Detours and Discoveries

There's still Part 2 of the Kissed Again! contest that I need to post "ensemble" to get your votes, but first, I'd like you to take a detour with me to Camas, Washington.
Over the weekend, The Hubby and I went there ... once again looking for a place to call home. I shan't even elaborate on that for I'd get us so off track that you'd never get to Camas:)
We didn't bring our camera (!) but I certainly will next time. And I do believe there will be a next time soon. Camas is a small town of about 17,000 on the Columbia River that divides Oregon and Washington. It's about 20 minutes or so from Vancouver.
In the past, I had two associations with Camas:
1) It stunk.
2) I could have gotten myself killed there.
But now ...
1) The paper mill emitted no malodorous fumes while we were there.
2) My guardian angel protected me from the nutcase masquerading as a 'date' and that was more than 10 years ago...

SO I have wonderful new memories....

Downtown Camas is only 3-4 four blocks square, but in that small area, they pack beaucoup charm and character. You are walking under a canopy of trees that line the streets on both sides. Old fashioned street lamps. Flowers galore. And intriguing shops, like a wine bistro named K Syrah.

We did our taste testing at Navidi's Olive Oils & Vinegars. The Hubby has a thing about cooking with properly aged balsamic vinegars. ... We enjoyed a late lunch at Kop Chai, a Thai restaurant.

Unfortunately, our timing was off. We missed going to see the movie at The Liberty theater. It had started just 10 minutes earlier. Admission is only $3.75! I'm ready to move there for that reason alone:)

Merci to Dale Chumbley for the above photo.

My heart stopped when I walked by the side window of Camas Antiques. I spied a handmade sign: French ephemera. Underneath were beaucoup antique magazine pages with French text and ... I think I recall a print of a rhino?? Whatever, I knew I must investigate further. I was making a beeline into the front door when we realized it was like 3 minutes to closing. I just couldn't do that to the shop owner -- or myself. So I stayed out front and drooled down the windows....:) For a long time, I have dreamed of having my own little section in an antique mall. So I dreamed and drooled.

This week's window is particularly eye-catching, all the more so if you are a Jane Austen fan. Please don't think any less of me as a person, but I must confess that I have not read any of her books. (I did see Emma Thompson in Pride and Prejudice, if that counts for anything.:) Still, I LOVE that window display because of the artful decorating and ingenious use of text pages for wall paper! The pages are from a Jane Austen novel, of course...

The love quote from Darcy printed on canvas, big enough to fill one wall. LOVE it! The round table and chairs painted in "Old White, Paris Grey and Duck Egg Blue." LOVE it!

The artist behind this dream scene -- in the planning for months! -- is Amanda, also known as Girl in Pink. If you go to her blog, you'll see more details of the window, learn the whole process on how she painted her chairs, and today's post explains how she created Darcy's quote in a font "based on Jane Austen's own handwriting." Incroyable, n'est-ce pas?!!
IF you detour over to Amanda's, tell her I said, "Bonjour."