When people write me and ask what they should do while visiting Portland, the inevitable question of where to stay usually arises. Since I live in the city and 15 minutes or less from most of the hotels I like, I’ve never really had a reason to stay overnight. Until now.

The Jupiter Hotel is a quaint boutique hotel with a mid-century modern feel. Formerly a motor inn, the Jupiter is next door to the Doug Fir, one of my favorite places in town to grab a drink and dinner. I’ve sat around the Doug Fir’s fire pit out back and watched massive parties go down at The Jupiter – it’s definitely earned a reputation of being the ‘rock and roll hotel’ of Portland.

Awhile back, the Jupiter kindly offered me a room for review – I knew the basics but before recommending it to my readers, I wanted to experience it firsthand for myself. On Friday night, we packed our bags, sent out invites to some of our closest Portland friends and drove over to our temporary digs.

The Jupiter provided us with their most popular room, The Metro. According to their site, “The Metro has space to spread out and get creative. These rooms feature 32” flat-screen TVs and modern Tomita Design desks in addition to our standard amenities: Chalkboard door, free WiFi, private bath with eco-bath amenities, queen pillow-top platform beds, down comforters and pillows, and speakers for your notebook or MP3 player.” Nice.

Perhaps the coolest part of the Jupiter rooms are the chalkboard-friendly doors. World famous artists Star and Joey helped us deck them out in some lewd finery.

Star poses in front of our handiwork. In case you were wondering, I’m responsible for the drippy boobs and drumstick.

Isn’t the desk and work area cute?

Erin and I met on our first day of high school in 1995. Still goin’ strong!

Brent, Katie and Erin joined us for the festivities.

Joey and Jason also stopped by….

Star and I compare legwear at 2 AM.

You may be asking yourself…what are some qualities that make the Jupiter unique?

• Each of the 81 rooms feature a unique theme / wall mural. Mine had a floor-to-ceiling portrait of Buddha.

• The Jupiter is very green and uses low-voltage lighting, provides guest room recycling and cleans with environmentally-friendly products.

• Besides having the Doug Fir next door, an on-site hair salon called Wack is perfect for a quick cut and massage.

• There are pet friendly rooms! Read more about the LexiDog Metro.

• The Jupiter is barely a few minutes from downtown and surrounded by a plethora of independent businesses and indie boutiques.

Overall, I was very satisfied with my stay. The room was larger than I’d expected; I loved the modern decor and huge window. And, the convenience is unparalleled since the entertainment is right next door at the Doug Fir, where you can grab breakfast, lunch, dinner and a show all in one stop! If you are hip, love to party and aren’t offended by obscenities scrawled across people’s doors in chalk, this is your place. If you’re old, stuffy and lack a sense of humor, there’s a dumpy Thriftlodge down the road.

To find out more about the Jupiter or to book a room, please visit the website. Last but not least, I should mention that there’s an after midnight $59.00 special if you’re needing a last minute place to crash!

A few weeks ago, I was contacted by Amy, a stylist at Oscar + Fitch, a hip & fashionable eyeglasses boutique in Edinburgh, Scotland. She wanted to know if I would like to try a pair of their glasses and I excitedly agreed.

Though I have perfect vision, I enjoy wearing non-prescription glasses for some added style. After discussing options with Amy, I came to the conclusion that I didn’t want the frames I chose to be too normal in style; I wanted something a bit funkier so that it didn’t look like I was wearing reading glasses around town!

This girl knows what she’s doing. After viewing a few of my photos, she recommended a style (mod 2087) that turned out to fit my face perfectly upon arrival. I’ve always liked the geek chic frames, but on my small features, they sometimes look like big old safety glasses!

The style I chose comes in multiple colors, but I stuck with a very basic scheme which is black on the front and tortoise shell on the sides (you can see close-ups of them here and here). It goes without saying that the craftsmanship is amazing. After having so many pairs of cheap chain store glasses, I immediately could tell the difference in the quality of the frames, the smoothness of the heavy duty hinges and overall fit.

Sometimes when a company offers you a trial of their products, the results are less than extraordinary (over the years, there have been a lot of items that I’ve refused to review based on lackluster quality and service). In this case, I can 100% back not only the quality, style and selection of Oscar + Fitch, but also their impeccable customer service. Amy and I did all of our correspondence through email with frame numbers flying back and forth and I got exactly what I’d hoped for. I almost forgot to mention…not only did I get the glasses that I’d originally requested but also another unexpected surprise; a custom pair of super mod sunglasses which I will be sharing with you soon!

Oh and dear readers, conveniently enough, Oscar + Fitch is running a special this month over at eye heart glasses so that you can get your very own O+F frames at a reduced price!

P.S. The 40s-era blouse that I’m wearing in the above photos was a gift from online vintage mecca and client Monster Vintage. I love it so much!