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Holiday Mingle Pt One: Food in Portland

October 28, 2013 3 Comments A Well Crafted Pantry

I was beyond thrilled when one of the Portland Blogger organizers, Bee from The Spicy Bee, worked with local PR company Little Green Pickle to bring together an amazing opportunity for local bloggers. The Holiday Mingle was slotted as an opportunity for local bloggers to get a chance to meet and connect with some amazing restaurants and food vendors from the area– right in time for their holiday projects! It was also an opportunity to listen to a panel of PR professionals talk about working with bloggers. Only in Portland can you get competitors working together to create an amazing event that hopefully, in the end, is beneficial to everyone involved.

I’m breaking this post up into two posts because there is just so much to cover… so, now I give you the amazing food and some fabulous companies! I’ll be back soon with tips for bloggers from real PR pros!

The restaurant owners and vendors that came out for the Holiday Mingle brought their A-game. I highly encourage you to read on if you are in Portland looking for great places to eat, are planning on traveling to Portland, or are looking for an item or two for your foodie friends and family for the holidays.

I’ve been impressed with many of these restaurants in the past:

The Original Dinerant was the site of last year’s birthday party (where I had amazing food and excellent service) so getting to try some more of their dessert menu and some seriously amazing deviled eggs was certainly a highlight of my evening.
The Bent Brick wow’d me back in May with a fabulous Happy Hour selection. They brought their tasty smoked salmon chips (and other tasty menu items) to the Mingle. The only thing missing was their Peat & Peet whiskey drink that I fell in love with on my last visit.
Besaws is one of my absolute favorite places to go to brunch. The hubs and I usually bring visiting friends or family there over when they are traveling over the weekend. But, did you know they also do dinner!?
Another place I bring visitors to is Departure Restaurant and Lounge— not only does it have an amazing deck with a view of the city, but seriously tasty drinks and foods. Chef Gregory Gourdet showed up at the Mingle to pretty much everyone’s delight.
Olympic Provisions is a local salumeria. Their meats make for the best charcuterie platters! I’ve totally dined on and purchased Olympic Provisions goodies before… but, was completely unaware that they also have restaurants in the area. I can’t wait to try them out. (Also, they sell their meats… and, if you didn’t know, my birthday is just around the corner!)
Water Avenue Coffee and I go way, way back. 😉 I fell in love with their rich, smooth coffee at a past Portland Bloggers’ meet-up. Since then I’ve visited their shop to also enjoy a great latte, tasty treats, and their laid back atmosphere. Whenever a blogger wants to meet at Water Avenue Coffee for a meeting the answer is always YES.

And, the new-to-me vendors really gave a great first impression:

Tails & Trotters specializes in Northwest Hazelnut Finished Pork. O.M.G. (I don’t use that phrase often.) I couldn’t believe that you could actually TASTE the hazelnuts on the pork that we tried. It was amazing and it will end up in one of my holiday dishes this year. I can’t wait to start recipe testing! Oh, and if you are in NE Portland then you should stop by and grab a ham sandwich at their sandwich counter!
Double Dragon‘s appetizers at the event were the first that I had the opportunity to try. They brought a selection of bites that had the most amazing flavors and spices. I’m pretty sure I had a foie gras pate on bread and a mushroom pate. AMAZING. And, I often frequent the SE area of Portland… I’ll be there to try some of their Banh Mi as soon as possible.
Fishpeople Seafood sent everyone home with packs of their Seafood Entree Pouches that have whole food products and no gross ingredients. I can’t wait to try these for dinner or even a quick to make lunch in the office. The ingredient list on the back of the package is the thing that really made me excited. I understand every word on the package and would cook with the ingredients in my own home.

A lot of my readers are from the PNW area and I hope that this list helps bring to light some of the awesome companies we have available. But, even if you aren’t from Portland, some of the products above can be shipped! I would be thrilled to find many of these items under the tree or at the holiday dinner table this season!

A Well Crafted Lady

Snapshots: Portland Fashion Week Day 1

September 13, 2013 4 Comments A Well Crafted Lady

Last night was the first evening for Portland Fashion Week. I had the most surreal (and amazing) day in my role as a PFW Style Collective Member. Today I’ll be attending two shows–as a matter of fact, I am writing this post while sitting in the gorgeous lounge section at this shows!

I’ve been MIA on the blog lately, which tears me apart since one of my goals (and something I recommend) is to stay more consistent with my blogging. I honestly can say that I’ve been working on some amazing projects and have been working on a ton of content. I just haven’t gotten it up! But, in this busy time in life I am all about forgiving myself and starting anew. I’ll get back to regular posting ASAP.

