Back in October, some friends and I vacationed in Joshua Tree for a few days before heading out to the dopest wedding ever. We flew into Las Vegas and drove 3 hours through the beautiful Mojave desert. Joshua Tree turned out to be one of my most favorite places in the world. This trip was just special. Life-changing, even! We stayed at this airbnb, and it was amazing. The pictures don’t do it justice.

The pool was legiiiit.

There were beautiful succulents and cacti all around the yard. I took a million photos!

We barely cracked the surface of Joshua Tree National Park. I’d love to go back and do more exploring. We hiked the Barker Dam trail which was a feast for the eyes at every turn. It felt like we had stepped onto a different planet – it almost didn’t seem real. The sky and landscape were so expansive.

Sad Cactus Series:

I took about 5,000 photos of Joshua Trees. I could.not.stop.

Oh, Integratron, you magical little thing! We made a reservation for a group sound bath and I’m really, really happy we did. I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I found it to be  both calming and energizing at different times throughout the session. Definitely visit this place if you’re ever in Joshua Tree! Make a reservation in advance and give yourself time before your appointment to wander the grounds. Buy a super-charged crystal in the gift shop and lounge in the hammocks!

A few other favorites in Joshua Tree:

Natural Sisters Cafe. We ate here every day, sometimes twice a day. Delicious and fresh vegan food, juices, and desserts.

Joshua Tree Saloon. A fun place for dinner, drinks and karaoke. I love the western dive-bar vibe.

Grateful Desert. A natural food store and apothecary located next to Natural Sisters Cafe. I bought a handmade ring from a local artist, some delicious snacks, and a few sticks of palo santo.

Ricochet Vintage.  Funky vintage clothes, souvenirs, and trinkets.

Las Palmas. For the best fish tacos of your life.

We drove up Route 66 on our way back to Las Vegas and stopped at Roy’s Motel and Cafe in the Mojave desert town of Amboy, which is basically in the middle of nowhere. An art installation was staged throughout the six motel rooms and visitors could wander through the rooms freely. There were cryptic messages written on the walls, nails sticking out of the beds, and furnishings in disarray. It was fascinating. I could have wandered around those rooms for hours.

The drive back to Las Vegas was peaceful. We made a shared Spotify playlist so we could each add our favorite road trip songs to listen to during the drive. I’m such a sap, I listen to the playlist often.

I recorded a bunch of footage with my phone and compiled it all together to make a little video of our time in Joshua Tree and Las Vegas. Memmmories!

xoxo

Truth be told, I’m not the biggest Las Vegas fan. I think gambling is boring and depressing. My club-kid days are long over, and I have complicated feminist feelings about hookers. But an opportunity came along for Mike D and I to spend a few days in the city of sin to celebrate our friend Ellie’s birthday with ten of our friends, so we were like “VIVA LAS VEGAS!”. And now I’m here, an unreasonable amount of time later, to tell you about the trip. How long has it been, you ask? A month? Nope. Many multiple months? Yep. And that’s what’s up.

After our flight landed in Vegas, we dropped our bags at the hotel, rented a car, and drove to Red Rock Canyon. It’s only a thirty minute drive from the Las Vegas strip and it’s breathtaking. I highly recommend going in the evening and watching the sunset. It was a real treat despite the 8,000 degrees of blasting solar heat that day.

The following morning we visited the Neon Museum for a guided tour. Colorful vintage signs of old casinos, shops, and restaurants are artfully arranged along gravel paths. This is a dreamland of vintage typography and the colors were very pleasing to my eyeballs. Definitely check it out! Tip: Bring plenty of water and sunscreen because there’s nearly no shade.

And then we melted into a sweaty puddle of despair. Have I mentioned that it was hot in Vegas? Effing HOT HOT. Walking on the sun hot.

That evening we celebrated my friend Ellie’s birthday with dinner and drinks at Park on Fremont. The prices were good (especially for Vegas because DAMGURL that city is expensive) and the ambiance was on point. Quirky art, good food, craft cocktails, and a sweet patio with an old Cinderella-like carriage and a teeter totter. Highly recommend!

After dinner we walked along Fremont street and things got REAL silly. Ridiculously overpriced cocktails may have been involved.

