happy new year!

happy new year all of my portland people! what are your plans for tomorrow evening?

i think i am going to ring in the new year at a friend's house with lorenzo and our pooches but if i were going to go out, i'd definitely be going to see sallie ford and the sound outside (above). i just love her sound and personality.

she's playing a show at the doug fir if you still don't have anything planned. i'm sure it will be a lot of fun.

alas, when you work in retail, by the time new year rolls around, it's time for a little breaky poo.

any resolutions for the new year? one of mine is to spend a little more time and effort on my blogs. i'm so lucky to have my devoted readers and i admit, i've slacked off this latter part of the year. so that will be my goal...and to get a new camera with my tax return which will help said goal.

so thank you, thank you for staying tuned and i hope you all have a wonderful and safe new year. no drinking and driving, just have a sleepover where ever you find yourselves, k!

xoxo hawthorne girl, lorenzo, lulu and roy

image courtesy of willy week

sigh...

look who stopped in to shop in my store today. yes, sam elliott! oh he's just so cute, and that voice is to die for.

little bird is here!

i'm so excited that gabriel rucker's latest endeavor, little bird has opened right down the street from my work.

some coworkers and i popped in for luch last week but they were all booked up so i'm hoping to get there next week to give it a try.

we did scan the menu and everything sounds so good including a daily foie gras special. i love me some foie!

and the interiors are so frenchy and pretty. the walls are painted in robin's egg blue, there are big chalkboard menus and beautiful sparkly mirrors. i'll try to post some pictures when i finally am able to give it a try.

i hope you all hare having a great holiday season and i'll try to get some more posts and pics up soon.

happy holidays!

hello my loyal portland readers! i'm so sorry that it has taken me so long to get back with the program here. so many things going on in life and i just haven't made my little blogs much of a priority, especially lu's.

so what exactly has been going on? well, let's see. i started doing bikram yoga which was a much needed addition to my life, however, takes up quite a bit of time. i've been keeping the shop running and we have been doing very well this year with lots of fun and exciting new collaborations, my family is happy and healthy and everyone is doing great, i had another birthday last week and spent it with friends at toro bravo, pix and then mother's, lucie got a good bill of health (her eyes have not gotten any worse), roy hurt his leg and was laid up for a while but is doing much better now. and oh yeah, my camera is dead and therefore, the lack of pictures (i'm pretty much just using my iphone).

so today, i was missing all of my blogs and hopped on to see how they are holding up in this dry spell. i felt so bad to see that you, my friends, are still hanging in there and still check in on a regular basis. so, thank you so much, i really do love my portland blog. i mean, how easy is it to gather inspiration in this amazing city? and yet, i have not been doing my part. so i hope to get back to it and share with all of my friends just what i am doing around our fair city these days.


and speaking of beautiful portland, have you heard our very own lovely band pink martini's holiday album "joy to the world"?

my bff down in new mexico sent it to me for my birthday and it made me sooo happy. i put it right on and it put me in such a festive mood. i've been playing it in the store every day now.



the one thing i love about the album is that it is not your same old same old holiday album. it's totally been pink martini'd. with traditional and non traditional songs, songs i've never heard of and of course songs in exotic foreign languages. this is a definite must add to your holiday collection. i'm sure you can find it at music millenium.

i hope to be back with you much sooner but in the meantime, have a great holiday shopping season--shop, eat, drink and be merry all over portland!

before she was famous...

before she was a famous winner of project runway, gretchen jones was slinging duds for the company i work for.


work it girl!


love her or hate her, this local girl's got talent. congrats gretchen!

she and him

last friday at the schnitz, she and him played a fabulous show. i really hope you all were able to go. it was one of my all time favorite concerts. zooey was amazing, i'm in love with m.ward's voice and their two sister/back-up singers were the cutest thing ever.

the best part was zooey's 90 something grandparents from lake oswego were there. they came in right as my friend and i were entering the auditorium. how sweet is that to go see your granddaughter who happens to be zooey deschanel play a show at the amazing arlene schnitzer theater? it was pretty priceless.

if you ever get the chance to see them, you must!

nell's diner

last weekend was a quintessential portland weekend which means one thing--breakfast.

