buy local, portland.

this weekend is all about shopping for most of us. here are a few of the ways you can support you local favorites this weekend:

friday just got a little prettier in portland with plaid friday! plaid friday is the new black friday, putting the focus on portland's favorite local businesses. you can check out the full list of participants on the buy local website, but i am most excited about sampling sweetgrass's holiday gin cocktail and the portland flea-for-all being open on a friday (plus having refreshments while you shop!). the best part of the day.. wearing plaid!

take a photo while you are out shopping local today (and throughout december) and use #happylocalshopper to be entered to win a gift cards to your favorite portland buy local store!

and the other best part of the day, the tree lighting tonight in monument square at 5:30. you won't want to miss this because my favorite childhood musician, rick charette will be there. oh, nostalgia..

let's not forget about saturday! small business saturday is tomorrow. these days, there is no way you can't find everything you are looking for from a local business. to participate, you may not even have to leave your house. there are so many online local small business to shop right from your computer. but if you want to get out and get in the stores, portland is full of them.

here are a few of my suggestions for shopping small this weekend..

for the ladies:
bliss boutique
suncity
judith

for the men:
portland trading co
portland general store
portland dry goods

for the home:
angela adams
more & co
folly 101

vintage:
portland flea-for-all
material objects
moody lords

coffee:
tandem
bard
coffee by design

these are only a few of my many favorite portland stores. get out there and get shopping. remember to shop small this weekend!

it's official, we are residents of portland.

 

this past week has been full of moving boxes, unpacking boxes, and trying to set up our new apartment to feel like home. it has been a lot more work than i expected, but i guess thats what you get when you put detailed-oriented and ocd people together. everything is still a work in progress, but this is the first apartment in the past few years that i want to make my home. so if you were wondering what i have been up to over the past week, this is it. that, and well, taking pictures of my cats. like hundred of them...

alexander wang x h&m.

as you may have heard by now, alexander wang is the latest designer to team up with h&m. this collection is true street-chic. it is activewear, complete with design and function. it can be worn in the gym, on the streets, or out at night. the pieces are constructed with fabrics and technologies, like wicking and compression, that make them just as functional as they are fashionable. 

if this collection doesn't make you feel like hitting up the boxing ring (no pun intended!), they sure as hell will make you feel sexy. you better get in line early because when this collection hits stores (and online) on november 6th, i have a feeling it is going to go fast.

here are some of my favorite looks and pieces from the collection. i really love the embossing and foam-injected tops. and really, who doesn't love bike shorts.