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Breweries

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With Portland beer week coming up we figured this was the perfect time to highlight our favorite breweries once again! There are so many breweries in portland it can be hard to know where to start. While we haven’t tried every brewery, we have tried many of them. These are the ones that stood out!

Baerlic

2239 SE 11th

Open Daily 11am -10pm

They brew the beers that they love to drink and in a way that imparts the history, art and craft of brewing. They offer five year-round beers and an ever-evolving list of seasonal, one-off and experimental beers.

Ruse

4784 se 17th Ave

Open M-F 3pm – 9pm and Sat-Sun 1pm -10pm

They brew small batch, flavorful, and thoughtfully-crafted beers. They work with local artists and musicians to design beers paired with their art for concept events and beer releases.

Little Beast

3412 se Division st

Open M-F 1:30pm -9pm and Sat-Sun 12pm -9pm

Inspired by the “little beasts” that transform water, barley and hops into beer, they specialize not only in mixed culture fermentation, fruited, wild and wood-aged beers, but also in mastering classic styles for a consistently enjoyable and always approachable experience.

Breakside

Multiple Locations – NW, NE, Milwaukie, Lake Oswego

Open Daily 12pm -9pm

The brewery is known for its broad portfolio of award-winning, innovative beers. In 2019, Breakside became one of only a handful of employee-owned breweries in the country.

Von Ebert

Multiple Locations, NW and NE

Open M-Sat 11:30am – 10pm and Sun 11:30am – 9pm

They push the limits with their beer and let the Pacific Northwest landscape, culture, and people inspire them to produce award-winning hop forward IPAs and ales, German-inspired and modern American lagers, and mixed-culture Heritage Beers.

10 Barrel

1411 NW Flanders

Open Daily, Hours vary

This may be a Bend brewery, but it is a Portland staple. With a rooftop bar, innovative beers, delicious sours, and food to match.

Great Notion

2204 NE Alberta st #101

Open Daily 12pm -9 pm

This brewery is famous for its fruit forward hazy IPAs and they often experiment with what ingredients to add to them. They also craft sours and stouts that are based off of “culinary” inspirations

Cascade Barrel House

939 SE Belmont

Hours Vary, Open W-Sun

Their distinctive sour beer blends feature fruit forward, barrel-aged ales with an emphasis on project year-to-year variation. These beers offer a complex array of flavors derived from the acid, the fruit and the residual flavors present in the barrels in which they age. 

Which of these breweries are your favorite? OR did we skip yours? Let us know in the comments!

Champagne Poetry

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Hot Spot of the week is new and delicious dessert and champagne spot Champagne Poetry! Sister restaurant to the already established (and worth the trip) La Rose Patisserie in Beaverton, now Portland proper has a spot to grab inventive sweets and tasty bubbles.

First thing you should know about Champagne Poetry is that everything from the dessert case to the flower wall is totally Insta-worthy. The flower wall in particular, adorned with neon light up wings, begs you to strike a pose and snap a pic.

The next thing to note, is that the desserts are unexpected and surprising. On our recent visit, we tried a bright pink ‘doughnut’ that was actually a fluffy dark chocolate mousse in the shape of a doughnut and glazed with a very light frosting. Similarly, the Pink Lady was a lovely combination of mousse, cake, and a chilled guava center. Obsessively drooling over Instagram videos, I have learned to always expect the unexpected when ordering a dessert from Champagne Poetry.

As the name would imply, they also have a decent selection of sparkling wines. There are a few roses, some prosecco, and even a true Champagne. Next time you are looking for a good ‘Treat Yo Self’ day, look no farther than the delightfully indulgent Champagne Poetry!

Have you checked this fun place out yet? What did you try? You can find their menu Here or check out our other Hot Spots Here.

June Events

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It’s June! That also means it is the start of festival season! We are kicking things off with the rose fest, pride, and some beer! If you don’t love festivals, we have some other great things to do this month also! We are excited to share these June events!

Peony Festival

  • Visiting the gardens will include walking 25 acres of production fields, strolling through 2 acres of display garden, and enjoying many different colors of gorgeous peonies!
  • Adelman Peony Farm, Salem

*Free*

MORE INFO

May 1st – June 15th 9am – 6pm daily

Rose Festival

  • Parades, rides, fireworks, greasy food, what more could you ask for?
  • Tom McCall Waterfront Park

Parades are free, city fair requires a ticket

Portland Pride Festival

  • Portland is widely known to be a gay-friendly destination, but you can count on us being even more fun for the pride festival and parade!
  • Tom McCall Waterfront Park
  • *Free*
  • MORE INFO
  • June 18th and 19th

First Thursday in The Pearl

  • Stroll through the art galleries in the pearl for an evening of art, music, and wine! Parking is difficult so public transit is recommended
  • The Pearl District
  • Free Event
  • June 2nd 5pm – 10pm though gallery hours vary.

