rad summer: portland

This weekend Jeff and I hung out in Portland with Lola and a few friends of ours. We chose to head there based on the weather forecast. Vancouver was gonna be showery and overcast, Seattle nice but not hot, and Portland hot and sunny. I am seriously at a point of being willing to drive hours to feel summer. That being said, it seems that Vancouver has figured it out now and this week is looking good!

Here are some photos of a few trip highlights: vintage shops and strawberry blintzes, a goggle-wearing chihuahua named Rootbeer, hammertime, dog walks, sunshine, and late night food. I hope that you have a chance to visit Portland sometime. I've been going there pretty regularly for the past 8 or 9 years and never get sick of it. I've never seen so many breakfast places in one city and love all of the niche stores like Artemesia, which specializes in terrarium supplies, and the gigantic bookstore that I want to live in, Powell's. Seriously, the trip is worth it for any book lover just because of that store. You really, really should go. And as a Canadian used to paying way too much for everything, I love two dollar beers and four dollar veggie burgers during happy hour (happy hour, by the way, is illegal in British Columbia...yikes).

P.S. Chevre, ligonberry, lemon curd crepes are delicious!

stock

I'm really excited to announce two new stockists for Sadie Designs jewelry: OKO Gallery in Portland, OR and Red Velvet in Springfield, MO. I am very happy to be part of these wonderful shops, both of which are run by very sweet people who love handmade and support local artists. I really hope that if you're in the neighbourhood of either of these places you'll stop by. I was lucky enough to visit OKO this morning in Portland and loved so many things in the shop that it took some serious will power to not leave with a whole new pile of accessories and housewares. OKO is in a really fun part of Portland that I'd never been to before. Close to the immense Forest Park and in the vicinity of some great breakfast places. The one that we went to was once featured on Man Vs. Food for its giant pancakes (called "mancakes"). I ended up having strawberry covered cheese blintzes. Delicious! I'm totally on another overeating vacation and I love it! I've also picked up some new fabric for a couple of projects that I have in mind. I'll let you in on a little secret...I never want to go home! Hope you're all having a wonderful long weekend, too. What have you been eating?

P.S. The above photo is borrowed from the OKO blog because I brilliantly forgot my card reader this weekend and can't share any of my own pictures with you until Monday!

guilty pleasure: the 'burbs

What a great Guilty Pleasure Movie Night! The theme: '80s sleepover pizza party! So, here's the rundown:

1. Pizza made by Amanda and Ryan
2. Chips and pop
3. Pudding and neapolitan ice cream (I'd forgotten how good that stuff is)
4. Michael Jackson: The Experience (I'm pretty awesome at the Thriller zombie parts)
5. The 'Burbs starring Tom Hanks and a little role for '80s heartthrob Corey Feldman as nosy neighbour kid, Ricky Butler (great pick, Amanda!)

I can honestly say that The 'Burbs was one of my favourite movies growing up and I've seen it a lot. A quiet suburban neighbourhood is messed up when a creepy new family moves into the cul-de-sac. Murder and mayhem ensue...or do they? Not to be missed are some classic Tom Hanks freak out moments and Corey Feldman's leather jacket.

Here's the trailer:

What I am extremely excited to share is actually one of the shorts that was played before the movie. We have a new tradition of showing the best of what we know on YouTube or whatever before we start our movie. A little catch up, if you will, with popular culture and the videos that are currently making us laugh. No responses from guests allowed, only the movie-chooser gets to pick shorts, which keeps the night from devolving into an all-out YouTube party...most of the time.

This one was introduced to Ryan and Amanda by some friends of theirs (who also have great MJ dance moves) and if you've been to Portland, OR, I'm sure you'll recognize the truth in it. I'm excited to see Portlandia now. I really love Portland and I'm just gonna put this video on the list of reasons I wish I could live there. "Portland is a city where young people go to retire." Seems true to me. Enjoy.

weekend worship: finally sharing little winter treasures and more!

Well, I've been very busy this week, and today is no exception, really. I'm preparing for two upcoming craft fairs here in Vancouver: BLIM on November 28th at the Chinese Cultural Centre and Portobello West December 4 & 5 at the Rocky Mountaineer Station. Definitely stop by if you're in Vancouver and check out all of the amazing things that locals have made!

Here are some pictures of some of the things that I brought back from Portland. Let's start with my absolute favourite thing first: a leather utility pouch from forestbound. The leather is so ridiculously soft and the design so simple and beautiful. It perfectly fits my phone, camera, and wallet...what more could I want to carry around?

