everyday allegra » Allegra - Portland lifestyle blogger with a love for travel, vegan food, houseplants and the perfect cup of tea.

Travel Highlights: Southern Italy

Beyond my Italian name and my great-grandmother’s lasagna recipe, I grew up without knowing much about my family’s background. So traveling to Southern Italy with my family this summer was an absolute dream.

We flew into Naples and made our way to the Villa Poseidon Boutique Hotel in Salerno. We spent the day relaxing after the flight, enjoying the pool, drinking wine, and eating pizza. It was the perfect way to kick things off.
The hotel offered fresh pizza made in their outdoor wood oven. They even had a vegan option with marinara, olive oil, and fresh basil. It looks simple, but was probably one of the best pizzas of my life!
The next day, we made our way south. We arrived in Fiumefreddo Bruzio, a picturesque hilltop town in the province of Cosenza. Our Airbnb was over 400 years old, and basically felt like we were living in a castle.The view from the roof was everything!There are about 150 residents in the village, and just one restaurant, but they hope to bring more tourism to the area soon. I loved walking around and enjoying a more peaceful way of life.The graffiti above reads “Enter here and dream.”
The restaurant in the village was excellent, with options for omnivores and vegans alike.
Our Airbnb host helped pick out our vegan dishes, including bruschetta topped with local veggies, fresh pesto, and a potato cake dish special to this region.
I loved our short time in Fiumefreddo Bruzio and hope to make it back again some day!

Our next adventure was the main reason for our trip: Visiting Conflenti, the town my great-grandparents grew up in. Southern Italy Travel set us up with an ancestry tour to trace our family history. We started our day at the city hall to learn more about our family tree. It was so special to see the birth certificates and records of my dad’s grandparents.
Our guide, Stephano, created an amazing itinerary. There were so many highlights, like seeing the homes where my great-grandfather was born, the church where he was baptized, the tiny family farm, and so much more.A restaurant in town created an incredible meal for us, and local musicians came to share some of the traditional music and instruments of Conflenti. I loved sitting down with Stephano and hearing more about the culture and political climate in Italy.Another surprise was meeting a second cousin, Tonino. He and his wife welcomed us into their home for more coffee and treats, and shared some beautiful family photos with us.
Being able to walk where my great-grandparents walked and see the views they saw, was absolutely surreal. I only wish we’d planned another few days here!Looking forward to sharing part two of our trip soon! xo

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Karam | Portland Lebanese Deli

Eating Lebanese food brings up so many memories, as it’s always been my go-to in times of celebration and comfort. I can’t even count the number of falafel sandwiches shared with friends and family over the years. When I heard Karam was opening a second location, I jumped at the chance to check it out.
The space is in the heart of downtown Portland, and beautifully designed with plenty of space for family-style gatherings. I actually had my rehearsal dinner at a tiny Lebanese restaurant (which sadly closed down last year), but I imagine this space would be perfect for similar special events. Karam prepares everything from scratch with the freshest ingredients. You can dine in or take anything to go from their huge selection of dishes and dessert at their deli counter.
I was thrilled to see so many vegan and gluten-free options, including gluten-free pita. I originally had my heart set on a falafel sandwich, but I’m so happy Karam convinced me to try the Grand Veggie Mezza. It gave me the chance to sample so many of their dishes. It comes with hummus, tabouli, falafel, veggie grape leaves, arnabeet, batenjan, and majadra with a side of tahini sauce.
Everything tasted so fresh! It’s hard to pick a favorite dish, but I couldn’t get enough of the Arnabeet (fried cauliflower) and Majadra (basmati rice & lentils topped with caramelized onions). Karam was so kind to send me home with a some vegan baklava too. It was heavenly! The desert options for vegans or anyone with allergies is really impressive. Karam’s grand opening is January 13th and 14th. There will be tons of prizes, free samples, and discounts – including $3 falafel sandwiches! The Grand Veggie Mezza I ordered today will also be served at a discounted price, so definitely bring your friends to sample everything. You can check out more info on their website, or follow them on Instagram.
Until next time!

