessories. I always feel like I wear pants, jackets and shoes everyday, and I don't feel like I ever have an opportunity to accessorize. So I think having a few beanies at hand is the perfect way to add some extra color to your fall style. Plus, you don't even have to do your hair.. which is probably the main reason I think I love beanies so much.

Beanies: Urban/Target

5. Christmas Sweaters

Before anyone thinks anything, I know.. it's technically fall, and I shouldn't even be thinking about Christmas until December. But c'mon. I start pulling out my Christmas sweaters as soon as it starts feeling like winter time. I think these sweaters look good at any time of the year, but it always makes me feel like we're so much closer to Christmas when I put these on. I just love the designs, and they are so comfortable and warm.

Sweater: Urban Outfitters (similar)

6. Layers of Cardigans and Button Ups

So I honestly have a little bit of a problem when it comes to button ups and cardigans. I pretty much wear them at all times of the year, but I think during fall, it makes the most sense. It's just cold enough that you can't just wear a shirt, but it's perfect for when you get inside and take off your big coat. I think having multiple colors of cardigans is essential because they can pair with pretty much anything. I have a lot of button ups as well that I wear all year long, so this is just one way I wear them during fall!

Cardigan: Urban Outfitters (similar)

Button Up: Urban Outfitters (similar)

7. One pair of nice boots

I know, I know. I meant what I wrote, just one pair of nice boots. I think the worst part of fall and winter is that you don't really want to wear all of your really nice shoes when it's rainy and muddy outside. So I recommend having one pair of "go-to" boots that you can wear all season. I always feel like black look really amazing with any look, so I think sticking to a neutral boot takes away the struggle of cleaning all of your nice shoes once it gets warm again!

Boots: ASOS (same)

Well I hope you guys are enjoying the Fall wherever you are in the world! I am absolutely loving it. Just for the record, it's November 13th and I already put my Christmas stuff out.. so I think I'm prepared for the winter.

See you next time,

Stephen

Pumpkin Patch Fun // Living Stephen

What a whirlwind week it has been for us in the Haus of Gays (yes, that's what we call our humble abode.) I recently got a new job working part-time at Urban Outfitters for the season, while still working full-time at Starbucks. As much stress that I know I will be in, I'm really excited to start a new job that interests me a lot more than making coffee all day for grouchy old people.

Luckily, Tyler and I found a day that we were able to go out to Sauvie Island in Portland. If you tell any Portlandian that you're going out to this island, a lot of people will give you a weird look and ask you why.. Mostly because part of the island is a nude beach, and when you say how pretty you thought it was, you seem to get worried glances. (Not talking from experiences, clearly..) What you should start with is that you're going out to the island to go to "The Pumpkin Patch."

This rural product market/pumpkin patch is one of the most beautiful places I have been to since moving to Portland. As you drive onto the island, you don't see much around you except for plains, trees and a couple cows. You soon roll up to a seemingly random array of homes and farms. Before you know it, you hit "The Pumpkin Patch." It's a small little patch off the road, but it holds some amazing things.. There was a hayride, farm animals, a market, and a corn maze.

Unfortunately for us, we had a late start and it had been pouring rain all day.. so we didn't do much but pick a few pumpkins. What excited me the most was the fact that you could actually go out into the pumpkin patch, and cut off the pumpkin you wanted from the actual vine. I had never seen something so beautiful before.

It was extremely muddy, so excuse Tyler's shoes.. He usually wears a lot cuter footwear. We trekked out closer to where the actual pumpkins were, walked through the pumpkins, and looked around a little bit. It really felt like fall, and I couldn't have loved it any more. Unfortunately, my camera isn't amazing, so I was only able to get a couple of snaps of the pumpkins around us, but the mountain view from across the river was jaw dropping. With the clouds floating over the hilltops, I was completely taken away (just like I am, every time I leave my living room.)

We finally picked our pumpkin (from the "already picked" section), and went our merry way. It was absolutely beautiful, and definitely got me that much more excited for Fall! I'm going to carve the shit out of my pumpkin!

Oh, and here's a little OOTD.

See you next week!

Stephen

Walking the Waterfront // Living Stephen

Hello guys!

As you probably already figured, I've been trying my best to spend a lot of time outside, enjoying nature and all of the amazing places in this city. I recently started exploring a little bit closer to where I live, and have found some of the most beautiful scenery I could have imaged. I only have to walk about for about five minutes before I walk onto the waterfront of the Willamette River. The river runs through Portland, which means it splits the East from the West and is home to diverse wildlife and plant life.

I walked down a few days ago, not really expecting to spend too much time looking at the water, but I ended up spending about two hours walking and exploring some of what this area holds. I usually only walk about as far as I know, and try to stay close to where I'm familiar, but for some reason, I felt the desire to explore a little bit more that day, and ended up going through trees upon trees. I stumbled across a couple of benches, where I stopped and sat for a little while, drinking a bit of coffee from down the street.

I continued walking and explored closer to the actual waterfront (which I'll post about in a few days, I took a lot of damn pictures). I don't think I really expected to get as excited and emotional as I actually did while I continued on the trail. I was so overwhelmed with how beautiful everything was, and how in awe I was that this was my home. I've always driven past this area, and never even stopped to see what it was.

As I made my way back home, I ran into some insane little sights (Again, I'll be posting about those later). I walked down old train tracks, that I always seem to have just past over and walked back through the fall stricken trees, back home. 

When I got back home, I really had to take a minute to realize what I just went through. I had basically fallen in love with Portland all over again, and had one of the most breathtaking days I have ever had. (I'm still not a 100% sure if I loved it, or just loved the fact that it felt like Fall, finally) Like I said before, I'll be posting a few more blog posts from this day, mostly because I took a ton of pictures, that really deserve their chance to be looked at! 

I hope all of you are enjoying Autumn so far! I'll be back to post some more later this week!

Stephen