it's like a heatwave.

the title of this post is not only one of my very favorite songs to hear at Soul Night but also appropriate for anytime the temperature breaks the 90's in Portland. "Like" is really the imperative word since, by the standards of just about any other state, summer goes pretty easy on us here. Either way, we're bound to have a few more scorching days as we head through the second half of the July and into August. 

Here are a few of my favorite spots for summer in the city...

1. Ruby Jewel on N. Mississippi 
2. Salmon St. Springs on the South Waterfront (at the base of the Hawthorne Bridge) 
3. ... or you could always get an apartment with a community pool, like my sister did. It seems kind of silly for nine months out of the year, but then June comes and you are livin. it. up. 

portland places | A Lunch Cruise on the Portland Spirit

I can make a production out of just about anything. Give me an occasion, and I'll give you an outfit. I'll also show up late to the occasion, for a little dramatic flair. Because boarding the Portland Spirit on time wouldn't be nearly as fun as holding up a ship full of tourists as I sprint down the waterfront in full cruise-regalia with my heels in my hand as my blue-blazered date waits on the dock... now would it?

Logan and I both work at the hotel, so we're always recommending day trips and activities that we've never actually done ourselves. Saturday we changed all that. Logan took me on a lunch cruise on the Portland Spirit, where we enjoyed a whiskey press while sailing up the Willamette River. 

I wore wrist-length silk gloves and nobody got left on shore ... so I'd say, it was a winning day all around. As Holden Caulfield said : "If a girl looks swell when she meets you, who gives a damn if she's late? Nobody."

portland places | Sauvie Island Lavender Farm

This is the second lavender field we went to. 

The first one boasted "a hundred different varieties" in their Lavender Festival write-up ... and I don't want to say that was false advertising - because maybe they had only one plant of each variety - but their "farm" was a front yard with three rows. And their official Lavender Ambassador was a man with no shirt on (my sisters reaction upon seeing him : well, that's not very professional) They also advertised "herbs" with "calming medicinal properties" - which retrospectively makes me think that mayyyybe they specialize in another kind of growing.

After some quick googling we found Sauvie Island Lavender Farm.  Even though it wasn't as expansive as I had dreamed, I was happy. The lovely lady-owner let us pick our own bunches, and she tied mine up with a bow for my birthday. 

There's nothing like the smell of lavender and lowered expectations to sooth the soul. 

(photos) on film with Pentax k1000

portland places | Por Que No

Being a resident of San Diego for four years made me a Mexican Food enthusiast. Once, I woke up to a half eaten burrito on my nightstand. And my cell phone was inside of it.   After living so close to the border (... I accidentally drove to Mexico, multiple times) it's surprising that my favorite Mexican food would be found here in Portland. 

Por Que No is about half a block from my apartment, and remains one of the first places I take visitors (and locals ... and myself, when I'm a little hungover). The line stretches around the block for nearly every hour it's abierto but I insist it's worth the wait. 

The restaurant itself is in a small stucco house, and the inside is decorated down to an inch with string lights, banners, and icons. Seating is limited, but usually not a problem, thanks to sidewalk tables and a garage patio. Por Que No was one of the first businesses to open on Mississippi Street - in it's current "revitalized" incarnation - and the owner's family are long time North Portlanders. The servers split tips with the kitchen 50/50 (almost unheard of in the restaurant biz), which is just one more reason this restaurant embodies the community attitude I love about this city. 

eat : pescado tacos. cornmeal crusted white fish, cilantro and pineapple.
drink: agua fresca margarita
do: sidewalk chalk in the sunshine.
a little locals tip : don't order a burrito (not on the menu!) or sit down before you've ordered at the counter.

Por Que No Taqueria is located in North Portland on Mississippi and Fremont, with a second location on SE Hawthorn

(photos) on film with pentax k1000

portland places | Dog River Coffee Co

You know those times when you compliment someone on their shirt ... and then look down and realize you're wearing something nearly identical? that's basically what happened to me at Dog River Coffee Co in Hood River. I was going on-and-on about how great my coffee was, only to read the fine print on the menu board and realize it was made with Portland's own Stumptown.

