Our Favorite Summer Pants Ever! {plus free shipping from Polarn O. Pyret!}

Are these pants? Or are they shorts? I guess they’re a little bit of both! As you guys know, one of our favorites around here is Polarn O. Pyret. They are one of our go-to spots for funky basics that are stylish on and off the playground! When we received these cool 3/4 shorts in the mail, Wolfie promptly put them on—and has barely taken them off! The super slouchy fit is fantastic for our San Francisco weather—you can push them up so they hit around the knee or pull ’em down a little lower if it’s cooler out. I think they are the perfect pant (short?) to help you transition into fall!

We also love PoP’s cardigans. They’re thick enough to be warm but not scratchy and bulky. And the elbow patches are totally grandpa-licious!

Three Quarter Shorts c/o Polarn O. Pyret.  Wolfie is also sportin’ the Professor Patch Cardigan Sweater, c/o ME!

Right now Polarn O. Pyret is having a mega summer sale—up to 50-70% off! The thing I love is that it’s not JUST summer shorts and tees, there are so many transitional pieces too. Be sure to check out the skinny jeans and the outerwear. PoP’s speciality is outer wear and there are some incredible deals on jackets and coats.

Our pals at Polarn O. Pyret have a special bonus for our readers! Just use the  code:  MODERNPOP for free shipping over $50 from now until Sunday midnight!

Head on over to the Polarn O. Pyret  Summer Sale and get yer shop on!

MK Flashback:: Vintage Station Wagons


Image via: Lennoxnehar

Before there was the mini-van, there was the station wagon. And all was right in the world.

For many people, summer brings back memories of family vacations, which for most people in America usually involved some time spent in a car and that car was usually a station wagon.

I remember trips to Cape Cod in the family station wagon.  Towing a fishing boat no less. All of the boys crammed into the middle seat and me all the way in the back seat with the cat and the cooler and my Raggedy Anne. I mean, really. If you looked at your family photo albums, I bet you probably have a photo somewhere in there that looks like this:


Images via: Station Wagon Forums and Lah Rah.

But before the station wagon became the family car that millions of teenagers learned to drive in and make out in the back of, it was more of a transportation vehicle for people traveling on trains in the thirties.  The modified back ends that made them “depot hacks” were necessary to carry large amounts of luggage – everyone traveled by train then, remember, and you needed a car that could comfortably carry people and large amounts of luggage from the train station to home–as opposed to a truck.


Image via: Traveling mamas.


Image via: Flickr user gem66

One of the most popular early station wagons pre-WW II was the Woodie. They were made with real wood–hence the name and harkened back to when people used wooden coaches to transport large groups of people. And they are gorgeous aren’t they?


Image: Akeem’s blog.


Image: Curbside Classic.


Image: Nihat’s blog.

But the real golden age of the station wagon was during the 1950s, when baby boomers’ parents needed something to travel on all those new highways in style! I love the ads the most! Every family had one! And the wood was replaced with steel although of course faux wood paneling was still popular for many years.


Image: 55 Classic Chevy


Image: Adclassix


Image: Forum.love-fords.org


Image via: Paulmanon

 

The sixties, we started to see more European versions, like this sweet Volvo.


Image via: Fontaine Maury.


Image via Flickr.

But the “wood paneling” stayed .. And the station wagons started to get smaller (think Pinto) but still were loved.


Image via: carsdirect.com

But the 80s were tough on the iconic gas guzzling station wagon and the mini-van pretty much signaled the death knell for these gorgeous cars, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still love them.  Vintage station wagons are still available and you can’t help but smile when you see one on the road and perhaps think back to your own childhood.


Image via: Striderv

But before I go, I must admit, I’m not just a fan of vintage station wagons, I’m a co-owner too!

We bought this sweet car the first year of our marriage with dreams of fixing it up and filling it with our kiddos for our own road trips.  And it is pink. How can you not love that? Right now it is getting more of a work out as the Peach’s playhouse, but we have dreams of future cross country trips in that beauty.

Here’s to future road trips!

