I love being back in the PNW for mannyyy reasons that's for sure, but one of my favs is being able to hop in my car and drive whereverrrr the road may take me. Now don't get me, weekend getaways are totally possible in NYC and something I did take advantage of quite a bit, but being able to hop in your own car and just drive?! That feels dang near magical to me after so many years without a car -- 7 to be exact. So now that I'm back on the west coast I'm basically a born-again 16-year-old who just got her license and I'm still loving every second of it even a year later.

One of my favorite places to adventure to over the years has always been Portland, and now that it's a mere 2.5 hours away (traffic cooperating) you will certainly find me roaming my old hood quite a bit more. And can I please tell you... I swear every time I visit, the city gets a little cooler. Now I know some of the lifers might disagree with all of the growth Portland has had in the last decade, but personally, I love it. So much so, that if I didn't promise my Mom that I'd never move out of state again that I def wouldn't rule out moving south again. 😜#realtalk

So what is it about Portland that is so great? To me, it's a great sized city that has the amenities of big-city living, while still not feeling overwhelming and not being totally terrifying to drive in if you don't know where you're going. Plus it has an amazing food scene (you know me!), arts, culture, and it's still very walkable and accessible. I also happen to know some super awesome people down there so it always gets some extra bonus points for that too! The vibe in Portland is just really great and I only think it has gotten better with time. So that being said, what the heck are my fav places to visit when I'm there? Well today I'm sharing some of my must-visit spots no matter how short of a trip I'm on, which this weekend was less than 36 hours. 

Pine State Biscuits

If there is one place I pretty much always visit when I'm in town (and take everyone I'm visiting with to) it's Pine State Biscuits. Truly this place is heaven on a biscuit and the onlyyyy place around that I would wait an hour in the rain for. And trust me, when I lived in NYC we didn't wait on places and I've liked to stick to that mentality, but Pine State.. Oh I'll wait. Kathy originally introduced me to Pine State at least 10 years ago after seeing it featured on Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives when they just had a little hole in the wall spot off of SE Belmont and I've been ordering everything off the menu ever since at their now 3 larger locations + their spot at the Farmers Market. At this point I have a few go-tos, although occasionally I'll branch out, or let's be real, someone I'm with will order something else and I'll sneak a bite or two. It's hard to venture from my favs though because they're just THAT good. So what are my go-to's? I'm talking about the McIsley, the Pine State Fried Club and the Reggie Deluxe when I'm feeling real indulgent.

Powell's Books

Is it even a Portland trip if you don't stop by Powell's? Not in my books. Get it?! I'm a funny one... I, along with a million other people, have such a soft spot for this bookstore. It hails that it is the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world and even if it wasn't I'd still love it. The bookshelves in here just go on and on and on and I love everything about it. One of my favorite things to do when I lived in Portland (and now when I visit) is to wander the halls and find a little corner in the astrology section and check out alllll of the books. Seriously.. I used to spend hours here. It doesn't matter what kind of book you're looking for either, they're going to have it and the best selection at that. Plus they have some really awesome events take place there and all and all it's just a rad place to spend an afternoon.

Voodoo Doughnuts

Now back to food, because, well you know who's writing this right!? Another one of my favorite places to stop when I'm in Portland (or Eugene if I'm catching a Ducks game) is VooDoo Doughnuts. You can find a lot of good donuts on the west coast, sorry east coast but we win at this... and VooDoo sits at the top of my list. If you're interested in some of the other great options locally as well, Little Duck did an awesome Portland Donut Crawl blog post that's worth a read too! Personally though, if I had to only pick one, VooDoo it is. I just love the novelty and the just delicious, fun and not overly fancy flavored donuts. Solid deliciousness. Insider tip too, if you want to stand in line foreves hit up the location downtown, but if you want to get in and out with a box full of your favs and a cute Instagrammable wall then you need to hit up their NE Davis VooDoo Doughnut Too location.

NW 23rd Ave in the Alphabet District

Awww my old neighborhood! I mean I don't want to brag, actually yes I will brag for a sec, I've been pretty darn lucky to live in some of the best neighborhoods in the cities I've lived in. NW Portland, The Upper East Side in NYC, and the Stadium District in Tacoma. Heck yes! And this neighborhood, well it's truly one of my favs because it is just so stinking cute! I lived off of NW 23rd Avenue in the Alphabet District and it's one of my favorite places to spend an afternoon. When I moved there my mom called it her "happy place" and it's def still makes my list as well. Adorable shops, delicious food, and bars galore.. like what more do you need?

