watcher
Above is my own sort of guardian angel. She came to me with branched wings, decadent Art Nouveau gold, ballerina feathers, and a falcon to aid with her sight (yep, I need two sets of eyes watching over me). This is just a sketch. I obviously have more line work to clean up and a lot of color decisions to make. Not sure if I should go with my usual solid blocking of hues or change it up with some shading and more play of light. Either way, I don’t want to take away from my lines…I love my lines. Lately, I think I’ve been having an affair with lines.
what does the recipe say?
Sweet Pencil, a hopeful freelance/business started by myself, Amanda Appiarius, is now in the works. The idea to do what I love and mold it into something that might earn money only just occurred to me this winter. Well, that’s a lie – I’ve thought about selling art before, but a real incentive to just get out there and actually do it floated to me at work one day like the pattern on a quail feather : colorful, complicated and intricately beautiful. The only thing is, I need to sort it out and pull all of my ideas together into a cohesive selling point as well as an idea that communicates what I have to offer.
There is no “recipe” for this. There are blogs and articles online for freelancers to read. There are sites like etsy and deviantart that provide a way to sell artwork online. There is word of mouth. There is the website, the business card, the connections, and plenty of other ingredients to facilitate a freelancer’s opportunities. The recipe though, that’s up to me. I’m in the process of deciding what I need, where I want to take this, and who I want to direct my “business” toward.
Right now I know that I love doing personalized illustrations. Portraits done realistically or in fun, funky, cartoon styles, animals illustrated with line work or shapes, expressions exaggerated and stylized – the bottom line is, I love drawing people and animals. I also enjoy creating more than what is there. My Mom asked me to draw her guardian angel for her and I came up with a rendering of a young woman with wings, a bicycle necklace, a bee laden crown, and a flowing gown that I thought suited her angel just right. Of course my Mom loved it, but that’s because she’s my Mom. That doesn’t change the fact that I relished in taking an idea, a person, or a flickering thought and drawing it into something fun to look at as a piece of art and a meaningful representation.
Whether I do animal or people portraits or whether I illustrate a quote or an idea- I always get a thrill out of investing detail and thought into a piece that someone will hopefully cherish because it reminds them of parts of their life, their families, their friends, or even their loyal four legged companions.
Tell me to illustrate a favorite quote, your pet, your children, your loved one surrounded by their favorite flowers, your Grandpa on his worn out lazy chair, the porch swing with you and your grandchildren on it, your angel, yourself in a dream car, characters from your favorite book, a scene from a past vacation, or anything else you might fancy, whether feminine or masculine, and I’d love to oblige -
but not until I whip up the perfect freelance recipe for myself.
Hopefully I will have sweetpencil.com in the oven soon, ready to be served in the fall.
blooming trees, a noisy market, bad food, good food and a girly book
Portland has blossomed and I’ve been walking on petals. Pink and white dot the sidewalks and hang over pathways. Soft silk from trees dance away in the light air.
All I did this weekend was breathe the beginning of spring and wander in outdoor ecstasy (though I admit to wandering towards food and shopping all the same). Getting to my destination was sometimes more enjoyable than actually reaching it. Blissful flowers hang over the city just as densely as the rain clouds did in January. Everywhere there is something blooming and it is drop dead gorgeous and sinfully refreshing.
^ pretty flower pictures and a nice up the nostril shot of myself.
This week at work was pretty steady and I’ve been feeling more comfortable and “at home” at Bent. I’ve been helping out with more jobs and talking to more coworkers, gradually, it’s been nice. Now, of course, there’s only two weeks left, but I won’t complain. I’m already thinking of how I should pack my suitcase. Despite the activity at work on Friday I was still needing a pick me up, either emotionally or physically, I don’t really know, so I headed out for a walk/latte. During this mini-excursion I wandered into Blink, a wonderful place that sells fashionably unique lens frames. I of course found about 10 that I like, 1 that I love, and a couple in my price range. Below is a picture of the Kirk Original glasses frames that I adore. They have sparkles, a honey coloring that compliments my paleness, a unique asymmetrical design all the way from London and a hefty price tag of $416. Why is everything I want $400 or more? I’ll dream of thee glittering glasses, but my face will never enjoy your companionship.
