Valley of the Moon

Yesterday was a great day! The sun came out and California finally felt like California. I went over to Sonoma in the morning and (at the suggestion of a wonderful reader) found Benziger Family Winery, where I went on a tour of the winery, learned a lot about wine and winemaking, and got to taste some incredible wine! I came to the realization that I'm a red wine kind of girl. Well, first and foremost I'm a beer kind of girl, but when it comes to wine, I like the reds. One of the wines I tasted was the 2006 "Oonapais" Sonoma Mountain Red. Stunning. It's composed of 58% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Merlot, 14% Cabernet Franc, and 11% Petit Verdot. I ended up buying 2 bottles of it, definitely the most I've ever spent on wine (and probably any alcohol ever!), but I'm planning on saving it and letting it age for a while. Well, I got two bottles, so in case I end up drinking one in the near future, I'll still have one saved up for a special occasion in the future!

dress/modcloth :: top/thrifted :: tights/target :: shoes/kensiegirl :: necklace/the morose bee

Learning about how to actually make wine and all the work that goes into it, the nuances and the minute details that affect a wine- totally fascinating. It almost blew my mind how you can even perfect that art. I have immense respect for people who work hard to perfect their craft, and wine is one of those things that really takes an amazing amount of hard work, skill, and a lifetime of knowledge to do well. It makes me want to dedicate my life to doing something excellently. I guess I just need to find that thing that I want to do!

This was our tour guide. He was so good. I learned so much and he was incredibly friendly. They have these huge caves where they keep the wine in barrels. I love how winemaking is such an ancient art. I mean wine goes back to biblical times! It's amazing how long human beings have been making wine out of grapes. It's cool how much tradition is present in winemaking. It reminds me of the oral tradition of native american cultures, that knowledge and wisdom being passed down through the ages.

Avenue of the Giants

I've been driving every day since leaving Vancouver. It's been great, but pretty soon I want to find a campground that I like enough to stay at for a few days. The drive to Mendocino from the north was quite challenging, as was the drive out, back to 101. Probably the most challenging driving yet, and I suspect it'll have been some of the most challenging driving this whole trip. Lots and lots of switchbacks and sub-30 mph driving. Yesterday was terribly rainy, too, which added to the challenge. The Brave was all fogged up, so I had to drive with the window open to try and get the windows to defog. All in all it was a somewhat exhausting day of driving and I didn't stop at any of the wineries in Napa valley because the thought of getting out in the rain was just completely unappealing. I think today I'm going to stop at a winery in Sonoma so I can check "go to a winery" off my list. I mean, I have to go to one, right? I'm here in wine country, USA, aren't I?

People have started gawking at my Alaska license plates. I had a guy at a gas station ask me if I drove all the way from Alaska, and the lady at the campground office last night was taken aback as well. It's kind of funny. To me California isn't really that far away from Alaska. I remember when we were camped over in Cape Cod in 2007 people were really amazed. We had probably driven the furthest of almost any traveler! The different reactions from people are interesting. Some people are amazed, others are concerned, and most people ask me why I'm traveling. I guess most people under the age of 55 have some sort of reason for traveling.

dress/thrifted :: shoes/market publique

The last few days I've looked in my closet and wanted to put on absolutely none of my clothes. Nothing in my closet looks like how I feel. I really just want to pack it all up, send it home and start over. Of course, that's not going to happen because then I really will have nothing to wear. I think it's just that everything I have is so colorful, and I'm really just in a dark, muted colors type of mood these days. It's probably just autumn finally taking hold. It's rained the past few days and the dull colors and cozy vibes of my environment are seeping into my aesthetic. I just want all the stuff I have in my brain to suddenly exist and be in my closet.

I decided to take the Avenue of the Giants instead of 101 on my way from Arcata to Mendocino. It runs parallel to 101, but is like 1,000 times more amazing. I love driving through the enormous trees, you feel like this tiny mouse scurrying through the forest. I could seriously walk through the woods for days. Everything is soft and mossy, and all the fallen trees are a natural playground. Someday I'm just going to walk into the woods and never come back.

