Hov - el [huhv-uhl, hov-] 1. a small or humble dwelling;

My new love is M-i-ss-i-ss-i-pp-i. A street in Portland that seems to be the mecca for Portland hipsters sipping cold filtered coffee at Fresh Pot. But, it is also the place where thrifty shoppers come looking for a way to revamp their homes with old funky doors and window frames from The Rebuilding Center, shop for uber chic locally designed clothing and munch on yummy tacos at Porque No?. I stumbled across this street a couple months ago and even though the street is only about 10 blocks long I seem to discover more wonderfullness every time I visit. My most recent discovery was after I made my way down to the the Fresh Pot and was sipping away on my coffee (cold filtered, one shot of vanilla, and a healthy amount of cream - for those who ever feel like bringing my coffee) and biting my straw (bad habit) when I looked up and there it was, across the street, bolts of oilcloth gleaming in the afternoon sun.

The most wonderful shanty shack of a store ever.

A beautiful Hovel.

Hovel, a home decor store that is actually housed in a very nice little building, nearly made me pee my pants it was just so darn cute. Stepping though the front door I saw a reupholstered antique loveseat in modern bright whites decorated with velvet pillows imprinted with guns, skulls and octopi. The salesman, excuse me for not remembering his name, was so sweet and wonderful that all I wanted to do was tell him how much I loved EVERYTHING! The fact that I was wandering around the store cooing and purring like a happy kitten obviously made him pretty happy as well. And then I came upon le piece de resistance: hand-made white chandeliers hanging from the adobe ceiling made of everything from paper folded like origami to vinyl mesh tubing spilling down around itself...Sorry, I think I peed my pants again. They were really just works of art that would add something whimsical and interesting to even the most sophisticated home. A mix of modern and traditional I felt like I was in the pages of Domino when I was in this store. Please, please, please take the Killingsworth exit off I-5 and make your way over to Mississippi. It's WORTH the trip, even if just for the cold filtered coffee...mmmm.