vintage charm

It just so happens that somewhere in the country of Thailand, one of my sisters is laying on a beach. She's wearing a swimsuit which makes my toes wriggle for sand and warm water, tropical breezes and all the other wonderful things I imagine surrounding her. The morning's relative warmth and my sister's tropical adventure led me to photos of bathing beauties from the good ol' days when suits were not stretchy or small, but literal suits. Over the years they've trimmed some of the extra fabric off and made them quite a bit easier to swim in, but I can't help loving the details of the before-time of bathing suits.

Let's not forget the hair and the shoes, which often distract me with their charm.

There's nothing like very cold weather followed by not-so-cold weather to make one feel very excited about spring and even more excited about summer. A bit of a February thaw, with little buds and fresh green shoots poking their timid heads out of the soil is just what I needed this morning. I can feel my muscles relaxing, inviting warmer air and dreams of sunnier days. It's no Koh Tao beach, but it'll do. For now.

Thanks to Lizzie at http://thevintagetraveler.wordpress.com/ for sharing her amazing collection of vintage photos. They prompted today's post and possibly a new project designing a vintage-inspired bathing suit for myself...

snow wishes

The temperature here is a brisk 26F. The sky is blue. There is no snow to speak of, but the promise of snow has had me waking up in the wee hours of the night and peeking out of windows to see if it has snowed yet. The answer is no. Well, not really. We got about half an inch, which makes the little Snow Wisher in me very sad and pouty. To make matters worse, there are people I work with who actually got snowed in. Granted they have a 45 minute commute in the morning and I have about a 7 1/2 minute commute. But still!

So to perk up a little, I poured myself a cup of hot tea and poked around on Google Images looking at scenes of "winter." Here are a few of the most wonderful winter wonderlands I came across.

I feel much better now, and have changed my desktop to the photo of pretty iron lawn chairs stacked with white, fluffy, wonderful snow.

nooks

This breakfast nook is just about the most inviting little nook I've seen in a while. I love the weathered table and the simple mobile. I also love the vintage sugar jar with the zinc lid. Puts my mind to thinking, perhaps I should do something more interesting with my vintage jars. They're filled with silk ribbon and random bits of pretty trim. Could I add some of the stones I've collected that sit in piles around the house? Perhaps the pile in the kitchen window could find a better home in a pretty jar?

If I had a breakfast nook, I might turn the table so people could sit on both sides of the table. But I like Herriot's style.

The Silent Guardian

Growing up in the wild woods of Sprint Point (on an island in the San Juans) my sisters and I used to tromp through forest and field over the Stream and past the Platform to the Gnarling Tree. The view was spectacular and looked West across the trees and out to the waters of the Puget Sound. But the view was not what we were there for. This old growth tree, with branches the size of giant tree trunks, with a low-lying arm reaching out perpendicular to the ground... this is the reason we had donned our Grubby Clothes and headed out on our adventure.

We spent hours climbing, sitting, singing, and leaning on, in, to this beautiful old tree.

Many years later, I wonder if it is still there. This silent guardian of children's imaginings. We played so many games of pretend, sheltered under his branches when it rained, and felt so small and wild.

Of course, we were small and wild then.