Traditions

In a world that spins faster and faster every day, there’s no greater luxury than slowing down to a pleasurable pace. Especially during the celebratory seasons when everyone’s hustling and bustling all over the place.

We do our best around here to slow things down a bit all in the honor of traditions.

Over the years we’ve come to know what we like best.  What brings back the best memories, which makes us the most comfortable, and what makes us the most grateful. My children say that Christmases past is among some of the happiest times of their lives.

I am grateful.

These memories start to stir in September. Welcoming the change of weather I tuck away the lighter linens and bring on the layers. Come November, fresh candles, fresh greens, and baskets of pine cones ease us into the traditions of Thanksgiving. The evenings come earlier now. The aroma of comfort foods come from the kitchen and a big roaring fire change the pace and encourage lingering.

I am grateful.

December is a time to celebrate and a time to shine. Glossy holiday issues of my favorite magazines have arrived and I’m drawn in by the cornucopia of beautiful decorating, joyous entertaining, and thoughtful gifts!  I have learned a great deal from the talented stylists, photographers & designers who every year, bring a fresh look to our treetops, tabletops, and time-honored traditions. They inspire me to try new ideas, add my personal touch and make them my own.

I am grateful.

I do my best to decorate for the holidays and graciously pass these traditions along, even if it kills me!

Despite the best of intentions I somehow manage to get caught up in that hustle & bustle that I spoke of earlier and preparations run amok.

The Drummer is way too loud. The Piper has a sore throat. The Lady is still out dancing.  The Maid has quit and the Geese are quite frankly just not in the mood. Thank goodness the Lord leaps in and reminds me that there’s always next year.

These are our traditions and yes, I am grateful.

I hope the start of the holiday season finds you hustling & bustling at a pleasurable pace!

Look for The Lisa Porter Collection annual directory of Holiday Gift Guides, coming soon!

Burgundy to Portland

While looking for an escape from the heat yesterday, I found myself browsing through the vineyards of Burgundy.

 

A couple of photos caught my eye.

I clicked to learn more and found my way to Sauvie Island and the charming front porch of Wild Goose Farm.

  

  Sauvie Island is not in France, it’s located on the Columbia River 15 minutes north of Portland Oregon.

 

 

  Wild Goose Farm sits on five-acres of this agricultural heaven. Deep in lush island grass, the farm is surrounded by garden patches, beehives, chicken coops, a greenhouse & a big barn.  Can you say “sustainable?” 

 

 

   Wild Goose Farm is also home to Interior Designer Jessica Helgerson, her Eco-Architect husband Yianni Doulis and their two children.

“Tiny House” as it is often referred to, has been their home & Eco-experiment for the last several years.  Their goal was to restore its original 540 square feet using mostly reclaimed materials while creating a comfortable home for their growing family.

“As part of the remodel, the worn-out roof was replaced with a green roof, planted with moss and ferns gathered along the Columbia River Gorge. The green roof offers insulation as well as a playful visual counterpoint to the traditional white cottage.”  JHInteriorDesign

 

 

Clean & uncluttered best describes Jessica’s style. 

“For any project, her goal is to ensure that the fundamental design and the materials are classic, long-lasting, and appropriate to the building and its period. Then she likes to layer on fresh, contemporary elements—such as lighting, furniture, and art—that feel just right for the clients and for the moment.” JHInteriorDesign

Step inside the front door and find absolute charm, pure & simple.

 

 

You have to see more of this “Tiny House!”

I’ll let MARTHA STEWART LIVING  & photographer Lincoln Barbour take you on an up-close & personal tour.

Meet me back on the porch because I want to share with you a different kind of story about Wild Goose Farm.

 

Once a month Jessica & Yianni turn their farm into a kind of homestead. Long tables covered in white linen set the mood for evening dinners on the lawn to reflect their love of food, drink, and design.

 

Friends from LA, colleagues, French-speaking wine connoisseurs & families all come together for starlit evenings &  four courses of some of the best food to be found.

 

 

This feast is farm-picked & requires many helping hands. Even Jessica’s daughter does her part in cutting cucumbers fresh from their garden.

And thank goodness for the barn!

For these artisanal dinners, it becomes a regular gourmet kitchen complete with a three burner camp stove!  This beautiful barn also adds culinary charm & introduces Portlanders to talented newcomers and cooks not attached to traditional restaurants.  Wild Goose Farm began its 2011 series with chef Thomas Boyce (below, center) who spent 15 years at LA’s famed Spago restaurant under Wolfgang Puck!

 

Menu

Appetizers:

elegant oysters beneath finely grated radishes and a collection of wood-fired pizzas sporting porcinis, fava beans, and other seasonal surprises to match a honey-tinged crust. 

Course one:

Yianni Doulis’s chicken liver terrine (featuring his own chickens) to match Boyce’s rhubarb mustard and eye-popping spring salad, with each vegetable cut to reveal hidden beauty.

Course two:

breathtaking fresh pasta pinched into beautiful packets.

Course three:

expertly wood-oven-roasted salmon with skin as crispy as bacon.

 

The feast also included:

Yianni Doulis’s artisan cheese board accessorized by thoughtfulness, from wood-roasted cherries soaked in port and pinot noir.

