Portland Sampler

Finding beauty and delight in life’s little pleasures

  • Home
  • About
    • Who Am I?
    • What Is Portland Sampler?
  • Recipes
  • Archive
  • Contact
  • Search this website
You are here: Home / Eat Portland / GIRLS’ WEEKEND IN PORTLAND: MY TOP 6 MUSTS

GIRLS’ WEEKEND IN PORTLAND: MY TOP 6 MUSTS

February 22, 2018

Flower in Snow Portland

If, like me, you are either set to host a gaggle of gals in Portland (or you’re planning to touch down here soon), here’s a recent round-up of tips from this past weekend, replete with old favorites (plus a few new finds).

This weekend we were fortunate to host a dear friend of ours from S.F. who’d never been up to Portland with her girls. Kate has been a dear friend of my sister Polly forever, and I got to know her a bit twenty years ago when we both lived there. We’d hang out with Polly and she’d often show up for my cooking classes.

I was so happy to reconnect with her this past October when my sister and I hung out in S.F– and Charlotte got to meet Kate’s two lovely daughters, Grace and Nora.

Charlotte and Pals

The three girls hit it off like gangbusters from the get-go and even though they only spent one dinner together this fall, they’ve stayed in touch and Kate surprised them with a trip up here as a Christmas present.

The five of us have been texting each other for the past month about ideas– and they finally descended here this past weekend and stayed until Tuesday night.

Despite the dodgy weather (it snowed twice briefly– a rarity here),

Back steps off house Portland snow

we packed it in and had a blast.

So with the joyous memories of our trip still fresh in my mind, here are my 6 Tips for the Perfect Girly Girl Weekend in Portland.

ONE. Start your time off right — Stock a Mini Bar.

Honor Bar, Girls Weekend

Hear me out.

Honor Bar can mean anything and doesn’t have to be mostly boozy like at hotels; our version involved some of their known favorites (like salted dark chocolate caramels) and Peanut M & M’s plus other treats like Pringles, dried Satsumas and mango, salted almonds and cheese puffs (with San Pellegrino Italian sodas for the girls and Kombucha and red wine for the ladies).

Here’s what our Honor Bar looked like.

Honor Bar, Girls Weekend

IMG_8007

If you’re hosting, it’s easy to pull together some treats and put them on a tray but if you’re headed to a hotel, don’t let that location stop you. Just be sure to bring along some special things that you can nibble at back in the room without putting a serious dent in your wallet (damn those tiny portions and huge price tags!).

Also, think both savory and sweet — a good jar of salted cashews or local tortilla chips are just as desirable late night as a good chocolate bar (just saying).

Juanita chip up close

You can also add to your treat station as you travel around the city, making your purchases part of the on-going feast that is Portland.

IMG_8008

TWO. Pick one favorite item you like to eat — and deep dive that category.

Because tweens constituted the majority of our girl gang, donuts were a request and we hit a couple places while there.

First we hit the high end, fancy version at Blue Star Donuts.

Charlotte and Grace at Blue Star Donuts Portland

Blue Star Donuts Portland

We picked up a variety here

Blue Star Donuts Portland

and over the next 24 hours we enjoyed them, first in the car, cut into little pieces on trays and enjoyed alongside Little Big Burger‘s outstanding Truffle Fries (donuts and fries were an inspired snack combo, if I do say so myself)

Gingham Tray and Blue Star Donuts

and more tastes the next morning alongside some spectacular chicken breakfast sausages I wanted them to try.

Girls weekend Blue Star Donuts

The next day we took a different path to donut exploration with a stop at Pip’s Donuts— a perennial favorite of every single person who visits me here.

pips Donuts, Girls Weekend

Is it because the place is so cute?

Pips Donuts Portland Girls weekend

Their Chai so extraordinary?

Pip's Original Donuts, Portland PDX

Or that their petite, made-to-order donuts are as adorable as they are addictive?

Pip's Original Donuts, Portland PDX

Either way, Pips was also a hit — and so fun to compare to the very-different Blue Star.

Other great foods to compare-and-contrast here in Portland might be burgers, croissants, or sandwiches. Or poke or fried chicken. And then there’s always ice cream, another thing we do very, very well in Portland.

Ice Cream Cones at Wiz Bang Bar

Oh, yes, we did that too with a stop off at Wiz Bang Bar.

Girls Weekend Ice Cream Cones at Wiz Bang Bar

Sesame chocolate topped soft serve and a Coffee Caramel and Coffee Toffee topped Affogato?

Yes, pretty please.

Salt and Straw Wiz Bang Bar Portland

THREE. Allow some time to explore Portland walking around— regardless the weather.

Don’t remain on the inside looking out.

Girls Weekend and watching snow

Just check out this weekend’s rainbow.

