The Moon Song Sisterhood, Part 1

Many apologies for not getting this post up sooner my lovely friends. Last week, as I began to write it, one of the themes that kept coming to mind was the beauty and positivity that can be brought into one’s life through these crazy internets. On the flip side they can also be a mind-numbing techno time-suck (let’s not kid ;), but at the heart, it’s all really about connections, and as for my own interweb wanderings, I feel so incredibly lucky to have made some very special ones along the way. Though I should probably also say, that I don’t really believe that luck had too much to do with it ;)

This post was in essence written to celebrate the wonder of such dear connections, however, over these past days, the heartbreak and horror, the destruction and devastation, of all that has and continues to unfold in Japan has been overwhelming, and I must admit, it has left me with the urge to “retreat” just a bit from all the “connectedness” and really cherish the comfort that I’m fortunate to be existing in right now here in my cozy and, as yet, safe little home with my loved ones.

I feel terrible for the people of Japan who are directly involved, I feel terrible for our planet, and on my Yahoo homepage when I saw this major headline: “Radiation soars at Japan nuclear plant, Area residents are told to stay inside during the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl, Threat heads up the coast” immediately followed by this “major” headline: "‘Bachelor’ winner gets cold feet, Emily says she’s not quite ready to wed Brad, even after accepting his proposal,” well, I just felt a little sick inside and terrible for humanity as a whole.

With my portal to inspiration and kindred souls currently overwhelmed by confused and often conflicting messages of doom and fear, the timing of this post started to feel a bit off. Though while I know all of our hearts are breaking for the people of Japan right now, I also feel like sending out a story of love and light and positive connection can’t be a bad thing during such times as these, and I know that there are at least a few lovely souls out there to whom these pics will bring smiles to their faces and hopefully brighten their days like they do mine, so without further ado…


Our story begins in Sacramento, CA at Crimson & Clover, the most magical vintage shop in all the land… seriously, where else would this story begin? ;)

(left to right: Milla, Nicole, Me, Amber, Heather)

Brought together ultimately by a mutual deep-seated love of vintage clothing, it makes perfect sense that this would be the chosen spot for myself and these gorgeous and wondrous ladies to finally find ourselves all together in three-dimensional reality for the very first time!

Nicole, the all-around sweet spirit and stylish-beyond-words proprietress (her co-proprietress, Kara, we unfortunately didn't get to meet this time). Milla, Amber, Heather, and myself giddily descended upon Nicole at work in her shop after initially meeting up, daughters and husbands in tow, for lunch at the restaurant next door.

With Clover and Mycie (Amber's daughter), happily swinging at the park across the street with their papas, we girls were free to browse, chat, take lots of pictures, and pretty much just bliss-out on each other for awhile.

Pretty Aquarian birthday packages from Nicole, our fellow water bearer :)

Ah, the gift of Gunne! Milla basking in the glory, as the rest of us ooh-ed and ahh-ed in the background.

Heather flashing her bright and ever-present smile, as we all wandered around the lovely shop in a giddy daze, perusing racks of dresses and admiring Nicole’s amazing handmade accessories, juggling cameras and arm-loads of vintage loveliness to try on… many of which turned out to be destined for new homes ;)

Heather and Amber looking quite excited about their purchases, as we all were!

Once the little girls had done all the swinging they were going to do, and the papas had already played the cookies from the coffee shop card, it was time to move on to the next phase of our adventure. We bid Nicole a fond farewell, with hopes firmly planted for her and her family to meet up with us in Nevada City the next day.

Now, if you wouldn't mind joining me on a wee philosophical tangent…

Following Heather’s wonderful post, both Milla and Amber recently published beautifully written accounts of our weekend as well, each expanding on sentiments shared by all-involved, as we’ve had a chance to reflect on our time together.

One topic that came up in conversation among us that weekend, had to do with the dynamics of getting to know someone through blogging, and/or other such modes of online communication, where people come together based on common interests. We all agreed that when approached with honesty and pure intention, there can be the potential for forming even deeper connections/bonds/friendships than those you might make through “real life” channels.

This writing-based means of self-expression, where you are often “carefully externalizing your internal life into words,” as Milla so elegantly put it, can lend itself to deeper interactions than you might initially have with a new person in your life.

For an introvert like myself, externalizing can be something quite difficult to accomplish during the course of everyday social interactions to begin with. As someone who feels more comfortable expressing herself through writing than speaking, I feel like it’s allowed me to make so many wonderful connections that I never would have otherwise. It really has become an avenue for getting to know people that I’m endlessly thankful to have discovered.

What’s also interesting is that, not only do you externalize the “inner you” through the act of writing, but at the same time, through the act of reading the blogs/comments/emails of those you are connecting with, you effectively internalize the “inner them.”

