100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (5.31.08)

originally uploaded by vasiliisa.

While some people may shy away from bold patterns and color, Vasiliisa is definitely not one of these people, and thank goodness for that. Quite to the contrary, she embraces them and is fearless when it comes to using pattern and color to create striking mixes. I mentioned in my tag post how I’m currently into “unexpected color combinations that work”. Well look no further than Vasiliisa’s flickr photostream for endless examples of such combinations put together in the most creative and beautiful of ways.

This gorgeous mix of red and green with just enough navy thrown in to keep it from appearing even the least bit Christmas-y is no exception. First of all, how amazing is that bird print top?! Hard to tell from the pic but it is a sheer silk knit and I just love how she carried the sheer texture throughout the outfit, even down to those adorable socks! Something about the relationship between the zig-zaggy bird pattern and the pleats in the skirt is very pleasing to me as well. Matching the socks and sandals to the colors in the top was brilliant and makes that green skirt pop in such a wonderful way! It’s as if the outfit was so lovely that all of the birds in the forest flew down from the trees to be a part of it ;) … well done!

Why?

Just had another heart-wrenching run-in with a pair of oxfords. This time of the much coveted brown woven variety. Can you believe these lovelies were one size too small?... UGGGHHHH!!! I'm beginning to think a curse has been put upon me. Oh well, at least there were two of them. ;)

Sacks

Took some pics of the current Sacks window displays the other day. This time it's Beach Chic with a 60's Tiki vibe. I love all the old swim caps and the cute little straw bags.

Totally diggin' this bathing suit. It's such a cool print and I love both the shape and the colors. When I took these shots I was carrying Clover on me in a sling, and if you look closely in the reflection, it looks like she's in the mannequin's bag :) hehe.

And there I am in the skirt!

I finally asked someone and got some info about the window displays too. It turns out the guy who does them used to dress windows for I. Magnin in San Francisco and now does freelance work. Sacks hires him to do their windows every 5 to 6 weeks. He works with what they have on hand from donations and makes the accompanying props himself. Sounds like such a fun job!

Tagged...twice

Tagged by Sophie Jade of Sweet Dreams Till Sunbeams Find Me.

5 Things found in my purse:
-tangerine lip balm
-my keys (still on the rainbow butterfly key chain I thrifted back in high school… I don’t like change)
-a pair of f21 floral print sunglasses from a couple years ago
-my cell phone with a picture of Clover as a newborn on the screen (she’ll be 8 months in a few days, I should really update that)
-way WAY too many thrift store receipts

5 Things found in my bag:
-digital camera
-fashion magazines (I’m horribly addicted and have been since about age 12)
-knit hat when it’s cold or sun hat when it’s warm
-scarf (I get cold easily)
-baby paraphernalia (keep in mind my bag is often a diaper bag)

5 Favorite Things in my room:
-string of hand made paper lantern lights made by a family friend
-memory foam mattress (Remember those commercials with the wine glass on the bed and the jumping? That's no joke, and Lucas is the world’s lightest sleeper and the world’s grumpiest woken up person.)
-painting by a friend (given to us as a wedding gift)
-The Swing (It’s a big plastic hideous thing that plays awful music, but when Clover won’t sleep, it is a magical slumber inducing contraption that I can’t imagine life without.)
-my slippers (Because I love a good cowgirl pajama party (?) and they are SO comfy cozy. Lucas’s mom gave them to me for my b-day this year. They are the best slippers ever, and I practically live in them around the house.)

5 Things I've always wanted to do:
-own my own shop filled with awesome brick-a-brac
-have a pet corgi (those proportions… they’re just so all wrong, in such an adorable way)
-travel through Europe by train
-see the aurora borealis
-learn to ride vert on a skateboard (I kid you not, I was a skater chick back in high school)

5 Things I'm currently into:
-vintage and vintage inspired photography on flickr
-unexpected color combinations that totally work, like purple tights with red floral dresses (I present to you exhibit A and exhibit B… I rest my case.)
-child proofing my home (Clover recently started crawling, pulling herself up on furniture, and finding things like electrical outlets fascinating... yikes!)
-grannies and their shoes (but more on that in a later post)
-pomegranate flavored things (yogurt, soda, and best of all hagan daaz dark chocolate covered pomegranate ice cream bars…yum!)