Rainbow over Bridge Portland

It feels like we experienced fall, winter and spring within the three and a half days we shared, but no matter — it was all fun.

We hit the PSU Farmer’s Market— one of my favorite things about Portland.

Girls at Farmers Market PSU

Between drizzles we also hit the Tilikum Crossing. The views are so great and because it is car-less, it’s so much quieter and more enjoyable to walk than our other bridges.

Tilikum Crossing Bridge Portland

It felt like the weather changed every few minutes: sun one minute, gray skies and a light downpour the next.

Tilikum Crossing Portland

(It was so wonderful to see our daughters fall so easily into friendship and easy, drama-less conversations.)

We also hit some parks like Wilshire which felt moody and atmospheric with the recent snowfall.

Girls Weekend WIlshire Park Snow

Girls + snow = FUN.

GIrls Weekend Portland

FOUR. Try to discover something new in Portland together.

My friend Kate is an art teacher hence we share a love of all things crafty, so I decided it’d be fun to check out a few new-to-us-both places.

Both crafter-extraordinaire Laurie and neighbor Linda  recommended we go to K. Marie in next-town-over Milwaukie, and wow.

K. Marie Vintage Crafting Store Milwaukee

It turns out this place is a mixture of retail shop and workshop for private crafty events, and I could not have been more in love with the aesthetic and offerings here.

K.Marie Art Store, Milwaukee

Kate and I both flipped over the particulars here. The vintage chenille stems! The old crepe paper! All the little pieces of ephemera!

K. Marie Craft Store Milwaukee

I can’t believe it’s taken me so long to visit this place, and I have this visit to thank for that.

We also stopped by the candy store Enchante right next store.

Enchante Candy Store Milwaukee

It’s too simplistic really to call it a candy store; think of it more as a beautiful French feverish dream in which divine chocolates and confections rub shoulders with gorgeous tabletop items.

Oversized jars brimming with silvery treats. Cafe au lait bowls and Parisian inspired glassware and spectacular party supplies.

Enchante Candy Store Milwaukee Portland

Oy, this store.

Enchante Candy Store Portland

I could have emptied our bank account buying everything I lusted at in these two stores, but somehow I managed to keep my purchases small — this time.

Crafty Items from K. Marie and Enchante Milwaukee

FIVE. Head to two of my favorite Portland institutions: Powell’s Books and Elephants Delicatessen.

Powell's Book Carts, Portland

First off, I don’t know anyone who isn’t bowled over by this bookstore and doesn’t want to park themselves here for hours.

For those not familiar, Powell’s Books is allegedly the largest bookstore in the world, and it occupies one whole city block. Not only is it filled with new books but it also has used and vintage/collectible titles as well some toys, gifts and novelties.

In a word, it’s amazing.

Many of my favorite cookbooks have come from here.

cookbooks from powell's bookstore

Our friends got a huge stack of books to take home and they insisted on buying me the book I was eyeing.

Thank you, ladies — something tells me this book is going to fit right in.

small victories cookbook from powell's bookstore

And another place we had to show them was Elephants Deli on NW 23rd.

Elephant's Deli, Portland

Now usually I’d take people there to grab a casual bite but we had food carts on the brain and I just wanted my pals to see it.

It’s such a lovely spot and even if you don’t have the time or stomach space to dive into one of the wood-fired pizzas, grilled sandwiches, signature Tomato-Orange Soup or Grilled Fish Tacos (to name just a few of the items that they do really well)

Fish Tacos at Elephants Deli

pop in to pick up a sweet for later or a lovely hostess gift.

Elephants is a family run place that’s been around since the late 70’s but even now this marble-bedecked space looks both modern and homey at the same time.

Whoever is doing their displays

Elephants Deli, Portland

and buying for their tabletop and gift section should be given a round of applause — it’s all so well-curated and beautiful to look at.

Again, I wanted to buy so much but I ended up buying just some pretty sparkly bracelets for the girls and some French cutlery from Sabre, a big fave of mine (and hard to find in this country).

Sabre Flatware from Elephants Deli Portland

And lastly, no Girls Weekend would be worth its weight without a visit to one of our most appealing attractions.

SIX. Hit a food cart at least once.

Nong's Khao Man Gai Food Truck, Portland

We had so little time and ate so many delicious meals both out and at home

Pomegranate Blackberry Smoothie Bowls

that we only had time to hit the trucks for one meal and it was our last one together.

Bing Mi Food cart Downtown Portland Girls weekend

The weather conditions (cold, raw and sloshy) meant only half the downtown carts at 9th and Alder were open but no matter; we were still rewarded with some good grub which we ended up bringing home.

Food Carts Portland

Eating food carts Portland at home

I’m not going to go into which food cart in town is best; there is neither the room here nor am I that familiar with the full breadth of trucks currently available.