There’s something powerful about taking in information through reading the written word, and over time, getting to know the essence of someone in this way makes them sort of feel like a part of you, part of your own internal landscape. It makes me think of the way reading a good book can seem to infiltrate your soul in a way that watching the movie never quite can. I know that’s a complete oversimplification, but perhaps there’s still some truth to it.

This all leads to some thrilling first moments of being in the warm presence of women whose form had previously taken shape for you in this way. It is a bit like "stepping through the looking glass." Your internal reality becoming your external reality, as girls who existed as composites of words and images in your mind and heart, become vividly real right before your eyes. Eyes that lock in deep recognition, while smiles beam, and heartfelt hugs commence. It’s an experience both surreal and hyper-real all at the same time.

It’s all very fleeting though, because before you know it, you’re looking at these sweet souls in the flesh as if that’s just how you’ve always seen them, and it’s all a bit mind-bending in the best of ways!

But let’s get back to our adventure, shall we?


Speaking of the magical act of reading, our first destination upon arrival in Heather’s hometown of Placerville was also where she works… The Bookery!


This used bookstore is nothing short of AMAZING and my girls, being the bevy of beautiful bookworms that they are were all completely in their element in it’s labyrinth of shelves quite literally overflowing with the written word.

Milla, kneeling at the alter in her place of worship ;)

Amber, unable to contain her excitement over the True Stories of the Sea section :D

Following the excitement of The Bookery, we got Mexican take-out and headed up the hill to Heather’s house where her husband Darin was waiting to warmly greet us all. The ten of us (myself, Lucas, and Clover, Amber, Graham, and Mycie, Milla and Charlie, Heather and Darin) went straight to settling in for a good ol’ fashioned sleepover!

A little beer, a little food, and the next thing we knew, Heather’s bedroom floor was barely visible as the gift giving extravaganza (dubbed “New Christmas” by our menfolk) commenced in full force!

Clover and Mycie went straight to work on Clover’s new fairy sticker book. A gift from Amber and Mycie, but not before each putting on one of many (and I do mean MANY) new vintage dresses. Seriously, between Amber’s hand-me-downs from Mycie, and Milla and Heather going completely above and beyond hunting down adorable vintage dresses for the girls, I think Clover’s collection now puts my own to shame!

While we were all the recipients of many thoughtful gifts from one another, this brooch that Amber saw in Milla’s Etsy favorites and decided to surprise her with, was really quite special.

The circle of four women so perfectly captured the spirit of our gathering and our feelings of sisterhood toward one another. It even turned out to be a foreshadowing, as later that evening we would find ourselves out in the cool night air, hands joined in just such a circle, the four of us together beneath a bright full moon.

New Christmas, the aftermath :D

Looking adorable in new dresses from Auntie Milla, Mycie and Clover had some good times jumping and posing on Heather’s bed. They are both so good at posing, not sure where they get that ;)

By the end of New Christmas, these girls were BEST BUDS, running around together and squealing with laughter like they’d known each other all their lives. Isn’t it amazing how kids do that, form friendships so quickly and easily, like “Hey she likes to wear old dresses and jump on beds too, I’m gonna have some fun with her!” They’re just all-in, from the get-go. It’s inspiring really.

In a way, I think online communities sort of give us back some of that child-like boldness in making connections. I would probably never walk up to a stranger on the street whose style I was drawn to and say: “Hey, I think you’re awesome, wanna be my friend?” But that’s basically how it goes down in the land of blog… you tell a cute Finnish girl that you think she looks adorable in her red dress, and fast forward three years later…

That connection has grown, and expanded, and now includes others…

yes, their dresses also happen to be cute, but at this point that is so completely beside the point…




and if your lucky, one day you all find yourselves and your loved ones face-to-face in a gypsy caravan of a living room sharing beers and smiles and stories and laughter…

and you adore these girls in person more than you ever thought you could…

(their loved ones are pretty great too ;)

There’s a magical midnight walk under a full moon, homemade raspberry wine shared straight from the bottle, howling, circling, singing, laughing, confiding, bonding…

and you’re ALL-IN, from the get-go ♥

The after-glow... scenes from the next morning, bathed in golden light.

Heather’s sweet kitty Cream Puff was not the only cute and furry creature roaming the house that morning.

Aaaaaaaaand, still posing :D

Milla working on the mountain of yummy pancakes that she contributed to the insanely delicious group effort breakfast we all enjoyed. It also included potatoes and bacon by Graham, fried eggs (from our chickens!) by Charlie, and endless amounts of coffee which Lucas took the lead on.

The girls, devouring pancake after pancake, under Heather and Darin’s amazing adjustable embroidered patch calendar, the likes of which I’ve never seen anything like, so cool.

More lovely bits of home décor.