Crush on Oregon

  • Enjoy Wine tasting, local eats, and entertainment at this annual wine festival!
  • Castaway

$50-$70

GET TICKETS HERE

Sunday June 5th

Cider Summit

  • The regions largest cider festival is back! With 150 different selections made by 40 producers, you’ll fund something here to love!
  • The Fields Park
  • $40 for general admission
  • GET TICKETS HERE
  • June 10th and 11th

PDX Beer Week

  • We may not need a special week to drink beer, but this 11 day “week” will feature specials, rare beers, and fun events!
  • Various locations
  • Prices Vary – find all the events on the FB page
  • MORE INFO
  • June 17th -26th

Festival of Balloons

  • Hot air balloons take flight every June and you can enjoy the view with just a quick trip to the south!
  • Cook Park – Tigard

$12

MORE INFO HERE

We hope to see you at some of these awesome events!

April Market Update

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Its time again to look back at the numbers and see how healthy the real estate market is. With all the news about being in a bubble and an incoming crash, it is more important than ever to really look at past and present statistics. Let’s dive in to the numbers for April 2022!

Since November we have been seeing the inventory hover right around .8 months. This means if no one else listed their home, everything would be sold in less than a month. This is still true for April, but the number is climbing. When we have the stats out for May I expect the number to be closer to .9 or even 1. We have really been feeling the extra inventory and are so grateful for it.

The average sales price is up 13.4% compared to April of last year and a whopping 4% from just last month. The former is not surprising as we have been seeing double digit appreciation for the last couple years. The 4% increase from last month is astonishing, but not unbelievable. As soon as we saw the rates increase, we noticed people throwing out crazy offer numbers so they could lock their rate in. We noticed multiple homes that closed in this timeframe sold for around 30% over what they were listed for.

Summary

Now that everyone has settled into the newly increased rate hikes things are back to “Portland normal”. We are still seeing the really cute homes fly off the shelf for about 100k over asking price. Many people are still waiving some or all of their contingencies, and homes are getting multiple offers. The biggest difference is we are mostly seeing 2-3 offers instead of 20.

We expect this trend to continue as things settle a bit. We don’t expect to see any big drops or dips. Despite what major news outlets may be saying, the market correcting itself is a good things and will benefit everyone involved!

If you want specifics about what the changing market means for your home sale or purchase, we would be happy to chat with you! If you want to chat with a lender about your purchasing power, you can see who we trust here

Market and Restaurant Combos

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As we know, Portland real estate can be expensive, so what better way to capitalize on your space than with a market and restaurant combo? These are wonderful places where you can enjoy a lovely meal in or grab some wonderful provisions to take home or both! Here is our list of best Portland Market and Restaurant Combos.

Coquine

6839 SE Belmont St

Cafe & Market Open Daily 9:30-2:30, Dinner Weds-Sat 5-10

Daytime casual café and market, Nighttime prix fixe New American dinner.

Flying Fish Company

3004 E Burnside St

Open 10-8 All Days except Tuesday

Fresh market with a focus on sustainable seafood and more.

Laurelhurst Market

3155 E Burnside St

Market Open Daily 10-10, Lunch 11-3, Dinner 5-10

Steakhouse and butcher shop with house-cured meats and unusual cuts.

Montelupo Italian Market

344 NE 28th Ave

Market Open Daily 8-8:30, Café 8-3, Dinner 5-8:30

Italian restaurant and market featuring deli, handmade pastas, and wine.

Petite Provence

4834 SE Division St * 3240 NE Sandy Blvd * 1824 NE Alberta

Division Mon-Fri 8-3, Sat & Sun 8-4 * Sandy Daily 8-3 * Alberta Tues-Sat 8-8, Sun & Mon 8-4

French Boulangerie and Patisserie featuring café, baked goods, brunch and lunch.

Portland Fish Market

4404 SE Woodstock Blvd

Open Daily 10-7, Fish & Chips Window 11:30-6:30

Fresh local seafood, specialty goods, and wine, plus a fish and chips window.

Ripe Cooperative

5425 NE 30th Ave

Weds-Sat 12-10, Sunday 12-5

Café and marketplace featuring fresh seafood, house made pastas, focaccia, and more.

Which of these market and restaurant combos are you most excited to check out? Let us know in the comments! And if we missed your personal favorite, be sure to reach out so we can check them out next!

Brasa Haya

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Hot Spot of the week this week is lovely Spanish restaurant Brasa Haya! Located in the old Beech Street Parlor space, Brasa Haya does it’s own playful take on tapas and pintxos and they do it well.

You can’t talk about Brasa Haya, of course, without mentioning the setting. It is located in an old 1906 foursquare home off of MLK, meaning that all of the dining areas are really converted rooms of the old house. They (or rather Beech Street before them) have added a beautiful wooden bar to the main level family room, but otherwise it generally feels like you could be headed to a dinner party at a friends home. Plus the wallpaper game here is top-notch.

