On the first day of every month, City Daily Photo bloggers post with a common theme in mind, and this month the theme is white. Just by chance, I was at Costco the other day when this smartly dressed woman clad all in subtle shades of winter white sped past me with her cart. I managed to sneak a picture of her before she disappeared behind a giant stack of gluten free crackers. I love it when my style shot randomly coincides perfectly with Theme Day!
For more takes on white by City Daily Photo bloggers all over the planet, click HERE. Enjoy!
As I mentioned in yesterday's post, it rained relentlessly for almost our entire stay in San Clemente, California last week. On Friday the sun finally came out, and although it was still chilly I prevailed on Janet's cousin Arthur to chauffeur me around town. I have been to San Clemente many times and I always make it a point to visit Stewart Surfboards (above) so I can buy a new t-shirt. The surfboard in front of the store says something to effect of "You can't buy happiness, but you can buy a surfboard and go surfing and that'll make you happy." I'm paraphrasing since I didn't take a picture of the whole board, sorry! After our stop at Stewart's, we made our way to the water. Living in landlocked Colorado, I crave the ocean, even if it's chilly out. I'll share some great views of the Pacific tomorrow.
Stalking people in the supermarket again! I just really liked her boots. Here dress was cute too.
Today was Valentine's Day, and while running errands I spied this couple perusing the flower selection at Safeway. They really put some thought into coordinating their outfits. Cute!
I met up with my friend Teresa this weekend at Who Gives a Scrap. I just love this place! They have some pretty fun stuff. It's basically sort of a thrift store for makers -- you know, knitters, crocheters, sewists, artists of all kinds, scrapbookers... you can donate your unwanted crafting stuff (and it's a non-profit, so hello tax write off!), and you can buy pretty much any crafting supply you can think of here for cheap. Some of their offerings are pretty interesting and you never know what they're going to have in stock. I'm not exactly "crafty" but I do love to sew and knit, so Who Gives a Scrap is right up my alley. I think every city needs a place like this.
Pat and I love sending and receiving Christmas cards, but this year we got a little behind on Christmas in general, thus the rush to get cards addressed and mailed in time was a little stressful. On top of that, Pat had a hard time finding cards that fit our sentiment and aesthetic while still being reasonably affordable. We decided to be smart about it for next year: buy Christmas cards now, just after Christmas when they're on sale, and mail them at the beginning of December. Our goal was to take care of card shopping over the weekend, so we stopped in at Barnes & Noble yesterday and were surprised to see how crowded it was, although you can't tell from this photo. As it turns out, everything in the store was on sale, not just Christmas cards, and plenty of people were there taking advantage of the bargains. You'd think they'd be tired of shopping by now, but I guess not. As for me, I was just grateful that I wasn't subjected to any more Christmas music. 😉
What happened here? A Rivian SUV collided with the King Soopers grocery store on Uintah on Tuesday, and King Soopers won -- kind of. There's a giant, SUV-sized hole in the building now, after all. The driver of the vehicle said that it suddenly sped up and he couldn't stop it. Electric vehicles are very heavy, so it did a lot of damage. Luckily he missed any pedestrians, although including the driver, six people were injured, none of them seriously from what I understand. This is one of the grocery stores that Pat and I frequent (it's our #2 choice after the Bon Safeway), so we know the layout of it well. The vehicle crashed into the part of the store where the self checkout lanes are. Imagine this: you're scanning and bagging your groceries, minding your own business, and suddenly a giant SUV crashes through the wall right into the store like the Kool-Aid Man. Hilarious! I'm laughing, but I'm sure it was scary and quite alarming for anyone who happened to be there. The store was closed for a day or two, but it's already up and running again, as you can see.
Spotted while shopping at the Horticultural Arts Society's annual plant sale in Monument Valley Park last week. Might as well pick out plants in style!
If I happen to be in Denver at this time of year, I always make time to stop at City Floral. It's like plant heaven there. I have been on the hunt for another rose bush and I found one in this rose-filled section. Look at all the lovely variety! I ended up with an iceberg rose, which isn't as colorful as these, but it's pretty nonetheless
Spotted on a Muslim woman while shopping for makeup at Dillard's a couple of weeks ago. Almost every inch of her was covered, and beautifully so. Cool pants!
Spotted while shopping a few days ago. I've been avoiding Target ever since they caved to pressure on their DEI stance (losers!), so I was only there to get something that I couldn't find anywhere else. I did notice that the place was practically deserted, so I suppose the boycott is working. Anyway, this employee enhanced her uniform Target red look with this very interesting ruffled shell. I wouldn't say that it goes well with what she's wearing, especially the shoes, but kudos to her for livening things up a little and showing some individual flair.
