Last Thursday and the Friday Before

I mentioned in my Thursday post that I was going to Last Thursday.  For those of you who don�t know what that is, it�s a combination gallery walk/street fair that takes place on the last Thursday of every month.  It�s held on Alberta Street in Northeast Portland and it is, frankly, sort of insane but completely awesome.  It�s one of my absolute favorite things about Portland and we try to go every month during the summer.  Unfortunately, we missed May so June�s Last Thursday was our first. 

And it did not disappoint.  I really can�t explain it, so I�ll just show the pictures and let imagine the smells of Caribbean food, Hawaiian food, grilled corn on the cob, patchouli, sweat and sage.

There are street performers everywhere at Last Thursday, from DJs to vaudevillian circus acts to belly dancers to three-piece bands, like this one:

And snake charmers:

And stilt walkers:

There is also food everywhere, from restaurants to food carts; you can find almost anything you want to eat.  I wanted to eat cream puff swans and mustache cookies from Petite Provence:

Part of the fun of Last Thursday is definitely the people watching:

Even babies love Last Thursday

I'm pretty sure those hats are made of wood...

Head scarves and moon boots

But, my favorite part of this particular Last Thursday was this fire dancer:

 And these air squid:

I also wanted to share pictures from the 90s party Alex and I went to a week ago.  She went with Designing Women 90s, I went with grunge 90s:

Our Back Porch Cat, Jethro, just went as himself.

I hope you�re all having a fabulous weekend!

Gracey

Loose and Lazy Stripes

I was out rather late last night for Last Thursday (I�ll post pictures tomorrow) so I just wanted to be comfortable today.  Hence this rather loose and lazy (slatternly?) outfit:

I layered a loose, striped tee (Target) over a loose, striped maxi dress (Gap), added flats (Target), a multi-colored scarf (Nordstrom) and a silver cuff (thrifted).  It was like wearing stripe-y pajamas, which is just what I needed after a late night of tipsy tomfoolery.  Seriously, this is so cozy and comfortable; I�m definitely keeping all of these pieces in The Giants Closet.

Happy Friday, All!  Have a wonderful weekend!

Gracey

Busy Day, Busy Dress

I gave up on my separates-wearing today and went with a dress:

I love how easy dresses are; which is why I think I have so many.  Anything that requires a minimum of effort on my part will always find a home in my closet.  I mean, it�s just a dress (vintage), flats (Target), a belt (Gap) and a bracelet (vintage).  Does it get any easier than that?

And I definitely needed easy today.   I�m getting off early today for Last Thursday (so excited!!!) so I have to rush to get stuff done at work.  It�s a busy day and not only is my dress easy, it�s appropriately busy.  But, I like this print, both the busy-ness and the colors.  I�m a big fan of bright floral prints, but I think those with deeper tones are easier to style year-round.  I�m already looking forward to wearing this dress with riding boots and tights this fall.

Happy Thursday, Everyone!

Gracey

Strange Happenings in the Land of Nosh Opping

I found these pants in my closet the other day.  Found.  Not rediscovered, not finally remembered, found:

Matiko 'Ella' Wedges

I literally have no idea where they came from.  I mean, the tag says �Gap� but I have absolutely no idea how they got from the Gap to the Giants Closet.  I found them in a tiny, blink-and-you�ll-miss it village called Pantslandia.  They were hanging out with the other pants of the village, but while I remember purchasing all of the other pants (including some from 4 years ago!); I don�t remember buying these pants.  (Or receiving them as a gift; which would be weird but would at least explain where they came from).  

After I got over my surprise in finding these in Pantslandia, I decided to wear them.  I paired the pants (Gap) with a black and white striped tee (Old Navy), black belt (Nine West via Ross),  Matiko wedges (via Ideeli) and my apple pendant (Ally Hoot Vintage).  Sure it�s a lot of neutrals but I liked it.  And I like these pants.  However they made their way to Pantslandia, I think that they�ll stay.

Which is great news because I'm pretty sure my blogger friend Tia is writing a musical about pants and I've begged for a part.  Or, failing that, I have it on good authority, from my other blogger friend Kish that �So You Think You Can Pants� is totally a possibility for Fox next summer.  Both excellent reasons to have pants in ones closet, right?

Happy Wednesday, Everyone!

Gracey

Floral, Repeat Aqua and Red

I�ve been wearing a lot of separates lately in an attempt to get through my closet, and the Land of Nosh Opping, more quickly.  Unfortunately, I�ve not been great about wearing different separates, which pretty much defeats the purpose.  But, I can�t help it, this sweater goes with everything.  Well, two things at least; my floral pantsand this floral skirt:

Sorry for the fuzzy picture; I have no idea what happened.

Looking at these pictures, I realized that this is a super matchy-matchy outfit for me.  As you may have noticed, matching isn�t really my thing, but I like this because aqua and red are on opposite sides of the color wheel so I feel like I�m still the sartorial rebel I pretend to be in my head.  Today�s rebellious outfit consists of a vintage floral skirt (Jantzen, thrifted), my apparent favorite aqua sweater (Target) and red cork-soled wedges (Nordstrom).

From this outfit, I�ll be keeping the skirt and the sweater (of course) but I�m going to get rid of the shoes.  I think they�re cute, but I don�t ever wear them because the strap slips down my heel when I walk and it drives me crazy.  Sorry cute red wedges, but you�re gone.

Happy Tuesday, All!

Gracey

Peach, Polka Dots and Leopard

I decided to only keep one navy and white polka dot skirt because I also own a navy and white polka dot dress.  This is the dress:

Today I wore the dress (Coldwater Creek, thrifted) with a peach blazer (vintage, thrifted).  I also added a leopard belt because it made sense early this morning and nude platform sandals (Banana Republic �Natalie�) because they always make sense.  I know it�s a weird combination but I�d totally wear it again.  I have no idea what that says about my judgment, but whatever it says, it�s just my Monday judgment so I�m sure it�s fine.

Happy Monday, All! 

Gracey