Alcatraz

Photographs by Mont Clare

Back when we were hanging out in San Francisco we spent a day at Alcatraz. Although we're not really into touristy destinations, this was the one place that I knew couldn't be missed. I listened to a bunch of podcasts about the history of Alcatraz (perhaps a little obsessively) last year which fuelled my desire to visit the spooky island.

We listened to an audio tour which guided us through the prison and shared some general history, as well as background on famous inmates, escape attempts and some pretty graphic murder stories. As we strolled through cells where murders had taken place and stood in the dank, musty solitary confinement cells, I must admit I had a pretty bad case of the willies. It was so eerie walking the same floors as Al Capone, George 'Machine Gun' Kelly' and Robert 'The Birdman' Stroud.

The prison was shut down in 1963, however it has been pretty well maintained and the wind whistling through the huge windows breathed a spooky kind of life into the place. I left the island feeling pretty grim, it was an experience I shan't be forgetting anytime soon.

Silver Falls

1950s wool jersey knit top - thrifted in Petaluma, CA

1990s Sportscraft skirt - thrifted in Melbourne, VIC

Vintage dream leather hiking boots - thrifted in Fort Bragg, CA

The first few weeks of camping left me completely stumped when it came to getting dressed in the morning. City life was easy, it wasn't unusual for me to wear vintage party dresses, seamed stockings and heels on a daily basis... Sadly that wasn't going to cut it in the wilderness.

This has become my standard camping getup, vintage rayon skirts, soft knit tops and handsome leather boots. Perfect for reading in mossy tree nooks and balancing on ancient fallen redwoods, which reminds me, when back in Australia I never had time to read. Luckily I now have all the time in the world to catch up on all my favourite reads. I love life on the road!

South East Lambert Street

Photographs by Mont Clare

I could have cried a few weeks back when I walked into a thrift store in Petaluma CA and spied a rack full of moderately priced dresses and skirts from the 1920s-1950s. Although most of them were covered in moth holes and unsightly stains I did find one treasure. This 1940s darling fits like a glove and has the most beautiful black velvet detailing on the collar, cuffs and buttons. The next day we stumbled upon another thrift store in the middle of nowhere where I picked up three pairs of vintage leather boots, the pair i'm wearing in these photographs have stayed on my feet since.

This is a glimpse of the house we have been nesting in whilst in Portland. The house of my dreams! The neighbourhood is so darn cute, its more movie set than suburb. We plan to head towards Seattle in the next few days. Although i'm excited to get back on the road I think i'm going to have a pretty hard time waving goodbye to Portland, not to mention my newest kitty pal Tuna...

Lady Love

All photographs courtesy of Ashley of Fancy Fine

I've been wanting to share these beautiful snaps Ashley took of our date night in San Francisco for weeks. Looking at these pictures makes me want to be back sipping champagne and talking vintage with these dolls of the interwebz!

 

 Life's been all forests, campfires, hot springs and hikes. All of our campsites have been in dense forest so the internet seems like some strange dream. We are now nesting in Portland for a week and enjoying all the goodies this wonderful city has to offer. I could pretty much eat at Hot Lips Pizza and Voodoo Donuts every single day. Maybe I will.

On Saturday night I met up with Anja of Clever Nettle, this girl is amazing! I've long admired her creative endeavors so it was really awesome to have a few drinks and here about her life in Portland. Plus I got to see some of her beautiful creations on the catwalk which was the icing on the cake.

 

Well i'm off to enjoy the beautiful sunshine, Portland sure has been showing off these past few days!

 

ps- I just noticed Anja has some photos from the fashion show up on her blog, pop on over the see the beauties for yourself!

California Love

 

 

Mel's Diner, San Francisco

Strawberry Fields, Sonoma
Drive-Thru Tree, Leggett
Pearl's Diner, Sonoma
Morning Sunshine, Sonoma

Black Bear Diner, Sonoma
Alcatraz Prison, San Francisco

California.

I have started an instagram if anyone would like to follow along with our travels!

Girl from the North Country

Photographs by Montclare

Well I've settled into the American way of life without too much effort. As I write this I have a vanilla shake topped with whipped cream and a cherry in my hand and have just polished off a tasty burger.... It is so much easier to eat junk when you're sitting in a tacky themed diner watching Grease on a wall mounted television.

This past week was a dream. We spent a week with Oli's sister in Sonoma and split our time between wine country and San Francisco. We had the absolute pleasure of meeting darling bloggers Ashley, Isla and Jen. Hanging out with these dolls made it pretty hard to wave farewell to San Francisco... I think i'll have to make a return visit in the near future ;)

We are now back on the road, camping in bear country (eeep) and slowly making our way to Portland. Voodoo Donuts here we come!

These photographs were taken on my birthday, the day before we left Australia which seems like years ago. Although I've been a tad slack on the blogging front, Oli has been documenting our travels on film over at Montclare, if you haven't already pop on over. You can also welcome him to Facebook here, he is brand spanking new!

Big Sur

 

 

 

 

 

After a rugged week of camping along the California coast we have landed in Sonoma, a charming town north of San Francisco known for its vineyards. Lazing in the afternoon sunlight with a belly full of wine, I couldn't be more content. We had a tiny taste of San Francisco on the drive through last night, I cannot wait to spend more time in that darling city!

Earlier this week we were lucky enough to stay a few nights at Big Sur. It was one of the places I really wanted to see, probably because I listened to this song a million time as a teenager... It was so beautiful falling asleep under the ancient Redwoods and waking up each morning to the trickling of Big Sur river. Despite a run in with a pesky raccoon (seriously, how does such a small creature manage to open an ice box and eat 12 eggs and 10 whole avocados?) i'm starting to get used to life on the road. Speaking of, i'd like to introduce Woody, our new van/home. Isn't he handsome?

Lastly, a little interview I did over at Cellar Door Mag which i'd love you to read if you get the chance, thanks Holly! x