You guys know how I love a fancy, classic cocktail. Well, Kenn and I and a bunch of friends have been working on putting together this fun community event next month in Portland: Cocktail Camp PDX. You might have noticed the ad for it in the sidebar, in fact.

It’s hosted by the lovely folks at New Deal Distillery, and it’s all about making, discussing, and enjoying fine cocktails. You’ll be able to see some interesting talks, sit in on discussions, and generally have a good time. Talks range on everything from pairing cocktails with food, to hosting a cocktail party, to tiki drinks, to artisan distilling. You can check out the lineup and see ticket info (they’re just $10, but space is pretty limited) at Cocktailcamp.net.

Anyway, just wanted to throw a plug out for it, and maybe I’ll see some of you Portlanders there!

This is Xtabay, a beautiful vintage shop blocks from my house. I’m a fan.

And by the way, I’ve just discovered that their blog is really wonderfully written.

I am getting ready for spring by indulging in a bit of my favorite color.

Like Anja, I headed out to the Portland Antique Expo this weekend. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it since I am in the midst of a lot of sewing, but I decided I should take a break and I’m so glad I did.

Oh, the dresses. So many pretty ones.

This illustration is amazing. A flapper, a bat, a lap dog, and an evil kitty. What could be better?

Most of my purchases were sewing-related, because (a) I eat that stuff up and (b) I find it really easy to justify. The lady with the booth above was selling bundles and bundles of fabric, including 40s silks and rayons, which I pounced on.

And these are buttons. Meticulously filed and labeled, there were tons of early plastics to paw through.

And now, here are my purchases! Like I said, I find it all-too-easy to spend money on sewing things.

This is a gorgeous navy silk. It’s 4 or 5 yards and was only $10 because it’s cut in multiple pieces. I will make good use of it though! I love large scale prints.

These are both silk as well.

I buy up those buckle kits whenever I see them. These were $0.25 and $0.50, if you can believe it. And I love the red buttons that look like candy.

This booklet is adorable. I will probably review it on the Colette Patterns blog at some point.

The purple fabric is just a scrap, but I had to have it. And the buttons were in a bin that I had to go through to find matching ones. I’m a sucker for a challenge, I guess.

Knitting magazines, most from the 1940s. $1 a piece! Sorry, I just can’t get over the deals.

And the final and best deal of the day was a powder blue bouclé Lilli Ann coat. It had a spot on the front, so the dealer gave me a very low price. I took it home and got the spot out within 5 minutes. voila! I’ll get a photo of me in it at some point. It is lovely.

There are sweet people and there are savory people. Never is that more clear than when it’s time to get waffles.

I lean much more to the savory side, Kenn to the sweet side. I’ll take cheese, vegetables, salt, olives and bread over pastries and candy any day. Don’t get me wrong, I like sweets, but my favorite sweets are subtle. An anise biscotto, a fruit galette, or some bitter chocolate, for example.

(However, I love baking. I could bake layer cakes all day, even if I’d prefer to eat veggies and cheese)

Even though our beloved Waffle Window offers many seasonal variations of sweet waffles, I almost always opt for the farm fusion. Chevre, spinach, mushroom, tomato, and roasted peppers on a small, thick, perfect waffle. Just a little bit of sweet with a lot of savory. It’s perfect.

Do you guys go for sweet or savory?

These are a couple sparkling sweaters I’ve acquired recently (both from Red Light). They are both so beautiful and so so spangly. Usually when I find beaded sweaters, they are sort of big and baggy, but these fit me perfectly.

I thought I’d share the sparkly goodness. I just need a simple slip dress to wear these with (working on that).

I don’t thrift as much as I used to, but I’ve taken one or two trips recently that have yielded some lovely little finds.

These red gloves are just gorgeous, and actually fit my big hands. I have long fingers, so most vintage gloves don’t work for me.

And these white and gold vases are really making me cheery, especially the tall one with douglas firs on it. I snipped some branches from our forsythia tree for them.

I also got a gorgeous mocha late 1940s dress that fits me perfectly and cost hardly a thing. I’ll try to photograph it once it’s clean and shortened.

I’m in love with this gorgeous glasses case that reader Kim made for me and sent all the way from Australia. Can you believe it? Sometimes it is astounding to me how nice people are.

It’s just beautifully constructed, and the white lace has me longing for summer already.

Here’s my latest finished knitting project. It’s called Made So Quickly and it’s from the book A Stitch in Time. I actually have the book from the early 1970s, but the new one seems to be updated with gorgeous photos and modern yarns, so I highly recommend it!

I’m not 100% crazy about the yarn I chose, but it was in my stash. It’s Knitpicks Main Line, which they don’t seem to carry anymore, but it’s a 75% cotton 25% merino wool blend. It’s very nice and soft but sturdy, I just wish I’d used a lighter weight yarn as the sweater is bulkier than I normally like.

But I love love love the vintage buttons I found for it.

Here’s a link to my sweater on Ravelry for those that have accounts and want to see a few more details.

The weather has been absolutely gorgeous in Portland for the last week. I know it’s a false start and the rain will return, but it’s still a welcome relief. There are flowers absolutely everywhere all of a sudden.

When the weather is nice, we take a lot more walks. Long, rambling walks around the neighborhood to admire the flowers, buy a falafel, and visit with the neighborhood cats.

This is one of my dresses that Kenn refers to as a “compliment dress” because whenever I wear it strangers tell me how much they like it. I feel very conspicuous in it, but in a good way. I feel like people get happy when they see a dress like this.

We’ve also been making smoothies every single day. We cracked open this fresh coconut and added it to one the other morning, which was pretty amazing. I am looking forward to being able to sit outside and enjoy something like this for breakfast in a few months.