HIKING & THE OUTDOORS- No secret that I love the outdoors and my fondness and curiosity for hiking has grown in trip length and duration to include some pretty fantastic backpacking adventures with my husband. Below are some websites I enjoy in preparing for trips, scouting locations, planning and equipping adventures.
www.oregonhikers.org This organization will start you off on the right foot with hike suggestions, trip reports and news and notices from around Oregon.
www.ospreypacks.com I love my Osprey pack-it fits perfectly! Even more, I love the people of this Cortez, Colorado company. The support they provide if you ever have issues or questions is amazing.
Alaskaairlines.com In recent years I’ve come to truly appreciate this airline for its service to the Western US. If you apply for their credit card and use it to book flights with them, you get a free checked bag. Points also add up fast too.
hotwire.com If an adventure requires a flight, it probably also requires a rental car. Hotwire is my favorite place to shop for cars.
VBRO.com Vacation Rental By Owner is a useful site for finding accommodations other than your standard hotel variety. When we’re visiting far-flung places and want a “cushy” night somewhere, VBRO often provides options when hotels are not around.
STAINED GLASS BUILDING- Stained glass building appeals to me in so many ways. It is art meets craft; artistry meets construction and it is totally wrapped up in my obsession for texture and color in its purest form. The art glass industry has struggled here in Oregon lately with some glass manufacturers admirably rising to the occasion and other smaller producers unable to afford the financial burden of new clean environment technologies. Below are websites to some favorite glass manufacturers, glass working tool sellers and some amazing sources of inspiration to my work. Oh, that I were THAT good!
warnerstainedglass.com These guys, in Pennsylvania, have supplied my copper tape, small tools and some glass for decades.
shop.bullseyeglass.com Bullseye Glass of Portland, Oregon is a fine example of doing things right. Midst environmental concerns, they stepped up (before asked or mandated) and began installing full upgrades to their filtration systems to preserve the environment while manufacturing gorgeous glass.
www.kog.com Kokomo Glass of Indiana produces some incredibly beautiful glass. Take a look!
www.youghioghenyglass.com Yah, you’re not going to pronounce that correctly. “Yack-ih-gainey” Glass is a small family art glass company in Pennsylvania. They produce several great lines of glass including beautiful Tiffany reproduction glass.
ART OF SHOPPING- I love both creativity and efficiency in shopping. There’s nothing better than to find that amazingly perfect gift for someone and nothing better than to shop for a few luxuries for oneself at a price you can afford. Below are links to some of those treasure troves for gifts and places to splurge on a budget.
www.etsy.com If you don’t craft it, somebody does and probably sells it here. I’ve acquired everything from fancy return address stamps to Madagascar vanilla beans for making your own vanilla extract here. It’s a fun window shopping site too!
www.swap.com Online consignment clothes shopping probably wasn’t so great before Zappos. Taking a cue from them, Swap lets you return anything that doesn’t work for you with a few clicks and print out of a return label–and they pay the return postage. If you’re not fond of buying used clothing, use a filter on there to only pull up “new with tags” and you’ll be amazed at the selection.
So that’s a start. I’ll add more in time and will clean up the look of this page some too.
