I'm off...

I watched The Red Balloon last night for the first time since I was a kid, back when I think they used to play it on PBS. Such a visually delightful little film. The short scene where the boy wanders through an outdoor market full of random curiosities had me dreaming of Paris flea markets... one day, sigh... and this scene is just the sweetest:

Combined with the fact that I'm about to head off for a weekend of beach camping, the scene at the end when all the colorful balloons come to carry the boy off reminded me of Diana's surprise giveaway over at her wonderful blog our.city.lights.

The other day I left a comment on the interview post she did with the talented Naomi Rose about her polaroid photography and the next thing I knew, I was one of 10 lucky winners to be able to chose one of these awesome polaroids to receive a free print of! It was a tough decision but in the end I went with this one and I can't wait for it to arrive. It also makes me want to go pick up a package of colorful balloons to take down to Santa Cruz with us :)

Speaking of which, The Duck is packed and ready to go so have a great weekend everyone, I'm off to the beach!

{image via BitsofBeauty's flickr}

A bee in a sweater?

We have a friend who’s getting his MFA at Mills College in Oakland and we drove down on Saturday to check out the open art studios. This was the 100% thrifted outfit that I wore featuring my new red boots. I found them last week for $2.50 at the Salvos. I’ve never owned a pair of red boots before so I was pretty excited when I discovered they fit.

I’m loving this dress that I found there recently too. The bottom part is a high-waisted dark chambray skirt with pockets and the top part is just a plain white tank connected by a wide strip of black elastic in the middle. I’ve worn it several times now and I like how different tops can be layered over it for completely different looks. I’m sure you’ll be seeing it again.


The dreamcatcher pendant came off a thrifted keychain.

With Clover to keep track of, I didn’t get a chance to take many pictures while touring the open studios. She kept trying to run back to the refreshments table in the hall yelling “more blueberries! more blueberries!” That kid can put away blueberries like nobody’s business.


I did snap a few pictures in our friend Joey’s studio though. This one was my favorite.

Then we went to view the current exhibit being put on by the graduating students in the art museum. Lucas took Clover outside for a bit and I got a chance to wander through photographing to my heart’s content (all photos can be clicked for more detail):





These wacky haphazardly stacked hippie camper shells on matchbox cars were pretty cool and there were a bunch of neat found object wire sculptures.

My favorite was the room with the yellow crocheted branches and tree trunks that looked like they were growing through the walls and the floor.



Along one of the walls there were intricately crocheted seeds of all different shapes and sizes displayed under small bell jars, SO awesome.


This lil’ guy hung down from one of the tall trunks at about eye level. You couldn’t tell what it was without walking up to take a closer look… a bee in a sweater!!!

100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (5.13.09)

birthday date dress (almost 27 weeks),
originally uploaded by Pop Elegantarium.

Wow, how amazing does Alexa look?!?! I'm loving the vintage dress (for some reason, I am all about the vertical stripes lately), the length of the dress and height of the boots are perfect together, and this is proof positive that being pregnant and looking HOT can indeed go hand in hand! Yay for stylishly expecting mamas everywhere :) Hope your birthday was as awesome as your outfit Alexa!

And since she got me feeling all nostalgic for my maternity days, here's a little blast from the past:

My sister took this photo when I was 36 weeks pregnant with Clover. Speaking of which, I had a lovely little Mother's Day on Sunday. I hope you all did too! :)

Tagged

Sorry about the blog neglect over the past week. For whatever reason it just wasn’t jiving with my (or should I say Clover’s) schedule for me to get any posts done. So to get back into the swing of things I’m actually going to do a tag… yes, you read it correctly. I know, I’m a big ol’ flake when it comes to these tags and memes and awards. I guess I just need to face the fact that despite my intentions awhile back to get better about it, I’ll just have to sporadically fit in the ones that I can. Sorry if I skipped over your tag!

