Portland Day 2

Its morning in Portland, and now we're pretty sure we want a house

that has a giant atrium about the size of the one in this hotel.

After the big buffet breakfast, we want this river flowing through

the house too, so this should be a fun shopping day.

First up, after the obligatory trip to Ikea (we'd live there, can you imagine

how much fun the cats would have?),

its time to stock up on a trunk-full of cat food and scratching boxes.

Then its off to three stone and tile shops, with a particular eye out

for surfaces that fit in with a water theme.

This is our cup-of-tea, beautiful finishes, like you would

find in a spa, or in our dreams.

This is our first time looking at rock slabs, and its a kick.

This conglomerate granite has high drama, it would be amazing

as a feature wall, very modern and POW!

I'm loving this amber onyx, its Bellagio's colors: cream and honey,

and would look wonderful with accents of black and rainbow.

The tiles were incredibly varied, something for everyone.

On the way back home we visited another manufactured home

dealer.  We are definitely entertaining contrasting designs: from

 huge-scale spaces to smaller hide-aways.

We can tell it was a successful trip, our bags are filled with cat

treats and junk food.

Portland Product Palooza

We're heading to Portland to look at house finishing details.

We get to cross two bridges we haven't been on before.

 It really is a beautiful city.

On the trip up we visit Pilot Truck stop (excellent coffee) and stock

up on Taco Bell burritos and Cheetos. The whole state seems to make

this stop, including these show horses.

Stunning.  But I don't think Tanji would approve of us adopting

any new family members (he still growls at Vladi, six years later).

Our first stop is to take a peak at the Opti-Myst fireplace.

Its electric and using lights and water vapor to simulate

flames.  You can have the flame effect with or without heat.

Its pretty impressive, we want one, only bigger.

The cats could sit inside and not get hot, its kind of brilliant.


On our way to the next stop, Mark spots a huge stone and tile store,

and they had a really nice greenish stone that would be

perfect a walk-in shower.

Next a ritzy kitchen and bathroom store, but no pictures from here

because of sticker shock.  My favorite kitchen faucet (not the sink,

just the faucet) was $1100 and the tub I liked best was $6000,

so thats enough of that.

We zip over to our favorite Portland retreat to regroup.

Luckily the stay includes a happy hour, we can work down our

list of well drinks and not dwell on toilets that cost over $1000.

Better Head to Jerry's

We're on our way to Eugene for a planning session at the

fantastic Cornbread Cafe, a trip to the 5th street market,

and product shopping at Jerry's home Improvement store. 

I'm going to "need" this crystal lamp in my closet.

After sitting on some plush swiveling and rocking outdoor

furniture and scoring a new drainer for our pots, we

are totally focused on flooring.  The Ideabox homes

typically have bamboo, but its just not singing to us.

But we really like this black sink, it'll hide all kinds

of cleaning sins.

Most of our focus is on countertops.  Cambria quartz is

one of our choices, but similar to the bamboo flooring,

there isn't one really jumping out at us.

I may have found the countertop material for my

bathroom, it looks just like nougat candy.

Its a recycled glass countertop by Geos

in "Red Rocks."

Mark is looking at the Hi-Macs Cosmos pattern for his sink.

It has nice depth, like seashells and glass on a sandy beach.

Ikea

We're trying not to get too excited about the house, because we're not sure yet if we can build on our property.  A contractor is visiting tomorrow to look at the site and determine feasibility, cost, and to assist us in navigating city and county codes.  So, O.K., we're pretty excited and since Ideabox has designed with Ikea, we're heading to Portland to the nearest store.

Let's do this!

So many kitchens, this is hours of entertainment.

Its a kick to think about designing a complete house from siding

to flooring to drawers and utensils.

Reflective appliances?  You bet.

We're interested in effective use of space, the house won't be huge.

The plan we've been working on the past few days is to have a

kitchen/dining/living space, with two master bedroom

suites, one that each of us will design.  Fun!

I'm loving the pink cabinetry for my bedroom,

apparently its for for 5-8 year olds.

Lemon drop chair!

I'm definitely going to want this little yellow puff velvet

swivel piece...

