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.

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!).

It's a Helluva Town

Alright, I'm finally starting my NYC weekend recap! Now I just have to remember what I did. I gotta warn, y'all, this is pretty picture-heavy.



My friends Erin, Kara and I came in at 9a, so tired, so we went our separate ways and Kara and I went to our friend Dani's place (who we were staying with) and hella napped.

Then we met Erin and her sister Shannon at a little French bakery near the met. Kind of expensive for the tiny portions, but it was good. And of course we got goodies from the sweets case on our way out...







We get to the Met, and the first thing I want to do is check out the Costume wing. But it's closed! BUT it's closed because they had an amazing special exhibit; "American Woman: Fashioning a National Identity." You can see the details on the website here. It was one of the best exhibits I've ever seen. Perfectly preserved clothing from the 1880s to the 1930s. I was in heaven! I could look at the gorgeous detailed beading on Victorian party gowns and flapper dresses, dreamily covet all the sailor suits and cotton blouses of the '10s, and stare at a case of Bohemian silk shoes! Even just being around everything made of natural fibers...it was so great, I'm becoming a big fabric snob. Here's a couple of images from the Met's Flickr stream since I was not able to photograph in there (probably a good thing):







It's running until August 15, so if you find yourself in New York at all between now and then you HAVE TO SEE THIS. One of the most interesting parts, for me, was learning about Suffragette fashion. It's usually passed over in the history of fashion, so it was the subject I learned the most about at this exhibit. There was a quote I'll add as soon as I find it (scribbled it down, it's in the bowels of my apartment somewhere right now) about how they wore the current fashions and how it helped with their stand because they were showing women deserved the right to vote because of, not in spite of, their status as a object of desire. I found that profoundly interesting, it was validation for the debate I often hear of women who wear vintage fashions today not being feminists because they are idealizing a time where feminism was rampant, when in fact we are just as feminist as any other. I, and many women I know, dress in feminine attire FOR OURSELVES. We like the way we look in these clothes, we respect our bodies enough to wear flattering clothing. It's great my boyfriend likes when I don a vintage hat and dress, but I do it for me. That's as feminist as it gets!

Anyway, sorry for the tangent/rant. Rantgent. Before we left the Met we also checked out the Art of Illumination exhibit, where they completely dismantled an amazingly illustrated book of hours made in the early 1400s. I loved the saints stories especially. Something you might not know about me is that I love patron saints and their stories. My favourite is St Lucia. I did write a little thing on this blog for her feast day back in December but many of you might not have been reading this blog then! They also included zodiac symbols on the calendar pages, which I also found neat since it's a Catholic book. I'm also a huge astrology nerd!



We checked out the armor and the instruments, too, and then headed to the rooftop garden! It was about 7 pm, still lots of light but it was starting to set. We took a lot of pictures, of course:







yours truly, Erin, Kara



Erin and Shannon

And Erin took this super cheesy one of me and Kara. It looks like a Suede single.



Later we went for dinner at Zarela, an excellent Mexican restaurant. They had really strong yet tasty margaritas (I got pomegranate!), the best fresh salsa I've ever had tableside, and the 5 of us split 6 entrees and sides. Highly recommended! We then headed over to Flatiron Lounge, which I also highly recommend. I think my drink was called Maxwell's Return, I can't remember what was in it but it was amazing. If I go back some time I'm gonna get what Kara had; it had peach and jasmine in it! I also finally met long-time internet friend (from Livejournal days, if you can imagine!) Stephanie, of the Girl Friday blog. We had a long, awesome conversation about travel and men and life. Unfortunately we were gabbing so much I didn't get a picture of us together. In fact, I only have one picture of the night (of me, Erin, Kara and Dani):



...and this was just day one! Stay tuned for future installments.

Back From The Windy Apple

Hey dudes! I'm back from New York City. It totally rocked, as I'm sure you can imagine. I have a bunch of photos and stories, but since I vacationed at the worst possible time and I'm moving this weekend I'm not sure when I can get them up here! Soon, though, I promise! Until then, enjoy the only trip photo I have uploaded at this point:

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?

