YOU'RE INVITED!
On October 13, 2017, Aly & Brian eloped in Astoria. Yay! There were sea lions! It was great. And now we're going to throw a relaxed, fun, summertime party-in-the-park to celebrate!
Afternoon of Saturday, August 18
Pier Park, Portland, OR
More details to come (as we figure them out).
xoxo
RSVP: Tell us you're coming (so we buy enough beer/wine) by texting or emailing whichever of us you like better:
Aly @ 907.831.1968, alyson.hoffman@gmail.com
Brian @ 503.358.8530, bridavid83@gmail.com
A STORY
Astoria, Oregon - Friday, oCtober the 13th, 2017…
On a Friday the 13th last October, clad in rain boots and denim, we ascended the historic steps of the Clatsop County Courthouse. Overlooking the shifting shoals of the Columbia Bar—a cacophony of sediment and large standing waves where the river meets the Pacific Ocean—the mouth of the Columbia is a daunting navigational channel for the most seasoned of ship pilots. It has claimed 2,000 large ships since 1792 and is often referred to as the "Graveyard of the Pacific"—naturally, it's where we wanted to get married.
In the 99-year-old courtroom, presided over by the distinguished Judge Paula Brownhill, vows were repeated and paperwork signed. Aly and Brian were certified legal.
Now join us to celebrate!
PLACES TO STAY AND FUN STUFF TO KNOW ABOUT PORTLAND
NEIGHBORHOODS
Portland is divided into fifths: east/west of the river (the Willamette) and north/south of Burnside street, making four quadrants—SE, NE, SW, and NW. Then there’s North Portland, where we live, which just sort of hangs out on the peninsula between the Willamette River and the Columbia River (the river that divides Oregon from Washington). There are several bridges that cross the river.
Notes on Neighborhoods:
North/Northeast: lots of fun neighborhoods—Alberta & Killingsworth, St. Johns (our hood!), and Mississippi/Williams are all good for eating, walking, and shopping. It’s pretty neighborhoody. Lots of good ethnic food (Ethiopian and Mexican especially).
Southeast: Good neighborhoods here too (Hawthorne, Belmont, Division, East Burnside...more), but heavily developed in recent years. Division Street, for example, used to have like two dive bars and a leather store. Now it’s a bunch of condos. In general, inner southeast is pretty affluent. It also has a lot of the city’s best restaurants.
Southwest/Northwest: Downtown, the Pearl, NW 23rd—some cool stuff I guess, but we tend to avoid the west side except for work, Timbers games, and the occasional Powell’s visit.
PLACES TO STAY
The cheapest hotels are out by the airport. Downtown has a few reasonable hotel options that would all be pretty easily walkable. The east side kind of has a dearth of hotels (except by the convention center, but that area is pretty boring). We recommend AirBnB or VRBO. Let us know where you’re looking and we’ll tell you if it’s, like, out in the burbs or whatever.
TRANSIT
MAX: Portland’s lightrail. You can catch it from the airport and it will take you downtown and around lots of parts of the city. It’s very easy, clean, and usually pretty chill. $2.50 for 2 hours or $5.00 for a day. It’s a nice ride from the airport to downtown and an easy walk from the MAX to most hotels.
TriMet/Bus/Streetcar: Busses go everywhere. There’s an easy app you can download that will let you buy tickets, tell you routes, etc. The streetcar is kind of useless—it circles downtown and a little ways on the east side. It is only slightly faster than walking, but if it’s raining or you’re carrying lots of stuff it can be an okay option.
Lyft/Uber: Take Lyft cause they’re less evil. Most times of day you can get from just about anywhere in the city to anywhere else for under $20. It’s a good option.
Cabs: Radio Cab (just take a Lyft).
FOOD & DRINKING
This is hard to narrow down, there’s a lot of food in this city, so we’re going to make some rules:
We’re going to only list things relatively close to our neighborhood or downtown/inner east side. This is annoying because a lot of the best Asian food is out on NE/SE 82nd, but so it goes.
We’re going to only list favorites. There are a lot of places we haven’t been to, and a lot of other places we like and frequent a lot.
Cheap options and expensive options listed.
Other notes:
A lot of places close one random day of the week (frequently Monday). A lot of places also do brunch, but only on the weekend. Many places don’t take reservations.