 

 

Retro Rainbow // This Week’s Color is GREEN

HEY HEY HEY, my peeps! Jenny here and it’s time for the Retro Rainbow and this week it’s GREEN!!!!! I woke up yesterday morning with 3 different deadlines and time sensitive issues on my plate so suffice it to say, my morning and afternoon was pret-tee jam packed! As I knocked back my morning coffee, I made one loop around the living room for my treasure hunt I totally started to L-O-L to myself because folks? I found most of the items ON ONE SHELF. I am not kidding you. Who knew I was such a green gal?!?! I didn’t even need to hit the basement this week.

So I’m totally not going to talk about the Retro Rainbow wrapping up — yes, we only have two weeks left after this — I will only to say that I am slightly panicked about next week’s color. I won’t tell you what it is (though it might not be hard for you to figure it out, especially if you’ve been following along every week… and um, HELLO! YOU’VE TOTALLY BEEN FOLLOWING ALONG, YES?!) but let’s just say… I’m not feeling as confident as I was with AQUA week. 😉

Alix knocked it out of the park this week with her greens. Get on over to Frecklewonder and see what I’m talking about.
Nothin’ but love, y’all!!!!! Jenny

“Gooooooooooooooooooooal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”  {say a la soccer announcer} So, okay. This MIGHT be my favorite Color Collection yet!! I mean, did you see THAT RADIO?????  That rhinestone purse? The font on the S&P shakers??? And of course I have a soft spot in my heart for the sweet “Jenny” “Freckle” books. It’s too perfect! We only have a couple of more weeks left my friends, can you guess what the final colors will be?? I think they’re both gonna be good ones. Whooo hooo!

_________________________________________

Psst! Are you new to the Retro Rainbow? It’s Jenny and my special summer “Correspondence in Color”.  So far we’ve covered Yellow (Alix & Jenny), Brown (Alix & Jenny), Aqua (Alix & Jenny), Tangerine (Alix & Jenny), Pink (Alix & Jenny), and of course Red/White/Blue (Alix & Jenny). You can also check out our colorful Retro Rainbow pinboards if you wanna follow along! Mine is here, Jenny’s is here. See ya next Wednesday!

That time I went to Paris.

I know I wrote a little piece on my trip to Paris and why I chose Paris, but I actually planned on writing three pieces on Paris–because it was such a delicious romp and I wish I could have taken each and every one of you on the trip, but since I couldn’t I’ll take you along through the blog!

So, let me start at the beginning.

One of my best friends, Lin was also in between jobs–both of us starting our new jobs on the same day–and we decided to go for it and buy tix to Paris.  Since she has a 14 month old and I had the Peach, we decided to make it a quick little jaunt. Just four days. Four days to soak up as much of Paris as we possibly could.  But we were up for the challenge.

Armed with some brilliant recommendations from the wonderful Jordan, we boarded a plane and shamelessly gabbed and drank and laughed for the full 10 hour flight to land in sunny (actually mildly rainy and sometimes overcast) PARIS.

Hundreds of guide books have been written about Paris.  How could we possibly do  it all? So we decided not to do it all. But instead play it by ear and enjoy not only Paris, but spending time together.

Isn’t it awful that you have these great friendships cemented over years of hilarious single escapades and then you get married and have children and move out of the city into suburbs and all of a sudden you feel you’ve gone a year since you last saw them in person? Yeah, I hate that too. And I refuse to let it happen, so we wanted to make sure that enjoyment came before agendas.

And enjoyment was had–with a whole lotta laughter to boot.

We landed in Paris and got to our hotel in the 7th Arrondissemont across the street from the Bon Marche around noon and were too wired to even think about relaxing.

We shamelessly spent the first day getting lost in our little hood stopping every couple of hours at cafes to people watch and have a bellini and pinch ourselves that here we were in Paris and truly it was magical.

We did do more than drink. We did go to a few selected pieces of Paris in the form of art and architecture.  Utterly amazing.

But we were equally charmed with people watching.  Lin and I were especially charmed by the Parisian tot set. So sweet and as well turned out as their parents. Go figure!