Allegra

Wholism | Portland Plant-Based Eatery

This week I got to check out Wholism, a new vegetarian eatery that opened up on Hawthorne. Everything on the menu is gluten-free, grain-free, and refined sugar-free. With the exception of eggs, it’s also entirely plant-based/vegan.The space and menu are definitely designed with Instagram in mind. You’ll find plants galore, gold cutlery, cute teacups, and everything topped with edible flower petals. There are plenty of tables, enough for large groups, and a coloring corner for kids or adults. I enjoyed a rose and hibiscus latte, not too overpowering or sweet. My friend Kirsten had a cardamum and saffron latte. Both were super creamy, made with a coconut-almond milk blend. I was blown away with how colorful and beautifully presented each dish was! My absolute favorite was the avocado toast, made on fresh gluten-free focaccia. We also shared the Turmeric Coconut Waffle. The coconut, turmeric, fruit, chocolate and corn created a contrasting combo of sweet and savory. The Blue Majik Smoothie Bowl was not the most flavorful dish, but what a showstopper with that amazing color!Unique ingredients like chlorella, cordyceps, dragon fruit, reishi, maca, and gingko will appeal to superfood lovers, but also bring the price point up. I’m not exactly a “health food” vegan, but Kirsten was definitely geeking out over all the superfoods and adaptogens on the menu! Thank you so much to Wholism for the beautiful meal!

Meditation Apps for Anxiety

“Fall shows us how beautiful it is to let things go.”

I love this quote. Letting go is something I’ve always had difficulty with. I often think over past situations and run “what if” scenarios. I ruminate over old memories or disappointments and all those bad feelings rush over me. Sometimes it helps me learn and reflect, but often it just brings me into a negative space.

It might be my anxiety, but I’ve always found it hard to escape my thoughts. If something pops into my head I can’t help but tug at it and see where it goes. In the past, my trick was to drown it out with any kind of distraction – make myself super busy, blast music, never let my hands be still or the house be quiet. But that only works for so long.

Some friends suggested meditation. When I first tried it, I thought it was brutal and I told myself it wasn’t for me. I hated the quiet, and I couldn’t even make it five minutes without wanting to check my phone. Maybe that should have told me how much I needed it!

The past few months my anxiety was getting worse, and I decided to try it out again. There are a lot of meditation apps, so I did free trials of a few. Having a guide really helps, and there are a lot of was to customize the experience though each app. The option to add background music or nature sounds made a huge difference for me.

My two favorite apps are Simple Habit and Calm. I found Simple Habit the most convenient, and Calm the most helpful for my type of anxiety.

Simple Habit has a lot of categories and the ability to pick the length of each session. There’s even an “on the go” section where you can click how much time you have, and what’s going on (ie. “Feeling frustrated,” “can’t sleep,” etc.) For the most part it’s very user-friendly, and I appreciate that it doesn’t stress a certain way to sit or breathe during meditation.Calm is the app I decided to buy a subscription for. The meditations give a lot of guidance and teach strategies for dealing with different issues. Instead of just a few minutes of peace, I found myself feeling better and using the strategies I learned throughout the day.

Another selling point for me was the Sleep Stories. They have a huge library of narrated stories to help you drift off. If I wake up in the middle of the night, I have such hard time turning my brain off. These stories work magic!

The best thing I’m learning through meditation is how to deal with anxious thoughts. Normally a thought would pop in my head and I would pull at it, argue with it, and think over every possible scenario surrounding it. Now I’m learning to notice these thoughts, and let them pass on their way.

I’m seeing so much progress already, and I’m hoping with more practice I’ll learn to let things go easier. If you have experience with meditation or recommendations for apps, I’d love to hear!

xoxo

This post was not sponsored. I just wanted to share something that’s genuinely helping me.

Moberi | NW Portland Smoothie Bar

Happy Monday! Over the weekend I got to check out Moberi’s brand new flagship location. Moberi is known for their bike-powered smoothies and bowls, which you may have seen on Shark Tank a few years back. I’ve been hooked on their acai bowls ever since they opened a food cart on NW 23rd. As much as I loved the food cart, the brick-and-mortar location is a huge upgrade. The new location is on NW 23rd and Savier, in the recently-built George Besaw building. I have mixed feelings about this, since the original Besaw’s restaurant (which had been around since 1903) was just demolished last year. I grew up going to Besaw’s and it’s weird to see new apartments and restaurants popping up in its place. Thankfully Besaw’s now has a new location, and I’m happy to see Moberi thriving in a more permanent spot on 23rd. The new space is bright and filled with plants. Plenty of indoor and outdoor seating will make it easy to enjoy year round. The expanded menu at Moberi looks amazing, and is now 100% dairy-free. They replaced whey with a plant-based protein, so the only animal products on the menu are honey and bee pollen. Yay! Another win: you can order your smoothies and bowls “for here.” I’m super excited to enjoy my favorite acai bowls without plastic. The new menu also includes a cashew-based soft serve! What! They currently offer Mint Majik and Chocolate Maca (I got a swirl, obvi), with more flavors on the way. Toppings include chocolate, peanut butter, cookie crumbles, matcha dust, marshmallows, superfood sprinkles and more.
I’m definitely looking forward to trying out more from the new menu, and I’ll keep you updated on Insta with any favorites! xoxo