The Cat's Pajamas

Mild Winter

2012-01-11T15:09:00.000-08:00

This past winter break at home has probably been the most mild, yet! We haven't had a dusting of snow, which has been pretty disappointing to me, because there's something extra special about reading by the fire while white flakes drift outside the windows. I've still been reading by the fire (currently, Lolita, which has the most beautiful language, even though I can't help but feel a little creepy reading it! ha), but usually while the sun is shining outside over the barely-green grass. Despite how mild it has been, though, I still have found myself feeling pretty chilly all the time and this corduroy dress I bought from Silent Sundays has been the perfect remedy. Blame it on my poor circulation. Other things I've been doing over break besides reading: writing, recording music (well--attempting to!), working on art, applying for internships, spending time with friends, going into the city, watching LOST as a replacement for the recently completed 9 seasons of The X-Files (a tragic end of an era...I'll miss you Scully and Mulder), and doing some thrifting. It's been a pretty relaxing break, but I'm definitely ready to get back to school this Sunday! I'm also growing out my hair a bit, finally! I decided it was time for some change, but right now it also means having to stick it out through the awkward in-between phases. It was tolerable for a while, but it's starting to do that thing where it flips out in the back and I'm beginning to get a bit concerned.

Headband, tights- UO

Dress- vintage, from Silent Sundays

Socks- Macys

Granny boots- vintage, from Etsy

National Geographic Kid Style

2012-01-09T15:06:00.000-08:00

I was working on a collage with my friend, Kat, the other week and as I was scouring the pages of some old National Geographics I kept finding incredible photos of cute little kids in the best clothes. Sometimes I really think kids have the best style and clothing to choose from! A lot of it is that perfect school-uniform style, with the great oxford and sock combination and wooly plaid skirts and navy cardigans. Plus, the little girls have the cutest hair cuts. It probably has to do with the fact that most of these are from the pages of National Geographics dating back to the late 1940s and 1950s, but I've been pretty inspired by them! I have to say my favorite part of all of their outfits, though, is definitely their little leather backpacks. I think they're just about as perfect as can be. I'm always on the lookout for backpacks like these when I go to vintage stores and what-not, but never seem to find them. I wonder where they all went...maybe they were all dragged through the mud one too many times and filled with too many heavy school books to make it!

Kodachrome by Melville Bell Grosvenor

All photos scanned by me from old National Geographic issues; photographers credited when known. Unfortunately, some of the photos had been cut out for collages and I was unable to obtain the photographer information. All images copyright National Geographic Society.

Screen Prints

2012-01-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

I hope everyone had a nice New Year! Mine was pretty low-key, involving friends, two good movies (well, one wonderfully bad '80s horror flick--"The Stuff"--and one genuinely good film, "American Beauty"), and homemade macaroni and cheese. I'm not much of a New Years Eve person, so it was just right. Anyway, I thought I'd share the screen prints I've been working on this past school year! I'm currently in an advanced printmaking class right now, since I've done a lot of other printmaking, but this has been my first time doing screen printing! My primary interest has been in collage, but I thought I'd try my hand at incorporating illustration into my screen prints, as well. This past semester has really been my first foray into the land of illustration, and I'm really enjoying it! It's a lot harder than I thought it'd be to come up with characters and images, maybe because I think the best ones are those that are less constrained and realistic and kind of crazy. I can get pretty hyper critical of my work, which has proven to be a difficult vice to have, given its ability to freeze me from making things--especially things that require me to just be more uninhibited! But, I've been trying to work on it, keeping little sketchbooks and journals to doodle in during dull moments or spurts of inspiration. Additionally, I've also begun incorporating words with my images, drawing from old one to two line journal entries I've kept over the years. A lot of them have been little musings and observations, and pretty centrally involved with my favorite subject: human nature. I think I'm going to continue with this next semester and see where it takes me--because of it I've gotten really interested in typography, too! Registration has probably been the most frustrating of the processes, but I'm excited to keep practicing and learning and continue with screen printing through out the new year!

PS: I recently made a Cargo Collective website with all of my artwork, if you'd like to check it out! There are still things that need to be put up, re-photographed, etc., but it's a start!

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T13:02:00.000-08:00

I really love this cover of "Baby It's Cold Outside" by Ela Orleans and Idiot Glee; I hope you all enjoy it too! I've been really into Ela Orleans' work lately, and would definitely recommend checking out some of her other stuff !

I hope you all have a lovely holiday!!

(The Last) Belated Fall Outfit Post

2011-12-23T21:08:00.000-08:00

These are the last of the outfit photos I needed to catch up on! I figured I ought to post them all at least before Christmas! Even though it seems like mother nature might've used up all of her energy giving us that freak snowstorm during October and won't give us a white Christmas, this year. Usually there are at least remnants of snow! I'm hoping the ice on the lake will at least freeze up soon, so I can slip around on a snow tube (my skates are too small), but even that isn't looking so good. We'll see! For now, here are some photos from those pretty days when the weather was acting like it was supposed to!

PS: (In some of the photos Kat thinks the sun looks like a UFO in the sky. I think she might be right.)

Headband, tights- UO
Silk blouse- thrifted
Mini skirt- vintage, Etsy
Granny boots- vintage, Etsy

All photos by Dom Boyle, thanks!

xx

Old and New Holga Scans

2011-12-21T23:34:00.001-08:00

I think I might put on my new plastic dinosaur safari-adventure hat (thanks Party City!), brave the pre-holiday craziness, and drop off my film at Target tomorrow. I feel like I fall pretty easily behind on my photo scans, so I wanted to avoid getting overwhelmed and post the last of the photos I haven't shared on the blog yet, before I get a whole bunch more developed tomorrow! This is a pretty varied mix of photos, some of them going back to the last days of school before summer, my trip to LA this past July, and some recent shots that include a documentation of our freak-October snow storm!

Union Square chess games

Obscura, in NY

Wonky camera taking silly blurry pictures during a day-trip with my friends to my hometown

October snow storm!

Things to do during a snow storm with no heat or power!

Alex from The Alexanders (more on this, soon!)

Summer beaches in LA!

Summer row boat lake adventures Last days of school

Kyle Field (Little Wings)

2011-12-19T20:50:00.000-08:00

Image of tape by Eggy Records

Over the summer I bought a few cassettes while I was visiting LA on a bit of a whim, sortta crossing my fingers and hoping they'd be good. Sometimes that's my favorite way to discover new music, especially with tapes since they're on the cheaper side. Unfortunately (and expectedly), there were one or two duds, but quite a few gems as well. One of the standouts was a split tape with Little Wings and Justin Clifford. The tape itself is real nice, and has that perfect mix of lovely weird. It's got that great lo-fi, home-recording sound that gives it the nostalgic sort of feeling I can't help but love, combined with radio-show esque talking scenes, abrupt knocks on the door ("yes, who is it?"), and the sound of wind passing through the microphone. Plus, perfectly imperfect voices and soft piano keys make for a lovely, strange listen.

I also really liked the artwork on the cover of the tape, so I decided to do a little internet researching and discovered that Kyle Field, of Little Wings, also does a great deal of drawing. I'm really in love with his loose, almost child-like style. They have a sense of humor, too, that I appreciate. There's something very magical and unbridled about them, especially with the funny faces on atypical things, odd proportions and combinations, and soft, sweet coloring. I love how imperfect they are, just like the tape and the music that fills it.

For more of his drawings, check out his website Kyle Draws .

All drawings by Kyle Field from Kyle Draws

Belated Fall Post

2011-12-17T16:22:00.000-08:00

Thanks to the lovely things known as finals, I, once again, have fallen much too behind on posting! Even though we're well into the month when we're supposed to bundle up in coats, scarves, and gloves, I still wanted to post these pictures my friend, Dom, took for me during the first couple weeks of fall. Everything around us was colored in warm auburn and golden hues and the leaves were piled up high in tempting mounds that I only resisted because of my fear of ticks. Even though fall is my favorite season, I am definitely excited for the upcoming winter months of snow, hot cocoa, and reading books by the fire. I just got home from school last night for winter break, so I'll be back for a month, which means I'll definitely be posting a lot more around here! I made it through the last couple weeks of final paper writing, 12 layer screen print making, and new campus zine releasing! There's much to catch up on around here!

Headband, tights- UO
Velvet crewneck- vintage, Etsy
Skirt- American Apparel
Oxford flats- vintage, Etsy

All photos by Dom Boyle.

xx

The Music Tapes + Olivia Tremor Control 09/21/11

2011-11-20T14:16:00.000-08:00

Photo by Anna Quinlan

The past couple of months have been pretty magical in terms of shows. I've been able to see and meet a few of my favorite musicians; some that I never thought I'd have the opportunity to see perform live. Back in September I was shocked to see that The Music Tapes were opening for Olivia Tremor Control at Le Poisson Rogue, in New York. The Music Tapes very rarely perform live, and usually do so in the form of private house shows. Last winter they were traveling around the country, serenading friendly house guests with sweet lullabies. Unfortunately, I missed the date they were visiting New York due to winter break at home, and despite my lovingly desperate e-mails offering home baked apple crumble and hot tea if they moved the date earlier, I was never able to see The Music Tapes. Needless to say, I snatched the tickets for the show in September up within seconds (school night schmool night).

Julian Koster of The Music Tapes is one of my greatest musical heroes and influences. I first heard him play on the profound second record by Neutral Milk Hotel, In The Aeroplane Over the Sea. Initially, I was unsure what was producing the ghostly howling and angelic whistling that appeared on many of the tracks. But, upon further investigation I discovered it was Mr. Koster on the musical saw. From there, I fell in love with the sound and the unconventional nature of the instrument and began teaching myself how to play. As I began to research things further, I discovered his own project, The Music Tapes, and instantly fell in love with the odd, dreamy, nostalgic sounds, recording devices, instruments, and lyrics. Between toy pianos, chord organs, bowing of banjos, singing saw orchestras, 7 foot tall metronomes, and clapping machines, I couldn't ask for more. Essentially, this guy's the tops.

Naturally, the show did not disappoint one bit. Julian Koster was accompanied by the other contributing members of the band on chord organ, horn, etc. as well as the 7 foot metronome, vintage suitcases to sit on, illuminated toy soldier lawn ornaments, and an apple spinning on an old record player. They played a set of songs both old and new, primarily off of Music Tapes for Clouds and Tornadoes and the new EP Purim's Shadow, including the mind blowing "Hacidem" in which Mr. Koster plays the saw like...a beast (refer to video, below, for the tail end of the song). Looking around, it was evident that the crowd was full of a mixture of people; some followers of Koster's project, others waiting for Olivia Tremor Control to play, and some who stumbled upon the show by chance and figured it'd be something to do. At the beginning of the set I overheard a few confused audience members exclaiming that this was "the weirdest thing" they have "ever seen," but by the end I also overheard some people explain that they never stay for the opening acts, but were extremely thankful that they did for this one. Between the circus-like announcements explaining the workings of the mythical 7 foot metronome and exaggerated acted out responses from the band members, plus Julian's jumping around stage-antics and story telling (he's a master story-teller), the initial comments aren't unreasonable. But, it's this strange combination of eccentricities that made the show so magical and wonderful and why I love the Music Tapes as much as I do. Before some songs, Koster told stories about how his Romanian grandfather would tell him a story before bed about an elephant shadow (wherein at this point one audience member yelled out, asking if that was how the collective the group is part of got their name 'Elephant 6,' to which Julian responded "ok, sure!"), as if we, too, were grandchildren being tucked in at night, entertained by the fantastical stories only our child-like imaginations could grapple.

After the show, I hung around for a bit and noticed Julian sitting on the steps up to the stage. When we made eye contact, I smiled and waved, and then he stood up and walked over to me. Partially giddy and in partial disbelief (and completely nervous), I couldn't help but gush to him about how wonderful he is and how much of an inspiration he has been to me. We talked about the band and playing the saw and he was incredibly down-to-earth, friendly, and wonderfully strange. He definitely is the rare sort of being who lives in his own magical world of the unreal, so much that to him, it is real. It's a beautiful thing. He also looks half his age, so I'm convinced that he's the Fountain of Youth. A special night, indeed.

All photos and video taken by me on digital and disposable film, except for the first one!

Fall Days

2011-11-12T18:59:00.000-08:00

I'm always awful at restarting posts after a bit of a hiatus, because I tend to want to write about everything that has happened in between. I thought I'd get back into the flow of things with an outfit post of the sort of outfit I've been wearing almost daily these past couple weeks of fall (before and after our mini snow storm apocalypse!). It really is the prettiest on campus, and I'm excited to have one of my close friends at school, Dom, here to help me out with the photos! There was plenty of goofiness to go around, including my discomfort in front of a camera, pinecone eyes, leaf ears, and funny faces.

In terms of happenings over the past couple of months, it has been the busiest! But a wonderful sort of busy. I wouldn't have it any other way. Even though I get sleepy eyes more often than not, I find myself complaining if I'm not busy enough and well rested. It's strange, really. Some things that have happened include going to a few incredible shows that I need to blog about (The Music Tapes! Panda Bear! Jeff Mangum!), New York excursions, plenty of zines for me to share with you, creating a new zine on campus, screen printing in my print making class (scans to come!), school business in general, and playing a show with a super talented musician-friend! I'm also working on an exciting project that is affiliated with my blog that I'll be sure to share with everyone the moment it's done!

