A-Tisket, A Tasket

I found this awesome basket ($5) at the Salvos last week. It accompanied me all day Saturday, which included such adventures as a morning walk to some nearby garage sales, the farmers’ market, and then out for an afternoon at the beach. Garage sale finds, fresh fruits and veggies, beach gear… it’s the perfect carryall! I think it might be my answer to the much blogged about Birkin basket this summer… picnics, flea markets… oh, the places we’ll go new basket friend.

I’ve been wearing this necklace tons lately. String, wooden beads, and I love the large glazed-ceramic Mexican bead with the painted yellow flower. I found it at the New To You Thrift for $2 and it’s definitely a favorite accessory right now.

The garage sales turned out to mostly be a bust, though I did pick up a little white eyelet and crochet dress/tunic for $1, not vintage, but super cute and of course one can never head into summer with too many little white dresses ;)

I also picked up this book for 25 cents. We recently read Olive Kitteridge for my book club and I enjoyed Elizabeth Strout’s writing style, so I figured I’d check this one out. Anyone read it?

When the sun came out on Saturday, following the gray clouds and rain of Friday, I seized the opportunity to break out this gorgeous vintage 70's sundress that the beautiful Amber of Violet Folklore thrift gifted me for my birthday (which also happens to be her birthday too!) back in February.

I love it, it’s got the cutest little floral pattern, it fits me like a glove, and is sooo comfortable. It's handmade with no tags so I’m not sure what the fabric is (probably a synthetic blend of some sort) but it’s got stretch to it which makes it feel almost sporty, you know, like you could do yoga in it, it’s the perfect fun summer activities dress.

Saltwater sandals, straw sunhat (acquired from my mother-in-law), sturdy basket, and a Mexican blanket… classic beach accessory staples!

After some playtime in the sand with Clover (little sunken sand chairs are kind of their thing), Lucas and Joey took to the waves while us girls hung out on the beach, propped my camera up on some items we had with us, and played "piñata" (Clover is a little obsessed w/ all things birthday party these days)…

…and then there was that silly game of “Uh-oh!” and some good old-fashioned Ring Around the Rosie… ah, welcome to my world :)

Thanks again to Amber for the lovely dress! Also, if you don’t already know her blog and shop, I highly suggest heading over for a gander, let’s just say her shop tagline “where pretty dresses grow on trees” says it all, and be sure to check out her amazing post on a magical place called The Cuckoo’s Nest, Portland’s original bohemian boutique, you won’t be sorry you did!