Portland: Food, Love and Rain

Last year my younger brother decided to move to Portland. I've spent the last year missing him as he is my partner in crime, the person I take to weird movies or museum days. I had the chance to go and hangout with him recently and we did a lot of eating, a minimum of drinking and some serious talking/watching of Dr. Who. Yes, we are those nerdy people who will stop to catch up on their favorite show while on vacation.

Portland was different than I expected. People keep telling me it's just like SF and Berkeley. Yes and no. Rather parts of it remind me of different places I have been both in California and otherwise. Someone told me Portland was small. Uh, not so much. In fact it was much bigger than I anticipated so navigating became easier once I sat down with my list and sorted out what was where.

Who knew there so many pods of food carts? Not I! We found most of them though we didn't have the chance to eat at all of them. That means there has to be another trip, right? The pod in the top pictures is actually walking distance from where Dorian lives, making it easier for us to get to. He had his first papusa and shocked me by loving the curtido as he dislikes both cabbage and carrots.We also hit up Blue Collar Baking company for scones and hot chocolate before heading to Voodoo Doughnut and then walking all over the Pearl.

Blue Collar Baking was quiet the day that we were there and a perfect spot to recharge our tired batteries after getting turned around and heading in the wrong direction for half a mile. The hot chocolate was perfect, not too chocolatey and the whipped cream has a nice swirl on it. I won't lie that we were left underwhelmed at Voodoo. The lemon cruller lacked lemon, the vanilla coconut was a bit to sweet and the peach fritter needed some more peaches as that was by far the best bit.

Look, we found my Alien pod to take me to the Mother Ship!

Once in the the Pearl we stopped for Thai food, hit up Powell's, dropped into a wonderful vintage shop called Eden and had gin and tonic at The Parish. The Parish is a joint I could see myself hanging out in a lot if I lived closer. Great atmosphere, a fun bartender (he said 'snarf, snarf' in conversation with someone else. He won my over completely with that) and really such a prime location. Definitely check it out! We also stumbled across an olive oil tasting room, Benessere. And in typical style, we attacked all the balsamic, which were pretty fab. Dorian preferred the Jalapeno while I leaned toward Fig. Thus we can tell you nothing about the olive oils until next time.

Saturday we had a really full and adventurous day! After finding some serious treasure at the Farmer's market, including hazelnuts, gorgeous snap peas, pepper jelly and biscuits....okay, can I just rhapsodize a bit here about that? Pine State Biscuits has this delectable sandwich called the Reggie which features fried chicken, bacon and gravy on a biscuit.It normally comes with cheese which it doesn't necessarily need. Dorian was able to get shiitake mushroom gravy, which he said only needed a bit of hot sauce, but he says that about everything! It was an all around win.

We visited Fat Fancy, where I found the cutest pair of green & blue shiny pants that still pain me to have left behind. But they were a size too small and petite so that would have been ridiculous. I didn't even bother trying them on. But I am still really in love with those pants, and I can certainly about them until I find something equally cute. If you are looking for cute vintage in plus sizes sold by totally adorable people, go forth and visit! You will be glad you did.

Realizing that a ton of the places that were on the list we wanted to see in the same neighborhood it was easier to plan. So off we went to The Belmont district filled with funky shops, another food cart pod and gorgeous houses. Along the way we discovered a tiny shop filled with some of the most gorgeous masks. And lucky you she is on Etsy! After hitting up a few more vintage stores, including Savvy Plus, we decided it was time to back to the real work: eating.

We stopped for a lefse and pie but stayed for the biscuits. Blues City Biscuits was just an extra fun and delightful time. The Howlin' Wolf, shrimp & grits with bacon and greens was excellent. We went back for more biscuits because Dorian was getting quite swoony over them. I'm willing to bet that if the lovely lady behind the counter had been willing, he was just about ready to propose. Yup, we are also people who would marry you just because you can make something we love to eat perfect.

The perfectly flaky biscuits were warm and slathered with honey butter. So you can see how one might be induced to go into a food coma with so much good stuff around. Since we had to walk them off so we stopped for cocktails at the Hereafter. Their signature drink comes in a mason jar filled with ice tea, lemonade, bourbon and vodka. Uh, yeah, I limited him to one!

Sunday we went to Multnomah Falls. Lovely.

Really, we barely scratched the surface but I look forward to my next visit and our next adventure. Until then, cheers!

Word of the Month for May: Focus

The other day while gazing at last month's new moon board I had a realization: most of that happened.

It feels like things are coming together a little easier. More engagement has been had! I went to this super magical art class. I wrote. I was more active within my online communities. There were some bad days. But all in all? April went pretty well.

So clearly, doing a new board was essential!

New moon? Eclipse? Not movies, baby, but the timing for a new board, new shifting, more magic.....

Messages from the Canvas

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Isolation is a Dreamkiller. Barbara Sher

                                                                                                                                                   

The Motherload

 I have purple paint under my fingernail. In my mind, I'm still dancing with glitter paint and painting flowers. Paint, paint, paint. I sit at home doing my artwork and wondering, who will like this, who will connect to this, who will care? I suspect that it is the same for many artists.

