a true sign of my west coast leaning? last sunday, josh & i saw the Blazers vs. the Knicks. everyone knows that i’ve become quite the Blazers fanatic this year, and seeing them play my old home team made no difference. i’ve never known very much about the Knicks, and it always seemed a huge hassle to get to their games; so expensive, sold out, never knew any sports fans to go with. sunday’s game was a thriller, as the Blazers are wont to make it, with the boys leading by 17 and then falling 13 points behind. but Brandon Roy, ever the hero, scored with 4 seconds on the clock for the Blazers to win it, 108-107.

i’ve been knee deep in Blazers blogs and forums and have learned quite a bit about the NBA this year. for instance, i was pretty surprised that Sergio got so many minutes (37) and immediately assumed that he was being showcased for Mike D’antoni (Knicks head coach). i keep reading that Sergio would fare well in a D’antoni sort of system. whatever the case, Sergio had his best game of the season with 4 three-pointers! i do root for Sergio—after all, he’s #11—but it seems likely that he’ll be traded when possible. it’ll be a dark day when they split up the Spanish Armada; i wonder how my Blazer fanaticism will be affected by that when it happens.

josh noted that with the black roots growing into my fire-red hair, i certainly have Trailblazer hair. unintentional! but as the uber-fan i’ve become, i suppose it can be my version of face-painting.

there aren’t enough places in portland where you can loiter over a satisfactory americano and a good sandwich. people know how crema has topped my list in the past, but i am really digging the opposable thumb cafe & gallery on Belmont. this wasn’t here when i was a Belmont local, and i’m not so sure when it popped up, but i am finally giving it a whirl. i prefer this intimate atmosphere to crema’s cavernous space. it’s quiet, but quaint; there are some couches and cushy seats, and many tables; there are good-looking desserts, a whole bunch of gelato, and a beautiful slate wall outling a bevvy of eatables such as smoked salmon sandwich, kettleman’s new york style bagels, and a laundry list of panini. i had the smoked salmon on ciabatta with red onion, capers and basil aioli. ciabatta!

the main drag of belmont is also a nice backdrop; while portland neighborhoods sometimes feel a little too illusory, this concentration of buzz is the right amount. i think i will loiter a little longer.

christmas ‘08 was one of the whitest christmases i’ve ever had (certainly the only one where it actually snowed *on* the day), and who would’ve guessed it would happen in portland, oregon. the roads were not fun, but the thawing had begun and we were able to drive to our various destinations to be with family.

a special treat of the night though was getting to see the Portland Trailblazers from center court, row 3, thanks to josh’s uncle.

i’ve been quite a Blazers fan this season, so even though the boys lost the game i was still very happy to see the players in red and green, decorating the court. after watching many games on tv and from the nosebleeds, it was fun to see the players this close, where you could watch their facial expressions, and hear the shouting.

we’ve been teased all week by the local media speaking of this “arctic blast.” sure, it snowed a good 5 inches on last weekend and hit the teens the following day. but most of the week, as portland school cancellations happened day after day, the ice melted and the sun even gave way at times.

this weekend, i think the arctic blast finally truly hit; a blizzard arrived yesterday, the winds howled incessantly, and today as we all peeked out our iced-over windows the blizzard reprised itself. luckily we had a little grocery-getting adventure yesterday and are fully stocked; this afternoon, we settled in with a game of scrabble, some jubelale, and cappuccinos.

Gothamist has an article today about forgotten restaurants & bars in NYC. This is a subject that is close to my heart, because though I do miss NYC, the NYC I remember is not necessarily the same one that exists on the other side of the country at this time.

Of the old haunts that are no longer with us, some favorites of mine were:

Florent
A staple when I lived in the Meatpacking District in 1999. This was when the streets over there smelled of butchery, and the cobblestones were sticky and mucky with the juices of animal guts. So trekking to Florent was not always a pleasant-smelling experience, but once there, I always delighted in the fantastic burger & fries, and coffee (which they always served with heavy cream, mmm). Service was always fabulous, and one time Sam & I even got entertained by the can-can performed on countertops, for it just happened to be bastille day that day. Twas a festive place, even for breakfast at 5am, and I loved the paper placemats depicting maps of Cuba, and other places in the world.

