My Family Camp Adventure

Good morning! I wanted to share with you some photos I took at Camp Namanu over the weekend. I was there all day on Saturday teaching tie-dye to 100 kids and adults at the FCC Family Camp. It was my first experience teaching and a whole lot of fun.

Camp Namanu is located in Sandy, Oregon (about 1 hour from Portland). We lucked out and had beautiful weather. Being at camp again brought back so many great memories from when I was a girl scout. Going to summer camp every year was something I loved and looked forward to. I didn't attend Camp Namanu as a kid (I went to Camp Arrowhead in Stevenson, WA and Camp Whispering Winds in Philomath, OR) but would have loved to go here. It is so beautiful.

I was lucky enough to have my mom and stepdad come along and help me for the day. And thank god they were there! Teaching tie-dye to a group of 25 people ages 4-adult was quite the crazy challenge. While getting ready for the event I kept the Girl Scout motto, "Always Be Prepared" in my mind and boy did that pay off. 
Whenever you try something new, the first time is always the most nerve-wracking. Did I make enough dye for everyone? Did I bring all of the necessary supplies? What if I can't wrangle the kids in or get their attention? What if someone swallows a bottle of dye? All these things went through my mind in the days leading up to the event, but everything went smoothly! I made enough dye for everyone and we all had a great time. I hope to host more tie-dye classes next year!

Photos from my weekend

Hi! I took a trip up to Issaquah, WA last weekend to help my friend Alison get ready to open her new retail shop! This is the view from her backyard. So beautiful!

We spent an evening tie-dying tissue paper for the shop too!

On my way back to Portland yesterday, I stopped in Olympia to visit my friend Zerrin. She is living with her mom in Boston Harbor and it was just beautiful!

 This is a little playhouse in her backyard...

The weather here in Portland is supposed to be nice again and I can't wait to play in the sun this week.

Palm Springs

We are home from Palm Springs and I thought I'd share some photos I took while we were there. It was a very fun, very quick trip (we arrived home yesterday morning). It was so special to witness his grandfather being honored on the Walk of Stars and to be there to celebrate his 80th birthday. 

Me and Marylin. "My, what long legs you have!"

James' grandfather's star on the Walk of Stars, Palm Springs.

James with his dad and grandfather.

A Quick Trip

James and I are on our way to Palm Springs today to celebrate his grandfather getting a star on the Walk of Stars! His grandfather, Don Luster is a singer/songwriter and long time performer. During the Korean War he wrote 'The Lonely G.I.' which drew the interest of Elvis Presley and made the charts in Boston in the mid-1950's.

To prepare for the trip I decided to make a Palm Springs mood board. Can't wait to feel the heat of the sun and join in the festivities.

Sources: 1. Vintage Pinup 2. Sunset 3. The Saguaro 4. American Airlines 5. Palm Springs Girls

Also check out my Palm Springs inspiration board on Pinterest.

My Trip To Virginia

Last weekend I took a trip to Norfolk, Virginia to visit my sister. She moved there from Portland earlier this year to work at the Navy hospital there. This was the first time I've seen her since February! My mom was already there (she traveled there a week earlier). We had a lot of fun and I thought I'd share some of the Instagram photos I took while I was there.

First off, we found a $5 store (I didnt even know those existed) and I loaded up on Lisa Frank Halloween stuff! We had lots of fun playing with all the pencils, eyeball erasers, and stickers.

We made curried pumpkin soup in a pumpkin!

And we took a walk through Teresa's neighborhood (before the Hurricane Sandy hit). We saw lots of spooky haunted houses...

We also stumbled upon a bird and wildlife preserve! I even found a few flowers still hanging on before winter.

These flowers are called White Wood Astors.

And these are Beauty Berries (love that name!)

Did I mention how much Teresa and I love Lisa Frank?

And lastly, on the night when we got hit the worst by the hurricane, we stayed home, watched movies and carved up some pumpkins.

This is what it looked like outside her front door on Monday morning (the day my mom and I were supposed to head home but our flight was cancelled).

Luckily, we made it home safe and sound the next day (Tuesday). Our flight was the second plane to leave the airport that day. What an adventure!

My Faerieworlds Costume

I showed a 'sneak peek' of my costume for Faerieworlds last Friday, but I have more photos to share! Before we left last week we met my friend Bobby in the park for a little faerie photoshoot.

Costume Details:

Dress: Used to be a long skirt I wore bellydancing in high school. With the help of this easy tutorial, I transformed it into a faerie dress.

Belt: I first saw this belt worn by Kaylah from The Dainty Squid and recently found this one at Wanderlust here in Portland.

Large Bead Necklace: Bought on Haight & Ashbury during my 2008 trip to San Francisco.

Love Beads: Thrifted at Red Fox Vintage.

Beaded Choker: Handmade by me when I was in high school.

Rose Hair Clips: Claire's.

Beaded Cuff Bracelet: I don't remember! Bought it in high school during my belly dancing days.

Rings: Silver spoon ring, Red Fox Vintage. Red rose ring, Flora. Mood Ring, Fuego.

Dreamcatcher Wings: Handmade by me!

Return from the Faerie Realm

Well what a weekend the Faerieworlds festival turned out to be. We arrived Friday afternoon to Mount Pisgah, just outside of Eugene, Oregon. After setting up our tent and applying some faerie makeup (glitter, purple eye shadow and a bindi) we ventured into the festival to participate in the opening ceremonies. We watched a procession led by the most beautiful faery matron with long silver hair and then began the spiral dance (check out this video).

(source)

We drank sparkling mead and conversed with pirate wenches. We danced to the grooves of afro-celtic band, Baka Beyond. 

We walked and shopped all the vendors selling faerie wares. My high school girl self was super excited to see Amy Brown (I was obsessed!) and all the other magical vendors. 

I can't begin to describe the costumes people wore! And I'm horrible at taking photos (I prefer to enjoy things in the moment and though I always bring a camera, I most often completely forget to use it). We saw every kind of faery you can imagine! Tinkerbelles, gypsy fairies, sluttly punk fairies, steampunk fairies, goth fairies, Woodstock fairies.. even a Star Wars fairy! We saw pirates and mermaids, faery villains and superheroes.

But the best part of Faerieworlds was getting to see the King of the the Faeries himself! DONOVAN!

He played a magical set opening with Hurdy Gurdy Man, Mellow Yellow, Sunshine Superman, Season of the Witch and more! AND of course the night ended with the most magical Atlantis! It. Was. Amazing.

And then we got to meet him and have him sign THIS!

James captured this from Futurama's "The Deep South" episode (featuring Donovan) and had it printed poster size. We were completely star struck and he seemed pretty pleased to see his cartoon self again.

Thank you Faerieworlds for such a magical weekend (even if we did end up looking and smelling like true hippies).