We also loved the Fieldguided table. Jeff bought this beautiful handmade linen tie. Perhaps he'll wear it at our wedding next year?

I always come home with a lot of books from Portland. Powell's and Ampersand were great this time around. I'll spare you the school related ones, here are the others that Jeff and I picked up while we were there. Even if I tell myself that I'm only bringing home one or two, I inevitably come home with a stack. When I'll have time to read them is anyone's guess, but I will most definitely read all of these as soon as I can manage.

Finally, we stopped by my favourite art supply store on Alberta St., Collage. There I was able to pick up everything I need for the new Sadie packaging. And speaking of Sadie, there are new rings and cave explorers in the shop, so check it out! Hope you all have a great weekend.

portland: day one

Despite being up until 4AM the night before, we managed to get ourselves to breakfast at the Tin Shed at a reasonable hour. This coffee cup was amazing, but the food was even better. Biscuits and homemade raspberry jam, grits, and so much more. This is a place you must visit when in Portland. Also, they let dogs in, so we all got to pet two black lab puppies at the same time! The black labs would be a highlight for me (I'm a bit dog-crazy) until this little guy (big, actually, for a pug) showed up. Two pugs, actually! Saturday was the day of double dogs.

We walked around Alberta Street quite a bit, checking out my favourite art supply store, Collage, and then discovered what would become Ryan's most favourite Portland place: Ray's Rib Joint (good photo opportunities, you see).

Afterwards we went to Little Winter (great! I'll share some photos of my treasures soon), Powell's, and ate hot dogs. Our real dinner at Farm a few hours later was to die for. Toasted Oregon hazelnuts with brown sugar and tabasco as a starter...need I say more? Finally, Kurt Vile ruled and Voodoo Doughnuts sent us to bed with a sugar high (and, yes, Ryan did try the maple bacon doughnut). So good! I would never, ever accomplish this much in one day at home. I love how vacations can be super busy but you don't have to feel rushed or stressed because you really have no where in particular to be. And Portland is as good a place as any to visit, there is so much to do, way too much to eat, and really friendly locals. I've still got more pics to share from our last day there where we checked out a neighbourhood we hadn't been to before. Stay tuned.

portland: night one

amazing peace arch sculpture?

I haven't had a chance to go through many of my photos from our Portland trip yet, but I thought I'd share these few from our drive down and first night there. What a great first night we had! A bit of a traffic-filled drive before we were able to check in at the Jupiter Hotel, have a drink at a bar on the top floor of a cool building on Burnside, late-night waffles in a parking lot (while listening to Fugazi), and finally an ultra-late-night hang out in Ryan and Amanda's hotel room. Oh hai, Portland! More photos soon!

we're going to Portland!

holga portland

We leave tomorrow for Portland with our good friends Ryan and Amanda. Can't wait to eat, shop, and try to find some good precedents for my thesis project! Here are some other things that I'm excited about:

Delicious food.

Little Winter.

Books and more books.

Dirty doughnuts.
And so much more!

Let me know if you know any Portland secrets that I should check out! I'll be back early in the week to share some stories and pictures of treasures from our road trip!

lomo monday: heading to portland at the end of the week!

burnside bridge, portland, oregon. 2009. holga.

portland

ira keller fountain & the portlandia,
together at last thanks to the magic of holga

Next month Jeff and I are heading to Portland for a weekend of food, fun, frolic, Kurt Vile, and Little Winter Market! I've been to Portland a bunch of times and I absolutely never ever get sick of it. I always think of it as a miniature NYC, without the millions of people. Culturally there is so much happening, the shopping is great (and oriented towards local designers and small-scale production), the food is incredible (and also local, organic, vegan...), and, of course, Powell's City of Books is there (what other reason do you need to visit Portland?). This time around I'm really looking forward to going to Little Winter. I've been following the vendor profiles over at frolic and it looks like it is going to be a really beautiful collection of talented artists and designers showcasing their wares. As a student of landscape architecture, Portland is also a place that we often study for its precedent-setting management of Pacific Northwest rainy weather (and subsequent stormwater run-off), bicycle-friendly planning, and livable/walkable city centre design (that'd be "center" in Portland, of course). In my excitement I've prepared a little taste of the things I like to do while in Portland. Check out the links below and let me know where you like to go when in Portland. There are way more amazing places than I've included on this list, perhaps I'll drop a few more as the date of our mini vacation approaches.

eat: blossoming lotus pdx

craft: collage

stay: the jupiter hotel

watch: the kennedy school movie theatre
shop: tender loving empire