52 Tuesdays: Favorite Thrifts #12

What: Vintage Doctor Bag Style Suitcase
Where: Monroe Flee Market
Level of Love: 9 out of 10

Although we've only been to the Monroe flee market a (small) handful of times it has been good to us. In fact, it's been featured in this space before on favorite thrift post number seven. This find happened on a different trip. Probably almost a year or more ago. If you've been to my house, you know I've got a major crush on vintage luggage. Especially of the chestnut leather variety. Seriously, does leather get any more beautiful than this?

This guy felt like a true treasure because I had to dig for him a bit. He was sitting pretty much out of view under a table with some other items sitting in front. But, I spotted my favorite shade of leather, dug him out, and promptly asked how much (this is not the sort of place with ready made price tags). Oh. I also did my two automatic checks for vintage luggage: the smell test and the zipper test. One. Does it smell like old? The kind of old you're pretty sure you're not going to be able to "air out"? Put 'er back. It's not worth it. Two. For me it has to be usable. Either as visible storage space in our storage-space-less apartment or as actual luggage. This guy went on a trip to Vancouver B.C. with us via Amtrak shortly after we brought him home. Not so practical for air travel, but it worked swell for the train. Now, he sits in the living room holding our DVDs.

Oh, extra special bonus: a monogram. I'm not sure why this makes it extra special to me, but I fall hard for a gold monogram. Doesn't even matter who's initials. I just like that this belonged to someone.

Churchill Family Yurt Tour 2013: Pacific Beach

At last the Churchill Family Yurt Tour makes a stop at an actual yurt. It's located at Pacific Beach, which is along the very southern edge of the Olympic Peninsula on the big 'ole Pacific Ocean. Boy was there plenty of beach to go around, and I assure we took long walks on all of them. Oh, and there were t-shirts this time. Yep, we got t-shirts.

Saturday we loaded up the car (something we're getting quite good at) and had our lunch on a beach in the more southern town of Ocean Shores. There were surfers. In full body wet suits, but still. The weather the whole weekend was absolutely perfect. Sunny, no rain, blue skies, and warmer than we're allowed to have in Washington at this time of year.

After arriving at our yurt and getting settled, we decided to head out in search of a spot for surf perch. Yep, fishing. As you may recall, Kevin tried fishing for surf perch on this trip but had been unsuccessful.  This time, he did his research and knew just how to do it. We got there at the right time for the tide and found some nice swirly, rocky areas like they like. Despite this, we were both still skeptical about him catching anything. It just seems sort of strange to us inlanders that you can pull a fish out of the big 'ole ocean. Thus, when he came running back toward my beach spot after about 10 minutes I assumed he was frozen and giving up. How wrong I was! Surf perch number one. He went back out for my dinner, and came back with another in about five minutes. That's my man. While Kevin caught fish, I caught a sunburn, being a little too over zealous of the warm weather and skeptical of the Washington sun's ability to burn.

Oh! I forgot to mention! Before the surf perch we experienced another first! I drove on the beach! Looking back, this was pretty cool. There were lots of others driving on the beach, too, and it was clearly okay per the signage. At the time however, while driving, I was kinda freaking out. I just kept picturing the old Taur getting stuck in the sand and us trying hopelessly to get her out. I was cussing it up in the car (sorry Mom!) while Kevin laughed and laughed at my dirty sailor mouth and general lack of nerve. Needless to say, things turned out fine, and then I decided I loved driving on the sand, that I was a sand-driving rockstar, and thus asked Kevin to take this picture:

Back at camp, we had a surf perch feast! I contributed with asparagus and cast iron corn bread. Then, it was time to make after-dinner coffee and go down to the beach for the sunset. Perfection.

Sunday morning we took another beach walk, then came back to camp for Sunday brunch. Can you tell food is our favorite? Camp cooking = the best. Someday I'll attempt Grandpa Firnstahl inspired cobbler - but that's another story. This time it was leftover cornbread, beans, tomatoes, and sausages (which were brought in case the surf perch thing was a bust).

Then, we started our drive back, stopping at one more beach. And getting more of a sunburn. There was a bit of thrifting in Aberdeen, then home to sleep off the sun. Best yurt tour stop yet.

For a history of the past two stops of the Churchill Family Yurt Tour see here and here.

52 Tuesdays: Favorite Thrifts #11

What: Not sure what to call these exactly? Here goes a really long adjective riddled name: Woven Leather T-Strap Sandals with Stacked Wooden Heel
Where: Monroe, WA Goodwill
Level of Love: 5 out of 10

Lovely leather vintage shoes with wooden heels are one of the number one things I look for at thrift stores but rarely find. At least in a size 8 1/2. These little beauties I almost passed up...not because I didn't love them but because really, do I need another pair of heels I never wear? The thing about these, though, is that it turns out I do wear them. The heel is not super high, and unlike other pretty vintage heels I own they actually fit (why oh why do I keep buying shoes a half size too small and thinking it will end well). I've worn them them three times now on outings that required a medium amount of walking without any blister incidents. That's a win.

At this point you may be wondering why they got a five, because it's clear from my glowing review that they rock. It's because I'm painfully afraid they're going to break. Like an irreparable tear in the woven leather or a broken strap. So, I'm trying not to get too attached to them just in case.