Drive-Thru Pampering

Tis the night before Christmas and you still have several discriminating – okay "high maintenance" – folks to shop for.  You can't bear the mall – you always get that blank Stepford glaze and you end up leaving with Yule logs and salami just to get it done and get the hell out of there.  Well, we have found the answer to your desperate shopping prayers, and you don't even have to leave the comfort of your car.  No, silly, it's not a happy meal toy.  It's a Drive-Up Gift Card from Avalon Spa.  

*Drive-Up Gift Cards:
Today, December 23, from 4 p.m. – 7 p.m., and December 24, 9 a.m. - 4 p.m., Avalon Spa is offering drive-up gift cards!

All you do is call ahead, place your order, and pull up to the front of the Avalon Hotel.  An Avalon Spa representative will greet you at your car window and present you with your gift card order, beautifully packaged.  You don’t even have to get out of your car!  In addition, you will receive 10% off gift card purchases when you mention the “drive-up gift card special” while placing your order...and make sure to tell them Portland Picks sent you.

Who’s going to love an Avalon gift card?  Everyone!  (Including you if you'd like to forward this "hint" to someone whose list might have your name on it.)  To place your order, call 503.802.5900.

Avalon Hotel and Spa
0455 SW Hamilton Court
Portland, OR 97239
503.802.5900

Mangia Bene

If you’re anything like us, there are some 80s songs that stick with you, no matter what you do to exorcise their synth-pop demons.  “Say la Vie” is a repeat medalist in the “Get Out of My Head!” Olympics, as are “Dancing on the Ceiling” (oh Lionel, your sweet, sweet pipes were so misused) and of course “I Just Can’t Get Enough.”
 
Of course, the latter ain’t so bad when we find ourselves doing something we love, like shopping, eating and drinking.  And we can do two out of three at Balvo, the new hotspot created by chef Kenny Giambalvo and partner Bruce Carey.  (Other P-land Bruce Carey restaurants include Saucebox, Bluehour and the former Zefiro.)
 
Balvo emphasizes fresh, local, organic ingredients in recipes inspired by generations of Giambalvo home cooking.  You can dress down, or dress up, but we recommend you don’t wear white.  With dishes like Spaghetti Polpettine (with little meat balls, tomatoes and pecorino romano) and desserts like Ganache al Cioccolato (chocolate truffle cake with almonds and vanilla cream), you’re going to want to enjoy yourself without worrying about getting it on your clothes!   Mangia bene!
 
Balvo
529 NW 23rd Ave.
Portland, OR 97210
503.445.7400

A No Brainer: Powell’s

Don’t make this the last stop on your gift-buying trek, make this a front-runner.  If you can’t find something for everyone at Powell’s, please, give up.  Don’t buy another gift…ever…you just…don’t…have it…in you.

Aside from their mind-boggling collection of books (68,000 square feet = floors and floors of the darn things!), Powell’s also carries gift items like calendars (always appreciated), journals (beautiful and practical), DVDs, clever games, intelligent chachkis and more.

And the books!  Oh, the glorious books!  You can find books about art and photography, biographies, cookbooks, novels, mysteries, sci-fi and fantasy, self-help (who doesn’t need a little of that?), history, politics, romance, poetry, philosophy, engineering, business, crafts…need we go on?  And if you’re still stumped, give a gift card!  Your literate friends will thank you.

Powell’s City of Books
1005 W. Burnside
Portland, OR 97209
www.powells.com

Sugar and Spice

Happy New Year

You have a date, your first with that new guy from the office.  The one that sports a kilt and can often be heard mumbling Tourettes-like epithets from his cube.  You aren't sure, he's not really your type, he gives you the willies a titch...that is until he suggests Olea for dinner.

After a martini and out-of-this-world chickpea pita bread and the phenomenal house cheese plate, you have a swelling crush.  This guy obviously has good taste...maybe you can overlook the knee socks.

The atmosphere at Olea is sophisticated, modern, swanky.  You are really connecting…soul mates perhaps?  You eat your short rib bourguignon, proud of your willpower not to lick your plate.  You finish off with coffee and molten chocolate cake.  You both gush, blush, at the food, the drinks, at the cool, urban vibe and Mediterranean menu.  This new Pearl restaurant is all it's purported to be: the mix of 1940s vintage lighting and bead-board with tall industrial-style windows, lofty ceilings and open kitchens, and an amazing menu to match.

Ooh, yes, it's a love connection.  When he drops you off you wonder if he'll kiss you goodnight.  Instead he invites you back to Olea for New Year's Eve!  Do we hear wedding bells?

New Year’s Eve at Olea:
Choose between an early seating either at 5 or 7 p.m. with a
four-course prix fixe menu for $70 or a late night Grand Tasting
five-course menu at 9 p.m. for $90, which includes a glass of champagne and party favors. For reservations, please call 503.274.0800.

Olea
1338 NW Hoyt St.
Portland, OR 97209
open from 5 p.m. to midnight daily
with happy hour from 5-7 p.m.
503-274-0800

A Gallery of Gifts

"You break it you buy it."...or, "No touch, no touch."  These are our mantras when venturing into this gallery with our 6-year-old.  But nothing ventured, nothing gained.  With young kids, our house is free of beautiful, breakable things.  Any we had didn't last long.  So, visiting this gorgeous gallery was quite a dare for us, and a great treat.  We miss nice things, and it was so good to see them again.

Oswego Lake Gallery is a contemporary gallery of exquisite fine art and craft.  They exhibit paintings, glass, sculpture, ceramics, wood, jewelry and unique gift items.  Rotating shows of local and national artists are offered on a monthly basis.

