Last weekend I went to Portland to see my dear friend Caliente’s new house! This is such a huge deal among our circle of friends since she has always been an extremely transient person. Now she is a home owner in the most perfect corner of the universe for her needs and likes. Best of all, it’s only a couple hours away, which beats the hell out of the other side of the world (after meeting in college, she moved to Europe for 8 years.) So here’s her home:
Saturday morning we went to one of our favorite breakfast spots. Only 5 blocks from her home, we walked and enjoyed the neighborhood foliage. People in Portland really take pride in their landscaping, it’s eye candy for gardeners.
The Arugularium is everything you’d expect from Portland; health conscious, slightly pretentious, and aesthetically earthy.
Have you ever had a savory crepe? Its fantastic! I highly recommend the Savory Peach. This time I tried their seasonal special: Apples, bacon, gruyere, and a little maple syrup, holy yum!! (The red onions are left over from a bite of Caliente’s savory peach)
Next on the docket was to find bone meal for the daffodils and crocus Miss C got to plant for spring. We initially were going to just go to Home Depot or something when we passed this cute little shop.
Not only did the Birds and the Bees Nursery still have pretty blooming flowers, they also had chickens and a resident kitty cat that followed us everywhere meowing for attention.
The coolest was their “create your own terrarium” corner. They had a fantastic array of succulents, air , and carnivourus plants! So cool! They also carried little porcelin figurines, rocks, mosses, and soil! Everything in one place! Brilliant! Caliente made one with venus fly traps and honey dew. I can’t wait to go back and make my own next time!
Upon returning her her home, I set her to work planting the crocus in random areas around her tulip tree in the front sidewalk.
While she did that I made a daffodil ring around the base of the tree.
Afterwards we picked up J and wandered over to the local pumpkin patch and corn maze.
Complete with silly cut out photo ops.
The maze was quite large, 2.6 miles of pathways total! We soon discovered that the object of the maze was to find all of the scarecrows.
Fortunately, they gave us a map. At one point I recall asking Caliente where we were and her response was “I think we’re in an eyebrow!” Interesting, I can honestly say I’ve never been in an eyebrow before.
By the third scarecrow it was becoming very apparent that some of us did not wear the correct foot attire for this venture.
So we called it a day and, after picking up Bestie, headed to the bars on Belmont. First stop was the Sweet Hearafter. A cute pub that was very dark inside but had a lovely bright back patio. I was really impressed by the service. Caliente had ordered me a beer while I ran to the restroom. When I returned the bartender told me to try it first. It was way to hoppy for my taste and even though he poured a full beer, he was happy to let me pic another one. I didn’t even have to ask!
Just down the block was the Circa 33, a prohibition themed bar with a wall of liquor so tall it needed a ladder to reach to top shelf!
The really cool part was that their cocktail list included the approximate date of each drinks invention. Sorry for the blur, but you get the idea.
Next was the Triple Nickle which I guess people often humorously refer to as the Triple Nipple. They had this HUGE Jenga set! I really wanted to play but another group beat us to it!
We giggled and laughed a lot over the next few hours.
The rest of the evening was a bit of a blur, naturally, but it was a great day in Portlandia with great friends!
The Ramblings of an Aspiring Small Town Girl 