Wardrobe Remix for 03.14.10 and 03.15.10

blue button-up blouse - thrifted
black skinny leather belt - found in the basement
khaki shorts - thrifted
navy blue stockings - Nordstrom Rack
beige oxfords - Aldo

Not a great picture but I literally had to run to the bus after snapping it. I just got this blouse on Friday; I wanted a nice pale blue shirt to wear with a tan skirt or shorts.





khaki pea coat - thrifted
plaid shirt dress - Etsy
nude crocheted stockings - Marshall's
black woven wedges - thrifted
black purse - Target

Today however I got to wear my lovely new 50s shirt dress. I got it fits like a dream and you can't even tell it has shoulder pads! I thought it would be warmer today; it said it was going to be about 60 and sunny but it's more like overcast and 45. Boo to that! I am in the midst of running errands all day though so I paired it with my khaki peacoat and my new black purse. I also thrifted these shoes a couple of months ago and this is the first time I've been able to wear them. What do you think of them, though? They are so different than the other shoes I own.



During my photoshoot Sophie wandered over! Also my brother told me yesterday that he might be getting a basset hound for his birthday next month. I can't wait to see him!

Taking A Little Time

Hey, all. I haven't been posting the last few days because my boyfriend Michael is in town. He came in Thursday evening and we have barely been away from each others' sides. Such is being in a long distance relationship, yes? I am typing this as he gets a little more sleep before we go out to brunch and the Art Institute; my kitty Seymour, while the love of my life, is a nuisance and kept waking us up. Friday night he and I went to see Cinderella at the Joffrey Ballet and I have a few cell phone snaps handy:





The whole night was very wonderful and romantic, one of our best dates ever I think. Yesterday we went to see Shutter Island, went to Trader Joe's and got the fixings for a big tasty home made dinner. We watched Remains of the Day on Netflix with our wine and wafers afterwards.

Now I have the little demon perched on my chest as I was about to shower. Dag! Cats.

What You've All Been Waiting For: Madison

Sorry it took me so long! So here is the last day and a half of my trip. Sunday morning Alma, Lisa and I went to have breakfast at the Sun Room, which was decent. Then we parted ways and after Alma and I went to the library where the above photo was taken we wandered up and down the shops on State Street. We went into Urban Outfitters and got BFF necklaces of the astrological persuasion (I got one with Cancer charms and she got one with Sagittarius charms). Then we went to the Botanical Gardens and even though we only had half an hour until close it was really nice to look at some GREEN plants and be warm; it was so humid in there my hair curled right up! I had Alma snap an outfit photo even though it was boring (I like the chartreuse and navy combo a lot though):



Cancer charm necklace - UO
grey cardigan - F21
chartreuse long sleeve tee - Target
navy pencil skirt - thrifted
black wool tights - warmlegwear.com
Steve Madden "Intyce" boots - jildor.com

And I got one of her:



It was so pretty in there with all the giant leaves, koi fish, creaky bridges, soothing waterfalls, and they even had little quails! I was so excited, as a bird-lover I had never seen quails before.











Later that night Alma and I went to the Jade Monkey Cocktail Lounge. We accidentally found it while looking for the Botanical Gardens. It had a 60s-looking sign so I decided to do my hair and makeup a little more retro with the only other outfit I had packed, styling my hair in a mini-beehive and with cat eyeliner.



Cancer charm necklace - UO
floral shirt dress - H&M
black tights - can't remember
Blowfish "Willis" booties - nyciwear.com

Detail:






Of course when we get there we go inside and it's very sleek on modern, kind of Japanese. There were also two giant fishtanks and a few booths. Sin City was playing and there was a looong cocktail menu. I got a Russian Kiddie Cocktail and some sort of Long Island Iced tea. They had a few different kinds- only $3!



Also that evening Alma and I started a new blog project, the Traveling Jerks! You can check it out here, we'll be writing up Madison spots up in more detail soon. Here is the banner prototype I did on the bathroom chalkboard:



And here is a photo of yours truly working on future entries at a coffee shop the next morning:



After that we just bummed around a bit. I went into a vintage shop on Williamson Street called Lou Rags Vintage & Vogue. It was huge and the owner had tons of things! Mostly mid-century, in great condition, and fairly priced. I got a little white lace hat (it was 30% off!) and a burgundy bow tie. I cannot wait to wear them both.

Then we took a scenic route home, stopping in Milwaukee to eat some pizza and then we finally got to Mars Cheese Castle, what we had all been waiting for:



Only to find out they were just closing! But it was disappointing and a dump in there, so who cares. Then I came home and was tired. Then I put this off for almost a week! The end!