Tulips and Travel Plans {and a couple books}

We made it up to the Skagit Valley Tulip Festival last month on the last day of the event.  It'd been a couple years since we'd been and I don't know why because the scenery is absolutely amazing and worth the trip.  This is also close to where last night's bridge collapse happened.  Thank goodness no casualties but how incredibly frightening. Two cars and three people fell into the water but it sounds like no serious injuries.  We've driven over that one ourselves.

We sorted out a little more of our summer travel last night.  We'd had our Seattle to Copenhagen round-trips squared away but have now added some one-ways to *London* (I'm thrilled!) and a Eurostar ride to Paris. We'll also be in Bordeaux and are planning an excursion to Spain.  Very excited how things are shaping up!

Here are some pics of the tulips from April:

I haven't been cooking much lately but I have been reading a little.  Just finished A Corpse in The Koryo by James Church - very interesting mystery set in North Korea - and have started The Keeper of Lost Causes by Jussi Alder-Olsen.  This is another Nordic crime novel set in Denmark.  If you like Sara Blaedel's work or Girl with the Dragon Tattoo-type reading, I definitely recommend.

xoxo

China {Tianxingqiao Scenic Area}

We were so fortunate during our visit to Guizhou this past October to have friends arrange a visit to the Tianxingqiao Scenic Area and Huangguoshu Waterfall.  The natural beauty surrounding us was amazing.  I didn't even mind the cable car ride (much much unlike the one at Hong Kong's Ocean Park).

Here are some pictures from the first part of our excursion that day. You should be able to click to enlarge.

We ate some of these on our walk.

We also bought a hat.

Calmly riding the cable car and calmly taking pictures and video.

lunch outside

We were stopped frequently by people requesting photographs of, or usually with, the children. One nice gentleman even requested "mama and papa" in a picture, so we got a little celebrity treatment too.

Huangguoshu waterfall, an ancient village, and photos out and about in Guiyang up next.

xoxo

More Target Scarves

I picked up a couple more scarves the other day.  These are nicely sized, light and airy.  Will be great for summer travel (currently planning our next trip - Denmark/France/Spain).  Tory Burch has a cute scarf tutorial here.

 061081995 Oblong Kelly Green and 061081944 Pomscarf Orange

xoxo

OOTD 5.15.13 {blue stripes + red shoes}

Target has a great scarf selection out right now.  I just wore this blue striped one two days in a row (the second day over orange).  It's nice and big, lightweight, gauzy, and easy to wear.  The colors are pretty versatile with my wardrobe too.  I may have to stop by the scarf section again today on my way to cleaning supplies and paper products.

 Target Merona scarf (recent purchase) J Crew linen cable sweater in navy (last year), Gap jeans, Tory Burch Karissa espadrilles (on sale at Saks... I'm wearing a 9), Prada bag

xoxo

OOTD 4.25.13 - Bright Green & Dots

Mid-60's and sunny - I'll take it.  Enough of a reason to finally wear the Stuart Weitzman Minx sandals that have been waiting boxed in my closet.  My polish is OPI Strawberry Margarita.

Soprano top (Nordstrom, year or two ago), J Crew cardigan, F21 denim, Stuart Weitzman Minx sandal

The sandals feel great despite being pretty high.  I'm wearing my usual 8.5.

xoxo

Table and Chairs (and Shoes)

I recently saw these chairs at World Market and knew I'd make them fit in my house somewhere... one wall of the family room had never been quite how I wanted it, so here they are:

World Market Emma Tufted Chairs

I'd had a larger black table with one chair there before and that table just overwhelmed the smaller scale chairs so it has moved and been replaced by this new one from Ballard Designs that arrived (quickly and in perfect condition) last week:

Ballard Designs Dahlia Octagonal Side Table

I purchased the lamp in Thailand - I think Pattaya - years ago, and the vase in Dan Kwian...  I bought many pottery pieces there when we lived in Thailand.  The paint color on the walls is Benjamin Moore Chestertown Buff.

Looking at the pics, I see I really need to tuck that lamp cord somehow.



Also, I cannot wait to wear these shoes.  It's still cold but we've had lots of sun breaks lately (a term that I'd never heard growing up but is now quite familiar) so I'm wanting to break out the Spring shoes.  I won't wait for it to get really warm, but I do need a pedicure.

These are past season and I bought them on sale from Bergdorf Goodman.  They shipped directly from SW though, so even though they are sold out all over (Duchess of Cambridge effect), there still may be some stock available.  I recently noticed the somewhat similar Reins style is featured in the March 2013 Nordstrom catalog (p. 75).

Stuart Weitzman Minx Sandal

xoxo

Prada from Bluefly

While I was recovering from kidney stone surgery I had extra time for online shopping.  I placed my first order with Bluefly and found the shipping to be timely and package nicely wrapped.  I got the shoes at a great price point - they were of course marked down from retail, and I believe an extra $50 off that day (some days I've seen $30), along with shipping at no charge.  When I ordered there were only two sizes available, 39 (mine) and another... I was a little concerned because after I ordered I checked availability again and 39s were still showing as available, with the other sold out.  I checked back a couple of times before they arrived and noticed that different sizes became available and unavailable.  I'm not sure how they work their stock but this makes me think it's worth it to request notice if an item you want is currently not available and comes back in stock because there is a chance it will pop up.

I'm delighted with the shoes.  I noticed a pair almost exactly the same - I'd say looked to be the same style, just a different color - at the Nordstrom flagship later which, at full retail, cost more than twice what I paid for these.

Going through some old iPhone pictures recently, I noticed this snapshot that I took during the Neiman Marcus fashion show last Fall.  I think these may be the same shoes - there were some Prada in the show.  Here are the ones I think they are on their website, in black.  I loved the blue shoes and color combinations in the show but had no plans to pay that much for a pair of blue shoes at the time so forgot about them.  Happily my pair popped up on Bluefly at a fraction of the price.

Have you shopped Bluefly?  What did you think?


xoxo