So, last week I was tagged by both Tracy of Vintage Found, a new-to-me blog that I have been enjoying very much of late, and Anja of Clever Nettle, an old favorite, to do the Always & Nevers meme. The task at hand being to list 5 fashion always-es (things you always like or cannot do without) for YOU personally, and conversely list 5 nevers (would not be caught dead in) for you personally. Keep it fashion related, tag 3 bloggers, and post any kind of photo you want. So without further ado:

(image via garance dore)

Always!
1) little white dresses
2) perfectly worn jeans
3) flat boots
4) floral prints
5) overalls (I may be in the minority on this one, but I have always had a great fondness for them and I think they look adorable on grown women. Now in argument of my case, look at this picture… YOU tell ME which of those ladies is the cutest?! ;)

Never!
1) heels for casual day-to-day wear (I’m a flats girl through and through, but kudos to you girls who can pull off grocery shopping in a wicked pair of heels!)
2) NEON (Too bright, I prefer my colors to be more subdued. I will admit that a pair of neon pink ankle socks may have found there way into my wardrobe in the 80’s but I was just a kid, I didn’t know any better.)
3) probably anything that could be classified as “bling” (I don’t like it when things get too sparkly, not to say that I don’t appreciate a shiny element here and there when it’s incorporated well)
4) visors (pretty much always funny looking)
5) Crocs (need I elaborate?)

My tags:
Milla of The Girl Who Married a Bear
Caroline of Bonjour Mon Coeur
Anabela of Fieldguided

But wait that’s not all. I love all three of these ladies’ blogs too, so I figured I might as well pass on an award to each of them while I’m at it.


This very sweet award was given to me recently by the ever so lovely and kind Anna of Much Love and it was just too cute to not pass on! Again, if I failed to publicly acknowledge an award that you gave me, I’m sorry, they really are always appreciated!

The Sweet Sweater and the Braided Hairs

When the ever so sweet and photographically talented Liz left me a comment about a thrifted sweater that didn’t work out for her (she thought I might like it), I had no idea what a perfect little sweater would soon be making its way across the country to me.

When the cardboard box showed up at my door last week, I opened it with the same sense of anticipation that I do all such packages (this sort of thing never gets old :). Well, let’s just say boy was she right about me liking it because, in fact, it was love at first sight and I immediately began wishing for cooler weather the moment I took it out of the box!

A few days later I got my wish, just before all this rainy day business started, we had one day that was just perfectly overcast but not cold enough to need a jacket. Perfect lil’ sweater weather!


Being inspired by equal parts photos of this nature that I keep seeing pop up everywhere and equal parts the fact that my hair was overdue for a washing, I decided to play around with some braids and this was what I came up with.

It was one of those hair-dos where I was just kind of wingin it. Sadly, I’d probably have a tough time trying to replicate it, so I’m glad I at least got some pics.


My favorite things about the sweater are the sleeves and the fair isle detailing, which made me think of something Fiona from The Secret of Roan Inish might have worn. I’ve been in love with this little girl’s wardrobe ever since Kater reminded me of the film in this post.

(Movie stills via All This Happiness)

The Curly Willow and The Magical Dump

This was a 100% thrifted outfit I wore earlier in the week before the weather took a turn for the gray and rainy. Not to complain, since we are in a drought year and need to welcome all the rain we can get!

On sunny days, I’ve found that I have better luck taking outdoor outfit photos in shady spots, which is why, once its spring leaves sprung, I started setting up my tripod underneath our curly willow tree in the back corner of the yard. It’s a lovely spot enveloped by leafy branches and I like the way the light filters through.


Here’s the view looking up. I loved climbing trees as a child and this is a tree that was made to be climbed. I can just imagine all the future hours that will be spent by Clover scampering about up there like a little monkey :)

Would you believe me if I told you that the majority of my outfit was free from the dump? Well, it’s no joke. Both the dress (which I love) AND the boots (you already know how I feel about those ;) where picked up for me by Milla, my long distance thrift buddy and all around kindred spirit, at the dump on the little Pacific Northwest island where she lives.

Of course this isn’t just any dump, in fact, at some point we began referring to it as “The Magical Dump” and ever since reading her description of it in this early wardrobe_remix post, I’ve dreamed of one day making a sort of thrifty pilgrimage, if you will, to experience this place for myself.


Yay for the tiny floral prints of the 90’s! Inspired by these ladies, I added a newly thrifted brown leather belt to the navy dress and even had several commenters on my w_r post mention the belt specifically :)

The very happy ending to this post is that we’ve actually begun planning a family road trip for the end of summer in which we'll be camping our way up through Oregon and Washington in The Duck with our final destination being none other than a certain small island off the Washington coast! I am SO excited at the thought of meeting Milla in person in just a matter of months and even more excited that we’ll be able to go “shop” The Magical Dump together!

* sigh *

Happy May Day

Virtual flower baskets to all!

