Instagram Recap: Portland I *Hearts Adore* You

Roses from the Portland Rose Garden

The City of Roses has a special place in my heart and this past visit really tugged at me. Perhaps it was because it was the first time that I really (like really) could see myself living there. Or maybe it was the first time it didn't feel like a city I was just visiting, but rather a city that I could stay in.

Last time we were in Portland, my fella and I had a jam packed schedule. This time around we were still out and about and going to all sorts of places, but it didn't feel scheduled, it just felt natural.

My favorite memory will probably be the day my friend Cari and I (we were in Portland at the same time, hooray!) were taken to Sauvie Island by her sister and her friend. Driving through fields of white flowers, seeing lone large trees in an expanse of farmland, noticing chipping old barns set against a beautiful Oregon summer sky... it was Heaven I tell you! I thought my heart would burst with happiness!

I remember thinking...this...THIS feeling. Where things are slow and moving, and you have time to notice beautiful things like ospreys hovering overhead and the way the breeze bends the long wild grass...

I also met up with several lovely people. Friends I have made through Instagram who have become friends in real life. It is just so wonderful to meet people you follow and have watched the world through their eyes and then to realize them in real life and discover they're just how you imagined them to be? I had such a terrific time breakfasting with Annie from Lantana Vintage, Solanah from Vixen Vintage and now American Threads, and Gretchen from The Neutral Territory. Thank you ladies for taking the time to meet up and break bread together! I always think the best conversations are those around a fine meal and a delicious cup of coffee (which Portland is brimming over with both!)

Ahhh...and the shopping, and the vintage! Oy vey! Portland has many, many, many delightful boutiques and vintage shops to whittle away your hard earned dollars! I only went to a few vintage shops this time around to source for vintage for my own shop (and my closet), but I did go to several wonderful other shops I've been following in Instagram for awhile including Yo Vintage, Lowell and Maven Collective where I had the absolute pleasure of meeting Jax of Tabor Vintage and Kim of Ethan Ollie. You ladies are so wonderful and wish I had more time to have chatted with you both to talk shop, pretty things, and general hoopla.

This is turning into the longest love letter I think to Portland (just kidding, I bet someone has written love letters to Portland and I bet there are VOLUMES of it).

I'm sure the photos speak for themselves and hopefully will say a lot more than I ever could about how much I love and absolutely adore the city of Portland.

I should just move there. LOL.

Connect | The Word for 2014 + an Inspiring Start for the New Year

A few weeks ago I met with several small business women here in Long Beach for a bit of spiced wine, homemade desserts, and to share stories and our journey as entrepreneurs. One of the ladies mentioned "her word" for 2014 and so did another gal. And I really thought about this for some time after the meeting since I had no idea what that one word for me would be.

Literally I was musing about this up until a week ago! What would my word be? A single word can be pretty damn powerful stuff! And somewhere in the back of my mind…c o n n e c t popped up.

And it popped up again. And again. Just sort of lingered there in the background until it came more CLEAR to me that what I wanted for 2014 was to CONNECT with everything in my life and in my business. I won't dig too deep into how dynamic this word means to me right now and how it absolutely seeps into everything aspect of my life in someway or other.

“We cannot live only for ourselves. A thousand fibers connect us with our fellow men; and among those fibers, as sympathetic threads, our actions run as causes, and they come back to us as effects.” - Herman Melville

I Crave New Old Stuff: Reflections on Being A Vintage Shopkeeper

It's been a couple days of me and myself in this weird pink then grey cloud of a mood. I wonder if it's the weather, the big super moon perhaps? Anyhow, so far this month I have acquired so much new inventory for the shop, and yet there is this unquenchable thirst for more, more, more vintage! I wouldn't say it's greed sort of thing, I think I just always crave new old stuff. It applies to my wardrobe, my apartment, my vintage studio. And it's not just wanting new old stuff, it's also wanting better new stuff.

