Courtney Z in PDX; new and improved

Alright, so I know that this past month, it may seem like I have been slacking. I mean, I only had like three or four posts in April! A little pathetic, I know. The truth is that I haven't been slacking. I have actually been working my cute little butt off. I have had so many little ongoing projects, and it seems like they are all finally coming together. Allow me to fill you in:


Nabil and I bought a house.

That's right, we are old people grown-ups. We have spent so much time and energy looking at house after house. We are officially first time home buyer pros. Take a look at my first time home buyer advise here. The journey has been a mess to say the least, and at times it seemed like it would never be worth it, but I got to tell ya, I am so excited to have a place of our own. Weekend projects (that will actually be work that will benefit us), here we come!


I started my own photography business.

I'm using the term "business" very loosely. After going through what I have lovingly come to call my "quarter life crisis", I finally feel excited about my career future. Now all I need is a steady client base... easy right? Wrong! I have discovered that this adventure is a lot of work, but it has also been so much fun! I can't wait to see where it takes me. It seems a little weird to say write it out loud, mostly because that makes it a little more official, but the last couple months, I have been crazy busy building a website, creating the framework for a business, and trying to photograph as much as possible. ...it is not easy to do while maintaining a full-time job. Here are a few sneak peaks of what I have done so far. More blog posts to come:

Blog re-format
Over the past six months or since I have started the blog, I have really enjoyed what I have gotten out of the experience. I find that I can express myself much better writing than I can verbally. I get tongue tide, and it gets confusing for others who are trying to listen and follow my twisting train of thought. Since starting my photography venture, I have decided to reformat the blog a bit. I will be adding a lot more photography pieces and some work from any photo shoots that I photographed. I will also include some DIY home projects. This is a little unrelated to everything else on the blog, but I like doing these projects, and I like photographing/writing about it, so it stays because it is my blog and I can do what I want. Lastly, and what I am the most excited about is a new section of the blog:

Meet PDX
It's no secret that I love Portland. This city has so much to offer, and after living here for four years, I feel like I have only begun to scratch the surface. There are so many amazing avenues of the city, and I would like to incorporate that into the blog. What I envision is a "who's who" of local Portlanders. I will interview and photograph local business owners, artists, and those who generally make an impact on this great city. I have a few peeps lined up already, so stay tuned because it is going to be GREAT! Here is a little peak:

So that is about it. You officially have the 411. I think that my new and improved posts will not disappoint, so keep checking back! :)

Until next time...