A Red Striped Skirt

I've had a piece of red and white striped cotton sitting atop my fabric stash for about three months now, tempting me, but I've been going back and forth over what to do with it. A skirt? A sundress? A 1940s playsuit for Savannah trips? I finally decided that if I was sparing, I would have just enough to make both a skirt and a sundress from it. So I went ahead and made the skirt yesterday. It turned out pretty well, but all I had in my scrap bag was muslin to line the wide, high waistband, and I am regretting that today as I wear it. The waistband has a tendency to get wrinkled and it's also a little bit too big. I don't know why lately I keep fitting everything to my dress form (who is about two inches wider) instead of me! I think it's pure summer laziness - it's a lot easier to just pin everything to her instead of going to all the trouble to change clothes and then fumble about pinning things to myself. But it all worked out and I'm still pretty happy with it.

So today I put on my shiny new skirt and we wandered around a bit, enjoying the beautiful sky (dark clouds with contrasting sunlight) and finding quiet alleys to stroll down, away from the busy rush of cars and people.

Heidi braids are my staple hairstyle, as they are easy and keep my hair up and out of the way all day long!

We met another charming bee today, while he was chowing down on some tasty looking purple flowers.

Red doors!

Cotton Eyelet Top - Tjmaxx
Red Striped Skirt - Handmade by me
Sandals - Target
Bag - Vintage John Romain, thrifted
Bracelet - Vintage, from my late grandmother

Have a happy friday!

I'm Charmed

The lovely Ashley Louise from Yammering Muse has given me a blog award! I am so very flattered, and it is such a reminder to me of how much I appreciate those of you who read my little ramblings. I often wish that blogspot had some sort of feature (does it?) where I could reply to your comments individually. Each and every one of your comments mean so much to me. I always come away inspired to make this blog better and more interesting. So, thank you!

Tuesday's Lovely Finds - Aprons!

I've had quite a bit of luck finding nice aprons lately. You may not know this, but I love a good apron. My collection is shamefully big considering how little I really, truly cook. (we usually eat at home, but big meals and baking are usually limited to a couple of days a week) But I can't turn my back on those sweet little confections of made of pretty vintage fabric, usually looped clumsily in a corner or piled underneath 1970s linens in a basket at some flea market or antique mall. And while I may blether about my lack of truly cooking, I do use them. They come quite in handy for keeping my dresses tidy while I do the dishes and keep the flour off while whipping up a quick batch of scones.

So, I thought today I'd share with you a few recent additions to the collection.

This hostess apron has the most amazing and flattering waistband! I am so inspired to make a skirt with the same kind of waistband. This little one is going into the shop. I'm sad to let it go, but I truly believe that someone else needs this apron more than I do.


This has quickly become a staple in my kitchen, mainly because it is the first full apron I've ever bought. (I know, what kind of apron collector am I?) I love the mint green stripes and pink hearts with the eyelet trim. It's so quaint!


I found this at a recent estate sale. It was love, but was determined that it should go into the shop. As it would turn out, I overlooked a couple of faint but large stains in the haste of the estate sale. Sooo, I guess I'll have to keep this one after all... ;)


I picked this one up on Sunday. I think I am on a bit of a yellow and white gingham kick lately. When I was a baby, my nursery was yellow and white gingham because my parents didn't know if I would be a boy or a girl, so they chose something in the middle. I rather think that worked out alright, since yellow has always been one of my favourite colours. (this one will also be going into the shop)


And this one isn't quite so recent, but I wanted to show it off anyway because it's so much fun! Who wouldn't want an apron with little Austrian people and an Austrian recipe on it? Yes, I know it's tourist tack, but I've always felt (and I came to this conclusion at the age of nine when we lived in eastern Europe for a year and spent a few holidays in Austria) that Austrian tourist tack is the best.


So there you have it, a very small part of my ever-growing apron collection. Perhaps some day I will show you more! (and perhaps I will have acquired more to show you!)
I am now off to finish the handful of projects I started this evening. That includes:

- Finish cleaning out my sewing bag (wreckage as seen below)
- Try to save a vintage skirt that that, upon handwashing, began bleeding the most horrendous black dye. It is now sitting, dripping in my bathtub while I try to figure out what to do with it next. (Add "Clean bathtub" to the list)
- Organizing my prints, business receipts, and other dull business-y things in my fancy new file cabinet.

New things in the shop...

It's been one of those weird, dragging days where I feel like there are a million things to do (our apartment is not nearly as tidy as I would like, and I also need to start packing and organising things for the move) and a million things I want to do (I really want to sew, and I have lots of ideas for paintings) but I don't have the energy or motivation to do them. It has been so hot lately, all I want to do is drive up to the mountains and think about autumn and pumpkin festivals and woollen kilts. Indeed, those I am sure will come soon enough.

