Business News

A Clean Start in the New Year

It's the New Year and many people set a goal of getting organized. Beth Giles, a professional organizer with NW Organizing Solutions, knows this and wants to you reach your goal by inviting you to come learn more about getting organized at the 2012 "Get Organized" Educational Conference. This event will be on Saturday, January 28, from 10-3 at the Closets-to-Go Showroom in Tigard. Beth will be presenting an educational session entitled "Organizing for Transitions" at 10:30 am and will be available for answering your organizing questions throughout the day. Several other organizing sessions will also be offered. Those companies presenting at the event will provide a range of organizing products and services to help you reach your organizing goals.

The first 125 people to pre-register online will receive a goodie bag of organizing products and chance to win an organizing gift basket. Space is limited. To reserve your ticket and get more information about this event go to http://tinyurl.com/Get-Organized-Conference. If you cannot make this event, NW Organizing Solutions can still help you reach your goal of an organized new year. Call Beth at 503-709-0791 or email beth@nworganizingsolutions.com to bring order to your home and peace of mind back into your life.

Islet at High Tide, Oregon Coast, by Gail Durham

Village Gallery News

This January, the Gallery is proud to be presenting the group art show "Symphony," and equally proud to be featuring local artist Gail Durham. A multi-faceted artist, in the past Gail has done bronze casting, letterpress, wood engraving, weaving and basketry, and glass bead making, but has returned to painting with acrylics in recent years. Her paintings have been influenced by Bev Kindley, William Hook, and Liz Walker. Her major focus is landscapes. Her professional background was in education; teaching French and Spanish, College Counseling at The Catlin Gabel School, and tutoring. Now she is focused on travel, art, music, and family.

The Gallery is offering a wide selection of art classes for the winter months. Terri Gonzalez will be teaching a series of children's classes focusing on the basic principles and concepts of various art mediums and techniques. Adult class offerings include watercolors with Chris Keylock Williams; 'Techniques & Projects for Watermedia Painters' with Liz Walker; beginning-intermediate acrylic painting with Kristi Roberts; 'Acrylics for Brilliant Transparent Paintings' with Linda Rothchild Ollis; traditional watercolors with Emma Achleithner; and Monday night collage class with Linda Dalal Sawaya.

Winter workshops at the Gallery include 'From Marbled Paper to Finished Painting,' with Liz Walker; 'Fun with Photoshop Elements - Artist's Introduction to Photo Editing' and 'Photoshop Elements for Artists' with Linda Rothchild Ollis; a Silk Scarf Workshop and Iris Folding with Patti Isaacs; and 'Acrylic with Collage Painting,' and 'SoulCollage® Weekend Workshop,' with Linda Dalal Sawaya.

The Gallery is open Tuesday-Saturday 10-4, Sunday noon-4, and closed on Mondays. It is located next to the Cedar Mill Library at 12305 NW Cornell Rd, Portland, OR. 97229. Call 503-644-8001 or visit their website, www.villagegalleryarts.org, for additional information regarding the gallery, membership, classes, and special events.

Cedar Mill Style

Living in the northwest is absolutely the best. For all the rain, fog and mist we endure throughout the year, the result is a place that has fresh air, clean water, a reverence for nature and the nicest people you will ever meet.

The misty quality of our light creates a lovely glow, but can present some interesting challenges when it comes to decorating our homes. We need color desperately, but vibrant colors can look too garish, darker tones can look too depressing, and the neutral tones are sometimes just "too neutral."

The trick is to find the happy balance between all of the three. When decorating your home this winter, color and design professional Caryl K. Hoffman of CK Hoffman Design would like you to consider tones like Dark Chocolate, Sky Blue, and Bottle Green.

There are easy and inexpensive ways to add color to your home. Hoffman suggests the following:

Add one or two new decorative pillows to your sofa.
Get a new set of mugs for your kitchen.
Put new hand towels in your guest bath.
Paint one room, or just one wall in a room to make an "accent wall."

Cary Hoffman has been in the color consulting, design and home staging business for over 30 years. She specializes in the Cedar Mill area including Forest Heights, Bethany, Somerset and the Oak Hills neighborhoods. To contact her, please call 503-807-1348, e-mail caryl@ckhoffmandesign.com, or check out her website at ckhoffmandesign.com.

Pars now serving all day

Pars Market has expanded their hot food service throughout their open hours. You'll be able to enjoy hot falafel and gyros sandwiches, kababs and soup Monday to Friday from 10-7 and Saturday, 10-6. They also offer pastries, salads and espresso, plus an amazing assortment of Mediterranean specialty grocery items.

Stop in for lunch or to bring home a take-out meal at 12923 NW Cornell. Call 503-350-2300 to order ahead or for more information.

Wan Q slated to open at new location

Many people have been wondering what happened to Wan Q Chinese restaurant, formerly located in the Safeway lot. They have secured a space across Cornell, next to Cedar Mill Liquor. We have no information about when they'll be open.

Virtue of the Month: Zeal!