As a vintage shopkeeper I try to make little investments for my business every month. I set aside a budget for something new. June for example was for a new iron. July will probably be more realistic office furniture. At the moment I use a very cool industrial table for a desk and an equally cool mid century modern folding chair. Neither are well suited for sitting hours upon end editing photos and scheduling product updates! Luckily, my studio has a semi back room (with a curtained wall) so if I do get IKEA (gasp!) furniture for the office, well, at least it won't ruin my French Western Industrial (whatever the hell it is) mojo I got going on in the showroom space.



While I am budgeting for office furniture I think I also need a sign for my shop windows and of course I need a fan because it's getting a little hot in the studio now that it's summer. Oh, and I'd like a nice rug too. And an art deco armoire. And a rad antique mirror. Maybe a couple of those. It's this really annoying domino effect of more stuff I want but then putting on my business hat and saying "Now, now, only one thing at a time!" and then my vintage/decorating crazy person hat shrieks "But I want it NOOWWWWWWWwww" all Veruca Salt like.

So, sometimes I look at inspiring images of very sparse beautiful spaces filled with old things. No need for so much stuff! And then I go into "I have to put everything out of sight right now!" mode. Clean white walls, nothing on the floor, clear off that surface!

I exhaust myself. But at the same time I just love it. Like, I frickin love re-arranging everything all the time! It feels new for a few months, then I have to move it all around again. But it's always old stuff. Objects with character and stories. The newness comes from my perception. A new order of things.

I get tired of the same old thing. But I sure as heck love new old things!

A Vintage Outfit Post: Go-to Uniform

There was no particular reason why I wanted to do an outfit post today other than I really liked what I wore. It's simple, nothing fancy. It's pretty much my go-to uniform when I can't be bothered to put together outfits. Simple blouse, a vintage skirt, and sandals. And this hairstyle is my go-to hairstyle when I can't sort the mess that is my hair.

I'm quite curious as to why women simply do not wear skirts more often, especially vintage ones. I find them to be so flattering on a number of shapes and forms. And they're so damn comfortable! Go forth women and wear more skirts!





HAIRSTYLE DIY:
Make four sections in your hair and braid each section.
Wrap two front braids under head and pin on opposite side.
Wrap two back braids over the front of head overlapping.
Use lots of bobby pins.



Blouse: Levis
Skirt: Vintage from Shop Lawrence
Bag: Shop Lawrence
Sandals: Madewell
Jewelry: Vintage + New

And if you're wondering, photos edited using VSCO. ^_^
(I get asked often what I use to edit my pictures with.)

What I Wore: Chloe Meets Vintage on St. Patrick's

I honestly thought yesterday was St. Patrick's Day (posted St. Patrick's posts on facebook...whoops!), so this outfit was not chosen because today is St. Patrick's Day, but coincidentally, I was the greenest amongst friends today! I was at a worship/prayer workshop last night and was chatting with a friend and exclaimed "HA! you're not wearing green and it's St. Patrick's!" meaning to pinch him and he responded with "It's not until tomorrow!" So, joke was on me as I wore green yesterday as well!


I had planned to wear this outfit to a picnic party at the park, which got canceled at the last minute, oh well, I just looked quite festive! This vintage 1940s skirt is one of my favorites in my personal collection because it easily can be a modern day skirt. The giraffe print is amazing as is the small "bustle" detail in the back.

When I first noticed this CHLOE blouse I almost passed it up. I'm not really one to purchase expensive items for myself (let alone chartreuse!), but upon trying on the blouse, I immediately fell in love. I just LOVE the color, but have never ever worn it. This is the only yellow/green garment in my creams-peach-pink filled closet!


My favorite element of this blouse is guess... if you said the sleeves, by golly you've got it! I feel as if I should be writing poetry with a quill pen while wearing this blouse and I have to be honest that at one point today I was quite tempted to walk around with my hands on my waist as to show off my billowy sleeves. Haha!





So, there we have it...what I wore on St. Patrick's Day...an all green outfit without meaning to wear all green, but well, I just went with it.

Behind the Scenes: Adored Vintage at MAGIC Market Week

Hi everyone!

