Tofu Dengaku + Picnics at Council Crest = Weekly Love
I have a hard time remembering the last time I got completely absorbed in a book. Mildly embarrassing, but I spend so much time reading online, that I hadn’t picked up an actual book in too long. So I took The Rum Diary (Hunter S. Thompson) to the park on Saturday and left a few hours later, book finished. Reading undisturbed for hours on end, while drinking rose in the park has to be one of the best ways you can spend a Saturday afternoon.
This Week:
Beet salad – Dove Vivi has one of the best beet salads: beets, roasted walnuts, blue cheese, served on a bed of greens with shallot balsamic vinaigrette. Dinner.
evening rides & tofu dengaku – I love mid-week evening bike rides that have no destination. We ended up swinging by Biwa on the way home and I got my favorite little snack of tofu dengaku.
running – I [slowly] ran three times this week.
$5 community yoga – Drop-in prices of $5? Yes, please!
Clarklewis happy hour – one of my favorite happy hours in Portland, sometimes I don’t stop by for a while, but I always love their cheese and apple plate and gimlet.
bike race – I watched a fixie bike race on Friday night, and I felt kind of like an old lady from the ‘burbs.
Council Crest picnics – one of the best ways to spend a Saturday afternoon:
Lazy picnic w/supplies from Meat Cheese Bread & La Vielle Ferme rosé #summer@ Council Crest Park instagr.am/p/NFRCN8Bg0v/
— Olivia Raymer (@poweredbytofu) July 15, 2012
Accanto brunch – cheapy Genoa substitute, Accanto, has brunch. No lines. Tasty. Done.
What are you happy about this week?
Portland Sunsets + Lebanese + River Floats = Weekly Love
Summer, my friends, has finally arrived in Portland. I may have said summer is on its way a few times this year already, but it’s finally here!
This Week:
Oblique Coffee Roasters – you would think it would be easy to find a coffee shop open at 5am, right? Maybe that’s just wishful thinking. My quest led me to Oblique, which opens at 6am. That’ll do.
Tubing on the Clackamas River – First river float of the year. Check! A fairly last minute and short trip to the river, but always worth it. There’s nothing like floating down the river in the sun. It’s like being a kid again, where all you have to worry about is whether or not you get to stop for ice cream on the way home.
Kit’s Organic – I received a little box of treats in the mail, which I promptly devoured. Attention PR companies, you can always send me food. In all seriousness, I’m happy to see Clif Bar come out with something like this. My go-to bar if I pop into Whole Foods after yoga, is a Luna bar, so always good to have more brands and flavors to choose from. My favorite thing about these fruit and nut bars, is the ingredient list: Organic Dates, Organic Cashews, Organic Almonds, Sea Salt. Four ingredients? My mom would even approve. (granola – it’s genetic)
Portland sunsets – stunning sunsets this weekend. “It’s 9pm, hurry! Run for high ground to catch it!”
Pyro in the sun – spent a sunny lunch break at Pyro Pizza enjoying my favorite pizza and the weather.
Ya Hala – still my favorite Lebanese restaurant in Portland. 8 years later and the veggie mezza still doesn’t disappoint (although I would not turn down extra baba ganoush)!
What are you happy about this week?
Pok Pok Grilled Corn + Hawaiian Miles = Weekly Love
Happy Birthday, America!
This Week:
Pok Pok grilled corn – It’s back in season folks — Pok Pok is serving their grilled corn again. A summer favorite. I could eat a cornfield of these.
coffee shop work – Crema, sunshine, iced coffee. This:
I appreciate working remotely 85% more in summertime!@ Crema Bakery and Cafe instagr.am/p/MZIPNDhg5Z/
— Olivia Raymer (@poweredbytofu) June 27, 2012
Firestone Walker “Wookey Jack” Black Rye IPA – I won a 22oz bottle of this at beer trivia night a few weeks ago, and then ‘randomly’ ordered it at Green Dragon this week. Doh. A new favorite, for sure.
Canteen – after continually passing by the almost-finished, new shop from one of my favorite Portland juice carts (Sip), they’ve finally opened! I tried the tasty Portland bowl, and the standard ginger berry smoothie. I’ll definitely be back in here.