Headband and tights- UO

Collared blouse and sweater- thrifted, Salvation Army

Skirt- vintage, Etsy

Socks- Madewell

Granny boots- vintage, Etsy

Photos by Dom Boyle

Guest Post

2011-10-23T14:40:00.000-07:00

I feel like the proper title for this should be "Guest Post and a Much Appreciated Kick In the Butt." When Rhiannon asked me to do a guest post on her blog while she was away on her honeymoon (!!) I was really honored and extra jazzed to do it. Not only is her blog my favorite blog of all blogs, but it also meant writing a blog post again. After almost three months. Oops. Doing it, I realized how much I miss it and how important it is to me, so I'm really going to try and do at least a post a week. This time I mean it! College and life in general is as busy as ever, but I really think it's worth it! Until my new post, check out the guest post I did over at Rhiannon's blog, LiebeMarlene Vintage, of my fall wish list and favorite things to do in the fall. Click through for links to everything in the collage above!

Collage by Drew.

Night-People Records

2011-08-14T15:59:00.000-07:00

Goldendust artwork

I mentioned Night-People Records briefly in my row boat post and how I've been pretty obsessed with cassettes lately. Night-People has definitely been one of the top distributors that has been catering to this passion of mine. I think there's something special about tapes, especially when they're being produced by these independent distributors. There's a perfect synthesis of both art and music that's particularly prevalent with the cassettes produced by Night-People Records. All of the artwork for the tapes is handmade and designed by founder Shawn Reed, who works primarily with silk screening, Xeroxing, and hand assemblage. In a recent interview by Jenn Pelly with music blog Altered Zones , he describes his process and this fusion of art and music: "When I'm working on artwork, it's a ritualized thing. I'll spend a lot of time sifting through books at thrift stores, and magazines, and art books at the library. I have thousands of Xeroxes sitting around that I use for collage and inspiration. Over time, I've become really invested in using the history of underground culture-- the history of it in the art world-- and re-appropriating that back into new things, making a thread between what I'm doing and older stuff. In some of the Night-People artwork there are references to obscure Japanese photographers from the '70s that I'm into, or homages to things that probably not many people pick up on. The Xerox machine is my biggest influence. I filter everything through the lens of a Xerox, using it to degrade images to this place where they look interesting. I'll go to the copy store and stay for hours on end with 50 books and piles of images and work from that. That’s connected to the history of underground music."

Based on his process, Night-People Records have created an aesthetic for the tapes that is both distinct and inspiring. I've always wanted to learn how to silk-screen, but after looking through Shawn's work I can't get myself to a silk-screening class sooner! In coalition with the very special handmade tangibility of these cassettes, the bands that Night-People select to release also represent and have the sense of a more underground, handmade, and independent sound. In the same interview, Shawn explains: "I've always wanted Night-People to be about taking chances and putting stuff out that no one had heard." I think that's a huge part of what I appreciate so much about the label; it has been a great source for me for discovering new, independent music. Usually, one band leads to another, and I've got myself happily overwhelmed with tons of great new music to listen to. Discovery has been a huge thing for me--it's something that I'm constantly seeking and believe must be actively done. My recent love-affair with cassettes is definitely derived from this active treasure hunt. When I go to a lot of record stores, most of the tape releases are from current, lesser-known bands I've never heard of before, but I've been taking a lot of risks and finding plenty of gems, which is--I think--the best and sometimes only route to finding some of my favorite things.

Below is the artwork from a few tapes I've bought from Night-People, plus my choice song from each artist:

We Shave- Creem Dream Blues II

Dirty Beaches- True Blue

White Woods- Now Is Not A Time

Blanche Blanche Blanche- Heroes of the Microphone

Lantern- You Can't Run. You Can't Hide.

(Lantern are currently raising money for a North American tour, if you're feeling particularly philanthropic and would like to help support, you can donate here! )

Street Gnar- Without Blue

Be sure to check out the rest of Shawn's interview at Altered Zones here!

Lazer Zeppelin artwork

All artwork and photos of the cassettes by Shawn Reed, from the Night-People website.

Old Holga Scans (part 1)

2011-08-12T19:08:00.000-07:00

I didn't realize how far behind I was on my Holga and disposable photo posts until I went through my folders, and oh dear! There are still quite a few more photo posts to come! These are all pictures I took over the past year on my Holga (part 1), mostly from the very end of summer/ the beginning of school and fall days spending time with friends, as well as trips into the city, and visits from Kat.
City cat Travis' film shoot
Summer's end New York with Kat
Alan bein' studious Lauren Travis Kat bein' silly Lauren Fall days New York Travis and Alan The most amazing store in New York!!! Last days of summer Picnics on the lawn Picnicin' Accidental photo of a corner of my dorm room! Trent Gargoyle kisses
xx

Row, Row, Row Your Boat

2011-08-10T16:30:00.000-07:00

Straw boater hat- Macy's (yep. the only boater hat I could find that works on my funny head!)
'80s dress- Decades Vintage on Etsy
Sandals- Easy Spirit (the answer to my summer shoe hunt woes!)
Tote bag- by Forestbound

Since I flooded that last post with words, instead I'm going to flood this post with pictures! A few weeks ago, Kat and I went out on my old row boat and floated around on the lake I live on, which is one of our very favorite summer things to do. We quickly threw together a mess of picnic fixings--kettle cooked chips, iced tea in sippy cups, IZZEs, and some candy--and snapped a few pictures before the sun started going down. Once we got on the boat we still had a bit of sunlight and were able to watch as the sun set over the lake as we (mostly Kat) rowed all around the water. At some points we just stopped and dipped our toes in, letting the boat drift, which can sometimes be the nicest, as long as you avoid fellow boater collisions. We also tried to get some of the fish to come up and say hello, but quickly learned that apparently fish aren't that into kettle chips. I also brought along my cassette player to provide some tunes for our mini adventure. I chose "Forbidden Delicious" by the band Pageants from one of my favorite online music distributors, Night People Records . It felt like the perfect, sunny, upbeat tape for summertime frolics. I don't want to go into it too much, because I have a whole post planned out, but Night People Records has been a great source for me for finding new, independent music, plus I think all of the artwork for the different cassettes is incredible and really inspiring! I've been especially into cassettes lately, so expect quite a few tape-related posts in the future! Speaking of posts in general, I've fallen really behind! But, I have plenty I want to catch up on (film scans, trips to LA, music, books, art, flea finds, adventures!), so hopefully updates are going to get a bit more regular around here! Sorry for the slowness!

Photos by Kat

xx

Animal Collective Prospect Park 7/12/2011

2011-07-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

I've been meaning to start writing on here about more of my interests, especially art and music, for a while now, and I thought the Animal Collective concert I went to with Kat on Tuesday would be a perfect place to start. I know I've done music, art, etc. related posts in the past, and mention things here and there throughout my posts, but I really want to devote more writing to it all! So here's to my first sort of real attempt on here at music journalism! Sort of!

I don't know how apparent it is on my blog, but if you know me, it's no secret that Animal Collective is one of my most favorite bands. I've been following them for years now, but somehow only managed to finally get to one of their shows now. It's something Kat and I have been talking about forever, so you could imagine how thrilled we were when we found out they would be playing Celebrate Brooklyn in Prospect Park on July 12th. The stage setup was the first thing we noticed as we arrived at the venue and began (politely) squeezing our way to the front. Indicative of the guy's expressed interest in horror movies, there was a giant skull set up in the back of the stage in which dreamy, psychedelic videos were projected onto the openings of the eyes and mouth and then streamers of bats whose eyes lit up. Not to mention the light up crystals that I feared would obstruct my view of Panda Bear once he got on the drums (not to worry--I managed to position myself properly!). Speaking of, having Panda Bear back on the drums was a pretty big treat. The guy's an incredible and energetic drummer, and his presence fully behind a drum set is one that has been missing in the past, especially with their latest album, Merriweather Post Pavilion.

As we waited for the show to begin (which seemed to be taking an especially long time--Katherine and I think they were just waiting for it to get dark out for the sake of the stage set up) people began throwing around balloons and shuffling impatiently as we stood (many sat) in the over 90 degree weather. Finally, once the sun had begun to set and the glowing eyes of the bats became more prominent, Animal Collective (happily including their fourth member, Deakin, once again!) stepped on stage and everyone seemed to forget about the discomfort they were experiencing only moments before. As expected, based on their live shows in the past, they played a set list of mostly unreleased material. To many people this would come as a disappointment, but to a lot of the fans (myself and Katherine included), it was exciting and just as enjoyable to hear some of the songs that would eventually come to be a part of a new album. It's especially OK with us when the songs are incredible. That is not to say we weren't also completely elated when the band played some select songs from their past albums. My favorite might've been when they transitioned from a new song to "Did You See the Words," off of their album Feels, most likely because that was the album that introduced me to them, so I got pretty nostalgic. I have to think a lot of the fans in the audience agreed, perhaps not for exactly the same reason, because nearly everyone around me was singing along, word for word. Save for "We Tigers," the rest of the songs were off of Merriweather. Although I definitely would have loved hearing a ton of songs off of their other past albums (others around me agreed, as I overheard one girl mention that she'd "cry" if they played "For Reverend Green" from Strawberry Jam), Merriweather felt appropriate for the setting. This was most apparent when they started playing "Summertime Clothes" and the entire crowd exploded. Exhausted and sweaty, dancing our feet off, it felt like we were living the song. As with their tendency to play new material, they still changed up the songs a bit, which is part of what I think makes them and their live shows so exciting, interesting, and unconventional. When they played "We Tigers" from their album Sung Tongs, I could barely keep up: I think that's probably the fastest I have ever and will ever hear that song!

After what felt like an almost two hour set consisting of Deakin's completely absorbed and un-self aware dancing, Geologist's head bopping, and Panda Bear and Avey Tare's passionate singing, the crowd's emphatic cheering encouraged an additional three song encore. The show closed with two new songs and "Taste" and an equally as energetic response from the crowd as in the beginning. Once Avey Tare thanked everyone, a slew of us--finally regaining a sense of consciousness--scurried over to the nearest convenience store, infusing it with tired, sweaty fans grappling pints of ice cream and any beverage we could get our hands on. As we stood in line finishing our drinks before reaching the register (grapefruit was my choice beverage) and wiping off our foreheads, smiling, no one seemed to mind their less than comfortable state. And I don't think the convenience store owners minded much, either.

Disposables - 1

2011-07-07T18:40:00.000-07:00

Museum of Natural History NYC

As the school year went on, I sort of gave up on my Holga for taking photos of my friends and the things we were doing. The lighting was never very good, which almost always resulted in a nearly entirely blank roll of film. I even tried buying a flash for it, but besides its inconveinent size, it also didn't always work so well. Plus, I would sometimes do dumb things like forget to push the button before winding etc. (But, I've sort of always made dumb mistakes when it comes to dealing with my Holga. I almost feel like it's made to create mistakes! Which can be good, sometimes, if they're happy mistakes like double exposures. Not exposing entire rolls.) Anyway, I finally decided that I would tuck away my Holga for the time being and reserve it for sunny summer days, when it seems to work best. Instead, I turned to the easiest option: disposable cameras. The built in flash took care of my desire to take pictures when it's dark out, and the low quality of the disposable itself gave the photos that wonderfully awful look that I've always favored in the Holga when it feels like actually taking photos. I have a few that I just got developed, plus a bunch that I still need to scan in, but these were already on my computer, so I thought I'd share them first! I ended up taking a lot of photos this past year, mostly of time spent together with my friends at school doing silly things and going to funny places. This batch is mainly from the cold weather days, but there are lots more to come, many which involve sunshine and short sleeves!

Goofs

The best sweater in existence with the exception of its disappointingly extra pointy shoulders!

At the Museum of Natural History!

School's radio station!

Playin' an old (and uncomplicated) James Bond video game: Golden Eye!!!!

School's electronic music studio!

$1 Chess in Brooklyn! (I still don't really get how to play, really). Apparently I'm a "loud" chess player. Pfft. I call it "enthusiastic."

Olde Good Things

2011-06-29T16:04:00.000-07:00

Photo I took on my disposable in New York this summer on the way to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market

These past couple of months I've been squirreling away all sorts of goodies, picking them up from flea markets, thrift stores, antique shops, garage sales, and any other place that happens to sell ye olde goods. Katherine and I have been stopping at a lot of places in New York, especially, since we've been going in nearly every weekend for shows (pictures from those to come!). A few weeks back we finally made our way to the Hell's Kitchen Flea Market (I've been wanting to go there for years, but somehow never managed to until now!) and were not disappointed one bit. We both thought it was really great, if not definitely a bit overwhelming at times. There was one stand in particular that I kept gravitating towards and ended up buying an old boy scouts pin and WWII era America flag from. Something about the set up (and the man who ran it) was just right. There were old America flags hanging next to a taxidermy deer head who was donning a funny old hat and soft tunes from scratchy 78s pervading the tent. Just right. The tent was set up next to a similar, though inexplicably less alluring tent and between the two there was a sign that read something along the lines of "The Bad Boys of 42nd Street." It was pretty wonderful. After exploring through the whole lot of the place I also ended up buying an adorable '30s feedsack dress (for $10!) that'll definitely make an appearance on here soon, a funny/creepy toy of a wind up rabbit playing the drums that's missing both of its ears (though the metal that held the ears up is still fully intact and is sort of a bit of a safety hazard), a handful of Kodachrome slides (including a still from "King Kong!"), a photo of a great gal from the '20s, a plastic figurine of a scuba diver that I want to pretend is from one of those wonderfully awful 1950s low-budget drive-through films, and a broken baby toy from the '30s with a duck on top.

A sampling of some of the things I've found, including some Hell's Kitchen finds. Also amongst the findings: an English Spelling book from the 1800s from my favorite old book store not too far from home, a 1930s/40s Zoo pennant and 1920s wooden game toy from Charisma 7, an old industrial photo from a different NY flea I stopped at, magnetic scottie dogs from a local estate sale, and a 1940s hunting license I bought at the Brooklyn flea while I was still in school.

The '30s baby toy that I might end up hanging in my room

Honest Abe, from my favorite local vintage store, and a better look at the license and game!