Friday was SO BEAUTIFUL that I decided to explore more of the neighborhood after work. I of course walked myself right to a park with what else but a dessert house nestled into it. Ahh, drudgery. I HAD to buy something, how could I not? Out of all the tempting choices, I got the Irish oat cake. It was dense, hinted with some cinnamony spice, and topped with the most creamiest texture of crushed almond icing. Looks like coconut, but it was far better than that. It was nutty butter cream magnificence. I stuck the rest in the fridge. Even with my tolerance, eating the whole thing would have been too much!
Friday night I ended up going to a bar called Tube with my roommate. The happy hour, which graciously offered $2 well drinks, lasted until 10. Um. I’m a lightweight now apparently and 3 small whiskey and sprites sent me whoozy. This feeling always calls for greasy food and Jody knew of a place, Roadside Attraction, with some munchies. We ordered nachos, and like all late night grub, the cheese, salsa, jalapenos, sour cream, chips, and whatever the hell else was on those babies were absolutely to die for. I literally shoved jalapenos and piles of nacho into my mouth. The plate was cleared in 5 minutes. mmm.
I clonked out and then woke up at 5 with the inability to fall back asleep. Ugh, terrible. I met my coworker for breakfast at Screen Door. We went early and got in the front of the line! booyah! I ordered a frittata that just wasn’t to my liking (*tear). Luckily my coworker’s fried chicken on a biscuit with gravy was a mountain and he was willing to share. IT WAS GOOD. What else do you expect from carbs, fried skin, chicken, and a homemade biscuit with thick sauce? After eating, I walked downtown across the bridge and snapped a few photos of the city along the way. I was going to the Portland Saturday Market and the homeless people decidedly told me where to go (down the stairs and beneath the bridge) without my even asking. I must have looked lost?
It was opening weekend for the market and it was packed. I don’t know if it’s usually this crowded, but there were people everywhere. People, clothes, jewelry, junk, food, elephant ears, cupcakes, paintings, beautiful carvings, people playing music, scents of cinnamon and roasted pecans, kettle corn, more jewelry, hand crafted everything, tee shirts with bikes on them, jars of jam, stuffed animals, people sitting by the river and kids running circles. It was wonderful and such an opportune place to be a “budding artist”. I had so much fun wandering through all of the tents and taking my time browsing. I ended up buying a necklace by the “spoonman”. It’s a twisted fork on a chain, an appropriate souvenir for my culinary excursions in Portland. I also bought some Marionberry jam for my Grandma, Nana, and Mom. Marionberries are unique to Portland and are oh so savory, especially in pie!
After passing who knows how many hours among the bustle of people and vendors, I went for lunch, if you can call it that, at Pearl Bakery. This is another bakery that local restaurants get their bread from (it’s rare that a restaurant uses non-local products). I got an almond pistachio macaroon and regretted it. One bite and I threw the rest away and went for a plain peanut cookie. The macaroon was pretty, but maybe the flavor I chose was just too weird. O well, still had a nice texture and I tried something new!
After my bakery failure, I went to the holy city of Powell’s Books. I had just started a book that used too many big words for my lazy brain. It was good, and I’m going to read it later, but my hormones were craving something fluffy and girly to read. So I bought “One Fifth Avenue” by Candace Bushnell, author of Sex and the City. I loooove it so far and her writing is perfectly witty and full of clothing descriptions (among other things). I was guiltily indulged.