The next morning we rented a private cabana by the pool at MGM. Each cabana has it’s own mini-fridge, lounge chairs, chilled towels, inner tubes, a music dock, a safe for wallets/phones, and a waitress. It was quite luxurious for us hobos! We spent all day lounging around, drinking, swimming, stuffing our faces, and having long theoretical pool-side discussions. It was delightful.

After a quick nap and a shower, a limo picked us up and took us to The Tunnel of Love Drive-Thru Wedding Chapel. Mike D and I, along with two of our best friends, Charlie & Halina, thought it would be fun to renew our wedding vows in a double drive-thru ceremony. *Spoiler Alert* BEST ONE HUNDRED BUCKS I’VE EVER SPENT. We almost didn’t do this and I’m so glad we decided to just go for it. The chapel was… um, interesting?  The pink Cadillac they let us “rent” didn’t run and had four flat tires. Ha! I’m sure there’s a metaphor for marriage in there somewhere. Empty love tank something or other? Doesn’t matter. WE DOOOOO!

My friend Kate captured the faux nuptials so perfectly. Truth be told, we were a little tipsy from spending all day at the pool and it was hard to keep a straight face. SUPER SERIOUS WEDDING TIMEZ COMING AT YOU.

Thank you, Kate! Because of you, I’ll never forget my second wedding to my first husband.

*dabs at a tear*

On our final day in Vegas, Mike and I wandered along the strip and came across The Polaroid Museum. This was a totally random and lucky find. I NERDED OUT over rare cameras, Polaroids by Lucas Michael and Maurizio Galimberti, and an installation of Andy Warhol’s silver clouds.

That evening we met up with our friends for dinner at The Peppermill Restaurant and Fireside Lounge. It’s iconic, weird, gorgeous, and offers the quintessential throwback Vegas experience. You HAVE to check this place out. Make sure to head into the fireside lounge after dinner for a nightcap. The ambiance in there is insane. Honestly, the food and drinks are nothing over the top, but the decor is what really makes this place special.

We ended our trip with The Beatles LOVE at The Mirage. I basically ugly-cried for a straight two hours. The costumes were BONKERS. The dancers’ bodies were BONKERS. The trapezoid acts were BONKERS. OMG SO MUCH BONKERS.

And then we flew home. Happy, heat exhausted, and hung over.

Ok, Vegas. You win.

I like you now.

PS: I shoved my iPhone in my friends’ faces the whole trip to create this video just for you.

The end of Summer was a reeeeal doozy. Our house fell victim to the severe storms that hit the Detroit area on August 11th. About two feet of sewage rose up from our drains, flooded our furnished basement, and ruined just about everything we had down there. And guys, believe me when I tell you, we had a lot of stuff down there. Some very lovely vintage furniture, irreplaceable family heirlooms, expensive electronics, linens, tools, books, records. Our furnace broke. Our hot water heater broke. All of my trolls from the 1980’s drowned in poop water. It was terribly depressing. Even more depressing – our homeowner’s insurance covered zero of the damage. Did you know that there is a very specific, very SEPARATE rider one must purchase for such sewage nonsense? I became aware of it the day after the storm. My conversation with our insurance agent went a leeeetle bit Robbie Hart.

And so, for the last two months, we’ve been cleaning and rebuilding the basement. It hasn’t been fun. OR CHEAP. All caps on that one because it is the truth.

But this is a post about Spain.

I am undecided if this was the worst timed vacation or the best. Nothing like a momentous trip abroad in which languages must be practiced and itineraries must be organized nestled right in the middle of a personal crisis to really activate your stress receptors and show you what you’re made of. But then again, riding a horse to the top of a mountain with a view of Barcelona that is like shuuuuut uuuuup kinda makes you extra grateful to the experience when you’re coming off a month of chaos, I suppose. I highly recommend it. And also don’t. You feel me.

I’ll be back soon with a big ol’ post about what we did, what we saw, and where we stayed. It was nothing short of spectacular, and I’m already beginning to over-romanticize it. I’m looking forward to it. You too? Thought so.