A couple of photos from various fleas and antique stores

My dad's old boy scout ties, still in the box, that we found tucked away in my grandparent's dresser!

An 1800s botanist/florist book and "The Cat and the Fiddle" from "The Olde Book Shoppe," the coolest '20s lady from Hell's Kitchen, and a silly stuffed toy with one leg shorter than the others so it can't really stand up on its own (which makes me love it more, I think).

The best part about the book I found definitely has to be the faded impressions leftover from pressings done many'a years ago imprinted within a few select pages.

Etsy Update - Art Prints!

2011-06-26T14:48:00.000-07:00

A while back I did a post on a series of mixed-media collage pieces I made for a commentary based around visual interpretations of human awkward quirks and tendencies. A few sweet commenters suggested I sell prints of them and mentioned they would be interested in buying some if I did. Well, it took me over a year to get to it, but I've finally gone ahead and done it! I ended up listing 10 of the 12 pieces in my Etsy store (two of them just didn't look so great printed) from the series, as well as another piece I did last year that I believe also made an appearance on this blog at some point. It's still hard for me to imagine, but the idea of someone hanging my work on their wall is such an incredible dream to me. I'm really excited about this and I hope you all like it!

To purchase a print you can go here !

xx

Summer Returnings!

2011-06-20T17:29:00.000-07:00

Headband-UO
'90s dress- Etsy
Purse- Vintage, thrifted
Socks- Macys
Woven oxfords- Vintage, from Ebay (they're falling apart!!)

I'm sitting outside in my backyard on my favorite little porch where most of my summer reading occurs, looking out at the lake, listening to the funny little fountain that has grinning, unrealistically big frogs lounging on it that my mom probably bought from a home shopping network, beginning to have to swat the evil night bugs away from me and the light from my laptop, and realizing it's summer and I haven't posted on this blog since it was snowing out!

I sort of can't believe it has been that long--especially since so much has happened in between that I would have loved to blog about if I hadn't been so busy with school and everything that came along with it! Some things: playing a lot more shows with the band I'm in, House Cat (recordings soon!), picnics on the lawn, attending shows in the Tea Haus, spending late nights on the lawn with friends, cooking dinners in small kitchens, attending student film festivals/art shows, making lots of art, and feverishly reading and writing 25+ page final papers! I definitely missed blogging, though, and I'm glad to be back for the summer! (And this time, I'm really going to try and get some posts in once I'm back at school, too!) I have to admit, I've actually been home for a few weeks now, but I've been lazy about writing my first post back mainly because I got overwhelmed with how I should approach it and sort of avoided it! Plus, I was pretty slow at unpacking and pretty busy with job hunting, working on new listings for the Etsy store (including something very exciting for me that I'll be selling that isn't clothing! More on that very soon!), and settling back home/spending time with friends. But, I've finally forced myself to sit down and get back to it! I know once I've got this post goin' I'll settle back into the rhythm!

Anyway, I figure I can't really cram everything into one post, so I'm going to start with this simple outfit/outing post! Kat and I have been spending many'a lovely summer days together already (when it hasn't been raining!) going to shows in the city, meeting up with friends from school, rummaging through plenty of thrift stores and flea markets, making dinner and baking apple pies, going to the movies, watching plenty of X-Files, and--what we were doing when we took these pictures--going on many summer walks! Kat took these photos while we went walking around the entire lake I live on, which involves precariously stepping through this great marshy area that has a rickety old wooden board set across it that some boy scout probably made for one of his projects a long time ago.

Oh! I was also asked by the sweet Nab of Rockabella a few weeks ago to do an interview for her blog that you can check out here! It's my first ever interview, and the idea of me doing one at all is sort of a funny thing for me, but it was really an honor to be asked and I hope I didn't babble too much!

PS: I think I might've just accidentally squished a night bug on my screen.

Back to Class

2011-01-16T10:50:00.000-08:00

photo by katherine rossi

Well, I'm back off for college again! Winter break was nice and relaxing, but I'm more than ready to get back! Unfortunately, this means the blogging is going to be a lot more sparse again. But this time I'm really going to try and get some more blog posts in here and there. We'll see how the business goes! Hopefully I'll be able to! As always, thanks a ton for reading!! It means a lot.

Inspiring Images

2011-01-13T18:50:00.000-08:00

a. smitten

A collection of images from the interweb that have been inspiring me lately during these snowy winter days!

flmngtea

October Visits

2011-01-10T13:22:00.000-08:00

These are some old photos Katherine and I took back in October when she came to visit me at college. I've been meaning to do a post with them since then, but somehow only managed to get to it now? We're really lucky that we both ended up at colleges not too far from each other, so we can visit one another on the weekends and meet up in New York pretty frequently! When she came for the weekend, we spent some time walking around town and on campus. I got to show her some of my favorite places, including the Tea Haus (that little stone hut in the pictures!), which is this wonderful little hut on campus adorned with old timey decor and tons of pillows. They serve fresh tea there and on the weekends have live performances from music to poetry. We also saw "Never Let Me Go" at the little theatre in town, which I really enjoyed. Enjoyed not so much in terms of deriving happiness from it, but more so as a beautiful and important film that really communicated its purpose. Plus, the setting and costumes in the film were incredible! Anyway, then we spent some time with some of my friends from school and ended the night with some good X-File watching and Avey Tare's new album listening. I'm looking forward to a lot more visits like this with the coming semester!

Dress and headband- H&M

Sweater- thrifted, Salvation Army

Tights- UO

Woven oxford flats- vintage, from Ebay

Backpack- Fjallraven Kanken

Dress and headband- H&M

Sweater- thrifted

Tights- UO

Woven oxford flats- vintage, from Ebay

Backpack- Fjallraven Kanken

Snow and Antique Stores

2011-01-05T14:30:00.000-08:00

Yesterday Kat and I explored a nearby town and visited quite a few thrift and antique stores. The stores were mainly a bust, but we really didn't mind. The day was more about just going out and visiting someplace different than right at home. Plus, we just like spendin' time together! We did find one thing each, though! Katherine found this great military jacket from the Vietnam War (which was funny because she was talking about how she was looking for an old military jacket on the car ride there) and I got a plaid pleated wool miniskirt from the sixties! Some of the antique stores had good heres and theres, but they were all much too expensive. I think our favorite discovery of the day was this incredible 1900s children's tricycle with the body of a horse (the last photo)! We decided that the kid who originally owned it must've been the coolest cat in town, cruisin' the streets on his horse tricycle. No doubt about that. We also grabbed some delicious pomegranate frozen yogurt and some Wendy's fries upon my request, because I am convinced these new "hand sliced with sea salt" fries taste better even though it's all marketing and they probably don't. Once we got back, we tried to take some blog photos even though the sun was already going down. They're a little dark, but I think they're still acceptable!

Bowler hat- vintage, from Etsy

'60s navy coat and '90s floral dress- Liebemarlene Vintage

Bunny Sweater- Peter Jensen for Urban Outfitters

Vintage Coach purse- thrifted from Salvation Army

'50s gloves- Charisma 7 Vintage

Sweater tights- Hue

Woven oxford flats- vintage, from Ebay

Photos by Kat .
xx

Mustard Sweater

2011-01-02T12:56:00.000-08:00

'40s men's hat- Charisma 7 Vintage

Mustard sweater- thrifted, Salvation Army

'60s plaid skirt- from Allen Company Inc. on Etsy

Sweater tights- Hue

Brogues- vintage, from Etsy

I found this sweater at the Salvation Army back in November and I think it has quickly become one of my very favorites. It's just that sort of color that I love wearing during the fall and winter months. Lately, my go-to has consistently been a dress with a big sweater over it, so I've been pairing this one with all sorts of different dresses. I decided to give a skirt a try, too, then couldn't decide which outfit to post. I'm also wearing a hat, which is a big deal for me! I never really wear hats, and when I do I feel sort of silly. But, my friend Lauren at school wears hats all of the time and convinced me I should give them a chance. So, when I visited Charisma 7 a few weeks ago I actually browsed the hats and ending up finding this great men's hat from the 1940s! Since then I have purchased three more hats. I think I'm officially a hat person! The only thing I have to conquer now is hat hair.

'40s men's hat- Charisma 7 Vintage

Mustard sweater- thrifted, Salvation Army

Floral dress- Zara

Sweater tights- Hue

Thick socks- Charter Club

Granny boots- vintage, from Ebay

I hope everyone had a wonderful New Years, by the way! Kat and I (well, mostly Kat) made homemade pizza! It was delicious!

House Cat!

2010-12-30T22:22:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. So I mentioned in an earlier post that I'm playing in a band now at college called House Cat, and I'm really excited about it! I mostly play the saw, but also do some vocals, trumpet, and whatever else here and there. Lauren is the lead vocalist and also plays the guitar, ukulele, banjo, etc., Travis is on the accordion, glockenspiel, and vocals etc., and Trent is on the guitar, bass, and vocals etc. We only have a few songs right now, but we plan to be playing a lot more in the future! Our pal Alan helped us out and taped two songs for us. The first one is "This Will Diffuse" and the second one is "Bleak Birds." I hope you like them! And next time we'll turn on some more lights.

Holiday Dress

2010-12-28T18:47:00.000-08:00

Dress- Alexa Chung for Madewell
Sweater tights- Hue
Oxford heels- Etienne Aigner
Headband- H&M
Red lipstick- Benefit (Christmas gift from my mom)
1920s ring (you can't really see it!)- Charisma 7 (graduation gift from my parents!)

I hope everyone had a nice holiday! I wore (and received) this dress for Christmas and couldn't love it more! I'm also wearing red lipstick for probably the first time ever. I'm not really a makeup girl in the slightest, but when I got my hair cut even shorter (can you tell? New do!) I thought some red lipstick might look nice with it sometimes! I mentioned it to my mom once and there it was, under the tree! I think she got excited that I even mentioned makeup at all. I'm still getting used to it, but I quite like it a lot! I just have to get better at things like wiping my mouth with a napkin or drinking from a straw. Anyway, Christmas was a nice day spent with the family, then later that night having an X-Files marathon with Katherine (we're up to season 5!) after exchanging gifts. She got me a wonderful book on one of my most favorite artists, Robert Rauschenberg (I need to do a post on him soon)! Some other things I received for the holiday: the 'Hello' bat tee shirt dress and pink collared dress from the Alexa Chung for Madewell collection, some vintage dresses, and the second volume of the Avant-Garde film collection from 1928-1954! I've also been eating tons of homemade Christmas cookies, but oh dear, I think I might finally be sick of them?! I didn't think it was possible, either.

xx

Happy Holidays!

2010-12-24T12:10:00.001-08:00

To wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, I leave you with Julian Koster and his saw, Badger Saw. I hope you all have a lovely holiday weekend!

xx

Four Month Update!

2010-12-23T12:44:00.000-08:00

Oh dear. I can't believe it has been almost four months since my last blog post!! I'm finally on winter break for a month, so I have some time to blog! But, honestly, I don't know where to begin!! I couldn't be happier at college. It really is perfect in every way. I've met so, so many incredible people that mean so much to me and I've been taking wonderful classes, including a film history class that I've been able to watch a ton of '20s and '30s films for! It couldn't be better. Instead of writing a focused post, I thought I'd sort of just put together a bunch of photos from the last couple of months that my friends have taken, to just sort of overview everything! There are pictures from New York trips, working at the school's radio station, playing music together (I'm in a band! More on that later!), and just hanging out and being silly. I also have some pictures that Kat took when she visited in the fall and a few rolls of film of photos I took on my Holga that I have yet to scan in to share! Ooh, I also saw Panda Bear in concert back in September which was just about the greatest thing ever. I even shamefully tried to bribe a stage hand with some hershey kisses I had to bring Panda Bear back out again after the show. It didn't work. The guy did take one of my hershey kisses, though. Anyway, it really was as incredible as can be!

All of the film photos are by Lauren Early.

I hope everyone has the loveliest of holidays!

Mini Hiatus

2010-08-27T16:06:00.000-07:00

Big, new things start for me tomorrow! I'm moving into college and I couldn't be more excited (and nervous!). Packing has sort of been the most difficult--especially the clothing! I've realized how many bad '80s and '90s sweaters I own from Salvation Army. Tooo many. Yet, I'm sure the next time I'm there I'll pick up three more. It's a problem. I also feel sort of bad for my roommate because I'm bringing a lot of my junk along with me...1950s clapping monkey toy? A necessity. Anyway, I have a feeling I'm not going to be able to blog for a little bit until I've gotten into the rhythm of everything. Once I'm all settled I'll probably still be a busy bee with my classes and other events, so posts may be a little less frequent after that, but I'm still going to try my best to keep on blogging! I'll still be around Internet land, though, so I'm not disappearing totally!

Both of these photos were taken by Katherine on her film camera this summer. She's already off to her school and I kindaaa miss her already. We spent our last summer days together watching silly Elvis movies (and attempting to imitate both his dance moves and accent), going to a huge used book sale, and listening to some old radio shows.

Photos by Katherine

Summer Outfits

2010-08-17T17:17:00.000-07:00

photo on left from Hanneli ; photo on right from A Continuous Lean

This post is probably a poorly timed one, seeing as summer is nearing its end and I'm more excited for fall than ever, but I've had these outfits in my mind these past few months and still wanted to share them! All of these are from different street style websites, but I originally found them via the Cali Vintage tumblr (which is amazing and saves my lazy self from clicking through pages and pages of street style websites!). There's something about all of these girls outfits that is so perfect to me. There's a certain amount of effortlessness mixed with sweet personal summer style. I don't think I've enjoyed summer dressing as much because I begin to feel bored wearing only dresses everyday and for some reason I always feel too casual in an outfit with shorts to post it. But, looking at these girls I can't help but think that it's exactly that sort of summer simplicity that I love the most and just adding little details like a scarf or a straw hat'll do the trick! Plus, I also think these girls have that elusive quality where whatever they put on looks instantly more wonderful a la Alexa Chung all the time. I'm actually excited to even start wearing more pants come this fall, too! I just bought myself some skinny corduroys (I'm thinking about buying the raspberry ones, too...maybe!) over at Urban Outfitters and have some Cheap Monday jeans (that I got on sale!) that I can't wait to wear tucked into some ankle boots with a sweater and a little blouse poking out.

photo on left from Street Style Aesthetic ; photo on right from Stockholm Street Style

Heres and Theres (and the giveaway winner!)

