Here are a few shots around our apartment as it is now. Lots has happened around here, but there’s still a bit to do, ie. getting rid of the remaining junk. The storage closet is organized, but pretty much stuffed to the brim. And I still need to deal with the nightstand situation, in that I need to build it. Our dining table is nearly complete, so get excited about seeing that here shortly. And we finally have art on the walls! A few prints, a postcard from our road trip and a couple thrifted photographs (the one on the bottom is actually a crowd at a UT football game – I liked it more for the nostalgic-Texas enthusiasm, not the patriotism to the other team). Tracy also brings the outside in with some dried flowers she saved from Dallas, plus a few new acquisitions.

Our apartment is really starting to come together. It has been the biggest challenge trying to fit all of our things in this small space. In Dallas, we had 1000 sq ft in which to spread out, with a large kitchen, full closet, and huge storage room (where everything got thrown). Here, we have just about 450 sq ft and it has been a struggle. But with such progress as above, our spirits are lifted to continue on.

Let’s start at the bottom. We’ve had this EIVOR rug for a couple years but adds a nice graphic touch over the wood floors. The incredible dresser / credenza was snatched up for a mere $145 at Lounge Lizard on Hawthorne. It’s walnut and the drawer handles somewhat relate to the bed frame (which you can see a little bit of here). It’s a really great piece.

Above all this is the crowning jewel: a 1950s schoolhouse wall map! We found it on Etsy for a great deal. It includes 7 detailed maps full of data and color. Behind it is our TV, mounted to the wall. You can see the sneaky cord covers below. Yes, I painted the cord covers and the actual cords you could see to match the wall color. Nearly invisible. We can’t claim this hiding-the-TV-behind-a-gorgeous-wall-map idea as our own. We first saw this at Adam & Alicia’s (of Bows & Arrows) home in Dallas and knew we had to imitiate.

I was pretty squeamish about the idea of mounting both a TV to the wall and a map to the ceiling. This 1930s apartment has proven to be a pain when it comes to mounting anything to the wall. Good news, I have become pretty familiar with lath & plaster wall construction. And after 61 pre-drills and a lot of ear-to-wall sonar tapping (stud finders are pretty much useless on these), the 30lb TV (it’s not that big) is safely and securely affixed to the wall. The map was a little less challenging but I also am fairly confident it wont be falling down.

We have a few projects left to complete around the place, after which we can post more revealing photos. Stay tuned.

From the limited pictures we had seen of our apartment before moving in, the walls looked to be a fresh shade of white. There would be no need to change it as white makes everything look better. However, upon entry, the white was more like chalky-pink. An off-white, to be sure, but not a shade we would ever have decided upon. Even the light bulbs were against us as they were the cheap, “blue light special” fluorescents that made the apartment feel like a sterile operating room. We changed the bulbs to the warmer, yellowy fluorescents and lived with it for a month or so but enough was enough. We decided that a fresh coat of paint would be the best way to make our apartment feel more like home.

Since we only intended to paint the main room and to leave the others as is, we chose a nice warm grey. Specifically, BM AF-675 “Fusion”. It was in the brown-grey family which we figured would go nicely with our newly acquired furniture and bedding (which you can see bits of below)

So, being such a small space, painting was a snap. Hence the limited progress shots. Excuse our mess…

See, isn’t that better? It really makes the existing woodwork and trim pop.

The best part of course is pulling off the blue tap. So liberating. Instant gratification.

This evening we had the pleasure of experiencing a free waterfront concert put on by the Oregon Symphony on the Tom McCall Waterfront Park. The event officially kicks off the symphony’s 2011-2012 series and also features the Portland Youth Philharmonic and the Oregon Ballet Theatre. We had no idea as to how many people would show up. It was apparently between 10-15,000! All those people, picnicking along the Willamette River and enjoying classical music. A pretty great evening.

This was the line-up for the Oregon Symphony:

John Stafford Smith (Leyden, arr.) The Star Spangled Banner

Richard Wagner Prelude to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg

Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart Sympony No. 35 in D major, “Haffner” Allegro con spirito

Jean Sibelius Finlandia

Kenneth Alford Colonel Bogey March

Arturo Márquez Danzón No. 2

Morton Gould American Salute

George Gershwin (Hershey Kay, arr.) Who Cares, The Man I Love, Embraceable You, Who Cares?

