Postcards from Portland
We have been in Portland visiting good friends (hello B'nai Mitzvah!) and had the chance to visit a brand new, fresh little baby today. When chatting with our pals, I noticed this incredible Goodnight Moon embroidered pillow up high on a shelf (so their puppy didn't eat it) and asked to take a closer look:
It's truly one of the most incredible baby gifts I've ever seen, made lovingly by the baby's great-aunt, Jackie. The bold colours of the Margaret Wise Brown translate so well to the embroidery floss, and she even used sparkly silver thread for the stars. The vibrancy of this pillow cannot be captured by iphone!
Because I immediately thought - I NEED TO MAKE THIS - I did some sleuthing and found it's a needlepoint pattern by Silver Needle. Do I have any needlepoint skills? No! Will this stop me? Also no! Will it pair well with my papier-mache Goodnight, Moon mobile?! Absolutely, YES:
Moving right along..
Later in the day, we were passing this Free Little Library, and as I was taking a look, Mimi was pointing and saying "Goldbug, Goldbug!" (We always look for the hidden goldbugs in Richard Scarry books!) and sure enough, when I shut the library door... there was a Goldbug hidden there! Good eye, kiddo!
The B'nai Mitzvah we attended this weekend was so fabulous, and it was beautiful to witness a colourful and creative community come together to support a young person as their full-self.
The party portion was hosted at a very cool school here in Portland, and Mimi and the other baby got to hang out in the "after school" care room. Sometimes you find yourself somewhere, and you just start to notice that it's special... As I looked around, I realized this space was so thoughtful and intentional, including a very special library:
Each book had this incredibly charming stamp inside of it:
Just love the vibe of this image and the text 'Library of TANGERINA.' It makes me want to dust off my old book plates from childhood, or make an updated version for our ever-expanding children's book library.
A few things that caught my attention in this special classroom:
This rad pennant and fabulous rules written by Adam Zeek (I'm now a fan)
On Zeek's website it says ("Personal Rules - I made this to hang up in my home studio as a personal reminder. Maybe it can help you?")
A closer look:
This acorn house:
The library was full of incredible children's books. Some I had seen before, and a few new-to-me gems. Including this one:
Anno's Flea Market by Mitsumasa Anno. It's beautifully illustrated, depicting bustling flea markets full of trash and treasure. In a word - perfection. Take a look at this fabulous intro:
I'm going to try and track down a copy, because I absolutely need this in my personal collection (along with all the other Anno books, which I've never come across before! Have you?!)
I also fell in love with this tiny wooden horse placed discreetly on top of the black board:
Other postcards from Portland:
Our friend's kid is super into science experiments, and they created a SCIENCE LAB for them in the basement, complete with all the fixings. I love parents who get excited about their kid's special passions. It's so cool to witness.
Last night we had dinner at this amazing pizza place called the Turning Peel, and the food and service was incredible but the thing that really knocked my socks off was this collection of toys ORGANIZED BY AGE that customers could play with! So inclusive! So fun! So much better than crayons!
And two final postcards from Portland:
Portland, we'll be back! Thanks for reading :)