when the weather here gets yucky, do what portlander's do and head inside for some great coffee and good food. one of my favorite places when i'm craving weekend breakfast is cafe nell.

cafe nell is a little over a year old and resides in the space that formerly housed cafe des amis. i loved cafe des amis as well but the new owners of the space have really done an amazing transformation. what was once tiny and closed in, seems bright and open and spacious thanks to creative interior design and the big wall of mirrors. it may be dark and gloomy outside but certainly not inside this beautiful restaurant.


i like to sit in the bar so i can look out the window into the neighborhood. i also got a good look at the fabulous bloody marys they were making behind the bar.


nothing gets better than a cup of coffee while watching the rain outside.

for breakfast, i ordered the huevos rancheros. i generally do not order huevos in restaurants because being from new mexico, i'm usually disappointed with the huevos up here. well, the waiter assured me they were delicious so i went ahead and tried them because new mexican comfort food was really sounding good to me. and guess what, i was pleasantly surprised! they were really good with the chunky ranchero sauce and just the right amount of kick. the eggs were cooked perfectly and it really hit the spot.


i'm not sure if i'm ready for this everyday but sometimes it's nice to just sit and watch the rain. and cafe nell is a great spot to do this in.

it is located at nw 20th and kearney 503.295.6487

they also have a small parking lot in back which is great when visiting the nw neighborhood.

portland as brooklyn?

sometimes during down time, i like to pop on over to the selby and voyeurize (is that a word?) the homes of fabulous creative people.

today i discovered a post on the photoshoot of the cole haan fall catalog shot in both brooklyn and portland.

i have often thought to myself that there is this strong tie between brooklyn and portland and it was so strange to see it out there in the universe. i mean, i've always felt this, so clearly others must have as well.

what do you think? are portland and brooklyn just their own unique places that happen to have a similar vibe or is portland to seattle as brooklyn is to manhattan? i like to think we are our own unique places with just a great collective of similar minded open and creative people. i think there was a brief time that portland was the younger sibling to seattle but i really think we've gone out on our own and created our own feel. and i love seattle but i'm still happy that i chose to come to portland instead. besides, we need a good road trip city!

anyway, check out the cole haan shoot. it's really beautiful and fun to see portland shots side by side with brooklyn. see if you can tell which is which!

any day now...

i am anxiously awaiting the opening of the h&m store in pioneer place. i'm not sure of the exact date but it is slated to open fall 2010! 700 sw 5th ave 503.228.5800

oh my god, i die!

photo of my girl lou at the champs elysees h&m opening, courtesy of rdujour.

it's baack!

so last week i was walking through chinatown and saw this in it's former home (now ping restauraunt)which was once the hung far low restaurant, an old town/chinatown must see. it was removed several years ago when hung far low moved out to 82nd street. it turns out people make a special trip to chinatown to see the sign and there have been many disappointed tourists upon finding out it was no longer here. therefore, the owners of ping began a movement to bring it back.


this morning i was driving into work and snapped this shot. what's the deal? no fanfare? no glory? it just reappears like it was never gone.

although it has been painstakingly restored and looks even better than ever.

oh hung far low, how we have missed you!

go here to read the most recent oregonian article.

portland visitor

sorry i'm still a little behind on my posts here lately. i promise i'll get more coming here soon.

i was on the internet last week looking for pictures of my store and came across this great post about portland. i thought if i'm not posting right now, i might as well share this terrific post on portland though a londoners eyes. check out her blog as well, i really like it.

and yes, there was a photo of my store in the post...and it looked really messy. hmph!

the blog is called this is naive.

p.s. i had to post my old header 'cause i really miss my sweet old volvo named blanca! (but not that bad)

look who was in the store today...

the cute boys of vampire weekend who will be playing mcmenamin's edgefield tomorrow night.

update

hi everyone, i just wanted to say hello and give you a quick update on the blog. i will be continuing with posts but after a very busy summer, i just needed a little break. i will be back in a few weeks after the hustle and bustle of summer is over and i hope to have some more really great posts up for you all...or maybe you could just come to portland and explore all of the great places on your own!

enjoy these last few weeks of summer, i'm sorry to see it go.

