I'll See You Seaside

In 2011 our family took an epic journey down the Canadian and American West coast.  A favorite stop of mine was the city of Seaside, Oregon.  We arrived around sunset and what a sunset it was.  I can't decide which is lovelier: An East coast sunrise or a West coast sunset.  I've never forgotten that little town, so when we were planning our family vacation, I requested that we stop in Seaside once more.

We spent the night at the Hillcrest Inn, and our room was quite nice.  Quite frankly after such a long day on the road I could have slept just about anywhere, however the manager at Hillcrest was absolutely delightful and ever so kind to us that I can highly recommend this hotel based on customer service alone.

This beach has beauty that just won't quit and if you enjoy looking for shells, you can find whole sand dollars if you get there at the right time or have enough time to spend.  We did manage to find just one and lots of pieces, as well as a lot of very small Portuguese Man-O'-War jellyfish.  If you love small towns, friendly people, and natural beauty, Seaside Oregon is the whole package.

Gravity Falls: A.K.A The Oregon Vortex & Confusion Hill

Gravity Falls first premiered on the Disney channel in 2012.  At the time our family was living in the Pacific Northwest and I walked through our living room during my daughters' t.v. time and happened to catch a few seconds of the Summerween episode (S01 E12).  I laughed so hard that I sat down to fininsh the rest of the show.  It very quickly became a family favorite.  

The story in a nutshell is about two kids who go to visit their great uncle for the summer at his roadside attraction, the Mystery Shack.  Intelligent humor that worked on a level that the kids enjoyed as well as the adults, it was originally intended to be a three season show with each season representing one month of summer.  Unfortunately the show was prematurely canceled by some brainless executive, so the writers had to shoehorn two seasons worth of story into one in order to give the fans a proper ending.

As it turns out, the Mystery Shack is based on two real roadside attractions, The Oregon Vortex near Rogue's River in Oregon, and Confusion Hill in California.  I grew up in the 80s when the interstate wasn't really a thing and stopping at the roadside attractions was way more fun than where ever we were acutally headed.  I've been really sad to see that this form of travel fun has fallen by the wayside as we race down interstates at breakneck speed, eyes glued to various screens, not stopping until we reach the destination.  We've definitely had our fair share of those, but this time we decided to load up our days with places to stop and since we were all Gravity Falls fans, we knew that we had to make time for both these great stops.

Both locations embraced the homage from Gravity Falls, especially since the creator, Alex Hirsch, left clues throughout the show as to the whereabouts of the show's villain, Bill Cypher, and led fans to a statue at The Vortex and later relocated to Confusion Hill.  And both offer a great opportunity to stretch your legs and be amazed!

Tropical Vacation Dreams with Honiara Vintage

Finally!  It is finally time for a beachside vacation and I was so thrilled to collaborate with Honiara Vintage on their Retro Summer Collection!  Look at this beautiful sunrise.  I love this time of day on the beach most because it's the only time we are totally alone here to just enjoy the sound of the waves.  We packed up and drove down the ocean to spend a few days relaxing on the beach and enjoying the surf and sunshine.  And how very relaxing it was.  

After such a long, long winter, I needed all the sunshine and vitamin D I could get!  So, we pitched a small beach tent next to the water, brought a picnic in a cooler, a couple of good books, and some sunscreen and it was just swim, read, nap, swim, read, nap for two whole days.  This is how every vacation should be.

When evening rolled around, we packed everything up and returned to our air-bnb.   we rented a room and bath in the home of a lovely woman who made us coffee and fresh muffins every morning.  

The house was surrounded by a narrow brackish river and situated on its own little island giving the feel of serenity and seclusion and the tree frogs sang up a lullaby each night. 

Inside and out the house was richly furnished with such attention to all the details that one evening we just wandered around the grounds exploring.  After all day at the beach, we decided to skip fighting the crowds and long waits for a table at a restaurant.  We called in our orders early for carry out and took our dinner back to the screened-in veranda attached to our second storey room.  

It was all so lovely and so comfortable.  That's all I'm looking for from my vacations--beauty and comfort.

That's also what I look for from my footwear, beauty and comfort, but all too often it's one or the other.  Not so with Honiara Vintage shoes.  I took along my vintage style tropical wear for our trip and these Gizo Heels from Honiara Vintage were so amazingly comfortable without compromising style! 

I love the authentic vintage look of Honiara's heels, but the fact that they came in biodegradable packaging and when I put them on it was like walking on air is what has made me a loyal fan of Honiara Vintage and I can't wait to spend the summer strolling the markets and lanes in these gorgeous heels.  

If you're unfamiliar with Honiara Vintage, take a moment to get to know them.  I pulled this excerpt from their website:  From the mind behind Charlie Stone comes a passion project dedicated to living an eternal summer dream through tropical designs inspired by our family's heritage.  Supporting a family business and living in an a vintage style eternal summer, this brand is checking all my boxes!

