HAPPY THANKSGIVING

No turkey for me today, but the turkey is a true symbol of Thanksgiving Day. Thanksgiving Day (Jour de l'Action de grâce in Canadian French) is a national holiday celebrated primarily in the United States and Canada as a day of giving thanks for the blessing of the harvest and of the preceding year.

In 1621, the Plymouth colonists and Wampanoag Indians shared an autumn harvest feast that is acknowledged today as one of the first Thanksgiving celebrations in the colonies. For more than two centuries, days of thanksgiving were celebrated by individual colonies and states. It wasn't until 1863, in the midst of the Civil War, that President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national Thanksgiving Day to be held each November.

ANTIQUE ARCHAEOLOGY - AMERICAN PICKERS

My favorite program on television is American Picker's. I love to see how Mike Wolfe & Frank Fritz

crossing the USA in their van to look for that special item for their stores. I tried to do it myself as well

during my trips, but with less luck. Whenever I go to Nashville, I will certainly check the Urban Archaeology Store in the old Marathon Car Factory.

BARBOUR PEOPLE

Via Rugged Never Smooth I stumbled in the site of Barbour People. A Japanese site

with street styled pictures of people in Barbour jackets and more. It's always cool to see how Japan embrace the English & American style and style it even better as we do in the West.

By the way if you are in the neighborhood of Shibuya today you must check out the Barbour People Meeting!

ATELIER DE L'ARMEE - BECOMES MORE BEAUTIFUL OVER TIME

Elza & Joost of Atelier de L'Armee did it again!

 They really created a great lookbook of their handmade bags, leather goods and vintage finds.

The handcrafted bags are made Amsterdam. Created by mixing high quality deadstock or repurposed materials. Elza & Joost love old military fabrics because they have aged beautifully over time. The distinctive look of markings, wear, stamps, stains, repairs and, patches tell a story about the previous owner. The heritage clothing is a carefully selected mix of rare handpicked second hand items and most are collectables. They are all inspired by denim, vintage workwear or military clothing. And last but not least their leather goods are made out of limited batches of deadstock leathers. They are functional, build to resist and iron-branded.

CHAD MEETS BLAIR OF GENERAL QUARTERS, LOS ANGELES

During my trip, I had the chance to pay a visit to a store called General Quarters on La Brea Av., This is a very hip part of LA, with stores like Undefeated, Union, Stussy & American Rag. But General Quarters is different, Blair Lucio welcomes you heartily and that's a world of difference comparing to the other stores. Blair told me that he started 3 years ago with just a credit card and his love for some great brands like, Filson, Gant Rugger, Pendleton, Scott NYC, Tellason etc. He only sells what he would wear himself.  The funny thing is the next day we met again @ the Rose Bowl flea, it's a small  world after all.

General Quarters

153 S. La Brea Ave.

Los Angeles, Ca.

90036

CHAD'S ROAD TRIP THROUGH THE SOUTH-WEST

I travelled through 4 different States, drove over 3250 miles, visited 11 National Parks, 4 State Parks

and 2 Native American Parks. Did a Hamburger contest and the Umami Burger won. Lost some money in a slot machine called The Hangover and I saw Las Vegas from above no not from a plane or helicopter, but from the New York New York Roller coaster. The highlight of my trip was a hike through Arches National Park, the hike was 8 miles, climbing over rocks and heaving the feeling that you walked on the rim of the world made this hike unforgettable.