A couple weeks ago I was given an awesome opportunity.
I got to meet with Chris Byrne, aka The Toy Guy®, from TimeToPlayMag.com.
I’m a huge fan of Time To Play, if you recall I even wrote a guest post for them last year. Time To Play is a great site with tons of great information on toys and more for your kids.
When I found out that Chris was going to be in town for a local TV spot on AM Northwest, I jumped at the chance to meet him. The only caveat was that I needed to find a place close to KATU Studios for us to meet for a late breakfast or coffee. Living about 50 miles form Portland I’m not hugely familiar with all of the cool places to go.
All I have to say is, thank goodness for Yelp!
After perusing the nearby locations I settled on a place called Bakery Bar. Bakery Bar is on NE Glisan between 29th and 30th and I have to warn you, it’s tucked a bit off the road so you really need to be on the lookout for the sign.
The interior is is super cute and quaint. There isn’t a ton of room, but that’s part of what I love about it. It’s the perfect place to meet for breakfast or coffee on a weekday morning with your girlfriends. But if the weather is beautiful they also have a lovely patio area that you can sit at. And by the way, they don’t call it Bakery BAR for nothing. 
They have a small cocktail menu that includes the Big Mimosa, (hello, Sunday brunch,) the Eye Opener, (Monday mid-morning perhaps,) and the Oh Mama, (mid-afternoon craziness,) just to name a few.
While I didn’t partake in any spirits while there, I did indulge in some breakfast. It was hard to choose just what to have. After much deliberation I settled on the Dan’s Scramble which is 3 eggs scrambled with bacon, leeks, greens of the day, mushrooms, and cheddar cheese. HOLY YUM BATMAN!
Confession: I have never had a leek in my life. If you would have asked me what one was I would have told you that it’s what happens when your breastfeeding and you hear a baby cry. Actually, I’m still not 100% sure what one is now other than a vegetable, but I can tell you that I like them! By the way, the greens of the day were spinach which I love to have with eggs. they were seasoned perfectly and there was so much added flavor from the veggies and seriously, cheese makes everything better. Not only that buy you get the choice of an english muffin or home made biscuit. Dang tootin’ I chose the biscuit.
I hope to take my hubs there on our next PDX excursion.
Anywho, back to The Toy Guy. Chris is such an wonderful guy. I instantly fell in love with his personality, we had such an awesome conversation just about growing up and the toys we played with then and so much more. I also learned that he is good friends with Lenore Skenazy who is the author of Free-Range Kids, How to Raise Safe, Self-Reliant Children (Without Going Nuts with Worry) ” target=”_blank”>Free Range Kids. This is the book that inspired me to give my son more leeway in order to teach him responsibility. It’s something I still use now and I’m even starting to practice some of the principals with my 5 year old daughter.
I also learned that Chris is just a big kid at heart. Which he would need to be in order to love what he does. I asked him which toys are his favorites and he was quick to say toys that get kids moving or using their imagination are the ones he gravitates towards and while he gets to test out some of the coolest toys that his the market, he stressed that parents not underestimate the power of a simple ball and the fun kids can have with it. I have to agree with him on that. My son can spend hours playing with a simple ball. Whether it’s soccer or a rubber ball that he uses to practice his wall ball skills against the garage. It’s inexpensive and occupies his mind and body.
I can’t thank Chris enough for the wonderful 2.5 hours he spent with me and my friend Pepper from Pepper Scraps.
If you want some fun summer toy ideas or looking for what to get a child for their birthday, check out Chris’ spot on AM Northwest below.