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February 27th, 2009
We like to think that we are well to do, despite our manlessness. We can change a light bulb, check our oil (while wearing white, mind you) and grill—on a Foreman, anyway. But when it comes to plus-one’s, we’re stuck. Don’t get us wrong, we love our GFs, but if we have to invite the girls to one more date-worthy function, we’ll flip. Sure, there is novelty in a fun foursome, a la SATC, but we want to be romanced. We mean jazz clubs and dinners, not pub food and beer. Red lipstick and pearls, not sneaks and jeans. Now, we know this is Portland, where casual is the new black, but honestly, is the occasional over-the-top too much to ask? Want to be pinned? Forward this issue to 5 friends and CC picks@portlandpicks.com, and you could win a $50 Gift Certificate to Pin-Me! It’s time to stock up for spring, plus they have cute date clothes! |
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Portland Picks: |
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| 1 | No Sleep ‘til Brooklyn We’ve been in Portland a goodly amount of time. Long enough that we no longer start our stories with, “Back in New York, we…” (to the delight of our friends). Now we’re Portlanders through and through; we shun umbrellas, sip coffee, and don GoreTex with the masses. But when Brooklyn Industries opened on NW 23rd last week, we immediately jaywalked over. The place is a style-setting haven—and this is their first-ever store in Portland. You’ve probably seen Brooklyn Industries’ messenger bags slung across the shoulders of the hip on both sides of the coast. But have you seen their graphic t-shirts, military-inspired coats and adorable skirts and dresses in rich blues and springtime purples? Plus, the kids’ stuff is adorable without being precious (mini “Brooklyn” hoodies!), and the men’s tees are Portland-perfect, like our fave, scribed: “Typography is everything,” now on our gift list for Mr. Graphic Designer. Now we happily traded the subway for a road bike—not to mention, compost and recycle—but let’s just say, it’s good to know we haven’t lost our NY edge. Brooklyn Industries |
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| 2 | Westside Story We love Alberta Street. We love the quaint, dimly-lit restaurants, the boutiques, the mini-galleries, the giant murals painted on every street corner. We love the way our friend Alberta makes us feel like maybe, just maybe she had us in mind when her glory was conceived because she included one of everything we need. Know what we don’t like? Alberta lives on the Eastside and we live on the Westside. So, when we entered the Davis Street Tavern recently, we were Christmas dance excited because we felt like we had a lil’ piece of Alberta right in our NW neck of the woods. We don’t know if it was the urban, yet homey (and dimly-lit) décor or the happy-go-lucky crowd, but we knew instantly that we’d found the mothership of our needs once again (read: good food, strong drinks and a super cool shelter). Think home-cooking (mac n’ cheese, gumbo) with a modern, less mom-ish twist (demi-glace, spiced). We think maybe this new Westside Alberta Street theme is the next thing coming. Maybe we can call it Portland Picks Street. Finders keepers, right? Davis Street Tavern |
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| 3 | Mediterranean Market History? Geography? Not our best subjects in high school. But Greek mythology? That was interesting. Aphrodite, goddess of love and sex and physical attraction... Bacchus, god of wine... um, hello! Truth be told, we could have been either of these. But when we think of Grecian gods and goddesses, we can’t help but think of a delightful eve in the Mediterranean. And the city-wide fave, Pastaworks, just opened a third location in our ’hood, on N. Mississippi—meaning we can whip up amazing Mediterranean meals, invite the girls over, and pretend we created the divine dishes on our own. (Too bad our girlfriends know us better than that.) Here, you’ll find fresh-cut linguini, imported pastas and savory sauces, plus an incredible selection of olives and olive oils, artisan cheeses and local meats, not to mention wine, lots and lots of good wine. With a bevy of bold flavors and variety of specialty goodies, this little gem of a European-style market will certainly keep happy the gourmet goddess in us. Pastaworks |
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| 4 | Bold. Beautiful. Betsy. We are in constant awe of our friends. We pop over, and they whip up a gourmet meal. We thrift, and they pull together a cute outfit for like nine bucks. We gush over their fabulous armoire; they shrug and tell us they found it on a curb and spruced it up themselves. We’re not piping hot envious or anything. Honest. White lie aside, Betsy & Iya Jewelry is another example of creativity and imagination. Betsy fashions each piece of jewelry by hand, using vintage pieces, engraved charms, and anything with potential (oxidized brass, antiqued silver, lace, semi-precious stones). We fell in love with her delicate asymmetrical necklaces that caress and layer a neckline, dripping with foxtail chains and gunmetal finishes. Her adornments are a bold mix of whimsy and refined, feminine and edgy, chunky and intricate. We left with a pair of gorgeous filigree earrings—what we call “lingerie for our lobes.” They’re so sexy and light, we hardly notice we’re wearing them—except when admirers pause to ask where we got them—to which we reply, “Why, Betsy & Iya, of course!” Betsy & Iya Jewelry |
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| 5 | Oldie but Goodie We have many fond food memories of Spain. In Barcelona, we strolled through La Boqueria and sampled the best cheese, olives, and jamon. In Granada, we got free tapas with every drink. In Jerez, we tasted the finest sherries in the world. We were in culinary heaven! Toro Bravo is our vision of heaven right here in Portland. It opened in 2007 to rave reviews and has been racking up the accolades every since. So why has it taken us so long to write about it? We're always so distracted by the food, we forget to take pictures. It's that good. The extensive menu changes daily, but certain staples like the Bacon Wrapped Dates, Harissa Stewed Butternut Squash, and Oxtail Croquettes are a must. The drinks are fabulous, too, and the freshly fried churros with chocolate sauce are a sweet end to a great meal. Be warned, Toro Bravo only takes reservations for seven or more, and there's typically an hour wait. We recommend chillaxing out front with a Bravo Manhattan and some toasted almonds. Your patience will be deliciously rewarded. Toro Bravo |
