paper dress

So far this week I've gotten quite a bit done, mainly cleaning up my room, doing laundry, and trying my hand at drawing a bit. I got the idea for this when I was falling asleep one night, and, although my scanner doesn't do it much justice, it looks pretty cool in real life. I think I'm going to put it in a weathered white frame and hang it on my wall. It maes me want to try painting more!
Oh, and though I can hardly afford it at the moment, Madewell has opened their online store! Now I can fantasy-shop, one of favorite things to do nowadays. Seriously, my wish lists at Urban Outfitters and Anthropologie are miles long...
Expect to see some cool finds next post, I got lucky last time I went thrifting!

a sorta filler post: the week in purchases

I have gotten around to a few of the things on my summer '10 bucket list already, mainly picnicking and getting outside a bit more, but not without my SPF 70-there's nothing more important than taking care of your skin! As a half Italian half Irish/Dutch mix, I think very little of the Italian ability to darken in the sun came through for me; I stand out in my family as the pale child who burns, while my little brother can tan in ten minutes. I'm pretty sure my paleness adds to the effect of me looking about 16 years old, as at least 5 people asked my younger brother if I was his little sister this past week, but it sure as hell beats looking like the leather bag that half the girls my age already do! It also helps that I don't drink or smoke at all, of course. Plus, I'm at much lower risk for cancer, a damn god reason in my book to avoid all that nonsense. Alright, rant over, haha. Finally just caved and bought the CD of She & Him Volume 2. I wanted the record, but decided it wasn't a portable-enough option. I ripped the songs onto my iPod and popped the CD into my mom's car. Yay for technology.

As I'm always on the lookout for cool stuff, I managed to add to my silver-ring collection today when my mom and I trawled the local tag/estate sales and flea market. I've added these three pretty little things to my collection, two vintage sterling silver rings from Mexico and a handmade moon stone and silver ring. I still have my eye on a vintage silver armor ring for next time!Sometime in the past week I went over to the thrift store for a bit, searching for a few particulars like a silk button down to tuck into high waist denim shorts, dark rinse farmer jeans, some plain rompers for the hot days, striped shirts, a medium brimmed straw hat, and leather shoes, and managed to find a few off this list. I'm still on the lookout for perfect essentials for my closet, and am planning to pare down my wardrobe this summer to some well tailored, easy basics. Plus, I really want to start making things from scratch again! I miss my sewing machine, poor thing has been neglected all winter!

I'm not sure if I could ever pull off this ruffled pink shirt, but the details kill me and remind me of the movie 3 Women. I think it's from the 70s, but may be from earlier? It would look fantastic tucked into a high waist a-line denim skirt (in my opinion). I also picked up this pretty floral rose print fabric, and I'm not sure if I want to make a dress, skirt, or shorts out of it yet! Any suggestions? In addition to all this I bought a wee little bottle of old old Chanel N 5 and Narcisse by Chloe. They probably smell awful after sitting all these years in someone's attic, but the bottles are adorable.

Tonight I plan on going to bed pretty early (and by that I mean before 2 am kevery other night this past week-yikes!) I'm beat after all the tag-saleing today! I also want to try to post more outfit-shots of me in the future, as I have been pretty good about dressing civil now that I'm done with school and have time to organise outfits. I guess I just have to get used to being in front of the camera instead of behind it!

Oh, and I have an addendum for my to-do list: plant something and let it grow! I'm thinking watermelon-even though I can't eat them without having half my face blow up with allergies. They just look so pretty!

all that glitters

Some things that are making me happy this week: the frankie photo album and star glitter from my 18th birthday that I keep in a vintage sugar bowl, recent thrift finds, the built by wendy dresses book I plan to utilize in the coming weeks, and unique and beautiful silver rings. I'm starting a collection of silver rings, seeing as I already wear three or four everyday I want to expand my collection, and the other day I stopped at an estate sale and picked up this beautiful silver filigree ring and another silver one with elephants. I'm on the hunt for them!
I've been out for summer break for two days, and so far I have:

-gone for a ride on my bike

-eaten far too many sweets

-seen some old friends

-slept in far too long

-lay out on the lawn in the sun

-rearranged my closet

-gone to the movies with my family

-watched an unacceptable amount of CSI, Law and Order, and Ghost Whisperer

-caught up on all my blog reading

-eaten Popsicles

What else is there for me to do? Well, I suppose I have a sort of bucket-list for summer '10. I'd love to:

-bike a lot more

-stay outside instead of sitting inside all day

-go swimming, in pools and lakes if I can find the courage!