Daniel-Francois-Esprit Auber Overture to the Crown of Diamonds

Piotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky 1812, Overture

Click here to listen to the dramatic ending: 11_0901 1812 Overture

The finale, the 1812 Overture, is the standard ending for this 16-year tradition, made complete with the incredible cannon-fire (see the smoke above!) by the Oregon National Guard Alpha Battery 2nd Battalion 218th Field Artillery (quite a title). While they orchestra was performing, one sailboat raised a huge American flag (much to the audience’s delight) and afterwards there was a great 10-minute long fireworks show!

The other day I decided to get lost for a while in Powell’s Books. This store is incredible. It’s an independently owned and locally operated book store chain (but it doesn’t feel like a chain – there are only a few locations in Portland, each unique). The main location is so large it’s actually called Powell’s City of Books.

Powell’s City of Books is a book lover’s paradise, the largest used and new bookstore in the world. Located in downtown Portland, Oregon, and occupying an entire city block, the City stocks more than a million new and used books. Nine color coded rooms house over 3,500 different sections, offering something for every interest, including an incredible selection of out-of-print and hard-to-find titles.

Each month, the Basil Hallward Gallery (located upstairs in the Pearl Room) hosts a new art exhibit, as well as dozens of author events featuring acclaimed writers, artists, and thinkers such as Roddy Doyle, Joyce Carol Oates, Michael Chabon, Annie Leibovitz, and President Jimmy Carter.

The City’s Rare Book Room gathers autographed first editions and other collectible volumes for readers in search of a one-of-a-kind treasure.

So, first of all it is huge. They probably have ANYTHING you are looking for. They also stock a considerable selection of used and old / antique books which are stored right alongside the new ones. They have an entire floor for Arts & Architecture, their own gallery, 4 aisles of food / cooking books, gift areas, etc. And the whole place feels friendly and approachable. It’s a place in which you can easily lose yourself. It also doesn’t have that manicured, limited-quantities atmosphere that you find at the mega-bookstore chain alternatives.

Here’s a free map / poster I picked up. Another great thing about the store is that the rooms are labelled by color. I am very visual-spatial so anything that is organized by color gets a thumbs up. Even my iPhone apps are arranged by color per page.

On to my finds. First is this fun little zine called PDX by Bike by Meghan Sinnott and Elly Blue. A complimentary website is on its way but this transit guide is a well-put-together introduction for first time city bikers, like us. With tips on which bridges are the most bike-friendly, how to store your bike on a bus or train, and listings of the bike-related events around the city (including one called Zoobomb where, on every Sunday night a group takes the MAX train up to the zoo exit and cruises back into town en masse, usually on kids’ bikes), this small find will surely come in handy.

Next I picked up the Summer issue of COLORS. I received from a friend a few back issues of this magazine and have a certain admiration for the magazine. There are maybe 3 ads (all located in the rear), it’s printed on a nice thick matte, attractively includes two languages and is largely image-based. This one is all about equipping unconventional tools and ideas for getting yourself around in a time where gas prices skyrocket and common transportation methods are no longer an option.

I also grabbed a free copy of the WW Finder – “Wilamette Week’s Guide to Portland” It’s a well-curated guide of where to go, what to see and where to eat in Portland. You can check it out online here.

Last but not least is this incredible collection of nature / wildlife tales by Ernest Seton-Thompson called Lives of the Hunted. Printed in 1901 (!) The stories take you deep into the forest, elaborately illustrating the fabled happenings of noble wildlife. His Note to the Reader talks about his motive to,

“…stop the extermination of harmless wild animals; not for their sakes (he does not intend to primarily denounce certain field sports), but for ours, firmly believing that each of our native wild creatures is in itself a precious heritage that we have no right to destroy or put beyond the reach of our children.”

After a little research I discovered that Seton-Thompson was actually one of the founders of the Boy Scouts of America, so go figure I was attracted to this book. He also apparently wrote (and I assume illustrated) the original Boy Scout Handbook. As you can see, this book was lovingly created with some fantastic illustrations, engravings and surrounded by embossed canvas. Truly a good (and affordable find – $16.00).

