1940s, Here I Come!

There is magic in life, isn't there? I started thinking polka dot thoughts a little while ago, and out of the blue found this loveliest polka dot dress in a consignment shop. The condition was excellent. The fit was great. The color was navy (not black as I thought at first). And the price was $9.50.

Magic!

To me, this dress walked straight out of the 40s with their strict, yet still very feminine lines - no excessive fabric, very laconic style. It was wartime. People and whole countries did not have much. Everything went to support the military. The fashion was supposed to be modest. And yet out of all this modesty and necessity a beautiful style was born. Feminine, not girly. Mature, not frivolous.

And that is how I wanted to style my dress too - in a modest, classy, feminine, but not girly way. The one girly detail I added was this bow made of a silk scarf, a gift from my Chinese relatives. I haven't used it before, even though it has been in my possession for a decade or more. Pink was never my favorite color (to be a mother of a 4 year old who adored pink was quite challenging, let me tell you). I think it is just the right amount of girliness for my vintage-inspired dress.



The dress is perfect for hot days too - it's made of 100% viscose, very lightweight and breezy, and virtually doesn't wrinkle. 

Des Moines Marina, a large open urban waterfront not far from the airport, is one of our favorite places to walk and take photos. I adore our ever changing sky and the cloud reflections in water and windows.

I also adore our local cuisine (hey, I am a foodie). So here is what you definitely need to try when you come to visit the gorgeous Pacific Northwest - like the cloudy sky and cloudy water is something special about this place, the taste of the Northwest is also quite special!

You will never go wrong with fish and seafood here. It is always fresh and top notch, either local or straight from Alaska. We dined at Anthony's, which is a chain restaurant, but it's a local chain, you can find their restaurants in a few different neighborhoods and towns around Puget Sound (Ballard, Des Moines, Gig Harbor to name a few). Justin had fish tacos, and I had rainbow trout served with  yummy rice pilaf with almonds and raisins - excellent! They have very good fish and chips too, and their clam chowder is one of the best.

And please, please save some room for some of the best local desserts. In Summer, it's all about fresh berries, some of which are from local farms while others are local wild berries. My favorite dessert is cobbler. The combination of the hot crust and blackberry sauce with vanilla ice-cream is just amazing! Justin had a beautiful fresh berries sorbet, and was quite happy with it too.



There are plenty of other great restaurants around, of course. Come visit, we'll get down to business!

And now imagine that I'm in your area. Tell me, what restaurants should I check out and what local specialties should I try?

Dress - consignment shop

Shoes - Ecco

Jewelry - gifts from friends