One thing after another got in the way of another trip to Reno, which is about an hour and 45 minutes from Grass Valley– not far, but it's over a 10,000 foot mountain pass. We drove it once in a snowstorm, and vowed never to make that mistake again. Winter stretched on, then spring and summer were crazy busy… long story short, last weekend we finally made it to Junkee! And come to find it, it actual WAS the vintage mecca I'd made it out to be in my mind. It was even better than I expected! How often does that happen?!?!?

Here are a few snaps from the inside… the decor was love at first sight for my kitsch-lovin' soul.

What you are seeing only part of here is literally thousands of square feet of clothing heaven. They carry used vintage and new clothes, with plenty for everyone, and at the moment the best Halloween costumes EVER. (You'll see what I got for Halloween later!) Not to mention the most incredibly friendly and helpful staff! And then, attached to the incredible clothing universe, is a GIANT antique mall. That's where I found my Dream Lamp:

Um, yes, that is a lamp. Which Chris says I can't have! Will someone talk some sense into him, please? I mean, look at the HAT!:

This is exactly the kind of decoration that you want in your house for the next 50 years! Come on!

Actually, I blew my wad on clothes– I filled my ENTIRE TRUNK. And I am ready to do it again, as soon as I can… please pray it doesn't snow too much this winter!

Junkee is located at 960 South Virginia Street in Reno, Nevada. They are open 7 days a week.

From Sasha

You all remember Cerise, our fabulous Australian friend who bought the California Dream Girl Dress? If you read her spirited interview, then you probably won't be surprised to learn to learn that this multi-talented young woman is a talented photographer. She took the Dream Dress out for a shoot with her lovely friend Jessica, and just LOOK at the magic that they created!:

It makes my heart absolutely HUM with happiness to see one of our dresses becoming part of someone's artistic inspiration, half a world away. I hope they all find such happy homes!

For more of Cerise's beautiful camera work, check out her Flickr stream here. Told ya we have the best customers.

From Amber and Sasha

While The Great Republic of Rough and Ready has an very imposing name, in reality it is a small rural community situated just outside of Grass Valley. Though it is just a five minute drive down the road, it feels like worlds away. Rough and Ready made motions to secede from the Union in 1850, in protest of a tax on new mining claims and the prohibition of alcohol in Nevada County, but the community voted itself back in when they realized that they could no longer celebrate the 4th of July if they were independent from the Union. This doesn't stop anyone from celebrating "Secession Days" every year in late June, and there is an outlaw vibe in Rough and Ready that remains to this day. When my in-laws moved from the suburbs of the Bay Area to the foothills, they looked at a house there. Their conclusion? "It's too rough, and we're not ready!" 

We, on the other hand, were ready to take on the historical downtown, if for one afternoon– with bags of vintage clothes and a camera!

This shot was taken just for fun in one of Amber's own (non vintage) dresses, with the *cutest* boots ever that Sasha found!

This sweater is another item that Sasha scored that quickly found it's way into a very grateful Amber's closet.

*These new beauties (aside from the stripey dress and the boots and sweater peeping into the outhouse) are all coming to the shop as fast as we can put them up!*

 I figured I would seize the day and take pictures of these awesome dresses that I just scored!:

 

From Sasha

This weekend I went to visit my parents, who live about 40 minutes East of San Francisco in the San Ramon Valley. San Ramon is famous for three things: the Ashram which hosts the yearly U.S. visits from Amachi (the female Indian guru who gives hugs and Hershey kisses); spectacular moonrises; and, in my opinion, The Very Best Tree.

It is an incredible specimen of California Buckeye that has multiple arms reaching octopus-like from the earth to cover a whole section of the canyon. In the winter the ground is carpeted in Chickweed, a nutritious food-herb, and in late summer it is thick with the Buckeye leaves. California Buckeye is the first tree to leaf out in the spring, and the first to drop its leaves in the fall, so it is a kind of bell-ringer for the change of the seasons. I used to spend many an hour sitting on these smooth and sinuous branches, playing guitar to the frogs in the seasonal creek which runs right beside it. In fact this is where I learned that frogs will actually sing along with music! 

In late summer the Thistles have all dried to the same shades as the grasses… infinitely photographable. Check out the birds perching in the ones above!

Naturally I hiked out there with a bag of clothes and a tripod… 

Oak and California Bay Laurel are the dominant trees in Bollinger Canyon… the Bay gives an incredible aroma on a summer evening. Mixed with the pungent Artemesias on the upper slopes, this is the smell of Home to me. Bay Laurel is closely related to the Bay used in cooking, but it is even stronger! And, oddly enough, it is also a relation to the Avocado Tree, which can be seen in the Bay Nuts, which have a distinctly Avocado-like meat and pit. Here is an amazing, ancient Oak, just waiting to be an album cover:

Another view of the California Buckeye…

Bay leaves, foreground:

Another feather! Bluejay.

 

 

 

 

 

Okay, I've done the math: it takes three inspirations to make one really cool new creation. For me, yesterday, it was:

 #1 this sari (which actually shimmers with silver thread!); #2 the moon, yes the actual moon, which is growing every night, and making my head spin; and #3 this picture on MissKirstenBeth's Flickr photostream. Mirrors!

My necklace, which I am wearing as a headpiece, is from likearollingstone on Etsy. Check out Erin's amazing designs! This incredible sari will be in the shop in the next day or so, by the way…