Have no fear…no animals were harmed in the making of this post.

This past weekend we’ve been on the hunt for furniture (nightstand less than 18in wide, coffee table, dining table, and potentially a small desk), reclaimed wood, a large picture frame and doilies.

What a weird conglomerate of items you might say.. well, yes. The furniture is obvious. We have a lack of those items. The reclaimed wood is for making the furniture that we can’t find. A large picture frame is a project of mine to make a cute chalkboard to put near the door. And the doilies, yes, doilies. Who doesn’t love them! I have a few small ones and I want a variety of larger ones. The plan is to sew them all together in a rectangular-ish shape to create a table runner. I’ve been eyeing this project for some time and have been looking without any luck. (If you have some you are willing to part with I’m looking for white, ecru and cream!)

Anyways, on to the hunt! We set out Saturday as it started to get a little too toasty in our A/C-less place. Our first destination: Hawthorne Vintage. We rode the bus to the shop, as it was the farthest one from our humble abode, and then slowly made our way back down Hawthorne towards the Willamette River, stopping at many vintage/thrift/resale shops along the way, including: ShadowHouse Collectibles, Sorel’s,  Goodwill and House of Vintage. We had one destination on Division St. so we decided to walk through some lovely Eastside neighborhoods en route.

On the way we were greeted by a talking squirrel. What he was so adamant upon telling us we will never know, but something was definitely on his mind as he chatted and posed for a picture. After making it to our Division St. destination, Village Merchants, and leaving empty handed- like all the stops before, we continued on Division looking for a street to take to lead us back to Hawthorne were are other stops awaited us.

Then out of nowhere, it appeared: the infamous AWESOME CONE! Jacob and I heard of this lovely little food cart and its stellar awning through a Judge John Hodgman podcast (definitely worth a listen) while still living in Texas. So of course we had to cross the road to get a closer look-see. Throughout East Portland, foodcarts are scattered in clumps, making for a nice neighborhood eatery made up of unique and staunchly independent vendors. It was a little warm for an actual “awesome cone” (it was a grueling 93 degrees (!) – okay Texans, I realize you are dealing with triple-digit temps everyday but this is the first it’s been this hot since we’ve been to Portland and living without A/C has been an adventure in itself) so we instead partook in dairy-free frozen fruit treats from the adjacent, Oregon Ice Works. It dee-licious and refreshing! I chose Lemon and Jacob the Bing Cherry.

We made our way back through the adorable and historical neighborhoods back to Hawthorne where we continued on to Vintage Pink, Deco to Disco and Lounge Lizard. All were great, but didn’t have exactly what we needed, considering we are tight on space and have to stick to the desired dimensions. Lounge Lizard is especially great, p.s. since they have a ton of furniture, in good condition and very affordably priced.

We didn’t know where to go next. All of the other thrift stores on the East Side were pretty far away and we were determined to not have to pay for another bus fare. We decided to head back to our side of the river and go a thrift store in the NW. At this point we still hadn’t made any successful shots on our hunt and were going home empty handed. I just hoped there would be something good at this thrift store. Lo and behold there was! I found a solid-wood, unfinished frame for a whopping $5. It wasn’t as ornate as what I was looking for, but Jacob loved it, and it was considerably less expensive than others we’ve seen.

We made our way home after 6 hours of walking and rewarded ourselves with a garlic chicken pizza delivery from Bellagios Pizza.

Sunday we continued our hunt in the afternoon. We had heard wonderful things about this place called Hippo Hardware and it surpassed our expectation. They had just about everything (including the kitchen sink) you need to restore an older home. Old wood doors and glass doorknobs and faceplates, reclaimed wood and molding scraps, old paned windows, porcelain tubs, hardware and a huge upper floor full of lighting. We picked up a few picture rail hooks and left, knowing we would be back for more!

We continued on to I Heart Retro, and another Goodwill, but still no luck. Maybe building what we need was the answer. How hard can that be??  …

All in all, our hunt wasn’t as successful as hoped (we are pretty picky after all), but it was a blast seeing new shops and people, getting our exercise in for the weekend and getting to know more of this great city.

