Portland: Vintage Shopping and Tiki Exploration

A few weeks back Dave and I spent a few days in Portland as Dave had some work meetings in town.  I decided to tag along as it was a great opportunity to spend some time in the city.  I ended up visiting several vintage shops in town while Dave was at his work meetings.

The first shop I visited was Simply Vintage.  This is the same shop that my friend Janey of Atomic Redhead Blog used to work at before moving to California.  I made sure to visit this shop as I had heard so many good things about the store and love all the items that the owner Sarah posts on her Instagram account Stutterinmama.

Sarah was very sweet and she sure has some fantastic vintage goodies for sale at her shop.

She has Atomic Swag tees for sale which I'm kicking myself now for not picking one up while I was there.  No worries; I will be back!

She also offers reproduction dresses for sale by both Pin Up Girl Clothing and Trashy Diva.

I ended up purchasing a cute yellow striped top and a pair of 60's does 40's red Remix styled heels.  Sorry I don't have any photos of them yet to share but will in the future.

I also visited Wanderlust Vintage which was a really cute shop, House of Vintage which is easy to get lost in,  and hit up a few thrift shops that were nearby.  Please visit my Instagram page (thesweetiesuz) to see some of the goodies I thrifted while in Portland.

Once Dave was done with his work duties for the day, we went to Hale Pele for their happy hour which included some very yummy tiki drinks and food.  This is a must have tiki stop if you are ever in Portland.

The next day Dave headed out to his work meeting and I continued on with my vintage and thrift hunting.  I visited Hattie's and Bombshell Vintage.  I ended up having an excellent conversation with the owner of Bombshell Vintage, Kim.  I bought an atomic shirt for Dave and a pair of cat eye glasses for myself.

That evening we met up with our friend Daren for more tiki libations and dinner at Trader Vic's.  I'm sad I didn't take more photos but I'll be back in July for Tiki Kon and will try to remember to take some more then.

There were so many great drink options to choose from on their menu!

I settled on the Peach Tree Punch.  It was delicious!

The next day Dave and I went to various thrift shops, had lunch at a cute Greek deli shop, and in the early evening met up with our friend Daren again for happy hour at The Quay bar, which is located at the Red Lion Hotel.

They have a nautical themed bar that was so awesome!  This is the same hotel where Tiki Kon is held every year.  We wanted to get a sneak peek at it before we return in July for the event.

We had a fantastic view of the Columbia River and Interstate bridge.

The next morning we packed the car up to head back home, but not before meeting up with a few friends of mine from high school that I hadn't seen in over fifteen years!  It was a lovely reunion and I'm happy that we  met up and we already have plans to do so again in the coming months.

Till' Next Time,

Suz

Adventurers Day: An Unofficial Disneyland Themed Day

In the last five years there has been a huge growth in the amount of Disneyland themed days.  Whether official or not I'm extremely excited about the sudden interest in having any excuse to go to the park in dressed up or attend in themed attire.  My friend Rebecca is the founder of yet another genius themed Disneyland day; Adventurers Day!  Below is a outstanding YouTube video, by Chris of "Lost in Paradise", which documents their very first gathering which took place last year.

They have had a few meet ups outside the park as well. Their next gathering is next month and I thought it would be nice to learn more about this event by interviewing my friend Rebecca.

Suz - What is your very first memory of Disneyland?

Rebecca - My first memory of Disneyland is when I was nine.  I remember two very specific things.  The explosions on Mr. Toad's Wild Ride and needing to photograph my father in front of the awesome tiki trash can outside of the Enchanted Tiki Room.

Suz - How often do you visit the park?

Rebecca - Almost every Sunday except for when we are blacked out.

Suz - Do you have any park rituals?

Rebecca - If Maynard is working then we have to go to the Enchanted Tiki Room and we can't leave Disneyland without riding the Haunted Mansion.  We also love riding The World Famous Jungle Cruise at the end of the night because the lines are so short and the Skippers are sillier.

Suz - What is Adventurers Day and what can one expect?