-have a few ( or a lot) more picnics

-learn to cook

-take more photographs ( I miss photography so much it hurts)

-sew some more

-go fishing and catch frogs like I used to when I was little

-write and read more

-take more day trips to places I haven't been

-put up a hammock-and use it!

-go to more outdoor concerts

-get up early

-learn to drive

-thrift a ton

-attend (and host) more bonfires and parties

-go camping

-try to live a little, because sometimes I get way too uptight
Most of these things apply to life in general, but it would be fantastic to accomplish of of them this year! Expect to hear more from me from now on; I'm back in action!

follow me

Popping in to let you know I'm alive-and that I've made a tumblr! Follow me here. Expect to see lots of 70s shoes, pretty girls in pretty clothes, dream home inspiration, and quite a few vintage dresses that got away. Oh, and a lot less text (yay!). I'll save the small talk for this old thing.

I plan on posting at least once a day, but I still have one more final exam and a final project to get through until I am free at last! Here's a sneak preview; just one pair of my dream shoes.

Until then :)

leather and jean

Pardon the headless oompa loompa in a denim on denim ensemble below: I went a little nuts with the editing and couldn't fix the photo, and my face sans makeup plus tang-colored sheen was a little too much for the permanence of the Internet.


I thrifted myself some high waist jean shorts the other day, and wanted to try the jean suit thing out for size. I don't have the confidence to wear this outside of my room, but it was cool to try out.








I also got some more jean items this week; two more super soft shirts, a pair of Levi's shorts that I'll likely cut since they're at an odd length, and some overalls. I haven't worn overalls since the fourth grade, but just decided to try them out for the hot weather days. Why not for $4.


I also found these vintage 70s leather clogs and a pair of leather cut-out flats in my size. Sadly, the clogs are way too small for my monster feet, but I bought them anyway; too cool to pass up.





And finally, I found a pair of dead stock vintage 70s clogs in my size on eBay!!! They're pristine and perfect, and remind me of the Alexa Chung for Madewell ones with their little tassels on the tops. I have to start wearing these around; they are too cute to sit in my closet year round. I suppose finding these makes up for the too-small clogs I thrifted :)

fun finds

Just half of the cool stuff I've thrifted over the past two weeks. A 50s/60s sleeveless shirtwaist dress, a 60s/70s nightgown, a 60s swimsuit/romper, and a late 50s/60s formal juniors dress. So sad that last one is so small; it's the perfect spring dress!
Up next: leather and denim. I'm much less of a cowboy than I seem, haha :)

see, the life i've had can make a good man bad

Like a kid on Christmas morning, as soon as I woke up this past Thursday I had one thing in mind; Lula issue 10! Considering my infatuation with this publication, I'm surprised I haven't gone searching earlier, as I knew that it came out about a month ago (at least overseas). I guess it's for the best, because when I finally did make it to my Border's bookstore and ran over to the "foreign magazine" rack, there it was waiting for me! No disappointed waiting this time around!
My copy has Lime Chiffon on the cover; I wouldn't have minded Strawberry Shortcake herself, but this girl is pretty as well.
This issue doesn't have quite as many articles/photographs that appeal to me as the past few have, but I did appreciate the bit about Shelley Duval, my eyelash envy crush (second to that of my friend Jen, who has to best eyelashes even without eye makeup) and there were plenty of interesting articles in there that kept me entertained all day. I could hardly believe, when I went to stack my copy in with my past copies, that this is the sixth issue of Lula I have read; three whole years have gone by since I first picked up a copy and fell in love!
Happy fifth birthday, Lula! <3

As if getting my coveted copy of Lula wasn't great enough, I also managed to drag my poor mother out to the Salvation Army today, and found some really fantastic stuff to add to my wardrobe.

