( photo via Rostbiff on flickr)Sorry for the radio static, I've been having some computer issues (try whole computer virus takeover/crash, possible loss of all my photographs and everything I've written for the past four years...I am so bummed). I'm trying to figure out all the workings of the home computer, and thought I'd drop by and let you know why I've been quiet!
Since I don't have anything on this computer to share (although I have a ton of cool stuff I've thrifted recently to show you, plus a slew of outfits queued up) I thought I'd finally get around to answering the 8 difficult questions that Miss Madeline of Swellegant Ponderings tagged me with a few weeks back! Here goes...
1. What never fails to cheer you up?
If it's nice out, then I'll go sit outside on the lawn and read one of my favorite books, and if it's better to be indoors then I'll sit inside and catch up on my blog reading!
2. If you could live one day of your life over again what would it be?
That's a hard one...I guess I'd relive any day the summer after Sophomore year of high school; I was just discovering my friends then and it all seemed so wonderful to be a part of a group after staying shy for so long!
3. What do you like best about yourself?
I like that I don't feel the need to fill every silence, and that I'm a great listener (so I'm told). I can't understand why some people need to be entertained all the time! Take a breath and chill!
4. What would you change about yourself?
I'd like to be a bit more confident and outgoing, and a little less shy. Blessing and a curse, I suppose.
5. What have you enjoyed most about blogging?
Aside from all the wonderful people out there, and being able to connect with people continents away, /I really love to be able to look back at my life through the blog. It's a lot like a personal diary (although mine looks a lot more like a "this is what I bought today" list! Oh, well.)
6. Who or what is your ultimate source of inspiration?
That's tough... I guess I'd have to say that the use of fabric and texture in the 20s, the drape and fit of the 30s through the 50s, color and cut in the 60s, and free spirited-ness of the 70s all have influenced me at one point. As for a particular person, I think that Kirsten Dunst and Natalie Portman are the bees knees. Lula Magazine is also fantastic. And Nabokov's Lolita. And Atonement, both the book and the film. I cry every time.
7. If you could be anywhere in the world where would you be?
I would sacrifice all spending/ an arm and a leg for the chance to experience the french countryside in the flesh. That or Italy, especially where my grandparents came from.
8. Who would you invite to your ideal dinner party?
The women mentioned above, Sophia Coppola, Jason Schwartzman, Johnny Depp, Leonardo DiCaprio circa Romeo and Juliet, all of my friends and whomever they choose to bring... and it would be fantastic.
Well, there you are! I also have to tag 8 bloggers,, so if they please, would The Girl in the Paper Dress, Belle Vintage, Buttons and Accordians, Maps and Fragments, Daisy Dayz, Papillon Vintage, Naked Tile, and A plus B in the Sea kindly pass it on!
I pinky swear that as soon as I get everything straightened out I will be back in business. Promise.
Speaking of sewing, I wanted to share the dress I made as a part of my senior project last year, in which I source vintage and thrifted materials and built a line of skirts as well as this single dress for me. It's also much more pink in real life, and shiny. The dress is really special because I worked on it with my Grandmother, who is the driving force behind my interest in dressmaking and sewing, as she was a dressmaker for Hattie Carnegie in New York before she was married! She is a really talented lady, and I'm proud to have her as a Grandmother. I really hope to make more dresses with her in the future, maybe more easy to wear pieces. This dress in particular is something I'd rather wear to a special occasion, so it hangs on my closet door waiting.
And finally, I wanted to show you the sweet cake stand type jar and base I thrifted a few weeks back, which now houses one of the little collections of things that make me happy in my room, including that amazing vintage beaded collar necklace I got at that funny little flea market I mentioned last post. Also pictured is the beautiful vintage 50s party dress I bought at that flea market, which I can hardly believe I was fortunate enough to find, and it fits! I think this dress is destined for the President's Ball (a glorified high school type gropefest) that my University hosts in September, although it may be a bit too...sophisticated...for such a thing. Well, I don't really care, as long as I get to wear this dress somewhere! 
As soon as the package from Urban Outfitters came (late! I was so mad!) I put on this dress and found a neighborhood barn to stand in front of. The dress is really nice, well made and a sweet light gray, but my only problem is that it's a little too short for me, and the arm holes are a bit large, which was mentioned in the reviews. I like it though, so I'll be keeping it! I also ordered these Jeffrey Campbell wooden heeled shoes (on sale for $60, half off regular price from ) which I've seen circulated around a few blogs, and I think these are my favorite shoes! (Besides my triple strap Chloe's, of course) As I've mentioned over and over again, I've been dying for a really high wooden platform, preferably vintage 70s, but I can never find any in my size or price range. These definitely did the trick! Now if I could only muster up enough courage to wear them in public...I definitely get some stares with these, and I'm not a person who likes to get noticed!
