Sunshine+Design

Daytime in Portland – I’m seriously moving here

We started off the day with coffee and a muffin at a sleek and modern coffee shop called Public Domain.

Wow, check out Portland’s “subway” system—more like a monorail.

We found the most amazing farmers market at Portland State University. I have never seen a market so big. All of the sellers were super friendly encouraging passersby to try a sample.

We discovered a berry called a marionberry. What?!?! That’s the same name as DC’s infamous, crack smoking mayor, Marion Barry! It turns out a marionberry is a cross between a blackberry and a raspberry and it tastes so sweet.

This guy was rocking out. I’m not sure what that horn/pipe thing is called, but he had a few of the instrument, each a different size and tone.

Spectacular, aren’t they?

I noticed many of the shoppers had their very own unique basket. I’ve seen these baskets in Sunset magazine and Organic Gardening magazine’s shopping guide. It certainly adds to the quantness of shopping at the market.

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From the market, we stumbled upon a vintage, custom-made car show.

That’s my hot ride.

The Fuel Injection logo never gets old.

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My very favorite part of Portland was the Mississippi Avenue area. A street packed with the greatest little microbrew bars, a hand churned ice cream shop, a few vintage stores, a few more knickknack/fantastic gift stores, one of the city’s best vinyl shops, an amazing architectural salvage store, a handmade modern furniture store, and so much more.

This was by far the best little garden/nursery I’ve ever been in. It is called Pistils Nursery and it’s packed with the most beautiful terrariums, interesting succulents and indoor plants.

I loved this hanging plant inside a wire bowl.

The backyard of the nursery housed loads of sustainably grown plants and vegatables for sale.

And chickens of course.

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We just could not get enough of Portland. Everyone was super friendly, and it was interesting to be in an environment that was so dedicated to being eco-friendly. That mindset is deeply engrained in everyone. You can’t buy something without it being placed in a compostable bag. We bought lemonade from a little girl at a lemonade stand who served us the refreshing drink in a compostable cup, complete with farmers market blueberries! There are recycling trash bins all over the city. Why can’t DC adapt that attitude? It really made us want to live differently. We loved the sense of community and the respect for art and design. Every single restaurant and shop had a unique style, each with the best signage. There were tons of vegetable gardens—even in people’s front yards. I could so be that person. I noticed that most people drive a Prius, or a really old little tiny car, or a VW bus. There is respect for preservation and interest in being true to yourself rather than keeping up with the Joneses. —Which is sometimes hard to get away from here on the east.