NW 21st Ave is a close second too being just a few avenues over too. A greattt option for nightlife too. So many fun memories and truly something for everyone! Some places I definitely always love to stop at are Saint Cupcake -- their mini cupcakes are to die for! One of the McMenamins locations for some cajun tots and Ruby beer and maybe even an extra stop at their bottle shop that's now open at the end of the ave to grab some Ruby to go too! Pssttt, we're actually getting our own McMenamins in Tacoma in 2019 and this girl is PUMPED to have one of my favorite Oregon spots so close! Wherever you go over here you really can't go wrong!

Pearl District

Last but not least, another one of my favorite neighborhoods to wander is the Pearl District. After a trip to Powell's of course! (It's nearby) I'm such a sucker for repurposed factories and industrial vibes mixed with new construction and the Pearl combines all of that. Pair that with great options for Happy Hour, art galleries and some seriously amazing food and it has me feeling a little fancy! I worked at the neighborhood Safeway while finishing up college and just fell in love with the neighborhood from day 1 and it has only expanded and grown since. So many fun places to visit and it's just a cool pocket of the city.

Now of course, there are SO many more incredible things to do, see and eat in Portland that I could write for dayssss about but these are just a few of my favs that I always try to make it to. If you have some other recs or places you think I'd like definitely drop a comment below!

Fabulous first day in Portland! After working on east coast time I had a free afternoon and evening to adventure! First thing on the agenda? Pine State Biscuits! Perhaps my very favorite place to eat in Portland! thank you Kathy for introducing me to all that is heavenly goodness. Today I got the McIsley, which is a biscuit, fried chicken, honey, mustard, and pickles. One of my favorites! The next time you are near Portland ADD THIS TO YOUR LIST! You won’t regret it. They opened a new location in Alberta too that is so cute and much, much larger than the one on Belmont. All you need to know is it’s pure amazingness and once you have one you will be dreaming about them until you have another one- true story. Anyways, I took a couple of my friends who live in Portland that actually hadn’t been yet yesterday so I have created new ambassadors and set them free. 

After getting some Pine State we headed into the city and went to my old Safeway I worked at! It was so crazy to be back. After being in New York for 10 months everyone’s houses and stores all seem huge! Yes, your house has just been upgraded to mansion status in my mind! Maybe it was just that touch of reality of how small things are in New York, ie. my room has officially been downgraded to the size of a shoebox. It was great to see the old crew though and they are keeping the place up to par. They could work on their apple stacking though.. I’m the best apple stacker on the west side though so I couldn’t expect complete perfection now that I’m not working there. 

From there we walked all over Portland. After living in New York everything seems very walkable! I pretty much walked the entire downtown of Portland last night too. Another observation is how clean and nice Portland is. They always say you don’t really appreciate things until they’re gone and I can kind of understand that now. I love New York don’t get me wrong, but it was fantastic not seeing garbage bags on the sidewalks and everything so well maintained. 

One of the first places we walked to was the Portland University of Oregon campus! Throw back! I had some very necessary business to take care of there though. Stock up on Oregon gear! My school spirit clothes were getting a little worn out so I stocked up on some t-shirts on clearance so I am ready to go for Football season in a couple of months! Like I said, totally necessary. 

Next I was off to the waterfront, Pioneer Place, back to the Pearl, and then up to NW Portland to meet up with friends for dinner and drinks. 

I mentioned in another post I was wondering how it would feel to be back. It was kind of an interesting feeling to be honest. On one hand I know I haven’t been here for 10 months and it kind of feels like a long time, but then again it feels like I was just here yesterday. When we pulled up to my friend Jacob’s house I just walked in like I always did and said, “What’s up Homie” like I was just there the day before. It was great being back with all of my friends and catching up. You know you’re really good friends when you can go 10 months without seeing each other and everything is the same as it’s always been. 

I really love Portland, I love my friends, the city, and I look forward to one day being closer so I can visit more regularly. I’m still very happy with my decision to move to New York though and feel like it’s the right place for me right now.