(Images from: VictorianTraditions.com, verhext's flickr, and clair_voyant's flickr)

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (4.30.09)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds. In other words a weekly spot for me to publicly covet the finds of others :)

Postcard Album
Originally uploaded by hellomrfox

Old guides
Originally uploaded by Green Wellies

roosevelt h.s. yearbook 1929
Originally uploaded by m.bibelot

1. Seahorses are pretty much the most magical little creatures ever to exist, and how perfect would this album be for storing a vintage postcard collection?

2. Fifty cents for two lovely vintage pocket guide books is a super sweet deal. Check out examples of the illustrations here and here.

3. Ooh, vintage fashion inspiration abounds! You can view the awesome outfit m.bibelot put together inspired by the girl in the bottom left corner here :)

100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (4.29.09)

Think of your woman who's gone to the West,
originally uploaded by sunshineupton.

Enchanting is the word that keeps popping into my head when I look at this outfit. Appearing as if a fairy tale character come to life is one of Milla’s sartorial specialties and it’s one of the qualities that I adore most about her unique and amazing style.

What I love about this particular vintage 70's Gunne Sax patterned dress is its simple lines and the subtlety of its details. Even with the maxi-length and empire-waist, the lack of much of the usual fanfare that comes along with a gunne makes it seem totally wearable and not costumey. The contrasting elements in her finishing touches (another Milla specialty), delicate lace and a rugged leather satchel, complete the look perfectly :)

For an awesome chronicle of the origin and evolution of Gunne Sax dresses and some gorgeous Gunne eye candy, check out Milla's latest blog post here, I highly recommend it!

As always, check out more fabulous fully thrifted outfits over at the 100% Thrifted flickr group :)

Gingerbread Girl

Gingham and chambray have been two of the fabric trends to have caught my eye this season, so I was delighted to find them both together in one dress :)

Actually, when Amber of Violet Folklore contacted me awhile back about any gingham outfit photos I might have to contribute to the post she was putting together, was when it first occurred to me that my wardrobe was sadly gingham-free. I've been on a mission to change that ever since and this dress is my first step toward remedying the situation.


I picked it up for $5 at the Salvation Army on my trip to Santa Cruz (have I still not posted pics? sorry, another situation to remedy asap). I added a couple of this week's finds from my local Hospice Thrift, the first being this pair of woven leather oxfords I snagged for $2. They are totally the old lady comfort shoe version of these and about 10 times more cushiony and comfy to wear :)


The other find was this multi-colored leather belt for $1.50. With all its different colors it can be worn with just about anything and has become my current go-to belt.

Based on my wardrobe_remix comments, it seems this lil' dress has the ability to conjure images of both picnics in daisy-filled meadows AND 70's gingerbread houses... both of which sound pretty good to me :)

Nifty Thrift Picks of the Week (4.22.09)

Sharing my weekly faves from the Nifty Thrift flickr group where people post pics of their nifty thrifty finds. In other words a weekly spot for me to publicly covet the finds of others :)

Earth Day
Originally uploaded by BlackStar5

Originally uploaded by acht

seahoney_butterfly2
Originally uploaded by seahoney

Hope you all had a lovely Earth Day :)

100% Thrifted Pick of the Week (4.21.09)

, originally uploaded by Erin Liz.

What a ray of sunshine this outfit is. The last couple days here have been super hot and I can just imagine lounging under a giant shade tree in this outfit sipping a tall glass of ice cold lemonade and listening to the birds sing :)

That vintage cream blouse is a dream with its wonderfully subtle details and so perfectly combined with the yellow skirt. Enter the adorable straw hat (still looking for the perfect one of those, btw), her amazing shoes, and the delicate little pendant necklace as a finishing touch, and it’s all just as lovely as lovely can be.

Check out more fabulous fully thrifted outfits over at the 100% Thrifted flickr group :)

Hope Springs Eternal: Portrait of a 90's Style Icon

With her dark ethereal beauty and angelic voice, Hope Sandoval, frontwoman of the dreamily psychedelic 90’s band Mazzy Star, could have probably gotten by wearing nothing but the proverbial burlap sack and still be considered one of, if not the, coolest chick ever to have held a tambourine on stage or anywhere else for that matter.



Thankfully, she forewent the sack route to instead cultivate a style that I happen to find nothing short of glorious and it amazes me how well her style translates through the years. I have yet to find an image of her that looks dated… no small stylistic feat for someone in the 90’s spotlight.

Seriously, this woman leaves me awestruck...

All images via here.