The Punk Singer

Friday night, I attended a screening of the new documentary, 'The Punk Singer', about riot grrl/feminist icon/musician/all around bad-ass Kathleen Hannah. First off, the Hollywood Theater(Theatre?) is gorgeous! They screen a lot of films that are outside of the mainstream and don't get many opportunities to be seen away from the film festival circuit. Everyone who loves films in Portland should make it a point to go to Hollywood Theater this holiday season - or any time of the year, really.

Now, getting back to The Punk Singer. It encompassed the life and music of the former Bikini Kill and Le Tigre front woman, even letting the audience into her private life with husband Adam Yauch of the Beastie Boys.  I was in awe of their love and mutual respect for each other's work and I'm not gonna lie, it was nice to see two lauded musicians be so happy together (now that Thurston and Kim are no more). Thankfully, the filmmaker didn't dwell on the 'Courtney Love Incident' at Lollapallooza in which Ms. Love made a sloppy ass of herself for the first of many times to come, and really kept the focus on Kathleen's positive influence on modern feminism. The real twist came toward the end of the documentary, when it was revealed that Hannah had been struggling with illness, and the impact it had on her ability to continue making music.

There was a quick Q & A session with the filmmaker and Corin Tucker. The film plays all week at Hollywood Theater.

In other news, Portland has been C-to-the-OLD this past week with temps in the low teens! If it is going to be this chilly, I want some serious snow action to go with it. We got a feather-light dusting of the powdery white stuff - snow, that is - on Friday and in true Portland fashion, everyone flipped the fuck out.

Autumn Swag

Portland is a city of sweater people. We love our knitwear. We love it hard. Late Autumn is kind of our time of year. It's when (I think) Portland is prettiest. The air is crisp and smells of dried fallen leaves and a girl and hide her (early) holiday weight gain underneath some serious layers.
Speaking of which, I did some pre-Christmas shopping for myself to ensure I get through the winter in style. This particular swag was bought online weeks ago to avoid the shipping delays and general madness that comes with buying anything from Black Friday til the end of December.

Nothing makes me happier than cat sweaters (via Modcloth). Except maybe actual cats.

And finding out that Uniqlo now has an online shop...Seriously, check it out. Heattech will change your life.

And of course, shoes (via Modcloth).

And now I lay in the wreckage of another bygone Thanksgiving, picking wishbones out of my hair with a leftover sandwich in hand. Let the shopping commence.

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Work and Life and Chinese Food

Lately, I've been trying to find more of a work/life balance. So much of my time and energy get sucked out of me at work that when I get home, I am pretty much useless. I decided a few months ago that enough is enough and I'm now (slowly but surely) making it a priority to get out of the house and enjoy my free time more. It takes a lot of commitment and dedication for me because a) I am a homebody by nature, b) I am quite shy and introverted, and, most importantly, c) I am lazy as fuck. But there has been progress.

Part the plan is to ditch the office during my lunch breaks. Even if it's just to get out and get some fresh air. I did recently discover a pretty tasty Chinese food cart at Cartlandia. It's called Bamboo Cafe. They make KILLER shrimp and pork shiu mai dumplings and their chicken chow fun was enough to keep me fed for lunch and dinner. Alas, I ate all the dumplings before the thought of taking a picture even entered my mind. I did, however get an exterior shot of the cart itself:

Rainy Days and Thursdays

It's been a while since I've had a proper sit-down breakfast on a weekday morning, but today I decided it was high time I took the most important meal of the day more seriously. I woke up a little early and made myself a cup of Earl Grey(Gray?), hot and quickly scarfed down a bowl of oatmeal and bananas. I felt I was well on my way to living a healthier lifestyle.

And then lunch happened... or, I should say, the Cartlandia food cart pod happened. More to the point, a Texas-style BBQ cart opened in the pod, and I have a very special place in my gut for Texas-style BBQ. Smokin' Rome's Southern BBQ is going to be the death of me. And I am fine with that. 

I would have posted a picture of the beef brisket and collard greens I ordered, but I was too busy stuffing it in my face to even bother with anything else. You can take my word for it, though - this place is worth the trip to Felony Flats (and they have ribs on Saturdays and Sundays- who doesn't love weekend ribs?!).

Welcome Back, Gray Skies

It rained for the first time in a while yesterday and the gray skies were still lingering for part of today. It made me realize just how much I've missed the ubiquitous Pacific Northwest weather and wearing sweaters. Autumn is by far my favorite time of the year. I cannot wait til it comes on in full force because that means I will be eating more of this:

To be honest, I can eat pho any time, but there is something to be said about hearty soup on a cold, rainy day. So keep the cloud-tears coming, Portland. I've missed you!

Home Alone

Tonight I am left to my own devices. My boyfriend is away for the evening, meaning I must fend for myself for the next few hours. Knowing that I would be a latchkey grownup for the night, I bought myself a couple of slices from Pizza Schmizza during my lunch hour to eat when I got home. Obviously, I couldn't wait until I got home from work to take a few bites.

Schmizza is okay. I prefer Hammy's, but this will do in a pinch. There were pleasant little bursts of garlicky goodness throughout and the crust was pretty decent, but they were a little too stingy with the tomatoes and basil.

Coming home from work to an empty house reminds me of growing up. I'd get home from school about a half hour or so before my parents and the first thing I would do was raid the refrigerator for snacks. And milk. Then, once I had collected my loot, I would plop down in front of the television (just in time to catch the last 10 minutes of Oprah) and inhale my meal. Memories....

My New Portland Abode

So this is the new place, or my little part of it at least. I cannot tell you how much I abhor putting things in boxes and then picking those boxes up, loading them into a van and unloading those boxes someplace else, but I'm so glad it's finally done. My body is sore, but that only means I can skip a proper workout for a couple of days and relax, right? I mean, I burned like 10,000 calories (I always round up- WAY up- when it comes to burning calories) I deserve to spend the next few days laying around eating chicken wings while watching Mind of a Chef with David Chang.
Next on my to-do list is pick up a few essentials and maybe brighten the place up with some flora, as well as taking a moment to explore the nearby park.