Next I was destined to do more walking until I found somewhere to read. I walked past a neato Starbucks sign, a beautiful house sided with turquoise, maroon,and a pastel woodwork with delicate carvings, more shops, lots of overpriced coffee shops, and then even more boutiques. I kept walking until I hit Anna Banana. They proved to have the cheapest big latte I could get (I was super thirsty). I sat and read estrogen laden words while sipping my usual vanilla latte. It wasn’t the best…third disappointment of the day. Grr. Luckily, my next venture was not a let down. I hadn’t eaten anything but a half a cookie, some sample nuts and coffee since 10am and it was approaching 5 and there was an Indian restaurant across the street! Perfect.
The picture probably looks like a forkful of…well I won’t say, but it’s Aloo Saag and it was delightful. It’s weird though – both instances eating Indian in Portland, they didn’t ask how spicy I wanted it…but both times it turned out just right. I LOVE INDIAN FOOD. As do most college students, I know. There’s just something about the spiciness, the sauce, and the ability of it’s wonderfulness to fill you up and make you feel cozy inside. After eating, I wasn’t about to walk 3 miles home, so I bussed myself and my leftovers back to Belmont where I settled in to watch Blind Side. Good movie.
The next morning called for pancakes. I was mad about breakfast the previous day being somewhat of a failure, so I made sure I read good reviews on Yelp before going to Cup and Saucer. Yelp = Source of Best Restaurant Knowledge. The pancake I got was flapjacktaculous. maha. For $3.25 I got one giant poppy seed almond pancake on a plate with syrup. Oh my, just…ahh. I think I’m going back there my last weekend here. It was probably the most perfect pancake ever – no burnt top, no mushy inside – it had the holiest balance of melt in your mouth fluff, slight crisps of almond and the sweetest dousing of syrup – I was a happy girl and so was my wallet.
What I love about this city, is you can walk down the street without any intention of going anywhere, and you will find somewhere awesome to hang out. After pancake, I walked down Hawthorne until I found somewhere to do freelance and that is when Common Grounds Coffeehouse presented itself as a wonderful little niche with some couches, nicely priced drinks, and coincidentally, some pleasant live music. This duo of singers with their acoustic guitars were the perfect beginning to my morning. They sounded like they were right off the soundtrack of “O Brother Where Art Thou”. That good old folksy music made me end up staying there for hours, sipping an almond latte, and working on a postcard for Kiki.
Around 2 o clock I decided I probably needed some food, so I began walking home. Rocking Frog Cafe, with it’s cute logo, is a place right near my street. The building was a perfect hangout – more couches, tables, a fireplace, open windows letting in the cool, flowery air – a prime location for reading my girly book. I was excited for my $3 cup of sweet potato soup, but it ended up coming out looking a bit greasy, and there were chunks of…chicken? in it that just didn’t look appetizing. The taste wasn’t anything like sweet potato. Boo. I ate the toast, dipped it in the seasoned soup, and threw the rest out.
The rest of my Sunday was spent lamenting the fact that I was unable to watch the Oscars and then being disappointed to find that Hurt Locker won Best Picture. Psh. I also spent Sunday sweating over my finances, and that was no fun and I have no reason to sweat anyway. All I need to do is limit my expensive coffee consumption. Oh dear shiny red Keurig waiting for me at home, I can’t wait to use you. Despite a declining mood on Sunday, my overall weekend, though full of some food failures, was also full of success in Indian cuisine, pancakes, book shopping, and spring absorption – though I hear Portland my get some flurries this week – bizarre.
pencils, books and coffee – what else is a girl to fill her time with?
It is March 1st and I am officially counting down the number of days until I can return to dear old Cincinnati with it’s familiar faces, cold weather and streets void of tempting bakeries. Not to mention I really can’t wait to see ewok doggie (Kirby), jellybean (my Yaris), Erin (the misbehaving horse I ride) and the huge, comfy, squishy, couch in our family room that I can sprawl out on – oh yea, and a shower bigger than 2ft by 2ft will be nice.