mmm... beer

lorenzo and i discovered our new favorite beer joint, hopworks urban brewery, over on se powell. it's been around for a few years now but i just had never made it in. one sunday we were getting together with friends so we thought we would give it a try and, it's pretty cool.

in another location i think it would take on a whole different persona (ie the pearl) but being that it is located over on the strip of powell blvd between downtown and 39th, it gives it a little more of a working class/industrial flavor.

the owner, christian ettinger, traveled the world trying different bars to research creating the perfect brewery and bar. this is his dream business and you can tell in all of the little details.


behind the cashwrap is this well-stocked cooler of beers. wouldn't you like one of these in your pool room at home?


what a pretty use for an old keg. this is what you call a flowery beer.


the bar has this whole bike theme going on and we loved the custom light fixtures made out of bike frames.


here's a close up.

so on these hot days of summer, what better way to spend it than having great organic beers amongst friends over on powell? if you haven't checked it out yet, do it. one thing that i loved about it is even though it was pretty full that night, it's got a lot of seating so you're bound to get a good table.

we already can't wait to go back with friend's again soon.

hub is located at 2944 se powell blvd
503.232.4677

ahhh astoria

sorry for the lack of posts this week. i'm now unpacking from the big move and on vacation for the week. however, i'm needing a little break so tomorrow the girl and the dogs and i are taking a drive out to the coast. i'm hoping we can stop for lunch in astoria at my favorite cafe, the cannery cafe.

what i love about the cannery cafe is it's right on the waterfront. the food is delicious and it's in my favorite sea side town, astoria.

ever since i was a little girl, astoria has been my favorite place on the oregon coast. there is just something about it's scandinavian charm. once my parents took me on the little trolley ride that talks about the history of the town and as hokey as it seemed, i really enjoyed it. there is such great history in the town and i can't wait to head out in the morning for another visit.

if you are passing through astoria, check out the cannery cafe at #1 6th st 503.325.8642

hawthorne i love you

when i decided i wanted to write a post about hawthorne, i started to look for images of the heart of hawthorne and came across this one and decided that it is perfect for my ode to hawthorne. i've driven past this mural on the side of a bookstore at about 31st and hawthorne for so many years and i've always had a fondness for it, particularly because it featured one of my favorite tormented authors, sylvia plath.

why am i writing an ode to hawthorne? because as of june 30th, i will no longer reside in my much loved portland neighborhood. it's funny to think about because i thought i would live out my days in this little "quarter". but alas things change and people move on. if not, we would never evolve, right?

it is decidedly so that i have outgrown my sweet pied a terre and before my poor landlord who lives below me kicks me out of the building due to late night, wine induced tromps up above, lucie jumping up and down all day, or a big dog howling every time someone walks by my window, i have decided it is best if i leave on good terms, that and the fact that i have an amazing guy who has an amazing daughter that i want to spend as much time as humanly possible with, and this means moving out to the country to be with them.

so how do i begin to pay tribute to my home of 11 years (i cheated on hawthorne for 1 year over on corbett and quickly came back)? i wouldn't even know where to begin but here are a few things that i will always look back on fondly...

standing outside of the bagdad theater in the pouring rain the first week i lived here wondering what in the heck i had done.

great times with raney down the street in her amazing apartment.

the reunion with my dear friend racheal at the cup and saucer cafe.

hanging at the barley mill with raney, kelly, tim and marin, amanda and frank, and jessie and vince.

st. patrick's day at biddy mcgraw's.

working sunday nights at the italian joint (rip).

countless birthdays at the bombay cricket club with kjirsten and megan.

my favorite safeway and the sweet people that work there, as well as the springtime drycleaners whose owner worries about me if i forget to come pick up my drycleaning (granted i leave it there a ridiculously long time).

and there are so, so many more things i love about my neighborhood that i won't bore you to death with but will always cherish, yes, i have had some good times on hawthorne!

and by the way, i am having a huge moving sale this sunday the 27th so come on over, buy some crap so i don't have to move it, or you can just say hi! (12th ave two blocks south of hawthorne).

in the words of sylvia plath (or gwyneth paltrow playing sylvia) my life in hawthorne has been a "pot boiler", and yes, i will always be a hawthorne girl!