2010-08-15T12:02:00.000-07:00

This is sort of an unfocused post that I've been wanting to do because I have some heres and theres that I've been wanting to share on my blog, but couldn't think of a full themed post to incorporate them in. So, instead, I just decided to put all of the black sheep in one big post! (Plus, I can announce the winner of my Shopbop.com giveaway!)

Both of these photos are by Katherine from quite a bit ago, but I feel like there haven't been any llama farm photos on my blog in a while and I've missed them! I've definitely neglected them this summer and feel awfully guilty, so maybe I'll go visit them this week and bring them some fresh lettuce or something.

This is a mixed media piece I made earlier this year based on the word 'heart.' I used tea to stain the background, old children's books, a transparency transfer, some National Geographics, and a little piece of string. I think it's one of my favorite pieces from this year!

This past Thursday Katherine and I went into the city to see Grizzly Bear at Governor's Island! Grizzly Bear is one of my most favorite, favorite bands and I got all fan girl dorky when I realized how close I actually was to them. They were incredible live: Daniel Rossen with his dreamy voice, Chris Taylor with his multi-instrument-playing-abilities and extra high voice, Ed Droste and his strange string instrument playing, Chris Bear and his amazing drumming, and Katherine and I agreed they all sounded like angels harmonizing together. It rained on and off throughout the night, but it was sort of fun that way. When the lights from the stage went out into the crowd it hit the rain and lit it up in a way that was incredible. Plus, the lights from the city over the water were beautiful, too. I was only able to take awful blurry photos and a terrible quality video, but wanted to post them anyway!

I've had this photo saved on my computer...it's one of my favorite photos of me and Katherine. It was taken by our pal at the Salvation Army one day on Kat's camera.

. . .

Other things:

-I've been really into listening to old radio shows on vinyl, especially the mystery shows and horror shows! Ooh, and I just bought the broadcast of War of the Worlds on record that I can't wait to listen to! I only wish I was listening to it when it first happened, then I'd get all scared and think it was actually real.

-Buying pictorial archive books of engravings from the 17 and 1800s used off Amazon for cheap (more on these later!)

-I just learned about this new online magazine, Papercut, that seems wonderful!

-And the winner of my first every giveaway for $100 at Shopbop.com (chose at random via random.org) goes to Diana of Miss Moss ! Congratulations, and thanks to everyone who participated! I'd love to do something like this again in the future, so there's always next time!

Beautiful Interiors (and some photos of my own room!)

2010-08-10T17:34:00.001-07:00

I finally took a few photos of my little room to share with you, though it's nothing close to how I wish it could look! These are only a few shots of one of my walls, with things always being added or moved around. I can't wait until one day where I can start completely fresh and not have to work around certain heres and there. For now, I've been doing what I can! One of these days I'll try and take some more pictures around my room, not just of my favorite wall!

Below are some photos of what my dream space would look like. All of these photos are a huge inspiration for me, and are always giving me ideas for my room. I'm sure I'll be referring back to all of these once I really do have a fresh space to start!

Everything about this photo is perfect to me (except maybe her coat and crown...). Scanned by me from Elle Magazine.

By Marcine

By Curious Expeditions

Alice of Forestbound's perfect-in-every-way dream space!

Another dream land, courtesy of Hannah!

Photo of the amazing store I hope to visit one day, Uncommon Objects, by Anja

And, of course, no post about incredible and beautiful interiors would be complete without photos of Francesca's different spaces! I swear, this girl lives inside of my dream world! Everything about her different places and rooms are perfect to me in every which way.

Last three photos by Francesca

Findings From the First Week of August

2010-08-07T20:05:00.000-07:00

I took a little trip to my favorite local antique store this past week and found some goodies! I didn't end up with any clothing, though. For some reason I feel like I've been having trouble finding dresses and what not that appeal to me. Maybe it's because I get bored with summer dressing and am already really excited for the fall. I did find one little dress from the '50s that was as beautiful as can be--it was made from this amazing heavy striped blue and white fabric and had little straps with bows at the back of each! Unfortunately I could get it on, but couldn't breathe in it, so I had to leave it behind. I did end up with a funny old Ketchup bottle that says "Pride of the Farm Tomato Catsup" which I think is just about the best thing ever, an old Bandaid Tin (to put bandaids in, of course!), another tintype, a '30s girl scouts charm, some 1920s Red Cross pins, and a pretty hankie for good measure! I also stopped by the record store next door and picked up some Ma Rainy for the last days of summer, The Eddie Cantor radio show, some other strange radio show mystery story, and Classic Ghost Stories for Kids with "spoooky sound effects" which is kind of amazing.

My First Ever Giveaway: Shopbop.com!

2010-08-03T15:40:00.000-07:00

Shopbop.com is offering a $100 gift card to one of my readers from 8/3 to 11:59 pm EST 8/13! Just leave a random comment about anything you please, and once the contest is over I'll choose one winner using a random online number generator! Be sure to leave your e-mail if you don't have a blogger account, and this is open to international readers as well!

I'm really excited about this because it's the first ever giveaway on my blog! I've gotten a few offers here 'n there for giveaways, but the websites haven't had clothing or accessories that I would wear myself, and I feel funny promoting something I don't stand behind. But, when the people at Shop Bop contacted me I knew this would finally be a giveaway I'd love to do! Shopbop.com carries a whole bunch of my favorite designers including Marc by Marc Jacobs, Cheap Monday (the only jeans that fit me to a t!), Erin Fetherston, See by Chloe, Vena Cava, Acne, Alice + Olivia...Oh, also, I've been told you should check out their Alexander Wang online shop for lots of nice clothing, bags, and a big sale!

I did some fantasy shopping myself and picked out a few things I would buy if I won the gift card and had some extra pennies!

A Rag & Bone chambray smock dress and a Marc by Marc Jacobs striped dress that I tried on at the Marc by Marc Jacobs store in New York and wish I could afford!

The most amazing and perfect boots from See by Chloe and another pair of ankle boots from Madewell.

The perfect summer tank from Vena Cava and a sweet, simple, and easy dress from Velvet.

xx Good luck!

'Make Me An Offer' Etsy Sale!

2010-08-01T14:42:00.000-07:00

Photo found here.

This is just a quick little post to let you know that I'm having a big moving sale at my Etsy store, Bonjour Dolly Vintage ! I don't want to have to lug my entire stock back to school with me, so I'm having a "Make Me An Offer" sale to try and lighten the load a bit! From 8/1 - 8/24 the price of every single item in my store is available to be haggled with...just keep in mind there are a few pieces here and there that I can't budge the price on too much! Also, following this date I'll be putting my shop on vacation mode for about a month or two so if you want it, you should buy it now!

Just simply send me an Etsy conversation with the item and the price you are suggesting to buy the item for. If I think the price is fair and am willing to sell it for this amount I will adjust the price and reserve the item for you. If I don't totally agree with the price you suggest I'll message you a counter offer and you can choose to haggle further, take, or not take the item.

Keep in mind that this sale is first come first serve and/or best offer, so shop away before all of your favorite pieces are gone!

Thanks a ton!

1930s Feedsack Quilt

2010-07-31T21:58:00.000-07:00

I bought this quilt last summer in Saratoga Springs and have been holding on to it since to take with me to college! It's one of my favorite finds from the antique store, Reruns, in Saratoga. I've always dreamt about finding an old quilt like this and was extra excited when I found this one last summer! It still needs to be washed, but first I need to stitch up all of the rips and tears. All of the different fabric patches are the greatest--though, I think my favorite has to be the one of the boy blowin' bubbles with the cute dog running around! The florals and fruit patches are up there, too. I can't wait to spend many nights reading and dreaming underneath it!

(Also, I've got my Macbook back all nice and fixed so everything should be back to normal now! Sorry it has been so quiet around here!)

xx

Floral Dresses and Things Lately

2010-07-19T10:30:00.000-07:00

'90s dress- Liebemarlene Vintage on Ebay
Sequin headband- H&M
Skinny belt- UO
Vintage Coach purse- thrifted from Salvation Army
Wedges- Re-Mix Vintage

Oh dear. I need to apologize for my absence lately! In my last post I mentioned that everything was all set up on my new Macbook and that everything should be back to normal...well, the night these photos were taken about a week or two ago a fold table in my room fell onto my Macbook in the middle of the night. Thankfully, it's insured, so it will either be fixed or replaced at no charge but it turns out the process can take up to 30 days. So, as of now I'm borrowing my dad's little HP Mini laptop. I don't have a lot of my files on this, so I can't post as much as I'd like to, but I can still post and'll try and keep it from being so quiet around here!

In other news, besides that unfortunate event, I've been doing a lot of reading outside and have started my banjo lessons! So far I can play Oh Susanna, which is only four chords, but is sill pretty exciting for me. I also finished A Tree Grows in Brooklyn about a week ago, and just finished Water For Elephants this weekend! They were both so, so wonderful! A Tree Grows in Brooklyn had me going through my closet for my '30s feedsack dresses, and now that I've finished Water For Elephants all I want to do is dress up like a circus girl in the 1930s...even though I sort of always want to, anyway. I'm not sure which book I want to begin next--I'll have to go through my pile and see what I'm in the mood for! I usually prefer reading towards late afternoon and the evening, that way it's a bit cooler and quieter out, the only downside is all of the bugs that come out and bite me! Honest, my legs and feet especially look like I've got some strange form of the chicken pox. Ok, maybe it's not that awful, but it sure feels like it! Ooh, I also bought Avant Garde Experimental Cinema of the 1920s and 30s on DVD and have been watching it lots! All of the films are so strange and wonderful. I think so far my favorites are Ghosts Before Breakfast by Hans Richter and L'Étoile de Mer by Man Ray.

xx

Summer Strolls

2010-07-07T14:04:00.000-07:00

Bow headband- UO

'30s feedsack dress- 1385 on Etsy ! (I told you I own most of them!!! Oh dear.)

Vintage oxford flats- Ebay

So, I think I've almost gotten everything straight with my new Macbook so things should be back to normal around here! Katherine took these photos for me a few weeks back while we were walking around where I live on a sunny summer day. There's this swing set we always like going on, which is right next to some water and these old abandoned row boats. Some other things we've been doing lately have involved record shopping, apple crumble making (well, Katherine made it, I just ate it!), wonderfully awful '50s sci-fi movie watching, and night swimming.

Holga Quatre

2010-07-02T14:20:00.000-07:00

Sorry it has been so quiet around here this past week! I recently just bought a Macbook and have been working on uploading and organizing my old files, figuring out the printer situation, and just getting used to it all! I still need to download a few more programs and get the scanner working before I can start doing blog things again, but luckily I had these Holga photos already uploaded and ready for the blog! Hopefully things will be back to normal by next week because I already have a bunch of posts I want to do!

These photos are from a few weeks back, and most of them are from spending time with Katherine and her boyfriend Matt. A lot of them are of exactly how I love spending my summer days with close friends: going on rowboat adventures, swimming in the lake, taking walks in the park... Plus, you get to see some pictures of my dog, Sweetie!! I don't really post pictures of her on here as often as I should but she's kindaaa the best. I've had her since I was a little runt. She's a toy poodle, 12 years old, and makes the cutest/funniest faces.

xx

Dresses Hanging On My Wall Pt. 2 of 2

2010-06-25T13:24:00.000-07:00

Here's part two of my (very) mini- series of dresses currently hanging on my wall. I technically have a bunch of other old dresses hanging on my closet, but I think you've seen them all before because I actually wear them. This dress is one that I might actually wear, if the proper occasion presents itself and I can find a pretty enough slip to go underneath. It's from the 1920s and I bought it off Ebay a while ago. I love the little ruffly collar and pretty cut out pattern on the front of the dress. I think the best part has to be the little initials markered in by the original owner: "CJB." I love little personal details like that! It definitely has it's problems--a tear here and there, plenty of spots and stains-- but I really don't mind. As of now it has only hung on my wall, but I do want to wear it out eventually. I'm just hesitant because I know it's pretty delicate! But it does fit and it looks mighty sweet on and doesn't rip when I try it on, so I might just have to get over my fear and wear it out one of these days!!

Holga Trois

2010-06-22T11:32:00.000-07:00

I'm a little behind with my Holga posts because my scanner wasn't working for a while, so you might recognize the setting/outfit of some these photos from an outfit post I did a little bit ago. These were taken when I recieved my 1920s banjo in the mail! After Katherine and I played around with the banjo a bit we went for a walk and took some more photos along the way. During our walk we spotted three puppies poking their heads through the curtains of someone's window and barking at us, some cute chalk drawings on the street, and some rocks to hop across.

Any photos with me in the picture are by Kat !

xx

Etsy Update!

