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