For our best gal pals, we bought their gorgeous glass ornaments, each its own unique work of art.  We sent our signif other there to check out their exquisite jewelry, many from local artists, all to die for.  If you need something special this holiday, go out of your way to this gorgeous gallery.  You'll find something for everyone on your list.  And it’s a certainty: you'll get lots of oohs and ahhs when they open their special gift from you.

Oswego Lake Gallery

You Compleat Me

Once again, we get to tout the eco-friendliness of this town.  We Portlanders really know how to respect Mother Earth, while also treating ourselves to incredible luxury and style.  Case in point: the fabulous futuristic fibers at The Compleat Bed and Breakfast.

Did you know that bamboo is not only decorative for the yard, and delicious to friendly bears, but it makes an incredibly soft fabric, as well?  It’s hard to believe, until you put Nandina (”the FutureFiber®”) up to your cheek. It’s not only eco-friendly, but it’s mildew-resistant and antimicrobial, as well.  And the best part?  It feels like CASHMERE.

Oh!  We are so stocking up on this!  Towels and washcloths in 21 colors—with organic dyes?   It’s like hippie heaven.  And don’t pass up their line of wood-fiber towels and sheets—eminently touchable and soft, just like everything else in the store. In fact, we dare you to walk in without fondling something in the first 20 seconds.  (Check out the Sheepy Fleece Microfiber Robes—heaven!)  

And the prices are right, too.  You can spend $200 on a compleat (we said it) bed set, or $700 for a silk duvet.  Either way you will be pampering yourself and you’ll leave giddy. We promise.

The Compleat Bed and Breakfast
615 NW 23rd Ave
Portland, OR 97210
503.221.0193

Post Secret.com

We've all had secrets.  Secret thoughts we can't share with anyone.  Crazy thoughts a mostly sane person shouldn't think or tell.  Well, apparently there are many of you out there thinking the same crazy things, because there is a website where you can post a secret.  Kind of like a confessional.  And people are doing it in droves.  Thousands of people.  So many people were willing to 'fess that they made a book out of it.  And we like the book and website, but here’s a warning: Beware...many are disturbing...though it makes us feel a little less crazy.

Examples: "It makes me smile when people fall on the subway."  "My chest is so huge, I have to wear 2 bras."  "I cry when I read my son's poetry,"...and those are the ones that aren’t disturbing.

Website of the week, www./postsecret.com

If you have a secret and feel you need to tell someone, you can just write postsecret.com and confess to the world without anyone knowing who sent it.  Free therapy.

PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives
by Frank Warren

If you might be interested in the book based on these secrets, initially sent via snail mail, check out the review from NPR: “In November of 2004, Frank Warren invited strangers to anonymously write their secrets on postcards and mail them to his Maryland home. He's received over 10,000 secrets from around the world.”

Now, 300 of the darkest and most outlandish secrets (one example: "sometimes I wish I had lung cancer so my mom would quit smoking") have been collected in a new book, “PostSecret: Extraordinary Confessions from Ordinary Lives.”

Expressions of Chocolate

This Valentine’s Day, come to one place to satisfy all of your senses. Spend a heartfelt holiday with friends and loved ones at “Expressions of Chocolate” and enjoy an evening filled with the sights, sounds and tastes of chocolate.

Enjoy nationally renowned pianist, Michael Allen Harrison, performing music from his CD, “Expressions of Chocolate.” The music will be accompanied by the creative artistry of Polaris Dance Theater, and the sweet sounds of acclaimed vocalist, Julianne Johnson.  In the spirit of the evening, each guest will receive a personal box of exquisite, handmade, Bernard C. Chocolates to sample during the show.

This Valentine’s performance will embrace the sweetness of life, the gift of hope, and the pleasures of a much celebrated confection. All proceeds from ticket sales will go to the Children's Cancer Association, Candlelighters, and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society.  Please join us at this benefit for childhood cancer and help support the Child, the Family, and the Cure.

For more information, visit: www.expressionsofchocolate.com

BALLETS RUSSES
a film by Dayna Goldfine and Dan Geller
 
Ballets Russes, a brilliant film about the ballet companies -- and rivalries -- that shaped much of 20th century dance plays Cinema 21 from December 25 - January 5.  Award-winning documentarians Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine travel from San Francisco to Portland on December 28 to engage in Q+A following the film.  OBT Artistic Director Christopher Stowell, who assisted with several of the early interviews included in the film, will join the discussion, along with OBT dancers, dance historians and supporters.  The Q+A is included with admission to the film and the entire event is open to the public.
 
Screening of Ballets Russes followed by Q+A with award-winning documentarians Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine
OBT Artistic Director Christopher Stowell, OBT dancers and supporters will join the discussion

Wednesday, December 28, 7 PM
Cinema 21
616 NW 21st Street
$4, children + seniors
$6, students with I.D.
$7, general
Information:  503-223-4515 or www.cinema21.com

The full run of the film is from December 25, 2005 - January 5, 2006

Mimi & Lena is having a sale beginning Friday, January 6th, 2006! 

Its time for the annual Fall & Winter sale- one of only two sales they have each year. Their stunning collections will be 20%-60% off retail prices, so shop early to get the best of….

• Dresses, blouses, trousers, and sweaters by Diane Von Furstenberg, Saja, Rebecca Taylor, and Yoanna Barashi.
• Coats by Ollie Sang, Irene Van Ryb, and Adam Arnold
• Fabulous boots and shoes by Tentazione and Giraudon
• Amazing fashion and semi precious jewelry
• All kids clothing at 50% off
• Handbags by Cydwoq, Donald Pliner, and more…

Come get all the styles you need to get you through the rest of the Winter at amazing, once a year prices.  We’ll see you there!

Mimi and Lena
1914 ne broadway  
portland,  oregon  97232
503 - 224 - 7736