Hello! I’m back after a five-day trip/vacation to Portland, OR. Wonderful weather, extremely friendly people, and good food – what more can you ask? Over the next week, I’ll cover more of my Portland finds, but for today, five favs:
1. Oblation Papers Had to start with the letterpress! A great stationery store in the Pearl district – full of interesting and unique product. They also offer custom letterpress invitations, stationery, you-name-it.
2. Erath winery Very friendly tasting room, and I liked everything they poured! Unfortunately, they cannot ship right now as the winery was just purchased by Chateau St. Michelle. So, I’m tapping my foot, waiting …
3. Bridgeport Brew Excellent microbrewery at the top of the Pearl, and food to match. (We ate there twice!)
4. Office Cool, hip office supplies/paper goods store in NE Portland. Had to beg the owner to open early on the way to the airport – and he did! A nice guy, and a great store.
5. Mt. Hood/Columbia River Gorge We drove 1/3 of the Mt. Hood loop on Sunday (forest fires prevented the rest) and I was amazed and delighted by the views. Waterfalls galore …. nice walking.
Have a great weekend, all!
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I’m taking a week off from blogging – catch you next Friday with the Five!
…. learning more about today’s thwarted terror plot, as well as which items you can no longer carry on an airplane, check out these happier articles as well (courtesy of the NYTimes)
1. Happy Meal Hummers I found this Happy Meal toy an interesting choice – and it seems that the NYTimes agrees. (Sadly, I am now curious to ride in a Hummer just to see what all the fuss is about – I do not wish to own one, and I’d like to make that abundantly clear!)
2. The New Old House I’d like to own an old house again – our first house was 150 years old. Our current one isn’t even seven yet. Perhaps I’ll pick up some tips to make the lamb look like mutton!
3. Oooh, and for sheer fun, check out New York magazine’s star map!
I’m really drawn to photography this summer, especially food photos. A good photograph really captures the bounty of the season, and makes me yearn for a nice, fresh, green salad or a bowl of berries. In that light, Photobird is my documenter of choice. Based in Brooklyn, NY, her photos are simple, but simply lovely. Check out her Flickr portfolio for inspiration, and if you are inspired to purchase, she sells various prints and cards at her Etsy shop. Hope that you enjoy it as much as I do! Too many favorites to list!
As we have previously established my suckerdom for all forms of marketing, let me rave about my new Nike + iPod setup. Love it! For $29 (plus new Nike+ shoes) I now have pace and distance information at the touch of my iPod’s center button. The Nike armband that fits the iPod’s added adaptor is awful – you couldn’t access the iPod controls, and so I returned it, and instead retro-fitted my armband from Apple, using my trusty exacto-knife and a scissors. I’ve now taken it outside for two runs. Instead of guessing at distance and time, I’m now pretty darn close to actual! (and the power song, which comes on to motivate you when you’re lagging, is such a great idea) When you’re finished with a workout, connecting your iPod to the computer updates your information at Nike’s site, giving you data, and hopefully inspiration. You can set goals for yourself, and challenges with groups of friends. Check it out at any Apple store, or the Apple website.
