Traipsing Around Portland

Last Saturday, Howard and I set off on a mini Portland treasure hunt. First up was Multnomah Village in SW Portland (it bills itself as The Village in the Heart of Portland). I had one place in mind (to be revealed shortly), but discovered a bunch of shops that filled my desire for junk and beauty.

Our first stop was at Pagenwood Restoring, owned by Tom Pagenstecher. Tom not only does antique furniture restoration, but also has a fine little antique store. It was filled with all of the types of objects and debris that I so love. Walk with me:












Out with old and in with the new. We stumbled upon a shoe store that made my heart go pitter patter. The store, Switch Shoes, was filled with unique boots and shoes. Since it was Halloween, Jennifer (one of the owners) greeted us in full Wonder Woman attire. Gotta love that (and we did).



After much trying on, consultation with staff and strangers, I decided upon a pair of orange boots. Yep, orange (you can call them pumpkin).


Now for the reason we went to Multnomah Village in the first place: NW Wools - Natural Fibers and Yarns. It was a sensory and visual delight and I came away with the wool roving I was after (thanks, Tory, for the lead).






After all that shopping, it was time for nourishment and a little restaurant on SW 35th caught our eye: Down to Earth Cafe. The menu had lots of vegetarian options, so I was happy. I chose their Autumn Harvest Salad. Here's the description: Mixed greens tossed with maple balsamic vinaigrette; topped with pears, apples, goat cheese, and candied walnuts. Oh my, it was divine, as expected.




We heard that Multnomah Village was going to be inundated with trick or treaters from 2:00-4:00 pm, so as 2:00 rolled around we skedaddled out of the area. We headed back over the river to the east side and chose the Sellwood area to finish off our afternoon. The highlight of our meanderings in Sellwood (and we only got through one section, the rest will be for another day), was visiting Stars: Portland's Antiques Malls. This store is a Portland institution and I hadn't been in years, years I tell ya. It was fabulous to roam in and out of the stalls spying so many of the things I love. Unfortunately, the prices were on the higher side so I settled in for browsing, not buying. Until I saw it. The IT that I've been wanting. Well, not exactly this one, cause I'd never seen anything like it, but it became the dress form I wanted and must have.

For now, IT is at home (Howard wanted it at home for a while, not at the studio). He even suggested I hang a heart inside and a scarf around her neck. I'm picturing a glass heart inside and a filmy piece of sheer fabric wrapped around her shoulders. What do you think?