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| Tea of the Week: | |||
Full-Leaf Tazo Tea from Starbucks Though we’re go-getters, sometimes we like to take it easy and relax. And sometimes it’s time to turn off the email and relax with a cup of tea. Ahhh… Our reverie is complete with a steamy mug of Vanilla Rooibos Full-Leaf Tazo Tea Latte from Starbucks. A natural infusion of botanicals, uniting South African rooibos, Tahitian vanilla, sweet blackberry, a hint of peach and freshly steamed milk, it’s a delicious treat—any time of day or night! |
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| Chick Picks: | |||
| 1 | Jet Setter Before life turned into brass tacks and push pins, we actually traveled. Not like weekend trips to the coast, but weeks at a time to the Caribbean. We’d just sit on the beach and bronze, Mojito in hand. Um, yeah, maybe in our dreams. A girl can dream, though, and our jet-setting hearts are set on this Moleskin number, jazzed up in local love. Combining the quality workmanship of Moleskin (best journals, period!) with some PDX pride, this travel journal has “gift” written all over it. |
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| 2 | Bottle It Up In college, we carried a Nalgene bottle everywhere we went—it was totally “in” back then, we swear. Now that we’re workin’ gals, it’s a little too granola for our tastes. Plus, it just doesn’t mesh with our stilettos and pencil skirts. Luckily, there’s a fashionable alternative—the reusable glass bottle with a ceramic swing top lid by Love Bottle. They can be personalized with stickers, bands for grip and color, and you can even write directly on the bottle to express yourself. We’re always evolving! |
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| 3 | If the Shoe Fits We love stilettos and strappies, but we have wide feet. And that’s just not fair. Let’s just say it takes the joy out of shoe-shopping. These felted baby booties may not fit our feet, but they make the gift list for Little Mary and our expecting BMF (Best Mommy Friend). Hand-crocheted from fine Merino wool, each Portland-made pair is custom felted for perfect sizing, and come in velcroed anklets and polka-dotted Mary Janes. |
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| 4 | Read My Lips When we were in middle school, a mood ring was pretty much the coolest accessory a girl could rock. We had several, and we lived and died by the wisdom of the mood ring—convinced that it always told the truth. So we were delighted to stumble upon the Mood Swing lip gloss from Too Faced. Ranging from clear to deep fuschia, it gives us a more “grown up” chance to wear our emotions on our sleeve—er, lips. |
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| 5 | You’ve Got Mail This past week, one of our dearest girlfriends got engaged. Of course, we meant to send a card immediately. But then life got in the way, and our late-night scramble for a card uncovered a lame pre-fab from the groc. With GreetQ, you can pick and personalize your card, schedule a delivery date and they mail it for you. We went ahead and set up a queue of cards we wanted mailed over the months and skipped the Post altogether. |
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| Event of the Week: | |||
Create Your Space Workshop at Storables We realize those neat, orderly piles on our desk have turned into unruly stacks of randomness. So we’re signing up for Storables’ Create Your Space workshop, with Office and Paper Filing Workshops and sales with 30% off files, desks and office collections. Enjoy special presentations by Krista Colvin of Organize in Style (Pearl store) and Missy Gerber of Organizers Northwest (Beaverton store)—where they’re also rolling the Free Shred Event from 10 am–2 pm. Click here to sign up yourself! What: Create Your Space at Storables |
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Hip Happenings: |
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| 1 | Boutiques Unleashed is Coming! It’s time for another fabulous runway show to benefit DoveLewis—Boutiques Unleashed! If you haven’t been, it’s a blast. Local celebs walk adorable pets down the runway in the latest fashions from your favorite boutiques! Enjoy hosted hors d'oeuvres and select cocktails, bid on auction items, and don’t forget to wear something saucy! What: Boutiques Unleashed 2009 |
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| 2 | Shoefly Warehouse Sale Shoefly’s Semi-Annual Warehouse Sale is enough to make any princess weep with happiness. It’s chock full of incredible deals on the styles and brands you crave—we’re talking 75% off original prices! Save on those boots you’ve been coveting, or the Mary Janes you were tempted to splurge on… this is one sale you don’t wanna miss! What: Shoefly Warehouse Sale |
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| 3 | Spring Break at Sunriver Resort Want a spring break to remember without the travel hassle? Need a family friendly vacation? Sunriver Resort has the Spring break package for you! Breakfast for two and free breakfast for kids. Four Mt. Bachelor tube park tickets (2-hour session) and complimentary round-trip shuttle. Family winter fun basket. Starting at just $269/night! What: Spring Break at Sunriver Resort |
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| 4 | Power of the Purse Get behind the 4th annual Power of the Purse for an evening of handbag heaven. Portland’s leading designers pair with notable artists, entrepreneurs and philanthropists to create the handbag of their dreams. Bid on the one-of-a-kind creations during the live fashion show and then enjoy a nice seated dinner—all benefiting Girls Inc. of Northwest Oregon. What: 4th Annual Power of the Purse Fundraiser |
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