50 Reasons to Love Winter

50 Reasons to Love Winter Don't let the cold months put you in a funk. We've come up with 50 cool ways to welcome winter from secret saunas and midnight snowshoes to luxurious drinking chocolates.

In this issue:

Arts & Culture

DO THIS NOW

Off Hours: January 2011

How to spend your free time this month

12/22/2010 By Zach Dundas

READ

30 seconds with… Richard Settersten

Oregon State professor and coauthor of Not Quite Adults, on slow-starting twentysomethings.

12/22/2010 By Zach Dundas

Mudroom

The Perfect Party: January 2010

People we’d most like at our dinner table this month

12/22/2010

Portland Monthly Presents

State of the Game

Legal or not, Oregon gambling is an ancient tradition

12/21/2010 By Meghan Hilliard, Veronica Martin, and Martin Patail

Culturephile

Something About Mary

White Bird’s Uncaged dance series lets loose a Portland treasure

12/21/2010 By Barry Johnson

Long Story [Short]

The Queen

The reigning Miss Oregon gives us a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the world of pageantry.

12/21/2010 By Lauren Fox

PDX Index

'Portlandia' by the Numbers

How many stylists, pigeons, and undersize sweaters did the show need to skewer Portland?

12/16/2010 By Georgia Perry

Mudroom

Word on the Street: January 2010

This month's word: tofu, n.

11/06/2010

Eat & Drink

EAT HERE NOW

Introducing: ROOST

After working at high-end East Coast restaurants and jet-setting as a personal chef to celebrity clients, Roost's Megan Henzel was primed for a return to minimalism.

12/23/2010 By Rachel Ritchie

Wine

Cellar Notes: January 2011

There are deals to be had with winter wines.

12/22/2010 By Condé Cox

Pour

Are Homemade Sodas the Next Artisan Drinking Frontier?

Kick off 2011 with a taste of Portland’s most innovative zero-proof beverages.

12/22/2010 By Rachel Ritchie

Savor

Great Grains

Not quite rice and not quite pasta, farro is just right for winter meals

12/22/2010 By Deena Prichep

Review

Ocean's Heaven

Fin steers Portland’s seafood scene in a bold new direction

12/21/2010 By Karen Brooks

Editor's Note

Editor’s Note

Bridge of Sighs

The rush-hour creep between Vancouver and Portland could lead almost anyone to conclude that traffic on the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River will only get worse.

12/22/2010 By Randy Gragg

Health & Wellness

Corner Shop

Board Room

One of Portland’s oldest outdoor gear retailers launches a specialty snowboard shop

12/22/2010 By Eden Dawn

Mudroom

Relay to Reel

How a new documentary captured the epic essence of Hood to Coast

12/22/2010 By Rachel Ritchie

Trail of the Month

Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge

The Ridgefield wildlife complex includes more than 5,200 acres of marshes, ponds, sloughs, and lakes; a welcome sight to a staggering array of migratory birds.

12/22/2010 With Brian Barker

HEALTH & WELLNESS

Oregon's Pre-Existing Condition

Freelancers may love Portland’s creative lifestyle, but when it comes to getting insurance, only the healthy need apply.

12/21/2010 By Hannah Wallace

WHAT'S UP, DOC?

Top Doctors 2011

For the sixth year, we bring you our annual selection of Portland's best physicians—292 doctors in 59 specialties—as chosen by their peers.

12/15/2010

Home & Real Estate

Mudroom

The Silver Lining

A bold downsprout design makes winter’s deluge…fun?

12/22/2010 By Georgia Perry

Dig

Winter Tool Maintenance

Your Monthly Garden Tip

12/22/2010 By Kate Bryant

IN ORBIT

Trading Spaces

A Portland State scientist takes his skills from NASA to rural Africa.

12/22/2010 By Julian Smith

News & City Life

Mudroom

The Best of Times

As a new year begins, we salute all that’s going well (Seriously!)

12/22/2010 By Zach Dundas

Article

The Edge Ledger

A quick guide to the odds of Oregon’s casino games (and how to tilt them in your favor)

12/16/2010 By Martin Patail and Ali Moran

Salem 2011

Friends With Benefits

As a divided Oregon Legislature convenes, relationships—between people, not parties— could decide the state’s future

12/16/2010 By Randy Gragg and Zach Dundas

Style & Shopping

Rainmaker: Profiles in Profit

Dollars & Scents

The crafty couple behind Pacifica’s fragrant creations

12/22/2010 By Kasey Cordell

Emerging Designer

Alicia Wood Weaves Family and Earthy Elegance into Every Ensemble

Surrounded by kids and chickens while collaborating with her husband, the designer sews family into every seam.

12/21/2010 By Eden Dawn

COZY UP

50 Reasons To Love Winter

Do Portland's dark months have you feeling blue? Let us and Heidi, the new Timberline puppy come to the rescue with 50 great ways to ward off the wet and chill.

12/15/2010 With Brian Barker

Travel & Outdoors

video

Heidi the St. Bernard’s Photo Shoot

Timberline’s new puppy, Heidi, is our No. 1 Reason to Love Winter

12/22/2010 By William Anthony