I am writing from (chilly) Las Vegas after attending DAY 2 of MAGIC Market Week (I posted a bunch of photos on Instagram: Adoredvintage) but if you don't follow AV on Instagram, there are some snaps below. I really had no idea what I was getting myself into and it was a sort of spontaneous decision to come to Vegas for a few days and check out what MAGIC was all about. And GOODNESS me... such an exciting, overwhelming, tiring, and all around fun experience!

I've thought about expanding Adored Vintage for awhile now to carry vintage inspired clothing but so far the access to labels I had in LA were too trendy and too fashion forward and that's not what Adored Vintage is all about. So glad we decided to come out to Vegas as I have now been properly introduced to about a dozen brands (some really beautiful London bases brands!) I am really excited to explore and possibly carry at Adored Vintage and the brick + mortar store!


Attending the show is like one gigantic window shopping experience. The booths are all set up like mini stores basically. Some are as simple as a few racks and tables and vases of flowers to really fully thought out and developed booths with music, snacks, sellers with iPads on the ready...

This afternoon while leaving the show, I felt like crying, and I know that sounds silly, but I am in disbelief sometimes that this is what I do for a living. I spoke with a few sales reps and I became privy to how much money some boutiques spend at the shows (one online store spent 10K in one booth alone!) and while I am nowhere near that league, it is kind of amazing that I've gotten even this far and still pushing forward on my own.

The past few months since I left my full time job has been full of incredible blessings and countless challenges and I've been able to get through the obstacles with a lot of support from my friends and my church family. So I suppose I can't claim that I've done all of this on my own.

Looking forward, I am planning on taking aboard some gals to join the Adored Vintage team. I have realized with all the plans I have for the upcoming months and all the projects I want to dip my hands into, I can't do everything on my own anymore. And that's such a scary thing when you're a one woman show. To let go of that control, that fear...to jump into the unknown, to put your trust into a stranger who you hope becomes a dear friend and member of your company's family.

I have really grand ideas for AV. After all, if your dreams don't scare you, you're not dreaming big enough, right? (I'm not sure who said that, I saw it on a Pinterest post).

Someday I am going to have a beautiful industrial warehouse and have a small team of vintage loving gals who possess great character and whom I will call family working alongside me. And the warehouse will have lots of big windows, racks and racks of beautiful exquisite vintage, a place to shoot gorgeous product photos, and there will be a garden, and we'll have dogs at the office, and we'll have great coffee and tea, and a well stocked employee pantry with croissants...

It is truly my belief that if you visualize your dreams down to the smallest details, they will come true because it doesn't seem like such a far fetched dream anymore. I can picture what our conference room will look like... big grand windows with antique lace curtains and a beautiful reclaimed wooden table and lots of fresh flowers in mercury glass vases...oh and rugs, lots of cozy Navajo rugs!

I am going to make this dream of mine come true. One little step at a time.

A Lady & Her Fella | Valentine's Day Aboard the Queen Mary

This was quite possibly the most wonderful Valentine's Day I've ever had. My sweetheart surprised me this morning with a gift, a beautiful 1930s art deco necklace I had my eye on at the vintage expo. Then he made me pink eggs and heart shaped bacon (well, those didn't quite turn out...but I so appreciate the effort and thought) and my favorite (GIGANTIC) cinnamon bun from Sweet Jill's Bakery in Long Beach.

At first we thought about doing a coastal drive up to Solvang, a picturesque Dutch town about 2 hours north of us, but decided to stay closer to home to avoid traffic (seriously, when you live in LA you literally plan your days around traffic)

We had such a fantastic day of exploring the aquarium (me going crazy over the jellyfish!) and then walking around Rainbow Harbor and enjoying lunch on a sun drenched patio. Afterwards we caught the shuttle to the Queen Mary and had a blast exploring all the different decks, reading up the history of the ship, and also took the Queen Mary Legends & Ghosts tour. I won't tell you too much about it...but I do recommend doing the tour if you're into silly stuff like that. AND you get to go into the boiler room of the ship which you can't access by yourself...it is genuinely haunting down there.












