almost magical

  I wish I could explain to you how it feels to not sleep, to toss and turn in the night. To set your alarm for 5:45 am and wake up 5 minutes before its scheduled to go off out of sheer excitement. To not shower, to dress quickly and practically in jeans and sneakers and old army jacket. To rush your family in the most passive aggressive way to the car. To wait for three hours for a maybe, full of hope and nauseous from nervousness.  To stand in line with a bunch of equally passive aggressive Pacific North-westerners that all would trample you if it meant getting in five minutes early.
  I went to an estate sale. A really really good estate sale. Possibly even the defining one in my surprisingly long career as an estate sale devotee.
  It was the home of a still-kicking 93 year old woman, according to her strangely accented neighbor who appeared in the line maybe an hour before the doors opened. She had excellent taste, sharing my passion for chenille bedspreads and Edwardian clothing. She had nothing but Edwardian clothing. I don't know how she got it, she is far too young have actually worn it during the era, maybe it was her mother's. I wish you could feel what it was like to walk into a room full of  Edwardian clothing. It is heaven. It is bliss. It is the type of excitement that make your body actually tremble. I bought way too much and now I'm in debt to my aunt. At the same time, it manages to feel like I didn't buy enough. You figure that out I can't. I mean I left with 3 dresses, 2 skirts, one blouse, a skirt slip, a 1940s head vase, a 1940s chenille blanket, and a cake plate + dome.
  Afterwards we went to the U-Distrct farmers' market and I ate my all-time favorite cinnamon roll (from Tall Grass Bakery) and there was an old french woman playing the accordion with a little velvet cloth on her lap.

The Varsity Drag

  On a day sometime in February Amelia and I went to the U-District. We were browsing as usual, visiting all of the vintage stores. I never find anything there because I love (and purchase) mostly pre-1950s garments. At the first store we went into, Valley of Roses, I found a late 1930s dress with embroidery. It was two inches too small in the waist but I tried it on anyway and it fit! 

The shop owner, Mary wanted to take mine and Amelia's photo for the store's Facebook. What she took resulted in some of the best photos of me and Amelia together that anyone's ever taken. 

Uh

A collection of photos taken horizantally during our trip to Paris last September. 

1. The most aesthetically pleasing metro stop I saw in Paris.

2. Two Matisses that have long inspired me and by total coincidence were in Musee de l'Orangerie.

3. Plants at the Turkish Market we went to. 

4. Flower paintings by Renoir. Also at Musee de l'Orangerie.

5. Amelia and my aunt Petra at Cafe Angelina. Their chocolat chaud, while expensive is insanely delicious. 

6. A painting of a ship on a stormy sea. Musee de l'Orangerie. Artist known, but forgotten by yours truly.

7. The ceiling of a rather well known department store.

Making time

  For the past two weeks I have worked almost every single day. Right now I'm off but none of my friends or family are off so it's pretty dull. The most fun I've had in a while was going to the Museum of History and Industry. The current (very tiny) exhibition is on Greek restaurants, but the real reason to come is for the permanent exhibitions that cover the history of Seattle from when it was a Native American town called Du Wamps, through white settlement, through both World's Fairs and World Wars, and up to present day. My favorite parts were the Gold Rush exhibit, the Great Depression,and World War II rooms. 

  The outside of the museum is really neat as well so I had my picture taken there. The sun was in my eyes so I'm squinting in most of these (oops!).

We'll always have Paris

  Hmmm... I think I have nothing to say about Paris that hasn't already been said, so I will let the pictures speak for themselves.

Part one of a multi-part series. (I was there for a full week after all.)

Beyond the keep

These pictures were taken a few days ago in Fremont(a neighborhood in Seattle). Our car broke down, so we decided to salvage the rest of our day and bus to the Fremont Sunday Market. It was the best time I've ever had at the market. I saw treasures like locally made silk blouses, hummus, 1910s lace, and perfect fitting vintage denim jackets (I may have to go back for that one next week). The weather was my favorite type, sunny but with crisp cold fall air. 

I'm wearing battered 1940s jeans I got from eBay, a silk scarf I found at an estate sale yesterday in Ballard, and a 1950s cashmere monogrammed cardigan from Atlas Clothing (that I found today). This is one of my favorite outfits I have ever worn because it is so comfortable. I can literally not stop wearing these jeans. I feel like a rebellious 1950s teenager in them. How did I go so long without trying vintage denim? 

Panic on the streets of London

 Sadly the post title is pretty accurate because we kept getting lost and took the wrong train at least once. This is just a collection of places we went to or passed on our 3 1/2 day stay. It was delightful and unexpected and made me want to live there.

My favorite places we went to in London were Leftovers vintage and Simply Fabrics (both in Brixton), and Konditor and Cook (the best bakery I've ever been to). Pub-wise I loved the Twin Towers pub (Gypsy Hill/Crystal Palace) because of its delightful Irish proprietress, delicious apple cider, and pub cats (!). Next time I will use her as a guide to the city instead of the guidebooks. She had so much more interesting suggestions. 

(My really crappy picture of Konditor and Cook. ^ Their lemon tart is a revelation.)

(Leftovers Vintage: a tiny paradise of well chosen 1900s-1960s clothing. Sadly nothing I tried on fit, although I did buy a 1930s leaf shaped belt buckle.)

Part 3 of the Europe trip series.

How many secrets can you keep?

 Me plus the pastel 1910s buildings of Essen equals a love affair for the ages. 

(I am wearing an Edwardian blouse, 1950s cardigan, and a thrifted Anthropologie skirt.)

 

Post 2 of the Europe trip series