REASONS TO LOVE PORTLAND, OREGON

I am a new member of the Pacific Northwest Community.  Specifically, I am a new Portland citizen as of May 23rd, 2009. 

I WHOLE HEARTEDLY ENJOY IT. 

A big believer in "everything happens for a reason," I am certain that many of the occurrences in past year that have led up to this day were supposed to happen in my life. A little over a year ago, I was meant to have my first night shift as a server so that I could bring the two timer combo to then a stranger, now my boyfriend, best friend, significant, roommate... insert any other word that involves a loving relationship as you wish.  I was meant to walk into a yoga class two years ago, where I would fall in love with the ability of the body and mind to move together, so much that I decided to make it one of my life passions. It is no coincidence that my college graduation would bring a rare gathering of much of my family, including my lovely cousin who encouraged me to go through with the nutrition program that I am enthralled in today. 

Most of all, I was meant to move to Portland.  Initially moving north to follow love, I had no idea that I would find a city that spelled out opportunity for yoga and nutrition, with a few added ingredients: gorgeous hiking, a myriad of local farmers and talented artisans that have established daily farmers markets, biking everywhere you turn, delicious cafes and restaurants at every corner, a music scene that never stops. I could easily keep going, but rather than giving you a simple summary of the city built on peace, love, and fixies, I want to give you readers a chance to see what I mean. Here is a long list of links that I think you would benefit from checking out if you live in Portland, have plans to visit Portland, or have no interest in Portland at all... because these links will change your mind.

Delicious Restaurants and Cafes: Toro Bravo, Blossoming Lotus, Ken's Artisan Pizza and Bakery, Milo's City Cafe, Palio, The Farm Cafe, Tin Shed, Screen Door

Yoga Studios: Yoga Bhoga, Onesong, Yoga Pearl, Corepower Yoga, Yoga Union, Private Yoga Lessons

Local Artisans: Papaver Jewelry,  Saucy Jewelry,  Spoonman Creations,  Lonely Dinosaur T-shirts

Portland Farmers Markets

Portland Food Carts

Love: The Key Nutrient for Growth

Hello friends! I want to share about how lucky we have been in growing our garden in our small, one bedroom, second floor apartment. One of the first parts of Portland that Ben and I fell in love with was the strong establishment of "locavores". People who grow local, eat local, breath local, love local. I feel confident in saying that Portland is one of the few places that has atleast one farmer's market every single day of the week during the summer. Naturally, we wanted to be a part of this local culture, so our first purchase was basil, mint, and a tomato plant. Heirloom, to be specific. We propped them out on our fire escape and slowly, day by day, our plants and our garden grew. Note: our fire escape ends with our level. There is no ladder down to the ground, so therefore we thought that we had no other choice but to give it purpose:). An eggplant, two more tomato plants, cilantro, sweet banana peppers, and beets were added to our green family.
I am going to leave out the part where a squirrel, or quite possibly a tree rat, decided that she or he was more worthy of our first, ripe heirloom, as well as a handful of other pre-pubescent tomatoes. We built a net fence and all is well, so we now dedicate our energy to loving the lucky ones than to dwell on the lost.
The picture above is the first, delicious tomato that we ate from our garden. With a touch a salt, the tomato made our taste buds sing out and the corners of our mouth crawl up to our foreheads. Even better than the taste, however, was the fact that it came from our garden. I would advise anyone and everyone to try growing a single edible plant. There are plenty that can be grown inside, with the right care, if you are not lucky enough to have a defect fire escape or a garden. Organic food is delicious and nutritious for your body. Local food is a great answer to the question of how to give back to a community that has given you so much. But when the food comes from a living organism that you planted in soil, that you watered, that you greeted in the morning, you know that what you are eating was brought up with happiness and love. What better nutrient to consume?