What else… Ah yes, the bathroom makeover plan is still on the books, thank you for asking. In fact, the water softener is installed and working great ( check out this exclusive review) and  I finished caulking and spackling all the things this week. And it only took four months! I hope to have a coat of primer on the walls by… Easter? I kid, I kid (no I don’t). First order of business is to finish up my Classy Broad from Outer Space costume for Theatre Bizarre. But after that, paint. Probably.

Keep up with me on the Instagram, eh?

Happy Halloweentober!

http://traceytilley.com/theatre-bizarre-the-procession/

Image from 200 Cigarettes

Well friends, it’s been quite a year. 2013 was good to me. I traveled to Europe, I spent time in the sun, I shot hundreds of Polaroids, I wandered all over this city that I love so hard, I hunted for treasures in thrift shops, I spruced up our home, and spent countless hours with the people I love.  As the year draws to a close, I want to thank you for reading this little blog of mine and supporting my shop. I truly appreciate each and every one of you who stop by to read, comment, email, and share. I love writing and photographing for this blog and you all inspire me to keep at it. So thank you, endlessly.

After looking back at my year in instagrams (I’m slightly addicted to the flipagram app), I thought I would share a retrospective of 2013. A little walk down memory lane, if you will.

January:

I hung a gallery wall in my dining room and shared some tips.

A new photo series. Instant Detroit – Woodward Edition.

February:

Ms. Eleanor Rigby turned one!

March:

Some thrift finds and my best Craigslist score to date.

April:

Mike D finally got me a good gift.

I asked for your help on choosing some art for the living room.

May:

I turned a nasty old $3 vintage suitcase into something pretty!

June:

Where French people gave me the crepes. I read this post over and over. So many memories!

 July:

I participated in two art shows in Detroit.

August:

Some deep thoughts on my trip to London.

What I brought home from London & Paris.

A sweet little video I made of my trip to the beach with friends.

September:

The closing of my art show at Majestic Cafe.

I hosted an outdoor showing of Purple Rain  in my backyard.

October:

I participated in the Detroit leg of The World Wide Photo Walk.

November:

Mike D and I attended Theatre Bizarre, dressed as characters from Eraserhead.

I threw a Halloween party and we danced until we were dead.

God save the film! Have you signed the petition yet?!

I added some new Paris prints to my etsy shop.

December:

My latest vintage finds and the woeful ennui of a 1930’s homemaker.

Christmas happenings around our house.

A gift guide for your favorite fur beasts and their owners.

Whew! What a year!

I hope you’re all enjoying your holidays and getting the rest and relaxation you deserve. I’ll see you back here in 2014! Cheers!

-xoxo

The above photographs were taken with my 50 year old Polaroid Land Camera and the incomparable Fuji 3000B instant pack film. I’ve worked with more breeds of instant film than you can shake a stick at – color, black & white, sepia, high speed, low speed, Polaroid, Impossible Project, but the Fuji 3000B film is by far my favorite. The contrast and grain is absolutely lovely, and the images always turn out the perfect amount of dreamy. The high speed of the film lends itself well to a multitude of lighting conditions and the 15 second development time is particularly handy when shooting on the move, as I most often am.

On 11/14/13, Fujifilm announced the following via email from a USA rep:

“Please be advised that FP-3000B is being discontinued, as a result of decreases in world-wide global demand. We know that the discontinuation of a well-loved and long established product can be difficult to adjust to. We appreciate your interest in this product, and will be reporting your comments.”

I’m devastated. This film is the meat and potatoes to the instant photography world. It’s the Adobe Suite to graphic designers. It’s the cast iron skillet to chefs. It’s the Zildjian china trash to drummers (thanks Mike D!).  I won’t let it go without a fight. So please, if you have a moment,  sign this petition to save this instant film and spread the word. Will it do anything? I don’t know, but it certainly can’t hurt.

xoxo

Back in August, I received an email from my good friend and old roommate Melinda inviting me to participate in the Detroit leg of the World Wide Photo Walk. After doing some poking around and reading about the walk (it’s an annual social photography event where photographers all over the world gather in urban areas to walk around and shoot photos on the same day), I was all “Yes! Of course! How fun!” and then I saw it started at 7am on a Saturday and I was all “Aw hell no, I ain’t doing that.” and then she was all “Stop being a baby.” and I was all “Stay out of my life!” and she was all “You’re being ridiculous.” and I was all “Fine, I’ll do it.”.  Perhaps this is a bit of dramatization, but you’ve come to expect that from me by now.