And 5 Impressions on Sweet Dreams Till Sunbeams Find Me (who tagged me):
-she has incredible taste in women (the lovely ladies she features as inspiration are all girl crush worthy)
-she has a deep appreciation for romantic beauty
-the overall aesthetic of her blog is stunning and jam packed with inspirational eye candy
-she spends lots of time creating outfits on Polyvore and from what I can seen it appears to be time well spent
-her taste is exquisite (she has a wonderful eye and a true knack for combining beautiful images in a “the whole is greater than the sum of it’s parts” sort of way)

Tagging:
The Girl Who Married A Bear
Bouy
Pop Elegantarium
A Cat of Impossible Colour
Vintage Vienna


Tagged to play the 6 quirks game by the ever charming The Girl Who Married A Bear.
The rules of the game are to link the person who tagged you, to tag 6 other bloggers and let them know where the rules are found, and then to post 6 of your quirks.

Quirk 1: While I love berries and peaches, I hate almost all fruit. There are some, like apples and citrus, that I am ambivalent toward but for the most part I am anti-fruit, especially if it is of the melon or tropical variety.

Quirk 2: I love and consume sweets more than anyone I know. Not so much candy, but chocolate and baked goods (usually involving chocolate). Ice cream and pudding are good too. I pretty much eat such things daily and would probably be morbidly obese if I did not have the metabolism of say… a hummingbird and the superhuman ability to eat an entire cake or a whole box of doughnuts without gaining any weight (for clarification: I have not actually done this, but I’ve probably come darn close a time or two.) On second thought, this might be more of a gift than a quirk.

Quirk 3: I am an extremely quiet person, as in if you were to look up “Chatty Cathy” in the dictionary, you would most certainly not find a picture of me. However, when I write rather than speak, I have a tendency to ramble on and on about things and don’t seem to be at any sort of loss for words. This puzzles me about myself.

Quirk 4: So, I was having trouble coming up with quirks and I asked my husband for help. His only response was “You drool a lot when you sleep.” Wow Lucas, thanks for your incite, although he’s right, I do… but “Really, is that all you’ve got?” To which he replied, “You’re mild mannered Missa, you don’t have any quirks.” So maybe that’s a quirk. I am usually decidedly low key and unquirky, which makes the following behaviors even more odd:

Quirk 5: I have an alter ego who rarely makes public appearances but she’s loads of fun when she does. She has been given such names as “Crazy Mary” and “Mexico Missa”. Her appearances often involve alcoholic beverages, hip hop, and a dance floor and needless to say she’s a hit at parties.

Quirk 6: I have a wicked competitive streak when it comes to games. I once assaulted Lucas with a scrabble board. Lettered tiles went flying, it wasn’t pretty. I have also been known to cheat at pub trivia, not something I’m proud of just so you know ; )

Tagging:
The Girl Who Married A Bear
Bouy
Pop Elegantarium
A Cat of Impossible Colour
Vintage Vienna
Sweet Dreams Till Sunbeams Find Me

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (5.26.08)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds:

my precious
Originally uploaded by thriftybean

As I told thriftybean in her flickr comments, I don't believe I have ever in my life coveted a stapler... but this one, I definitely do! They just don't make office supplies like they used too. That lovely shade of robin's egg blue along with the stainless steel is so visually appealing that I would be tempted to display it rather than use it for stapling! The fact that it was free from a garage sale makes it an even better find!

Vintage Boston Sharpener
Originally uploaded by Vintage at Heart Designs

Continuing on the theme of lovely vintage office supplies, this old manual pencil sharpener makes me all nostalgic for grade school and number two pencils. Just looking at it I can almost smell the pencil shavings... mmm... and score, only 50 cents!

DSCF0666-1
Originally uploaded by Sweetina~rarebird3/fleurvintage

Ok, so this has absolutely nothing to do with office supplies, but lately I've been really into white floaty undergarments/nightwear and this piece is just so lovely! Such sweet details: the layered peter pan collar, the ruffles, the bow, and the puffed sleeves. So so pretty!

100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (5.24.08)

This week's inspiration from the 100% Thrifted flickr group is all about creative layering. I'm a total sucker for a great layered look and when the layers work together beautifully in an unexpected way, even better! Such is the case with this week's picks:

originally uploaded by nemrešpobjećodnedjelje.

originally uploaded by Erin Liz.