Portland Dining Month at Brix Tavern – Every June, Downtown Portland puts on Portland Dining Month, where you get a 3-course meal for $25 at tons of Portland restaurants. I snagged a freebie on KloutPerks, and got a nice little gift certificate in the mail for Brix Tavern. It was fun to try out a restaurant I hadn’t been to, and they have a great happy hour menu!
Moonrise Kingdom – It’s been a while since I went to a ‘real’ movie theater. I finally used my $5 Fandango movie coupon to go see the new Wes Anderson film. Loved. Perfect way to spend a rainy June night.
Hawaiian Airlines 35,000 miles offer - I’m always on the lookout for credit cards offering miles deals, and since my bff moved to Hawaii, I decided to get the Hawaiian Airlines card, which gives you 35,000 miles. You just have to spend $1,000 in 4 months — pretty easy if you use it for bills, dining out, groceries etc. This will be my card of choice for the next few months. Plus you get a coupon code for 25% off 2 roundtrip tickets. Prepare the guest room, friend!
Oregon Humane Society kitties – I stumbled across my Oregon Humane Society cat adoption papers recently. Adorable to re-read Emily Essa’s one-page sell sheet. :)
What are you happy about this week?
Kayaking Ross Island + Edgefield + Bocce = Weekly Love
Thankfully, turning 31 brought with it much less introspection that turning 30 did. Phew! Now I don’t have to worry about that again, well probably until I’m turning 40? I did however take the day off work to celebrate dia de Olivia in style.
This Week:
Edgefield – I celebrated turning 31 at Edgefield. Always fun to play a round of pitch and putt golf, drink a beer, play pool, see lots of bunnies, and visit the best (and newest?) soaking pool at McMenamins.
Bocce – It’s bocce season again. Watch out, Portland!
Sazerac at Sweet Hereafter – Who know Sweet Hereafter has a really good sazerac? Well now you do.
lunch at PaaDee – I’d been in here for dinner before, but am much more of a fan of the lunch prices and nice to see more veg/fish options on the lunch menu. Regardless of price, one of the cutest restaurant decors in town.
Kayaking around Ross Island – I went kayaking on the Willamette River for the first time (& on my birthday!). While there was a little bit of rain, it actually made it a quieter day on the river and we got to see a lot of animals. I truly adore being in nature. It was so special to see a doe and her two fawns on Ross Island. We stopped and watched them for about 15 minutes. Mesmerizing.
The Big 3-1 – Birthday time. After Edgefield, I went to my favorite sushi place — Bamboo Sushi with family and then to a surprise surprise at Whiskey Soda Lounge, followed by Gold Dust Meridian, followed by in bed by 12 because I am 31 now, after all.
Extracto Coffee house – I love their spiced chai!
What are you happy about this week?
Newport + Beer & Cheese + Kettleball = Weekly Love
As PDX Beer Week came to a close this week, it’s a been a fun mix of beer and exercising to counterbalance the beer.
This Week:
Kettleball workout – I tried a kettleball workout for the first time this week (Lululemon had a free class at Skogg Kettleball gym at NW 10th/Everett). Intense! Fun though, I’ll definitely be trying it again. It was the kind of workout that you think, “I don’t think I can do this!” because it’s an 18 pound weight. But then you can, and you do, and it’s awesome!
Evoe – finally stopped in to Evoe/Pastaworks for a sandwich. Mighty fine.
Lardo – I’ve been hashtagging #sandwichgram on Instagram this week. Every time I’ve wanted to try Lardo (at the Good Food Here food cart pod), it seems like they’re closed. Finally, I got to try the tuna melt. Delicious!
Newport – We spent Father’s Day weekend at the coast with my parents. It’s always fun exploring Newport — sea lion spotting, walking the port, looking at boats, finding hilarious unicorn signs (above), and lunch in Nye Beach. Plus, the mildly scary, but exhilarating Harley ride with my dad!
Portland Beer & Cheese Festival – cheese, glorious cheese. And beer. Two of my favorite things! More photos of this later. And now I really need to go to a kettleball workout again.
What are you happy about this week?
Things I ♥: travel, food (I'm a pescatarian), the Pacific Northwest, bikes (I ride an orange mixte), beer (IPAs), summer, coffee, lists, and kittehs. Travel enthusiast, dabbler, and product manager at BootsnAll Travel Network.
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