2010-06-21T18:16:00.000-07:00

I usually don't post about my Etsy store updates, but this was a pretty big one, so I wanted to share it! There are so many wonderful things like a '30s plaid dress, '40s chambray capris, a '40s blazer, and plenty of summer dresses and skirts. Most of the update is clothing perfect for these sunny days to come, but there are also plenty of new items to store or take you into the fall and winter or for those of you who don't have summer right now! A lot of the things are also from my closet--you might recognize a few things from past wardrobe remix photos (pre-blog, even!). I've been cleanin' out my closet and finding lots of nice things to sell along the way, plus now that it's summer I'll be able to spend some more time on the shop! I still have some more things to add this week, too...keep checkin' back and take a look if you please! Ooh, and I've also added a bunch of older things to the sale section and lowered a ton of prices here 'n there too!

xx

Yellow Dresses and a Sort-Of Summer Reading List

2010-06-19T12:20:00.000-07:00

1950s dress- 1385 on Etsy
Sequin headband- H&M
Skinny belt- UO
Shoes- Madewell
Feedsack tote- Forestbound from Renegade

It's officially the beginning of summer for me with free days to be lazy, go on adventures, read, watch tons of movies, and work on art! Summer is my most favorite time to read. I always go through tons of books because I have much more time than I do during the school year! I especially love going out on my porch with a good book and an old quilt and taking out a (battery powered) lantern to read from. There's something especially wonderful and nostalgic about that. (Until the bugs come out.) I've been collecting a bunch of books to read this summer, most of them used off Amazon, and I can't wait! I've been on a bit of a Salinger kick lately and then I have my pile to choose from. I have a few classics that I've been wanting to read, including A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Anna Karenina, Lolita, Emma, Jane Eyre..., and then I have to admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for those war time setting novels that usually have a romance, like Fire in the Blood and Transgression. Those always seem so perfect for the summer time. Finally, I also have Kerouac's Maggie Cassidy, some Flannery O'Connor (thanks to Rhiannon! ), and a reader also suggested Water for Elephants for me, which seems like the perfect book! It's all about circuses and sideshows! Oh dear...I better get started!!

Dresses Hanging On My Wall Pt. 1 of 2

2010-06-16T13:04:00.000-07:00

I currently don't have too much wall space left, as I've pretty much covered all of my walls with old photos and random antiques, but I left one wall above my bed empty to hang some dresses on. This Edwardian dress is one of two dresses that are hanging right now, and is one of my very most prized possessions. It's from Charisma 7 and is a real dream. It's much too delicate to be worn and the slip underneath has some tearing, but overall the dress is in incredible condition. Most of all, the many little details make my heart skip two beats. The sweet pink ribbon, the lacy details at the sleeves, the beading at the ruffly hem, the polka dots, and the little bow at the bodice really make my knees weak. It's such an incredible piece for study and is a true piece of history that looks beautiful hanging on my wall. It's pretty amazing being in possession of this sort of thing, I can just imagine some lovely lady doing a waltz in it underneath a chandelier on top of some big ship cruising the sea...

xx

Renegade!

2010-06-12T19:21:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I went to the Renegade Craft Fair in Brooklyn for the second year and I had such a wonderful time! I brought my Holga with me and snapped a few pictures, including that one of Alice from Forestbound and one of the other artist's cute displays, above. Since it's a Holga the photo of Alice came out a little off center and I accidentally cut part of her off! Oh dear. I guess the only good thing is now you can see a lot more of her beautiful setup! Her whole tent looked incredible--she had a handbuilt wooden stand with lace set up on the tables, old photos hanging, and incredible antique apothecary bottles scattered. She also had a ton of new bag designs and I had the hardest time choosing which one to get! Eventually I narrowed it down to two, and I love them both so much! Alice's bags are so special. One is made from old feedsack fabric and the other is made from an old boy scout's backpack! Alice really is the coolest--it was so nice seeing her again this year!

While I was at the Forestbound tent I also bumped into the adorable Jessica from Annabelle Rose !! She always has the cutest outfits and the loveliest pictures on her flickr and has recently started her own blog that I follow, so I was extra excited to meet her! She really is the cutest--I couldn't stop telling her how adorable she was (I think I must've told her like 10 times, oh dear...), especially in her perfect little '40s dress! She's also the sweetest, too! She was with her boyfriend, who was also super nice and easy to talk to; we all chatted for a bit, while both Jessica and I hemmed and hawed over which bags to purchase. I took a picture of Jessica and her boyfriend with the new Forestbound bag she decided on (isn't it lovely?) on my Holga, below. I'm so glad I was able to meet them both, and we chatted about it and hopefully we'll be able to hang out again in the future!

After that I walked around a little more and picked out some really cute handmade necklaces. The two round ones are from Lucky Me Beads, and the wooden one is from Ach Ach Liebling. I especially love the one of the man with the mustache because I recognized it as a photograph of a tatooed man (I think that's him?) by Charles Eisenmann, who was a photographer that specialized in photographs of "freaks" from sideshows and circuses.

I always love walking around and seeing all of the unique and wonderful things the artists create and I especially love seeing the artists behind them!

xx

Dressings

2010-06-08T13:23:00.000-07:00

T-shirt- H&M
Vintage polka dot skirt- Liebemarlene Vintage on Ebay
Paw necklace- Forestbound on Etsy
Headband- UO
Shoes- Madewell

This is just a quick little outfit post, nothing terribly exciting, but it's what I've been wearing most lately! T-shirts and high waisted skirts have always been my uniform, but now I have these fancy new shoes to jazz it up a little bit!

I have an exciting post planned for either tomorrow or the day after--I spent the afternoon at Renegade this past Saturday and had a lovely time! I was able to meet Alice from Forestbound again (I met her for the first time last year when I attended Renegade!) and had an unexpected surprise meeting with a fellow blogger whose blog/flickr I love and I am really excited to have met! She's adorable! Here's a hint: we have the same name!

xx

Old Photo Collection

2010-06-03T11:58:00.000-07:00

Now that I finally have a proper scanner (and got it to work again!) I've been slowly scanning in photos from my collection of old photographs. Most of the photos have been picked up at vintage and antique stores during many different travels. I always look out for them in the shops because you never know what you'll find--there are so many unique and wonderful old photographs out there just waiting to be uncovered. I'm especially fond of the slightly stranger photos! Here's a bunch of photos I just scanned in, collected from various places over quite some time.

From an antique store in Saratoga.

Some tintypes from my favorite local vintage store.

A prized possession purchased from my favorite place online to find strange photographs, Obscurio , on Etsy.

The one on the right was a gift from my sister--aren't their outfits perfect?

Old circus photos from another amazing antique store near Saratoga. The back of the one with the woman on the horse reads "Flora Bedini in Walter (...can't read the rest of the name...) comedy riding act." The one with the animals reads "Roberta's Society Circus."

xx

New Shoes and a New Favorite Dress

2010-05-29T14:03:00.000-07:00

'60s dress- birthday gift from Rhiannon!
Vintage Coach purse- thrifted from Salvation Army
Belt and headband- Urban Outfitters
Shoes- Madewell

It's been really gorgeous the last couple of days after quite a few days of cloudy skies and rain, so Katherine and I went to our local park to take some nice outfit photos! I feel like I haven't done an outfit post in a while (most likely because I haven't) but I'm especially excited about this one because I'm wearing a very special dress and shoes! I sort of want to call this my 'Rhiannon outfit' because after seeing countless incredible outfits of her in these Madewell shoes and an emphatic recommendation by her, I finally went out and bought them. They really are perfect! They're surprisingly really comfortable and not difficult to walk in one bit. Plus, they instantly make all of my outfits feel a little more Alexa Chung-ish, which isn't a bad thing one bit. Also, the dress I'm wearing is one that I've always admired the most of Rhiannon's and always secretly hoped she would put it in her Ebay store. Welll, she surprised me and sent it to me as a birthday gift!! I know I say this a lot, but I honestly think this is my new favorite dress! I've worn it tons since I've first received it and I already have a bunch of outfits in my head come fall time.

Oh! I'm also excited to post these photos because I've realized that in most of my outfit posts I look all too serious...which is sort of the opposite of me! I'm a pretty silly person. So, I decided to smile more for outfit posts because most of the time that's what I'm doing! Katherine always jokingly complains that she can never get a good photo of me because I'm always moving around and changing my facial expressions and half the time I'm making some sort of funny face because I don't really like having my picture taken all that much.

Defending myself from a bug attack !!!

All photos by Kat
xx

Holga Deux

2010-05-26T19:17:00.000-07:00

Oh dear...sorry for being such an awful blogger!!! My scanner's finally fixed, though, so I can share some of my latest Holga pictures, plus I spent some time today and scanned in a whole bunch of my old photos (including the circus ones from the Saratoga antique store!) for a blog post later this week. Katherine and I also took some extra nice outfit photos at the park that I'm really excited about and will be posting later this week, too! Anyway, this roll of film was mainly taken around where I live, at the llama farm (baby sheeps!), and when I visited Saratoga. I mentioned it in my last post, but this is the roll where a lot of the photos from the antique stores didn't come out. Fortunately, I was able to take a few photos of the outside of one of the stores plus this amazing abandoned house I passed on my way there! Oh--and there's a picture of me in my most favorite sweater ever !!! I wear a lot of silly sweaters.

Photo by Kat

Photo by Kat

xx

Saratoga Antique Finds

2010-05-16T21:22:00.001-07:00

1920s monkey toy!
This post is a little late, but a few weeks ago I went to Saratoga, NY for a day and went to a few antique stores. I only knew about the one I had posted about last time, but when I wrote that I was visiting Saratoga again the lovely Miss. Kater from All This Happiness suggested all of these other wonderful antique stores in and around Sartoga and oh dear, am I glad she did! The one I went to last time turned out to not have as much, so it was really nice having all of these new places to explore! My favorite has to be this giant antique mall she sent me to--two floors of antiques everywhere! It was sort of overwhelming at first, but I just kept my eyes at one place at a time and made my way around the whole place.

There were a few perfect things I had to leave behind, like a handmade turn of the century elephant stuffing (they wanted something like $150 for it!!) and an old 1920s carousel horse (where would I put it?!), so I took some illegal pictures on my Holga. Unfortunately, I'm still sort of new at this film thing, and the speed I had in requires a lot of light so none of my antique store pictures turned out. I have a couple shots of the outside of one antique store, which Imma try and get up as soon as I can get my scanner working again! Speaking of, two things I bought didn't make it into this post because of my temperamental scanner: two old circus photos (!!) and a cute 1800s cabinet card of a little girl in the cutest outfit. I'll try and get the scanner back up and working sometime this week!

1930s bunny plush! I couldn't resist!

PS: I'm also working on an update for my Etsy store of all things from my closet--there are some real goodies in this one, that I don't want to see go! I'm hoping to have everything up around Thursday!

xx

Feedsack Dresses and 1920s Banjos!

2010-05-05T20:28:00.000-07:00

All photos by Kat , thanks!

Bow headband- UO
'30s feedsack dress- 1385 on Etsy
Heels- Seychelles

Quite a long while ago I wrote a post rambling on about how much I love the banjo and wish I could play it. Welll, with the help of some left over birthday money and Etsy sales, I finally saved up enough to buy myself one!! I had been searching Ebay everyday and my watch list was literally just pages of old banjos. I missed out on a few nice ones because I have a tendency to always forget about auctions ending on Ebay...so I began thinking I'd never find myself the right one. A lot of them weren't really in the best condition and had problems here and there, or were going for wayy more than I wanted to spend. Finally, I found this little lovely for 'buy it now/best offer' which was perfect for my bad-at-bidding self. I made an offer and here it is...and I think it's my favorite of all the ones I've found! It's in great condition and comes straight from the 1920s!! I think the greatest part is it came with its original case, which has some old peeling stickers on it. Now, I just need to start taking lessons! I'm going to begin probably mid June and I couldn't be more excited! For now, I'll just share pictures of me pretending I can play it.

Ooh, and the dress! Francesca and I keep joking that I own about 1/3 of the feedsack dresses she has sold in her Etsy store , but I think it's actually true! Feedsack dresses are sort of my favorite type of old dress. They're simple and cute and really easy to wear--definitely perfect for those especially hot summer days! Plus, they're made from old feedsacks during the Depression era which is just about the biggest cherry on top.

Doctor Bag

2010-05-01T10:42:00.001-07:00

Last weekend Kat and I needed to kill some time while waiting for our film to get developed (post on some new Holga pics soon!) so we decided to stop in this small thrift store/antique store that's going out of buisiness. It really never has anything good, so we didn't expect to find anything and then Katherine spotted this old doctor's bag sitting on the floor! I sort of can't believe we found it there, and for so cheap ($20!) ! It looks like it's reallly old (any ideas?) and I've already made up scenarios in my head of where this bag has been and what sort of medical oddities it has seen. I think it's really incredible and such a dream find! The only weird thing is the owner of the shop said it's made from elephant which kind of goes against all of my morals. But, I justified owning it since it's a piece of history. It's sort of wonderfully creepy in that reason why I love old freak shows and medical oddities way.

xx

Art Commentary

2010-04-25T13:10:00.000-07:00

For my art class we had to come up with a commentary to explore and create 12 pieces based around this written statement. I've been working on it since September and I'm really excited that it's finally all done! It's pretty neat seeing everything come together as a series. My commentary is: a visual interpretation and psychological exploration of awkward quirks and tendencies. They're all mixed media, done by hand, using old books and magazines and all sorts of other materials I've found. I hope you like them--they're all a bit different from the collages I posted a while ago from the book I made, but I'm really happy with it!

nail biting

dry mouth

blushing

twitching eye

hair twirling

excessive sweating

OCD

nervous stomach

word jumbling

jittery

heart beating quickly

teeth grinding
*A few of you have been commenting that you'd be interested in buying prints--I think I might look into that! Keep checking back for more info! Thanks so much for your nice comments...they mean a lot!

xx

Wendy Bevan Circus Shoot

2010-04-21T13:32:00.000-07:00

A little while ago Rhiannon sent me a link to these photos by Wendy Bevan because she thought they'd be something I'd like, and oh dear, was she right! These photos are perfect to me in every which way! Wendy Bevan is one of my most favorite fashion photographers plus a circus themed shoot-- I don't think there can be a better combination. If you've been reading my blog for a while, I'm sure you know by now that I have quite an affinity for all things having to do with old circuses and sideshows. I love the whole traveling-troupe-of-circus-eccentrics feel to this, plus the styling is beautiful. I love the 1920s feeling to these, too: it fits my spring/summer inspiration as of late perfectly! And as always, the wonderfully unique, soft, and dreamy feeling to her photos is also gorgeous. There are a whole bunch more on her Facebook page , but I tried to pick out my favorites... even though they all are. And even though the clowns sort of creep me out, but they are forgiven because they are playing the accordion.

