Well, we had a blast this weekend that's for sure..my only complaint is that we didn't spend more time there. This awesome city is only three hours away from Bend but it tends to be a place that we bypass on the way to Seattle, catch a plane out of or make a quick visit for concerts. It's a place worth staying at the very least four or five days. We were there for two days and one night and didn't get to everything on our list, so next time we're going to plan it out well an stay a bit longer.
On our way into town we stopped at Fabric Depot which probably has the best variety of fabrics I have ever come across in one place. Although I had to bypass the silk section when I saw that the colors I liked were about ninety dollars a yard (after doing the math in my head I didn't think it was worth adding the cost to my dolls!) but I found lots of wonderful fabric. I only spent and hour and half there which is pretty good considering I quickly browsed the aisles and aisles of fabric and only grabbed what caught my eye (that's a place you can spend all day in). After and hour and a half my eyes were bloodshot and hurting from looking at everything (the place can be overwhelming). Sadly I didn't get a chance to check out the other fabric shops in town but considering that my drawers cant fit anymore fat quarters, that's probably okay!

Afterwards we headed on over to Chez Machin which came highly recommend by Dave and his wife Trina. Contrary to Andres's expression it was a fantastic place to eat (if you need Portland recommendations ask them!). The atmosphere was French and casual and the waiter and waitress there were super friendly (Edith Piaf music played in the background the entire time we were there). The food was fantastic too~ everything about the place I loved and we will be heading back there next time in town. And it's in a cool artsy area on Hawthorne Street which kind of reminded me of the Haight in San Francisco. That's another area we'd like to spend more time hanging around as we only had time to check out a few shops nearby. We noticed that Portland has a lot of the artsy, eccentric neighborhoods scattered throughout.

After looking at our watches it was time to get a hotel and get over to the Aladdin where Dan Zanes was performing. For those of you who recall bands from the eighties Dan was the lead singer of the Del Fuegos and now makes childrens music. What I like about his music is that he mixes classic kids songs with folk, rock and world music and has even had musical friends of his (Deborah Harry of Blondie, Lou Reed, Aimee Mann, etc) sing on his cds. His music appeals to kids and adults which I find is not always the case with kids music today. Anyhow I shot some video of the show (excuse the quality-my camera has automatic focus so it's clear then blurry then does that over and over~plus it's hard to tap your feet and hold a camera!)
Andres is use to singing, dancing and playing his drums along to a concert dvd we have of Dan Zanes but he was pretty much stunned into silence while watching the band play. I think he was having a hard time registering that was seeing this band live! And being huge music lovers and concert goers we made sure Andres got right up front (for the first part of the show anyhow). We knew that band ended their shows by exiting the stage and heading down the aisles and outside. So we left to go see them near the front entrance (that way we'd be able to meet them before the rest of the crowd got there). Andres didn't want to let go of Dan's hand. He talked to Collin the drummer and got his ticket stub signed. Yep, we're grooming a future concert goer here. Who knows maybe he'll be the one on stage someday :)

The band's opening song

Something off the upcoming album

Last song and procession outside

We went out to eat afterwards but Andres was so beat he fell asleep..It was a fantastic concert! The next morning we headed over to Nob Hill had breakfast at Vivace's and window shopped a bit. I'm not a fan of shopping (I like to get things on my list and go!) but it was nice just to walk around along 23rd street and check out the art, people, etc. It also happened to be a nice weekend weather wise..upper sixities..perfect for being outdoors.

Later on in the day we headed to the Zoo..

After a warm afternoon at the zoo it was time to head back downtown to for a snack (before dinner at McMinnimums of course..)..we even spotted Elvis (should've stopped to see if he wanted to join us).

Eating a chocolate chip and butter-cream frosted cupcake while listening to the Smiths at St. Cupcakes..an end to a perfect afternoon if you ask me!
Ok, this could go on and on, so we'll leave it at that...a short sweet trip to a town that's becoming a favorite :)
Now..back to my dolls and planning our next visit!