If you read this blog regularly, you probably already know that I'm an avid sewist. That and knitting are really my only "crafts." I'm not handy with a glue gun and don't know how to pronounce Cricut. That kind of stuff was never my jam. But I do love to sew and knit! I can crochet, too. These skills were taught to me when I was a child in the Philippines, so maybe that's why they've stuck with me. At any rate, sewing makes me a fan of The Mill Outlet, which is a locally owned fabric store on Prospect Street just south of Fillmore. I've been a regular customer for many years. This is a large city, and people don't like to drive far outside their zone to get what they need, but with the nationwide closing of Joann's Fabrics and Crafts, The Mill Outlet has suddenly become a hot spot, even for those who rarely venture west of Academy Boulevard. I'm so glad of it! I went there a couple of weekends ago and it was actually hard to find a parking spot. The place was buzzing. When a big box store opens, it makes the mom and pop stores wither and die. But when a big box store closes, here's your proof that the opposite thing happens. Long live The Mill Outlet!
My birthday was in mid December, but because of gallbladder problems and subsequent surgery, I didn't get to celebrate with my friends until today. The plan was to spend the day in Denver with Jennifer, JB and Teresa, to shop at a fabric store called Allyn's first, and then hit up the Maurice Sendak show the Denver Art Museum. Unfortunately the weather wasn't very cooperative; it snowed heavily, so it was slow going and we had to skip the Denver Art Museum. We did, however, have a fun time fabric shopping! I first heard about Allyn's from watching one of my favorite YouTube channels, The Closet Historian, which features an incredibly skilled Denver area sewist named Bianca. It's not a large building but it is jam packed to the rafters with fabric, a lot of it very fanciful and over the top, and there is a room at the back dedicated to bridal fabric and embellishments. There's a full basement too, again stuffed with bolt after bolt of fabric. If you're a sewist and you're ever in the Denver area, I highly recommend you visit Allyn's.
There I was at Costco, waiting patiently in line to renew my membership (which had lapsed at least two years ago), when I spied this chic woman ahead of me. She had to be in her late sixties or early seventies, but here's a prime example of never letting your sense of style fade over the years. Love those wedge boots, the long tube skirt, and the drape-y poncho! Also, she had great hair. She definitely looked way better than I did! Costco and places like it are really sort of fashion vacuums, so it was nice to see this lady looking so chic. She probably does this every day. Good for her!
Here's the antique typewriter that I bought at Platte Furniture just after Christmas. The tag said "1917" on it, although I don't know if they meant that was the year it was made or if it was some kind of internal inventory number. I'm going to try and figure that out. Meanwhile, I'm just admiring this nice little machine! I've been looking for an old typewriter for a long time, so I'm very happy to have found one.
I took these pictures at Platte Furniture a little after Christmas, then forgot to share them. I was there furniture shopping with my friend Jenn, who needed to replace her dining room table. Platte Furniture deals in used furnishings, but they're pretty discerning about what they take and you can usually find something cool. I didn't realize that they have a huge basement cordoned off by a velvet rope. An employee needs to grant you access and what we found down there was awesome: an art gallery! And also more cool furniture. They even do a First Friday Art Walk every month, just like all the other galleries. I was taken by this piece, but what I ended up buying was an antique typewriter (which I mentioned a few days ago in THIS post). Good stuff! I'm going to have to hit up their First Fridays one of these days.
I went furniture shopping with my friend Jenn on the weekend after Christmas. Jenn was on the hunt for a dining room table, and I was on the hunt for nothing at all but ended up with a lovely antique typewriter. Anyway, this young woman worked at the store where we were shopping. She may need to wear this plain grey shirt to work, but that doesn't mean she can't style herself up in other ways. She had a look!
Yesterday I needed to make a run to the supermarket, and since I had been cooped up for days (see yesterday's post) I thought it'd be nice to take Frodo along with me so we could go for a walk first. There's a bike path behind my favorite Safeway store, and I was by no means the only person walking their dog. This posse of obvious ne'er-do-wells overtook us and left us in their dust. I mean look at them, it's obvious they're up to no good, right? Nice day for a walk :)
A well dressed (well, comparatively, anyway) shopper at REI last week. I wish I could show you her face because her makeup was impeccable. I liked her striped sweater, too. I, by contrast, looked like a total schlub that afternoon. Ha!
