That Portland Life

Portland Lifestyle and Real Estate

Contact Us!

thatportlandlife

Cascade Brewing

by Leave a Comment

This week we went and checked out Cascade Brewing! This sour ale brewery has so much variety we will have to go back multiple more times to try everything on the menu.

I love sour ales, so if you don’t this is likely not the place for you. They do typically have 3 or 4 non sour beers on the menu, but they are no where near as good as the sour ales. My favorite thing about Cascade is that they use fresh, local ingredients and truly experiment with their beers. I tried the Brunch Line, which is very Portland. Its a sour wheat ale that is aged in white wine barrels with willamette valley chardonnay grapes and orange zest. It does taste a bit like a mimosa.

We went during happy hour and were able to try both the pretzel with beer cheese, and the smoked albacore tuna melt. The pretzel was perfectly salted and toasted to perfection. The albacore sandwich isn’t your grandma’s tuna sandwich. With both cheddar and gruyere cheese, the sandwich was delicious and well balanced.

We will absolutely be heading back to cascade brewing for some beer very soon!

If you want to see the current offering of beers, you can see the menu here. or check out the full website

Do you have somewhere that you want us to feature? Let us know in the comments!!

Pumpkin Patches

by Leave a Comment

Fall is a great season for so many reasons, the leaves changing colors is definitely my favorite part of fall, but I also love to visit the pumpkin patch! There are so many good options near Portland so I though I would include some of my favorites! Do you think we missed the best one? Let us know in the comments!

Bauman’s Pumpkin Patch

12989 Howell Prairie Rd NE, Gervais, OR 97026

Open 9am – 6pm

Bella Organic Pumpkin Patch

16205 NW Gillihan Rd, Portland, OR 97231

Open 9am – 6pm

Liepold Farms

14480 SE Richey Rd, Boring, OR 97009

Open 9am – 5pm

Mr Tree’s Pumpkin Patch

8560 SE 172nd Ave, Happy Valley, OR 97086

Open 10am – 6pm

Plumper Pumpkin Patch

1435 NW Old Cornelius Pass Rd, Portland, OR 97231

open 9am – 5:30pm

The Pumpkin Patch on Sauvie Island

16511 NW Gillihan Rd, Portland, OR 97231

Open 9am – 6pm Sunday-Thursday

Open 9am – 10pm Friday-Saturday

We hope to see you there this fall!

September Events

by Leave a Comment

Fall is coming to Portland or (hopefully) just a bonus month of summer! Here are some fun events around the city to keep you smiling no matter the weather.

  • Saturday/Sunday 9/7-9/8 Mini Maker Faire An awesome yearly event of tinkerers, creatives, crafters, and enthusiasts of all varieties, there is something for everyone to enjoy at this celebration of curiosity. OMSI 9:30am-5:30pm $16/day adult, $10/day youth https://portland.makerfaire.com/
  • Saturday/Sunday 9/7-9/8 Portland Dragon Boat Festival Hang out at the waterfront and watch as teams race stunning dragon boats along the Willamette. Beer garden and food vendors will keep your various appetites satisfied. Tom McCall Waterfront Park 8am-5pm Free
  • Wednesday-Sunday 9/11-9/15 FEAST Portland’s largest food event of the year is here, and includes classes, dinner series’ by celebrity chefs, ‘Drink Tank’ panels and much, much more. It’s also a fundraiser to combat hunger in Oregon and abroad. Locations, times, and ticket prices vary. https://www.feastportland.com/category/all-events
  • Friday-Sunday 9/13-9/15 Rose City Comic Con All things sci-fi, fantasy, gaming, cosplay, and delightfully nerdy pop culture, this event is fun for all ages and some of the best people-watching in town. Oregon Convention Center Fri 1pm-8pm, Sat 10am-7pm, Sun 10am-5pm, ticket packages vary. https://rosecitycomiccon.com/
  • Sunday 9/22 Sunday Parkways The final event of the Sunday Parkways series will explore a 7.6 mile loop in Northeast Portland. Bust out your bikes or ‘blades and enjoy live music and vendors as you wheel around the streets sans traffic. Jump in anywhere along the route, 11am-4pm Free. https://www.portlandoregon.gov/transportation/67623
  • Friday/ Saturday 9/27-9/28 Oregon Burlesque Festival A festival of titillating teases, the Friday showcase features circus acts, neo, and comedy, while the closing Saturday evening show is the competition portion. Alberta Rose Theater, doors at 8pm, show at 9pm. $25/night or $40/two-day pass. http://www.oregonburlesquefestival.com/home/
  • Saturday 9/28 Oktoberfest at the Zoo A family-friendly celebration of all things German, there will be an Alpine band, games for kids, and vendors of German food and beers. You might even catch a glimpse of the Unipiper as he peddles past the penguins. Oregon Zoo, 4pm-7pm, adults $20/ youth $12.95. https://shop.oregonzoo.org/#/SpecialEvents/SpecialEvents

