The Best Of Portland

'Tis the season for up to 30% off Thermage and Laser Skin Rejuvenation Services at SpaBella! - Compliments of Dr. Cynthia Gray, Board Certified Plastic and Reconstructive Surgeon, Vancouver, Wa

Click Here for a direct link to Dr. Cynthia Gray's and SpaBella's website for more details.

Click Here for a direct link to Dr. Cynthia Gray's and SpaBella's website for more details.

Click Here for a direct link to Dr. Cynthia Gray's and SpaBella's website for more details.

Portland, Oregon ranked #1 Best Running City In America!

Click Here for a complete rundown of the most sublime aspects of the sport, compliments of Runner's World.

Forest Park and running trails along the Willamette River on the Springwater Creek trail were noted by Runner's World as being incredibly sweet for athletic enthusiasts.

Click Here for links to Forest Park Conservancy's website to obtain detailed information regarding; running, mountain biking,  walking your best friend and to benefit Portland's littlest athlete's in training. Forest Park is reported to be America's premier urban forest with over 5,000 acres of forested 'wilderness' in the City of Portland's West hills overlooking the Willamette River.

The Springwater Corridor runs along a portion of the Willamette River and is the major southeast segment of the 40-Mile Loop which was inspired by the 1903 Olmsted plan of a parkway and boulevard loop to connect park sites. Click Here for more detailed information.

Dine-out or Take-out on Thanksgiving Day 2009 in Portland, Or

Dine-out

The London Grill at The Benson

The BlueHour

Columbia River Gorge Hotel

Doug Fir

The Heathman

Huber's

Gracie's

Jake's Grill at The Governor

The Nines

Salty's on the Columbia

Timberline Lodge

Take-out

Elephants Delicatessen

Wong's King Seafood & Dim Sum Restaurant

A Very Merry Annual Portland Event begins downtown at 8:45am on Friday, Nov. 27, 2009 - Macy's Annual Holiday Parade & 5:30pm that same day, Pioneer Courthouse Square's Very Merry Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony - Portland, Or

Get in the spirit this holiday gift-giving season "Portland-style" by kicking the holiday season off at Macy's 2009 Holiday Parade.  There will be a bevy of; traditional floats, local celebrities, street entertainment and music, food and drinks along the route.

The route:
New Parade Route: The parade will begin at NW Park and Davis, then travel east to Broadway, south on Broadway to SW Alder, east on Alder (past Macy’s) to 4th, north on 4th to NW Flanders, west on Flanders to Park.

Conclude your day at Pioneer Courthouse Square's 5:30pm Annual Tree Lighting Ceremony. Click Here for a link to more details.

Tired of toiling in a "WallFlower" workspace? Cavallini Papers takes flights of fancy to entirely new heights.

 

Cavallini & Co. was founded in 1989 in San Francisco. Their story is one of dedication to design, customer care, and an old-fashioned commitment to produce the finest quality gift and stationery products in the marketplace. Simply put, they love what they do.

Cavallini's goal is to create products that are both beautiful and functional. Whether it is a 19th-century butterfly print or a well-loved piece of ephemera, Cavallini pulls from it's vast archival collection for the perfect image. While staying true to a distinct aesthetic, we combine innovation and creativity to make their unique products.

Click Here to find a stylish purveyor of Cavallini Papers near you.

Humor Du Jour.

 

A trainer was overheard advising a new athletic client on the importance of music selection; "When you're working out you want to have a playlist that really gets your blood pumping. Stay away from Pink Floyd."

Click here to get your own "FREE" pop-out playlist.

Portland Monthly's long awaited round-up of the year's best restaurants is on newstands now!

Photo credit: Basil Childers

Every year Portland Monthly Magazine does a fabulous deed and assembles a unique collection of appetite alchemists from the most talked about eateries in the Portland metro area. PM's 2009 selection is anything but disappointing. From the hautest Food Cart to the trendiest down town purveyors of gastronomical bliss.

Click here to peruse 2009's winners!

John Kroger's book "Convictions" is next on NitPicky's list of rumored to be "good reads"

"Most Americans know little about the work of Assistant United States Attorneys, the federal prosecutors granted sweeping authority to investigate and try in a court of law the nation's most dangerous criminals. In this account of his years as an AUSA, John Kroger offers an insider's perspective on some of the most talked about courtroom dramas of the past decade." "Kroger shows us how to flip a perp, construct an airtight argument, win over a jury, and placate an exacting judge. But he also shows how a job that consumes every waking hour and requires coercive techniques to yield results can erode even the firmest sense of what is fair and just. Often dissatisfied with the system, Kroger explains why our law enforcement policies frequently fail in critical areas like drug trafficking and white-collar crime, and he proposes new, more effective measures."--BOOK JACKET.

Excerpt:

"I never adopted one single philosophical point of view.  On the contrary, I borrowed bits and pieces of wisdom from a broad variety of thinkers; from Aristotle, the importance of forming good habits, of keeping one's life in balance, of friendship and the life of the mind; from Kant, the value of honesty, from Nietzsche, the importance of rigorous, independent critical thinking; from Aquinas, the
value of analytic clarity.  I revered these thinkers, but one influence stood out above them all; the great nineteenth-century British utilitarian philosophers Jeremy Bentham and Stuart Mill.

Bentham and Mill were concerned with a very basic but critical question. What makes an action "good"?

They answered that a person's actions should be judged by their social consequences.  An action is good if it tends to maximize overall human happiness and bad if it leads to increased suffering."

Click Here to order your copy online.

Not able to conjure-up a visit with loved ones this Halloween? Be there in spirit with Mrs. Prindables decadent basketful of mail-order chocolate spectors!

This festive basket is overflowing with Halloween fun and delectable confections! Contains: three Halloween Caramel Favors, one Milk Chocolate Spiderweb Nut Cluster, one Dark Chocolate Spiderweb Nut Cluster, two 4-piece truffle samplers, six Halloween pretzels, three caramel gift bags in assorted flavors, three orange colored chocolate petite apples drizzled in dark chocolate, and three dark chocolate petite apples drizzled in orange-colored chocolate.
Gift Size 16” x 13” x 12” Price: $129.95

Click here to order one now!

Vosages masterfully crafted sweet tribute to Dia de los Muertos and Halloween.

In Mexico, Día de los Muertos is a festive holiday devoted to honoring and welcoming back the souls of deceased loved ones. Mexican families construct altars in their homes and adorn them with a vibrant array of glowing votive candles, photos, favorite foods, beer, chocolate, grasshoppers, sugar skull heads and toys (ofrendas). Order Vosages version of the sugar skull, or calaverita, a popular treat purchased and exchanged between families during Día de los Muertos.

Vosages Day of the Dead Skulls (set of tres)–

Red Fire Skull - ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate,

Barcelona Skull - hickory smoked almonds + grey sea salt + deep milk chocolate and

Blanca Skull - ancho & chipotle chillies + Ceylon cinnamon + dark chocolate.

Three for the discounted price of $21!

Click Here to order directly from Vosages Haute Chocolate