This past week went fast due to the fact that I had a big job to do at Bent! I was making some sort of layout for some sort of director for some sort of thingy. Yea. I can’t really tell you what I was doing, but it was fun and kept me busy and kept me at work Wednesday night until 12:30 am! Due to this, I took Friday off, and waalaa, a three day weekend all to myself! I was happy at this prospect, but I think it made me feel lonely. 3 whole days and no one to share it with, but, I kept myself entertained and I’ll bask in my alone time while I can. Anyway, as usual when stuck on a big job with a limited time frame, I was offered food and it was loverly and probably what kept fueled all night. I can’t say peanut butter would have done the same as curry from Mai Thai and a deliciously wonderful sandwich from the Press Club. Since I’ve already had the curry vegetable dish, I’ll tell you all about this sandwich. Baguette, prosciutto, brie, and pesto melted together to form a powerful stack of flavor and rich ingredients. Brie, I have to say, is my favorite cheese. I don’t know what it is about the smooth texture, the creamy way it wraps around your tongue, or the potent after taste that leaves you craving and relishing in heavenly cheesiness.
So to begin my three day weekend, I went to what else but a coffee shop with nothing but my book in hand. I ordered some hummus and an iced latte, neither were spectacular. It was raining but that didn’t stop me from sitting outside under cover of the heated porch, flipping pages while glancing at the wet sky and sipping my espresso and milk. It seems that I can only handle one place for a limited amount of time, when by myself anyway, so I yelped another coffee shop in search of something to snack on, something better than the bit of hummus I had. Cellar Door Coffee was only a few blocks away past Burgerville (a sort of local Portland McDonalds with burgers, veggie burgers and more made with better ingredients and sold at a more expensive fast food price – I wasn’t tempted, fast food, no matter how good it seems to be, never satisfies).
Yelp was right about Cellar Door and the vanilla scone that I ate during my next one and a half hours of reading, was scrumptious. Light but dense, indomitable flavor but not all consuming, a perfect hardened texture on the outside and a soft, doughy inside. Finally, after reading lots of pages too fast, the hour I had been waiting for arrived. It was 4:30 and time to take advantage of the break in the rain, walk across the Hawthorne bridge, and go to the art museum for it’s free Friday admission which was only from 5-8.
What I liked most about this museum, was the amount of Native American art/culture that was on display. One statue in particular really caught my attention and I had an immediate desire to draw it. It was a stern Native American mounted on a horse that was dancing tall, its head twisted, its eyes spooked for the run. I wanted to capture that, imitate it, be a part of it. I walked through the rest of the museum before going to the shop and buying a sketchbook with a neat pattern of fishies on it. I took it back upstairs and for the next hour I sketched and erased and sketched. I haven’t put pencil to real paper in an attempt to draw realistically in a long, long, long time. I admit I’m a little out of practice and it took me a while to get the proportions and the relationships right. Well, they still weren’t right when the museum was closing, but they were enough to make me happy with my sketch and make me realize that I need to practice drawing. I need to see things again, not just glance at them and assume what’s there. I need patience and meticulous eye witness to what things truly look like so that I can draw for real again. Thank you sketchbook, I will use you.
Saturday arrived with the uncertainty of rain or sun or a mishmosh I shall now like to call raisun (rain and sun). I went to Happy Sparrow Cafe where they specialize in Kolaches :: a type of pastry consisting of fillings ranging from fruits (including poppy seed, raspberry, and apricot) to cheeses and/or meats (and nutella!) inside a bread roll. The little bun I ordered, jalapeno sausage and cheese, was tasty, but nothing special. I could make these on my own with Pillsbury dough and store bough ingredients, but it was cheap and still pretty yummy. Next I headed to Opposable Thumbs where I had a vanilla latte, which was good, except the barista there (this is my second visit) was kind of a grouch…I think I’ll stick to going somewhere else for now, not to mention they’re a little over priced.
