Vacation Situation

The Writer's Closet and all the writers are on vacation! (If you're not aware of it, all members of our family, including two cats, are writers.) I keep posting in my usual semi-regular manner though, because we are doing staycation this year. No extra pennies to spend on hotels (all are spent on pretty dresses!), so we are exploring our own region, which to be fair, we do year-round anyway, for over 10 years now, and we still did not run out of places to go, plus there are quite a few repeat offenders (it's a gorgeous area, what else is there to say). Still, vacation means we have more freedom and explore a little more intensely. I already took you to Olympia, our state capital, a few days ago (HERE), and our next stop is a unique award winning garden on beautiful Bainbridge Island.

I made the mistake of not telling you anything about my outfit last time, so let me tell you about those gorgeous embroidered pants and quirky shirt a bit. The shirt has the loveliest print, sailboats with red sails (if you're familiar with Russian literature, I'm sure it'll have a special meaning to you, as there is a famous novel by Alexander Grin, Russian neo-romantic writer, SCARLET SAILS, cherished by all dreamers).

I purchased the pants back in the Spring and loved them, but due to sizing issues had to return them, because at that point they were sold-out, so exchange was not possible. To my huge surprise, these charming embroidered pants (a.k.a. The Most Gorgeous Pants I've Ever Owned) reappeared on the Eloquii website later in Summer, and I was able to snap a size smaller (which fit me brilliantly) on final sale at $32 (vs. original $110). Score! FYI, they were still available at size 24 the last time I checked out the website. They are 100% cotton, made in India, and seem good quality. I only wore them a couple of times and hope they'll survive washing (any advice is welcome).

Now, from romantic scarlet sails and gorgeous embroidered pants, back to my outfit featuring Teresa's silk blouse which I wore recently with a jumpsuit for Modish Matrons (HERE), but this time you can see more of the pattern. I also wore this blouse with Teresa's eyelet red skirt (seen HERE) earlier this Summer, which was an obvious choice. I didn't come around to posting that outfit on the blog before, so here you go.

This time, I combined the blouse with my old white eyelet skirt (recently shown HERE), beloved lightweight  summer jewelry and my old "adventure sandals". In this attire, I felt quite comfortable all day and received a few compliments.

And now let's explore "one of the country's most original and ambitious gardens", as NY Times wrote about Bloedel Reserve.

Bloedel Reserve is a 150 acre forest garden which was founded by the family estate owner Prentice Bloedel, a son of a lumber-company owner, and later a vice-president of the company, and his wife Virginia. They were striving to create a serene place, influenced by the conservation movement and Asian philosophy. The garden is now open for the public, as well as the Bloedel's elegant home in French style built in 1920s. But before I continue with the garden, let me tell you how to get there.

Unless you are traveling from Kitsap Peninsula or Olympic Peninsula, you can only get to Bainbridge Island by a boat, and most visitors get there by ferry from Seattle. Which is (I'm telling you the local secret) not only a delightful but also the cheapest way to experience Puget Sound. On the photo above, you're looking at downtown from the ferry terminal, and below you see our ferry that can take up to 202 cars and 2500 passengers, which makes it the largest of Washington State Ferries (read about the whole fleet HERE). 

A ferry ride is a treat on any day, but especially such a bright and sunny one, and Seattle downtown just never disappoints. I hope you had a lovely trip, and now we are on the island, which is only 35 minutes away, but feels like a world away from all the hustle and bustle. 

Besides the few photos Justin took, I have many phone snapshots which don't do this place justice, but at least will give you some ideas just how beautiful it is. Such famous landscape architects as Richard Haag (I wrote about his other creation, Gasworks Park in Seattle, HERE) and Thomas Church (his other local masterpiece is Lakewold Gardens, which you can find in my post HERE). Bloedel Reserve natural areas and gardens include Birds March, The Woodlands, The Glen, The Moss Garden and The Japanese Garden (photos below). We've been to Bloedel Reserve many times over the years, but I always learn something new. This time, I discovered that a notable American poet Theodor Roethke died here. Apparently, he had a heart attack while visiting his friend in 1963, and was found in the pool by the Japanese Guest House. As an outcome of this sad story, there is a tranquil Zen garden in place of the pool, though there is no memorial sign of the tragic incident.

The Reflection Pool is another serene corner of the Reserve, and our last stop for the day. We love coming back to the Reserve, and at some point we even were members (you can purchase an annual membership which allows you to bring along friends for free), and every season of course has its own attraction. In Spring, there are magnificent magnolias blooming, enormous in size. In Summer, you can experience live Shakespeare plays and other events in the garden. Fall and Winter have their own charm all together. Like our life, the garden's life is ever changing. 

We came back exhausted, but feeling happy and recharged, and when our ferry arrived in Seattle at twilight, the city greeted us with its own beauty, slowed down after a long day pace, and beautiful jewel-like lights, as my friend Elle mentioned about this photo on my Instagram.

Camera photos by Justin, phone photos by me

Blouse - Teresa for Eloquii

Skirt, hat, glasses - Lane Bryant (old)

Jewelry - thrifted

Purse - Old Navy (old)

Sandals - Merrell (old)

Linking with Tina's Pink Friday

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in Seattle, Tacoma, Federal Way, Washington

SUPERSEAL, my new book, is coming in 2017!

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