If you know what a honking sea lion sounds like…then you could definitely mistake me for one if you were in another room. Some people get sick and end up with a raspy, mysterious sounding voice that can be a wee bit sexy. Well, that never happens to me. I sound A.) like a sea lion, B.) like a very annoying version of mini mouse or C.) Britney Spears hopped up on crank and cigarettes. It’s not pretty. Bear with me as I recap my Christmas good-times about 20 days late!
Following the Christmas hype Erik and I got busy visiting with friends and family. Our first and very important visit was to Rebecca’s salon chair in hopes that her trusty hands could rescue my mess of a mop. I love this time. Just Rebecca, Erik, Tux and I bumming around her salon catching up, sharing either a glass of wine with noodles or a latte with a morning sandwich. It’s fun to watch Rebecca in her element, she’s so humbly good at what she does. And yes, for the first time in months, I feel like I don’t have a mullet. THAAAANNNK YOU REBECCA!
We also took a moment to have some slow motion cafe time. Me with my unrelenting desire to knit at all times and Erik poring over the pages of his current read, all while sipping a killa-hot-chocolate at Barista. Yum!
On Boxing Day (December 26th), the Reids made their pilgrimage to Portland in search of some family hugs and some serious Nordstrom Rack time. First thing on the to-do list, though, was to mow down some sushi.
I love hosting Christmas. It’s something that is very important to me. I love prepping our home for house guests, making Christmas dinner, getting out of bed first to make the house coffee, and all the decorating and arranging activities. But I’ll have to admit, I was really missing our house this Christmas. Something about shuffling in and out of a hotel and not waking up and sharing breakfast together removes a bit of the luster. And I can positively say I think everyone else was missing the usual home base as well. However, AND most importantly, we were together. Not every family has the opportunity or the luxury to spend such quality time together. For that I am ever so grateful that my family came to Portland to be with us.
As you probably already know every year Erik and I like to add a touch of homemade to our gift giving. This year we were seriously stoked to have our presents ripped open. Each one of our family members received a cozy sweater or shirt with a slogan or image on the front, custom made by me and Erik. Erik did the majority of the designing on the Silhouette computer program and then, using a technique I learned from Sciarrino, we stenciled the slogans onto the shirts using fabric paint. Here are a few we came up with…
They were a big hit, I think.
What would a Portland vacation be without a breakfast at Gravy? One of the fam’s all time favorite eateries.
And ohhhh my goodness, do not let the other items on the menu tempt you. While at Gravy you must try the Berry Oatmeal Brule. Yes, that is right my friends…. brule. Picture this; nestled inside the most amazing oatmeal of your life are a bunch of warm, juicy berries, all encased in a crackable brown sugar topping. Yeah, it’s good.
We squeezed in a few galleries, including Land.
We did a lot of walking…
I dragged them to many unique, vintage stores.
We ventured to Rejuvenation.
The ladies ditched the fellas and walked around the Pearl district. We checked out a few boutiques to help Lia cross a few wedding items off her list. I love weddings, especially if it’s close family or friends! More about Cam and Lia’s wedding to come 
We did a bit of hat shopping.
We downed some famous Voodoo Doughnuts, thanks to Cam and Lia and their quest for the perfect doughnut. A few personal faves of mine are the maple with bacon and the Captain Crunch doughnut.
Look at these two dapper gentlemen.
Mom and I taking a shopping rest. Because we literally shopped ’till we dropped.
A big hit for the family this year was a trip to the Nike Employee Store. No, it’s not an outlet. It’s exactly how it sounds…an entire, huge store dedicated to Nike Employees. For those of you who do not know Eugene, Oregon is the birthplace of Nike and Portland is where the headquarters are located. And it is one of the top employers in Oregon. Each employee or sponsored athlete is granted access to the Nike employee store to stock up on goods and they are generously allowed to provide family members or friends a limited amount of passes to the store. Lauren, a long time friend and old teammate of mine is responsible for textile design at Nike (insert sigh of envy here) and she gifted the Reid family with 3 passes (one pass per couple). Holy smokes this store takes the passes seriously. I’m talking computerized registration access verified with ID, address matching, finger stamping (just kidding)…but I had no idea it was enforced so strictly. Anyway, I really wanted to make this happen, mostly for my brother and Lia because they are so active with sports, I just knew they would love the experience. So, my lady Lauren, thank you for such a fun and exciting opportunity…you were the hero of our vacation!
6 hours later and 24 pairs of shoes loaded into the car. We zoomed out of the Nike employee store with huge smiles on our faces.
Family, I love you.
A fresh new catalogue will always make me smile, a tall glass of lemonade signifies the start of summer. I will never underestimate the power of a post-it note. I love anything old, and with a story. I'm always up for a challenge. I love traditions especially when it comes to family & friends. I laugh when I'm nervous. I believe gyms are for sweating not make-up. I think crafting brings people together. That’s me, in a nutshell.
We love these great pictures. Once again, we had sooooo much fun with you guys in P-town. We are also missing your “real” house, especially at Christmas, but your warm hospitality is never confined to just a building… you guys always make us feel warm and welcome in Portland. Thanks for such a great and loving Christmas visit!
M&D