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!