Most importantly, today's date day was just a reminder that sometimes work has to be paused and put off to the side and I get to enjoy the day with my love. It was wonderful to "get away" even if it was just in Long Beach. If you and your fella are looking for fun date ideas, I highly recommend getting the DUO ticket for the Aquarium and Queen Mary (you save about $20!) and it can easily all be done in one day.

Hope you and yours had a wonderful day of love!

Insta Recap | January 2013

Wow! Where has the time flown! February is already upon us and I feel like it was just yesterday I was packing up my apartment and my work studio in Los Angeles and preparing to move to Long Beach. Here are some snaps from our Instagram Feed for those of you that don't use or follow Adored Vintage on Instagram.



January has been a fairly trying month. A lot of successes and a lot of stress. Back in December I thought it would be a brilliant idea to move both my apartment and my studio on THE SAME DAY (because I'm secretly a crazy person!). I went from two small studios to a loft style apartment (with a retail shop in front for the Adored Vintage shop!) with one small closet. Storage has been the number one problem so far.

If you are anything like me, the site of clutter (or perhaps the reality of how much I actually own) makes me feel a little anxious. I don't like seeing things just haphazardly laying around. I want to tidy it up, put it in pretty boxes, make vignettes... and well, my apartment and my shop or in the current state of "piles here" and "boxes there". Can you relate to this? I think I seriously had a mini panic attack after a week here and the boxes just did not seem to be going away!

Luckily the light is at the end of the tunnel. Moving to a new city, moving two different studios into one space, and running a business with you as the sole employee... it's been a hectic crazy month.

I'm excited for February to be a lot more mellow and to really focus on the Adored Vintage shop and really putting down some roots into this garden I am cultivating!

What are you excited for and looking forward to in February?

Inspirations for the New Year

The start of a New Year is always when folks want to reinvent themselves. I used to make a big list of things I was going to do for the year and always found by mid February that I was slacking. It was back in January 2010 that I decided to live the life I've always imagined and stopped making resolutions that I wasn't going to keep and instead live every day fully and purposefully. And that has stayed true with me since then.

I am not going to say "I'm going to do this or have to do that...". Instead I will say "I am going to and I will do that!"

And so, without further ado... what is inspiring me today at this moment for the rest of my 2013! Happy New Year everyone!

Vintage Meets Modern Apartment Inspiration

At the moment I am rocking out to Imogene Heap's i Megaphone album (basically my album anthem for the year 1999, or was it 1998?) and just musing about the internet particularly on design inspirations for my new apartment I am moving into in just a couple of weeks!

The current apartment I reside in is fairly close to Hollywood and it's a 1920s old brownstone. A teeny 420sq ft studio. It's been my cozy little hovel for the past year and a half and I have so enjoyed living in it. You can see photos of my apartment here: Saturday in my Apartment and in this post: Featured on Apartment Therapy.

So the new apartment I am moving to is much more industrial and modern looking! It's one big giant space with glossed cement floors, a few industrial fixtures, and pretty much just a big giant rectangular box with giant front windows.

The new apartment will definitely have a more masculine feel. I've bought quite a few industrial work benches for my studio downtown and they're moving into my apartment with me. I'll also be incorporating navajo inspired rugs, a little rustic mixed in with french flea market. Ahh... just basically all the things I love thrown in together in a happy mix.

Onward + Steadfast! Moving forward with a Brick + Mortar!

I am going to start by saying last week was one heck of a week! I am aware that I am both exhausted and energized at the very same time. What an odd thing to experience!

On Monday I signed the papers that begins a new chapter in my life. It is official! Adored Vintage will have a store front in 2013! Check out what the space looks like



I am starting to examine what this means. What do I want it to be? What am I committed for it to be? At this point in my life a regular open 6-7 days a week shop isn't in my plan. It doesn't interest me. I'm clear on that at least. I haven't gotten clear to what exactly it is I will be doing in the retail shop. Other than the vague "Oh I'm going to sell vintage and work in it".

Oh man! I do love this part of the process!



The dreaming up. The putting together. The planning. The pinning. Oh yes, the pinning! I am a very visual creature. I will paint myself a picture and from that I will start to derive what this space will be and how I will be utilizing it to move forward with my business.

*excitement all a buzzing*