Picnics All Year Long

Like many people, I developed an unexpected hobby-slash-obsession during the pandemic: picnics. What started with a mild fascination for cheese and charcuterie boards quickly spiraled into living room picnics, and eventually, full-on outdoor picnicking adventures of every kind.

In spring, you’ll find me sprawled out at Laurelhurst Park. By early summer, I’m perched near the Mt. Tabor reservoir. And come late summer, I’m basking on the sandy shores of Sauvie Island. Each season, each spot, has its own vibe — and I’m here for all of them.

Naturally, my picnic gear has grown to match my enthusiasm. I now own four picnic baskets: one shaped like a watermelon (because why not?), two classic rectangular ones, and one charmingly round. My blanket collection is just as curated: two cozy wool blankets for parks and two beach-friendly options. And let’s not forget my arsenal of containers — at least four — for cheese, charcuterie, and whatever else the picnic gods inspire me to bring.

When it comes to picnic provisions, my go-to is Providore Fine Foods Market. Their sandwiches, cheeses, charcuterie, and sweets never disappoint. Lately, though, I’ve been mixing it up: sampling treats from other bakeries, experimenting with tin fish boards (a whole vibe of their own), and even attempting to craft my own sandwiches.

This post is a celebration of these post-pandemic years of picnicking — and the pure joy of embracing a simple, delicious, outdoor tradition. Here's to more baskets, more blankets, and many more perfect bites shared under open skies.

All kinds of Providore sandwiches

Backyard picnic

Japanese sandwich and musubi picnic

Typical basket on a solor trip

Bakery haul for the picnic

The round table in action

Russian caviar picnic

Providore's cheese and meat board

Typical set up

Grand Stark Outfit

I have fallen behind on outfit posts. This blog used to just be a record of all the clothing I wore and made, and then it morphed intro a record of travel and life abroad and now I'm not sure what it is. 

I don't get to go out very often, and I dress up even less, but when I do, I try to take pictures and record it here. 

Here is one from last winter that I really love. 

Coat: vintage, from Grandma

Scarf: from my mom

Shoes: thrifted

Pink dress: Target

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

Lunch date in downtown

 Checked out a cool Japanese restaurant in downtown and used it as an excuse to dress up.

Coat: Thrifted

Pants: Uniqlo

Scarf: Dog ascot from Mexico

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

When the curtain came up: The "End" of the Pandemic

The sign greeting us at our favorite cafe, June 30, 2021

I must have begun writing this post 20 times. Of course the pandemic has not ended - only the restrictions on the pandemic have been listed. 

The “end” of the pandemic is a goalpost that keeps moving back, but after several starts and stops, the end of restrictions is something I can finally document. 

First attempt I want to document was in June 2021. I wrote of it in my diary here:

“On June 30th Oregon opens back up. That means no masks, no social distancing, no capacity limits. It feels incredible. I am so excited. We have sacrificed so much, and like Camus [from The Plague] we are finally emerging from the walled village. It you had told me back in March 2020 that we would not 'open up' again until June 2021, I would have despaired, but now I have survived the 'long winter”'[Game of Thrones reference] and we are on the other end of it. I will travel this year to Mexico with my friends one day. I will go out to bars and clubs again. I will return to this life I love.”

Then on June 30th my family ventured out to our favorite café where we had not been in so long:

“This morning we walked to Good Coffee, not knowing what we would find. The COVID-19 restrictions lifted on June 30th - the official end to quarantine. No masks, no social distancing, no capacity limited. I didn’t know if Good Coffee would be any different, but it was. No one wore a mask inside. The indoor tables were open. Two dudes were sitting there on their laptops. We three sat at favorite table and ate croissants and scones. The bathroom was open, the plexiglass and 6-ft floor markers were gone. It felt like before, only better, because now I will never take it for granted. I will return to all my favorite cafes and restaurants and indulge in drinking lattes from a cup. I will love seeing strangers dressed up on the city streets. I will dress up too. Life, we are back. The pandemic is not over, other countries are still wrestling with high numbers and other states in the US are struggling with the delta variant from India. We don’t know how immune we will be for how long. But I wanted to capture here, for an eternal, the timeline of the end of quarantine in Portland, OR:

March 16, 2020 to June 30, 2021"

Unfortunately it was not to be. Masks came back on July 26, 2021 (my birthday) and then a summer wave of infections came, followed by another in winter. In Portland we didn’t go on lockdown again, but I know some countries did. It would be another 9 months for us before masks came off, in March. 

At the time of this writing, I am on a flight with no masks, though I have two in my carry-on just in case things are different in Europe. But I still face a risk of infection, and presently, if I test positive for COVID-19 I would be unable to enter the US – something I seriously fear. Is this the end? If not, when will it be? When will COVID-19 be something we no longer fear? 

Winter Errands

Went out to run some errands and used it as an excuse to wear this awesomely gaudy sweater and my new Mansur Gavriel tote. 

Jacket: Vintage from Goodwill
Sweater: Vintage from a thrift store 
Pants: Uniqlo
Shoes: Vintage
Scarf: Made by my mom
Bag: Mansur Gavriel

Date night in the pandemic

Right before the Omicron variant created a second wave of panic, I got reservations at Voysey, an underground speakeasy. It had been so long since I went out that I dressed up for the occasion. 

Coat: Vintage from Goodwill

Shirt: Guess

Suit: St. John

Bag: Mansur Gavriel

Bar life in the pandemic

Over the summer we had a rare and beautiful month of no pandemic restrictions. My friend and I took advantage of our newfound freedom and met for drinks at Raven's Manor, a zany horror-themed bar in downtown. For a brief moment, it felt like everything was back to normal again.

Dress: Zara

Bag: Chanel

Tropicale in Winter

Tropicale became my instant new favorite restaurant in 2020. They opened bravely in June of that year with all outdoor seating. If you didn't get there early, the seats would be taken and there would be a line around the block. I loved the vibe of summer, but also insisted on going there in winter when the crowds thinned and I had my pick of seats. 

Jacket: thrifted

Shirt: American Apparel

Skirt: Zara

Shoes: Target

Bag: Louis Vuitton 

Cherry Blossom Season in Portland

In 2021 I got to experience cherry blossom seasons twice - once in Seattle and once in Portland. We got lucky with a warm sunny day. In Portland the cherry blossoms come at a time when the weather is so cold and rainy - it can be hard to find a nice day to experience them. Typically we only get one or two nice days in the entire time they are blooming. Whenever I woke up to a nice day during cherry blossom season, I would skip work just to go down by the waterfront and sit under them. Now that I work for myself, this is both easier and harder to do. 

Jacket: J. Crew

Shirt: Uniqlo

Pants: Uniqlo

Necklace: vintage

Sunglasses: American Apparel

New Normal: Cafe Favorites To Go

Since the pandemic started I've been ordering takeout from restaurants far more frequently than I ever did when I dined in them. 

I felt like it was my duty to try to keep my favorite restaurant afloat in these hard times, but then I realized that all the good cafes were missing out. I'd been drinking coffee at home (I order beans from a local roaster), thus neglecting to patron the many wondering cafes in Portland. 

I wondered how they must be holding up. Sure, it's easy to order coffee and lattes to go - we were doing that before the pandemic - but it doesn't make much sense to have them delivered. 

So since the cafes were missing out on all my delivery orders, and since I had made it a routine to drink coffee at home, I decided to deliberately set about ordering lattes and avocado toasts from my favorite places. 

Cup & Bar 

Fairlane Coffee

Favela Brazillian Cafe

Guilder Cafe

Keeper Coffee & Cafe Rowan

Proud Mary

Upper Left Roasters