A little love makes a house a home [4]

· · ·  Hello, world.

Wallguides.com
     I love rooms. I love creatively, cleanly designed houses. I love decorating.

     I am not an ambitious or driven person. I have hobbies and interests but I do not have any driving goals or passions. If pressed to pick a close approximation of a personal dream, however, it would be to have a nice, big house of my own to decorate as I please, with lots and lots of storage.

     I love storage. I love interesting new uses for old things. I love simple, everyday items touched up and given new life. I love storage. I love a splash of colour.

     And did I mention I love storage?

     My ideal house would be predominantly green and purple. Not on every surface imaginable, of course - how obnoxious - but as the primary meaningful colours. Walls in various shades of purple and green, with accents in the opposite, or with a touch of pure white, or rich red, or vibrant orange, or sky blue. The kitchen would be blue and silver steel, to feel like you're cooking in cool water and counteract the heat of the stove and oven.

     The dining room might be done up in dark red, or maybe it would be a refreshing light, fruity green with some lemon yellow and tangerine orange on the walls and sugar white curtains and the stray strawberry accent.

     Every staircase would be a different colour.

     Every room would have a different theme.

     It would be glorious.

··· oh i love this house i love this house ···
··· gives me the greatest peace i've ever known ···
··· oh i love to hear those conkers fall ···
··· smash on morning southwark stone ···

Tastes of Heaven [3]

· · ·  Hello, world.

Lamb shank at Persian House
     Up until partway through college, I was not a big fan of food. I didn't hate it, by any means, but I definitely ate to live rather than lived to eat. In fact, aside from those specific dishes I'd enjoy enough to seek out, I could have happily subsisted on the fabled nutrition pills of modern sci-fi settings.

     Even after I moved downtown for school, I didn't explore my palate. Then again, poor college student, right? Who the heck goes to a four-year university in a city - not on scholarship, I mean - and not including trust fund kids - and can afford to go out all the time? The occasional trip to conveyer belt sushi was a luxury, and Bluefin's plates are only $1.50 each. Not exactly top-of-the-line dining but the bills got paid and the stomach got fed.

     And then I went to Japan.

Closet Cooking
     The lifestyle, the culture and the sights were lovely. Visiting shrines and temples and seeing cherry blossoms in Kyoto are lovely, and shopping in Harajuku and checking out maid cafes in Akihabara were fun. Seeing a Takarazuka Revue show was a dream come true. But the one thing I would relive over and over and over again until the end of my days and never get tired of?
     The food.
     Even my university's cafeteria food was amazing. Chicken katsu curry for 300 yen! Kitsune udon for 150! An enormous plate of fresh sashimi straight from Tsukiji Fish Market for 3000! Kill me now; I've already tasted heaven.

Seafood paella at Persian House
     The downside of coming back to Portland after that lovely but oh-so-brief four-month stint was that I was now quite addicted to good food. Readily accessible good food. Unfortunately, I prefer spending as little time in the kitchen as possible. I can cook if I have to and even enjoy baking on occasion but for the most part I leave domestic chores to The Roommate/BFF who loves to cook for me. (Yay!)

     Luckily, my return Stateside coincided with two things: graduating from college and getting a full-time job. It wasn't an impressive job, it was most definitely not a high-paying job, but it was steady income for 40 hours a week - and really, what more could a recent college graduate ask for?

     One of the wonderful, wonderful things about living in Portland is how accessible everything is. You don't really need a car; you can bus virtually anywhere. No car payments! No gas! No fighting traffic/bikers/pedestrians for the roads! Better yet, more money in my pocket to buy food!

     And buy food I did.

Goat stew at Karam
     French, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Thai, Lebanese... mmm. Crêpes galore! I still aggressively avoid Mexican and Vietnamese food because the very scents make me nauseous, but anything else is game.

Favourite Restaurants:

• Le Happy (crêpes)
• Chez Machin (crêpes!)
• Pudding on the Rice (crêpes!!)
• Persian House (omigodlunchbuffet)
• Karam (divine chicken couscous)
• Khun Pic's Bahn Thai (drunken noodles to make you high)
• Urban Fondue and Bartini (crab cakes with amazing basil remoulade)
• Bush Gardens (unfortunately, recently closed and replaced by Kare)
• Kalé (took Bush Gardens' place)
• Cheesecake Factory (a pricy standard classic)
• Elephants Delicatessen (best. deli. ever)
• Sambi (family-owned in Beaverton for real Japanese meals)
• JP's (at the beach)

Portland food blogs:

• Dining Out in Portland by Burton Simmons
• Renaissance Culinaire by Amber
• Portland Food and Drink by various authors
• Je Mange la Ville by Michelle L. Biehl
• And... oh, hell. Here's a list of Portland food blogs including the above.

··· don't be fooled by your emptiness ···
··· there's so much more room for happiness ···

Into the light she flies [2]

· · ·  Hello, world.

Portland (OR) Daily Photo

     For a long time, I thought my city was very Plain Jane. Too small to be a big city and too big to be a small town, the draw of Portland was the social mix. Compared to truly ethnically diverse cities it's very white-bred and hipster-populated, but there's enough of a cultural cocktail that no minority feels completely alone. There are pockets of cultures all around, and great food, food, food.

     But prettiness? Oh, no. Our tall buildings are short and our short buildings are shabby. No; I had no love of the architecture of my city.

     Then...

     Sometime last year I was taking a bus across the Ross Island Bridge, headed east. I happened to look out over my right - and watched as in seconds the view went from OHSU's industrial area to the deep blue Willamette River to a sea of green, green trees. The sun was just starting to set, all gradients of purple and gold and blue, and not a cloud in the sky. It was absolutely breathtaking, and in that one moment, my previous estimation of the look of the city was shot.

     I'm one of those people who walks like they're on a mission. Headphones on, chin up, shoulders back, and if I happen to be wearing my favourite long, silky, skirt, billows of black fabric flaring dramatically behind me. Get out of my way before I run you over, and no, I would not like to sign your petition for a green something-or-other.

     Ever since The Epiphany on the Bridge, however, I've learned to occasionally - occasionally - stop where I'm walking and look up. Without fail, every time, my eye is caught by something beautiful.

Portland and the Hawthorne Bridge

     The way light glints off of twenty stories of windows. The dichotomy of a steel-and-glass office building next to Corinthian pillars. The random murals all over Southeast Belmont. The quirky clothing shops along Hawthorne. The gorgeous stores and homes around Nob Hill.

     Yes, parts of Portland are messy, dirty, run-down, noisy, cranky, and all of those other bad things you'd think of when picturing a city. It may not be Chicago or New York but it's still the largest city in Oregon, so that much is inevitable. But when I stopped glaring at the nasties down below and started opening my eyes and looking up... man.

     This city is gorgeous.

··· there at the door the inspiration I´ve looked for ···
··· the spirit of the youth appears ···

Tunnel of Whimsy [1]

· · ·  Hello, world.

Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine
     What a terriby cliché name for such a magical little place.

     There are some places that make you feel like you've stepped out of reality and into a brilliant new world. Bamboo forests, wild gardens, lush ponds, or - if you're staying a little closer to home - even a nicely maintained coffeeshop can feel like a trip to a different planet, a different era - a different life.

     This is one of those places, I think. I haven't been to Kleven yet but it's on my to-do list along with Udaipur and Venice.

Tunnel of Love in Klevan, Ukraine
Photo by Oleg Gordienko

Treehouses of the World	The Shark House	Alice in Wonderland	Chittorgarh Fort

··· who would have thought it could be amazing ···
··· who would have thought the tiny courageous ···