Thursday, February 18, 2016

Shipwrecked in WA with Kristina from Eccentric Owl!


Oh darn, I crashed my pirate ship again - but look! I found buried treasure down here! And who is this with me? Why it's Kristina from Eccentric Owl! How'd she get here?


Okay, so clearly I was not in a real shipwreck, but I did spend some time in Port Orchard, Washington on my recent trip to Seattle a couple weeks ago and got to meet Kristina in person and find this awesome mural!


I was so excited to meet Ms. Owl herself but then, I got lucky - the whole Owl family came with her for a little day trip! I got to meet Mr. Owl along with baby Evie and big brother, Asa! I was kind of secretly pumped - her kiddos are so precious and I was dying to pinch Evie's chubby cheeks in real life!


We lucked out with the weather, too - it was a slightly chilly 45 degrees but not a drop of rain in sight as we wandered up and down a street lined with antique shops in Port Orchard, Kristina's home town. I was in vintage heaven! There's nothing like that near me - it was a real treat!


I found so many kitschy things I wanted but had to hold back. I mean, a giant vintage ceramic cookie jar covered in colorful cookies wouldn't be convenient to bring back home with me.

Still, it was so fun window shopping with the Owl clan. Kristina and I barely skipped a beat and got along swimmingly (oh hey there, pun, you're TOTALLY intended) as Asa made sure we knew whenever there was a clock in sight somewhere. "Clock! Clock! Tick-tock!" Seriously, he couldn't be cuter.


Along the way, we both spotted this mural-covered wall and knew it was our spot for some blog photos. Thank God we both have a silly side - it's absolutely hilarious trying to pose and be all chic and fashionable with someone else right beside you. While I can pull a sultry look in front of my camera in my empty driveway no problem, it's a completely different experience when you're standing beside a gal pal with giggles a-plenty. We could barely keep it together long enough to pull a serious expression!

My absolute favorite - goofy yet oh so chic!

It's OK, in my book, though. It kind of makes it special! We laughed at how many painfully awkward and unflattering shots we were probably catching as we guffawed and joked our way through our poses but agreed that there were probably some great ones of us just enjoying ourselves and having fun together.


And we were right! These are my favorites from our shoot. I love how genuinely happy we look and how pretty our dresses look side by side! We may have talked for days prior to my trip deciding on what we'd wear...


This adventure with Kristina just confirms one of my goals for this year. Now that I've met three or more social media/blogger pals in person in the past year, I want to meet MORE! I want to meet as many of my virtual girlfriends as I can this year.


It may sound stalker-ish but, it's not, I promise! It's just genuine excitement for this group of friends I've found. It's crazy that through social media and blogging, I have discovered this whole community of girls who share my appreciation for retro style and like the same style of clothes I like. After spending my whole life standing out and not blending in, it feels so good to actually fit in somewhere! It's so awesome that social media can bring people together this way - and I hope I can meet as many pals as I can in person this year. We're all over the country (and world!) but you never know where a year will take you...

THIS girl - so tall, so beautiful!

A BIG thank you to Kristina & family for being my tour guides slash exploring buddies during my Seattle trip! I had so much fun and loved spending time with you. See you again (hopefully) soon!