Australia Chat and Makeup Talk

Back in November, Kim from the fun lifestyle blog Northern California Style kindly gave me the "Liebster Award" and asked me to answer ten questions about myself and then share the award with two other "up and coming" bloggers. Well, here I am, finally answering her questions a whole three months later. Thanks Kim, sorry for the delay!

1. What's your favorite scent and how long have you been wearing it?

Dead Sexy by Tokyo Milk has been my favorite perfume for about 2 years now. It's different from anything I've smelled before and not very expensive, and supposedly smells a little different on everyone. Before that I wore Pink Sugar which I would describe as a complex cotton candy. It's still one of my favorite scents but always got totally mixed reactions so I'm more likely to spray it on my pillow than wear it to work. :)

Tokyo Milk on the vanity tray in my bedroom

2. Lipstick, lip gloss or chapstick?

Either lipstick or chapstick. If I feel like putting in effort or getting a little glammed up, I love YSL's Rouge Volupte in Peach Passion, but I most often have basic chapstick on.

3. If you could have a chef, a housekeeper, a driver or a masseuse at your service 24 hours a day, which would you choose?

Is it totally horrible that I live in a small apartment by myself and want to say housekeeper? Whatever, I'm going with that!

4. Do you prefer city living or the country life?

I have always lived in a city (grew up in Houston, went to college in San Diego, have lived in Portland since) but my mom lives on a farm in Texas and I absolutely love visiting. I must admit though, I get cabin fever pretty quickly so I'd have to say I prefer city living. Especially in Portland. There's just so much at your fingertips!

My mom's sweet little farm house in Chappell Hill, Texas

5. Where do you do most of your shopping for clothes: online, malls, discount stores (like Ross), boutiques, thrift and consignment shops, or outlets?

Even though I love vintage and antique decor, for some reason I am not very good at shopping for vintage clothes. So, Forever 21, H&M and Target are my go-tos. I do like places like Nordstrom Rack and Marshalls but for whatever reason I always forget to shop there.

6. What is one food that you can't stand the taste of?

Kimchee. I just can't, even though I really wish I could.

7. If you won a round-trip ticket for two to any destination in the world, where would you go and who would you take?

I never would have said this five years ago, but ever since I started reading Australian blogs, I've had a really strong desire to take a trip to that part of the world. It just seems like such a laid-back, naturally beautiful destination, and I love what I've seen of Aussie style. I would take my brother since he and I have a lot of similar interests and I think he would dig Australia more than anyone I know. Sorry Mom!

My brother and I on the zip-line course during a family vacation in Costa Rica

8. What's the last movie you saw in a theater?

Zero Dark Thirty. Hopefully I'll see another Oscar nom or two this weekend - it's kind of killing me that I have yet to see most of them! What was your favorite - which should I make sure to see!?

9. Drugstore or high-end designer makeup?

I went through a weird phase last summer where I got all kinds of designer makeup, but I'm really just a drugstore kind-of-makeup girl.

10. Real "old fashion" books made with paper or electronic reads?

Old fashion books. Please. ;) Just finished Gone Girl, now about to start The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks. Read 'em?

The entry table in my apartment with some books I read in book club, minus Design Sponge...

Thanks for asking me to participate, Kim, it was fun! I'd like to pass along this award to two bloggers who I've recently started reading and really enjoy...

Kim of See Kim Decorate

and 

Ashley of The Photogramps

Of course, this is totally optional but I do think it's pretty fun to learn more about the bloggers behind the blogs we read. I'm going to ask some questions that are pretty different from the ones I answered, so hear ya go ladies:

1. What are the weirdest/most unusual things we'd find in your fridge?

2. What is your favorite childhood movie?

3. Where is the best place you've ever slept?

4. What is your favorite book (and why)? 

5. How would you describe the style in your home?

6. What's your beverage of choice?

7. If you could have an all-expenses paid vacation for two anywhere in the world, where would you go and who would you bring along with you?

8. Would you rather float a river, layout at the beach or ski/snowboard down a mountain?

9. If you could learn to speak another language over night, which would you choose and why?

10. What's your favorite music of the week?

Well, that's a wrap! Thanks for reading and have a fantastic weekend!!

~all photos in this post are my own~

I like old things

If you've been reading this blog for a while, you probably know that I'm a little bit crazy for old things (antique, retro, that dusty stuff in your grandparents' garage) and like decorating my apartment with the eclectic "treasures" I've snagged at flea markets and antique fairs. I am unable to go home next month for my favorite thing in the whole entire world because of work commitments, so I convinced my mom to make a trip out to Oregon (two weeks ago) for the next best thing: the Coburg Antique Fair. The shopkeeper at one of my favorite Portland antique shops, Madison Park, insisted that we sign up for the early bird opening to scavenge for steals with the big dogs before the fair officially started. But this would have involved leaving the house at 3 am and wearing headlights to sort through piles of stuff in the dark so my mom and I decided to leave that amount of hardcorocity to the pros.

