Confession: Smartwool addiction

Finally I got around to photographing the TWOs I was talking about in this earlier post.  I’ll post those pictures below but first need to explain about the sock addiction that I have.

The true addiction to Smartwool:  Longer that a year ago, I was hiking through a snow field up at Mt. St. Helens with my friends G. and N.  My boots, socks and feet were SOAKED.  Unprepared a hiker as I am, I had no SPARE pair of socks with me, however, N. did.  She offered me a pair of Smartwool Saturns that I put on and into my wet boots.  About 90 minutes downhill, my feet were not only DRY but also WARM.  Do this to a notorious cold-footy like me, and I was convinced.

I got myself my first Smartwool pair at a local shoe store and have been addicted ever since.

They keep your feet even tempered, even in hot summer days.

They wick moisture away and keep warmth in.

They make the best bed socks – EVER

A lot of them have cushioned bottoms – you feel like walking on air.

You will never have blister in a Smartwool sock.

I sell them.

Enough advertising?

And while all of the socks above are for women, I also have some good styles for guys.  Do not feel left out!

I have this thing for color…

When I came in this morning, I found two boxes on the floor and a variety of new stuff on hangers that came in yesterday.  I am finally caught up entering all of it into the computer AND finding room for the new socks.  Best thing was, of one variety, I already sold three pair.  Seems to be a winner right there.  Of course, I had no time to photograph it all yet – that will have to wait until tomorrow (at least).

I got so inspired, however, that I rearranged all my display racks and changed the colors around.  Being among all these beautiful clothes all day long, I want them to be soothing to my eyes.  That’s why I group colors together – to please my eye (and your’s).

Below are two pictures from the green-black-white section and the mustard-cream-brown section (through the window)

Happy Wednesday!

Morning Walk: Two Angels

Everything happened in TWOs today.

My dog ate two slices of lemon pound cake that I had saved for this afternoon. (Bad dog!)

Found these two angels on my walk.

(there are lots more of TWOs on that bus, I just realized….)

Had two dear ones bring me first lunch and then a coffee cake!

Had two guys with dogs stop in, both saying their dogs want to see me. (grin)  They are cute – the dogs, I mean.

Which all gives me a chance to show off these cool SmartWool socks that – incidentally – also came in TWO’s:

This is just to get you interested.  There are lots more!  Pictures to follow!

And now I’m off to Happy Hour, again with two ladies. Hm.

Leggings!

Every Friday, I get this email newsletter, called Portland Picks.  It is a roundup of all the new spots that open, fashionable places, restaurants and the like.  Reading it, you are on the pulse on what is happening around town.  The one that I am quoting here is mostly for women, however, they do have one for men as well ( I never read that one…)

Today, this intro caught my eye:

“It’s official. We are back on board with leggings. After many years of deeming them “too Tween” or “too reminiscent of stirrup pants” for our tastes, we discovered that they’re not only insanely comf, but hide a multitude of overanalyzed (and possibly imagined) midsection sins.

Beer belly? Buh-bye! Just pop on a tunic and some leggings. A little hippy? Hide that wide behind with a menswear-cut shirt and a fitted boyfriend jacket… and some leggings. Thunderous thighs? You know what to do… boots and leggings! Oh, it’s absolutely genius.”

I can’t agree more.  I HATED leggings for so many years!  And now, I won’t even admit how many pairs I own – I have lacy and solid and patterned leggings.  I wear them in transitional weather, just the right cover, but without socks.  I wear them with a super short dress or tunic, I wear them with over-the-knees and boots.  Yes, and I do admit that my legs might still be shapely but are not so pretty anymore.  So, leggings are it!

This mohair tunic, the leggings and either sandals or mary-janes.

Imagine chunky boots here and you are dressed!

BTW:  These fuchsia leggings (by Falke) are not the only ones I have!  I can offer black lace, your basic black or brown as well as green, blue, turquoise and red LEGGINGS!

Hail to blogging!

As I am getting ready to send this dress off, I just wanted to bow down and appreciate BLOGGING.  Not only has it been tremendous fun to get back into ‘journaling’, checking my map and seeing where the people ARE who come to visit my site, looking at the statistics and getting a kick out of the searches that direct them to MY blog – it is awesome!  Blogging also had it’s rewards financially.  Yes, financially.  And I do not even advertise on this blog.

So here is this dress that I. found on my site…. and IT IS GOING TO NORWAY tomorrow!  NO WAY – NORWAY!

I am tickled pink.  And I hope she loves it as much as I do (OF COURSE I own it as well…)   This dress is now officially sold out.  Can’t reorder it.  Basta.

Shameless self promotion

This is just another one of those days where nothing goes as planned, which is not to say this isn’t pleasant day.

My intern Lucy was supposed to be here but she called in sick.  I had planned to stick her into some of the new fall arrivals because it gets kinda boring when I have to photograph everything on the headless mannequins.  These are the options when you are all by yourself most of the time.  I also wanted for her to show off these awesome over-the-knee socks that I am wearing today.  Oh well, I did not want to let the opportunity slip by and asked Naomi to photograph ME.