"Zeal is passion for a purpose we deeply value. We follow a vision of what is possible with enthusiasm and ardor. When we are zealous, we give our all... Zeal is being for something, not against anything. Zeal is the fire in our belly. It illumines even the smallest task with joy." Cedar Mill News

"The Practice of Zeal: I have a deep sense of purpose. I am passionate about what I value. I persevere in my enthusiasm. I am considerate of the perspective of others. I work with joyous energy." Linda Kavelin-Popov.

Affirmation: I am thankful for the gift of Zeal. It ignites my idealism.

Contact me for your free 30 minutes consultation in January 2012. Delaram Hakiman-Adyani, Virtues Connection, Portland, Oregon on Facebook, mehdel@pacifier.com or 503-267-0202, www.virtuesconnectionportland.com.

Bowl game specials from Burnt Ends

Burnt Ends BBQ will be cooking up some special menus for you to enjoy with guests at Bowl Game parties. Package A includes southern-style pulled pork and buns or rolls, cole slaw, classic BBQ beans, and extra sauce, plus all the serving ware for 15-20 people, for $99. Package B has Texas-style chopped beef brisket, St. Louis-style pork ribs, Louisiana Corn Salad, cole slaw, sauce and serving ware for 15-20 for $149.

They can also custom-build a menu to fit your needs. All prices include local delivery, and are good through Sunday, February 5. Order early to ensure availability.

Recycling the Holidays

After the holidays, houses are littered with piles of crumpled wrapping paper, holiday cards, pine needles and boxes of pesky packaging peanuts. Between Thanksgiving and New Year's alone, it is estimated that an extra million tons of waste are generated nationwide each week.

"An easy way for individuals to do their part in keeping their community clean is by recycling," said Tim Kimble, The UPS Store ® franchisee.

To make your holidays a little greener, The UPS Store ® offers the following advice:

Recycle packaging peanuts. We accept clean foam packaging peanuts of all sizes, shapes and colors for reuse.

Reuse wrapping paper, bows, ribbons, tissue paper, etc. Also, save gift boxes and bags and reuse them throughout the year. Recycle those you can't reuse.

Recycle greeting cards. Save cards and cut them up to use as gift tags next year. They also make a great resource for children's art projects.

Recycle your tree. According to the National Christmas Tree Association, there are approximately 25-30 million real Christmas trees sold in North America each year. After the holidays, put your tree to good use – chip it up to use as mulch around shrubs and flowerbeds, or, if you have a live tree, plant it in the yard or donate it to a local school or nursing home to plant on their grounds. You can also check local resources for instructions on recycling options, drop-off locations or pick-up dates.

Use these tips to simplify your post-holiday cleanup so you can begin the New Year with a clean house (and a green conscience).

The UPS Store located at 10940 SW Barnes Rd, Portland, OR 97225 is open M-F: 9-7 and Saturday 9 -5. For more information, please visit www.theupsstorelocal.com/3379.

The Libertine—Learn and Cook

Do you know a child who loves to help in the kitchen? The Libertine's kids' cooking course is for them! In this series of four classes, the student will learn how to prepare an appetizer, dinner, and dessert in the Libertine style. The series will conclude with a dinner party and the student will show what they have learned by preparing a meal to share with a friend or family member. The course is $150 per student (discounts for siblings), and takes place at 5pm Wednesdays, January 11, 18, 25 and February 1 (ages seven to nine) and Wednesdays, February 8, 15, 22 and 29 (ages ten to twelve).

The Libertine also offers an adult 'Cooking 101.' This class will cover the basic cooking methods needed in making healthy and tasty meals; planning, tools, and skills. Every class ends with a seated dinner. This class is $75 per student and takes place the last Sunday night of the month (starting 1/29/12) at 5 pm.

On January 27, come and join the creative fun in an intimate and relaxed setting. Create a small finished painting in one session with experienced instructor and award winning local artist Liz Walker. She will guide you every step of the way, providing templates, color suggestions, and ideas for adding texture and pattern to your piece. It's a fresh, fool-proof way to learn to paint without fear. Paints, brushes and small canvases are included in the price ($40). Participants should come prepared to have fun and learn techniques they can use in future paintings. Register at Libertine Deli.

On Tuesday January 24, the Libertine will host a heartfelt yoga session coupled with Laughter Yoga. 9:30-10:45am (cost, $5).

Planning a party? The cost to rent the Libertine is $35 an hour, and is waived if you use our in-house catering! For caterers or food-based businesses, price includes the use of the kitchen. Please contact mellisabenjamin@frontier.com or call/text 503-317-3229 for information.

World of Smiles

World of Smiles, Pediatric Dentistry is proud to announce two new additions to their team. This month, Cera joins the team as the new Insurance Billing Coordinator, and Allison as a Dental Assistant.

World of Smiles would also like to invite the community to join with them in congratulating Dr. Michelle Stafford and her husband, Nicholas, on their soon-to-be family of three. 2012 promises to be an exciting year at World of Smiles and you won't want to miss a minute. Keep up on news and events on the World of Smiles website at www.visitworldofsmiles.com/community or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/visitworldofsmiles.