Christiana Hedlund was born and raised in the Beautiful Pacific Northwest. A gypsy at heart, she has always been fascinated by the diversity of our world's cultures. When she's not on the road, painting, studying, or looking for new portrait subjects, you can find her locked in her studio in Portland, Oregon. Often, holding a brush in one hand and a cup of strongly brewed coffee in the other. View her talented work here, and check out her ideal day in her hometown. 

Start: A perfect day in Portland has to begin with a good cup of coffee. Our city has some of the best small batch roasters in the world. Start at Heart on E Burnside. They roast their coffee in the middle of the shop so you can take in the aroma while you sip your americano. Heart is also impeccably designed, so I like to spend a few moments just looking around for inspiration. 

Shop: Next door to Heart is one of my favorite shops in Portland, Palace. I call Palace my girly wonderland. It is an artfully curated boutique with a mix of vintage and new clothing, specialty food, organic body products, perfume, ceramics, paper goods, and artful little things. The girls that work there are lovely and French gypsy jazz is always playing.

Eat: By now you’ve probably worked up an appetite. I’d walk down the block to The Screen Door for some southern brunch. If the line is too long, and it usually is, I’d head to Broder or to their NE location Broder Nord. Broder is a Scandinavian breakfast place that is also tastefully designed and the food is always flawless.  Try the Lefse (Norwegian potato crepes) or the Aebleskiver’s (Danish pancakes) with lemon curd and lingonberry jam.

Get Moving: If it’s sunny outside I’d spend the afternoon going on a walk in Forest Park.  Forest Park is one of the largest urban-forested parks in the country. Connected to Forest Park is the Japanese Gardens, which is also very lovely and perfect for a stroll if you don’t want to hike.

West Side: If the weather is rainy, I’d stay on the west side of town and make a visit to the Portland Art Museum and Powell’s Books. PAM has a pretty solid permanent collection and a nice selection of NW Native American art. Powell’s, in the Pearl district, is dubbed Powell’s City of Books, and claims to be the largest independent new and used bookstore in the world. I could easily spend all day here getting lost in book heaven.

Dinner: Head back to SE for dinner at Pok Pok on SE Division St. Lines can be long here but it’s worth the wait to try Andy Ricker’s thai food. Some of my other favorites are Bollywood Theatre (Indian food), Le Pigeon (French), and Olympic Provisions Northwest.

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