Parisian style really is extraordinary.  You will not see someone running around in yoga pants or wearing white running shoes.  And I love that we saw people of all ages. Paris wasn’t just a city for the young. Oh no, this was a multi-generational city. And all of them well dressed to boot.  Like this very gracious woman who saw that we were lost and graciously offered to help us find our way back to our hotel. She was wearing an Hermes scarf and Chanel glasses.  She could easily be on the blog Advanced Style in a heartbeat.

As helpful as that lovely lady was, we really must thank our friend, Courtney for being the best Parisian tour guide ever!

Lin and Courtney went to college together and were fast friends from the moment they met. And with good reason. Courtney is as down to earth and fun and charming as she is beautiful. And man, can she crack out a super cute baby.  Courtney had lived abroad for the past 12 years and spent the last 10 in Paris with her dashing husband in a tiny but perfect little apartment, which was a hop skip away from our hotel.

She took us to this most amazing restaurant that Jordan had recommended as well.  It felt like you were eating inside of an Anthropologie store–deliciously quirky (hello ping pong table in the middle of the restaurant) and all sorts of styles mish-mashed together with a knowing wink and a nod. And the best part was that there was a secret room–it looked like a bookcase, but if you pulled a certain book, voila–crazy secret room!

And that was just one of the marvelous places we went with Courtney.

She also took us to this hidden gem of a bar called Prescription.  Of course France is well known for its wine, but artisan cocktails with fresh fruit juices and unique liquors and bitters are just beginning to pop up in Paris. There was no sign on the street and it was after 2:00AM in the morning and she just knocked on a door and we slipped in. Very much like a speakeasy.

Sorry for the grainy photo, but it was so dark in there. And I must apologize for all of my pictures–just taken with my iphone as my camera was dead when I pulled it out of its case on the first day.

I’m sure there are dozens of other little moments.  Delicious little pieces of time that make up anyone’s vacation to Paris. And I’m thankful for every one of those moments.

But, how do I summarize my trip? I know it was such a whirlwind trip, but I feel now as if a puzzle piece in my life has been filled. A lifetime of questions about what Paris was like and truly–some things can only be experienced to full understand them, like love, being a parent, going to college–oh the list is endless, but I think you know what I mean.  Hard to sum up in words but priceless what it means to the heart.

So, I will tuck a bit of Paris in my heart and know that I will be back again.

Have you been to Paris? What was your Parisian experience? Is mine off or like yours? What was your favorite moment?

PS: One more post–on shopping and what I did and didn’t buy! Stay tuned!

Starting Monday with a bit of vintage fun!

Well, I’m back in my cozy home from a very full week of meetings. And prepping for  Tiki Oasis! Squee!! Alix and I and a whole slew of our Dames friends will all be there, so I know that a very very fun time will be had.  But between finding the perfect tiki outfits for the Peach and Eric and myself, I was finding super cute outfits for your kiddos!

Say “hi” to this fun little gingham giraffe windbreaker. Love love love. From Etsy seller, Fresh and Swanky on Etsy.

Don’t you love the white patent leather buckles on this sweet green dress? Perfect for back to school! From Etsy seller,

This boy’s Western shirt is pretty freaking awesome and a big size 12! Huzzah! From Etsy seller, Thrifty Vintage Kitten.

FuzzyMama always has the best stuff–like this great applelicious sweater.  And the apple is plaid too! Sigh.

I love a good jon jon. And this one is pretty darn awesome! From Etsy seller, Toadstool Vintage.

What parent wouldn’t want to give their sweet baby a Busy Koo Koo for their crib? What parent doesn’t want to say Busy Koo Koo a dozen times.  From Etsy seller, kris68.

Isn’t this the most amazing catastic little set ever? Because of the cats! Yay, cats! From Etsy seller, Little Reader Vintage.

With Tiki-Oasis so close, I just had to get a little bit of vintage Tiki in there and this sweet vintage shirt sure is a good one! From Etsy seller, Joules Vintage.

This little daisy of a summer pinafore would be so perfect right now with the heat.  Just a nice pair of sandals, and your girlie is good to go! From Etsy seller, Baby Tweeds.

And I leave you with some serious cabin cuteness, right here! I had to include a shot of the inside just so you could see the bear rug! Tee hee! From Etsy seller, Callooh Callay!  Great name, huh?

Hee hee! Happy Monday, folks!