Pink Carnies

I have a confession to make: in all of my life, I have never once attended a county fair.  Ever.  And I have lived in the country for quite some time...

Yesterday, that all changed.

Ryan and I went on an impromptu date to the Jackson County Fair...and it was AWESOME!  I wish I had felt more energetic, as this was the one place where I could have dressed in my wildest outfit and not even been out of place.  Alas, I settled to be pretty in pinks & purples.  

Throughout the day, my pink hues kept growing: pink cotton candy, pink pig (Ryan won it for me at the Lucky Duck game booth), and a pink parasol that my dear husband insisted on buying for me because it matched my outfit.

We ate the most delicious plate of fish and chips at the food court, and Ryan even got to ride Tonto the camel!  

We visited the livestock section (ok, I dragged Ryan there first) and looked at the goats (two Nigerian Dwarfs represented our small but mighty caprines!).  I loved being all dressed up, and receiving looks from people who logically assumed that this dame had never ever gotten her feet dirty before.  Ah, I love being a stealth farmer!

Long story short, it was the BEST day either of us have had in a very long time.  Being workaholics in the middle of summer tourist season, we have been exhausted and stressed and not allowed ourselves any time for fun.  I was so thankful that we decided to seize the moment and have one of the best dates ever.  I will always cherish that day in my heart and in my memories.

Escape From the Funny Farm

Some days, it truly does feel like the "Funny Farm" around here.  And I was beginning to feel that if I didn't escape, I would get sort of...well..."funny."

So, Ryan and I decided on an all-day date!  I dressed up in my recently-acquired, adorable (but sadly abused) 1950s French landmarks novelty print dress.  The red wool bolero jacket was something that I actually picked up while on our date.  Since it matched my dress so perfectly, I wore it for the rest of the day!  I also adorned my lovely locks with one of my spectacular "Art Bern Hats by Frank Palma" chapeaus.  The design of this one is simply incredible!

We started our morning with coffee, bagels, and cream cheese at the local spot, "The Good Bean."  From there, we went on to antique shopping, vintage clothing hunting, and ended up in Ashland eating French pastries while wearing French novelty prints (I know, I know!  Sooo cliche!).

It was a grand day out...and I felt very relaxed...until we arrived home, and - as usual - all hell broke loose.  First, we discovered that our two mischievous/wild boy donkeys had been playing a bit too roughly with each other, and one of them had a seeping bite wound on the side of his neck.  Nothing serious, but we still had to chase him around the pasture with a can of antiseptic spray.  Then, a phone call informed us that we had less than 48 hours to prepare for a 14-day visit from relatives.  This, of course, threw everyone in an uproar...

All in all, it was a wonderful and much-needed day off.  Ryan bought me a beautiful antique wooden hat block too!  I'm so excited to use it!

A Little R&R

It's been a rather hellish two weeks, and today I told my husband that we needed to do something stress-free and FUN!  So, we met up in downtown Medford for lunch.  We ordered open-face sandwiches, italian sodas, and sinfully-delicious chocolate pastries from the phenomenal Downtown Market.  Then, we walked over to a little park and had ourselves a picnic lunch!  

I wore my screaming-orange vintage suit with plastic fruit jewelry and a vintage green faux bird hat.  

What sort of drink matches such a wild ensemble?  Why, an orange-cream soda, of course!

Ryan and I both got a kick out of the fact that my outfit matched the kids' slide set nearby...

Sunday Date & An Outfit

Yesterday, my husband and I decided that we needed to get out of the house and have a fun little date together!  I dragged him to the local thrift stores, and then we went antique-store-hopping.  I wore the cutest little 1950s ribbon/circle skirt that I found at a local antiques store on Saturday.  I need to take it in a bit at the waist, and the shirt I was wearing was much too large (unfortunately, I had nothing else in my closet that would work), but I liked the color combo.  I need to find a vintage sweater to match the skirt!

In any event, it was a VERY profitable day!  I found a gorgeous blue felt for my millinery endeavors at the first thrift store,  and an amazing late 1930s or early 1940s wide-brimmed vintage hat at the second!  Then, we went to one of my favorite antiques store, and I discovered this GORGEOUS vintage 1940s dress hidden in the back of the clothing rack.  It was in serious need of TLC (mostly lots of seam separation, but there were definitely a few large tears that needed fixing), but I love a challenge!  I spent about 30 minutes on Sunday afternoon repairing it, and now it is wearable again (though I may need to re-do my front tear repair...I'm not 100% happy with how that turned out).  The dress is a gorgeous blue-ish/lavender rayon crepe (I'm not good with identifying materials, but that is what I would make my guess).

Ironically, the dress and the hat go really well together!  And I purchased the AMAZING 1930s beaded Degas heels for $25 on Saturday (at the same place I bought the ribbon skirt).  They match my outfit pretty darn well!

And look at the beading on them!  If that isn't enough to give you a shoe fetish, I don't know what is...yummy...