And so I got my sorry ass up at 5:30am on October 5th to meet Melinda and a bunch of strangers at Eastern Market, and you guys! It turned out to be a really amazing day.

Our group was led by Chita Hunter, a technology trainer of Adobe Software and an instructor at Schoolcraft College. We joined forces with Shawn Lee, the leader of the I See Detroit bus tour, and together, we made for a pretty diverse group of photographers, tourists, and Detroiters of all ages. Chita (below, in the front row with a white shirt) & Shawn (not pictured) made the day really enjoyable and did a great job of keeping our group together and engaged.

Photo by Chita Hunter

Photo by Chita Hunter

We spent a few hours shooting throughout Eastern Market and The Heidelberg Project, which sadly had been victim to arson early that morning, and then headed to Historic Indian Village where we were given two private home tours (whaaaaat!). We ended with lunch at Milano Bakery in Eastern Market and the entire thing was done by like noon. Noon! Most Saturdays, I’m barely out of bed and onto my third bloody mary before 2pm.  Getting up early, man. You all should try it.

Tangential aside – This event was sponsored by Canon and Adobe, and was founded by Scott Kelby who is a well-known Photoshop instructor. As you can imagine, it attracts super techy (and uber talented) photographers with big fancy cameras who talk about FPS rates and AF exposure ranges and other high-tech terminology that makes me yawny. Don’t get me wrong, I totally respect that method of photography, it’s just not my thing. Although the above photos were shot with my digital SLR (and iphone), the majority of the photos I shot that day were from my 50 year old Polaroid land camera, which I’ll be sharing soon as part of my Instant Detroit series.  I thought for sure I’d get many an eye roll walking around with my wonky old Polaroid, but most people were really interested in it, praised me for keeping film alive, and asked a bunch of questions. Photographer solidarity! Fist bumps!

If you have about 5 million hours to spare, you can see ALL the photos (nearly 10,000!) taken on October 5th,  from all over the world during the 2013 World Wide Photo Walk here. Turns out, playing tourist in your own city is a really fun thing to do.

Stay tuned friends! The parade of Polaroids is coming, and she can’t be stopped.

xoxo.

Last weekend I took a road trip with 17 (seventeen!) of my friends to a beach resort in Oscoda Michigan, about three hours north of Detroit. We rented cottages on Lake Huron and the weather was absolutely perfect.

We sunbathed, swam, played volleyball, canoed, drank cocktails, grilled food, and made a camp fire on the beach every night. It’s times like these that remind me how lucky I am to have an amazing group of funny, creative, smart, and supportive friends. We go on this trip every year and I hope we continue to do so forever!

I shot a bunch of footage with my iphone, and crammed it all into a little video. This song pretty accurately sums up how I feel about these people.

I shot a few photos with some very expired Polaroid sepia film…

We created a unique hashtag (#fauxtiki) for Instagram and Vine to document our photos and videos of the trip. Have you ever done that for a vacation or special event like a wedding or birthday? I’m into it.

The antique shopping in Oscoda was straight. up. fatal. I got all of this crap for like, I don’t know, $5? It was bonkers. This mid-century swag light fixture is so pretty, and although I have no idea where I’m going to put it, I’m totally in love. I want to do mommy & me yoga with it. And a Huey Lewis album for $1? Dude. Yes.

If I know a good time, and I think I do, this weekend was tops.

xoxo

For those of you just barely suffering through all these Euro blatherings, you will be happy to know we’re almost done!

And so! Shopping abroad. Suffice it to say, I am a fan.

I love to collect mementos that remind me of the places I’ve traveled to, but I have no interest in purchasing the standard-fare types of souvenirs that are sold in travel shops and by hawkers outside popular attractions. Those cheap little tchotzkes and trinkets are just overpriced crap, and if you’re buying a plastic key chain at the Eiffel Tower, then I’m pretty sure you’ve missed the point of shopping abroad.