The same cup of coffee in a cute ski town. Even with a change in scenery, I'm still a creature of habit. 

Dog River is located on Oak Street, the main avenue in Hood River. It's a Portland(ish) Place: about 45 minutes outside of the city, up the scenic Columbia River Gorge.

(photo) on film with Minolta SRT-201 (p.s) make a day out of it! stop at  Multnomah Falls, then go see some zebras. 

portland places | City State Diner

Brunch, brunch is Sunday's most precious gift. And no eggs, however glorious, may justify waiting an hour for it. That's what Arthur Miller said in his canonical work The Crucible, right? something like that.

But, really. I think there comes a time in everyone's life where it just doesn't seem worth it anymore to wait (and wait. and wait.) to  be seated at one of Portland's hottest brunch spots. After estate-saleing last week, Tessa and I wanted to go to breakfast and I was shaking with caffeine withdrawls with the thought of braving the crowds at 11:00 on Sunday.

So, we headed over to the City State, and it was just the right amount of crowded. Lively, but with space at the counter for two girls - one cute and one in desperate need of a cup of coffee. It was everything we wanted! truly egg-celent! (ya, our server didn't think that was funny either.) 

This I know for sure : the best brunch is the one spent with friends ... and bacon. 

City State Diner is located in Northeast Portland, on NE 28th, just off Burnside.  

(photos) on film with Nikon FM

portland places | Multnomah Falls

The first time I saw Multnomah Falls it was a quick stop on a summer drive. I stood at the base of what was little more than a trickle and said, unimpressed, that's it?

I said the same two words last weekend, when Tessa and I came around the bend on Old Columbia Highway, but with a completely different intonation. More like ... THAT'S IT!!!!!! With short statements, it's all in the delivery.

At 647 feet it is pretty spectacular. So spectacular, in fact, that I got out of the car when it was raining (no physical force required). 

And, for the record, the distance from the parking lot to the bridge is .2 miles. In case your slightly less enthusiastic and freezing cold best friend tries to convince you "it's a lot farther away than you think it is".

(photos) on film - 800 iso fuji superia - with Nikon FM.

portland places | My Laundromat

Last night, in the car with a basket full of clean clothes, I said to my sister "phew, what a day! But what an achievement!"

Like I deserve a Pulitzer Prize for finding the time to do my laundry. It's an endless task that I put off for a weeks worth of "tomorrows" - leading to a three hour process of sorting, wet-clothes cycling, and sitting in the laundromat.

Luckily, our laundromat is connected to a Thai Restaurant (maybe the most genius business model ever). It makes it easier for me to bribe myself : if you wash your clothes you get to buy yourself dinner, whatdya think? These little routines are part of life in a studio apartment.

Nothing feels better than going to bed on a clean pillowcase with a belly full of pad-thai. Growing up is weird like that.

(photos) on expired fuji film, with pentax k1000

portland places | My Downtown Bus Stop

My downtown bus stop has a glass covering, like an observatory on the passing seasons. In spring, I crane my neck to watch the cherry blossoms. In summer, I stare up into a canopy of the greenest green I've ever seen.

But, in winter .... oh winter, we aren't friends, are we? I've always found it a bit ircksome to hear people - of a certain California variety - talk about how much they love the rain. I roll my eyes at every similar status update from San Diego. Perhaps it's the curse of curly hair, but I'm less than impressed with sprinkling.

Today, I stood below the swirling patters, pooling on the sheet of glass. And, I finally understood the romance of the rain. It's not in the drips, or the drizzling wet, but being safe on the other side.

[ on film with minolta srt-201. full frames on flickr. ]

Wreath Making at the Portland Bazaar

I had the best Sunday afternoon at Amy Merrick's wreath making class in the Portland Bazaar. Turns out they're one of those things that look difficult, but are really just a few key skills. Amy was a great teacher, and I definitely feel that - after borrowing a few boughs from nearby trees - I could make another. I would feel very impressive bringing one as a homemade hostess gift. oh, this? just a little something I whipped up. 

