#7 A Perfect Fall Weekend in Portland
All my favorites, smooshed into two ideal days. Also: a pod that made me cry, witch representation, another reason to subscribe to Apple TV, and a life-improving small-space contraption.
⭕️ Andrew Garfield Wants to Crack Open Your Heart I can’t stop thinking about this Modern Love podcast episode with Andrew Garfield. I wept the first time I listened, and still tear up thinking about it. (gift link)1
⭕️ Season of the (Fat) Witch
⭕️ Disclaimer A new thriller series from Alfonso Cuarón about a successful journalist (Cate Blanchett) whose life is rapidly unspooled when a mysterious book shows up in the post that resurfaces secrets she thought were long in the past. We’re four episodes into the consequences, three more to go.3
⭕️ Wall-Mounted Laundry Rack A favorite, functional contraption perfect for tiny space living. This one looks good on the wall even when not in use.4
All my favorite things, smooshed into two days.
Start at Tabor Bread. Order the trifecta bagel (sesame, poppy, fennel) with Calabrian chili anchovy cream cheese or the sourdough croissant, depending on whether or not you’ve had eggs this morning, and eat it at the counter. From here, either walk east to Mt. Tabor, taking a winding route to look at cute houses as you make your way to a more traditional hike to the top of the park, or walk west to Hawthorne.
If you go to Hawthorne, get an espresso at Tov Coffee (it comes with a small shot of cold brew and a sweet bite on the side). If you have good thrifting energy that day, stop in at Red Light, 2nd Street, and maybe Buffalo Exchange and Crossroads. See what they’re sampling at The Meadow. Pop into Powells (this is the smaller one) and grab a stack of cookbooks to look through in the attached cafe, The Fresh Pot — you’ll be ready for a cappuccino now. Buy your next book club read.
Before you leave the neighborhood, make a stop at the Portland Nursery for apples. Skip the Gala and the Honey Crisp (you can get these at any grocery); instead go for the Ambrosia, the Swiss Gourmet, the Rubinette, the Gourmet Golden. They’re $1.99/lb and they keep beautifully for a month or two (if they last that long).
Lunch will be at Harlow, which is no longer on Hawthorne but Division Street. It will be the Urban Bowl, with a side of banana walnut pancakes (be sure to ask for butter and extra maple syrup). While you’re on Division, walk over to Artifact: Creative Recycle to see what their lamp selection looks like at the moment. You might also stop to smell candles at Dano. Walk down a few blocks to Lauretta Jeans and buy a salted honey pie for this evening. Wellspent Market is next door and they have a small but well-selected wine section.
This is an ideal weekend, so you’re going to go home now for a quick nap. Before you do, place your pizza order with Scottie’s west side location for tonight. Try to get the Defino, but if it’s sold out, do the Bianca and add pepperoni.
As dusk approaches, pack up the Lauretta Jeans, a blanket, a knife and napkins, and go pick up your pie at Scottie’s. Park as close to Chapman Elementary as you can and find a spot on the lawn where the trees don’t block your view of the chimney. Cheer the swifts in for their night’s roost in the chimney; boo the predators hanging around, waiting to pick them off.
If you still want to be out, catch a movie at Cinema 21 (We Live in Time promises big feelings, but the Poetic Lens International Film Festival also happens here in the fall). Or go have drinks at Fireside.
On Sunday you’ll go north. Get a sandwich at Starter Bread (there will be a line; it’s worth the wait), walk over to Cathedral Park to eat it. If you didn’t get a loaf of bread yesterday at Tabor, get one here. If you did get a loaf of bread yesterday at Tabor, you should still get on here. Bread goes fast!
If you need coffee, Two Stroke in St. Johns makes a good espresso. Head across the bridge and turn left for a hike, right for the pumpkin patch. The drive up and down 30 is industrial and shockingly beautiful with Forest Park on one side and the Columbia River on the other.
The hike: choose route 1 or 2 from Portland Hill Walks (a gem of a book). This will take a lot longer than you think, because the streets are steep and there’s a lot to look at. The Willamette Heights to Balch Creek Canyon Loop and the Nob Hill to Kings Heights and Pittock Mansion Loop are called walks, but they will absolutely feel like a hike.
The pumpkin patch: Bella Organic Farm on Sauvie Island will be hectic and crowded, but it’s cute and has a haunted corn maze.
Come home and make an apple cake. Or dumplings.
Dinner will be at Jacqueline. If you get there at 5pm, the oysters are $1 for an hour. Pick up a pint of Green Girl vanilla ice cream (the best vegan ice cream ever made) at New Seasons when you’re done. Scoop it onto your apple cake (or dumplings) and have dessert at home on the couch while watching Moonflower Murders on PBS (start with Magpie Murders if the series is new to you).
What does yours look like?
In the episode, he brings up the concept of onism — a word I don’t think I’d heard before, but boy am I familiar with the feeling. Onism (from the Dictionary of Obscure Sorrows) is the frustration of being in just one body that inhabits only one place at a time. It’s an awareness that we can only experience a limited portion of the world in our lifetime.
This is one of my forever struggles, and I wonder if many fiction writers are just trying to skirt submission to the reality of onsim by creating other richly lived realities in their books?
Phoebe recently collaborated with Sarah’s Silks on a really dear advent calendar. Not for the first time in recent months do I wish my boys were about 10 years younger. 🥺 I might go for the mini silk, we still put advent candles out…
This is worth getting an Apple TV subscription for. While you have it, you might also watch: Slow Horses (mentioned here), Bad Sisters (a goodie from Sharon Horgan, maybe my favorite show in 2022?), Manhunt (I’ve never seen anything dig into the period immediately following the Civil War like this; it was not the win history claimed it to be…), Sunny (the aesthetic is a good enough reason to watch, but I also loved seeing Rashida Jones in a darker role), The New Look (I found this to be kind of stilted, but liked it for the historical context), Masters of the Air (especially if you were into Band of Brothers), Ted Lasso (you probably already have), Severance…
I don’t have the one pictured, although I’d like to; mine is plastic but does the job very well. I use this to dry my underwear, sports bras, sweaters, anything that will last longer (or not shrink) by staying out of the dryer.