My favorite things to buy when traveling:

1. Jewelry, preferably vintage or locally handmade.
2. Artwork – small prints, paintings, and drawings that can easily fit into a suitcase.
3. Home Decor – vintage, handmade, or something unique to the region I’m visiting.  Though I look for things that will easily fit into a suitcase, I’m not opposed to having a lamp, rug, or piece of furniture shipped home if it’s an amazing and affordable find. (This has never happened to me).

While in Paris, we spent an entire morning at the Antiquite Brocante (antiques fair) in Bastille. Nearly 500 stalls of antique furniture, art, glassware, and various bric-a-brac straddle both sides of the Seine River at the Place de la Bastille twice a year. It’s what dreams are made of, people. Flea markets are always my jam, but I find them especially interesting in other countries. You talk to people from other walks of life, you discover what types of items are ubiquitous in other cultures, what items hold value over others, what locals are most interested in buying, etc. It’s a level of access to local culture that you wouldn’t find in a museum (not that I don’t love museums too).

Most of the vintage jewelry was waaaayy out of my price range, but I came across this gorgeous art deco ball pendant necklace for only €30. And hey! Now I know how to type that little euro symbol.

This large book of sheet music cost only €10 and it says FLIRTING TIME! I mean, come on. No choice.

One of the vendors at the antiques fair had boxes and boxes of these quirky old post cards, priced at ten for €10. When I saw the ones with the babies, I was all “These are the weirdest, creepiest, most bizarre things I’ve ever seen. I’LL TAKE THEM ALL!”

The V&A Museum in London had an entire shop accompanying the David Bowie exhibit. I really wanted this Aladdin Sane Contact Sheet, but alas, at €3,999 it was a leeeetle bit out of my price range. Instead, I bought this paper doll set. If I now own two sets of paper dolls, does this make me a paper doll enthusiast? Or just a weirdo?

This handmade ring came from a tiny clothing & jewelry boutique near our apartment in Le Marais, Paris.

One day I dragged Mike D all over Montmartre into stores that the internet told me were “vintage shops”, but were mostly filled with piles of dirty old women’s clothes. He liked it, or so I told him. At this one particular shop, the owner was VERY friendly and VERY energetic and insisted on playing How Soon is Now by The Smiths over and over (and over). He pulled out things that he thought we would like, including this tin, which he eventually convinced me to buy. I don’t know, it looks cute in my kitchen and I can put crap in it? I’m totally rocking your world right now.

I stumbled into this shop in Montmartre that had the most colorful collection of tea towels, pot holders, aprons, glassware, and other home decor.

I fell in love with the entire Bloomingville collection, and felt like I couldn’t leave the store without buying something, so I grabbed a tea towel to hang above our stove. I love the little neon hook! I also grabbed this Abbey Road street sign at a flea market in London.

We didn’t come across many vintage stores in London, but I did find this sequined beanie at a shop in Covent Garden. I can say with 100% certainty and experience that wearing a sequined beanie to a casual pub serving fish & chips will gain you many a side-eye.

The real winner of the trip was this cardboard cat hanger from a quirky little shop called Rose Bunker in Montmartre. Me.OW.

By the way, if you don’t love sequins you’re wrong.

We also brought home some lovely gifts for our friends and family that watched over our house and took care of our pets, but I didn’t take any pictures of those things because I’m a terrible blogger. Instead, here are some instax minis!

If you’re still here, then hooray for you! You’ve made it to the end.

xoxo

It was a cool, drizzly Tuesday afternoon and we were strolling through Central London in search of a suitable pub to have a pint and rest our aching feet. We made our way down a terrifically London alleyway when suddenly the bells tolled, stopping me in my tracks.  They weren’t just any bells, they were THE BELLS. The bells that distinctly belong to a particular band, a band that belongs to me. Pink Floyd is mine, you see, and I’m willing to fight you for it. The bells tolled, thunderous and imposing, then the big clock chimed in, “DINNNNNG”, “DONNNNNG”, and the lyrics “Ticking away, the moments that make up a dull day” danced through my head like lightning bugs, electric with color.

Later that evening as we arrived home to our apartment in Covent Garden, tired & worn after a day of wandering, I dropped my bags on the table, my camera making a loud thunk.

I realized in that moment I hadn’t taken a single photograph that day.

