CHARMING

On Sunday we decided to go camping for the week to take advantage of the last few days of summer. While we were away lots of fun things arrived in the mail for our Fall/Winter collection - including these new clutch and bracelet charms...

THESE ARE YOUR GOOD PANTS

After living in our apartment for over two years we finally managed to put up a bit of artwork! I love how it personalizes our bedroom - bringing together family photos, artwork by talented friends (Fieldguided, Kate Miss) and tokens collected on recent travels. My favourite piece is a tag I found in my grandfather's closet after he passed away last year. Attached to a pair of trousers and written in my grandmother's hand it reads, 'Do not wear to hall or the yard. These are your GOOD pants.' It sums up my grandparents lifelong relationship perfectly and makes me smile every time I read it...

A DAY IN : SAN SEBASTIAN DEL OESTE

//1// Fresh coffee beans from La Quinta, Cafe de Altura //2// Star lights at Pueblo Magico //3// Church artifacts //4// Virgin of Guadalupe statue in Church courtyard //5// crumbling Hacienda in countryside //6// Bar at El Arreiro //7// Dusk, walking back from the mines

My 'A Day In' series continues with the beautiful colonial mountain town of San Sebastian Del Oeste.

A DAY IN : SAN SEBASTIAN DEL OESTE

HISTORY

Two hours northeast of PV, San Sebastian del Oeste, was once one of the most important cities in Mexico. As a mining town and the former capital of the state of Jalisco, San Sebastian is steeped in history. The once populous town (peaking in 1830 at 20,000 inhabitants) has shrunk in size (600 permanent residents) and national importance but is so picturesque it is worth making an effort to check it out for yourself. V was so inspired he created a websitefor the town.

GENERAL

San Sebastian is built for walking and you can easily traverse the entire town in an hour or so. This is the perfect place to rent a home and spend your time writing, painting or shooting the picturesque surroundings.

The town is high up in the mountains and as such has a very different climate than Puerto Vallarta. In the steamy humid months of summer many Vallartans escape to San Sebastian to relax in its temperate summer climate and slower pace of life. In the winter it gets quite cold – requiring thick blankets on beds and warm winter woolens.

MORNING

As you enter the town along a broad cobble stone street make sure to stop in at La Quinta, Café de Altura and pick up a pound or two of their coffee beans from the Sanchez Alvarado family who have been running the business for 5 generations. They also sell candy-covered nuts that make for an amazing afternoon snack.

After grabbing your morning coffee wander into the city and poke around the shops that line the zocalo (main square). My favourite shop is a two-storey folk art emporium called Pueblo Magico, which carries beautiful treasures from all over Mexico at very reasonable prices. El Fortin Restaurant & Galeria also carries some great preserves, textiles and Mexican folk art.

The church in the main square is always open and, with all of its interior architectural detailing painted trompe l’oeil, it’s one of my pueblito favourites in Mexico.

Only a handful of wandering country roads make up the town and walking along them, camera in hand, is a nice way to spend a couple of hours. Over the last several hundred years, as the population dwindled, more and more of the town became overgrown and forgotten. It’s not uncommon to walk by crumbling haciendas from the 1600’s, long since abandoned by their owners.

AFTERNOON

At the main entrance to the city sits the restaurant El Arriero, which has a nice patio overlooking a mountain valley and the towns old bull ring. The food is good and the view is even better.

From there head down to the Hacienda Jalisco – one of the oldest Hacienda’s in town which has been converted into a local museum and hotel. The main rooms are beautifully staged to represent the life of its residents in the 1600’s and it is also home to an extensive newspaper clipping archive of the local history of the past 100 years.

If you have access to a vehicle with 4-wheel drive head up to La Bufa – the top of one of the tallest mountains in the area. On a clear day you can see Puerto Vallarta and beyond. If you don’t have a car there are also La Bufa tours – just look for a green bus with a palapa roof in the main square and inquire with driver.

EVENING

My pick for the best restaurant in town is Montebello. Their pizzas and pastas are made to order by its Italian ex-pat owner and served on a quaint patio overlooking their amazing courtyard garden. There is an array of family pets that also wander under tables looking for scraps and attention, which only add to the ambiance.

If you have any energy after your delicious dinner head up behind the town and check out the old abandoned mines. The 30-minute walk takes you through picturesque countryside and the base of the local forest. A town resident gave us a tour of this area and told us that during times of conflict, years ago, the local population would head for the mines and hide there for days while their town was being looted – a truly astounding fact when you see how small the mines entryways are.

When we visit we always stay at the Hotel del Puente – a very rustic hacienda hotel that is only $12 a person per night. The Hotel del Puente offers nothing more than a room with a bed and a few toiletries but the staff is kind and the hacienda itself is quaint. We have spent many a night playing scrabble in the inner courtyard to the light of fireflies. If rustic isn’t your thing there are many options in town – from bare bones basic to high-end luxury.

D.S. & DURGA

When we were in Portland last month we discovered Palace, a cute little shop filled with a well curated selection of vintage and up-and-coming brands. While browsing I stumbled into the perfume line D.S. & Durga and instantly fell for their rich yet subtle scents . Generally I don't wear perfume since I'm often allergic to synthetic scent but after some research I discovered that D.S. & Durga make their line from natural ingredients, in small batches, out of their studio in Brooklyn. I couldn't stop thinking about their Coriander eau de parfum and so this past weekend I tracked down a bottle in Toronto (available at Lost + Found) and couldn't be happier (or better smelling).