image from todd mecklem
mural by jane brewster

i want my maple bacon bar...

i feel like i've been on a whirl-wind tour myself. things have been pretty busy here in p-town and i'm not sure when the end will be in sight.

between packing, moving, catching whatever music i can and oh yeah, working, i've been pretty busy the last few weeks. i caught the psychedelic furs show last night which brought me back to my teen age years and then this week i'm just gearing up for a visit from one of my dear friends, finish moving, have a yard sale and host one last soiree in my much loved hawthorne apartment. whew!

luckily, with all of this mayhem, there has been some fun mixed in there to keep me going and tonight is one of those nights...i'm going to see anthony bourdain at the bagdad theater.

i have wanted to see him the previous times he came through portland but could never get it together to make it happen. so a big thank you to my friend joel for taking charge and getting us tickets.

he will be reading from his latest book medium raw which will definitely be on my summer reading list.

let's just hope he gets his voodoo maple bacon bar before the show so he isn't pissed off!

the bagdad theater is at 3702 se hawthorne 503.236.9234

ccccold!

what the heck is going on with the weather up here? this reminds me of the famous mark twain quote "the coldest winter i ever saw was the summer i spent in san francisco (sub portland)."

you know, we only tolerate the crappy weather all year because our summers are so beautiful that it makes it all worth it. i can't help but feel a little short changed.

i'm moving this weekend so cross your fingers it doesn't rain as much as the forecast says it will. oh rain rain go away!

i can't believe i forgot to mention...

that the band that is opening for the brian jonestown massacre is really amazing.

if you are a fan of the spaghetti western, or the sadies and have never seen federale, it is worth it to check them out tomorrow. they play around portland pretty regularly too, though.

dig it!

have you ever seen the movie dig! about the dandy warhols and the brian jonestown massacre? well you should.

i was not really a fan of the local portland band, the dandy warhols, but after seeing the film, i have a new appreciation for them as they seemed to carve out a niche for their sound and worked very hard.

the film follows their relationship with the band the brian jonestown massacre and their "friendly" competition with this band. i checked out the music of brian jonestown after seeing the film and i really liked it. i'm not so sure of their new stuff (there is a constant rotation of bandmates). lorenzo really wanted to go see them, just to check them out, i on the other hand, think i will pass since it's a work night and wait for his report back.

whether you like either band or not, i highly recommend the film dig! for it's character study of the respective musicians.

the brian jonestown massacre is playing tomorrow night at the crystal ballroom.

my one and only thrill

one of my favorite singers today, melody gardot, is performing this friday night at the aladdin theater. i've had so much going on that i still haven't bought tickets. i'm hoping there will still be seats available because i will be bummed out if i miss another great show.

anybody else going to this one?

the aladdin is at 3017 se milwaukie ave 503.234.9694

psyched!

i'm pretty excited about the fact that i will be seeing the psychedelic furs this sunday, june 20th at the crystal ballroom.

yes, i am a product of the 80's and john hughes and the furs were a huge part of my life. where would i be had it not been for molly ringwald in pretty in pink showing us that the poor little artsy girl can get the cute guy after all? oh and i wanted a karmannghia so bad after seeing that movie!

so lorenzo and i will be donning our 80's finest and heading over to the crystal to relive our lost childhood. i wonder if they serve wine coolers?

the crystal ballroom is at 1332 w burnside 503.225.0047

GOAL!!!

oh yes people. it's that time, the time i have been counting down to for the past four years. it's WORLD CUP SOCCER!

i love world cup and aside from tennis, it's the only sport i will get up to watch and ungodly hours of the morning. and i must say, for this next month, it's all about world cup for me. i have to get my fill in to tide me over for the next four years.

the last world cup i was all about portugal and when they were out of the series i was pulling for forza italia. i am happy with either one making it to the finals. who is your team?

i got on line to see where i may be viewing my early morning games and found that beulahland has a really easy to navigate schedule listed and three big screen tvs, so i may start my viewing there this year. besides, they have great cheap breakfast and awesome biscuits and gravy.