Golly-gee, where have we been? I promise the Oregon wood-fairies have not captured our souls and left you without our life commentaries just yet. It’s been a busy/stressful few weeks here in our new home. Tracy and I have been actively searching for a job for her (with success! – take that, high unemployment rate), we flew to Florida for a week vacation in Ft. Myers / Sanibel Island with family, Lulu has had a little trouble adjusting to our new place (all’s better now, thanks to The Cat Doctor), we were involved in a minor but still traumatic car accident (no injuries thankfully, but we are without a car for a few weeks – yay, successful public transit!) and thus have still not completely “moved-in” (450 sq.ft. is an awfully small amount of space to fit a surprisingly large amount of material possession).

As you may know, finding a full-time teaching job is not as easy as one might think. Even for Tracy, who is a teaching superstar with two years of intense experience (plus like 7 or so years of working with kids) under her belt, it was a challenge even to get an interview. There were only about 2-3 full-time elementary openings we found in the Portland area and they have since been snatched up. We also didn’t want her to have the commute and out-of-city experience she had while we lived in Dallas and her working 25 miles away in Lewisville. Enter Campfire Columbia. This was a posting she found where educated and motivated young adults tutor and work with kids after school (up to 25-30 hours a week) as part of the Portland Public Schools. Jackpot. Tracy applied, interviewed and landed one of the only 4 new hire spots! She is going to be working with kindergarten and first graders at a school in SE Portland. Obviously she is super excited. Plus, this program puts the Campfire Staff at the kid’s schools where they can also interact with teachers and administrators – making way for future full-time employment opportunities…

So, our time has been adequately filled. We also have been taking long walks in the park, along the river and through the city, enjoying the cool summer (averages 65-80 degree sunny weather!). Above are photos taken last week at the Portland Farmer’s Market. There are several of them in different locations across the city but this one, held in the South Park Blocks at PSU (about 3 blocks from where we live) is the biggest. We’re talking over 150 individual booths full of fresh and local produce, berries, flowers, meats, cheeses and specialty foods. Plus several eatery stands, live bands and a ton of people. It runs from 8:30–2pm on Saturday (March – early December) so the past couple of weekends, we have tried getting out earlier to beat the crowds. But if anyone would like to visit us, plan your trip around a weekend because this is a must-see event. Also plan on eating the most amazing blackberries (and local marionberries), raspberries, blueberries and strawberries ever.

A week or so ago Tracy and I visited a shop called Tender Loving Empire. It’s this really great design shop / record label located at 412 SW 10th Ave near The Ace Hotel. Anyway, I picked up a copy of Typhoon‘s newest EP record, A New Kind of House. They’re a local band and were recommended by the shop’s owner, Jared Mees. He also mentioned we check out PDX POP NOW, a free concert featuring new and up-in-coming Portland bands. Jared is the lead singer in his own band, Jared Mees & The Grown Children, who began the show.

Since we were headed to Florida the next day, we only were able to stay for the first set. But it definitely did not disappoint.

First though, we walked across the Morrison Bridge to get to the show and captured the above incredible view of Mt. Hood. This is significant because it is the first time that we have been able to see this fabled mountain. The weather in Portland has been rather dreary, which is not normal during the summer months apparently, and the locals have been upset about it. So seeing it finally was fantastic. Isn’t it a beautiful mountain? It pretty much has the perfect mountain shape and everything. It’s also only about an hour drive west of here. HIKING TO COMMENCE SOON.

Back to the subject at hand. The three bands we saw were great. A nice little taste of Portland’s music scene. We heard from Jared Mees & The Grown Children, STLS, and Blood Beach.

Blood Beach featured Camella Weedon on a Teremin. The band had a spooky/spacey sort of sound and this thing was really interesting. I had never seen one before, but it’s basically like a radio. As she brought her hands closer to the antennae, the pitch would rise, then fall as she went away. She controlled the thing like an instrument / device to call aliens. Pretty nifty.

On the way back, we walked across the Hawthorne Bridge, another of 7 or so iconic bridges that cross the Willamette River. Sidenote: there’s no “I” in the name, so it’s not pronounced like “William-ette” but rather like “dammit” – “Willamette, dammit.” Always fun to practice.

We awoke the next morning full of excitement. Today we would finally see our new home!