I hope I've brought a little summer relaxation home with me, because I don't want this feeling to end.  I'm hoping for a nice quiet break from the stress and busy schedule of the rest of the year.  If June, July, and August look are half as good as the end of May, I foresee this being an excellent summer, the kind where life long memories are made.  Happy start of summer, everyone.  Let's make it a great one!

Shopping Info:  Gizo Heels in Red from HoniaraVintage.com, Halter top by Belle Poque, Tiki Tropical Skirt from Collectif

Travel Dresstination Passport

When it's terribly chilly and gray outside, we could all use a little holiday.  Maybe you're planning a little getaway, or maybe you just need a mental holiday from the gloomy weather and the hectic work schedule.

KarinaDresses has just released their Resort Collection and it is full of pretty prints and stylish cuts.  I love this Megan dress in Passport.  The coral is so warm, I'm dreaming of sunny beaches already.

Today I've been blessed with such gorgeous weather, I decided to spend the day walking around the downtown, shopping and relaxing, which is just like a mini-vacation. 

I'm irresistibly drawn to the rich colors in this Megan Dress in Passport print and even more so at this time of year, when I need a break from bare trees and brown fields.  

But I also love how these dresses look wonderful dressed up with heels or dressed casually with sneakers or sandals.  With a Karina dress, I'm prepared for anything.

When it comes to travel woes, my biggest pet peeve is the way that no matter how carefully I pack my clothes, they always come out horribly wrinkled.  That's not a problem with KarinaDresses.  

These dresses always come right out of the package wrinkle -free and ready to wear, which means I can roll them up in a suitcase and the minute I get to my holiday spot, this dress is ready to wear, no steaming required.

So, wherever you're going KarinaDresses is your perfect Travel Dresstination.  Check out the full Resort Collection at KarinaDresses.com

Shopping Info: Megan Dress in Passport from KarinaDresses new Resort Collection 2020

Travel: Iceland

A few weeks ago, just as the travel season was past its peak, a friend and I decided to go meet up in Iceland.  We haven't seen each other since Japan and quite frankly neither of us do much phone calling these days.  We do keep in touch through lengthy e-mails, but every now and then it's good to just sit down face to face and chat, so that's what we did.  Before she proposed this trip, I'd never looked into traveling to Iceland.  I was pleasantly surprised to find that I didn't have to make a million and a half connections to get there--just one.  My ticket was reasonable and the flight was overnight and fairly comfortable, although the return trip was much harder to bear.

First stop was Vatnajokull to see the glaciers breaking away and slowly drifting to the sea.  My friend was saddened by the fact that much of the glaciers have receded now and the landscape is barer than the last time she was here.

Beachy Keen

Sand Piper Photograph, Assorted Shells, Beaded crab, and Blue Crab oil painting from etsy.com

It's a beautiful morning by the sea in sunny Florida and I'm ever so glad to be back in the citrus state.  We weren't planning a trip here this year at all, but a couple of dates opened up at our favorite spot from last year and we decided to pack our bags and go.  It was last minute and the kids were against it, which totally baffled me.  

I grew up without ever taking a single family vacation, so I'm always ready for a road trip or a trip of any kind, really.  My children on the other hand have traveled frequently in their young lives to some pretty incredible places and they come off as a little jaded toward seeing the world now.  I get it...I guess, but I don't like it.  The world is a pretty big place with amazing things to see all around.

So, I very politely asked them to leave their crabby pants at home and only bring their happy pants along for this family vacation.  Did they?  Pretty much.  No trip is without it's mishaps and misadventures, but I'd say we did far more laughing than anything else and that is what makes a trip great.

For this trip I packed lots of great, healthy snacks since we were trying to keep our expenses down and we managed to make it the whole way without stopping for a meal.  And, I grabbed a few audio books from the library to make the trip go by a little faster.  I picked a little of everything--Little Women, A Walk in the Woods, Mr. Popper's Penguins--but the one that surprised me by being a crowd favorite was The Hunger Games.  

I read the books years ago, and watched two of the movies.  I loved the books, but there was so much they just couldn't fit into a two hour movie that I didn't love them as much (no disrespect to Jennifer Lawrence).  Everyone liked the book so much that we actually had a lengthy discussion about it and they asked me to check out the next two on audio book so we could finish the series together.

I don't know how we did it on such short notice, but we managed to have a really great road trip with a good book, good conversation, very little bad weather, and minimal sunburning. 

Shopping Info:Nautical Option Cropped Sweater in 12 (UK) - Short Sleeve Pullover by Royal Monk from ModCloth, Port Presence A-Line Skirt by COLLECTIF VINTAGE JOSIE CRAB SWING SKIRT