City Life: “2010…Are You Ready For It”?

City Life: Volume 5

2010… Are you ready for it?

Lisa and the girls

I am curious to see how you all kicked off the new decade. Against my best intentions, my own New Year’s Eve celebrations straddled the line between average evening and utter fiasco.

The planning began reasonably well. My roommates and I turned our home into a fashion factory, complete with a hairstylist, nail technician, and—of course—Daniel Medina offering his expertise as makeup artist. After my friends and I were all dolled up, we headed to Portland Sports Bar & Grill, formerly Cypress, to load up on a few “Luscious Lisa’s” (think a black opal martini, but with more vodka). Come celebrate the grand reopening this Wednesday, January 20^th at 1811 SW River Drive.

From there, we amassed into the car of our designated driver (Ashley, sincere thanks) to continue our night at the Doug Fir Lounge off East Burnside. Offering an authentically “Portland” atmosphere, the Doug Fir is part dive, part restaurant,

Eating at Doug Fir

part club, and reasonably exciting. However, it didn’t quite offer the atmosphere I was anticipating for my New Year’s Eve extravaganza. No ball drop, no countdown, no complimentary champagne toast. That’s not to say I won’t return—it was a terrific venue for any other night. But I have to face it. I screwed this one up. So we headed out a bit before the bar closed and returned to celebrate at my house… Or, most of us did, at least. About an hour later a Radio Cab slid into my driveway, delivering a batch of my friends near tears. After figuring I could not possibly placate whatever issues were at hand, I locked myself in my room, took a Tylenol PM, and hoped things would be better in the morning. I awoke to my house in shambles—the kitchen a wreck, martini glass shards strewn about the floor, and a broken window to top it off. The moral of the story: New Year’s is for amateurs. After taking a few days to recover from that whole hot mess, I was ready to confront the world again, this time with

Art of Weddings

much better results. Together with up-and-coming hair stylist Sayrah Harth, I encountered a plethora of local talent at The Art of Weddings event held at the Armory in Portland Center Stage on January 7^th. The beautiful affair featured elegant fashions from local designers, scrumptious tapas from caterers like Ten01 (503-226-3463) and The Art of Catering (Jen, 503-231-8185), creative cakes (AK Cake design being my personal favorite 503-741-9241), sweet treats (LeCookieMonkey.com), and talented photographers. In fact the portfolios I explored from each vendor were, quite frankly, remarkable. Many of the businesses, such as Sarah Seven’s bridal designs, have been featured in print magazines or on television shows.

Check out Rose City Photography (http://rosecityphotographydotcom.smugmug.com/Fashion/Art-Of-Weddings/10895241_NRzRR#760542099_4zVpg) to see Hal Harrison’s shots of the runway show.

What else is happening around Portland so far this year? Well, I probably don’t have to tell you many classes have resumed. As a PSU student, I am a lucky patron of one of the most urban college campuses in Portland. What does that mean? A good, well rounded education, yes, but I am also centrally located in the heart of Portland. This allows me easy access to restaurants and events between classes. One new restaurant I recently enjoyed was Schmizza Pub & Grub at 415 SW Montgomery. Offering happy hour Monday through Friday from 2-6 pm, this full bar version of Pizza Schmizza is a great place to wind down after class, or, with $2 slices, to refuel between them.

However, it is Thursday, and the holiday weekend is in sight. I am looking forward to Speakeasy designer Keith Weldon’s “Models and Bottles” birthday bash this Friday. With the guest list approaching 400, I know it will be a great time. But I am truly excited to see my friend Mike Najarian of Boston based band State Radio headline the Wonder Ballroom this Sunday, January 17^th. If you don’t know who State Radio are, make it your New Year’s resolution to check them out!

… Luscious Lisa