Weekend in Astoria

This weekend Twila Jean and I packed the kiddos up in the car and headed to Astoria Oregon to visit my brother Josh, his wife Amy, and my nephew Oliver. We left home to rain and gray skies, and arrived in town to bright sunny weather, it was perfect! They have a beautiful view from their living room of the river, and sometimes ships would pass by, a great view for relaxing and knitting.
We took advantage of the beautiful day and went to an awesome park where all the kids and grown-ups played and had fun, they have little storybook houses and a play tugboat among other standard park things.
After the park we drove up to the Astoria Column and enjoyed the view from the park grounds, there was no way I was going up in the column like last year.
Of course we had to stop in an antique store in town, and picked up some coffee on the way at Street 14 Coffee, they have great hot chocolate!
The next morning is snowed big fluffy flakes, and even though it didn't stick to the ground, it was beautiful to watch while I knit some more.
Can't wait to go back there for Thanksgiving!

Dress and coat-Fab Gabs

Cardigan-Made by me using this pattern from Babydee

Boots-Millie B Vintage

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

Columbia river gorge

This morning was Sams last day of school, so to celebrate we took advantage of our synched up days off and drove out along the colombia river gorge. It's a scenic route dotted with waterfalls, old towns, and windsurfing.
Our first stop was Multnomah Falls, a beautiful waterfall, full of tourists and a few hiking trails. We had a nice picnic lunch, it was actually pretty nice out. Not too hot, and I pulled my jacket out from under the bed (so much for a summer wardrobe).
Sam makes amazing music mixes, so we had a great soundtrack for our little day trip. She and Him, The National, Beirut, all the good stuff.
We drove our way there on the Oregon side, and went the way back on the Washington side, but at one point the road was closed for about an hour, so we went an "alternate route".
After about an hour of going nowhere near the direction we wanted, and passing buffalo ranches, and Mt. Adams, we had this conversation:

Me: "Maybe we should turn around."

Sam: "We'll be fine, it's not like the highway will just end."

A few minutes later the highway ended.

Sam: "Well at least we're on a regular road."

We pass a sign that reads "One lane road ahead"

Sam: "At least it's not a dirt road."

Sign reads "Pavement ends."

So finally, when we ended up in the middle of nowhere, we headed back the way we came. But there was lots of laughter along the way :)

Blouse-Trina Turk, via Buffalo Exchange

Jacket-A vintage store in Akron Ohio

Skirt and boots-Urban Eccentric Vintage

Sunglasses-Magpie Vintage

Honeymoon bliss

I'll have more on the wedding later when we get some more photos, but meanwhile here are photos from the honeymoon!
We left Sunday morning from PDX and arrived at SFO to wonderful weather. The shuttle rides to the hotel and back to the airport both rivaled driving in Italy, but thats another story all together. My mother booked us a room at The Fairmont, which is such an amazing hotel, the exterior itself is so grand, right at the top of Nob Hill, and the lobby is stunning. Upon learning we were newlyweds the hotel clerk moved us up to a room with a view! How nice, actually the entire staff there was super, they were really fascinated by our clothing, hehe. We had one of the simpler rooms, which was anything but. The decor had vintage touches, and the bed! The bed was like a cloud, you know one of those huge memory foam mattresses with a down comforter and perfect pillow. But anyway, you don't want to hear about me rant about a bed.

The evening we arrived we changed and decided to have dinner at The Nob Hill Cafe, recommended by my mother. It was delicious and surprisingly affordable. I was in need of some new makeup so we walked to the Union Square Macy's where we then realized it was much cooler and windier than anticipated. It's 80-90 degrees at home, so I packed 50s sundresses, which was a big mistake because the wind was being mischievous and blew up my skirt at every hill. Oops.

The second day we thought it would be a good idea to walk to the Haight-Ashbury neighborhood. It would have continued to be a good idea if we didn't take the long way. But after sore feet and spaghetti legs (I am so out of shape) we made it! The walk actually wasn't too bad as there was so much to look at, the architecture is so amazing. Especially Grace St Cathedral, it's amazing!
The neighborhood is filled with little shops and cafes, and I did find a few vintage shops with amazing things but not so amazing prices. Seriously, after going there my wardrobe just doubled in value :)
We did stumble upon a costume/vintage shop with some great deals, where I found an amazing navy 40s coat I wore the rest of the vacation.

I really wanted to bring back a hat, but even the hat prices were outrageous. Luckily I found a killer gray Austrian hat at a Buffalo Exchange thrift store, and the price was in my comfort zone.
The walk back to the hotel was nice, Sam spotted a comic book store we spent a while in while he read Captain America and I read a 50s comic book that was so cute but I can't remember the name. It's about an average women who lives with her sister and father, if anyone knows what I'm taking about I'd really appreciate it!
Japan town was another stop on our trek, where we found a $1.50 store with tons of fun treasures. Everything, even the plastic spoons were cute.

Day three took us to Fishermans Wharf, which was pretty much tourist central. We didn't stay long, but walked out on a pier to get a better look at some of the ships and a gathering of seals. There was the cutest cable car there, so 1930s I wish it would come to Portland!
After the Wharf we headed to Union Square, and went into all the fancy stores :) Prada, Burburry, Tiffanys, and Armani. Tiffanys was my favorite ;)
Dinner was at Calzone's which was adorable and had the best garlic fries ever.

Our last day we were pretty exhausted from the hills, so we stuck around the hotel and visited China town and Union Square again. In China town Sam bought me a pretty Jade necklace, and silk dress. For lunch we went to a restaurant in the neighborhood, and while we were eating a kitten jumped out of a nook in the wall! It was very cute, trying to play with its reflection in the mirror.
On our way back to the hotel to catch our airport shuttle the famous San Francisco twins were walking down the street. They have been a fixture of the city for years, and dress alike everywhere they go. I was so excited to meet them, especially in matching leopard coats! They really are funny, and I love that they are famous for being eccentric.

So there you have it! The wedding and honeymoon were delightful, and it's good to be home again getting back into the swing of things. More pictures on Flickr.