After working on Kiki stuff for a long while, I went to lunch at Fire on the Mountain Buffalo Wings. It took some time to trek over there and on the way I stopped in some cute little shops to browse and kill some lonesome time. What was completely awesome about the restaurant was that there were stands set up for you to taste the sauces with celery before ordering. I generously tried them all and would have been happy with any except the extra hot and the raspberry…spicy raspberry just fails. I ordered a buffalo chicken salad with the mild sauce and some blue cheese dressing. I don’t know if it’s because I was craving that sweet, tangy, hotness of buffalo sauce or because there were some magical fiery fairies of smooth spice floating around, but the crunch of the salad and that kick of saliva inducing sauce was so soo good.
There was still about an hour and half until my movie started so I crept into Crema Bakery and used their table without buying anything. hehe. bad me. After writing a little bit and playing Sims, I saw The Road at Laurelhurst for 3 buckeroos. It was so heart-wrenching, shocking, true, painful, beautiful, and I LOVE VIGGO. Definitely worth seeing, or reading for that matter I assume, though I haven’t personally read it – I’d like to! That marked the end of my day Saturday and I went home to finish the last 100 pages of my book.
I tried so hard to sleep in on Sunday, but I couldn’t. So I went to Starbucks and ordered a Skinny Vanilla Latte, only 110 calories in a Venti, but I’m not sure if the sugar free syrup even tasted good…Also, I got the Portland Coffeecake – apparently Portland gets to be the only one blessed with this thick slab of cinnamon sugar and malleable breakfast pastry.
I ate, got some writing done, spied on a cute couple sitting right outside of the window with their dog, seethed in some jealousy, then walked to the library to print pages for my writing group. On my way to the library I peeped in some cute shops for fun (cute shops are everywhere in Portland! They are hard to resist.) While browsing I came across a card with a cupcake and a lion on it. I thought this was perfect. I <3 lions and cupcakes and to see them combined into one cute little design was amusing to me. Too bad the card was about four dollars.
I continued to the library and I got hot! I had to take off my coat and stuff it in my backpack. I think picking up groceries on my way home was a mistake. Hauling my laptop, winter coat, and book on my back and then lemonade, milk, yogurt and cereal in plastic bags made for a sweaty, difficult walk home in which I had to pause and rest my bags on the sidewalk a couple times. Another sign, most likely, that I need to get my ass to a gym. Either way, I was glad to have groceries and my next errand was laundry. BLEH. My roommate drove me, I paid way too much to clean all of my clothes, and then my roommate took me home. To repay her for helping me out, I took her to Por Que No for some tacos. This Mexican place is another Portland favorite and since it happened to be happy hour, I splurged for some freshly baked chips and lime-awakening, cool, creamy guacamole – so good, as were my two pork tacos on homemade tortillas with cilantro, crema, and salsa verde.
The rest of Sunday night I spent playing Sims, talking to Christopher, watching Jane Austen Regrets – fantastic portrayal of her, I think – and then drawing the actress who played Fanny in the movie because I thought her features were absolutely gorgeous and elfesque. Yey for more sketching (roughly as you can see)! I was proud of myself and fell asleep rather content.
epicures and the ocean spray
Take pleasure in this post, for it will be my last big food photo/experience extravaganza in Portland…I’m retiring after having the most delicious weekend of my life.
Okay so Fat Tuesday = last day to eat chocolate = one giant ass peanut butter chocolate chip cookie that disintegrated into peanuty chocolate creamy crisp on my tongue. good bye chocolate. Also, while walking around looking for the perfect adieu to my love, cocoa, I found this pretty little flower that smells like angels, my grammie, and the secret garden, anyone know what it is?
I had a fun job at work this week and only one day to do it so I received a Monte Cristo sandwich and chai tea from Little T Baker. Great way to end 5 days of work and begin my weekend with two amazing women :)
The next day, Friday, is when my Mom and Peggy Baumer landed in Portland and taxied over to the Courtyard Marriot downtown. I fled work early, literally fled, and met them at the hotel where there were fresh beds, a television, and a big shower. Hallelujah. I think my Mom brought perpetual sunshine with her because there was not a drop of rain and the weather remained between 53 and 60 degrees the entire weekend.
