Happy Sunday, everyone. In case you missed it, the PDX gals made another incredibly fun and entertaining YouTube video about the garage’s storage plan (PS IKEA was the star. Please check it out, and if you aren’t subscribed, we’d really appreciate it if you clicked that button too:) Ok, let’s get to the links.

This week’s house tour is from the incredible mind of design studio Claves. It’s a newly rentable townhouse where “where surrealism meets art deco splendour”. You just have to go take a look:)

From Emily: I think the most important link this week is a huge shout-out to Gretchen and Marlee – my PDX DREAM TEAM, who are tag-teaming our YouTube series (amongst so many other jobs). I was nervous to add another platform to my workload, but they are making it so easy, so organic, just like following along with what we are doing, and yet shooting and cutting it in a way that is genuinely entertaining and funny. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, if you are a long-time reader (thank you!) or just landing for the day, watch episode 1 and episode 2 of the carriage house re-org (and yes, you’ll get a tour soon, I promise). And then for the love of the algorithm gods, like and subscribe if you are into it, heck, comment and share, too! (it makes a massive difference on how YouTube shares it with others). We are having so much fun, and they are working so hard on it despite both just learning on the job, so give them some love – they deserve it!

Also From Emily: Shout out to our new AI comment tech (thank you, Caitlin!) – We now have AI that can detect when a comment is negative and filters it out for human approval, while all the other comments get auto-published immediately. This is extra exciting because even though we’ve monitored comments for years I had to still see them as “pending” if I wanted to go into the backend and comment back to people (you have to be signed in to comment back as me, and once signed in you see all the pending in the same feed). While 95% of the comments are lovely, supportive, or even constructive (which we generally find helpful), the typical few meant to ruin our day made it hard to go into the backend, so I would often avoid it. While I have thick skin, the distraction and derailment was damaging and even worse, they could made me more cynical about the world at large – so bummed that people found such pleasure in saying intentionally mean things, happily ruining the day of me and my team that work so hard to put good things into the world. My anxiety would spike, and then dark thoughts about my career/future would spiral (helpful to literally no one, including and especially my wonderful team). So this tech is FANTASTIC because I can go in and engage immediately with your non-negative published comments, then someone on my team will also read through the suspicious comments and publish those later in the day, should they be appropriate. That’s all to say that if you don’t see your comment published immediately, it’s because the AI has found something in it that it thinks is negative. This has happened to me twice – I wrote “shoot” in one, and then “I hate…” in another, and it held those two for approval. So essentially, the AI tech can filter out what it deems “negative” and then a human goes in and publishes or not, but meanwhile, I don’t see any of them, and all the positive comments or questions get published immediately. Take my Belize post (the first post we tried this with), I was able to go in and with confidence answer all the questions, knowing that it was safe (and I wasn’t going to read a bunch of hateful things about my family, etc). This won’t be perfect, by any means, but it’s only been a week, and it’s been really fun to engage in the comments in a way that feels totally healthy and safe. Three cheers for using AI for good and EHD.

Also Also From Emily: Attn Portland folks (and anyone else who needs encouragement to be a tourist in your own state). We’ve lived here for 4 years now and I couldn’t love the nature of the PNW more (sure, Nov – Feb can be rough, but once we started skiing it got a lot better- rain here means snow up there). I’ve become quite nature-obsessed (it’s the main reason to live here, IMHO), but like the Virgo + Enneagram 7 that I am, I want a really fun weekend agenda. So I have four books that I reference ALL THE TIME. I know that you can get a lot of info on the internet, but I don’t love being on the internet all the time, so I have my own little library that I reference on Saturday morning while I plan out how I’m going to torture my family through waterfall hikes. 1. Oregon and Washington 50 Hikes with Kids by Wendy Gorton. The kids will thumb through this and help pick, too. 2. Portland Family Adventures by Jen Stevenson. A fantastic, thorough city guide of all the best things to do with different aged kids (inside activities included – and day trips). 3. The Portland Book of Dates by Eden Dawn and Ashod Simonian. I LOVE this one – yes, more for grownup dates, but gives you a lot of good ideas of really unique things you can do, odd sites to see, not just restaurants or more predictable date night stuff. 4. Citi x 60: Portland (60 local creatives bring you the best of the city). This one is more about cool design, art, and creatives – so less family stuff, but if you have friends in town, a great insiders perspective of inspiring stuff. Also please let me know in the comments if you want my guide of “what do do while visiting Portland” – I’m not an expert (again, only 4 years back here) but I have my favorite SOLID hikes that please every Californian that visits us, the restaurants that hit every time, the bike rides that avoid cars, the parks that wow even in the crappier months, etc. I love an insider’s itinerary, so just ask and I’ll write it all up:) Obviously buy local when possible (Powells!) but I linked up for convenience.