When I took my first trip out of the country just after graduating high school, I began a travel journal. I jotted it all down furiously, the play by play of each day, the way each bite of food tasted, how the ocean smelled at precisely 3am. I photographed just as furiously, attempting to freeze every fleeting moment, for fear I would lose them. Those little moments all seemed so important, yet so fragile, and I had to protect them, collect them, to provide proof that they happened. Proof of the beauty.

There was something about London though, that inspired a freedom to just wander and wander with no other reason than to SEE. As the bells chimed and crashed over my head that afternoon, my senses opened up. The damp air smelled vaguely of exhaust, cut grass, and greasy pub food. The cold cobblestones pressed into the soles of my boots as I shifted my weight from one foot to the other. My eyes glazed over and I reminisced about that concert, nearly 20 years ago, the t-shirt I bought three sizes too big, and the wristband I wouldn’t take off for a week. I hummed along in my head, and hummed along to my band, while my camera lay abandoned at my side.

Perhaps all moments are not meant to be retold through photographs. Maybe this moment was just for me.

Psst!  I also wrote about my time in Paris, here.

Paris.

Where we wandered the crooked cobblestone roads, stole bites of each other’s croque monsieurs, tried on berets in the street, and felt very much like stars of a Woody Allen film. Where we climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower and watched the sun fall over the city while the wind, bone-piercingly cold, whipped my hair into knots. Where we insisted upon saying each street name aloud, at least twice, as we walked past them. Rue des Francs Bourgeois… Rue..des…Francs…Bour..ge..ois.  Where Mike D found (and left) his sense of direction. Where French Mike D is a navigational ninja. Where we happened upon a rather worldly feline in Pere Lachaise and then became so distracted by the beautiful tombs that we lost each other. Where I watched a mysterious man with features not unlike Javier Bardem smoke an entire cigarette before flicking the butt onto Jim Morrison’s headstone and how IT WAS THE COOLEST.  Where we aimlessly wandered the narrow and sloped streets of Montemarte, sifted through piles of dusty vintage clothes, and enjoyed brunch at the cafe from Amelie. Where I became intoxicated by the rich melodic sounds of the organs inside the cathedral of Notre Dame and where just outside, French people gave us the crepes.  Where Mike D mistakenly said “merci” instead of “excusez-moi” on at least three occasions, and how it was SO FUNNY every. single. time. Where I mastered just enough French to trick a few locals into thinking I was Parisian for about 10 whole seconds and how I just couldn’t, and still can’t, shut up about it. 

And there is that saying… to have another language is to possess another soul.  Well I’d like to think that during those ten seconds I possessed the soul of Charlotte Gainsbourg.

Where we roamed flea market stalls and sifted through a myriad of bits and bobbles until I discovered the most beautiful necklace and teacup, both of which left with me, one of which didn’t make it through the day in one piece.  Where we fought the crowds and weaved our way through a labyrinth of masterpieces for a glimpse of the Mona Lisa and pinched ourselves afterwards but not before posing for a few wayward photographs. Where Mike D insisted upon acting out the Louvre scene from National Lampoon’s European Vacation, and what is it about museums that makes us so insubordinate? Where in the wee hours of the night, a young drunk fellow stumbled onto the metro, half empty bottle of wine dangling from his hand, and tumbled onto a guy who was just not having it.  And how we exited the metro before him and were left wondering – did that girl with the Hitler hairdo ever give him her number?

Where we climbed over tables at Le Refuge des Fondues and cheered with our cohorts while we drank red wine from baby bottles.  Where the baguettes were nothing short of a religious experience, and the cheese was sufficiently divine. Where we spent the better part of a morning in Le Marais waiting out the rain, sipping cappuccinos, and feasting on a rainbow of macaroons while the sky opened above us.  Where I could never find my way through that dang loop in Bastille, and thank goodness for French Mike D.  Where the energy at Champ de Mars, under the sparkling lights of the Eiffel tower, was palpable and where I felt like I was smack in the middle of all the things I could have ever wished for, and well, you know how those moments are.

Where we only barely scratched the surface.  Where we left little pieces of ourselves to come back for.  Where we will surely, someday return.

Psst!  In case you missed my last post, here’s a silly little video I made of our trip.