I’m not even going to bother with coffee. You can’t throw a rock without hitting great local coffee (not Starbucks). Sometimes it’s so good it’s like $7.
Favorite spots and haunts:
Teote (NE, Alberta): Our new favorite! Big porch! Get a mezcal cocktail and the queso. It is like cheese crack. Relatively cheap.
Kachka (Inner NE): Russian. Food, vodka. Fun times.
Radar (NE, Mississippi): One of our favorites. Kinda upscale but still chill. Sit at the bar and watch them work. Great brunch on the weekends and they take reservations.
Mi Mero Mole (NW, Oldtown): Guisados! Pick a stewed meat, they’ll throw it into a taco or burrito. Mmmm! We like the albondigas and the rajas (cactus and cream one).
Hat Yai (NE, Killingsworth): Southern Thai food. OMG. Nothing like Americanized Thai food. Get some fried chicken, a roti, and curry and scoop it all together. It’s amazing.
Pok Pok (several locations): Also nothing like Americanized thai food! Wings & papaya pok pok.
Les Caves (NE, Alberta): Don’t tell anyone about this place. It’s an amazing little wine bar. Just do the $10 bartender pour—they won’t disappoint.
Zilla Sake (NE, Alberta): The most sake in America. Or something. Good sushi.
Meat Cheese Bread (SE, Stark): Sandwiches. Get the green bean one. It sounds weird but it’s delicious.
Nong’s Khao Man Gai (inner SE): It’s chicken and rice. It’s cheap. A friend described it as “fucked up delicious.” That is accurate.
Old Portland (NW industrial): Wine bar. Probably no one will be there. Probably they’ll only have really good bordeaux at shockingly good prices (like $100 bottles for $40).
Saraveza (N Killingsworth): Wisconsin themed with pasties, beer, and Green Bay Packers.
Shalom Y’all (Downtown near Powells): Israeli food with cutest name. The best baba ghanoush.
Guero (E Burnside): Tortas <3
Tannery (E Burnside): It’s the size of a matchbox, fries are like $7, but we love it. Fantastic and potent cocktails + records spinning.
Tasty N Sons/Tasty N Alder (N Williams/Downtown near Powells): They recently rebranded and it looks stupid, but the food is good, happy hour is good, and it’s always fun.
Le Pigeon (E Burnside): I mean, it’s a million dollars, and we’ve only gone once, but it’s amazing. If you’re up for spending, it’s one of the finest meals we’ve ever had.
Little Bird Bistro (Downtown): If you’re not up for spending but want a taste of it, this is the same chef as Le Pigeon, but cheaper! Go for happy hour for a really good burger.
ANOTHER STORY, THIS TIME ABOUT GIFTS
Exactly zero presents are expected (except your presence yuk yuk).
But we know many of you will want to know what you can do anyway, so we've selected some charities as options for you to put your money somewhere if you want. Again, zero expectation or obligation to any of these, but if you're inclined click a link and check it out.
Aly and Brian's give picks:
Portland Community Football Club (PCFC)
PCFC offers affordable soccer to all youth in the Portland Metro area, with an emphasis on helping talented, low-income players who can't afford expensive, elite coaching. They are among the first inclusive youth soccer clubs that openly welcome LGBTQ players, coaches, and families in Portland. Brian works with them through his position as Board Member for Portland Spurs. Go read about them. They're awesome.
Raphael House of Portland
Raphael House is a domestic violence agency dedicated to fighting the causes and effects of intimate partner violence. They provide emergency shelter in a confidential location, support via a 24-hour housing access line, transitional housing, and advocacy programs, and also work to bring an end to violence through community outreach and education. Aly worked for a very similar organization in Alaska for a while, and we can't overstate how important organizations like this are. Find one in your own community—we guarantee they need your support.
Sadie's give pick:
Oregon Humane Society
The Oregon Humane Society rescues, heals, and adopts more than 11,000 pets each year. They're no kill. It's where Sadie came from. She didn't like it there very much, but she knows it helped her get the fun home and cat parents she has now.
Down payment donation:
If you really, really want to give direct to us, you can PayPal, Cash App, or chuck a check our way. We're buying a house. Slowly. Someday. They cost a whole bunch here, but we're getting there. You can help and we love you for it.
PayPal to bridavid83@gmail.com
Cash App to $briandavidsmith
Mail to 9435 N Allegheny Ave. Portland, OR 97203