ikea and the new home-away-from-home . . .

an ikea opened in pdx in july. when the actual opening day came, people had been camped outside in line for days! granted, i love swedish kitsch as much as the next girl. however, i don't see much reason to sleep in the streets for mass-produced schwag. i finally decided i needed to make a trip though as i was in need of some organizational assistance with winter coming and nowhere to put my sweaters and coats. i had made an ikea date with sarah who was unable to join me. it worked out that mac needed to make a trip to return an item she'd bought the week prior so we went together. was nice to have her designer eye with me as that's something i struggle with. we spent 2 solid hours cruising the store - each with our distinct list. i had finally selected a combination of items for the creation of an armoire (my main reason for making the trek) but alas, the cabinet itself was out of stock. drats! now i'm going to have to go back. ugh!

i did however score some very nice finds. i got a very nice chair/ottoman cushion set for my chair in a comfy brown leather. i also purchased another tractor-seat style seat for my studio downstairs. but was thwarted on my mission.

after ikea, i dropped mac off at home and met up with anunce and the crew at the new bar down the street, the bye and bye. anunce had her birth mom in town from cambridge, mass and we *had* to meet her. she was a lovely lady and am so glad for anunce that they seem to be forging a relationship after all these years.

but really, back to the bye and bye. anunce and i had been there on friday afternoon and fell in love with the place instantly. there was something about it that felt oddly familiar. the added bonus was that it was a non-smoking bar. anunce being on day 4 and i on day 7 at the time had decided that we needed a new place to hang out given the smokiness of our usual home bar. we chatted up the bartender and ordered some food and got the back story on the bar. there were 6 co-owners who all work the bar and basically did the renovation themselves. one of them is named john and had worked at the grit in athens, ga. it was no wonder that the "georgia bowl" seemed so familiar and comfortable. (did i mention the entire menu is vegan?) it was basically a dish i ate several times a week for many years back in grad school. yummy! the feel was great and the jukebox was delightful. i think we've found our new place. and the best part for me is that it's exactly 7 blocks from my house. yippee!

more antics to ensue at the bye and bye i'm sure!!!

so today i'm thankful for . . . new places that bring back old memories.