Amber’s collection of Tarot cards provided for the most adorable scene of the morning…

Tarot for tots! The girls were enthralled as Heather, in her cute flannel nightie(!), went through the cards one-by-one with them. They played a game where they assigned identities to the characters on the cards based on which of all of us they looked like most.

It’s hard to say who was having more fun with this, the girls or Auntie Heather ;)

More to come in part 2 of our journey... next stop Nevada City!

Also, if you haven't already, Milla's and Amber's glorious and complete posts, both WONDERFUL reads, can be found here and here... and the love fest continues ♥

Reaching for Spring

Since it feels like a really long time since I've done a simple outfit post, I decided to rustle up a cute outfit today and take a few pics while I continue working on a couple of monster posts about the big meet-up weekend.

I just realized that Spring is only two weeks away, woohoo! Inspired by the brightly shining sun and all the blooming going on around the homestead, I went with a little floral mixing. Oh, how I do heart me some floral mixing :)

This pressed leather and chain owl necklace, a Flaming Hag Folkwear original, hand made by the lovely Nicole herself, is my new love! It has been spending most days around my neck since we visited her shop in Sacramento. Heather, who was also contemplating it's purchase, was kind enough to allow me the honor, thanks Heathe!

Late last night, there was an owl hooting outside our home, which is pretty rare for our neighborhood, it hung around for quite awhile hooting at semi-regular intervals, so cool! I like to think the necklace had something to do with it's presence ;)

Floral Top: thrifted
Floral Skirt: thrifted
Belt: flea market
Boots: thrifted
Necklace: Flaming Hag Folkwear
Leather Hair Leaf: Made by Milla

p.s. Thanks to Sadie and Bee for the mini/leggings/boots combo inspirations!

Look Who the Big Storm From the North Blew In...

The Millas!

Ah, where to begin?… Well, it was a dark and stormy night (haha, but it kinda was, so we'll go with it), the arrival of the Millas expedited by an unfortunate camping mishap involving Charlie’s finger, his woodcarving knife, and seven stitches….dun dun dun…

Released from the Crescent City ER, to a mounting storm and a car packed with camping gear, not to mention, strict orders from the doctor to keep that finger dry for the next few days, they decided to high-tail it straight down the 101 to us, postponing their California coastal camping for the journey home to their wee island off the coast of Northern Washington.

Now, aside from the evening of their arrival being stormy, it also happened to be Valentine’s Day, and while neither the Millas nor the Missas are much for celebrating said holiday, it did seem somewhat fitting that this day be capped off with the arrival of the girl who stole my heart (coming up on 3 years ago!) straight through the computer screen, armed with nothin’ but a cute red dress and a coordinating teacup ;)

With Charlie’s finger on the mend (he healed up like a champ, btw) and the weather forecast showing nothing but rain, rain, and more rain for the next five days they would be spending with us, many of the adventures that I had optimistically planned during the beautiful spring-like weeks leading up to their arrival, were not to be.


However, the Millas and I did venture out late one morning, during a lull in the downpours, and embark upon a drizzly hike up to the marshy little pond I hiked to with Clover recently.

Stopping at the pond to take it all in, just the three of us in our beautiful foggy surroundings, we noticed the storm clouds quickly approaching. The sound of croaking frogs was soon joined by the quiet tapping of hail. At this point, I decided to take out my camera and video document this lovely scene:

As I completed my little turnabout, it suddenly began DUMPING HAIL, at the end that’s Milla saying: “I think we may need to take cover, huh?” Followed by my reply of: “Yikes!” at which point we ran giggling gleefully up to the surrounding trees and, while looking out from under the cover of their branches, witnessed the most magical hailstorm I’ve ever seen.

The timing and setting so perfect, it was one of those experiences in nature that feels really special as it’s happening and I was so happy to be sharing it with these two wonderful people.

Haha, we do alright with our self-timers, but the sad reality is we both suffer from an affliction where we get extremely awkward and uncomfortable when having our picture taken by an actual human.

Often aggravated when said human also happens to be a husband ;)

We followed up our hike with yummy gluten-free cupcakes from the amazing Bliss Bakery, where Milla was especially delighted to discover that they served Kombucha on tap!

We took our goodies around the corner to Atlas, one of Santa Rosa’s finest lil’ coffee houses, for some warm caffeinated goodness to take the chill off. Then it was off to pick up Clover at the farm, where Milla and Charlie got to witness the aftermath of Pirate Day.


With all the rainy days, lots of time was spent just staying cozy at home. On this particular afternoon, Milla taught a very eager-to-help Clover how to make Finnish flatbread. I took this adorable opportunity to practice using the fancy flash my brother-in-law lent me on the new camera.


Clover, wielding her big rolling pin like a pro, quickly became quite the expert at cranking out flat circles of bread dough, faster than Milla could fry them up. As you can see, she got a bit overzealous with the flour too.