Also, check out this beautiful video she made, inspired by the shoot!

All photos by Wendy Bevan for the S/S 10 issue of Italian Marie Claire. Found on her Facebook page .

xx

Shorts and Stripes

2010-04-14T20:43:00.000-07:00

Headband and shoes- Urban Outfitters
Paw necklace- Forestbound on Etsy
Striped top and chambray shorts- H&M

I'm a little late in posting this, since this outfit is from the end of last week, but I can pretend this is what I wore today since the weather was so nice! Well, maybe not shorts weather nice, but add tights and a cardigan and I wouldda worn this!

Katherine and I spent the day today taking inevitably creepy photos using a pinhole camera (photos soon!), having lunch at my favorite cafe, and visiting the llamas/alpacas and sheeps at the llama farm. The last time I was there I took a whole bunch of ridiculous photos of the baby lambs and the alpacas on my Holga because they had just gotten haircuts that involved large puffs on the tops of their heads. Unfortunately, I messed something up when I was rolling my film this afternoon so when I opened up the camera it all got exposed and ruined. I guess such are the woes of shooting film. But, I tried my best to recreate some of the photos I took last time, today when we visited. The alpacas still had silly poofs (though perhaps less pronounced) and the baby lambs are now more like pre-teen lambs, but for the most part I think I recreated the shots pretty well! Tomorrow I'm going to Saratoga for a couple days, so I'll definitely be visiting that incredible antique store I posted about a while ago and I'll be sure to take some pictures there, too! Hopefully I'll find some nice treasures again!

PS: I also added a few more things to my Etsy store today, including a 1940s feedsack dress and a lovely 40s/50s striped dress that are both real hard for me to sell!

xx

60s Summer Dresses

2010-04-08T21:10:00.000-07:00

1960s chambray dress of my dreams- vintage, from the wonderful Clever Nettle on Etsy!
Headband, shoes, and socks- Urban Outfitters
Purse- vintage Coach, thrifted from the Salvation Army

It's been extra beautiful this past week and I think I've transitioned into spring/summer mode. I've already begun listening to certain songs that remind me of hot and lazy days and daydreaming about summer adventures exploring old barns, fields, and antique stores. Ooh, and reading in the shade under a big ol' tree or while sitting inside a rusty old row boat. Yes, please!

This little '60s dress really is perfect for these sort of days. I have a feeling I'm going to be spending the majority of my summer in little chambray dresses! Also-- I've realized I don't own a single pair of summer flats that are sandals! Open toe, strappy back...that sortta thing. For some reason I guess I'm just not all that attracted to summer shoes? I just have my little heels and then a pair of cut out oxford flats. I'm going to the thrift stores with Kat tomorrow, so hopefully I'll find something then. If not, I'll be keeping my eyes open!

xx

Recent Findings

2010-04-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

Before I found out I was sick with the flu (I thought it was just allergies!) and it got worse, I stopped by Charisma 7 last Friday and found some real gems that I've been excited to share! A few things have also come in the mail that I'm especially in love with plus an antique store find...

The dress on the left is from the early 1930s and the woman at Charisma has been hiding it away for me until I could visit again. Oh dear--I'm really glad she did, because I think it's really beautiful and it's the first long length dress that actually looks nice on me! Usually lengths like that just look really awkward on my short self. Unfortunately, it's a bit too big, but I found this tailor who's supposed to be really good so Imma have it taken in (I have it pinned for the pictures, which is why it might look a little funny right now). Then, the dress on the right was a real find from good ol' Etsy! It's from the 1920s and it fits my spring/summer inspiration of 1920s casual day/sports wear to a t! There are a few holes on the skirt, but I think I'm going to shorten it just a tad so then I don't even have to worry about the holes.

The dress on the left is also from Charisma. It's a little crepe number from the 1930s that fits perfectly! The dress on the right might just be my favorite purchase of late, though. It's from my most favorite Etsy store, 1385 and it dates from somewhere around about the 1900-1920s. I can't wait to take some pictures in it come summer, because I feel just out of an old photo in it!

This blouse is the last of my finds from Charisma. It's from the '40s and is so corny and patriotic but that's why I think it's so great...only the '40s can get away with that!

Finally, this is an old bank money back from the 1920s that I found at an antique store with Kat. I'm especially in love with all of the hand embroidery!

xx

1936-1938

2010-04-01T20:14:00.000-07:00

You're probably used to it being sortta quiet around here, but this time I have a good reason! I've been stuck at home with the flu since Friday night basically sleeping, reading when my head wasn't pounding (just finished Girl Interrupted--really good! I think I need to start a happier book tomorrow though, because before reading this one I was reading The Bell Jar-- also really good!, but...), listening to music, and clicking around on the internet aimlessly. I'm finally feeling a bit better today and decided to scan in (new fancy scanner that scans a whole bunch of photos at once!!) this lot of old photographs I've been meaning to scan in for the longest time.

I found this whole batch of photos hidden in a little basket in an antique store I visited over the summer. My favorite thing to collect is probably old photographs just because I love making up stories about all of them and getting a glimpse into the past. Plus, I think they're the best source of inspiration when in comes to outfits. These photos in particular are especially special because they're all from the same couple of people. It looks like it was a family and their friends and other family members and the photos span throughout 1936-1938. It's such a treat to be able to see multiple photographs of the same person--you can sort of get a better idea of their personalities and what they did and what their lives were like. Well, at least their idealized-photo-taking-lives. A lot of these photos also get me extra excited for the summer days to come, too: bike riding, laying on the grass, sitting by the lake...And the three girls sitting on the tree above the lake is basically how I want my summer to be like every day. Yes, please!

I scanned them all in on my Flickr too, plus a few others from the group that didn't make it into the post!

xx

Miss. America in the 1920s

2010-03-27T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm really not much of a fan of beauty pageants or Miss. America--in fact, I quite hate the whole idea of it. But, I was flipping through a book about the 1920s from the library and found this amazing photo of a whole bunch of Miss. America contestants from 1924 and thought these girls were all so incredible! I still don't like the idea of a beauty pageant or anything like that, but from the looks of these photos it seems like Miss. America used to be strides different from what it has become today. All of the '20s contestants are so adorable and unique and sort of unconventionally pretty and just overall beautiful! The book said that Miss. Philadelphia was the winner and with good reason, I think! Aren't her curls amazing? These photos have me wishing I could get myself some of those magical 1920s genes that would give me perfectly curly silent film star hair and a cute little toothy smile like Corinne Griffith's or something. 1920s sportswear looks have been a real inspiration as of late for the upcoming summer and spring months, so expect a post on that soon, too!

First couple photos from Silent Screen Queen 's flickr, the last three photos scanned in by me from some book I forget the name of at the library

xx

Holgas and Sunny Days

2010-03-21T13:43:00.000-07:00

It's been especially beautiful this past week, so Katherine and I made sure we did spring things like going on the swings in this little park nearby and taking some walks. Within these sunny days I shot my first role of 35mm film on my new Holga camera and I'm really excited with how they came out! Unfortunately I didn't get any real light leaks this time, but I love all of the crazy things the camera did otherwise. For some reason I have a real thing for really bad quality photos so the more strange things the camera does the better! I can't wait to see what else it'll do on my next roles!

xx

Signs of Spring

2010-03-10T13:26:00.000-08:00

'30s gym uniform blouse and '40s sailor necklace- vintage, from Charisma 7
Bow headband, navy shorts, and tights- Urban Outfitters
Jazz shoesies- Seychelles

I usually don't like to do too many outfit posts in a row, but with the past few days of sunny weather I couldn't help but post what I wore for the first glimpse into spring! I'm finally wearing that '30s chambray gym uniform blouse I posted about way back in January! I also thought it'd be appropriate to wear my little sailor pendant along with this sailor inspired number! Also--I still have quite a few posts planned, it's just harder to put them together during the week when I have classes. Outfit posts are a little quicker! Good stuff to come, though!

PS: Not to sound corny, but I just want to let everyone know how much I appreciate your comments on here! It really makes it worth it and I love hearing what you all have to say! I've sort of been the worst with replying to comments lately, but I'm going to try and get better, promise!!

xx

(Belated) Birthday Dress(es)!

2010-03-07T21:10:00.000-08:00

Oh dear, so this birthday dress post is pretty belated, but I haven't been able to take pictures 'cause of all the snow we've been having! The past two days the sun finally came out and I was able to snap a few!

This is the dress I was originally going to wear as my special birthday dress. I bought it from Rhiannon a little bit ago and can't believe it's actually mine! I remember when I saw her outfit post in it a while ago, I spent more time than I'd like to admit feverishly scouring Etsy and Ebay for something similar. It really is a dream dress in every way possible! It reminds me of Joan Blondell, Ruby Keeler, and Busby Berkeley musicals! The reason I wrote that I was originally going to wear it, though, is because I ended up going to a pretty casual place for dinner and when I put this on I guess I felt too fancy, which probably sounds really silly. I don't know, I feel like this dress should be taken to some extra special place that doesn't have people in jeans at the table next to me!

1930s dress- vintage, bought from Rhiannon of Liebemarlene Vintage
Headband and tights- Urban Outfitters
Boots- Nine West

This is the outfit I ended up deciding to wear last minute. I still wanted to wear something special since it was my birthday, but this one felt better for the cafe we had dinner at. I've worn this dress once before, but it was before I had a blog and I don't think I really liked the outfit I wore it with. I've been real excited to debut these shoes, and I think they look just right with this dress! I bought them because they remind me of shoes Alexa Chung wears, even though I'm not used to walking in such tall heels! I'll get better at it though!

Dress- A.P.C. (on sale!)
Feather Fascinator- by Kenley Collins from her online store
Tights- UO
Boots- Nine West
'40s purse- birthday gift from my sister!! I love it so much--it's originally from Allen Company on Etsy

Ps: I just recently added a few more items to my Etsy shop if you'd like to take a look!

xx

Snowy Days

2010-02-28T20:39:00.000-08:00

Headband, tights, and oxford flats - Urban Outfitters
Dress- H&M
'60s navy cashmere cardigan- vintage, from Ebay
Necklace- Forest Bound on Etsy
Fox badge- Atlantic Treefox on Etsy

It's been snowing here almost everyday, so I've sort of just been pretty lazy. I've been practicing the musical saw (I sort of played Twinkle Twinkle Little Star on it the other day!), reading, and watching a ton of Pre-Codes (includin' some I'm borrowing from Rhiannon --thank you! I promise I'll send them back soon!!). Katherine and I also ventured out in the snow thanks to my special snow tires to go see Shutter Island in theatres. It was amazing! The ending is what really made it good--oh dear, I really don't want to say anything, though--don't want to give it away! It's set in the early '50s too, so that makes everything especially pretty. I think I'm biased, though, because I always like films a ton more if they're set around that early '50s or earlier time, just because I think Hollywood does a pretty good job of it (most of the time!) without making it seem forced or fake.

Since it has been so snowy I haven't been able to take pictures outside (including my birthday dresses! Hopefully this week I'll get to snap some pictures!) so this one is from about a week ago. I'm wearing my new oxfords from Urban Outfitters that I'm really excited about and love loads, even though they're for the spring! Wishful thinking? Anyway, I blame my laziness and the snow on why it has been so quiet around here! I have a few posts planned for this week, though, and a new shop update as well!

xx

My Very Own Gramophone!

2010-02-20T20:19:00.000-08:00

For my birthday yesterday my parents surprised me with this incredible sort-of gramophone (it has wooden panels where the sound comes out of instead of a big ol' bell--those things are too expensive!)!! It's called a "Grafonola" and it's from 1915! They found a man who collects different types of old gramophones and restores them to working condition then sells them at flea markets. I think the dancin' man is my favorite part...it's the original wooden man from 1915, but the guy re-painted it (I actually would've preferred it all chipped, but I'm not complaining!). The player is really a dream; it's so amazing to hear all of my old 78s playing on an original! The one in the video is a 1920s foxtrot!

Yesterday was really wonderful, and I have another post coming up with my birthday dress--I just couldn't wait to share my new gramophone! I actually ended up wearing a different dress than I planned on because the restaurant we went to isn't all that fancy and I felt too dressed up (is that silly?). I think I might still do a post in the dress though, because I was wearing it at one point and it's probably one of my most favorite dresses! And maybe I'll post some pictures in the dress I actually wore to dinner, too.

xx

Rachel Antonoff Fall 2010

2010-02-18T12:23:00.000-08:00

Before I start writing really corny things about how perfect-in-every-which-way-wonderful this collection is, I want to apologize for my brief absence! I was sick for over a week (finally started feeling better yesterday! It was just a bad cold) and then my computer decided to crash, so I have been using other people's computers in the meantime. The computer is still dead, so I'm blogging from someone else's computer at the moment. Hopefully my sister's amazing computer-ept boyfriend can have it fixed by tomorrow, because it'll be my birthday and I have an extra special birthday dress that I've been impatiently waiting to debut on here for quite some time!

