18 posts tagged “portland”
I'd heard about Women for Women International a few times while watching Oprah and had felt drawn to the organization. Then last month when Lisa Shannon was a guest on Oprah, again talking about WfWI I decided that that was it, I was going to become a sponsor. That night I got online, signed up for my commitment to send money each month to my new sister (that I asked to be randomly assigned to) and agreed to start writing letters too.
Shannon lives in Portland and writes, speaks and raises money for women in the Congo through WfWI and as luck would have it the fabulous Food Fight (our local vegan grocery store here in PDX) and their Let Live series had invited her to speak. Not so lucky was my household coming down with swine flu (don't even get me started about the irony and unfairness of my 2 out of 3 veg home having pig flu!) so I didn't get to attend, but Food Fight recorded it and put it up on their site! Worth the time to watch here is the link to last Sunday's talk:
http://foodfightgrocery.com/index.php/2009/10/27/change-one-mile-at-a-time-lisa-shannon-and-the-run-for-congo-women/
In the video Shannon explains where my $27 monthly donation goes:
*$10 to spend
*$5 to save
*$12 for training on nutrition, family planning, literacy and much more
What motivated me to be a part of this? I really care about our world and I have the means to share. I feel so blessed and lucky to do so. I spend almost $27 a month on my gym membership and now I will be matching that to give to a person in need, how awesome is that? And there's more! I really believe that for myself working on kindness and connection with the people I see everywhere I go, looking people in the eyes, speaking to people and treating people the way I want to be treated is what changes the world; brings out the best in all. The basics of love. Being love. And spreading love.
Thank you to Women for Women International!
This is a list that is going around. Looks like I have some eating to do!