(first picture taken from Palace tumblr)

F/W 12 LOOKBOOK INSPIRATION

Some inspiration pulled together for our upcoming F/W 12 shoot.

Images from + Northwood Rika Magazine + Pulp Magazine + Maison Scotch + Brock Watson + Planet Blue + Kim Hammerstroem + Rag & Bone + Studded Hearts + as well as a few unknown sources.

S&C OUTTAKES

While doing research for my new F/W 2012 lookbook I stumbled into these outtakes from my S/S 2012 shoot - taken by the talented duo Anabela and Geoff of Fieldguided. There were so many beautiful shots I had a hard time compiling them into the finished piece.

FALL/WINTER PROGRESS

It feels like I haven't seen the outside world in weeks as we pull together all the pieces for Fall/Winter 2012. Here are a few pictures from along the way (follow our progress on Instagram - scout_catalogue):

1_New season inevitably means new mess.
2_Dye tests, dye tests, dye tests...
3_New zipper pull prototype.
4_Hand painted canvas drying under Mouse's vigilant eye.
5_Our new stamping machine means shiny S&C's everywhere this Fall!!
6_Metallic polka dots from our last trip to Mexico.

MANIAMANIA

The new ManiaMania lookbook - The Astral Plane - takes my breath away.

STUDIO

A few pictures from around the studio as we frantically prepare for our Fall/Winter 2012 collection.

A DAY IN : PUERTO VALLARTA

//1// Hammocks and wool rugs in the market along Rio Cuale //2// Beautiful lace in one of the many fabric stores on Calle Juarez //3// The cemetery //4// Wading along one of PV's local beaches //5// Dinner at Hacienda San Angel //6// A sunset stroll along the Malecon

Over the years I've received many emails asking to share my favourite places to visit in Mexico. I recently posted a tour of Puerto Vallarta on the site Of a Kind and got such a huge response that I thought I would start a new series I'm calling, 'A Day In'. Over the next few months I'll go through the cities and towns I have visited in Mexico and share my favourite experiences - hopefully making your next trip all the more enjoyable.

While I just covered PV for Of a Kind I thought it was still the logical place to start as it's where we lived while we were down there and is the birth place of Scout & Catalogue. 

A DAY IN : PUERTO VALLARTA

HISTORY

Until the 1950's Puerto Vallarta was nothing but a sleepy fishing town but when John Huston chose the nearby beach of Mismaloya to film Night of the Iguana PV boomed into a tourist haven. Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton famously lived in the area known as Gringo Gulch and as the years passed and more people discovered it's hospitable climate, wealth of beaches and colonial charm the town blossomed into a city.

MORNING

Far to one side of the city and slightly off the beaten path lies the local cemetery. I am a HUGE fan of wandering through cemeteries when visiting cities and Mexico offers some of the most extravagant memorials to their dead. Morning offers nice light and cool temperatures for this unorthodox tourist activity.

Mornings, for me, mean coffee and Cafe Oro Verde has some of the best beans in the city. The proprietors, Wen and Patty, have been roasting coffee from the Sierra Madre mountain range for almost 20 years and, while their little shop is a bit rough around the edges, their coffee speaks for itself.

TIP : In general Mexicans LOVE weak coffee and, if you're like me and you love a strong cup, don't feel shy about requesting exactly how you would like your coffee brewed. Be warned - if you are in a restaurant and order coffee it will almost always be Nescafe instant and seasoned with cinnamon. As well, 'americano' is their word for drip coffee so it's not as strong as the equivalent elsewhere.

Fresh squeezed juice stands abound and are also an amazing way to start the day. 

From my morning coffee I would head along Calle Jaurez to the amazing fabric and notion stores that line the street all the way to the Zocalo (Spanish for the town's main square). My favourite stores in the city are Tlaquepaque and Querubines both of which are filled with goods from different regions of Mexico.

TIP : Mexican supermarkets are often stocked with amazing kitchen goods. They have interesting hot sauces, enamel pots and pans, kitschy match books, beautiful tea towels and authentic catholic candles at the fraction of the cost of a market vendor.

AFTERNOON

Just behind the Parisina on Calle Juarez is the tiny vegetarian restaurant Planeta. If you don't eat meat in Mexico almost all of the delicious local cuisine is off limits and this hidden gem is a great place to grab lunch. 

The church is just down the street and is almost always open to the public. You can climb up the streets behind the church and marvel at the cute homes and views of the water or continue to head south to shop the market along the Rio Cuale. From the market follow the wandering streets into the Zona Romantica where most of the boutique hotels in the city are located. This area is known for it's restaurants, beaches and gay bars and is extremely lively come evening. 

Head down to the Blue Chairs beach and continue along the sand past a few rocky bluffs towards the community just south of the Zona Romantica, known as Conchas Chinas. Here the beach is slightly less populated and there are fewer disturbances for your much deserved R&R time. 

EVENING 

After an afternoon at the beach dinner at Hacienda San Angel is the perfect way to finish the day. Call ahead for reservations and enjoy a night on this boutique hotel's rooftop terrace with excellent food and a live Mariachi band serenading you. This is one of my all-time favourite experiences in Mexico.

Cap the night off with a stroll on the Malecon.