I do not know how many times I already talked about this coat.  It looks like I am only trying to find more ways to justify taking it home.

When this dress came in I snatched it up right away.  Along with the over-the-knees.  This is going to be one of my fall favorites. you bet.

So, this time real clothes on a real woman.  Next time, it is back to the headless mannequins.  Happy Day!

Morning Walk: empty vs. full

I chuckled when I found this stand on my walk:

And granted, it is a FARM stand – I was captured by the architecture of this construction.  Aside from that empty mason jar and the bamboo on the ground, there was no indication what they might sell.

Not so at my store:

Plenty of t-shirts, long and short sleeved.

Skirts galore…

The coolest military-style coat!  They are so in!

And socks.  I have to press my socks into your conscience.  Women, children, men.

Come on over and help me have an empty store, just like the farm stand above….

so Portland!

Yesterday, I had my hair cut in a part of town that I used to go to a lot but don’t anymore.  Probably because I now live on the ‘other side of town’.  The Hawthorne area is SO Portland and this is where I stumbled across this coffee shop.

The quirkiness and charm just enchants me.  There are so many things to look at!  License plates, street names, pictures….  not to mention the name:  Acme Coffee.

On this remarkable date (09/09/09), I am looking at my fall shipments and let me tell you:  I have received So Portland as well.  Just a couple of pieces to get you started (the cools socks are waiting to be photographed!):

This  coffee brown skirt by Hazel has so many different fabrics stitched into it, it almost looks like patchwork.  Can’t wait to see this one with some chunky boots and a thick sweater.

Also by Hazel, this coat of soft brushed cotton is so stylish and so bold.  Yet, the color makes it very feminine.  I just want to sink my hands into the deeps pockets and stroll up and down Hawthorne Avenue.

Happy Ninth of September!

The Heavens look favorably on me

I MUST be doing something right.  I am getting spared.  All around me these days, strange things are happening.  Two of my good friends lost their pet companions last month.  A girlfriend of mine got dumped and two people I know lost family members just this last week.  Amy packed up and moved.  It seems like the stars are aligning to bring about major shifts for mankind.  I was already getting a hunch of that when I wrote about CHANGES the other day.

So, here I had to cover my store for the last two days although I was supposed to be off.  Since I really enjoy hanging out here, I do not mind.  The only thing I did mind was that all the plans that I had got thrown out the window.  Such as visiting my good friend T. who just  had a baby and REALLY could use me right now.

I must have been a bit flustered last night when I left because I did not bring in the clothing rack that I usually have sitting outside.  I did not even notice.  What I did notice when I got here earlier today was this empty clothing rack outside of my shop.  Brief panic attack, followed by all my neighbors being utterly upset at WHO would be doing such a thing – stealing from a small store.

Well, as I said, somebody was looking our for me.  I thought I might as well check with the neighbors on the other side and see what they knew.  Lo and behold – the restaurant was so kind and took the clothes all in.  Pheww – this IS a good neighborhood after all!

Clothes are back. I am happy. Thanks to the Heavens – they DO look favorably on me these days.  And I am thankful!

September 1 – what, already? or, yeah, it is Fall?!

Time is flying when you are having fun.  Or so they say.  The mornings are beginning to feel cooler and last night, I noticed that it was getting dark around eight.

I am such a summer girl.  The sun makes me feel more alive, I’d rather sweat than shiver.  I like wearing dresses more than pants, sandals more than boots, less than layers upon layers.  And yet, there is something to Fall that I really appreciate.  Cleaning up the garden, making jam from all the ripe fruit, lighting a fire.  And … looking forward to changing out the wardrobe, the subtle colors, the oranges and browns.

As usual, I selected my fall and winter choices in the EARLY Spring.  Which means, I have TOTALLY forgotten what I ordered.  Which makes my UPS man the Santa Claus – every package holds a surprise.  And, admittedly, sometimes I doubt my taste:  I ordered THIS??? Why?  Was I out of my mind????  That is when I summon the selling powers out there:  I am just one woman with one peculiar taste and the next one will LOVE what I have in the store.

Of course, that isn’t true for Anni – I adore her style and workmanship.  So far, I have only received one small shipment of hers and put Lucy (my intern) in it.

The white basic shirt that EVERY woman needs to have.  This one has a high collar, which, by the way, looks just as great unbuttoned.  The cuffs are super long and elegant.

The skirt is high-waisted, lovely browns and reds, a silk/linen mix.  And it has pockets – I adore pockets!

My favorite!  Super soft jersey, beautiful color and drape.  That one has my name on it.

Here I had to show off Lucy’s necklace.  It was perfect for the cardigan.

As I said, this is just the beginning.  I’ll post more Fall styles as they come in.  And before we know it, Fall will be over.  That’s a good thing, too.