the fourth of july

How was your fourth of July? Mine consisted of waking up very late, driving to the fringe of New York state and going to a little church flea market (even though it was overpriced), finding a dress and a necklace that I can't stop staring at (!cannotwaittoshowyou!), and eating too much at my Grandmother's house, followed by some fireworks. But I totally forgot to take photographs. Oops. Overall, it was a pretty great holiday, and I don't even like the fourth of July all that much. Halloween is still my favorite.
The three blouses up top were thrifted on three separate occasions, as were the basket and vintage leather cowboy boots below. The striped tank is from the 60s, the middle blouse is probably 40s/50s, and the floral and dot tank is likely 90s. The basket is holding all my projects at the moment, and I can't believe I thrifted boots that fit me, especially after I was going to cave and buy some off Etsy for way more than I paid for these ($8, had to brag about that one).
As soon as I get batteries for my camera I'll post the dress and necklace I found at the flea yesterday, as well as my little DIY post (I haven't forgotten!) and another sweet dress I got when I went with my friend Anna and her sister on a thrifting adventure a couple of weeks ago. There's so much to tell you!

back to basics

Here's a look at some of the stuff I've been finding lately at the thrift store/estate sales/flea market; pretty sweet if you ask me!
Two mini bottles of Chanel N5 and Chloe Narcisse. Personally I've always thought Chanel N5 smelled awful, but the bottle sure is pretty.

I got myself some dark rinse overalls, a nice buffalo plaid flannel, and crazy ass Levi's daisy dukes. The shorts are not for me by a long shot, but are perfectly worn in and frayed.

I got this wonky 80s belt and funny black purse at the same place; normally I hate gold but with black I suppose I can stand it. I also got these leather men's brogues at salvation army for free, because the shoes are a mismatched pair! It's hard to tell so I got them anyways, and they are super comfortable and broken in.
These four white blouses are pretty and clean, exactly what I want for summer. The first is from the 40s or 50s and is handmade, a really awesome find! I just about cried when I put it on and the bust was too tight; I've been searching for a simple sailor blouse for ages! The next two shirts fit me, thank goodness; one is linen and the other a soft Swiss dot cotton. I've already worn the peter-pan collared one, and actually took some outfit shots so hopefully you'll see that next time! The last is crochet, I guess from the 60s/70s. It's funny because I turned to my mom and mentioned that I was looking for crochet dresses, and there this was! Pretty lucky I guess.

These last four dresses I'm exciting to have found; they are so beautiful! The first is a formal dress from the 50s/60s, I wish so bad it fit me! The second is a 60s dress, likely hand made, and it reminds me so much of this Lover dress, with the high neck and longer sleeves, that I grabbed it right away. It fits everywhere but the arms, does anyone out there know how to re size arm holes!? Help would be appreciated! The last two are from the 70s, and they pretty much speak for themselves.
I have been planning for something special for you guys, and I can't wait to let you know about it! Next time I have some more finds to show off, and an outfit post (a commodity around here, haha)

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!

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 :)

i heart grandpa sweaters

There are few things out there that make me as happy as finding an awesomely warm, comfy sweater. So finding six of them for just $25? I was ecstatic!
So guess who will be warm and toasty for the remainder of the winter? Check it :)

Thank you, thrifting god! Not only did I score all these for way under the price I would pay for even one sweater at Anthropologie, but I also found a vintage hat thingy with a fur bow; too cute!

While I'm at it, I might as well show off some of my birthday loot (shameless, I know, but it's all too good not to share!) Oh, and I'll stop saying sweaters now, lol.

Quirky rings ftw! I'm really into interesting silver jewellery at the moment, and these were just what I was looking for.

And I added to my growing perfume collection. Rollerball Daisy! Lola! And I just discovered Stella Nude, which smells really great too :)

I go back to school on Monday, can you believe it? A whole month has gone by! Jeez! Until next time :)

the girl with the sun in her eyes

Hello hello, I have not abandoned you! I've just been so busy lately! I don't even have much time to write anything here since today is both my little brother Andrew and my Grandmother's birthdays! Instead I have a bunch of pictures of the things I have found lately! Happy birthday Andrew and Nonny!

Here is what I wore the other day; the shorts are new from Anthropologie, only $10 on sale! They're a great heavy weight for cooler days, and work the best with tights. I also bought a plaid bustier and some nail polish, which I'll debut later!

I also got a few vintage plaid shirts when I went thrifting, and I'm almost done with all the apples I got when we went apple picking a few weekends ago.

I wen to the mall with my mom to look for birthday gifts and got these polka dot tights from J Crew, and some makeup from Sephora. I'm really into the heavy eyebrow thing right now, like Camilla Belle, so I got an eyebrow pencil and got a sample of Posie Tint for free! I heart free samples!

I never got around to photographing myself in the dress I got at the NYC clothing show, so here it is! It's a B. Altman 50s dress, with a peter pan collar and sweet little rhinestone buttons, and 3/4 sleeves with a little poof on the end where they tie! I adore it; such a great Autumn dress!

I also ended up thrifting last weekend and got some really good vintage finds! I ended up finding this 50s/60s day dress, an awesome velvet and lace Jessica McLintock 80s dress, and this absolutely stunning sheer dress that may be from the 40s or earlier; I don't know how to date this one, but it's definitely really old! It reminds me of something Chloe might put out; I have definitely seen something like this before but I can't put my finger on it!

Well, that's pretty much everything I've gotten in the past few weeks, and it will be all that I get for the next few as well! I'm going to go get ready for the day (I didn't get up till 11 this morning, I was so tired form the week and going to my brother's homecoming football game last night! They have won every game so far; go Panthers! haha) Hopefully next post won't be so long overdue, and I can actually put something coherent up here for you guys!

Have a good weekend!

like a little girl

One of the many perks of going to school close to home is that your parents can pick you up and take you out almost anytime you want them to. So essentially my mom and I went on a mini thrifting/shopping excursion the other day, and these are the good I found/bought!

I bought a pretty blue floral headband at Anthropologie...
Like I give a Frock is a book that has been on my wishlist for a long time! I actually read through the entire thing last night, it's so cute!

And I also got a sweet little sailor inspired blouse at Anthro, I adore this!

We also stopped at the local Goodwill and look what I found; a boater hat! So weird that I finally found one, but it looks funny on my head so for now it's a decoration, haha

Alright everyone, it is late and there are many many more pages of biology and calculus to attend to...kill me please, lol.