let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

hurray, it's finally snowing in portland. here are a few shots of this season's first snow that i snapped in the pearl today. i'm happy that it is snowing now rather than smack dab in the middle of the holiday shopping season like it did last year. hey, let's have a snow day tomorrow!


look at this great door in the snow


glisan glistens


it's really coming down now

oh coco

i'm ashamed to admit that i haven't yet had the time to go see "coco before chanel". i know, i know, what kind of francophile am i? i've been meaning to see it since it originally came out but for one reason or another, i just haven't made it. however, the great thing about waiting this long is now it's at one of my favorite theatres, the living room theatres, and monday night is bargain night so you can't beat that!

have you seen this movie yet? i can't wait to see one of my favorite icons played by one of my favorite actresses.

o tannenbaum

so after my post last night, i sat looking at the little tree i brought home and decided i would make the most of it and decorate the poor thing. so here is my little christmas tree. i think this is about all i will manage to get decorated this year--unless i find that perfect twig!


my frida tree


happy holidays!

hhhappy holidays!

holiday decorating has always been a challenge for me. when i was in college, i never decorated because i would head to my parents house right after finals so there was really no need. then after school, i worked in the restaurant business and i would often work insane hours up until christmas and then i would leave the day after to my parents, so again, no need to decorate. now i work in retail where you begin your christmas buys...IN JANUARY. by the time christmas rolls around again, i've been knee deep in glitter for quite some time i feel so over it. however, i love christmas and decorating so it's a little disappointing that i don't have more energy to put into it. i have made the point to get something up the past few years but this year, with our long road trip a few weeks ago, it has been a little bit of a challenge.

while we were on our trip, i saw so many cool tumbleweeds that i thought would make the perfect christmas tree but i didn't even suggest we put one in the car because i was already past my maximum luggage check and i had a feeling my partners in travel would throw me out if i tried to fit one more thing in the car.

so i've had in my head that i want to decorate a twig--but yet have not had the opportunity to go out in search of said twig. well, tonight i gave in and brought one of the little trees we pulled off the floor of the store today home and i was going to attempt to decorate it tonight.


but then i found this picture on-line and it's exactly what i envision and now i'm afraid the little tree won't do. is it inappropriate to put something like this up and then leave it for a while? how long is too long to have ornaments out? i mean my mom used to keep the nativity up through easter so i figure a few months of a decorated twig isn't so bad, right?

happy birthday to you!

i just want to give a happy birthday shout out to my good friend debbie.

debbie and i met several years ago in a french class and we hit it off instantly. we would get together every sunday at pix to "study" which would turn into several hours of talking. debbie is such an amazing woman and a source of constant inspiration to me. she works as an artist and graphic designer and she loves, loves, loves animals, which is the focus of a lot of her art. check out her website for a look.

debbie is also the person who introduced me to lorenzo, so for that debbie, i owe you a very big THANK YOU.

happy happy birthday, i know this is the beginning of a very great year. i can't wait to get together again soon.

obsession

i'm excited to announce that i have started another blog. yes, i'm obsessed!

my newest blog, rouge blanc noir, is a much more general blog than my portland and lucie blogs. as portland and lucie require such specific topics, i wanted to branch out a little more so on rouge, pretty much anything goes--fashion, interior design, art, music, france--you name it. so check it out when you have a chance and thank you all for your dedication and support of my blogging habit. i'm having a lot of fun and constantly finding inspiration.

p.s. don't you just love this photo of jean seberg?

xoxo

social climber

tomorrow night is going to be a great night in portland. i have a holiday party to go to and then lorenzo, friends and i are heading over to mississippi studios for a great show.


and while this is mississippi records and not studios, i just love this shot and it's right down from the studios, which is a fabulous venue if you haven't caught a show there yet.
mississippi studios is at 3939 n. mississippi 503.753.4473


one of lorenzo's favorite local bands, climber, is playing. i haven't seen one of their shows yet so i'm really excited to see them. they have a huge portland following so it should be a lot of fun.


and then one of my favorite local bands, another cynthia, is having their cd release party.

i don't get out to see as many shows as i would like to any more but i always try to catch another cynthia when they are playing. they have great energy and sound and i really hope they do well so you know i'll be there in support of their new cd. you should check them out too!

ping a ling

since i've been back from my trip, i'm still getting settled in. i haven't yet finished unpacking and all that i have had time to get at the grocery store are staples like milk, cereal and dog food for lulu. because of this fact, i've been going out to lunch way more than usual. this is not a good thing as i generally eat lunch at my desk so that i can afford to eat out for more interesting meals like breakfast on the weekends or dinner. however, i made one great discovery near work that i'm so excited about. it's the newish restaurant, ping.