beulahland is at 118 ne 28th ave 503.235.2794
here is their soccer schedule

le troubadour

our local french troubadour, eric john kaiser is playing a free show this saturday night, june 12th at one of my favorite venues, the someday lounge.

if you like all things frenchie, you will love his music. it will completely transport you to paris, mais oui!

someday lounge is at 125 nw 5th ave 503.248.1030

my crying heart

be sure to check out one of my favorite local tormented artists, willy vlautin and his band, richmond fontaine playing tomorrow night, june 10th at dantes.

because sometimes we all need to cry tears into our beer.

dantes is at 1 sw3rd ave 503.226.6630

save the dolphins

perhaps it's because my second all time favorite movie (after my own private idaho) is the big blue, i've been obsessed with dolphins and their capacity to communicate with the human race. so i was shocked by the fact that they are mass killed every year in japan.

i don't know if you all have seen the cove yet, but i highly recommend seeing it if you haven't. and for you locals, there is a benefit to end the slaughter of dolphins going on this thursday the 10th at the someday lounge starting at 6pm.


lorenzo and i are planning on checking it out. i'm not sure if they are going to screen the oscar winning film on thursday but you can find it on netflix. i just want to know what we can do to keep this fight alive and end this horrible killing of the dolphins.

the someday lounge is at 125 nw 5th ave 503.248.1030

i'm breathless!

i was so excited to hear today while reading the english muse, that one of my all time favorite french films, breathless, has been remastered and will be re-released to celebrate it's 50th anniversary. and even better, it will be showing in august and my favorite portland movie theatre, cinema 21.

i'll be sure to remind you when it will be showing but i just had to share with you my excitement.

hop on le train

i was so excited to get an email from one of my fav on-line stores, portland's own, le train bleu. it seems they have installed a pop up shop in their headquarters and will be open this weekend hosting a sale.

i really miss their storefront as they closed it a little over a year ago so i definitely will be heading over tomorrow to check out the selection.

the sale is going on today, tomorrow and sunday from 11-6.
le train bleu 1905 nw 26th (at upshur)

fleet week

it's fleet week in portland when thousands of drunken sailors emerge upon downtown where hopefully they will be shanghai'd back into the seas from whence they came.


oh let the rose festival begin!

love to smile

lately on my drive to or from work, signs like these have been popping up in different places. i'm not a big fan of graffiti but this just puts it all in perspective for us...especially while driving in the car.

se burnside


hawthorne bridge


hopefully it helps to cut down on road rage!

rolling

the television show leverage is filming across the street from work this week so i got a few shots of the crew in action. the funny thing is i guess it's supposed to be boston, there are boston cop cars all over neighborhood but they all have oregon license plates!

here, tom skerritt waits for his scene.


and christian kane in action.



still no timothy hutton sightings for me, though.

ps. tom skerritt stopped in to shop in my store on wednesday. he's a very sweet man and likes his western shirts!

got milk?

my friend vince reminded me that last week, may 22nd, was harvey milk day. i don't know if you have seen the movie "milk" by my fave director gus van sant, but if you haven't, you really should check it out.

i was so lucky to get to go to the portland premier where gus and james franco were present and each shared a personal story of what harvey and the film meant to them. it was a very touching and moving film and i highly recommend checking it out. the final scene was just incredible.

i generally try not to get all political but i just can't believe that we are still fighting for equal rights for the gay community. have not all of our lives been inspired or touched by a friend or family member that is gay? why do we not push harder for equal rights?

a few years back, gay marriage was allowed here in portland but only ever so briefly before it was voted out. i don't think the way it was implemented was the right way(it was decided by our city council and not put on a ballot to begin with) but i was really surprised that so many people are still against this in our day and age.

oh when will church and state ever become separate?

songbird

look who popped into my store yesterday. turns out she grew up in happy valley. who knew?

i absolutely love her!

golf pro...