Interestingly, both of these innovative looks involve the layering of a sheer white tie-neck blouse above a bold pattern followed by solid black, and while the outcomes are quite different, the effect in both cases is sheer brilliance!

Nemrešpobjećodnedjelje has one of the most consistently creative and original styles I've ever seen. I always look forward to seeing her outfit posts. Here I'm not sure if that's a dress or a skirt-as-dress over a black tank (either way it's great), but I love how the sheerness at the top of the blouse reveals a bit of the colorful print seen below, and the gauziness of those sleeves adds such lovely texture to the outfit. Now, I may be exposing what a geek I am when it comes to outfit analysis (or over analysis) with this, but I always love it when an outfit contains great "bookends" and in this case the matching color of her hair and sandals and the relationship between the tie neck and the ankle straps accomplish this so wonderfully... simply amazing!

In the second look, Erin liz has combined three distinct pieces, that would not obviously go together, in such a seamless way that upon first glance she appears to be wearing an amazing avant-garde dress rather than a blouse, a tube top, and a skirt. I don't recall ever seeing a tube top layered over a sheer blouse like this, really quite clever, and I love the way it allows the sheerness to be experienced with no straps underneath. I adore sheer tops but there's always that issue of what to wear underneath, I never thought about putting something over it! I also love her mixing of different textures and the contrast of the bold horizontal and vertical stripes between the black and white give the outfit a really modern feel. With the puffed sleeves and the bubble skirt the overall silhouette is so lovely... absolutely gorgeous!

I'm Coo Coo for Cardigans

These street style pics off face hunter have me craving cardigans in all shapes, sizes, and textures, especially in shades of gray and brown. While a trip to the Salvation Army didn’t turn up exactly what I was looking for, I did leave with these:

I'm calling this my cute overload cardi because seriously, how many cute motifs can you fit into one sweater?! With hearts, apples, ducks, AND chickens, how was I to resist?

While I'm not normally big on animal prints, the velvety pink edging and tiny jewel-like buttons on this leopard print cardi won me over.

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (5.19.08)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds:

new tins
Originally uploaded by ATLITW

Interesting vintage tins are one of those things I always keep my eye out for while thrifting. The're great as small storage containers and beautiful to look at, especially when displayed in groups and I'm in love with this grouping of tins! I adore the assortment of images and the different shapes and sizes. The soft colors go together so wonderfully that they look like a cohesive set rather than a hodge podge. So nice!

book 6.
Originally uploaded by halowrites

This illustration plate from a vintage children's book is so eerily beautiful to me. It's of a little girl out at dusk surrounded by bats with a full moon overhead. The text below says "THE BATS' DAY BEGINS." I've always been fascinated by bats. They are such strangly beautiful creatures and the little girl in the picture looks quite fascinated by them too. The moonlit quality of the scene is so great. I would love to hang this on my wall!

Secret bird.jpg
Originally uploaded by burningoutofcontrol

Being a lover of all things birdie, this little fella caught my eye immediately, and the fact that it functions as a little box that you can open up and put things in makes this small treasure all the more precious. Yesterday my husband found the tiniest little intact mottled tan and brown egg in our grass under some alder trees. It must have fallen out of a nest. The egg was really pretty so I kept it, but I'm not sure where to put it and this would be the perfect vessel!

100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (5.18.08)

This week in the 100% Thrifted flickr pool, Miss Sally Jane of Sally Jane Vintage stole the show, with not one… not two… but three… stellar vintage ensembles! I am such a fan of this girl’s style. She does vintage with an edge like no one else, and in my opinion, is a thrifting genius! Her blog is one of the best style blogs out there, combining impeccable style with amazing photography, and she stocks her ebay shop regularly with the coolest of vintage finds.

With Sally Jane, I love that the perfect outfit and the perfect backdrop seem to go hand in hand. I find her photo locations and how they showcase her outfits just as inspiring as the outfits themselves. A bold black and white print against a bright blue sky, a long stripy cardigan in front of a mosaic tile wall (that blends perfectly with the color of her skirt), and the contrast between the lady-like and totally put-together top outfit against the dilapidated brick wall is pure magic! I am loving the rusty red leather bags too, especially in the middle of the blue/gray/green color schemes of the top two looks. All three of these could be out of a magazine they are so good! I could go on and on but I think you get the picture, and what a perfectly composed picture it is!