ping is brought to you by the pok pok folks and is located in the former hung far low location in chinatown. with chinatown's seriously sad restaurant scene, a new addition is happily welcome. ping's decor is a far cry from the old hung far low. i love the use of reclaimed wood and vintage accessories. it is a very warm and cozy atmosphere.

the food at ping is focused around the grill as you have quite a list of skewers to choose from. things like pork meatballs and spicy octopus along with the stand-by chicken breast which was really yummy too. we sampled several different skewers with rice and each of us got out of there for $10 including the tip.

and i cannot forget to mention the service. our server was a sweetheart. he explained the menu to us, made helpful suggestions and really made us feel comfortable and welcome. i'm loving this resurgence of portland restaurants that want to provide good service. i'm so tired of the "you're lucky we let you dine here" attitude.


look at these great radios they have the back wall lined with. the decor was somewhat masculine but with these little touches that i loved and that any girl would notice and appreciate.

so check out chinatown's great new addition ping at 102 nw 4th 503.229.7464

happy birthday to me hee hee!

so while today is actually my big "4-0", we celebrated it last weekend in santa fe at my favorite restaurant, el farol. el farol is the oldest restaurant in santa fe and serves lots of delicious tapas. my friends and i have been frequenting el farol for many years, i always have to visit it on my trips down. and while i wasn't feeling 100% (major cold going on), i was still able to rally and enjoy good food and great company. if you are ever in santa fe, you must head over to canyon road and el farol.




we tried 16 different tapas including the calamari, gambas (shrimp), chorizo, and patatas bravas. we drank new mexico's own gruet sparkling brut wine and a spanish rioja.


hey, not a bad looking group! thank you to my portland and new mexico friends that joined in the celebration. i had a really great time.


thank god they didn't even try to put 40 candles on my delicious tres leches birthday cake!

overall we had a wonderful trip and i took a lot of great pictures. here in the next few days, i will put some collages up of some of my favorites. i had forgotten just how beautiful new mexico can be, it was so crisp and clear and the colors really stood out. not to mention the amazing big blue sky. you know i still love you portland but i would love to see a little more blue sky up here please.

no place like home

i'm happy to report that we've made it home from the great tour of the southwest of '09. it was a truly amazing trip complete with beautiful sights, family, old friends, new family and deeelicious food. i'm taking today off from the blog to recover and i'll get some photos posted tomorrow.

new mexico, i will miss you but portland, it was so good to roll into town and see your beautiful lights. you know i do still heart you!

southbound

we are gearing up for our big road trip down to the southwest. i'm not sure if and when i'll get a chance to post but i'll definitely take some photos to post when we get back. for the time being, here are some great shots i found on-line to get us all in the mood.


the resort we'll be satying in.
(source take great pictures)


the perfect vehicle for this road trip.
(source find atlantis)


a southwestern traffic jam.
(source bruce garret)


the lush southwestern flora.
(source take my trip)

the only thing we need is the soundtrack set to happy trails!

bye bye blanca

with our upcoming road trip to the southwest, it's clear that it was time to say goodbye to blanca, my volvo. oh she was certainly there when i needed her but as these things happen, we had grown apart the last few months. i think it started the day the driver side window wouldn't roll down. i know, that's not the worst thing that could happen but i went over a year with my bmw without the window rolling down and you know what, i like it when i can roll down the window. who ever decided that power windows were all that great, anyway? oh yes, it's all fine and dandy until you can't get your burgerville pumpkin milkshake without looking like a total dummy! so that and that fact that it had started overheating recently, a good road trip car it would not make. so thank you blanca for a good year, i will miss you but i have to let you go.


so blanca has been replaced with a very responsible jetta stationwagon. i have had jettas in the past and i really like them and know all of their quirks so i went with the old stand by. is it glamorous? no. practical? yes. it will fit all of my needs and for that i am thankful. but help, what are we going to call her? i don't know if i can ride around in a car without a name.

a beaker and a flask

what more do you really need? well, i guess i don't really need a beaker, but a flask, that's a definite must.

my friends and i have been dying to stop by beaker and flask but since they have been named the willamette week restaurant of the year, it's been pretty packed. that's a great thing, though, as they definitely deserve it.


it's been here about a year now and getting rave reviews. i was happy to see my old friend doug behind the bar when i came in. he is a great bartender and has always been so sweet. with all of portland's attitude, it's so refreshing to go into a place where you don't have to deal with that. and kevin, the owner, makes it clear that he wants your experience to be a good one. YES! i think portland is experiencing a revival of new restaurants without the attitude.
(photo source the portlander)


it's a great new place in a funky location that otherwise would never have amounted to much. it reminds me of a used car showroom that has had a second chance in life. it's so nice to see an old building being utilized in such a way. the designers did a great job at turning this lofty space into an intimate setting.
(photo source annen design)

it's located at 727 se washington (the corner of washington and sandy)
503.235.8180
reservations are recommended for dining.