Rebecca - Adventurers Day is a Disneyland event that encourages you to wear your best safari gear and come to the park to ride rides and if you are brave enough even participate in an eight hour long photo scavenger hunt!

Suz - What was your inspiration to create Adventurers Day?

Rebecca - The four of us all love Disneyland so much.  We come on a regular basis and attend almost all of the other official and unofficial Disneyland days.  But we found because we come so often that it would be fun to create our own day especially based on the thing we love most; ADVENTURE! We were thinking about making an unofficial meet up day that was more interactive; where you could be a part of it just as much as the next person and make your own unique experience.

Suz - Do you have any suggestions on what and where someone might buy their adventurer gear and clothes for the meet up?

Rebecca - We have custom pith helmets and official Shrunken Ned pendants which you can find on Etsy here or we have them available whenever we are vending at either Don the Beachcomber for the International Tiki Marketplace or various Tonga Hut events.  You can also go to any army surplus store to find your basic pith helmet which we think is a requirement!

Rebecca -  We are in fact vending at this coming weekend's International Tiki Marketplace event at Don the Beachcomber's on Saturday March the 7th.

Rebecca - Another chance to catch us is at the Tonga Hut on Sunday March the 15th for their 10th Anniversary celebration.

Suz - Do you have any other suggestions for someone who is attending the meet up for the first time?

Rebecca - If you are going to participate in the scavenger hunt we recommend bringing friends, a camera, and extra batteries! It's great if you have a team of thrill seekers ready to go, but if not, come solo and make some great new friends!

Suz - What are your future goals for Adventurers' Day?

Rebecca - We hope to have scavenger hunts outside of Disneyland as well.  Also this year we are involved in the Anaheim Halloween Parade.  We will be taking an Adventurers Day field trip to help in building a float as well as be in the parade!

Be sure to check out their event Facebook page located here for more information about their next gathering at Disneyland on April the 26th.  

Till' Next Time,

Suz

The 38th Annual Rogue Valley Street Rod and Custom Car Show

This Sunday Dave and I attended the 38th Annual Rogue Valley Street Rod and Custom Car Show.  This was our first time attending a car show in southern Oregon since moving to Medford this last September.  The cars were beautiful and obviously loved by their owners.  Most were modern customs with a few classics thrown into the mix.  It took place inside a building located at the Jackson County Fairgrounds.

This custom 1936 Auburn Boattail Speedster was by far Dave's favorite from the show.  Many actors from the 1930's owned this car including Marlene Dietrich, Mary Astor, Clark Gable and Errol Flynn just to name a few.

I loved the lighting affect on this one.

I dressed down as it is still cold here in Southern Oregon.....well at least to the sunny California weather we are used to.  I wore my new to me 1940's Mexican tourist jacket (which I recently purchased on eBay for a steal of a price) paired up with a vintage tooled leather purse I recently thrifted for a whole $3.

This Packard was Dave's other favorite. It's definitely a dream of his to own and restore one of his own someday.

Dave gets sentimental when ever he sees a car like one he has owned in the past, like this Chevy. It's pretty darn cute.

As always, I love to capture the beautiful details as I spot them.

This 1962 VW bus was beautifully displayed with a matching ride for the kiddies as well as a remote control version of the same bus all matching in color and detail.

Cute right?

The owner was nice enough to let my niece jump in the kiddie ride.  I think she would have had more fun it if was actually moving.

Here I am in front of a 1964 Mustang that is very similar to one that I used to ride along in with my friend Michelle, when we were in high school, who was lucky enough to own one.  Sadly she sold it a few years after we graduated.

Here is a better photo of it with no bystanders.

We came across a Thunderbird parked outside of the display building.  This is the same year, make and model of a Thunderbird miniature car which was found at my grandfather's house and was gifted to Dave from my Mom a few years back.

We also stumbled across this car and trailer set before leaving.  It's definitely a dream of mine to own a set similar to this one day.  Sorry for the poor lighting.

All in all we had a great time and we are looking forward to attending several more car shows this coming Spring and Summer in Southern Oregon. We have at least six to look forward to and are discussing attending the some car shows in Reno and Sacramento as well. 

Till' Next Time,

Suz