Beautiful Condominiums....links for decorating ideas + ++!

small flower...big impact!

So you have purchased that beautiful condominium in the city...maybe not that big.  Should you give up stylish?  I don't think so.   Retirement (55 living) can be all about style.  Downsizing or beginning small does not mean we have to live in a cluttered and less than stylish space.  I have a few links I have been gathering that give us a better image of retirement style (even clothes girls!) and living in a small space.  I thought I would give you the list of links so you can use it as a reference:

Advanced Style  I have no idea how I found this website but when I did it went onto my link list immediately.  The blog, as I understand it, began as a emulation of a blog from New York called The Satorialist (listed as one of the the top 100 design influences by Time Magazine).  Advanced Style and Satorialist writers photographs people on the street...generally beautifully dressed.  Advanced Style was born with a theme..."You are never to old to be beautiful."  You will love it!

Small Place Style  What a wonderful blog site!!! When they say one picture is worth a thousand words the truth has been spoken.  This is a discovery I will save so I can return often.

Apartment Therapy  This is a great site that keeps us abreast of what is going on in small spaces by posting photographs from readers around the country.  I have used several of these ideas myself.

The Kitchen  This blog is included in the tabs at Apartment Therapy.  Living small does not mean we need to give up a wonderful kitchen...even a very small one.  Gadgets, easy food preparation and cool tools are still ours to enjoy. The Cool Kitchen Contest pictures are worth a look...dreaming is always possible!

Re-Nest  This is a site that allows us to dream about a remodel or a new (old) purchase while staying GREEN.  Those of us that are retired came from a generation of savers/reusers!  This is perfect for us.

Unplugged  If you are a techno buff you know that when you live in a small space you need to be very creative...this is the website for you! 

Style At Home  This is a magazine website from a magazine published in Canada...the land of Candice Olson and many other wonderful designers.  I love this magazine and the website has a feature that allows you to clip the idea they post and save them in a folder on your desktop for future reference. 

Design Blog List   If you just want to roam around in the design world this is a page of links that will keep you busy...forever. 

Martha Stewart   Need I say more...there is always a wonderful idea from her people!

I am adding to this list daily...as time permits.  Do you live in a small stylish awesome place???  Let me know by leaving a link in the comments section.  I would love to visit you.

b

Sushi and Me....Portland, Oregon Metro Area Restaurant Scene

I love raw fish!  Up until a few years ago I would have never said that.  In fact, for those of us that were raised in the United States, it is somewhat of a odd taste.  Then I discovered sushi.  Here in the Portland Metro area all the malls both big and small have a sushi restaurant.  Some have more than one.  We are picking up chop sticks and using them as though we were raised in the far east.  Izakaya (sake) bars with their small plate menu are also very popular.

Here in the Orenco Station area we have a new sushi restaurant on our  main street.  Yaki Restaurant and Sake Bar was added to our neighborhood during the time we were gone to Tucson this fall.  This business also has a location in downtown Portland.  That means we can now walk a couple of block and have the choice of five different cuisines.  American, Indian, Italian, Chinese and Japanese.  A wonderful wine shop that has been in business for 7 or more years sits next to our Starbucks.  Then the New Seasons grocery boasts a deli with hot wok food as well as the normal deli food.  In the summer outdoor seating graces all of these restaurants.

In spite of all these choices we are seeking out the sushi more and more.  Within less than a six mile radius from our front door we can choose from 5 or more different Japanese restaurants.  If we travel a little further and go to down town Hillsboro, one of the best izakaya (sake) style bars in the region is located in the basement of an old Carnegie Library.  Syun Japanese Restaurant happens to be rated as the Best of City Search.  When you visit the bar, you can purchase your own bottle of sake and the bar will store it until your next visit.  We know of people that come out to Hillsboro to drink out of their very own bottle of sake and have dinner when they visit from San Fransisco!  The fact that the sushi is some of the best only adds to it's charm! 

On the City Search site mmorely2 wrote about other Izakaya (small bites) bar locations in the area.  His list of 5 locations includes Syun: 

Portland's small plates scene is changing, moving on from Spanish-style tapas to embrace izakaya, a sort of Japanese drinking establishment where free-flowing sake is accompanied by savory foods. Bites range from hand-cut ramen served in steaming broth to salty smoked anchovies and prawn meatballs. You can find this new trend taking place everywhere from a rehabbed old library building to a slick lounge, and best of all, it's cheap.

You will usually find a sparkling clean restaurant, some with rotating bars featuring small plates choices.  Many are strickly vegetarian if you prefer your food with no raw fish.  Dipping sauces are included.  The trademark for the senior life style is finding a great value.  When you add the fact that this way of eating is very healthy,  it just seems to me sake bars or Japanese restaurants should be a natural choice.  My husband and I love them.

b

More about our Orenco Station Condo

Condo for Sale: Hillsboro, Oregon

Orenco Station Condo
oreoncoopinions@gmail.com

NOTE:  SOLD  in 2011!

We have a beautiful condo for sale that has been totally renovated on the exterior (paid for) in an award winning community just blocks from the Intel campus. It is not listed at the present time so the price drops by thousands of dollars. It has two bedrooms, an office space, beautiful laminate floors and is painted with decorator colors that are sure to fit any one's needs. You can contact us at orencoopinions@gmail.com.

Hillsboro, Oregon is part of the greater Portland, Oregon metropolitan area and lies about 15 miles from the downtown core area. We live 3 block from a mass transit line that will take you to the city center in about 40 minutes (cost: 75 cents for senior citizens). We are short walk from Intel campuses.

Our subdivision is a planned community called Orenco Station. It has all the amenities...grocery, restaurants, dentists and of course the obligatory coffee shop. Not only do you get a home when you move to our area, you get a way of life.

contact me at btorris@gmail.com

b

When the Book Club Meets...

In our neighborhood there seems to be a sense of calm and sometimes it even seems empty. But when you look a little deeper, you will find we are like an ant hill, busy and out of sight.

The Ladies of Orenco Station Book Club

We didn't always live on Mango Street. Before that we lived on Loomison the third floor and before that we....
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

The Orenco Station book club met last week. It is not earth shaking news but it very interesting. We are a group of woman that gather once a month to discuss a book and how it relates to our own lives or how we find a way to connect with the book that was chosen. Because I am gone for a large part of the year I only get to attend sporadically. But each time I am struck by the diversity of this group and yet the sameness of our experiences.

I am from a lower middle class family and was raised in Eastern Oregon. Others of us were raised in British Columbia, Mississippi, the mid west, the east coast and so it goes. Some of us lived very closely with other cultures and they became a part of our lives. Others lived in cities were cultures were divided out and crossing those lines was not acceptable. But we all share, it seems, the same set of values. And we all love books!!!

One of our group will write a review for the book so I won't talk about it today. But I did want to share the reaction of our group. One lady tagged all the things she loved about the book.

It was a rainbow of a book when she finished. Another couldn't relate at all. So, as with anything we do, we all understand that because we love something, everyone else is not required to love it too.

We are currently out of books so will meet next month to replenish our list. Barnes and Noble must love groups like ours. Powell's is my choice personally because they have a great selection of used books. But wherever the books come from, they are always a challenge and worthy of our attention. But most of all they are relevant!!! I really love that.