Fall trip to Ashland

We just got back from a lovely weekend trip to Ashland, Oregon. We saw two plays, looked around in shops, ate way too much great food, and enjoyed two of the best fall days I can remember in a long time. We walked around in Lithia Park, which a kind gentleman told us is celebrating its 100th birthday this year and was designed by the same park designer that created Golden Gate park in San Francisco. If you've never been to Lithia Park or Ashland, you are really missing a gem of Oregon and the West Coast. I love it there.





And during our walk we ran across a number of these guys, eating some breakfast in the morning sunshine along the creek. They were beautiful and not at all afraid of all the passers-by.

Summer has started....FINALLY!!!!

As those of you who live in the Northwest know, We had the LONGEST, FLIPPING Winter EVER!!! It was cold and snowing through Memorial Day weekend. It has been grey and cloudy for months and months. Our flowers and gardens and fruit trees were utterly stalled by the cool weather (so much so that our local CSA farm says that tree fruit does not look good this year). But FINALLY, FINALLY, the sun is poking its shy little face out from behind those grey clouds, and we are seeing the light once again.

Thank you sun for finally coming out. I missed you so.....

To coincide with the beginning of summer, we are on our first of many weekend trips with family. This weekend we are in Ashland with W's mom and her husband. We go to the Oregon Shakespeare Festival every year with them and it is truly a fun experience. Ashland is a great little town with lots of character and lots of culture. The plays are fantastic and the restaurants even better. We always stay in this quaint little hotel up above the shops on Main Street, the Columbia. Right next to the hotel is this awesome little shop called Prize that is a wonderful blend of vintage and new. It has a totally unique style that I wish I could emulate. Lithia Park is beautiful and a great place for an early morning walk where you might run into deer and other wildlife. We saw a great play and even had time to take in the Sex and the City movie in the evening.

At Prize, I poured over all the vintage flashcards, posters, and other educational ephemera the owners have collected and decided to get some for myself.

I got these small flashcards thinking I would use the images as embroidery patterns first and then find some kind of other project to do with them. Here are three that I picked up.

Then I got these larger posters to frame and decorate our kitchen with. I think they are so cool.

I have some more of the smaller flashcards that I'll share with you later.

All in all a great weekend and glad to be home now. :)