So I’m going to forewarn you that we ate a lot and although our weekend consisted of many activities…food was a major player, food almost outdid us and made us fall over in heavenly comas, food ruled our stomachs until we gave in for more.
To follow that, we started Friday by going to a Soda Fountain/Lunch Counter downtown called Blueplate. All three of us split a small meatloaf sandwich with basil mayo and freshly cooked smoking potatoes. That was lovely beyond belief and to wrap it up we sipped on a chai shake made from green tea ice cream and chai syrup. The light, unusual flavor that hinted at vanilla, tea, and cinnamon was soothingly creamily yummy, especially with the jimmies on top. Such a cute place, not to mention that dude from the Food Network, Guy Fieri, had been there and marked his spot on the wall sealing it as a gem of sodas, shakes and great American food.
Strolling in the warm weather was delightful and we eventually wound up at the infamous Voodoo Doughnut, Portland’s most featured food attraction known for it’s quirky and weird collection of breakfast pastries that in this case, are sold 24 hours a day from inside a wacky bricked building with a twisted chandelier. Quite the experience and the donuts rotating around in the lit case only made your mouth water in awe of the crazy concoctions like bacon and maple bars or “Cock-n-Balls”. We settled for a powdered raspberry and a plain maple bar to split among us. The crowd waiting in line at this place forced us to find a cafe (what else but Stumptown?) to sit and enjoy our sugared fluffs of carb. They were fresh, doughy, flaky and so good they made us shake with voodoo sweetness. Peggy enjoyed Stumptown, she’s a serious (and I mean seriously frequent) coffee drinker who was not in the least bit disappointed at Portland’s roast!
Since Friday was dwindling and we definitely weren’t hungry for dinner, we walked around some more, stopped at the hotel, reserved a car at Hertz for the next day, walked, and explored Powell’s City of Books. I honestly do not think I can walk in there without buying something. Crime and Punishment is now on my list of books to read. Hurrah for literature and low prices!
Since McMenamins is ruler of all fun pubs, dance floors, and theaters out here in Portland, I took us to dinner at the Ringler’s Pub which is underneath the booming Crystal Ballroom. We split an appetizer of goat cheese torta with sundried tomatoes, a mango curry turkey wrap and a pesto chicken sandwich. Thank god we split three ways and even after all of that our tummies were still clinging on to the donuts so we ended up with left overs. These pics are kind of ewy since I had to use a flash…
Back at the hotel Mom and Peggy were asleep at 8:30…still living on Cincinnati time I guess, and I read a bit of Second Glance by Jodi Picoult before shutting my eyes. Morning came fast and as always, I was the early bird – up and showering upon my first breath of sunrise. Our brunch destination didn’t open until 9, so we wandered the city streets, sat at a coffee place for a while and then rounded the corner to wait at the door for the restaurant…but behold, a line stretching around the sidewalk! I knew Mother’s Bistro was a popular destination, but I had no idea that we should have camped out at the entrance. No harm done though, we got a table immediately and proceeded to order a grand breakfast. First we split a cinnamon pecan roll three ways and it literally seeped into my taste buds with gooey, soft flavor. I was tempted to just order another one and screw the eggs, but I’m glad I didn’t. As a threesome (this tended to be our routine, splitting multiple dishes so that we could all try different things on the menu) we ordered the classic Eggs Benedict that had the most succulent and rich hollandaise sauce imaginable and the special Gouda frittata with some kind of greens and meat that made it so good and juicy that I’m having trouble remembering exactly what I was shoveling into my mouth. Never before, and most likely never again, will I experience such whipped, delectable quality in an egg.
We almost cleaned our plates before taking off to Hertz to pick up our Mazda and drive 1.5 hours to the coast of Oregon. The way to Cannon Beach was treefull, sunny, mountainous, gorgeous, and easy going.