From Gretchen: If you’re like me and love the smell of sunscreen or just wish you could bottle up and wear the scent of a sunny beach day, you absolutely can. And don’t be surprised if people compliment you on it! Anthropologie’s “Beach Trip” perfume has been my go-to smell this summer. It’s light and airy, slightly floral, a little coconut-y, and neither is too intense. It smells perfectly sunscreen-y to me, and I just can’t stop spraying it. Perfumes normally cost a pretty penny, but Anthro’s line is only $24 for a full-size bottle. A few of the reviews mention the smell subsides after a while, which I haven’t really noticed, because I have a little trick for that; When I rub a light layer of vaseline on my skin first and then spray, the smell stays on me wayyy longer. But beware, you will get complimented when going in for a hug!

From Marlee: I’m always looking for shirts that are a step up from a t-shirt or tank top, but nothing too complicated – this shirt from Madewell is exactly that – I grabbed it in white, but I might have to go back for the striped one. It’s a super simple loose fit, but I love how it has a little cinch in the waist and drapes over the sides. It falls right above my hips (I would say I have a somewhat shorter torso, so it might be more cropped for someone with a longer torso), but I like that I can make it more cropped if I’m wearing it with something more high-waisted. It’s a super soft fabric, not see-through, and super breezy/airy. I got a size XS because they were OOS of S at the time, and it definitely fits fine, but I would size up next time for an even looser, drapier fit. I can’t stop wearing it – I’ve repeated the same outfit 4 times in the last week:)

From Arlyn: As I was running out of my giant Costco moisturizing shampoo and conditioner, I wanted something lighter, fresher, and easier to travel with. Years ago, on my old personal blog, I did a review of shampoo bars, and the one from The Earthling Co. was by far my favorite, so I tapped back into that this time around, and I’m so happy I did. My hair is clean, feels bouncy and not weighed down, and I don’t have two enormous plastic bottles taking up room on my shower caddy. WIN WIN! I also picked up the conditioner bar and this silicone storage/travel case, which I keep right in my shower to stash my bars. Oh, and the best part? Everything is 20% off all month for their Plastic Free July Sale, so stock up!

From Mallory: Have you ever packed a suitcase for a trip and forgotten something critical?! Well, I packed for Hawaii and forgot bathing suits (cool!), so I had to do that classic “SOS, I need to go get a bathing suit or two right now” shopping trip. I then stumbled upon the most affordable and SUPER cute swimsuit!! It was $20 for the bottoms and $25 for the top, and has the cutest little ball details on the tie, plus the fabric looks expensive. They have it in white and red, and when I tell you…this is now one of my favorite suits ever.

Also from Mallory: I snagged this cover up set (top and bottom) from H&M when I was there too…it fits great and the stripes are so adorbs.

From Jess: I was bopping around with my cousin on Sunday, and we stopped into RG, a small, woman-founded, affordable jewelry shop, in Atwater Village. While there are some pieces that are a little more expensive, most of what I saw (and bought) was so reasonable. I got these thin, everyday gold hoops and these sweet little tri-crystal cluster studs for my new second hole. Both were under $50 and I love how special…but simple they are:)

Also From Jess: I finally invested in a couple of new bras that I LOVE. I’ve tried Third Love, Negative Underwear, etc., and was never all that impressed. I really dislike any added padding, so I’d been wearing inexpensive mesh cup ones that were on their last leg. Then, when one of my best friends was visiting last month, she was raving about her Fleur du Mal bra. I tried it on and immediately ordered it. I first ordered the lace one in black because their “t-shirt bra” was out of stock. Once I got it, it was the only bra I wanted to wear because it was comfortable but still a little sexy. When the t-shirt bra came back in stock, I hit add to cart and got it a few days ago. The cup is soft (not padded!) and so smooth under tops. It’s also just so freaking flattering. I feel incredible in both of them, which is such a good feeling. No more kinda sad bras that fit “good enough”.

From Caitlin: I was lucky enough to spend this weekend with my mom, and she treated me to the cutest pair of summer pajamas! They’re from Jockey (!!!), they’re super budget-friendly, and the top and bottom can be purchased separately to best fit your sizing. I LOVE THEM – the photos don’t do them justice! I’m obsessed with the piping detailing on the cami and around the legs; I can’t get enough of the ribbon tie on the bottom; and they’re SO COMFORTABLE to sleep in. I got an XL on top (though I could have sized down here, and I’m a 36F!) and an XL on bottom, which feels great on me. They’re so cute that I feel excited to change out of my daytime lounge clothes and into my nighttime lounge clothes! Highly recommend for any summer vacations, slumber parties, or just as a general pick-me-up. I slept in them every night this week and am so pleased by the price:value ratio on them – they feel like a splurgy pair of Printfresh PJs at a fraction of the cost. Thanks Brenda!!!

We also wanted to give our love and support to those affected by the Texas flood. More than ever, it feels as though there is a never-ending occurrence of unbelievable harm and devastation happening, whether it be by man or by nature, and it’s especially heartbreaking when children are involved. We are so grateful for all of the people who are on the ground helping.

Thank you so spending a little time with us today and see you tomorrow for a really great reveal/tour. xx

Opening Image Credits: Photos by Kaitlin Green