We did, however, drive two hours from Portland to Coburg and then walked for seven straight hours from antique booth to antique booth looking at everything from old Civil War rifles to Victorian hat pins to Roseville pottery. Twice we called it a day and went back to the car, started driving away and then decided to pull over and shop a little more. The apple does not fall far from the tree. In the end, I came away with a pretty set of silver plated serving utensils, an antique card table, some colorful vintage table cloths and a 1950s baby pink Sunbeam mixer.

Overall it was an incredible day and I'm so glad my mom was there to enjoy it as well. The pictures below were taken at a variety of booths at the fair, and although I've enjoyed fawning over them every night since I took them like a schoolgirl in love, I totally understand how to some people it just looks like old junk. I get it, I get it and I don't judge - it just means more for me! The last picture, however,  is the Sunbeam mixer I came home with and I think everyone can agree it's pretty dang cute.

Thanks for checking out my photos! 
What interests do you share with your mom or close family member?

Week 24-25: Don't Miss 'Ems!

Wow what a weekend it's been! (For the sake of being on top of this blog, let's pretend it's still Sunday.) First of all.... my sister is getting married!!! Her boyfriend popped the question on Saturday and it's been non-stop phone conversations, and smiles, and Pinteresting, and teary eyes, and texts with the fam and friends ever since. Maid of Honor, right here!

On top of that, I've been trying to get all of my ducks in a row for a long anticipated girls' trip to San Francisco! The five-day funfest begins on Wednesday, so if you have any recommendations of where to go or what to do, please let me know! I haven't been to SF since a family trip in 8th grade and I sort of want to see and do everything. (Except Alcatraz...   just sayin')

And before it gets too far away from me, a wrap up of my favorite things over the past couple of weeks from the blogosphere:

This photo accompanying one of the best interviews I've ever read, of food/travel writer and stylist David Prior, by The Design Files

This kooky but oh-so-fun Queen Elizabeth's Dress Hues Pantone Color Wheel via Design for Mankind on Yatzer.com

Chloe Sevigny's currently-on-the-market house tour via The Aestate

A nice-looking way to hang organize via Affaire With Interiors

DIY Gold Tube Bracelets by Honestly...WTF

This lovely tour of Jessica Comingore's eclectic home via Design*Sponge

This jaw-dropping NYC rooftop via Gild and Grace

This cute and playful bathing suit on Elsa Hosk via Oracle Fox

An airy and bright dining area via Gild and Grace

These simple succulents in such elegant silver goblets via My Design Ethos

This stunning beach photography by Massimo Vitali featured on The Aestate

A ridiculously creative bedside table via The Decorista

 This sassy stripe ensemble via Look Closer

This super-stylish living room via Apartment 34

Everything about this look on Oracle Fox's Mandy Shadforth

A delightfully charming office space via Five Kinds of Happy

This standout look worn by my girl crush Taylor Tomasi Hill via Because I'm Addicted

This adorable "Save the Date" by Souther Fried Paper (favorite business name ever) 

via The Glitter Guide

This does-it-get-any-better? kind of room via The Decorista

Which of these images has you most inspired?

And more importantly, what is your must-see, must-do, must-eat, must-shop in San Francisco!? 
I need tips!!

Happy Father's Day!

I hope everyone is having a great day with their dad! Since my dad's in Texas and I'm in Oregon, I just get to wish my dad a Happy Father's day over the phone, but I think he appreciated the gift my siblings and I got him since he spends a lot of time outdoors and has a thing for hats!

I've already honored my dad a little bit by going estate saleing this morning (something he also enjoys) and I think I'll continue celebrating Father's Day by listening to The Byrds and perhaps watching some Charlie Chaplin - he used to make my siblings and I watch CC as a kid and I think I might appreciate it more now. ;)

Here are some entertaining pics of my Dad over the years, beginning when he was a child. While you can't see it in full-effect from these photos, I think I got my tendency to ham it up in front of the camera from him.

 Halloween 1955

My dad in the middle, around 1957 

1966 

Galveston, TX (I think) not sure the year - high school?

Austin, TX 1973  (my dad's in the back on the left with that wild long hair and beard)

El Paso, TX ... late 70s

around 1980 

About ten years ago, working on his parents' property in Montecito, CA

My siblings and my dad and I several years ago

Hope everyone has a wonderful Father's Day and wrap-up to the weekend!