I will say, though, that if you find yourselves downtown, this is my current favorite: Bing Mi.

Bing Food Cart Portland

This cart does only one thing, this savory crepe. Apparently they are a type of Chinese street food that are made to order and filled with black bean paste, a whole cooked egg, green onion, hot sauce and a spicy wonton cracker and they are FLIPPING delicious… every single time.

Sad thing is though, before we knew it, we only had time for a little more crafty and spa time

Christmas Cracker Kit Crafty Girls Weekend

before it was time to wrap it up.

Making Poppers for Girls Weekend

It felt like we had just begun to really hunker in — doing crafts,

homemade poppers portland

tucking into the snacks at our Honor Bar and things we had brought home

Girls Weekend Cutlery

and I still felt bad about not allowing enough time at our (and now their) treasured hot-spot, Collage.

Washi Wall at Collage Portland

But alas, our time had run out on this trip.

And so with a last hug — we said adieu to our dear foodie/crafty/Rom-Com loving gal pals.

girls weekend doing crafty Portland

Thank you for everything, ladies– the book, the ice cream, the spa products and those amazing loaves from Josie’s– my avocado toast isn’t the same without it.

Avocado Toast Portland

And after these last tough weeks, we needed this love and laughter so much.

So until the next time, friends, we will hold our memories of you close.

Snow Day with heart snowball Portland

Come back soon! XO.

Filed Under: Eat Portland, Favorite Portland Outings, Favorite Portland Products, Pure Portland, Shop Portland

« SALTED CHOCOLATE CHUNK SHORTBREAD AND VALENTINE’S DAY
LATE WINTER GOODWILL OUTLET FINDS »

Comments

  1. K Todd says

    February 23, 2018 at 3:20 am

    The correct spelling of the “next town over” you refer to in this article is Milwaukie

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      February 23, 2018 at 7:03 am

      By gum, you’re right! I thought the spelling was the same as the town in Wisconsin, but a quick search proves you are right. I’ve switched the “e” to an “i”. Thanks for the catch!

      Reply
  2. Paula says

    February 23, 2018 at 4:51 pm

    I found your blog a few weeks ago….can I just say…you are lovely. Your love for life shines through your writing plus I get to see more of Portland. I used to live near the coast and have retired to eastern washington
    Even though I love it here, I will always miss Portland. I have made your chocolate buttermilk/orange cake several times. Added mini chocolate chips. Thank you for taking time from you life to share it with me.

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      February 23, 2018 at 9:42 pm

      Thanks, Paula! You made my day with your sweet note. XO, Sarah

      Reply
  3. Kate Visser says

    February 23, 2018 at 5:25 pm

    Oh-this captures the few days we had with you just perfectly! Thank you my friend. It is a trip we will always hold dear. XO

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      February 23, 2018 at 9:44 pm

      Kate, Charlotte and I are missing you said missing you something awful! What a supersonic girls vacay. Come back soon! – S.

      Reply
  4. Lisa says

    February 24, 2018 at 4:34 am

    Thanks for this. I’ve lived here two years and didn’t know about most of these things. It’s crazy that I walk past Elephants ALL THE TIME and have never gone inside! I assumed it was just a sit down restaurant. Silly me. I’ll try to be better.

    So, I have a few new things to check out. I look forward to it!

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      February 24, 2018 at 3:53 pm

      Hi,Lisa! Wow — you have Elephants to look forward to! I’d say all of the food is a solid B to B+ with a few items hitting an A. The thing that is so great about it is that the space is so pretty, the breadth of offerings so unusual, and I love the set up with shared seating and grab and go counters. Be sure to take a look at the housewares and cheeses and charcuterie in the back, and if it’s crowded, see if the room with the fireplace in the back is open for sitting. Be sure to get the garlic fries — so crispy and yummy and large enough to share. Let me know what you think!

      Reply
      • Lisa says

        February 24, 2018 at 5:24 pm

        Will do! My son says he’s been there with friends. He doesn’t remember anything about tabletop displays, but he thinks the mac and cheese is solid. Ha! Priorities!

        I think I’m equally excited about visiting K. Marie.

        Reply
  5. Laurie Romanaggi says

    February 24, 2018 at 4:07 pm

    Absolutely a perfect weekend! Glad you hit Milwaukie and it looked as if your guests thoroughly enjoyed their visit (how could they not?). The snapshots of the teen girls…all those giggles and smiles…what happy memories for them.

    Reply
    • Sarah Kline says

      February 24, 2018 at 4:48 pm

      Thanks, Laurie, for the tips — it was such a wonderful time and I can’t remember the last time I smiled so much — or laughed so hard!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Connect With Us

  • Email
  • Instagram

Copyright © 2025 · Portland Sampler