Passerby
Also a fixture of my Meatpacking District era, my “old ‘hood,” I discovered this place by accident because it didn’t have a sign and didn’t have much around it. It was on a very industrial street and how could you miss the floor of colored, lit-up squares? It was a nice neighborhood bar, generally not too crowded because it was a hole in the wall, out of the way. In the fall of 1999 I had the great fortune of seeing Fischerspooner perform in the back gallery (Gavin Brown’s) 3 or 4 times, and those were by far the best Fischerspooner shows I would ever see.

Chumley’s
I only have vague memories of Chumley’s from when I lived on Grove Street, senior year of college, around the corner from Monica & Rachel’s exterior. Chumley’s was kind of right next to Mustache I think, and it was a speakeasy that I remember frequenting with my other West Village cohorts.

Some old Manhattan favorites of mine that are still around include Ceci-Cela, Milk & Honey (I assume), Grand Central Oyster Bar, Angel’s Share, La Taza de Oro, Village Yokocho, and Cafe Mogador.

well, i braved the brutal wind & snow to get to Crafty Wonderland’s Super Colossal Sale, held at the Convention Center. i’d been looking forward to it for weeks because it’s a great one-stop-shop for plenty of christmas items, all made by local designers and artisans.

i have to recommend a few sellers that i have purchased from in the past… ok, shameless plugs for friends perhaps… but their products are worth the plug:

Shyama Helin is an artist who creates clever, dreamy little woodblock pieces and large prints as well. we’ve got a new york-themed piece up in our living room.

Njoy Designs is the creation of Amy Phelps, who started making bags as a hobby and now makes it her full-time profession. she’s gotten tons of recent write-ups, including mentions in Willamette Week and PDX magazine. i use a large tote because it’s durable enough, large enough, and pretty enough to hold my laptop, lunch and all sorts of other junk i lug on my daily commute.

Antelope Baby is the pseudonym of the very crafty Vanessa Rehder, who sells onesies, bibs and scarves for little ones. i don’t have little ones of my own, but know of a few very new newborns, and was fortunate enough to hit up Antelope Baby for some very cute apparel.

one thing about portland, it’s definitely revitalized my thrift shopping prowess. mainly out of necessity, because there is no H&M in this town. H&M was my candy store for the last 5 years i was in NYC; if i was having a bad day, i’d stop by on the way home and pick up an accessory, or a blouse, or maybe $50 worth of goodies. i worked 5 blocks away from an H&M for a few years; before that one opened, the closest one was 7 blocks away. there were always a few in the vicinity—what about those two in soho across the street from each other? i would venture to guess that at least 40% of my current wardrobe is from H&M, and how couldn’t it be? i used to brave the crowds, the long fitting room lines, the long cashier lines, for absolute gems. you bet i miss that place. i talk about it way too much in portland; i’m an evangelist. now that seattle has finally fallen prey (to not 1, but 3 stores), a few of us have been planning an eventual trip up there to ransack the southernmost location.

so anyway, the thrift phenomenon is an aspect of my shopping past that i haven’t really indulged in very much since college days. i mean, there was beacon’s closet yes, which i frequented from 1998-2002. second-hand clothing. sort of a step up from thrift.

