Vintage shopping: the Seattle exploration

For the past few weeks, I've been adjusting to Seattle, my home for the summer. So finally found a place to stay, and it's in the University District, the trendy area for the students of the University of Washington. This weekend, I spent time exploring the neighborhood and found myself in the center of a vintage shopping haven.

Red Light Vintage Clothing is unique to the Seattle area with two locations. I enjoyed seeing clothes, shoes, and accessories that I would never thought would have been in season years ago, or perhaps decades ago. I couldn't believe I still wanted to wear a lot of that stuff because sometimes vintage shopping goes a little too deep into history where I wouldn't wear certain things. I was really feeling the shoes, but I knew I should wait for the perfect pair begging to come home with me.

So Goodwill is everywhere, especially here in Seattle where there are almost 20 locations throughout the city and the outskirts. But I noticed this location tried to fit into the block with having a vintage aura compared to its counterparts elsewhere. I bought three tops that probably look like my other stuff, but I couldn't help it since it was cheaper than the stores back home in California.

While walking up the street, I checked out the Buffalo Exchange, which is a chain of stores in several states, but I never heard of it. I was curious to see what they offered, and it was a mainstream vintage shop. That may sound insulting, but it's incredible because their inventory rocked. They even made their own jewelry. Interesting pieces, but the nickel metal makes my skin itch. I did find a J.Crew gray cardigan since I'm a sucker for those. It looks more fashionable than it sounds.

Goodwill hunting #12: leather sandals

Three-day weekend holidays mean money-saving shopping trips at Goodwill thrift stores. Because of my day off, I headed to my fave local stores and sought bargains reduced to ridiculously wonderful prices.

In a blue bin marked with the 50% price tag, I found a pair of Donald J Pliner leather sandals. What caught my eye was the leopard print, which is my timeless fashion staple, so I had to have them. I also noticed the authentic leather and label claiming they were manufactured in the mountains of Italy, and I fell for the romanticized location imprint.

I'm not obsessed with labels, but my sister convinced me to look online to measure the extent of my bargain. And it turned out the $2.50 I paid was worth it since a similar, plainer pair runs up almost 100 times that price.

Donald J Pliner Sandal in Black Vachetta, $215, donaldjpliner.com.

I also noticed my sister bought two great Jessica Simpson items: a pair of pumps and a wallet. The shoes probably ran around $100 at one point and the wallet $45, so it pays to support recycled fashion, especially after a thorough cleaning process.

Baking bits #1: gluten-free vegan vanilla cake

It's been awhile, but the baking bug bit me today as I decided to bake a gluten-free, dairy-free cake.

Though I usually nix the wheat and dairy because of my food allergies, I also wanted to get rid of the eggs. For the past few months, I've been trying to maintain a part-time vegan diet with eating animal products at one meal during the day. But as soon as night falls, I don't want any meat, eggs, or honey, and since I like to eat my cake with ice cream at dessert time, I had to find a substitute for eggs. 

After an exhaustive search for gluten-free vegan cake recipes, I noticed distilled vinegar or unsweetened applesauce taking the place of eggs. My vanilla cake still tasted great with the vinegar (no applesauce in the fridge) and almond milk (switched out soy milk for the week). 

GLUTEN-FREE, VEGAN VANILLA CAKE RECIPE
4/3 cups of brown rice flour or gluten-free flour
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 tablespoon of vinegar, unsweetened applesauce, or orange juice 
3/4 cup of almond milk, soy milk, or dairy-free milk
2/3 cup of raw sugar or stevia 
3 tablespoons of vegetable oil
1 egg  
Pinch of salt  (I don't add salt to anything)

If I could take anything from this baking experience, I learned I'm in desperate need of a great gluten-free vegan cookbook since Google is not always a girl's best friend when it comes to specialty baking matters.