Planning Your Next Party

balloonsJack Elio was stuck when planning his daughter’s fourth birthday party. It was a very special event as his parents and in-laws were flying from Los Angeles just to be there.  He needed it to be perfect.  And of course, part of that is getting all the right decorations.

It so happened that his daughter is a huge fan of Hello Kitty.  One day on the bus home from work, he got chatting to Beth Sonnenfeld – a friend of a neighbor – who mentioned her company, EMBraer Paper Goods Company.  As the VP of Sales there, she knew exactly how to help him.

“She just started showing me straight away on her iPhone these awesome photos of Hello Kitty paper goods that I knew my daughter would love. It was so weird as I had just been asking my wife the day before how we could get bulk Hello Kitty goods at relatively cheap prices and there was this woman showing me exactly what I needed.”

Jack made the order that same day.  And his daughter was thrilled.  The party went off great and they even got Hello Kitty tablecloths from EMBraer Paper Goods too.  Even his mother commented on the quality of the paper goods!  A win-win for everyone!

Dragon Boat Festival

boat festivalIt’s so rocking, Portland’s Dragon Boat Festival! In its 12th year, the 2015 event saw 80 teams participating!

So we went….Daniel, me and the kids. And we had a blast. It was so cool. We went down to North Shore Lake (Tempe Town Lake Marina) set up a picnic and then watched as tons of people paddled around. Apparently there were even paddlers who came from Asia, just for the event!

While we didn’t paddle we sure made the most of the Asia-Pacific inspired entertainment. It’s a great event.

Rain Rain Go Away

rain-Just when I thought summer was finally here and that we could say goodbye to the sniffles, strep, missed work days for me and kids feeling better. Now there’s more rain about to come. Aaah!!! It’s crazy! Daniel says this happens every year around this time but it’s not true…

So now I’m going to have to start dealing with that again. Get out all the winter stuff. I knew it wouldn’t last but still, it would have been nice if the good weather would have at least taken us into the weekend!

Still, maybe we’ll use the bad weather as an opportunity to check out a new restaurant opening on Sunday – Noraneko – an interesting fusion of Japanese ramen and juice bar!

Madonna Meets Moda

by David Shankbone
by David Shankbone

Wow I feel young. I had no idea Madonna was in her late 50s. For some reason I always assumed she was somewhere around my age – mid to late 40s. But she’s not, she’s older and still going strong. In fact, we just heard that she is coming later on this year to perform here in Portland! As part of her “Rebel Heart tour” (can you really still be a rebel at 56?) she’ll be making a stop in Portland, at the Moda Center. She’s still going strong, with her 13th album. This is part of her 35-city tour.

I’m going to make sure we get to go. Tickets are going on sale sometime next week and I’m going to get Daniel to get us two. I’ve never seen her in concert and I’d just love to see how she performs live, at 56! I wonder if she has enough energy to bounce around a stage.

Apparently all those mad Madonna fans in Seattle are not happy as she’s not making a stop there. Well good is what I say. All the top performers always go there and so rarely come to us. It’s about time we had one of the cool, strong, female singers – who has been going for around three decades now – say that Portland matters. Because it does. And we do. And so do you Madonna. You sure do rock!

Superbowl Fun!

superbowlThe Superbowl was so much fun. Personally I’m not so into spectator sports (I just enjoy working out to stay fit – and of course I’m incredibly vein), but since Daniel is this year I decided to join him in the event. We got a babysitter and ended up at Henry’s 12th Street Tavern.

I have to say that even though I don’t really understand the sport so much, it really was a lot of fun. There were prizes to win at every quarter, the bar was teeming and there were 100 different types of beer choice!

Since I’m not such a beer person I was thrilled that the food was great. I started with the spinach and artichoke dip, followed by the pepper crusted salmon (that I tell you was to die for!). I was sure to leave enough room for dessert and was sure glad I did as I really enjoyed the Mud Pie Brownie Sundae. I also have to confess that I stole some of Daniel’s Warm Donut Holes when he was focused on the game!

I’ll definitely come back to this place. It was a blast.