San Francisco!

Today we spent lots of time in San Francisco, starting out with estate sales!

They were worth going to just to see the interior of the amazing houses. One we went to was a dream, built in the 1930s, complete with a sun room in the middle of the house.
But the best sale was the first, we made out like bandits! I found a beautiful mink stole, some scarves, one of those hard case knitting carriers, and Paradise Kittnes, Kitten-ettes shoebox! I think I may have to start collecting these things.

Julie left with loads of great goodies, there was so much I can't quite remember all she bought. But of course you can see it sometime soon in her shop ;)

In between estate sales we lunched at The Cliff House, a stunning establishment which used to be a hot spot for celebrates, so old autographed headshots cover the walls. We had a beautiful view of the waves crashing on the beach and really enjoyed our lunch, my mushroom sandwich was very yummy. We did get stopped A LOT on our way into the restaurant, and inside, because of our outfits, it's funny what an impression vintage makes on people.

After that we hit Haight street, and browsed some vintage shops there. I found a stunning 1940s black rayon dress with the most amazing beaded flower I got to wear later that night, fits like a glove. In one shop we ran into a group of men and women from LA who wore vintage, and it was the first time in my life I felt underdressed. They all looked fabulous, and of course are in town for the same reason we are.

In the evening we went to Speisekammer and saw Lavay Smith perform while having a wonderful dinner.

Tomorrow, picnic! Though I probably won't do a proper post on that right afterward, I'll be tired, and want to do it justice!

Road trip!

Today was day one of my trip with Julie of Fab Gabs, and her friend Alyssa. We left at 5:00 am and got into Alameda California around 4:00 pm. 5:00 am is not my favorite time of day.

We stopped for pastries on the way, as well as popping into a little thrift store where Alyssa found a fantastic book from 1931 on "Meatless Cooking". I had to buy it, the hilarious illustrations alone are worth the $3.

For lunch we went to Sonic drive in, where the waitresses brought our food out to our car wearing roller skates, was pretty cute, though would have been cuter if they were in vintage. I just got a little kids meal, it's as much fast food as I need :)

Our hotel is cute, very mid century, and not far from the beach. We had mexican food for diner (mmmmm, shrimp tacos), and went to a tiki bar for "dessert", where all our drinks had real flowers in them.

Tomorrow: San Francisco!

Dress-Liberty Vintage

Kitty cardigan-Tea With Gladys

Random pictures you've never seen from 1979. Apparently.

There's an auto folder in my iphoto labeled "1979". I don't know why it's labeled that way, it just appeared one day. It's full of random photos from random times, so here are some photos from ten years before I was born.

This is from my trip to California in March, at Laguna Beach.

This was a little book I was tempted to buy at The Vintage Collective

One of the many amazing houses in La Jolla. Oh, and the beach was 20 feet away. Yeah, one of my many dream houses.

A sailor outfit I don't think was ever posted. The pants are modern, one of the last items I still have from my trip to Rome. Yes, I've been to Rome, that is a post for another day, for I can go on and on about it.

The chandelier at Gustaves, we met up with friends for happy hour the other day there. Of course I wore my dirndl.

I see this guy every once in a while downtown Portland, either with this beautiful leopard like cat on his shoulder, or walking it on a leash. I call them shoulder cat and shoulder cat man.

California: Where the beaches are sprinkled in gold.

Blogger meet-up with The Vintage Wife!

It was days like today that remind me how lucky I am to have started blogging. Without Vixen Vintage I would not have know of all the awesome people out there (yes, you!) who love vintage as I do, if only we could all meet for coffee and chat away!
Well this afternoon I did just that with one of my favorite bloggers, Cedar of The Vintage Wife. I can't begin to say how much fun we had, we met at a coffee shop, talked non stop about vintage, estate sales, and how there are so many cocktail dresses and not enough cocktail parties. She is so sweet, and enjoyable to hang out with, and oh how adorable! I think we were both a bit nervous at first, but it was so funny when we first saw each other and realized we wore similar dresses!
After "coffee" (a smoothie and ice tea) we walked to Frock You!, a great vintage shop with so many pretties! I tried on a lot, although nothing was quite the right fit, we had so much fun looking at some crazy purses and trying on hats (there was one little black Jacques Fath hat I fell in love with), and talking poodle skirts with the guy working there. A little side note, I love seeing guys who work at vintage shops, it's great to see their take on vintage!
After Frock you! My mother drove us a few blocks to a vintage shop that had unfortunately closed, but we did pop into Fables, the darling storefront for this Etsy shop, you've probably seen the darling sailor swimsuits all over Etsy! The owner was so cute and nice, it was really cool to meet her even though we weren't planning on it, and I just couldn't get over the shower themed dressing room!
So as you can see it was a wonderful afternoon, I hope this will be the first of many blogger meet-ups, and I really hope to see Cedar again, she is the kind of friend I'd love to have!