And for dessert:

The chef's baker-star wife Kim Boyce prepared hand-folded rhubarb tartelettes! 

  Seated family-style & reflecting the bounty of the season, the feast begins.

   

Respect for the abundance and traditions of the region coupled with an appreciation of the playfulness and freshness of modern design prove that the landscape of Wild Goose Farm is just as important for creating a sense of place as is Jessica Helgerson’s Tiny House.

Visit Jessica Helgerson Interior Design to see her incredible portfolio & more of her family place in Burgundy.

Her firm does “Big Houses” too!

  

Photos & Additional Sources Courtesy of

 Lincoln Barbour Photo

 Portland Monthly Magazine - Eat Beat

 Portland Monthly Magazine – Wild Goose Farm – Sauvie Island

David L. Reamer Photography

Best of the Best

When I’m looking for the best of the best for Mr. Porter, one place I like to go to is the Robb Report online.

It’s a great source for all things new & noteworthy especially for men with great style!

Tonight I was looking at the Robb Report’s The Best of the Best 2011 for advice on picking the best cigars. On occasions when the MR. is allll relaxed & enjoying a late evening out on the patio with friends, he loves to enjoy a really good cigar.

Shhhhh…..I want to surprise him to celebrate a recent accomplishment. Padron Family reserve No. 46 might be just perfect!  Hmmm, natural or Maduro?

Now, look at who else I found relaxing on the patio.

The incredibly talented outdoor furniture designer Richard Frinier and his Drift Collection. 

What a perfect combination.  I think the only thing missing from this fabulous setting is the MR. & Me, good friends, and the Padrons!

These beautiful sectional lounge chairs, matching ottomans, and cocktail tables also from Richard Frinier’s Drift Collection are produced from plantation-grown and weathered teak. 

I first wrote about Richard & his wife Catherine here.  Catherine Frinier is principal and managing partner of  FrinierAtelier and the Richard Frinier Collection.

Like I said, the best of the best!

Just one more new & noteworthy mention.

There is another MR. PORTER!

A fabulous website!

I loved reading The Report: High Flyers about ABC’s new show, Pan Am.

Grab your Samsonite & your Ray-Ban’s and before you go, enjoy Mr. Porter’s very swell video!

Evening Dance

Here is the place where loveliness keeps house.

Between the river and the wooded hills.

Here you may meet with beauty. 

Here she sits gazing upon the moon,

or all the day tuning a wood-thrush flute,

remote, unseen;

 When the storm is out,

it is she who flits from rock to rock,

a form of flying spray,

shouting, beneath the leave's tumultuous green.

Madison Cawein 1867- 1914

Photos, Lisa Porter

From the book, A Taste of the Sweet Apple

by Joanna Holt Watson

 A man's personal male attendant, responsible

for his clothes, appearance, and manners.

  

A rack or stand to hang clothing. A box to

store a man's wallet, watches, and jewelry.

      

The MR. does not have a valet, he has a chair,

near the closet, which he uses, but not to sit on.

is also an online men's lifestyle publication.

"Updated daily, Valet offers news on fashion,

grooming and culture--in a mix of both aspirational

and approachable price-points.

 

Crafted especially for the 21st-century gentleman,

women can (and do) appreciate our charms too."

valetmag.com

I have to admit, this was supposed to be a

Son's birthday / Father's Day / MR's

birthday/tribute

but I got a bit wound up in all the celebrating &

the time slipped by.  But still, look at some of the neat guy "stuff" that I found!

I've grown to appreciate guy stuff.

Maybe it's because my daughter and I live with two guys and we think they're neat keepers! 

 

This is something that CNP & his best friend

SDC would decide to do if they got bored in

the middle of the night!

I like 

"Valet's growing reference guide of helpful style tips,

last-minute tricks and ingenious instructions for a wide

range of the modern man's dilemmas."

 

Like... how to find a good barber,

& secrets to the

perfect wet shave.

 

The Etiquette Handbook will even tell him

how to pronounce designer

names!

I don't want your MR. to get snubbed by some

snarky sales girl for messing up

Ann Demeulemeester

or Veronique Branquinho.

Now, how about his clothes?

The Clothes Handbook will help him

decipher his clothes' care labels.

"The 'care instructions,' as they're referred to, don't do

much instructing, so please allow us to decode and then

offer real-world translations."

 

Next, to baseball and barbeque, there's no

greater American summer ritual than (anyone)

washing my car.

 

The Car Handbook at Valet has a tutorial on how to Detail Your Car (in 15 minutes).

Evidently, pre-treating is the key!

I wish! 

At there are also wonderful articles

written about fascinating men & their stuff, like

this one about a Rolex that belonged to

Sir Edmund Hillary.

It was discovered on Mt. Everest!

  

Thanks for sticking around & reading my

a belated tribute to my guys.

Oh and one more thing -

If your MR. could use a solid, masculine

piece of furniture with a dash of Kennedy-era

cool. One that will not only help him stay organized, but keep his clothes fresh and the dry cleaning bills down.

Here is a beauty I

found at 1st dibs!