Tag Archives: local

Boys Fort, Portland, OR

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So a group of us are traveling through downtown Portland, looking for a place to eat and some light shopping when my friend spies Boys Fort (902 SW Morrison St, # 97205
Portland, OR 97205). We have to go she says! Well OK. Sounds like camping supplies to me, but I’m up for it. But no camping supplies, it was an eccentric gift store…really it was several gift stores under one roof and they were all full of interesting things.  Their website says “Boys Fort is a carefully curated collection of local, handmade products and vintage one of a kind finds. With over one hundred local and regional makers represented at Boys Fort, the product mix presented ranges from grooming products like mustache wax and beard oil to hand forged jewelry and leather goods to beautifully crafted furniture. Many local artists are incorporated into the mix, with a wide variety of styles for every taste and point of view”.

 

Cafe Brosseau, Tacoma (All you need is love and a good cup of coffee)

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imageCafe Brosseau at 2716 N 21st St in Tacoma is really delightful and I can’t believe I hadn’t been there before. Their website says “Cafe Brosseau is located in the Three-Bridges District in Tacoma’s North End. Founded by Christian and Donna in 2013. The name honors the twin brothers who built the original shop located here in 1912.”  I didn’t realize Tacoma had a Three Bridge District.

Dear husband and I had stopped in for a treat. I ordered their signature Cafe Brosseau, a chocolate and orange espresso drink and it was rich and delicious. Dear husband stuck with a drip coffee and pronounced it good (that’s as high a praise as he goes). The folks that waited on us were very nice and even stop at our table later to see how we liked things. I really appreciate how they highlight local providers like Corina’s Bakery and Mad Hat Tea. It’s a little out of my way, but I’m sure I’ll be back … maybe for lunch. They have a Facebook Page and a Website. There is also an article in the Tacoma Weekly about this history of the building.

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Cafe Brosseau, Tacoma

Cafe Brosseauimage

Chirp & Co. in the Proctor District

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Chirp & Co. at 3808 North 26th Street, in Tacoma’s Proctor District has been around for 20 years. It’s main emphasis is on wild birds and it offers feeders, food, book and gift items around that theme. There is also a quality pet food selection. Really it has some unusual items and is reasonably price. I walked out with a darling little bird figurine for my window and three different suet square for about $12 altogether.

www.chirpandco.com/

 

Basic Goods

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Basic Goods is a around the corner at 1734 Pacific Avenue in Tacoma’s Museum District. I discovered it because I was out for the first time in a couple of days (darn cold) and went to pick up dear daughter. She begged for a Starbucks drink and I ran down the street in search of a new place.

Basic Goods’ space is about the size of a small garage. On their website they say that they “focus on curating a small collection of well designed, long lasting and useful merchandise”. Really, I liked everything they had from little notebooks to stamp sets to scarfs to thermoses. I picked up a sweet stocking stuffer for dear daughter. Much of their stock can be seen and ordered on their website http://www.basicgoodsco.com/

The Taste of Summer

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Driving back from an estate sale, dear husband and I stopped at the seasonal produce stand at the northwest corner of South 72nd and Waller Road where Pipeline Road East cuts through at a diagonal. They had a bunch of fresh, local fruits and vegetables and some that they brought in like pineapples. Oh, and flowers, those too. We came away with wonderful raspberries and tomatoes and green beans and walla walla sweet onions. We also treated ourselves to old fashioned sodas (black cherry for him, blood orange for me).

 


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