California, day 5 Coronado

This was my third time visiting The Hotel del Coronado, and it never ceases to amaze. It's very elegant, and you might recognize the setting from Some Like it Hot.
It was such a warm day I brought my swimsuit just in case I worked up the nerve to wear it (wearing it on the beach is so much more public than a hotel swimming pool!). I did get some crazy stares from a group of Japanese tourists, and while I was in my dress a few of them kept trying to take my picture standing like three feet in front of me. Seriously, just ask and thats fine, but I'm pretty sure they just got snapshots of me scowling.
I would love to stay there one day, it's so nice just to be in, stroll, sit on the decks. While there I felt like I was in a Miss Marple episode, specifically The Body in the Library. The whole time I was there, and on The Queen Mary, I kept thinking what amazing locations they would make for a murder mystery photoshoot. Yes these are the things that flow through my mind constantly, I blame it on all those years of only reading Nancy Drew.

Oh and we had to cross that bridge to get to and from Coronado island. It freaks me out every time.

1940s Swirl dress-Grandma got it at an estate sale.

1950s sunglasses-Won them on Pretty Little Things

California, day 4, Retro Row and the Queen Mary

Now that I know about Retro Row in Long Beach I just can't stay away. But more on that later. Since we were going to Long Beach we had to make a stop at The Queen Mary, a huge, beautiful, cruise ship first launched in the 30s, so it had a lot of pretty deco styling. After years of being forgotten it's recently been remodeled, and is permanently docked for tours, you can even stay there in the original staterooms! It was a beautiful day for walking along the upper decks, I could just picture pretty girls and handsome boys strolling along in fine 30s fashions, while they sail across the Atlantic. They had lots of pictures of old film and music stars who traveled on the ship, it was quite the way to sail!











Next stop of the day was Retro Row! I swear, every city needs a retro row, it's a dream for vintage shoppers. There are lots of amazing shops all within easy walking distance, I could easily spend all day there, and a few months paycheck ;)
Out of all the stores these three were my favorite, they had a selection and prices that were to my taste, but there were many more great shops. At Meow I found the perfect pair of 50s jeans, fully lined in red flannel! They had two big stacks of 50s jeans there, in a wide range of sizes. When I got home from California last time I regretted not getting at least one pair, and I have not seen a single pair in Portland. What's with that? Get on it Portland!
Next stop was Liberty Vintage, and I was so glad the owner, Bridget, was there. She's the sweetest! We talked for a bit and I shopped for a bit (she has a terrific 40s and 50s selection of dresses), and even though nothing fit just right on me, I still enjoyed my time there. And when I picked up some of the most darling anchor hairbows she said "Oh let me give them to you!" Isn't that so sweet? I'm in love with these bows, on top of being cute they have a special backing on the clip to keep it from slipping out of your hair! There is an Etsy shop for them, but if looks like it's empty at the moment, too bad because I want to order some more!
Last stop was the The Vintage Collective, a store that has a mix of furniture, housewares, and lots of clothing! I got a little something there, but it's a surprise for Twila Jean, so shhhhhhhh!
I enjoyed talking to the owner and shop girl (I'm such an airhead and forgot their names! How terrible.), they were both really nice, and us gals swapped favorite blogs we read, and talked about Style Rookie. I'd love to go back there just to chat with them!





Last stop of the day was K'ya Bistro in Laguna Beach. They have the best happy hour in the world, and the food is amazing. I had a yummy fennel and goat cheese salad, salmon with spicy coconut sauce, and lemon tart and berries for dessert. All I have to say is: Yum.

Sailor dress and shoes-Urban Eccentric Vintage

Beret-Thrifted

50s sunglasses-won them on Pretty Little Things