When we finally descended the mountain and got off the highway, we discovered an adorable strip of houses, shops and restaurants. Everything matched and was quaint but still buzzing with the life of people. It somehow avoided the touristy gaudiness of the next town up called Seaside which we drove through and immediately drove out of. At Cannon beach we parked and walked down to the sand where the waves were waving onto the shore in ceaseless layers of violent foam. The lava-formed Haystack rock was in the distance one direction and a lighthouse was through the mist in the other direction. The sun was beating down, warming us and tempting us to stay forever. We walked the beach for a bit, walked through some shops, explored the town and then headed to lunch at the the Wayfarer where we landed a prime seat with a view of Haystack rock which wikipedia defines as :: a 235-foot tall monolith on the Oregon coast, the third-tallest such “intertidal” (meaning it can be reached by land) structure in the world.
We ordered. Ate some SUPER fresh bread with balls o butter. Ate beer battered avocado with blue cheese (interesting right?) and then some fish and fries. Satisfying, but perhaps a little overpriced.
More walking on the beach ensued. We headed down to the base of Haystack rock and watched as crazy teenagers splashed each other in the water. My Mom collected shells and then she insisted that it was necessary and essential that our feet touch the sand and the deep waters of the North Pacific. We stripped of our shoes. I can not tell you how cold that water was, but I held my breath and sucked up my squeals long enough for a picture or two in the iciness.
The next hour or two was filled with dog watching and meandering through the sand. I finally made use of my Canon Rebel and snapped millions of shots of dogs, unsuspecting children and couples, rocks, feet, sand, feathers, wind-bent trees over beach houses… I had so much fun and I actually ended up with some quality shots. It was even more fun to watch the dogs though, so many varieties and sizes from Great Danes to lil waddlers. There was one pack we came across, two dogs and a Border Collie that were absolutely fascinating. The Collie would herd the other two while they ran crazy in the ocean chasing after balls so far into the waves that at some points we feared they wouldn’t come back!
Also, I found the breed of dog I want. A Puggle. Pug + Beagle = a cute, energetic mixture with a slightly squished face but no ugly, weird wrinkles. I WANT ONE.
Eventually we had to leave the sea air and head back to Portland. I directed my Mom to NE Alberta street where we wandered around for a small bite to eat. We split a grilled cheese, buttery and greased with gooey pull-apart chunks of cheddar, Colby, and Swiss. This we did inside of a school bus. The place was called the Grilled Cheese Grill which was an outdoor food cart setup with seating inside of an old bus. Inside was a wacky mural, stools, old seats, and trivial pursuit cards at every table.
Next we walked over to Random Order Coffeehouse, which I had loved before, and had to return to. I ate a slice of caramel apple with sea salt and whipped cream. An almost perfect sweet tooth satisfaction considering I’m not allowed to have chocolate (Lent). Peggy and my Mom had the dark chocolate pecan – which in my opinion beats apple any day.
We tried going to a comedy club after this, but were too late for the show by a half hour so we gave up and crashed at the hotel. Clonking out seemed like the only option for me even though Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban was on TV – my poor sun deprived skin didn’t know what to do with all that glorious fresh air.
Sunday arrived. Showers, purchasing of bus passes, and some hotel coffee were in order. We rode the bus over to the SE neighborhood, closer to where I live, to a little place rated rather highly on Yelp. Screen Door was in fact rated highly, as proven by the line and the ensuing hour long wait we endured for a table inside the cajun/creole restaurant. People were friendly and chatty, ready to wait for as long as it took for a seat at this place and I didn’t blame them, the menu was loaded and the food….
.
oh the food.
Once finally seated we split a Cajun egg scramble, orange ricotta pancakes, brioche vanilla bean French toast, and a side of praline bacon. Now, let me explain this bacon. Other than simply saying salty candy, it’s a slice of bacon cooked crisp, sprinkled with pralines (a Louisiana recipe of pecans, sugar cane, and cream blended into candied nuts) resulting in an extra crunch of sweet, spicy, caramelized salt and juice. My one strip was enough to send me into sugar shakes and the orange pancakes…AHH OMG. One bite of that steaming creamy, moist, velvety texture spiked with the aroma and tang of tender oranges and a Grand Mariner lemon sauce drizzled lusciously over top…bah I died and sang praises to pancake creations.