The choice to go check out an intuitive art class wasn't a conscious one. That was a soul choice, rising up from within, clamoring for something deeper. I was nervous. So used to feeling out of sync with the dynamic in a room. Awkward. The warmth of my welcome was not lost on me. Hmmmm...... I was hugged, I was greeted kindly, I was listened to.

This isn't an art class on a typical level. You aren't there to learn how to draw or paint better. The purpose is get into the work and listen to your inner guide. It is so easy to forget that there is so much wisdom within us. Our inner guides, our intuition has so much to say.

Painting in a quiet room filled with other people is liberating. Knowing that there is someone there to help if you need creates a sense of peace that is needed when getting deep into the process. Which I did. These shifting waves that began in March are still tumbling over me. Still opening me.

And then came a message from the canvas. While I am ready to create more space, this is not a practice I have much experience in. Clearly my subconscious is letting me know that it is time to create something new. It is both exciting and terrifying.

My takeaway from Chris Zydel's Intuitive Art class? That out of syncness doesn't have to exist. This is not a competition. The only person I need to get really vulnerable with in that room is myself. And that is possibly the greatest challenge of all.

Blackberry: A magazine and a Giveaway!

For the past six months I have been wanting to write more. For the past three months I have been writing more. One of my goals was to submit to Blackberry: A Magazine, the lit magazine by my FB friend Alicia Sommer.

One of the reasons I have been wanting to submit is that I like what I see. More than any other magazine aimed at Black females I feel like this one gets me. Gets that I am not wanting to see a zillion ads for skin lightening cream or hair straightener. One that recognizes I am both reader and writer. One that has flesh, bone and blood.

So in January when I was able to pull together some pieces that would work with the theme I got so excited about submitting that when I was accepted there wasn't a lot of room left to get all crazy. Until Wednesday night when I got this message on FB: Hey S Luna Raven, look who made the cover. :)

Are you kidding me?!

So, I have two poems in this issue and I made the cover. I made the cover. I made the cover. Okay, I think it is safe to say that I am really, really excited!

Now the good for you part: if you buy a copy of the magazine, let me know in the comments so you can be entered to win a signed 5x7 copy of this photo. You can buy either the digital or print version of the mag, you just need to let me know in the comments that you did. That's it! It's so worth it, not only to support me (which I thank you for) but all the other ladies and the fabulous Alicia, who works so hard to make this so great!

The giveaway ends March 8th at Midnight. Don't be shy, tell all your friends!

<3

Luna

My Word of 2013: More

 "A seed, dropped into the ground, springs into activity, and in the act of living produces a hundred seeds; life, by living, multiplies itself." Wallace D. Wattles

a journal page from two years ago

I have had a hard time choosing my word for the year. There were a few that stuck out for me: feminine, shifting, release. The word that stuck though is from a book I have been reading, The Science of Getting Rich. I realize that more is really what I want even though I haven't really been able to put that into the context I was trying to convey. Luckily, Wattles did it quite nicely for me.

"It is the natural and inherent impulse to seek to live more; it is the nature of intelligence to enlarge itself, and of consciousness to seek to extend the boundaries and find fuller expression." 

More to me means:

 

More love: Not just what I take in, what I allow in. What I send out. Including to myself. And I reserve the right to say I don't love someone or want them in my life. Because true self love means not allowing people, things or situations into your life that hold you down or harm you,

More sacred yes. And no: I made a firm decision in November that I needed to be more thoughtful of my yes and no's. I am proud to say that I have done well with honoring my own values which means I am creating a healthy space for others to do the same, for me and for themselves.

More health: the smoothie kick we jumped on a few months ago is still going. We have been taking it seriously, a feat that is made easier by doing it together. Also, more walking, more movement, more nutrient dense food. So boring, I know!

More! More good decisions, more rest, more art, more organization, more time with friends, more travel. Expansion, expression, fullness, open dreaming, letting the sky not be the limit because there is a world beyond it!

What is your word for 2013? What represents where you want to go or who you want to be more of in this shiny new year? What are you releasing so you can grab what you want? Share with me in the comments!

Life in the Details

Lately when I have been reading the Scoutie Girl blog I feel as though each post is speaking directly to me. Like this one Well Fed Artists and this one today Are you leaving enough space for your life in your work?

I am looking at my calender for the next few weeks and things are starting to pick up again. And truthfully, the past two weeks, my balance has been off. Way off. Since I love being busy, I need to be much more aware and keep myself check: no matter how much I have to do I need to make sure I am eating right and stopping when my body says stop.

Scarf action with ArtFibers fabulous Kanji, tussah silk and bamboo

Luckily every week before my coaching call, I have to journal about what I have done in the last week. This has been one of the most powerful tools anyone has ever shared with me. In my mind I am a slacker. In my journal it would appear that I do so much I can't even remember half of it! If you haven't tried this you might find it a really helpful trick.

I have been busy crocheting, too, but not too busy to get in some art....

Are you listening to yourself to make sure that your life is in line with your busy? What tricks do you use to make things easier?