What events are you excited about in September? Post them in comments below!

The cost of Instant offers

by Leave a Comment

So you want an instant offer? No doubt you have heard about open door at this point, but Zillow and Amazon also have programs that allow you as a home seller to get an offer without any showings or contingencies. Check out the full video for all the details!

It is terribly convenient to just sell your home to an internet company. As they say on their commercials, there are no showings, no contingencies, and you get to look over the pricing details before you make a decision. If this all sounds too good to be true, it’s because it usually is.

These companies are in the market of buying homes to make a profit when they re-sell them. This means you are selling your home for less than you would get if you listed it with a realtor almost every time. They want to pay wholesale for your home, do a couple repairs, which likely means paint, and then they re-list it at the price it was worth in the first place.

Zillow

We have a great example of this. this offer below was presented to the client of an associate of mine. He needed to sell quickly but also wanted to be sure he was getting what his home was worth. He called his realtor to discuss what his opinion was and they needed up selling the home after 3 days on the market, for 6% commission at $550,000.

Had the seller chosen to go with this Zillow offer he would have left more than $100,000 on the table. Most the examples that we see aren’t this extreme, but in almost every case the seller could have received thousands more dollars if they had listed with a Realtor.

This model will of course work for some people, if you need to just sell and timing is more important than price, this is a great option. Just make sure you discuss everything in detail with a Realtor so you know all of your options.

Open Door

Another issue we see with Open Door specifically is the way they send over offers can be very misleading. They don’t charge a real estate commission but they do charge a 7% service fee (also known as a commission). They also over-estimate the time on market and time for closing, and lastly, they assume you will be paying 3.5% in seller concessions. You may have to pay some concessions for a buyer but this is rare, negotiable, and should not be thought of as a guarantee.

For this example the seller should have $18,000 more selling through a Realtor, but we don’t know what the home is actually worth either so they could have received even more. Again, it is very important to talk to a realtor about your home before you make any decisions.

If you have specific questions about your home and what it is worth, please reach out to us directly. Or if you want an instant valuation click here. You can also see our other real estate videos over on Youtube. Or our other posts HERE

We will talk to you again soon!

Eem

by Leave a Comment

After months of hearing and reading rave reviews, we finally made it to Hot Spot of the week, Thai and BBQ fusion spot Eem, and it did not disappoint. Backed by a powerhouse team, the flawless execution of food, cocktails, and relaxed but efficient service come together to achieve an experience that deserves the accolades they are receiving. 


The cocktail menu tends towards the rum-based, citrus-heavy vacation style, and the ones we tried were delicious. Some are served in delightful Tiki mugs and feature sprightly flourishes. Food comes as it is ready, which ended being a perfect pace for always having a variety of new things to taste without having an over-crowded table or feeling rushed. 

On our recent visit, we tried a variety of dishes from all parts of the menu, including a fantastic pork belly dish with fermented pineapple, a burnt end brisket curry, and the simply prepared but outstandingly delicious snow pea tips. The Thai street food flavors melded so well with the smoky slow-cooked barbecue flavors, it makes one wonder why people haven’t been combining them for longer. 

We can’t wait to return and try everything else on the menu, and live that vacation life without leaving our lovely city of Portland.


Where should we head next? Let us know in the comments!