Today's Outfit: Re-In-Vest

Pulled out the floral vest again today to add some bohemian flair to this floaty white dress I found in a little boutique on my last vacation in Mexico. I got the nylon and lace pajama pants for a dollar at Sacks to wear bloomer-style under dresses and skirts. I like the lace detail and slight flare at the bottoms.

Here I am looking all hippy dippy under our curly willow tree in today's outfit:

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (5.13.08)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds:

Sorry a little late, but better late than never. There is a theme to this week's picks and it's: hilarious games of yesteryear, enjoy!

the game of happiness
Originally uploaded by yummygoods

Mystery Date box
Originally uploaded by yummygoods

swingers...literally! ha!
Originally uploaded by talulahgosh

All three of these games are completely awesome! There are many more pics from The Game of Happiness and Mystery Date game on yummygoods' blog, along with funny descriptions that I won't even try to compete with... definitely worth checking out! Throwing a party? Worried about providing a fun and entertaining time for your guests? I have two words for you... HIP FLIP... 'nuff said!

100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (5.11.08)

My original idea for this was to pick the one look from the week’s 100% Thrifted pool that I found the most inspiring. Well, this week it came down to two girls and in the end it was like comparing apples to oranges (equally inspiring, each in their own way) so you’re getting them both, and it just so happens that each of them posted not one amazing look but two! Here they are:

Sunshineupton is a master of storybook sweet! Whether it be classic schoolgirl (above) or Holly Hobby inspired flower child (below), she is always a vision of charm and cuteness. I’m constantly being inspired by the lovely details she adds to her outfits from the ribbons and flowers in her hair to her perfectly coordinated cups o’ coffee. That single white feather worn as a necklace is an all time favorite! In the first outfit, I love how the red shoes pop against the black, white, and gray, while in the second outfit with the perfect peek-a-boo petticoat, no shoes at all seems exactly right! Pure style confection!


Black Luna, now this girl is a freaking rock star! Not to mention a thrifting force to be reckoned with… can you believe those buckles-for-days heels in the second shot were thrifted?! Not in a million years could I pull off either of these beautifully bold looks, but hells if I can’t appreciate someone who can! The fact that she is wearing sandals and an oversized tee shirt and looking like something out of Italian Vogue… blows. my. mind! I find her creativity and fashion forwardness totally refreshing and that little floral dress is super cute! Bravo, nicely done!

These lovely ladies illustrate perfectly the range of awesomeness that is out there to be thrifted, and that it’s possible to create gorgeous, stylish 100% thrifted looks no matter what your style! While they are extremely different, I did notice something in common. They are both rocking the super long necklaces which I am totally a fan of right now. Thanks for inspiring me girls, keep the awesome outfits coming!

Sunday's Flea Market Finds

• Vintage musical boy and girl ceramic bookends (the pair = $5)
• Small wood block with picture of girl in tree w/ birds (free)
• Vintage brown and orange velvet belt ($2)
• Vintage flower cardigan ($3)
• Vintage detachable white fur collar w/ pink corduroy lining ($1 and the lady threw in the wood block picture for free)
• Black bow hair clip (from free box)
• Vintage cream colored baby-doll blouse- actually a night shirt ($1)
• Vintage handmade blue dress w/ red and blue striped piping and star shapes ($5)
• Big woven basket to carry it all home ($2)
  
  All for less than 20 bucks!!!

Flea Market

The flea market that happens a few blocks from my house started up again on Sunday. It goes on every first Sunday of the month through the Fall. I love having one that I can just walk down the street to. A lot of the sellers deal in "antiques" and charge crazy amounts of money but there are usually good deals to be had as well, and always lots of fun stuff to browse through.

These two little Asian kids dressed up in their cowboy gear were just ridiculously cute. You can't really see it in the pic, but the boy was carrying around a little cowboy themed lunch box... super Aaawwww, right?! But don't worry, I didn't come home empty handed (that would be so unlike me). I scored some lovely vintage loot and I'll try to get some pics up very soon, stay tuned!