Now, to the interesting stuff! I usually don't post collections on here because I never really see one that I feel like I would wear almost everything in it or because the collection's been posted on a hundred other blogs before mine. But, I haven't really seen this one around yet and oh dear I honestly think I would wear every little piece right down to those perfect oxford shoes (my favorite)! The Rachel Antonoff collection show is probably the best set up I've seen. Remember my post gushing over all of Nancy Drew's incredible outfits on the old dust covers from the old '20s, '30s, and '40s books? Well, it turns out Miss. Antonoff's Fall 2010 collection was inspired by the old Nancy Drew novels (+ Sherlock Holmes)! I don't think I could ask for anything better! The show was set up like a murder-mystery type novel with different scenes in different rooms and the clothes really translated perfectly.

I love the vintage inspired touches like high-waists, saddle/oxford shoes, and rompers. I think my favorite piece of all, though, is that white and red dress that looks like something straight off of an old Nancy Drew cover! It's perfect with it's '20s/'30s sort of sports wear inspiration. Oh dear, I might just have to splurge and get that one once it's available...better start savin'!

All photos from Fashionista

xx

Ödland

2010-02-09T19:50:00.000-08:00

I first found out about the French band Ödland from a post by the adorable Roxanne over at her blog Tender Turning Quiet ...and oh dear, am I glad I did! Everything about them is really made from pure magic. They use all sorts of wonderfully odd instruments, including children's toys and the saw (!! I've been practicing my saw--I'm getting better at it!). Their music is sort of like out of a dream, there's really no other way I can attempt to describe it without getting all rambly and overly-corny. I just want to live in their world full of aeroplane goggles, taxidermy animals, unusual instruments, and French adventures in the forest.

One of the band members, Lorenzo Papace, takes these beautiful photographs on his own and recently just took some especially dreamy ones with the wonderful Pandora that I really wanted to share. (Isn't it amazing to see how sort of interconnected the whole Internet world is?!) I think they were taken on a Holga camera, which gets me even more excited to start taking pictures with my Holga that just came in the mail today!

All photos by Lorenzo Papace of Ödland

xx

In the Realms of the Unreal

2010-02-07T11:48:00.000-08:00

When I did that post about going to the MoMA with Katherine, I forgot to mention that we were able to see one of Henry Darger's pieces! He's been a real inspiration for me with his dreamlike aesthetic, unique techniques, and sort of detachment from what "should be." He created this entire other fantasy world and took everything in his head and put it in words (he wrote a book about the Vivian Girls and their war that's over 15,000 pages!!) and on paper.

For New Years Katherine and I watched a documentary on him called In the Realms of the Unreal. I would definitely recommend it--it was really interesting and it helped explain a lot of things about Darger's life. Plus, they interviewed people who knew him, which was really neat to hear. The only sort of strange thing was they animated his work, but Kat and I decided that that might've been something he would've liked anyway. It's available on Netflix to stream for free if you're a member!

xx

Bundlin' Up

2010-02-03T14:07:00.000-08:00

As many of you know, it has been a freeezzing cold winter, so I've been trying to come up with lots of different ways to stay warm without looking like a giant, bulky sweater. I've been wearing these awesome warm and thick socks almost every day now (which is why I'm kind of confused as to why they haven't made an appearance on here yet! And I have multiple pairs...it's not just the one!) and I think they sort of fit my whole girly-lumberjack inspiration as of late. Well, at least the lumberjack part. The other perfect solution I've had is this incredible cowl, hand knit by the amazing Tara-Lynn over at Yarn Over Movement on Etsy! It really is the greatest and it kinndaa makes me not hate the cold weather as much.

Headband, tights, skirt- UO
Cowl- Yarn Over Movement on Etsy
Plaid shirt- Liebemarlene Vintage on Ebay
Feedsack tote bag- Forest Bound on Etsy
Thick socks- Charter Club
Granny boots- vintage, from Ebay

xx

The Cat's Pajamas Vintage

2010-01-30T18:26:00.000-08:00

So, I never really did a formal post on my new Etsy store, The Cat's Pajamas Vintage! I started it over Christmas break, and at first it was just going to be a temporary thing, but now that I've got it all going I think I'm going to stick with it! Most of the things are pieces I either bought for myself over the internets that didn't fit or pieces that I don't give enough love and deserve better homes! I just updated the shop with a bunch more items this weekend--the photos above are just a small sampling! The photos below are some other less recently added items from my shop. Take a look--I really appreciate it!

The Old Book Shoppe

2010-01-27T11:37:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago Katherine and I found this incredible used book store that carries all sorts of really old and wonderful books for pretty cheap prices. When we got there we half expected (and hoped!) to see the store's name "The Old Book Shop" in big Old English type letters and 'shop' spelt with two 'ps' with an 'e' at the end. I also was hoping that the store owners would be those wonderful old-crazy-bookstore-owner types.

Well, the there weren't any fancy letters and 'shop' only had one 'p' and no 'e,' but the bookstore owners seemed to fit the idea I had in my head! The store itself is ridiculously overwhelming. You walk in and there are seriously just shelves and shelves of books, a bunch of them dating back to the early 1800s! Since our first visit we've gone back a few more times and I've picked up some real gems, including that "Reynard the Fox" book from the 1800s, an anatomy book from the 1800s (!!), and some children's mystery novels from the 1920s. Aside from books, though, they have a hugggee collection of old photos, postcards, and ephemera! One of my favorite things is collecting old photos and sifting through piles and piles of them to find the really special/strange ones. I think tintypes are my favorite type of old photo, but stereoviews come in a very close second! I first learned about them when Francesca did a post about some she found a little bit ago, and I've been searchin' for some ever since. The Old Book Shop has drawers and drawers of them!! Dream town. It was hard, but I went through and picked out my very favorites!

It's me! In the 1800s! Look at the sheeps!!

I did a quick internet search on her name, but unfortunately nothing came up--anyone know anything about her?

xx

Forest Bound

2010-01-21T13:55:00.000-08:00

By Alice of Forest Bound
My new Forest Bound bag arrived a week or so ago and I couldn't be happier! I swear, everything Alice makes is made from pure magic! Lately, especially, I've been wanting to dress up as a sort-of-girly-lumberjack. Everything from her store seems to fit this image I have in my mind that I'm probably not articulating very well and maybe only makes sense to me. From the paw necklace I recently bought, to her bags, and even a postcard she made...it all has been the perfect inspiration for me lately. Isn't that postcard beautiful? Anyway, this outfit is from a few days ago when it was all wet and rainy out--so, sorry about the boring background!

Headband and tights- UO
Brown shirt- H&M
Jumper- vintage, from Allen Company on Etsy
Paw necklace and feedsack tote- Forest Bound on Etsy
Oxford heels- Naturalizer

xx

A Place I'd Like to Live

2010-01-19T12:48:00.001-08:00

Towards the end of this past summer I stopped by Anthropologie and only ended up getting a book on art journaling, but fell completely in love with how they decorated the store. It's always so beautiful in there that even if you don't end up buying something it's still worth it just to be a part of their little magical world, if only for an hour or so. I re-did my room a bit this past summer, so I took some picture for some inspiration. My room didn't turn out nearly as lovely, but I suppose I'm always adding to it anyway! I think I want to add some of those hanging paper cranes (more so probably because of Summer's dreamy apartment in 500 Days of Summer...) and good golly if I had the monies that whale pillow would be mine in a second!! Anyway, wouldn't it be lovely to live in a place that looked like an Anthropologie store? Just strange old curiosities everywhere and pretty things like paper cranes floating from the ceiling.

Oh hello, dream pillow.
xx

Class of 2006

2010-01-17T10:02:00.000-08:00

Lately magazines haven't really been doing anything for me. I actually don't think I've even picked one up in a while, and if I did flip through one I don't remember it. But, there's this one editorial that I've loved ever since I saw it back in 2006 and it's still one of my favorites...which is pretty crazy considering my style is always changing a little bit and it has been four years! It's from an issue of UK Vogue and photographed by Paolo Roversi. I think I just love how soft all of the photos seem, the pretty pastel-ish colors, and especially old-timey feeling they all have. The styling is wonderful too--the light colors mixed with funny little extras like seahorse necklaces, suspenders, big necklaces, and crazy berets. I also like how they pair a pretty soft dress with a '70s t-shirt. Oh! And who couldn't love those cat eye glasses? So good! I wish I could pull them off that well!

Photos from this photostream

xx

Paw Necklaces and Fox Badges

2010-01-14T13:26:00.000-08:00

Headband and tights- UO
Striped shirt- H&M
'60s navy cashmere cardigan- vintage, from Ebay
Necklace- Forestbound on Etsy
Fox badge- Atlantic Treefox on Etsy
Corduroy skirt- vintage, from Liebemarlene Vintage on Ebay
Oxford heels- Etienne Aigner (Christmas gift from my mom!)

Two outfit posts in two days, not bad!! I'm super excited about this new necklace I bought from Alice over at Forestboud. I really don't wear jewelery that often with the exception of simple necklaces sometimes and the occasional ring. I have a feeling I might end up wearing this 'lil paw necklace everyday now, though! It's perfect! I also haven't taken off that fox badge from Atlantic Treefox since I bought it a few months ago. Ooh, I also bought the most amazing feedsack bag from Alice as well which will be makin' an appearance very soon!!

xx

Winter Blues

2010-01-13T12:54:00.000-08:00

Sorry it has been so quiet around here! I think I've been sufferin' a little from the winter blues. Now, don't get me wrong--I love the winter! The way the trees look when it snows, the idea of curling up by a warm fire reading a good book, hot chocolate! It's all good, but lately I think my outfits have been revolving more around being warm than anything else! And if my outfit does not consist of sweaters, thick socks, and granny boots it's too cold to go out and take a picture! It really has been the coldest, lately, and it doesn't seem like it's going to warm up any time soon! Enough bellyaching though--I'm going to try and brave the cold a bit more, and get some outfit posts going again!

For this one, I know there's practically an army of internet girls who own this dress, so I wasn't going to post a picture of me wearing it--but I was excited about my new vest and this dress looked just right with it! I never really thought of wearing a vest before this. It's not that I don't like them, but I never really noticed them. But, then I saw an especially lovely photo of Rhiannon wearing a vest and I realized how cute they can be! So, just clicking around Etsy the other day this vest showed up in one of my favorite sellers feeds, and good golly, how did I overlook vests before? Somethin' a little different than a cardigan!

Headband and tights- UO
Vintage knit vest- vintage, from Heart City Vintage on Etsy
Dress- H&M
Black oxford heels- Etienne Aigner (Christmas gift from my mom!)

Nine Favorite Finds from 2009

2009-12-31T13:05:00.000-08:00

I figured I'd jump on the bandwagon and put together a 2009 recap post for the new year. I decided to pick out my nine favorite vintage finds from the year, and oh dear, it was difficult! I'm sure I forgot some really wonderful ones, but I thought these were especially unique. Looking at them all, I have to say--2009 was definitely a good year when it came to finding old treasures! That said, I hope everyone has a wonderful new years eve and here's to a wonderful 2010!

1. 1920s/30s Gym Uniform: I found this one at my favorite local vintage store, Charisma 7, and couldn't believe it when I saw it. It has the most perfect little sailor collar and the inside tag has the original owner's name embroidered on it!

2. Tintypes: I've been especially obsessed with tintypes this year...I think they're my favorite form of old photo. The two tintypes from the middle to the right were both gifts for Christmas (I still need to do a post on Christmas things! Oh dear!), and the one on the far right is of a theatre troupe!

3. 1930s Sunglasses: These were another find from Charisma 7, and even though they kinndd of look a little funny on me, I love them so! They really are the quintessential '30s sunglasses. Plus, there's a picture of Bette Davis in a pair just like them!

4. 1920s Cub Scouts Ring: I got this little ring pretty recently on Etsy. I have a thing for anything Boy/Girl scout related, so I was super excited to find this! I don't usually wear rings, but I'm going to make an exception for this one!

5. 1920/30s Feedsack Blouse: I found this blouse in a not so great antique store nearby, so I was especially surprised to see it there! I really love all of the visible text on it. I'm not sure how/if I'll wear it yet, but it looks just as nice hanging on my wall for now!

6. 1900s Circus Freaks Photo: I've been dreamin' about finding a photo like this for the longgesst time, since I have a real interest in side shows, vaudeville, and old 'freak' shows. I got this one on Ebay, and I think the best part is that it's written on the back and it's from the Barnum and Bailey Circus!!

7. Pre-1930s Elephant Pin: I love this little fella! I bought him from the wonderful Sarah over at Mouse Trap Vintage on Etsy. He reminds me of vaudeville and circuses!

8. 20s/30s Boardwalk Photograph: My sister got me this photo for Christmas and I think it's probably one of the most wonderful old photos I've ever owned. I really love the idea of the Boardwalk during the 1920s and '30s and I always wish I could transport back to it!

9. WWII Sweetheart Pendants: Shucks. These really make my heart skip a beat. I especially love the old things I find that are really personal, and these two pendants take the cake! They're both also from Charisma 7, but the heart shaped pendant was a gift from my parents for Christmas. I'm already making up stories about the WWII soldiers and their sweethearts in my head!

Oh! And some pretty exciting news! I've opened up a little temporary Etsy shop !! I have quite a few things from over the internet that didn't work out, as well as some things from my closet that I don't wear nearly as much as I should! Check it out!

Happy New Year!

xx

Happy Holidays!

2009-12-24T20:19:00.001-08:00

I took this photo last year, so it's kind of cheating....but I think it's real cute, so I thought I'd use it again! Merry Christmas to everyone who celebrates it and happy holidays! I hope everyone has a wonderful day!!

xx

Swing Time!

2009-12-23T20:37:00.000-08:00

I've been the worst blogger lately!! I know I've said it before, but school's really been nutty! But, I'm finnallyy off for break so I'll definitely be updating the blog a lot more in the next week, and I'm going to *try* and update more frequently after, too! Plus, I think I have about two or three posts I've promised to do, but have never gotten to--those'll get done, too!

