Dracula's Pajama Party

Yipee, my Halloween post is only a day late! Forgive the quality of these pictures but they were taken at my Halloween party held Saturday night. I went as a Snow Queen, but a lot of people thought I was Tilda Swinton/the White Witch. Same thing, I suppose. I based the dress off of a Cecil Beaton photograph of his sister as a shooting star (my original idea) and styled it very John R. O'Neil a la Wizard Of Oz (see my jaunty crown?).







There is still some glitter in my hair and the whole costume left glitter all over my apartment. I expect my life to sparkle for the next few months.

My brother went as Captain Carl from PeeWee's Playhouse:







Michael went as a pilot again, Alma went as a house:







Erin went as Starbuck from Battlestar Galactica and Phill went as Dorothy Valens from Blue Velvet:





Steve went as Columbo and Elise went as paint-by-numbers:



While I don't condone the deformation of a vintage dress (I'll just hope it was already ruined...), that vintage Jackie O mask is freaking terrifying:







My roommate, Kara, dancing to Twist And Shout as Ferris Bueller:





Andrew, who is not in a costume (boo) and Kacy as a Double Dare contestant:



Costumes I did not get photos of include AstroTurf, a cat lady, George Michael (from Arrested Development), and Death (from The Sandman). Highlights included starting a conga line to "Jumping The Line," watching Sleepy Hollow and The Shining on mute, all of us turning The Shining off mute at the end to watch it, lots of hugging and dancing and punch consumption. I gotta say, dancing with that staff was pretty sweet.

I hope you all had a Happy Halloween! What did you dress up as? What did you do?

Easy Like Sunday...Afternoon

mixed metals beaded necklace - Old Navy
knit sweater dress - H&M
crocheted nude tights - Marshall's
Steve Madden Intyce boots - shoemall.com





I notice in Autumn and Winter I don't wear as many thrifted goods as I do in Spring and Summer. I guess since I'm colder I need pieces that have as little wear as possible. Of course I have a vintage coat or two, a few pairs of vintage boots, some cardigans and some wool skirts, but dresses such as this one are a little harder to find that aren't too big for my petite stature. It's kind of hard to hem a sweater dress! I got these boots last week with half of my Vintage Heaven profits (the rest went into savings, like a good girl). Everyone was giving me crap for buying a pair of $110 boots, but I own these boots in grey and I've worn them all last Winter, and I don't own any other boots in this cognac colour. I love these, they go with everything; skirts, dresses, jeans, leggings. I also re-bought this dress last night. See, Thursday I had a really bad day and after work I picked up this dress at H&M...and on the way home I accidentally left it on the train. On the way home, I thought, well I'm done. But this dress was inexpensive and cozy and it looks good with my hair so I luckily could afford to buy it twice. I'm glad I did.

Anyway, enough about my outfit. Today, I made Michael and I some French toast and then we took the bus to Fantasy Costumes, a gigantic costume shop in Chicago. We needed to find Michael a costume for my Halloween party next weekend. Luckily we got something for him, and at the Dollar store across the street I found the perfect adjustment for my costume. We then went to Target and Joann to get some other odds and ends, and then I made dinner. We watched some Quantum Leap and here I am, updating while the boy is doing his ablutions. Next up, Boardwalk Empire! Has anyone else seen that show? Anyone else watching regularly? I'm mourning the ending of Mad Men, but it's good to have another great period drama to watch Sunday night.

And finally, on the bus I downloaded a Retro Camera app for my android and I love it! Here's some snaps from throughout my day, I'm surprised at the quality! Maybe I can update my blog more, haha.

Happy Anniversary

Two years ago Michael flew out to Chicago for the first time, and we've been crazy about each other ever since. We saw each other once a month, once every two months a few times, until he moved here a month and a half ago. We have talked every day since early August of 2008. I love him more than anyone else, I have never been so happy with anyone else, and I've never been so loved by anyone else. Sometimes we snap at each other and sometimes we act weird (who doesn't?) but I know in the end he will always be there. I love you, Michael, and here's to many more anniversaries!

Daddy's Little Girl

Happy Father's Day, daddy! I love you so much, and you are more than just the best dad I could ask for. You're also one of my closest friends. Thanks for always being there not just for me but also for others who are close to me and Ben. Your warmth and compassion has spread beyond your children, which is admirable and amazing. Thanks for all the little things you do that mean the world to me, like letting me tag along to shows, driving me up to Chicago when I was an angsty suburban kid, making me dinner and letting me take the leftovers when I go home, burning me music, dancing with me at weddings...the list goes on and on because you are that awesome.

Love to you, Pater Familias!

Hello Brooklyn

sunnies - Target
black and gold earrings - F21
black shirtdress - UO
crocheted stockings - Marshall's
t-strap wedges - DSW

Somehow this is the only photo from May 22, the second day of my trip. I guess we were just so busy I never thought to take some snaps! This was taken of my outfit at the Brooklyn flea on a beautiful day. Before this me and a big group of us girls went to General Greene for brunch. The flea wasn't as impressive as I had hoped; almost all of the vintage I saw in New York was tremendously disappointing. Very expensive for how poor of quality the garments were! I did see some great vintage jewelry at the flea, however, and some of my friends found things. Outside of the fleagrounds there were a lot of people having stoop sales, and I found this awesome 60s metal belt! Everyone convinced me to get it, so I did, but since I have no pictures you will have to wait until I incorporate it into an outfit photo! We also went to Artists & Fleas...same thing. Crummy vintage clothing but some AWESOME handmade goodies. I didn't buy anything but I loved to look.

