All posts filed under: Travel

Art Deco 2015: Swinging* times in Sunny Napier

*And by swinging, I mean swing dancing, of course! Another Napier Art Deco Weekend has come and gone, and another fabulous time was had by all – or at least everyone I talked to! I almost didn’t go this year, because, while I had a great time last year, it was so ungodly hot that I felt ill most of the weekend, and my memories of last year are also mixed up with how stressful it was (we took possession of our new house the day I left for Napier, and moved in three days after I got back!). But the lovely ladies at the clothing swap convinced me to go, and I am so grateful for it! I think this was the best Art Deco Weekend yet, and it was the best because I didn’t stress about trying to be anywhere, or do anything – I just let the good times happen when, and where they did, and they DID. In previous years I’ve pushed myself to be at the costume contest to document …

The rewards of persistence

Published by The Dreamstress

Remember my post on ‘Doilie, doily, doyley, doiley, d’oyley’ etc? Less than a month after I wrote it, sometime in late June or early July 2011, this showed up at a local op shop: It’s a doyley holder! Naturally, I wanted it! But I didn’t need it, and the op shop wanted $30 for it, which I thought was ridiculous, and which I couldn’t afford for something that I really don’t need. And it was an op shop where I won’t spend silly money just to support the charity (there are ones where I will spend more because I think the cause is really worthwhile, and the money well spend, but this one spends too much on paying its CEO and advertising) So I waited, and waited, and waited. The doyley holder didn’t sell. Finally, in January of this year, after it had sat in the op shop for 18 months, they replaced the $30 label with a $20 one, but that was still too pricey for me. So I waited, and waited, and waited. …

Napier’s Art Deco Weekend ’13

Published by The Dreamstress

It’s that time of year again: Napier’s annual Art Deco Weekend was last weekend, and I went, and I had lots of fun and took 642 photos and edited them down to 469 keepers and then edited those down to 26 I want to show you today, and a few more I’ll show you for specific costume posts. It was interesting to go back to Art Deco Weekend a second time: to review my first impressions, and get another look. It was even more interesting to go back and read my write-up of last year’s weekend, and my impression of the event. I can’t say my overall view has changed much, but this year was inevitably a bit different. I described it to Rachel (my weekend partner) as both better and worse than last year – as a returnee, I didn’t get lost walking around, knew where to park and where the good restaurants were, and when all the events were. But this year also had less highlights: the op-shopping wasn’t as good, I missed …