Since tomorrow's Christmas Eve I wanted to do a sort of holiday-related post. I've been so consumed with writing papers, studying, art, and music that it really hasn't felt like Christmas at all. But today I put on some old Christmas music, wrapped gifts, and relaxed and I finally am beginning to feel it! One movie that always gets me in the mood is Swing Time. It's not really a Christmas movie, but I always watch it around Christmas time and the scene where it is snowing always seems to get me in the spirit.

Plus, there's something about the wholesome, optimistic quality of all of the Fred and Ginger films that just seems especially right around the holidays. I'm going to watch it tomorrow, and Kat's going to come over to watch Carefree as well and exchange gifts! Even though it's a little delayed, I think I'm finally going to be in the Christmas spirit! Just in time, too!

I tried to find the video clip where Fred and Ginger sing "A Fine Romance" while they're in the snow and Fred does this silly thing where he flaps his arms like a penguin, but I couldn't find it! I did find this clip, though, that takes place during the snow scene!

All photos found via Google Images

xx

The MoMA and the Woods

2009-12-08T20:56:00.001-08:00

About a week before Thanksgiving Katherine and I went to the MoMA in New York for the day and found all sorts of inspiration--especially in the mixed media exhibits!! Of course, I had forgotten until the last couple of pieces that I could take a picture s'long as my flash was off. So, I only snapped a photo of the piece above by Robert Rauschenberg, but I think it's pretty wonderful. I also thought that wall with all of the eyes was the greatest thing--I want to do that to my walls! (Though, I think it'd get creepy pretty quickly!)

Headband and tights- UO
Cardigan- vintage, thrifted from Salvation Army
Dress- originally from A.P.C. madras, bought via Liebemarlene Vintage !
Purse- vintage Coach, thrifted from Salvation Army
Heeled boots- Jeffrey Campbell

We tried to take some photos in New York, but nothin' really looked that nice. Instead, we just ventured out into the woods again, which is quickly becoming my favorite place to take photos!

All photos by Kat! Thank you!

xx

Triple Dressings!

2009-12-03T15:01:00.000-08:00

Oh dear! It seems I've fallen terribly behind on my outfit posts of late (let alone my poor blog!). I've been taking the pictures (for the most part), but haven't had the time to post them. So, instead of falling even further behind I decided to do a big ol' triple outfit post! I really have to apologize for the inactivity around here, school's been rough! But, I have a post planned for the weekend...Kat and I went to the MoMA in NY before Thanksgiving and then took some pictures once we got home that I'm really excited about! Ooh, and Imma try and post some pictures of my recent Charisma finds! I hadn't been there in forever, and finally went a week or so ago and found some real gems--including a '20s/'30s gym blouse with a sailor collar!!

This outfit's from this week. I've been really excited about debuting these heeled boots of mine in an outfit post! I've had them sitting and waiting in my closet for a while now, and it has finally been chilly enough to wear them! They even have this warm sweater lining that's oh so nice! You'll be seein' lots more of them, I'm sure!

Headband, tights, and skinny belt- Urban Outiftters
Cardigan- vintage, thrifted from Salvation Army
Plaid flannel dress- H&M
Fox badge- Atlantic Treefox on Etsy (I love this 'lil guy!)
Heeled boots- Jeffrey Campbell

This is from a while ago when it was still all nice and fall-y out! The trees aren't even completely bare yet!

Headband, tights- Urban Outfitters
Girl Scout shirt- vintage, from 1385 on Etsy
Skirt- vintage, from Allen Company Inc on Etsy
Purse- vintage, thrifted Coach from Salvation Army
Jazz shoes- Seychelles

This is what I wore for Thanksgiving. We had a really nice Thanksgiving at home with some family and a few friends. Butternut squash soup, homemade cranberry sauce, vegetarian lasagna, pumpkin bread...oh dear! I hope you all had a nice Thanksgiving, too, for those of you in the US!

Feather headband (can't really see the feather)- Urban Outfitters
Shirt and tights- H&M
Corduroy jumper- vintage, from Etsy
Fox badge- Atlantic Treefox on Etsy
Oxford heels- Naturalizer

***Me again! My USB port is acting wonky, so I can't upload any pictures. But, I'm buying a new one tomorrow...so, I promise: new post for Monday!! I mean it!

xx

Boy Scouts of America

2009-11-23T20:43:00.000-08:00

In my last post I wrote that I found this reallly old Boy Scouts guide book at a garage sale (for 25 cents!). I sort of wish I could photograph every page--it's that good! It'd probably be a little ridiculous to do that, though, so I took pictures of some of my favorite pages instead! There isn't a date in it anywhere, but from the looks of the pictures, condition, and advertisements in the back I'm guessing it's from around the 1920s? Plus, the previous owner wrote notes and his information on the "Boy Scout certificate" inside!! Why do Boy Scouts seems so much cooler in the early and mid 1900s?!

xx

Findings and Things

2009-11-21T20:29:00.000-08:00

Oh dear...so it seems as a result of my lack of blogging (blame school!!!) I haven't really been able to share some of my recent findings and acquisitions! I decided to compile a whole bunch of them together after reading a post on some findings on Hannah's blog Hello Mr. Fox (which I've been in love with lately...such a wonderful blog!!!).

Tin types are definitely my favorite form of old photo. There's something sort of wonderfully creepy about them, and I just love how different they are from any other type of photo. I found this one over at my favorite local vintage shop, Charisma 7. The curlers came as a little extra with my purchase from Quincy's wonderful Etsy shop Q's Daydream Vintage ! And then the elephant pin is probably my most favorite purchase. He's perfect and wonderful in every which way and is most likely from around the '30s or earlier! He definitely reminds me of circuses, which really is the best. I bought him from the wonderful Mouse Trap Vintage on Etsy, also. Sarah sent along the incredible postcard of the two women as a little extra as well!

I found this photo at a local thrift store that just opened up a few months ago. Since it has opened I've bought a bunch of old photos like this one, a funny old fox hunting trumpet, an old doll, and some old bottles!

In October my town had the town wide garage sale, which was mostly a bust except for the sheet music I found and this one stop I went to! There were all sorts of really, really old books including this Boy Scouts one which didn't have a date inside, but from the advertisements in the back and the pictures I'm estimating it's from possibly the early 1900s? I took a whole bunch of photos of the pages inside, but there were so many I've decided I'm going to devote a post especially for it tomorrow, hopefully!

From 1934!

An old instruction booklet on building engines from WWII!

From 1917!

From the '20s, '30s, and '40s!

Most recently, Friday, Kat and I went to the Salvation Army and ended up bringing home a whole haul of old books! I took some pictures of my favorite find from the bunch. It's only the cover plus a few pages that somehow stayed with the book, though. The back cover isn't even there! But it seems really old and I think the cover is the most beautiful thing. Plus, look at that illustration! So good!

And finally, some more old photos I bought in a lot on Etsy!

xx

The Last of the Leaves

2009-11-11T13:55:00.000-08:00

Remember when I was writing about how beautiful all of the fall leaves were? Well, they've all pretty much fallen now and it has left me pretty sad. Thankfully, there are still a few spots of yellow here and there, but it just made me realize how quickly the winter days are coming! I don't want to get too ahead of myself yet (even though I have some boots I'm itching to wear with the colder weather and lots of big ol' sweaters!) because I still feel like eating things like butternut squash soup and cranberry sauce (the homemade kind!). Luckily, Kat and I got out to take some pictures before the leaves completely fell!

'40s teen dress- vintage, from the lovely Liebemarlene Vintage on Ebay (my new favorite fall dress!!)
Headband and tights-Urban Outfitters
Purse-vintage Coach, thrifted from Salvation Army
Shoes- Re-Mix Vintage

Photos by Kat!

xx

Found Drawings

2009-11-07T11:10:00.001-08:00

One of the dreamiest things I can think of finding tucked in between the deteriorating pages of an old book is a little drawing. There's something really special about finding an old doodle by some kid or little sketches drawn inside some girl's elementary school notebook. So far I've only found one doodle hidden inside an old book I've found, and it is already framed and hanging on my wall! But, I was browsing through the photostream of the always incredible Swapatorium2 and discovered a whole set of found drawings and doodles. I can't even imagine stumbling upon half of these! They make my heart beat a little faster!

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

. . .

All photos from Swapatorium2 ! More can be found in the set here

xx

Old Horror Films!

2009-10-30T18:23:00.000-07:00

When I got the TCM "Now Playing" guide in the mail for October I knew right away what I'd be doing for Halloween. Old horror films are the greatest and it seemed like the perfect excuse to watch a ridiculous amount of them in a row--I even got Kat in on it! I've been recording all of the old scary movies on TCM this month that sounded good (basically all of them) and tomorrow Kat and I are going to have a marathon!

First off, it wouldn't be a good horror film marathon without a Peter Lorre film! This one's from 1935 and is about a mad doctor who "grafts the hands of a murderer on to a concert pianist's wrists." Murders in the Zoo is from 1933 and is about a crazed zoologist that "uses animals to dispose of his wife's suitors." (Oh dear, and look at that lady's outfit! She looks perfect in every which way!)

The House on the Haunted Hill wasn't actually on TCM, I don't think, but it's one of my most favorites so I had to include it anyway! And then I'm really excited about The Unknown because it's directed by Tod Browning, who did Freaks. It's about this escaped killer who fakes being a side-show's armless wonder. If it's anything like Freaks, I'm sure it'll be really good!

The Mystery of the Wax Museum, from 1933, sounds especially creepy: "a disfigured sculptor turns murder victims into wax statues." Plus, it has Glenda Farrell in it! Then I guess I kind of cheated, because I watched The Old Dark House tonight as a sort of pre-marathon warm up and let me tell you, it was so good! It's from 1932 and these people get stuck in a storm so they ask to stay inside this strange house where the people there are crazy and one of them is locked in a room because he wants to set the house on fire. It's good, I promise!

Alright, I can't wait! I hope you all have a wonderful Halloween!

Most of the information about the films was taken from the TCM "Now Playing" guide.
All photos found via Google Images.

xx

Fallin' Leaves

2009-10-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

Plaid '70s shirt- vintage, from Liebemarlene Vintage on Ebay
Jumper- vintage, from Sally Jane Vintage on Etsy
Headband and tights- Urban Outfitters
Purse- vintage, thrifted Coach
Oxford flats- Jeffrey Campbell

There's this road that I take nearly everyday that goes past the reservoir then goes practically inside of the forest (it sounds a whole lot more obscure than it actually is). This past week was especially wonderful because as I drove through I was literally enveloped by all of the different colored trees and leaves. I've been waiting for a while for them to finally change, because when they do--boy oh boy! It really is the loveliest! There have been hints of color here and there, but it has only been in the past week or so that the trees have completely changed color. The sad part is, the leaves are already beginning to fall! Just a few days after that one drive last week I took the same route and the area seemed to have lost some of its color and effect. So, I wanted to get some pictures with the beautiful trees around here before the leaves really begin to fall!

All photos by Kat! Thank you!!

xx

Frankie: The Photo Album!

2009-10-25T20:45:00.000-07:00

I've been super excited about the Frankie Photo Album ever since I found out about it. The book is really wonderful and has the loveliest photographs...but what I've been most excited about is that one of the photos in the book is taken by my best friend Katherine, of me! I'm especially proud of her--she really deserves it! All of her photography is gorgeous and inspiring. It's also really nice that it is from something we did together...which probably sounds corny, but true!

You can check out Katherine's other incredible photos on her flickr here!

xx

Blogger Meet-Up With Rhiannon of Liebemarlene Vintage!

2009-10-24T13:54:00.001-07:00

Photo by Drew, and jazzed up by Kat!

When Rhiannon contacted me about meeting up in New York last Sunday since she was going to be there for a wedding and I live nearby I was super excited. Not to sound corny, but I sort of didn't feel like it was going to happen; that whole "too good to be true syndrome." Well, it did happen, and I still almost feel like it didn't for that same reason! It's funny, I thought I was going to be all sorts of awkward and nervous when I met her but the whole time it felt like we'd hung out a million times before and were old pals. Drew was awesome, too! He was really nice, and funny and didn't make me feel awkward one bit!

We walked (in the colldd and I was dumb and only wore a cardigan!) to a vintage store that I'd been to a few times before when I've gone into the city and we both sort of half-ran over to the '20s, '30s, and '40s section. Of course, everything was ridiculously overpriced, but the dresses were still fun to see! Rhiannon spotted this adorable little pink floral '20s dress, and and few other dresses that reminded us of something out of a Busby Berkely musical, and I spotted a couple perfect little feed sack dresses that made me sad the price tags weren't just mean jokes. Since we couldn't buy anything we decided to secretly try on some dresses and take illegal pictures while Drew sort of unintentionally distracted the mean faced employee who just decided to sit down and chat with him. Rhiannon also found this incredible Biba-esque '60s dress that looked as sweet as can be on her--too bad it was $250 on sale!! After we broke enough store rules we ran outta there and went on a hunt for food.

I had planned to take them to this cute little cafe, but of course it was closed when we got there. So, we ended up getting soup, chips, sandwiches, and hot food at a Whole Foods and snuck inside a nearby Jamba Juice to eat at one of their tables. We got to chat lots while we were there about blogging--of course--and catch up on all sorts of other things. Then we went to Borders, which is sort of a favorite place among all of us, and Drew found the newest Lula for me with his super-magical-Lula Magazine-finding-powers!

I hadn't really checked the time while we were together because I figured if I pretended we still had plenty of time to hang out that we would, but of course that wasn't the case! We ran to catch my bus, which I didn't make, so instead we took a whole bunch of silly photos while we waited for the next one. Once it was time to actually go it really was the worst and I wish I had missed my bus again! And the one after that, too.

Photo by Drew, and jazzed up by Kat!

xx