I know it's the season of giving, and I really shouldn't be buying classes for myself. But, I'm giving joy to every person who sees this bent-evergreen beauty on my apartment door. (You're welcome, neighbor with an indistinguishable accent).

[ (photos) on film with my Minolta srt-201. full frames on flickr.]

portland places | The Screendoor

Waiting outside for a table at The Screendoor in September, we had our first real rain of the year. It made the perfect cozy comfort-food-filled brunch for Tessa's birthday ... featuring every good thing in the world : fried chicken,  drinks in mason jars, bacon and pecans.

I love The Screendoor  - right down to the name. It makes me think of the lyrics from Taylor Swift

our song is the slamming screen door, sneaking out late, tapping on your window.

and about a boy I once liked in my French class, whose car smelled like cigarettes. September is a much different month in San Diego, and summer continues despite school starting. My fling was short lived, but every once in a while I'll hear the push-latch on a screendoor and think of warm afternoons skipping class with a bottle of cornerstore zinfandel.  

Sometimes happiness is so easy.

Just a song, or a someone, or a Sunday brunch with friends.

[ (photos) on film with Pentax k1000. This one is my favorite ]

Swifts at the Chapman School

In the beginning of fall, ten-thousand Vox Swifts roost nightly in a single chimney in Northwest Portland.  Watching them reminded me of a few lines from Emily Dickinson.

"These are the days when birds come back,

A very few, a bird or two,

To take a backward look.

These are the days when skies put on

The old, old sophistries of June,--

A blue and gold mistake."

 Strange the way the early days of autumn resemble the first of spring.  September exits just as June entered. Two points on the same circle, equal distance but different directions.

The birds land like smoke in rewind.  The season has felt like that too - backwards but familiar - as we round the bend to winter.  Everything must leave the way it came.

(photo) kodak portra film with pentax k1000. The dutch tilt is uninentional, I was using a tripod on uneven ground.  (watch) You can see the swifts in motion here.

portland places | Roman Holiday in Directors Park

You know how there are certain things that just go? Gray and marigold ... or biscuits and gravy. Watching a movie outside - like spending time in your undies - just goes with summer.

The other weekend, Eli and I went and watched Roman Holiday in Directors Park downtown. I convinced him by informing him it was Academy Award winning (he can be a bit of a snob) and I convinced myself (like that was even necessary) with a coffee-cup full of wine.

My favorite part was the ending! oh the ending! Audrey meeting eyes with Gregory again. They're introduced. She gives a knowing glance that says "Yes, we've met. I'm different because I knew you".

I melted. I'd ask Eli his cinema-expert opinion ... but he was asleep by then.
Oh, Summer and outdoor movies and my hunky man. I'll miss you.


(1 - edited, obviously) and (2) on film at Directors Park in Portland. Part of the Summer Movies in the Park Series

portland places | Kenny and Zukes

On the sidewalk near my bus stop one of the neighborhood kids wrote in bold faced letters

"You bring me joy!"

I was so tickled. Oh, sidewalk chalk - you are the original street art. But, by the time I got home that night I could see from the end of the block that the word "joy" had been crossed out. I walked up ready to do a handwriting analysis and find little bandit that destroyed my cement life-coach.

It read:

"You bring me joy sandwhiches!"

Um ... upgrade! Sandwiches are the best! Sandwich is like a synonym for joy

Kenny and Zukes Delicatessen makes one of my favorites: a perfect Egg Salad Sandwich.I know! Egg Salad is totally one of those things that you would never want to pull out of your lunch box. Or order on a first date. Do you think I'm sexy? How about now that I'm jamming down a combination of eggs and mayonaise?

Luckily I was accompanied by my boyfriend of two years. At this point, the jig is up. And I feel like you get a free-pass when the mustached man sitting across the table from you is eating sauerkraut.

(1 - 6) on film with my pentax k1000.  (p.s.) a few of my other favorite Portland Places : White Wine and Summertime at Lorenzo's | the Produce Row patio.