The drinks list is understandably Spanish-driven, with a large selection of Spanish wines, a proper sherry list, and the ubiquitous Spanish coffee. Yet, we found quite a few fun surprises sprinkled throughout, like the Tensho Embassy (my cocktail of choice of the eve) which involved tequila, yellow chartreuse, and roasted miso. Once we finished cocktails, we ordered a lovely bottle of Cava to pair with the remainder of the courses.

The thing that I love most about tapas is that it is all built to share. I always want to try everything on the menu, and tapas restaurants are the only ones that let me even get close. That said, the portions here were not tiny and still quite filling, so try not to go too overboard, even when everything sounds too delicious.

We ended up trying the salt cod croquettes and the charred onion relish with ricotta on toast to start. Both were super tasty. Next, we had some of the roasted brussels sprouts with romesco (my favorite sauce in the world). Finally, we shared the salsify gratin with black trumpet mushrooms and preserved lemon. This one was so good but also so filling that we decided to skip the larger portions and head straight for dessert!

Dessert was a real treat. We went with the servers recommendation and had, what was more or less a wonderfully upscale and handmade version of a Dilly Bar. Pairing that with a Spanish coffee to round out the meal was definitely a genius move.

I cannot wait to head back to Brasa Haya and try the rest of the menu! Next time, I’m bringing a larger group so that we truly can order absolutely everything. Have you been to Brasa Haya yet? What was your fave? Let us know in the comments!

Cinemas

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It’s Oscar Night and you know what that means…it’s time for a list of Portland’s Best Cinemas! Whether you are looking for the latest releases or experimental arthouse films, our list has got you covered for all of your cinephile needs.

Academy Theater

7818 SE Stark St

Historic theater in Montavilla neighborhood.

Bagdad Theater

3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd

McMenamins theater and brewpub in the heart of Hawthorne.

Cinema 21

616 NW 21st Ave

Independent art house movie theater showing a mixture of independent, foreign, and classic films.

Clinton Street Theater

2522 SE Clinton St

Historic theater with a focus on experimental and arthouse films, plus a weekly midnight showing of The Rocky Horror Picture Show.

Empirical Theater at OMSI

1945 SE Water Ave

This theater at the science museum features documentaries, film fests, and IMAX blockbusters.

Hollywood Theatre

4122 NE Sandy Blvd

Historic theatre showcasing a mix of new and classic films, plus ongoing film series’ such as B Movie Bingo and Kung Fu Theater.

Living Room Theater

341 SW 10th Ave

Theater that’s 21+ in evenings offers indie films, recliners, & food & wine delivered to seats.

St John’s Twin Cinema and Pub

8704 N Lombard St

Casual first-run cinema that serves pizza and beer.

Which of these Portland Cinemas is your favorite? Let us know in the comments below!

Love it or List it?

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I’m sure you’ve seen Love it or List it- where a family has totally outgrown their space but one of the partners just doesn’t want to leave, so they decide to renovate. 

And if the renovations aren’t fixing the issue, then, and only then, do they move…

While reality TV is fun to watch, the reality of living in a construction zone while shopping for a new house, isn’t.

That’s why I recommend doing one or the other. Let’s break it down.

A lot of times, people get frustrated with their space. They’ve had another baby, fallen out of love with their condo, or started dreaming of retiring in a smaller space near the beach. 

Whatever the reason, it’s very important to first identify WHY you are considering a move, and then go from there. 

Here’s five things to think about…

#1 Can it be fixed easily? 

If you want an updated kitchen, swapping out fixtures, painting cabinets, and buying new appliances is a pretty easy fix. But if you want a bigger kitchen, you’re going to have to move.

#2 Can you deal with contractors?

Hiring an interior designer or general contractor to manage your project will help, but renovations require you to work with multiple companies and contractors on a daily basis. And you’ll be totally dependent on their timeline, expertise, and quality of work. If you don’t want people coming in and out of your home for weeks on end, it may be time to move into a turn key home.

#3 Can you live with the mess? 

Renovations can be dusty and dirty and shrink an already hard-to-navigate environment. Tools will be everywhere, equipment will be everywhere, and people will be everywhere. Is a renovation going to get in the way of school, work, or travel? If so, something turnkey may be more appealing.

#4 Can you tolerate a move? 

You may dread the thought of having to pack up your entire home while paying a moving company thousands of dollars to pick up your heirloom armoire and try and make it through the front door. If this sounds unbearable to you, it may be cause to stay.

#5 Do you love your location? 

If the view, zoning, corner lot, or amazing neighbors are the reason why you moved to your current house to begin with, then moving may not be the answer. In this case, it would be better to renovate the inside of the home to match the amazing benefits of the outside of the home. 

No matter whether you decide to love it or list it, it’s important to have a good Realtor to help you understand how renovations will affect your home value and help you decide if you’re better off packing up or staying put. That’s where I can help.

If you’re thinking about making a move (or know someone who is), Please reach out! No pressure, no sales tactics, just helpful advice and the guidance you need!

And finally, if you’re not thinking about making a move just yet, feel free to save this page for future reference, so you can come back to it! 

If you want to get to know either of us better you can go to our pages Jessica or Tekela