1. Fries with spicy tofu sauce at Dots- Y
2. $1 Corndog from Hungry Tiger Too- N
3. Chick-o-Stick doughnut from Voodoo Doughnuts- Y
4. Tiramisu from Portobello- Y
5. Vegan Mulita from Gorditos or Gorditos II- N
6. Nanotear Ham and Cheeze sandwich from Tube- N
7. Milkshake from Sip- Y
8. Gnocchi from Portobello- Y
9. Caramel Nut Bar from Sweetpea Baking Co.- N
10. Soft serve from Blossoming Lotus- Y
11. Local cherry tomatoes from a farmers market- N
12. Dong Po Tofu from Bay Leaf- Been there but not sure...
13. Jerked chickun from Assase Ital- N
14. A Big Big Lunch Special from an Indian cart- Y
15. Soy latte made with Stumptown espresso- N
16. A crappy tofu scramble- Y
17. Cornmeal pizza from Dovi Vive.- N
18. Weeping Tiger sandwich from Bye & Bye- Y- tried the husband's
19. Bye & Bye or Floor Punch from Bye & Bye- Y
20. A Bowl meal from a cart- N
21. vegan nutella from freddy's hazelnuts- N
22. soy curls in bulk from food fight or proper eats- N
23. buffalo wings from Vita- N
24. the weekday vegan pancakes from Laurelthirst- N
25. Maple vegan sausage waffle from flavourspot- N
26. Drunken noodles with pepper steak from Thai Food Cafe- N
27. Macnocheeto from Homegrown Smoker- N
28. Veggie platter from an Ethiopian restaurant- N
29. Blackberries picked from a public place- Y
30. Baba Ganouj from Ya Hala- N
31. Coconut Mashed Yams from Papa G’s- Y
32. Butternut Squash Wontons from Hungry Tiger Too-N
33. Vegan slice from Bella Faccia- Y
34. Apple pie from Whiffies- N
35. Chili dog from Zach’s Shack- Y
36. Vegan poutine from Potato Champion- N
37. Missionary Chocolate Truffle- N
38. Apron Activists 4-Course Dinner- N
39. Hot Wok at New Seasons- N
40. Che Guevara Burrito from Laughing Planet- Maybe...
41. Bryan’s Bowl from Por Que No?- N- always get the salad made vegan
42. Pad Thai from Pad Thai Kitchen- N
43. Cupcake from a stand at Last Thursday- N
44. The Giant Pancake at Hungry Tiger Too- Y
45. TLP from Red & Black Cafe- Y
46. Cornmeal tempeh plate from Proper Eats- N
47. Tofu Po Boy at Palm State Gumbo- N
48. Maple Walnut Scone from Back to Eden- N
49. Vegan Mezza platter from a Lebanese restaurant- Y
50. Crispy eggplant from Fujin- N
51. Lemongrass Tofu Sticks from Van Hanh- N
52. Tofu Salad Bun at Pho PDX- N
53. Cocktail made with local liquor- N
54. Biscuits and Gravy from Paradox- Y
55. Smoky soy curls from Homegrown Smoker- N
56. Field Roast sausage- Y
57. Secret Aardvark Hot Sauce- Y
58. Toddbot's Triangles- N
59. Local microbrew- Y
60. Hot Lips soda- Y
61. Herb Crusted Tofu with Mushroom Marsala from The Farm Cafe- Y
62. had a picnic in Laurelhurst Park- N
63. burrito from Shelley's Honkin Huge Burritos- N
64. Eggplant tibs from Bete Lukas- N
65. Tator Tots before noon or after midnight- N
66. Lone Ranger from Chaos Cafe- N
67. Sunday brunch at Sweetpea!- N
68. Tofu at a BBQ place (for example Derby Mustard Sauce Tofu at Russel Street BBQ)- N
69. Mint Fava Falafel at Nightlight Lounge- N
70. An unexciting hummus plate at a bar.- N
71. Vegan meatball sub from Aalto Lounge- N
72. Koi Fusion spicy tofu tacos- N
73. Veggie dog from the Vegi dog stand- Y
74. Sesame chicken from a vegetarian chinese restaurant- N
75. Bagel with Bacun Scallion cream cheese from Sweetpea -N
76. Vegan savoury crepe- N
77. Veggie kibbeh- Maybe
78. Club Vegan at Backspace- N
79. ice cream sundae from Back to Eden- N
80. Raw fudge from Blossoming Lotus- Y!!
81. Tempeh reuben- N
82. Pause vegan burger- N
83. vegan ribs- Y
84. something baked with local marionberries- Y
85. Veggie bento box- Y
86. Dave's Killer Bread- Y
87. Higher Taste Buzzitos- N
88. Thai food that the server swears is vegan, but you taste fish sauce.-Y
89. Elephant ear from the Saturday Market-N
90. Dovetail sticky bun- N
91. savoury pie from Nicholas restaurant- N
92. Salad rolls from the Just Thai cart- N
93. Vegan torta from Gorditos II- N
94. Nutritional yeast on your popcorn at a movie theater- N, at home on raw "popcorn", yes
95. Vegan grilled cheese from The Grilled Cheese Grill- N
96. Pasilla burrito from El Nutri- N
97. Something from the vegetarian menu at Andina- Y and it was very good!
98. Vegan Steak and Cheese from D.C. Vegetarian- N
99. Dragon Noodles at Red & Black Cafe - N
100. Falafel from Wolf & Bears- N
This shop (right down the street from the previously mentioned vegan restaurant) had handmade art from Portland! So cute to find it in Paris. And more photos of cuteness...
Eliot
display
closer look
Love this
jazz on the Seine
subway
Awesome
Lucky 13
Mary Goes Round
NY love in Paris
Coraline
Beauty
From what I understand you can only by Isabel Marant in France. Her designs are beautiful.
Lovely
The Portland farmers market opened today and I bought a new flavor of Herb Garden's lavender jam: pear-fig. So yummy and just what I've been craving. So I put it in a smoothie for the first time: Awesome!
1 c watered down almond milk (cause I had less then a cup of almond milk left in the fridge and I like about a cup of liquid for a single serving smoothie)
1 heaping scoop of lavender pear-fig jam
1 frozen banana
2 big handfuls of mustard greens
Birthday plans for Thursday February 12. May have to do some of this on Valentine's Day cause the list is too long!
*Pie - to look at vegan footwear.
*Sephora - to smell perfumes.
*Blossoming Lotus - to eat raw vegan food.
*Yummy Tummy - for more raw vegan food.
*Free People - to try on pretty clothes in their equally pretty dressing rooms.
*Seaplane - cause it's next to Free People. Clothes are really expensive here but handmade and gorgeous to admire.
*Anthropologie - love it and I've got a gift card. Thanks Toni and Michael!
*Urban Outfitters - I love their new heart shaped mixing bowls.
*boot camp at the gym - cause I like to sweat and it's my birthday.
*Stella McCartney for Adidas - oh, yeah there's no where to buy it in Portland. blech.
*Lululemon - love this store too. Best pants and jackets to work out in even if their design turnover is way too fast for my taste.
*Yoga class - a nice way to start the day. If I don't go to a class I'll at least spend some time when I wake up doing sun salutations and more.
*Laurelhurst Park - for a walk if it's not too cold.