On to some snapshots of my day yesterday. I first headed over to our local Lucky Brand store to get style tips from two Lucky Brand stylists. I couldn’t believe that I tried on the first pair of jeans to get an absolute amazing fit! I’ll share more about this experience with outfit details soon!

After visiting Lucky, I hit PFW all dolled up in my new pair of complimentary plus size Georgia Weekender Jeans! I also wore an old, but favorite sparkly shirt from Old Navy and a favorite pair of booties… Also a few years old. I felt stylish (and comfortable) and didn’t feel out of place at all at Fashion Week. I’m hoping I am this happy with all of my FW looks! Also, super excited to spend time with other Portland area bloggers such as the lovely Sam Rosen (pictured below)

Thanks so much for reading and keeping up with this fun and crazy blog. I absolutely owe these amazing experience to you, my readers, and I feel so lucky that my work is paying off in such an unimaginably awesome way.

Disclaimer: I received free VIP tickets to Portland Fashion Week after being selected as a PFW style collective member. I did not receive additional payment. I also received complimentary goods from Lucky Brand. I did not receive additional payment. The choice to post was my own and all opinions, as always, are my honest opinions and only reflect my thoughts. Thank you!

A Well Crafted Lady

Curvy Girl Style: Fall Black & White with a Lolly Watch Pop

September 4, 2013 3 Comments A Well Crafted Lady

Disclaimer: I received a lolly watch with purposes of review. No further compensation was made. All opinions are my own and my choice to post was my own. Please see my policies for more information about how I approach sponsored posts. I’m not getting all the fun though… check below for a 20% discount that you can use if you want a lolly watch too!

I don’t think black and white ever really goes out of style. But, seeing black and white designs becoming more available and getting the Fashion spotlight from Fashion bloggers, magazines, and the runway have made me super excited. I love black and white! This outfit has pretty much made its way into my weekly wardrobe I like it so much.

One way to make your black and white stand out is to accessorize with one or two brightly colored accessories. Don’t go overboard, but instead featured an item you really love. I paired my outfit with the bright yellow of the Pineapple sentanite lolly watch.

Excuse the silly poses in these photos. I was using my self-timer and running back and forth like an idiot hoping that the camera would focus. I seriously don’t know how so many people get great photos all by themselves! Maybe it is a practice makes perfect kind of situation?

Outfit details: I’m a walking Old Navy ad in this outfit. Shirt, pants, shoes, and necklace are all Old Navy from different seasons. The watch is a lolly watch. The red leather bracelet I received in a PNW Blogger goodie bag a long time ago and wear ALL THE TIME. The bracelet is from Flourish Leather.

More About lolly™ Watches:

The thing that really drew me to lolly watch was that I a) sorely needed a watch and b) loved the bright colors and c) was happy to see that the watches were eco-friendly. I don’t always dress in an eco-friendly fashion… but, when I find items that are created with the environment in mind (recycled materials) then it definitely puts them a step up in my “wanna buy” list.

From the lolly watch website:

Made entirely from harvested sustainable softwood trees, the 5ATM water-resistant fashion watches do not contain any harmful elements and are hypoallergenic, giving you an entirely reaction free, comfortable experience.

Cool right? Wanna hear something even cooler?

The watches SMELL. Like, good. I didn’t read far enough into this part of the watch or didn’t remember when I received my super cool box with the watch inside. I wore the watch all day and kept smelling something sweet throughout the day. I finally thought, “maybe it’s my watch.” And, look at that, the watch smelled like pineapple. Sort of. I didn’t get pineapple so much as just a good-and-sweet-smell. I did think it was kind of genius though! The scent is very subtle as well so I didn’t have to worry about people sneezing around me. Each of the watches are said to have the smell of their watch name (ie Grape= grape scented purple watch).

Get 20% Off for a lolly™ Watch of Your Very Own:

lolly™ Watch is offering A Well Crafted Party readers a 20% discount on their lolly™ juice watches with the code: craftedparty20 . If you get one let me know… I’d love to see it on you and hear what you think of the watch! Oh, to make the whole thing even sweeter? Lolly watch plants a tree with each watch sold!

Want more curvy girl fashion and general fashion tips?

Stay tuned this month as I share lots of fashion related stories in honor of Portland Fashion Week! I’m a member of the Portland Fashion Week Style Collective and am excited to share my experience and the fun. Portland Fashion Week begins Sept. 12. Tickets are still on sale and they start at just $20!