...i am not! in fact until this weekend, i had never played a real game of golf in my life. not that what i played at mcmenamin's edgefied could be called a "real" game but for me, it was a far cry from the putt putt i used to play as a kid at the phoenix metro center course.


i have loved edgefield ever since i moved to portland and my friends first took me there. i don't make it out as much as i used to but i do try to make it once or twice a summer because nothing beats a lazy summer weekend hanging out around the little red shed drinking rubies or "rubinators".


so the fact that this time i actually played golf was an entirely new experience for me. luckily, i good coaches and after a few rough starts, i was able to get my first swing onto the green.

and the course is absolutely beautiful looking down the hill onto the edgefield grounds. you really couldn't beat the great weather we had out on saturday, it was a clear blue sky day.

i really hope i can get out to edgefield a few more times this summer. i'm not sure if another golf game will happen, i don't know if i have the attention span to play even nine holes but i definitely hope to make it out for some music like willie nelson or pavement. oh i can't wait for summer!

mcmenamin's edgefield is located at 2126 sw halsey st troutdale 503.669.8610

photo 1 courtesy of eats and interest
photo 2 courtesy of macgeek

shop vintage portland

as i mentioned over here on my other blog, i'm trying to get more into vintage shopping. i think my mother tortured me as a kid by dragging me to so many flea markets and thrift stores that i vowed i would never shop in a thrift store again. well i do and i will, hopefully even more.

working in the retail industry, i see so much of the same thing out there over and over again. if you want something truly unique, vintage is the way to go.

yesterday i was on line looking for vintage stores and i found this terrific blog called shop vintage portland. this is just want i need, someone to tell me exactly where to go. they list all of the vintage shops in town and have a section for the new vintage stores that are always popping up.

if you enjoy thrifting and vintage shopping in portland, i highly recommend this website to help you navigate your excursions.

funky foster road

last week i was running errands out on southeast foster road and was amazed by all of the great restaurants and shops that have popped up over there lately. but i about slammed on my brakes when i came to an open lot on the corner that had the coolest funky vintage furniture on it. i saw a truck parked next to the lot that said grandma's funky furniture.

sadly, i was in a hurry and did not have time to stop but as i continued heading west on foster, there on the left hand side was a storefront called grandma's funky furniture. behold, i could see inside some of the coolest wares i have seen in a long time.

did you all know about this store? how have i just now found this? i looked on-line but all there was about this fabulous portland gem was a small yelp listing.

well let me tell you, the next day off i get, i'm heading over to foster road to spend the day checking out grandma's as well as the other great new places foster has to offer. i'll let you know what i find!

grandma's funky furniture storefront is at 6852 se foster rd 503.975.6362
the open lot is about eight blocks further up foster on the northwest corner.

photo courtesy of flickr

cafe velo

i needed to go run an errand today during lunch and took a side street that i don't take very often. this cute little cafe caught my eye on the corner of sw 6th outside of the the big pink and right on the transportation mall. several different lunch counters have occupied this space in the past but i love what this one has done for the curb appeal.

i popped in just for a minute to look over their menu, which sounded really good. when i got back to work, i googled this little gem and this is what i found out about our new neighborhood business.

cafe velo started as a mobile coffee cart over at the portland farmers market in the south park blocks. the owner, rick wilson, quit his high tech job, purchased a european bakfiet bike (the cool three-wheeled kind that looks like a boat) and opened up shop. he felt that this was the perfect business for portland because it involved a bike, coffee, and sustainability. it turns out he was right. his business is booming at the farmers market and now he has a permanent home as well, referred to as cafe velo 2.0.

at cafe velo 2.0, he still offers made-to-order drip and french press coffee by stumptown, but also offers a few other varieties of coffee as well. i have not yet jumped on the portland made-to-order drip coffee bandwagon but now i think i'll give it a shot to see what all of the fuss is about. however, what really caught my eye was the great lunch menu he boasts at the tiny cafe.

the menu is based on rick's time living in paris when he encountered the diverse ethnic selections of parisian street food. he offers flatbread sandwiches, falafel and hummus, soups, tagines and one of my favorites-paella. i cannot wait to go back and try some of these wonderful flavors of spain, morocco and tunisia right here in our very own neighborhood!

cafe velo is at 600 sw pine 503.719.0287 and is cash only. there is a menu listed on their website cafe-velo.

little birdies in my tree

this morning as i walked into work, the tree outside of my store was talking to me. i looked in to see what it was and here they were, 1-2-3 little baby birds looking for their momma!

what a nice way to start the day.