Going to California with an achin' in my heart

I was thinking the other day, and I realized that I've almost always had a blog. Which cracks me up because I never considered myself a "blogger" until I started Delightfully Tacky. Back in Jr. High I had a "blog" (which was really just a word document because I wasn't really allowed on the internet back then. Oh yeah, and back then the internet had to make weird Matrix-esque noises to work, hahah). It was mostly just an electronic journal and I would sign all my entries with the nom de plume, "appleliz" (because I wrote it on an ancient little apple laptop). I don't think I'll ever be able to save those entries simply because I don't even know if that little computer even works anymore, but that would certainly be an interesting read! It was mostly filled with the tedium that is a 7th grade girl's life= boys, other less interesting stuff, and boys. Actually, I'm not sure what is in there, except I'm pretty sure a lot of it centered around my unrequited crush on this boy in 7th grade.

I started a Xanga in my later high school years as a private diary and I actually still have that one, and I do still write in it a couple times a month. It's always just been a totally private diary type of blog though. I found a ton of my actual journals while I was in Sequim a couple weeks ago. I was blown away at the sheer volume of my writings. I have book after book full of my thoughts, it's crazy. I had forgotten that I wrote so much during my senior year of high school and the first couple years of college.

dress/courtesy of tigercult vintage :: top/vintage :: boots/target :: shades/thrifted

I guess it shouldn't surprise me that I'm a "blogger"! I actually can't picture myself not blogging now! It's just such an amazing way to document your life. And even though a lot of my posts center around my outfits, I still can go back to my early posts and know what was going on in my life, just because I remember the outfit and what I was doing that day when I was wearing it. I'm excited that my life has been chronicled, in a way. It's sort of like a living scrapbook. It's cool seeing how other people's blogs are documenting their wedding, first baby, etc. Hopefully I'll have this blog to look back on in the years to come and see what I was up to!

Even though I've been in California for two days already, these pictures are from the Oregon coast- near South Beach, I believe. One of these days I'll get caught up.

As I was driving down the coast I was occasionally stopping to take pictures. At one of the pull offs I stopped at there was a cool looking old hot rod pulling a trailer. This oldish dude got out of the car as I was taking pictures, he was maybe in his late 50's, and he started walking towards me. I kept taking pictures and then he came up to me, asked me if I drove all the way from Alaska, and then offered me pot. It cracked me up for some reason. He was just this totally gnarly dude in a hot rod cruising down the road like me, headed for Arizona, tokin' it up. We chatted for a bit, all the while he packed his pipe. His name was George...

Archives Chicago Giveaway!

Can you guys believe we're already reaching the end of October? Where does the time go? I swear it was just January, but anyway... I get to bring you guys another giveaway! This giveaway is brought to you by Archives Chicago vintage! They are offering one of my lovely readers a $30 store credit! They've got all sorts of wonderful vintage finds, from dresses, to shoes, so don't miss out! Go check out the shop and then come back here and enter to win!

To enter: leave a comment on this post with a link to your favorite item in the Archives shop. Make sure to leave an email address in your comment so I can get ahold of you if you win! The giveaway will be open for entries from now until Thurs, Oct 28 at 9pm PST. Open to international entrants. One entry per person.

All in the family

After watching part 1 of the Project Runway finale last night, my love for burnt sienna velvet dresses was solidified. I really adored the dress that Gretchen was wearing and it reminded me very much of one of my favorite dresses from the Family Affairs fall/winter collection. Rebecca wore it a few weeks ago and I absolutely fell in love with the dress and the whole collection. I don't know what it is about this season, but I really just want to dress in velvet and sheer all the time lately! It just feels so luxurious and refined yet a little bit kitschy, and I love me some kitsch. Luxury kitsch... I think that's my new favorite description of something. Why yes, I do live in a luxury-kitsch mobile home!

This collection makes me want to have a whole new wardrobe full of sheer blouses, velvet, lace up booties, and tights. Winter wardrobe anyone? I have this vision of a chic little house on the prairie, but with a touch of British pomp & circumstance. I'm not sure if that girl and I will ever be the same person (probably unlikely) but I can always close my eyes and pretend to be her once in a while. And maybe I'll have an outfit or two hiding in my closet that I can pull out to imitate her for a day.

photos via Family Affairs