Blue Sky, Blue Skirt, New Chapter

Blue sky is not a very frequent guest here in Seattle during our rainy season, and blue color is not a very frequent guest in my closet. It might sound strange, but I have never been a big fan of blue. Though lately, in the last couple of years, I find myself much more drawn to blue, and especially to the sky blue hue like this thrifted skirt from Goodwill.

Vintage? This Way Please

A few days ago, I stopped by my local Goodwill just because we were in the neighborhood and I have not checked them out for a long while, and guess what happened... They had just restocked their dresses rack, and I found so many beautiful dresses in perfect or nearly perfect condition from the 1980s and I think from the 1970s and even earlier, though I am definitely no expert and can't say whether a couple of dresses were originally 1970s or they were made from vintage fabric recently. It's hard to tell when you are clueless. There were also a couple of modern dresses (one was a designer label for a department store), really pretty! The problem is... I don't fit any of them. I love them, but I can't wear them. On the other hand, I could not leave them behind either. It is extremely rare that I find any vintage clothes, and since it came in the form of a beautiful mini-collection, literally falling into my laps, gosh I just couldn't leave them. I had a little money and decided to buy those of them I especially liked. I was surprised that Anna expressed interest in one dress (the oldest of the bunch, with tons of wonderful details). I don't know what I'll end up doing - I'm contemplating selling them on one of the marketplace sites - I used to sell on ebay a little, though it was ages ago. We'll see.

Moments of Late Fall 2014 & Winter Solstice

Upper: 1. Family Day in Seattle. 2. Love and Airplanes. 3. Adventures in Music.

Middle: 1. If You Let It (also see Versatile). 2. Rare Guests. 3. Brr.

Lower: 1. Of Kangaroos... 2. Theater Twists. 3. Retro in Tacoma.

I like to look back and see the mosaic I created with my days and in this case with my outfits in a certain period of time. I started this series as a once a month post, but lately do it in bigger chunks of time, say twice a season. So here I gathered a few outfits from early November till late December, right up to Winter Solstice which took place this past Sunday, December 21 this year. Here in America people consider this day the beginning of Winter. Back in Russia, we would always celebrate the beginning of a new season on the first of the month - March 1 for Spring, June 1 for Summer, September 1 for Fall and December 1 for Winter. There really is no right or wrong way to do it. What do you consider the beginning of a new season, personally and culturally? Do share!

Retro in Tacoma

At first, I got disappointed. The big snow storm in the mountain area meant that we had to cancel a long awaited trip simply because it was not safe (the pass got closed later that day). Snow in mountains often means rain here by the sea, so for our fun family day (or family fun day, if you will) we needed to find places to visit without getting wet. Justin offered a trip to a conservatory and car museum, both are in downtown Tacoma which is only 15 minutes away from home. Hooray! 

Warning: many photos in this post. 

Theater Twists

 Justin and I experienced a couple of theater twists this past week. We visited two small local theaters - Rosebud Children's & Community Theater Conservatory in Federal Way and Heavier Than Air Family Theatre in Kent/Auburn area. In case you are in the South King County area and don't know what's going on here - do check them out! They both do a great job, each in their own way, both performing/entertaining and educating by offering summer programs for children. Our daughter took a one month long Summer camp at Rosebud two years ago and landed a few small roles in Oz! the musical, which was her first experience acting. They had three performances if I remember it right, and she enjoyed every minute of it. (She takes an improv class this year from another local theater group. The class is taught by a very gifted actor and teacher, and Anna really loves it. I'll tell you more about it in one of my future posts.) I've never taken any acting classes myself and I don't believe that I've ever been in a play, but raising my daughter and working with other children showed me how extremely important it is to a child to act, to pretend, and not only being not judged for it, but quite opposite - being praised. And I sincerely think that adults would benefit from it too. 

Something Old, Something New

I adore the mixes which come together over time. Take this outfit - the white jeans and utility boots are recent purchases, but the chunky sweater is my old favorite from 7 or 8 years ago. I added my most favorite vintage clip-ons ($5 find) and a vintage carpet bag ($9 find) - and voila, a cozy, casually chic, trendy outfit (I at this point truly enjoy some current trends!), with a bit of whimsy and its own strong character.

Of Kangaroos, Mushrooms and Acceptance

What to tell you about this outfit? Hmm, let's see. The dress is something new to me, "outside of my comfort zone" would be the correct description. Only outside of that zone actually feels quite comfortable to me - it's inside of the zone which gets uncomfortable, to tell the truth. And I am not only talking fashion here. Just think of it. We stretch outside of our so-called comfort zone when we feel uncomfortable staying inside of the zone. It's that very discomfort of staying inside of the the circle (or a box, if you will) we got used to which makes us move outside of the "comfort zone". So really, the "comfort zone" becomes a discomfort zone, and vice versa - a new territory, a "discomfort zone" becomes the more comfortable and desirable place to be. 'Nuf philosophy, it's a style blog after all, isn't it? I laid my eyes on this dress the minute I saw it on the web. I had my doubts about the lines ("Won't I look like a kangaroo in it?" I asked myself), the price was biting, so I waited for quite a while. But I found myself coming back to this design over and over again - some part of me knew it was the dress for me. So I used the opportunity of a Black Friday sale and from the comfort of my sofa, the dress was ordered. When I received it and put it on... I knew I found my new favorite.

Rays of Sun

I would like to share one of the happy days we spent traveling with my parents. We visited the gorgeous Whatcom Falls north of Seattle (a couple of hours drive from where we live) near Bellingham, a lovely and very friendly college town only a few miles south of the Canadian border. It was a mild and drizzly day, one of many such days the Pacific Northwest has in store for us this winter. All the greenery which surrounds us year round benefits from the wet climate. And I benefit from the greenery, so I won't complain too much about rain. But I think it's no coincidence that I am drawn to bright, vivid colors most of the time. They bring sunshine to our gray days. And I bring sunshine to our gray days. Not just with my smile and heart... but with my head, neck, arms and of course those golden rays of sun - my legs! I think I was particularly inspired by ever colorful Monica of Senora Allnut (not one dull outfit in her blog!) this time. And I couldn't help but thinking of Beate and her hikes as we took an easy hike admiring the abundant nature - the waterfalls and rain forest. 

Brr

It's cold outside, the snow seem to be stuck to our yard (hopefully, not for long). But it did not stop Anna and me from going to another little community theater this past weekend. Theater is on my mind lately. I just can't help it. I want to see them all. This time, we went to the Lakewood Playhouse which is about half an hour from our home, to watch Little Women - an American classic, based on the novel by Louisa May Alcott.