Salvage

This is a flashback post - flash back to november(ish) 2011, when we went BACK to Portland and Aurora, Oregon. (just like we promised) to pick through the piles of treasure with highest hopes of finding some salvaged tin, rusted JUST enough.

Stop #1: The Cricket Cafe for breakfast with some of our favorite Portlandians, Slater and Hoot. Stop #2: Salvage Works, Stop #3: Aurora Mills. Adventure on!

Why do I look so happy? Maybe because I brunch like a New Yorker. I live for eggs and a stiff Bloody Mary.

I'm sure I was saying musing aloud about which breakfast cocktail to order. That sounds like something I would do...

I can't take my eyes off the menu. It's all about the eggs in this moment. (bloody mary)

Seriously delirious ..

Water for the gentleman. (someone has to drive)

After all the eggs and libations, we headed out to search high and low for salvageable treasures!

Salvage works!

I love their outdoor salvage yard. We ended up buying a ton of trim here for our exterior on a second pass through the store later in the day. We were too preoccupied with finding tin that was rusted 'just so'.

Doors. (make a note ... we still need a 6' x 2' door for the office closet)

Do we need an antique grain elevator? Probably not, but .. it's hard not to want one.

I did end up buying these screens for our windows. $3 each, thanks to Oregon's lack of sales tax. woo!

Surfin' PDX! So what if I was the only one drinking at breakfast? (I swear I don't do this all the time.)

After Salvage Works, we headed 30 miles south-ish to Aurora, OR. This is my favorite place on earth. I swear, if you'd have sat me down ten years ago when Mr and I first started dating, and told me that my dream getaway would be rummaging through old house parts for semi-rusty sheet metal and other antiques, I would've called you a liar. Well, fast forward from 2002 to 2012, and here we are .. fantasizing about finding the oldest possible thing for our house to match it's 120 year old guts. Lives sometimes take unexpected paths, but I wouldn't change the destination for anything.

Hey look! It's my very best friend in the whole world! Friends, meet Hoot. Or, Mon Hootzen, as I've been inclined to call her. Sometimes, I just call her "broad". She likes that too.

(Please note that all of these photos are taken by another favorite, Slater [who, on an unrelated note, hates that nickname]. He's shooting our wedding photos [Hey, Slater, did I mention that? I forget]. The reason I mention this is A: he's incredibly talented and B: I usually take all the photos for the blog. This is why I'm actually IN some of these photos for a change.)

Anyway, This is actually why we came all this way:

This photo .. I never really considered myself the type to shy away from the dirty work, but this looks very much contrary. I'm not usually afraid to get my hands dirty .. maybe it's the threat of tetanus that's got me acting all ... apprehensive.

That's more like it!

This took ALL DAY. (not complaining) We sorted through endless piles of rusty corrugated tin to find pieces that were JUST rusty enough to be artistic. A perfectionist's work is NEVER done.

My fiancee, the tin man.

Heave-Ho!

I'll ask again: Do you know what corrugated tin sounds like strapped to the roof of your car at 80 mph? Because I do. That's a sound you can never un-hear. Was it a pain? Totally. Was it worth it? Absolutely. Would I do it again? In a hot minute.