Yea…so anyway we barely finished all that and then we waddled back to the bus and off to Forest Park to see the Japanese Gardens. I’m sure this place is drop dead gorgeous in the spring and summer, but the winter…eh, it was neat, but didn’t quite have that “wow” factor I was expecting for such a steep admission price. The garden was relatively small, spotted with knotted trunks and budding flowers. A scent of calm saturated the sand gardens and the ponds and the twisting stone paths. It was still beautiful and made me want to be there alone, to meditate or imagine, but there were banshee children galloping around and screaming “can we leave yet?” into the supposed serenity of the gardens.
After exploring, relaxing, and chatting in front of the glamorously colossal view of the snow capped mountains, we walked a good 2 miles to a local coffee shop called Anna Banana. This is where my sacrifice of chocolate really started to pain me – the mocha flavors at this place were absolutely unique and mouth watering. I settled for an iced banana latte and surprisingly it had those opposing flavors that lavished together like true love.
So unfortunately when we were waiting at the bus stop ready to depart for our next destination, I discovered I had left my backpack at the banana place. I sprinted back for it and my next discovery was : Amanda you are out of shape and your lungs despise you. I think if I were being chased by a murderer I would be caught and slaughtered. I need to work out.
We descended from the bus and walked down to Hawthorne where we ate at the praised Apizza Scholls where they make the dough daily (it’s never frozen) and put it through a 24 hour fermenting process – “this produces acidity in the final dough which gives the pizza crust a creamy flavor and a complex texture ranging from crackly and flaky to soft and chewy.” Their website details further about the process and even says (as other people in Portland have said as well) that they sometimes run out of dough due to their popularity and the freshness of their menu. Well it lived up to these standards, that’s for sure. Never again LaRosas…you have failed in the face of pure ingredients served upon a pie crust of impeccable creation. Our classic Margherita was devoured and enjoyed.
Sunday night, to wrap up our last day together, we headed to Pioneer Place to see Shutter Island. Through some overt music and acting, the thriller itself was fascinating and I loved the ending. It kept me on the edge of my seat, but didn’t send me flying over into the next row out of fear or suspense. And my mom survived. That’s a huge feat considering she doesn’t particularly enjoy movies that have blood, scariness, suspense, weirdness…etc. hehe. I teased her so much this weekend, all in good fun, she knows I love her and she’s my best friend. I was so sad the night was ending, but I could do nothing else but fall to the freshly made hotel bed, fearing not a mental institution on an island, but work the next day. ew.
On Monday we had time for one last brunch together. One last hour or two of great conversation. Peggy and my Mom are so easy to spend time with and so much fun to explore with. I think I’m going to define us as epicureans who find our pleasure from chatting with good company in gardens or cafes, eating sensational meals, and walking in the the sunlight – that is satisfactory to the senses, that is the good life.
My last bite of the incredible weekend was from a short stack of gooey banana and crunchy pecan pancakes steaming with sweet fruity flavor at Lorn and Dottie’s Luncheonette downtown.
We continued to stretch out the morning with some bashing of mine and Mrs. Baumer’s daughter’s old high school superiors, cups of coffee, drizzles of syrup, and plate cleaning. No more could be done except face the beautiful day knowing I had to leave the two spectacular women and go inside a dark studio and sit at a computer. We hugged, said good byes and before I knew it my suitcase was back at my house and I was walking to work. Three and a half more weeks left. I’m going to love it while I’m here, but I can’t wait to be home again! Thank you so much to Peggy and my Mom for visiting, it’s been one of my best weekends yet and I couldn’t have asked for a better pair of people to share it with.
