Live Oregon

Two Portland Bathroom Luxury Remodels

Two mid-century Portland bathroom remodels pack a lot of luxury with light tile and charm written by Melissa Dalton A Modern Take on a West Hills Mid-century When a couple bought this rambler in Portland’s West Hills, it still held much of its Mid-century charm, which the new owners loved. Soaring ceilings clad in cedar in the living room? Check. Original kitchen cabinets in excellent shape? Yes, please. Unfortunately, their swooning stopped upon seeing the master bathroom. “ The house was built in 1954, and I don’t think the bathrooms had ever been touched,” said Stewart Horner, principal designer at Penny Black Interiors, who worked with the homeowners on a refresh. “It was pretty much as it had been for fifty-plus years, and it wasn’t pleasant.” First, there was the room’s unappealing Jack-and-Jill layout. A popular treatment during the Mid-century era, it meant the bathroom was shared between the parents’…

Weekend Wanderings in Eastern Oregon

Eastern Oregon: Plan your next vacay to this less traveled part of the state and find out why we think it’s one of the best places to discover. written by Jen Stevenson EN ROUTE In historic Pendleton, home to one of the country’s most famous rodeos every September, grab a bite at busy Sister’s Café before embarking on the entertaining 90-minute Pendleton Underground Tour. Try a pint of Righteous Indignation red ale at Prodigal Son Brewery and Pub, or pair wood-fired pizza with one of the beaker- bound house cocktails at Oregon Grain Growers Brand Distillery, then head a mile east to the Pendleton Woolen Mill, which offers four free weekday tours, no reservations necessary. In La Grande, sip Walla Walla rosé at charmingly renovated Wine Down café and wine bar, then eat 6 Ranch grass-fed beef burgers and smoked aioli-drizzled dirty fries alongside the local college kids at Side…

Best Places for Fall Foraging

Best Places for Fall Foraging around the state written by Jen Stevenson Oregon autumns are our favorite so we’ve rounded up our top three fall foraging destinations for you to put on your to-try list. SOKOL BLOSSER Not just a pretty patio for sipping and soaking in valley views, the Sokol Blosser family’s esteemed Dundee Hills winery is home to one of the finest kitchens in the Willamette Valley. When executive chef Henry Kibit isn’t dishing up savory parsley root custard topped with salmon roe and licorice fern and slabs of tender brisket over fried wild nettles, he’s roaming the miner’s lettuce and morel-strewn hills behind the vineyard, collecting seasonal treasures to incorporate into the six-course Farm & Forage wine pairing luncheons he serves in an intimate, sun-splashed space behind the tasting room. 5000 NE SOKOL BLOSSER LN. DAYTON sokolblosser.com RACK & CLOTH Exit I-84 onto the Historic Columbia River…

The Oregon Kiwi

Oregon Kiwi: We are the country’s top producer of this unusual fruit written by Sophia McDonald | photography by Anthony C. Castro Is it possible to grow this tropical fruit in Oregon? Oregon is known for producing world-class berries from spring to early summer. But come September, a strange-looking variety briefly appears for about two weeks. They’re tan globes about the size of a grape. Each has a sweet-tart flavor and a smooth skin that’s entirely edible. Cut one open and the mystery is solved. The flesh of these tiny fruits is lime green and dotted with tiny black seeds. They’re known as kiwi berries, baby kiwi or hardy kiwi, and they’re kin to the fuzzy-skinned fruit commonly found in grocery stores. Oregon is the country’s top producer of this unusual fruit—which is to say there are a handful of farmers growing them on about 125 acres. Peter Dinsdale with…

Oregon Kiwis Do Exist and So Does The Kiwitini

Before I talk about Oregon kiwis, I need to be completely honest. written by Thor Erickson | photos by Megan Morse When the editors of 1859 Oregon’s Magazine proposed that I write about kiwis, I thought they had lost their minds. Kiwis? In Oregon? Really? I went home and binge-watched “Flight of the Conchords” while I did some research. After a healthy dose of Bret and Jemaine, I soon found that kiwis do grow in Oregon, and are becoming quite popular. Kiwi berries (also known as hardy kiwi, grape kiwi or cocktail kiwi) are smooth-skinned and much smaller in size than their furry cousins from New Zealand. I drove out to Dundee to HB&K farms to pick a few for myself. The strawberry-sized kiwi berries, or Actinidia arguta, are not genetically modified minis, but their own perennial vine, native to Japan, China and Russia. Kiwi berries have a short growing season,…