First up, a vintage Sears red gingham shirt. I love this color gingham, especially with rolled up indigo blue jeans. Summer, are you here yet?

Next up is this 50s/60s shirtwaist dress in a nice goldenrod color. It's usually hard to find this style and time period dress in good condition at my salvation army, but I must have been on a lucky streak today. Look at that collar, it's pretty awesome!

Next, keeping with my spring coat hunting, I grabbed this nearly pristine military style fishing jacket. This isn't vintage, but I was in the market for a military style jacket, and was going to cave and buy this one from J Crew, but I feel like the $10 price tag on this jacket beats the hell out of the $158 one on that. Plus it's the perfect color green, and has great little details, like tough little zippers and pockets, and plaid trim around the inside seaming.

Last but not least, I finally found a nice little jean jacket to go with summery dresses and skirts! I've been searching for just the right fit and wash jacket for what seems like years, and today I thought to look in the kid's section and there it was among bedazzled coats and teeny little dresses. Bonus: it's vintage 70s/80s, and fits like a glove. I think my closet is completed as far as spring jackets are concerned! (Now all I need are the perfect vintage leather platform clogs and I'll be golden!)

This might be the last post for a while; less than a month left of classes and my freshman year of college is over! Holy crap! Needless to say, this is crunch time, and I'm booked up to my ears in classes/work/sports until after May 15. Wish me luck, hopefully be talking to you sooner rather than later!

blue jean baby

How's this for keeping up with the blog? Three posts in the last week! Ha!
Well, as you may have noticed, blue is currently my favorite color, and as i mentioned in my last post, I've found a new appreciation for denim. So this post is dedicated to the blue things I found last time I went to salvation army with my mom.


First up is this awesome vintage 60s(?) trench/rain coat made by Misty Harbor, "a division of Jonathan Logan," that is perfect for spring. As soon as I fished this out from between sketchy flasher-trenches and some really odd, over-priced fur coats I instantly thought of Rhiannon, who has been talking about finding the perfect spring trench for ages now. I think I have found mine! It has contrast top stitching, is the perfect length, and has the cutest buttons and pockets without looking too contrived. Plus I was in serious need of a raincoat with all the rain we've been getting lately.
Next up is two button downs; I've been practically living in the lower one for the past few weeks. I've been on the lookout for chambray shirts for the past few months, and luckily I've found two that are perfect! The top one fits closer to the body and is good for tucking into high waisted jeans/skirts, and the bottom one is incredibly soft and easy and looks pretty wild my my great-aunt's vintage sequined vest. I'm loving these right now!

I grabbed this denim dress the other day at salvation army, and fell in love with the collar. Doesn't it look familiar? I swear I've seen another dress with the same exact collar in some spring collection, but I have no idea where. I cut it shorter as it was awkwardly ankle length, maybe a little too short because now I can't hem it (oops), but I'm crossing mt fingers that the edge won't fray!

And lastly I wanted to show off my (growing) 70s jean collection! I have six pairs now, five of which were thrifted and one bought off of eBay (from Australia, no less!). The only pair that fits me is the ebayed pair, but I'm thinking of selling the rest...that is, if anyone actually reads this and would be interested in owning 70s high waisted denim! Anyone out there? Hello?

Oh, and before I forget, my first post was this time last year, right after Easter! How weird is that? A whole year has gone by! I can hardly believe, when I look back on the past twelve months, how much I have changed. I feel like I'm a bit more mature, and my tastes have definitely changed, but what do you think? Am I totally the same? Totally different? Let me know what you'd want to see more/less of! (less text probably, haha)

'til next time :)