Hey, cuties! Happy Valentine’s Day. I tend to fall into the “ugh, yet another Hallmark holiday” camp when I think of February 14th, but hey — if the man wants to use the day as an excuse to give me roses, I guess I’ll get on board.

America’s Most Hipster City

Back to my Portland recap… This was my first time in the city in years. I used to drive through Portland with my family every winter, as we made our annual road trip up from Los Angeles to Whistler, Canada. There was never much exploring when we’d pass through, just a pit stop at a hotel or a diner for a break from the day of driving.

This was my first time really digging into the culture of the area, and I L O V E D I T. Despite my gripes, it’s hard to imagine ever moving away from Los Angeles (trust me, being in Copenhagen for a year was hard enough). That said, if I ever did decide to get out of the City of Angels, Portland would be on my list of alternatives — just behind Vancouver and Tokyo, of course…

Our walk through downtown took us by Case Study Coffee, brimming with flannel and beards. (Mark fit in just fine!)

It was just our kind of coffee house: rich, velvety espresso in a quirky atmosphere. Chai latte for him, eggnog latte for me.

The shopping situation in downtown Portland is to die for. So many small shops with the cutest of cute merch. Stickers, stationary, pins, trinkets, artwork. I was in heaven.

Downtown Portland is also home to the largest independent bookstore, Powell’s Books. They have a few locations throughout the city, but this is the headquarters, dubbed the City of Books.

It really does feel like a city in itself when you step inside. We got lost wandering the store’s many levels, each with floor to ceiling books of every category and age (Powell’s sells both new and used). Honestly, I could move to Portland just for this bookstore.

We didn’t do much planning prior to our trip up to PDX, and I’m really glad we didn’t. It allowed us to see the city with the sort of spontaneity that breeds good times and even better memories. Maybe the next time we stop in it’ll be en route to Whistler for a much needed (re)visit to the most phenomenal ski resort in North America. (One can only hope, right?)

xo,

K