and oh yes, you must try the grilled romaine salad. delish!

a rather blustery day

oh in the words of pooh, the wind is lashing lustily and the trees are thrashing thrustily and the leaves certainly are rustling gustily. yes, it's a rather blustery day!

it's barely 4:30 and it's already dark outside. and while it's not pouring down rain, i have a feeling that it's just a matter of time.

and as much as i would love to get out there and take photos of our blustery day, i was inspired by the photos of others, and they are so much better than mine would be anyway. besides, i don't want to get my hair all mussed.

so this is what it's like on a portland blustery day.


the streets turn to lakes.
(source about portland)


the raindrops fall sideways at cathedral park.
(source flickr manyfires)


the willamette river gives us an icy glare.
(source about portland)


and this is the grey of willapa bay.
technically not portland but still a beautiful photo of the northwest home of my favorite oysters.
(source seattle times)

i can't wait to get home and make a warm dinner and cuddle with little lulu who was very worked up this morning and i couldn't figure out why. she must have heard the far off rustling and bustling of leaves!

indigo continued

this morning i received some more photos of the indigo project taken by a professional. the lighting is so much better and i'm so happy he took one with the fireplace lit.

overall, i was very happy with the way things turned out. there is always more you could do as a project is rarely ever finished but i thought that for the time i had to get this done, we did a really nice job. yes, i did have some help by two of my coworkers, lorenzo, and the amazing guys over at rose city moving who did all of the grunt work. i could not have done this without their help.


the living room with the city lights and glowing fireplace.


the colorful dining room


i love this shot of the guest room with more of the amazing view.

indigo part two

and here is the "after" of my indigo project. my theme was contemporary western. i wanted to do something different than you would normally see in such an urban setting. my company makes the blankets, bedding and some of the home accessories and i also had a lot of help from my good friend kathleen at design within reach with additional furniture as well as artwork contributed by my friend cecily over at quintana gallery. thank you both for all of your help, i could not have done this without you!

so let's check it out. (sorry for the quality of some of the photos, with our grey day, the light wasn't very good).


here is the entry. i chose the art work and rugs as the focal point and added the flowers (by city flowers) for that extra touch.


the living room with the amazing view behind.


the living room and the balcony


the living room with fireplace. darn, i should have lit it!


i even put a few pieces from my house out on the patio.


i loved the way the dining area came out. this is one of my favorite photos of the condo.


the "guest" room with our new riata bedding.


here is the master bedroom in the daytime. the bedding is a new collection out in the spring called prairie flower.


another day time shot in the master bedroom. i had to get one in with the great design within reach egg chair.


i loved the way the master bedroom looked at night.


i thought the candle light made such a difference. too bad the fire marshall came and made us blow it out. party pooper!


i gathered a few pieces from anthropologie for the master bathroom.


and you know lulu had to make an appearance since she couldn't be there in person. the flowers were by city flowers.


i found the drape at anthro and thought it would make a perfect shower curtain.

so what do you think? could you live here?

i had a lot of fun putting this together. it took all day wednesday to decorate and a few hours on friday to break it down. and three days to recover afterwards!

thank you to soler productions for giving me this fab opportunity.

indigo part one

ok so here it is. my long-awaited post on my big project at the grand opening of the new indigo building here in portland.

the indigo is a new condominium building downtown at sw 12th and washington and it takes downtown living to a new level. the views are amazing, the wind turbines generate 30% of the building's power, it has an eco roof, a roof-top patio that rivals the one at departure with 360 views of portland and they have an in-house theatre and gym. they are within walking distance to shopping in sw, burnside and the pearl. and the list goes on and on.

i've always considered myself a small city girl and thus my choice of living in hawthorne and not downtown, right in the middle of the action but i have to tell you, i could live here!

i was asked but the production company putting this fete together if i on behalf of my company would decorate a penthouse for the one night only grand opening event. and as these things usually happen at the worst possible time, i was worried if i could pull it off. so i called on a few of my friends and colleagues and we made it happen.

so here is the first half, i'll post photos of the building and the empty penthouse and then follow-up with photos of the after. otherwise, it would be a lot to take in at one time.

so here goes, enjoy your tour of the indigo 12 west.


the outside of the new indigo building


the zoobomber bike sculpture


the lobby


more of the lobby


the roof-top balcony


more of the roof-top


the roof-top lounge


seating outside of the lounge


the eco roof


the wind turbines


view of the big pink


the fremont bridge


the entry into the penthouse (23rd floor)


the living room


the living room


and more of the living room


the "guest" bedroom


the amazing view up burnside towards northwest


the view towards i-405

so here are the before shots of the condo.