*Sock Dreams - duh!
*Xtabay - because it's fun to look.
A little PDX love this weekend spending some money at some local favorites. This weekend I...
*bought a custom hula hoop from a local hoop teacher/performer http://portlandoctopus.com/hoop-dance-classes-euphoria-studios/
*ate at Por Que No http://porquenotacos.com/
*ate at Blossoming Lotus
*bought a dress at the http://www.ultrapdx.com/zero/2009/01/20/easy-on-you-pdx-collective-sale-this-weekend/
*ate at the new vegan Italian restaurant called Portobello http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=128664968
*bought a few greeting cards at Poppy and Ivy's birthday party http://www.amyhollands.typepad.com/
*attending our local music school's open house http://soundrootsmusic.com/cart/index.php?main_page=index
*ate at Miss Delta
*visited VooDoo Doughnut for the first time. A Portland institution.
Local businesses are dropping around here so if you can please visit some of your favorite places in your town and spend a few dollars if you can. It can make a difference! And the shop owners will appreciate it! xoxo
Sorry, Vox was being pesky and wasn't letting me link everything!
Damn F$%^%% Portland and the militant vegans that sank Nutshell. Nutshell closed down this weekend and I'm a pissed off vegan Portland resident. They knew my name in there and I liked that. They served interesting yummy food and were always kind if sometimes a bit slow. And I was disappointed when the menu changed to vegetarian and vegan but I still supported them because they were great. Poop on this stupid city.
Here's my little horoscope from yesterday, September 2nd from the DailyOm:
Limitless Dreams
Aquarius Daily Horoscope
The multitude of possibilities that lie before you could make you feel limitless today, and maybe because you see a wide range of options for your future, you might have a more idealistic view of what you are able to accomplish. While there are times when it is important to ground your decisions in the reality of the moment, perhaps today you can let your imagination soar, and listen to the inspiration of your soul to guide your decisions. You might try by thinking about what you picture yourself doing five years from now. Without thinking of the practical aspects of your life, such as career or resources, see where your minds eye takes you, allowing yourself to dive fully into this picture. The vision that you have for your future, you may find, could be your inner self telling you what you really should do in order to fulfill your deepest purpose in life.
Our dreams for the future are the wishes of our souls. Because we are so often bogged down by the everyday details of our lives, it is easy to forget our true aspirations. The hopes that we have, however, usually come from within the part of ourselves that wishes to really connect to our true calling something that isnt necessarily rooted in the practicality of the present, but instead in the wisdom of our spirit. Letting your dreams run wild will point you in the direction that will help you live out your real calling, and realize the true desire that lies within you today.
**************************************************************************************************
The reason that I want to write about this one in particular is because of last night. Andy, Eliot and I went to dinner with a friend of Andy's. He asked us how we like Portland, everyone always asks us how we like Portland, so that's not the notable part. I said some cast-off remark like, "I really need to meditate on where we should go." Andy's friend quickly and nicely suggested that it's not "where" it's "what", the questions to ask are things like "what do we want in a place?" and so on.
I don't read my horoscope every day, some days I just delete it without a second thought but this one got to m a little. Especially the line, "Our dreams for the future are the wishes of our souls." I'm all over that thought. I have a vision board that I've been fine tuning, I pay attention to my dreams, my gut, and my heart. And today something hit me with a surprising voice and the Bay Area, northern California is resonating with me. Unless of course McCain gets into office, then we're heading to another country for a spell.
So, hubby- what's next?
I am so angry. It doesn't help that I'm hungry. Nutshell, the gourmet vegan restaurant in Portland is no longer vegan. I'm so disappointed. Big poop on them for being big quitters in the important evolution of dining, options, creativity and conviction. A big step backwards for Portland.
"When I was single, I decided I wouldn't marry a man unless I could be proud if we had a son who turned out exactly like him."
I got this quote from dooce this morning. She's on holiday but her blog is being updated by bloggy friends. This gem is from Maggie Mason and I thought it was appropriate given it was my yummy boys birthday yesterday.
Speaking of birthdays, it was all so exhausting, very fun but the prep work, shopping, decorating, food, the race the day before, lovely house guests, our brother-in-laws birthday party Saturday night (which was awesome at Habibi, a middle eastern restaurant in downtown Portland), building Eliot's new bed, picking up a cake, and all... these are all of my excuses for not running, reading and meditating the last few days. Back on track for today and drinking loads of green smoothies yesterday and today. I always feel more like a superhero when I drink them. Have a lovely Tuesday sexy voxers!