2 Months & A Date

Even though we had B&B guests staying here, Ryan and I decided that we needed to go out for a night of wine, fine dining, and cigars over at Porter's in Medford.  I had never been to Porter's before, and really enjoyed my evening there!  It's the old train depot, and they have kept many of the original features of the building.  We got a private booth, and had a wonderful romantic evening!

In any event, it was nice to get dressed up and go out with my husband.  We haven't been out to dinner since our anniversary two months ago!  YIKES!  I wore a chocolate brown R&K Original 1950s wiggle dress that I snagged for $20 on Etsy recently.  I paired this with brown 1960s mary jane heels, a chunky necklace (that I made myself) of polished blue chrysocolla beads, and finally my breathtakingly lovely couture-label Lilly Dache hat.  I am not normally a fan of the cocktail-style of hats, but this Dache hat is quickly becoming my new favorite!  In any event, people were coming up to me on the street to compliment my hat!  Normally, I just get weird looks from women in tight pants, tunic shirts, and boots - something akin to, "Wow, what a FREAK!"  This time, however, the Dache hat was an enormous hit!  

Maybe it's a magical hat?

Wine for a Date

I have been complaining to Ryan that we have not gone on an actual "date" in a while (and the previous weekend getaway trip doesn't count!).  We are both firm believers that you should continue to date your spouse after marriage, and we have also found that if we do not make time to go out regularly on dates, our relationship suffers.  Like everything else, relationships take a little work!  *grin*

There has recently opened up a lovely new vineyard/cafe just outside of Jacksonville called "DANCIN."  There, you can drink a glass of their lovely Pinot Noir while munching on pizza (or other goodies) fresh from their kitchen!  There is a picturesque koi pond that you can sit next to outside, and enjoy the beautiful views of the valley and mountains beyond!  

This sounded like the perfect place for a date!  So, we wandered over there yesterday afternoon, did a little wine tasting, ordered a pizza, and then bought a bottle of Malbec and relocated to the outdoor patio.  A mutual friend of ours joined us in our drinking, and the pictures are all taken by/courtesy of her (thank you, Lady H!).  We - in typical fashion - brought our camera and then forgot to use it.

DANCIN is a fabulous vineyard, and I am excited to see how they and their wines develop over time.  For more information, you can visit their website: http://dancinvineyards.com

Two Vintage Dresses & A Date!

Yesterday was an unusually gorgeous, 60-something degree February day! The sun was shining brightly, and even though the morning had started off in the mid-20s, by the early afternoon it was warm enough to go around in short sleeves!!

Ryan and I headed off on an all-day date. We've been overworked, overstressed, and underslept, and we needed to do something to relax. We are also big believers in "dating your spouse" - i.e., just because you're married doesn't mean that the romance ends. So we make sure to do fun things together once a week or so, with "big" dates about 1-2 times a month (as our meager budget allows). This helps keep our relationship fresh and going strong!

Since the Chinese New Year celebration was going on in Jacksonville, I dressed up in my vintage kimono dress (which I realize is Japanese in style, but I figured it would work for today) that I purchased last October at the Goodwill for $4.99. I threw on a pair of tights that Ryan bought me for Christmas from SockDreams - LOVE that store!! - which had a rose pattern that exactly matched the rose embroidered on the dress. I also wore my fantastic James McCreery hat, which didn't exactly match the darker red hues of the dress, but was a fun addition to the outfit anyway!

We wandered over to a new antique mall that had recently opened up on the outskirts of Medford. In it, we ran into our next door neighbor, who has a wonderful booth full of fabulous vintage barware there! Then, we went to another antique store where I found (and blew all of my hat budget money on) the most AMAZING 1920s beaded flapper dress! It HAD to come home with me!! I feel as though I need to list it in the Etsy store to justify the price, but it's too pretty...I want to keep it! I suppose this just means I need to host another Prohibition-themed party.

We also stopped for a deliciously-filling sushi lunch at Bonsai in Medford.

All in all, a FANTASTIC day!

Proof That We CAN Be Social

(when forced, and only assuming there is alcohol involved!)

Visited the recently-opened Red Lily Vineyard for some of the most amazing Viognier I have ever tasted!

Oh, and here is what happens when the camera's autotimer goes off and Ryan isn't ready...*laughing*

Toyls & A Date

Yesterday, Ryan and I went out on a morning-long outing to several local antique stores. I had promised to buy him a new old toyl (in this case an antique vice), and we also wanted to see if we could find any old hat blocks on the cheap. You never know what you'll come across around here!

Success!

We found a canvas-covered hat block (technically a wig stand, but you can absolutely use it for basic millinery work too - like any wood hat block, you just make sure to carefully cover it with plastic before steaming the felt!!), which will totally work for felting cloches and other types of skull-hugging hats. It even has the jack hole in the base for mounting on a spinner. I am so excited!

The block is (very lightly) marked 21 1/2, so a little small for my 22 in head size. However, I can easily pad it a bit with a layer of felt before using it to make hats for myself. Voila! Ingenuity!

Also found this cutie: a very pretty little pheasant! Quite long in length, and will look smashing on a sculptured fedora someday soon...