Portland...And I'm A Shopping Addict

Went to see Em 2 weekends ago for a Fall Wardrobe Shopping/Dem's Birthday trip. I had a blast, as usual. Portland has fantastic shopping, and that's not entirely because it's tax-free.

Downtown has its usual shops: J. Crew, Gap, Victoria's Secret and Express (of course), and Banana Republic were just some of the ones we went to. 23rd Street has lovely little boutiques that are always so much fun to ramble through. You never know when you're going to find something truly unique, or when inspiration is going to hit (whether it's that DIY job you've got at home or Christmas/birthday/etc. shopping). We also hit up Washington Square, where Em introduced me to the Forever 21 superstore: XXI Forever. Yes, I'm laughing at the name, too, but it was fabulous and I found so many cute items. They're opening one soon at Northgate Mall and it'll have to tide me over until H&M opens next Autumn. Next time, I really want to hit up the outlet mall and see what they have to offer. Early December perhaps? Ryan and I are in the talks about it.

I know I should blog about the entire trip but I'm feeling lazy. (Obvious innit, considering the last post was two weeks ago.) Here's an abridged version:

We drove down Friday afternoon, got caught in a massive traffic jam that was worse than usual, finally fought our way past Olympia and from there it only took me about two more hours, landed in Portland safely and went to The Gilt Club for dinner. Lush atmosphere and decor, yummy food, even yummier drinks and dessert was interesting: Valrhona Chocolate 3 ways with extra virgin olive oil and vanilla sea salt. The chocolate was decadent and quite sinful, but the sea salt was a bit too much (and it didn't taste like vanilla at all).

Saturday morning was dedicated to pedicures at Spa La La and that was most enjoyable. Pedicures always feel sooooooo good and this one was no different! I was tempted to go French again but decided on my usual It's All Greek to Me (it looks red in the picture but it's actually a hot pink). Em got a really deep purple and Dem chose a deep navy. I'd love to work for OPI's marketing team and help come up with the names to their colors. Afterwards we went shopping (Downtown and 23rd Street), then happy hour at the Portland City Grill, which was delicious and very well priced. We didn't make the comedy club; instead we went to The Ram's Head, a McMenamins restaurant, back on 23rd Street. After a very pleasing hummus plate and a basket of tater-tots, we were off to Em's friend Melissa's in Vancouver (just across the bridge, back in Washington), where the girls got ready and Dem and I almost fell asleep on the couch. After the primping, we headed to a couple of bars in Downtown Vancouver. Wasn't totally impressed with them, but then I'm used to Seattle bars so there really is no comparison. The first bar had live music which was kind of nice. The second bar actually played modern music (Usher's 'Yeah' is a bit dated but at least it was something I could dance to...not that I danced because apparently, that's not what they do there. It made me miss R Place.) and although it made Em want to take a shower, I think I could like it. However, I was not much in the mood for a bar scene, so Em, Dem and I left and retired to yet another McMenamins (this time on the river) for dessert: marionberry cobbler, pumpkin crisp and black and tan brownie. DELICIOUS.

I slept in the next day and once I woke up, we got ready and headed to Washington Square for some more shopping. My mission was a handbag from White House | Black Market, but to my immense disappointment, they didn't have it! Luckily, Em pointed out the Forever 21 superstore which turned my frown upside down. Yay. The drive home was uneventful except for a short burst of torrential rain (I almost couldn't see but just as I was ready to pull over and wait it out, it started to lighten up).

So am I all shopped out? Hell no. That was only about five or six hours of shopping and I am one of those who can shop till I drop. Who can keep up with me??