...and this green velvet couch (Stockholm collection).

I'm using Mark's birthday cupcakes for my color scheme :).

Vegas IV: Boy, the Cats are Going to be Pissed!

We're heading home after a surprisingly big breakfast at the

Prestige floor at Palazzo.  Its been an awesome trip!

A few things we learned...

A buffet a day is a blast if you eat mid-day,

stay the full two (plus) hours, and

eat light spa snacks the rest of the day.

We came up with a lot of really good ideas brainstorming

in the new environment.  Food + Spa + Exercise =

Worth every penny.

Although we are thrilled to be back with the boys

(who had the most capable of catsitters and didn't miss us much),

we are already looking forward to a return trip.

Vegas III: Wynn Spa, Wynn Buffet, Palazzo Prestige

Its day three in Vegas, and we spend it at the spa and pool.

Its as good as we remember: Frank Sinatra and Judy Garland

are keeping us company touring the LONG lap pool and the

spa is pure bliss: quiet, comfortable, and totally relaxing.

Its also really well laid out and only a short distance to

check out from our room and head to ...

The Wynn Buffet!  Everything is delicious (except the coffee),

the overall quality is really high.  The basil pizza and scrambled

eggs are definitely worth a try.

 

They still have the lemon cups I love, but there's room for a

few new friends too :).

Its back to the spa for afternoon naps by the fireplace and

fountain.  We really like the couples lounge to meet and relax

Mark meets a kindred animal at the Wynn shops.

Packed up, we're off to our third destination: the Prestige floor

at Palazzo.    We love, love, love having a concierge floor with

free drinks and appetizers, as well as a breakfast the day we fly out.

The bartenders are great and we have barside seats to the

World Cup with yummy food.  Our favorites today:

lemon drop, mudslide, toasted almond, Smith & Kearns,

Long Beach Iced Tea, & the house specialty "Tropical Dream."

Its another magical night in Vegas!

A wishing spot in the Palazzzo/Venetian waterfall, and

trust me, it works.

Its all a bit blurry for me after this.  Vegas!

Vegas II: Qua Spa, Bellagio Buffet, Wynn

Its day two in Vegas and we spent the morning in the Qua Spa

at Caesars.  Its not really a place to take photos, so to sum up:

Strange layout to the spa with things spread out and a busy

traffic pattern in the treatments lounge.  The water features

are nice, but its a bit dark and noisy with rushing water and

insistent music.  Good mix of beverages, pass on the vanilla tea.

The fitness spa was a hit: good equipment, spacious, and busy.

Checked out of our room, we have our stuff stored in the spa

lockers and its off to Bellagio across the street.

This hotel is fun, bright, and colorful.

Another spectacular conservatory display, complete with a 

smaller greenhouse aviary and plenty of kites.

Where is everyone?  This is apparently the best time to visit Vegas,

few lines and happy people (of course its over 100 degrees outside).

Its impossible to not smile when you are surrounded by

giant snails, birds, and frogs.

There's even a few horses.

Its noon, and we're hungry, unbelievably there are only a few people

in the Bellagio buffet line, its all ours!

We both dream of the Bellagio potatoes all year.

A completely different, but still delicious, mushroom soup.

The overall quality is noticeably higher that the Bacchanal,

to us, only the Wynn Buffet is comparable.

Hours of good eating and conversation.

Somehow we paced ourselves with plenty of room for dessert.

They are all good, and pretty too.

Its back to the spa for more relaxation, including naps.

I manage to have an incredibly productive hour developing

a research idea on how a lifetime of science can be

represented by object assemblages.

 Vegas, baby!

We walk to the Wynn to get some exercise and experience

the Vegas summer heat.  I think I'm sweating, but it keeps

evaporating off.  Mark is styling with my bag, we're

traveling with one carry-on each to keep mobile.

Ahhhh, the Wynn.  Its like floating on an airy cloud.

The feel of this place is quiet elegance.  We love the rooms, spa

pool, and buffet. Even the convention halls are worth seeing.

I'm on the Wynn side...

Mark is in the connecting Encore side.  This looks like a photo

from the New York Times style section.