freshman year, we would take the N/R to canal and switch to the JMZ to williamsburg. williamsburg? in brooklyn? this was in 1994, when brooklyn was mysterious, and broadway in williamsburg was scary. all the NYU kids frequented Domsey’s. is it even still there? i found so many great things at Domsey’s. it was 3 floors of used clothing heaven. cords, sneakers, coats, dresses, 70s sweaters… we would always roll out of there with a bundle of stuff. then in 1996 we discovered Ropa 203 which was another frontier. we took either the 1 or the 9 or the 2 or the 3, which one was it… north up to the bronx (though my google feelers tell me it was in washington heights). Ropa was simply a warehouse of piles of clothing. heaps of clothing and a couple of forklifts, no limits, no guarantees. (sharp objects and soiled baby’s clothes had been rumored to be discovered by others). yet we climbed these mountains, digging and searching, for it was clothing by the pound. Ropa was a goldmine of amazing finds; i believe the black scarf i use today is from a Ropa adventure. coats, jeans, sweaters, you name it. we would hunt, discover, sometimes even try stuff on in front of the full-length mirror over our other clothes. we were never quite too grossed out, and the bounty of goods we came away with always made the trip worth it. i don’t think i could do that today. i would need to wear a mask and some rubber gloves.

the out-of-nyc thrift store is a sight for a city girls’ eyes. yeah we had salvation army and goodwill back home, but never like this. the goodwills here are superstores, like used-only kmarts, complete with a cafe. these places are huge and their parking lots are huger. and the prices are right. some may say inflation has hit even portland thrift stores, but for a brooklynite, i’ll take a $6 sweater and a $9 coat. value village and goodwill are nice go-tos for both clothing and home goods. you can go way thriftier than this, too—i won’t even go into the jackpots to be won in gladstone or at the bins.

what i especially delight in is that vintage-thrift blend, that in-between. the thriftier second-hand store. village merchants is a favorite; great for furniture, kitchen goods, and clothing alike. today, i spent a good two hours at HOUSE—a flea market type of thrift/kitsch store on hawthorne. when i moved to portland 3 years ago, HOUSE was already a fun and ambling store (you could easily get lost amongst its many rooms) but within the last year it has expanded itself even more, having bought out its neighboring store that sold old newspapers and magazines. i always find something at HOUSE—tables, knick knacks, clothes, wall decor, dishes. today, i fell into a thrifty clothing hunt like one i haven’t had in a while.

i miss wearing red. but the red hair is something i want to keep for just a little while longer, so other colors will have to fill up my wardrobe these days. (red hair with red clothing makes me flail my jazz hands around and break into “the candyman”) pink is still OK. at the end of my long hunt, i was thrilled to come away with both a pink cashmere ralph lauren sweater and a pair of tan boots, both in mint condition. total spending: $23. did i even mention we don’t have sales tax? just the icing on the cake for this thrifting mecca.

i didn’t know about avocado ice cream until i was in my twenties, but upon introduction it became a special summer treat of mine. especially special because you have to go out of your way to find it. (and get it home before it melts).

recently, i visited the little filipino grocery store near my house and asked the kindly proprietor if he could order some avocado ice cream for me. i haven’t had avocado ice cream since i’ve been living in portland. today, i was delighted to find a full stock of it in their freezer. ah yes, ain’t nothing like a few scoops of the electric green in the deep of august.

we’ve been doing lots of home stuff lately, stuff that is way overdue. josh has been obsessively tending to the yardwork, which is fine by me because i tend to kill plants. i haven’t killed one since i moved out here, which is good, but i’m still quite the gardening novice. heck, i still marvel at the fact that i can lie on a hammock in my own backyard. i need to take some photos of the new vegetable garden and monitor the progress throughout the summer. we’ve got lettuce, tomatoes, and herbs. so far the lettuce is winning the race.

i’ve been buying items for the home. to make it feel more welcoming. we still need tons of artwork for the walls, and i need to fix up the music room so it feels fun and not just a junkyard of clutter. yesterday i bought a much-needed doormat for the side door. of course, our rainy season just ended like five days ago, so yes that one was way overdue. but i couldn’t help it - i saw this one and it was only 10 bucks, i like the faux wrought-iron and the non-english. perhaps it was a subconscious no-brainer because “bienvenido” was my grandfather’s name. if he was alive today, i could just imagine him walking around the country in search of my house, and finding it thanks to the welcome sign.