Green Living Around the State

Step inside these recent sustainable home designs around the state written by Melissa Dalton Oregon has some serious green building cred, but there’s always room for improvement. Governor Kate Brown led the state into an embrace of energy conservation when, last November, she signed an executive order stating that newly constructed residences must demonstrate 40 to 50 percent more energy efficiency than conventional construction. Intrigued, we checked out three recent sustainable builds to better understand what our future neighborhoods might look like. The First Passive House in Corvallis exterior photography by David Paul Bayles | interior photography by Jen G. Pywell Choosing to Build their first home was a no-brainer for Carl and Julie Christianson. He runs G. Christianson Construction, which was started by his parents in Corvallis in 1986. Less obvious is that the couple would make their home a certified Passive House. Although Carl’s company had never built…

OK Omens Wine Bar and Bistro

OK Omens is a superb wine bar with an elevated bistro menu that’s worth checking out written by Jen Stevenson | photos by Alan Weiner Photography No longer Café Castagna, but still Castagna’s café, this lively new Ladd’s Addition wine bar retains the same sleek look (and beloved patio) as its predecessor, while debuting a playfully scholarly natural-wine-centric list to pair with James Beard Award-nominated Castagna chef Justin Woodward’s simple but superlative new bistro menu. Settle in for a late summer evening at one of the garden-side tables, inches from fragrant plumes of fresh mint and lemon verbena, and enlist the help of spirited sommelier Brent Braun, who won’t steer you wrong on the perfect bottle to go with Woodward’s burnt-beet-topped steak tartare, grilled squid with chicory and Thai basil, and buttermilk fried chicken with spicy greens and hot sour cream. Like the savory offerings, desserts are often twists on…

Autumn Beer Is Best Sipped Around A Fire

Hello Autumn Beer: As fall arrives, grilling and beer don’t need to take a back seat written by Jeremy Storton Although the dog days are behind us, visions of summer’s splendor flash across our memories like a late-night highlight reel. Lulled by warm days, many of us continue to push the outdoor barbecues in the evenings. But the chilly nights confirm that summer is indeed over. The days of summer salads and lagers may linger behind us, but a change of season invites a different, equally splendid experience. In fall, I find myself sitting fireside, wrapped in a blanket and tending to the various meats, veggies or paella grilling over the coals. Sometimes there is wine, but there is always beer. For me, there is something that excites my palate about pairing dark and brooding malty beers with the crackle of fire and the sizzle of steak. My goal is…

DIY: How To Make a Terrarium

Nothing pretties up the bathroom like a little terrarium written by Melissa Dalton Make your own terrarium by following these easy tips, terrariums can be made with materials bought from specialty terrarium shops, pet and aquarium stores, home improvement destinations and the nursery. 1 PICK A CONTAINER Whether it’s a vintage cloche from an antique mall or an ordinary fish bowl, pick a clear glass container that will offer plenty of space for the plants and transmit enough light to encourage growth. If choosing a container with a lid, make sure it won’t be sitting in the direct sun, as that can kill the plants inside. 2 POUR THE FOUNDATION Cover the bottom with small rocks to encourage drainage. Pour in a layer of sand, using a funnel to keep the grains neat. Have fun choosing the colors of these elements, since they will be visible. Next, add activated charcoal…

Oregon Innovators Then and Now

A look back, and ahead, at Oregon Innovators written by James Sinks In the yellowed pages of history, the promise of Oregon Innovators bade explorers to plunge headlong into the rugged—and often damp— frontier. It was no place for fear of the unknown. at same unforgiving ethos goes for the Oregon trailblazers of the business sort. “ The cowards never started and the weak died along the way,” said Nike co-founder Phil Knight, in his bestselling memoir, Shoe Dog.  The Oregon economy of today has been shaped by big thinkers, like Knight and others, whose ideas and dogged tenacity created opportunities and jobs by the thousands, spawned spinoffs, saved lives and—to help all of us celebrate more effectively—made vineyards more productive. Of course, some Oregon inventions are just plain fun, and tasty. The beanbag Hacky Sack that helped occupy the time of countless college students before dating apps? Created in 1972 in…