Back from PDX (a.k.a. I HEART PORTLAND!)

Whew! What a whirlwind! Two nights in Portland (PDX) is NOT nearly enough to do everything this girl wants to do! Dang! I need at least a week to eat, shop and listen to good music, and still, I bet, I would barely squeeze it all in. PDX has the goods and that's no lie. I happened upon a yard sale and an estate sale and scored, as always at Monticello. Found some sweetness in Sellwood and at Stars on Milwaukie. There is ALWAYS some gorgeous treasure to be had at Randy's Madison Park store on SE 13th where you can find beautiful Edwardian, Victorian and primitive antique furnishings and accessories. Always leave there drooling with a fever! And I was lucky to find an awesome item digging thru all the crap at House of Vintage. Chad even scored a brand new pair of vintage shoes at Magpie vintage clothing on SW 9th that still had the original tag on them as if they were old store stock.

I was so jealous! But I did score many a loot and treasure so I am not too sad!

For now I am just going to post some photos of many of the cool things I found. Later I will write about the food we ate and the music we saw. It was all good and fabulous!  Above you can see three of the four cardboard boxes I found.  These three all came from Monticello.  I love the old graphics on these and they are truly useful.  Usually I use them to wrap gifts in because I believe the presentation of a gift is just as important as the gift itself.  Its the whole experience I am looking for!  My cousin and I have gotten into a wonderful habit of gifting each other with these amazing vintage boxes and it makes gift exchanging all the more spectacular!  I especially love the typewriter paper box becasue of its size.  It is often hard to find vintage boxes, in useful shape and in larger sizes.  Sometimes I find good hat boxes but they are a bear to wrap since they tend to be roundish!  The My Little Library box with the bunny coming out of the watering can is so darn cute and it has the best graphics on the side as well, pictures of every nursery rhyme you can think of, some you can above.

This tiny little wire chair I love because I can upholster it!  Yes, folks!  I want to embellish this little fellow with gorgeous vintage velvet and make it the most inviting chair you ever had laid your eyes on.  Imagine it with a load of beaded olded velvet and maybe even a little weird doll sitting on it and a couture pillow with fringe.  Perfect!

And next, OMG, the most fabulous French ribbon and silk embroidered butterfly appliques I have ever seen.  There is one vendor at Monticello who has tons of vintage french ribbon and material and odd millnery items and whatnot.  Love that vendor!  So hard not to spend every cent there!  Another vendor had these, never before seen, silk embroidered butterfly appliques.  What?!  I mean..... WHAT!!?!!  Have you ever?!  These are TO DIE FOR!  What will I do with them?  Stare and drool and tuck away till gawd knows when....  Just look!  And the butterflies ar on old tissue paper.  Not sure how they are stuck on but they dont seem to be iron ons so ....... Hmmmm......

Well, I had planned to make this a much bigger post but since it has taken me three days to get this far, I think I will publish now and start a new and continuing post later.  Gus gets home from Death Valley National Park tonight.  He has been there 9 days with Community School.  We are all anxious for him to be back but have enjoyed our time with Jasper alone.  Funny how we had Gus alone for 8 years and have yet to enjoy extended amounts of time with just Jasper.  Bitter sweet since it all goes too fast anyhow.  How did August get to be turning 15 years old?  Time flies when you are having fun.....