High On Life

Did you know that the artichoke is a thistle (чертополох)? 

Well I didn't! Until Justin pointed out how similar they look. 

I think I am a bit of a thistle artichoke myself. 

Not just a flower. Not only a vegetable. 

Big, bright and bold. 

Surprising. Unexpected. Unusual. 

With a myriad of tiny flowers

and a big heart.

Bluegrass Rediscovered

I am all about ease and comfort these days - and my style reflects it. Justin and I went to various cultural events in the past week or so - we watched Evita, a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber performed by Ovation, a local musical theater, and Twelfe Night, or What You Will in the beautiful Bloedel Reserve on Bainbridge Island which we enjoyed a lot, though I will admit it is difficult for me to understand the language of Shakespeare. That was all in one short weekend, and I dressed up for both occasions, though we forgot our camera, and I don't have photos to share. This weekend, we attended another fun event in a park - Bluegrass Festival held 8th year on Bainbridge where I discovered that I loved bluegrass music all along, not even knowing what exactly it was.

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!

Hot

What do you guys consider hot temperatures - meaning, when you start feeling uncomfortable being outside for a long time? I know it varies from person to person a lot. I like it up to about 80 F (or 27 C), anything above that starts feeling too hot for me very quickly. 90 F (32 C) is definitely hot - and that is our temperature today (a bit cooler by the sea, a bit hotter in the valleys). Since Western Washington State has usually very mild weather (Eastern Washington is whole different story!), many houses don't install air conditioners - there are only a few days per year when you'll get to use it (unlike the long, hot and sticky summers of the Midwest where I spent my first few years in America). So what do we usually do when it gets uncomfortably hot, too hot to stay in the house or walk very much outside?

A Bit of Americana

Denim is surely the most American of all American things style-wise, and has become a wardrobe staple for millions worldwide. Yet I somehow managed to get my very first dark blue jeans when I was in my mid-30s, and my very first denim jacket in my 40s. This is another quite unique jean jacket from my growing denim family which I wore for certainly the most American of all American holidays - 4th of July.

Kubota Garden & The Real Adventure Man

One rainy June weekend, Justin and I took off to one of the Japanese gardens up in Seattle - the Kubota Garden which was founded by one (!) self-taught gardener and Japanese garden enthusiast, Fujitaro Kubota, in 1927. The long story short, as this visionary dreamt, his 20 acre garden eventually became a public garden, free for visitors and open every day, as a city park, till dusk.

Moments of June 2014 & What Did Not Make It

My friends, I want to thank you all for visiting and leaving such lovely, warm, heartfelt comments! You are the best bunch of blogging friends which have ever existed in the whole Bloglandia! :) Very often, you praise me for being the sunshine of this land, but please always know that you brighten my days just as much! 

June was pretty versatile and balanced month - I wore both dresses and skirts, jeans and a jumpsuit, denim jacket and cardigans, and even a new member of my closet family - a kaftan! I did not post as often as I used to, but because I combined a few outfits in two or three posts, I still managed to show a lot here on the blog. I only picked 9 outfits for the recap. If you missed some and would like to see them, here are the links:

Upper Row: 1. Thrifted Treasure. 2. Fruit. 3. She's Cool

Middle Row: 1. Gold. 2&3 Kaftan & Ombre

Lower Row: 1&2 (plus some more) in Friendship Story. 3 (and some more) in Layer It