We were on the road again and drove east, headed towards Eugene on a beautiful little highway taking us along rivers and over bridges and through the trees. It rained most of the way, so we weren’t able to get many pictures. Plus, I think Jacob was tired of taking pictures while driving… From Eugene, we headed up through Salem via I-5 all the way until our final destination, PORTLAND!

We navigated downtown and drove up to our building. We had seen it so many times via Google Maps Street View but nothing can describe our relief and calm as we sat there on Park Ave, sitting and resting after this long adventure.

We met with our landlady Nina (the infamous voice over the phone for the past few months) as she reviewed property rules, etc. asking us to sign here and there. Lulu was growing impatient but then we went on a tour of the building, with our unit being the last stop. The coveted moment had arrived as the key turned and the door opened.

It was basically just what we expected and hoped.

/EDIT/

The building was finished in 1931 and features about 80 units from a studio apartment (what we have) up to the 2-bedroom units. Each have original oak hardwood floors, 8in baseboards, picture rail moldings and (apparently) original bathroom/kitchen tile. From the photos above, you enter into the main room, which we will make into our living area and bedroom. To the right is an opening into the dining area and then the kitchen. To the left of the entry is a good-size storage closet and a door leading to a small dressing room with cupboards. The bathroom is just beyond that and has a bright window of its own. Each window opens fully or can latch just little to let air in. Jacob plans to make custom screens to cover the windows so Lulu doesn’t get too adventurous. We are on the third floor, after all. We plan to install translucent contact-paper-esque coverings in the bathroom for a little more privacy. Honestly it was a little smaller than we expected, but its beautiful, with great historic features and we’ll make it work!

/EDIT/

There were a few little surprises. Who wouldn’t pair lavender and sea-foam green tile in the kitchen!? We assured ourselves we’d make it work. Lulu likes it, anyways. She can easily relax while staring out the windows.

After sitting and enjoying the empty space for a few minutes we had to continue by moving our things into the space. We had sent all of our things up to Portland from Dallas via U-box, a service similar to PODS but by U-Haul. Jacob had to pick up the box  and bring it back to our apartment by renting a U-Haul truck and trailer. He braved driving through the narrow downtown streets and we began to unload. For the hours it took us to load (at midnight!), it only took us 1 hour unload all of our things into our unit. Fortunately, nothing seemed to have moved in the U-Box. Our items (sans the furniture, since we sold most of it in Dallas) made it safely. Now for the fun part. Furniture shopping, anyone?

This was our last full day on the road. Leaving Fort Bragg, we headed north through the redwood trees along the beautiful Hwy 1.

After a little while we saw a sign ” Drive-thru Tree Ahead.” Of course we had to stop. We paid our 5 dollars, drove down this little path and were met with the mother of all giant redwood trees. We nearly scraped the walls going through, even with the side-mirrors closed but it was so neat to see the inside of the tree trunk.

After perusing the gift shop, we made our way through the Avenue of the Giants. This was a fantastic drive with shaded roads and beautiful giant redwood trees upon which to marvel. Even Lulu got to experience their awesomeness.

This one took a little photoshopping…

Almost there!

The treeline was incredible. Trees taller than we had ever seen before.

A herd of elk. No big deal.

On our way, we finally made it to the state of Oregon. Woohoo!

Once inside our new state and still close to the coast, we noticed an abundance of scenic turnoffs. Well, after about 10 of them, we were convinced we had to see what all the fuss was about. We stopped at one, only to discover it wasn’t like the ones before. You had to hike this one to earn its view. So we started off on our first Oregon hike! It was stunningly beautiful with lush fern foliage all along the ground. Such a different landscape than two days before.

After quite a little hike we made it to the “bridge view”. It was great, but the trail continued and we could hear sounds of waves crashing ahead. A little further was an incredible view. Jacob, being the photographer he is, had to climb down the steep trail a little farther to get a better view.

After the trek back, we continued on towards Coos Bay, OR. In a small town near our destination called Port Orford, we stopped for dinner at “Crazy Norweigan’s Fish and Chips.” According to the waitress it was voted the best Fish and Chips on the West Coast, second to someplace in Hawaii. Being only our first F&C experience, we couldn’t judge but must say that it was really incredible.

Appropriately, it began to rain as we finally arrived at Coos Bay and checked in at The Edgewater Inn.