Made with love :)

Clover had so much fun being around Milla and Charlie. I thought she might be shy at first, but she was putting on a show from the moment they walked through the door. Charlie had to work a little harder to get on her good side, though she did get very excited about waking him up from his naps and enjoyed helping him pick lemons in the back yard :)

I think Clover was pretty taken with Milla from the get-go (she has a wonderful way with the little ones), though the bread-making really seemed to seal the deal. It was utterly precious to watch them bond so sweetly over it. I think Clover may have seriously considered trading me in at that point ;)

Exchanging belated birthday gifts (thrifted treasures and handmade goodies), crafting gifts for others, home cooked meals and chatting around the dinner table, movie nights on the couch, eating out at our favorite local Mexican restaurant and an epic Thai dinner downtown (the kind where you take your shoes off and sit on the floor with pillows. Needless to say, Clover was all about the barefoot pillow dining!), visiting thrift, vintage, and antique shops in Railroad Square, and LOTS of time spent being entertained by the small and often hilarious force of nature that is Clover in all her various states… these were some of our rainy day activities.

Really, the best part was just having Milla around in my real life, doing real life sorts of things, and having it all feel very natural and normal.

On Friday, the day before we were to head off on our much anticipated weekend of sisterly goodness, the rain finally let up and while the day was still a bit chilly and gray, it was for the most part dry. So, Lucas quit work early, and we all piled into our car to head out for one big day of West Sonoma County adventuring.

We followed the Russian River out to Armstrong Redwoods State Reserve in the small town of Guerneville, where majestic old-growth redwoods tower over a lush understory of moss, ferns, clover, and mushrooms. We set off on a lovely hike through the forest, letting the cool damp air cleanse our lungs while watching Clover hobble around in her pink fuzzy jacket with little ears on the hood. Like a wayward ewok trying to find her way back to the village.

I forgot to put the battery back in my little point-and-shoot which does better in low light situations without flash (not a fan of built-in flash). I didn’t bring the fancy flash for my other camera either, so for this part of the adventure I mostly left the picture taking to Milla, which is probably why I went a little picture crazy once we were out of the dark forest.

Armstrong has an outdoor amphitheater tucked away in the woods and there was just enough light coming in there to get a shot of Milla in front of the stage and the water-filled orchestra pit.

Hollowed out trees make for good photo-ops :)

From the forest to the sea by way of the enchanting drive from Occidental to Bodega Bay along Coleman Valley Road. Preceded by a short detour into Freestone to gorge ourselves on fresh baked bread and scones at Wild Flour, home to the most delicious breads in all the land.

From the spectacular views along the vistas of Coleman Valley, where you feel as though you are literally on top of the world, we descended onto California's coastal Hwy 1 and headed north to Goat Rock, one of the most scenic beaches along the Sonoma Coast, to get out and frolic in the fog for a bit.

My girls <3

Some Milla and Charlie moments :)

In addition to the arching rock formation just off the coast, Goat Rock Beach is also known for the abundance of lovely beach stones that can be found along the water’s edge.

We were bent over for quite some time sifting through these gems of the sea.

Milla insisted that we pose for a family portrait ala the one she took of us back in September of 2009 during our visit on the island. I'm glad she did.

Um, just in case you didn’t notice, CLOVER LOVES THE BEACH.

*sigh*

Have I mentioned how much I love this girl? It was so fun to get to spend an entire week together and tough to say goodbye, but the good news is, we don’t have to go there yet because there’s still so much more to come...

Next stop… the foothills! Where the sisterly love continues to grow and expand and encompass as beautiful kindred spirit’s abound! All by way of the dreamiest little vintage shop you ever did see… so stay tuned ;)

A Thing of Beauty

Yikes, has it really been 3 weeks since my last post?! Well, I guess I needed a little break. You know, it happens, gotta just take some time for life, recharge the creative juices and what not.

Ironically, during my time away from blogging, I had the great great pleasure of coming together face-to-face FOR REALS with some of my most beloved ladies of the internets!

Somehow the term “blogger-meetup” doesn’t feel quite magical enough to describe what occured last weekend. The exuberant physical realization of a sisterhood, one conjured with love and nurtured over time through photographs and thoughtful keystrokes, comes closer. Though I guess "blogger meetup" does roll off the tongue a bit easier.

For now, I will just say that the whole experience was truly a thing of beauty :)

I loved the above photo of us girls from Heather’s wonderful post about our weekend. If you haven’t already, you can read it here. In the meantime, I will continue going through my insane number of photos and try to somehow distill them down into a cohesive post or two of my own. Stay tuned!

Oh, and I'll leave you with this picture I just took of Clover, 'cause her outfit happens to be pretty darn cute today:

See what I mean?