That night we had dinner at an Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side called Max. The food was fine but that was the worst service I have ever had. We didn't leave a tip it was so bad! I wouldn't recommend it. We finished the night with dancing at Lit (there was one really, really awesome dj and one bad one, and they kept switching off, but at least there was one good dj). Afterwards we wandered around for a while, at this point just me, Kara, Erin and Erika, had a snack at Dunkin Donuts while we talked about the various animal encounters Erika might be having in Mongolia. We got home as the sun was coming up.

The next day I met up with my friend Jordan for brunch and then off to the Brooklyn botanical gardens we went!



paper earrings - Never Contented Things on etsy
dress - Wet Seal
tights - We Love Colors
tan t-strap wedges - DSW

I love how people humour me enough to snap outfit pictures for me/you guys. ;)

It was a nice overcast, warm day and we just wandered through all the different gardens. There were a lot of new breeds of flowers and some had some totally redic names (and there were multiple ones named Betty White and other cliche names like Prom Date).



I really enjoyed the hot houses (though of course my hair poofed up likea scared cat's tail) and the ponds with the lily pads and sleepy koi fish.







It was good to spend a little time with Jordan since I hadn't seen him since I visited Savannah two years ago. And I think you all know how much I enjoy plants!



Stay tuned for the third and final installment (finally!).

Returning from Larryville

If you were wondering where I was the past week or so, I was in Lawrence, Kansas visiting my boyfriend. It was a much needed vacation from my oft-stressful life in Chicago and it was nice, as always, to spend time with Michael. The weather there was lovely in the 60s and 70s the entirety of the trip. So nice to enjoy soft wind, plenty of sun, and bare limbs.

I was particularly naughty this trip and bought a lot of things. None of which were particularly expensive, thankfully, but it was still a trial getting my suitcase shut yesterday! Friday, my first full day, we hit Mass Street, the main drag. First we went to the Antique Mall, one of my fave places where we can both wander for hours (and always do). I got the prettiest silvery gray straw hat with fake leaves and flowers that fits my head perfectly, a variety of golden buttons for a project, and a cute cotton 50s dress for the shop. We then hit up Wild Man Vintage, which is really affordable and I've gotten a sailor dress I love there last summer. The boy got a couple of shirts and a pair of 50s khakis that fit him wonderfully and were in amazing condition. I (finally) got a 50s ivory cardigan with white wheat beadwork and a floral cotton shift dress. I went back the next day to get a pair of red cork wedge sandals I was eyeing. We ended the evening with Mexican food, bowling, and drinking at a couple of local bars.

Saturday outfit:



lace earrings - coming soon to Branchbound
sunnies - Target
brown shirtdress - estate sale
nude crocheted stockings - Marshall's
tan t-strap wedges - DSW





Saturday Michael and I got breakfast at Mirth. We sat outside and it was delicious food. Since this was also on Mass St we decided to continue our sauntering from the day before (we had to stop as it got chilly and we were starving). That's when I bought the aforementioned shoes and another hat at another antique shop we'd never been in. It's a lovely dusty rose colour that matches my hair with a little feather in the front! I'm so lucky I can find these hats on my trips, since I don't like buying hats online and I can never find the kind I like in Chicago.









We got some ice cream and walked to the park, where we watched animals and high school kids take their prom pictures. That night his friends BBQed for us and we chatted and watched tv/played Wii Golf. I love Wii Golf; I really want a Wii but can't justify buying one so in the meantime will just have to mooch! Michael also got this great drawing of him done by his friend Ramon:





He did one of me, too, but I wasn't able to pick it up before I left. I can't wait to get it! Sunday we just hung out, ate more Mexican food, and I watched the first two episodes of Twin Peaks! Yes, I've been under a rock and I had never seen it before. It's too early for me to have a solid opinion on it, but I enjoyed what I've watched so far.

Monday we went to Kansas City! It was really warm so I donned my new hat and dress:



straw topper - Lawrence Antique Mall
cotton 50s floral dress - Wild Man Vintage
tan t-strap wedges - DSW



Getting up was kind of a pain in the ass, as Google gave us the wrong names for the exits, but we got there eventually. We went to a few vintage shops in Westport, but the only one of note was Donna's Dress Shop. It was perfect, I wish I could live there! I got a pair of 70s denim shorts that look like pin-up shorts and fit like a dream. Our last stop was in the downtown area; we visited the giant Antique Mall there. It's 4 stories! Michael got a mustard shirt and I *finally* got a mirrored vanity tray. I...haven't unpacked it yet, but they wrapped it well so I will assume it's still intact. I almost bought this PERFECT black straw boater hat with an "under bow" but it was $22.50...and I could not fathom spending more than $20 on a hat. Though I kind of wish I did. Dang.

Yesterday was more hanging out at Michael's place until I had to leave. I was so sad to go; this was my last visit to Lawrence! Michael moves here in a few short months finally. Still, saying goodbye to his apartment was hard, so many memories there. But I had some pretty dresses and a cute cat waiting for me when I got home, which softens to the blow.

Phew! What a long entry. What have I missed? How was your weekend?