Anyways, enough of that! I have added a few new things to the shop on this Monday evening. All very different items, but all lovely in their own right!

Blue Liberty Print Skirt

The Madeline Dress

Red 1940s Inspired Dress

The Miami Sundress

That's it for now. Have a wonderful evening!

A Civil War Cemetery

Today we decided to wander over to a nearby civil war era cemetery. It was a bit bright and the photos ended up a little more washed out than we had hoped, so we may return for a follow-up some time at a time of the day when the light isn't so intense. My outfit was a little tea party-ish for the occasion as well (it was impromptu!) so next time perhaps I'll try a slightly more somber outfit. :) But still, it was quite fun. I always love to come back here, because I always find new little corners and headstones that I may not have noticed before. This, interestingly, was the site Patrick brought me to for our first date. I love being able to tell people that we went to a cemetery for our first date. Late at night, no less!


The photo below was taken in the "Slave Lot". It's probably the most broken down corner of the cemetery, which makes me sad. Yet at the same time, it's one of the prettiest. It also has the most magnificent magnolia tree!

We met a friendly bee along the way...a charming little chap, he was!

Blue Cotton Print Dress - Handmade by me
Vintage White Flowered Hat - Antique mall
Shoes - the old beat up Target ones, again

Photos by Patrick!

An Outfit for Art

For lack of anything better to post today, here is today's outfit. For sitting at the coffee shop with my sketchbooks and inspiration books, and a soy chai latte. I've been inspired by Ashley's and Casey's recent yellow and black ensembles, so I decided it a spin for myself.

Yellow Gingham Blouse - TJmaxx
Black Skirt - Vintage, thrifted
Shoes - beat up old ones from Target :)
Sketchbook - Barnes & Noble

Goodbye, Flickr...

I'm not sure anyone cares, but I just wanted to let you guys know that I have deleted my Flickr account. (and engage in a rare little...rant? I hate to call it that, but I'm afraid no other word will do!) I do enjoy Flickr (wardrobe remix is such a great source of inspiration and as a historical costumer there are many resources there), but there are a lot of sickos out there and I'm getting a little weirded out by random strange men favourite-ing my photos. I post photos of my outfits and vintage finds to inspire other women, like so many who have inspired me, with modest, pretty, vintage clothing styles, not to attract the attention of weirdos! I know I am not the only one who has had to come to this decision, and it's really sad that Flickr seems to be so overrun with pervy fetish seekers.
I do take comfort in the fact that my husband is extremely tall and robust and stays in excellent shape. ;)

Perhaps I'll start a new account sometime and only allow contacts to view my photos, so I will let you know if I should do that.

Enough of that weirdness - have a lovely afternoon!

Summer Picnic!

We've been having the most exquisite weather in Georgia lately, so we decided to take advantage of it and go on a grand picnic in our favourite historic battlefield park. It was quite an adventure getting there, though. They were doing roadworks all around the perimeter of the park (it's a very large state park, in case you're wondering) and they had most of our usual parking areas blocked off.
We did finally find a nice field with a nearby parking area and followed the trail, only to discover that it had not been mowed in a very long time - the grass was almost as tall as Patrick (over 6'3"!) in some places. Once we found a spot where the grass was matted enough to put our blanket down, we realised that there were grasshoppers everywhere! I have never seen so many grasshoppers in my life. Fortunately, I don't mind them too much as long as they don't startle me.


Despite the strange elements to the afternoon, we did have a lovely time. My little vintage picnic basket was full of delicious veggie sandwiches, our favourite picnic fare.


I brought out my little Scottish boater, though it doesn't really do too much to keep the sun out. (being that it is Scottish, there is no need to keep the sun out, because there is no sun there!)



I definitely wish we could do this more often. We take picnics quite often in the spring and early fall, but in the summer here it is just too hot most of the time!

So, with that behind me, I am off to work on the shop for the rest of the evening. If any of you are by chance looking for an adorable small vintage gingham swimsuit (as most people are, right?), I'll be listing one later this evening in the shop. I purchased it for myself from another seller on Etsy and sadly it didn't quite fit, so it needs a new home! Have a lovely evening!

Distracted Sundays

A bit of a brief post for today, as I was out for most of the day and have been a bit distracted with work since I got home. Being out of town for a week and then ill for the past couple of weeks has set me a bit behind in my big plans of adding new items to the vintage shop, and my recent mention on the Etsy Storque has brought about an unexpected surge in art sales (which is such an incredible blessing!), so I've been trying to catch up with all of that! So rather than a lengthy post, I thought I'd show you one of the skirts from my trip out west. I bought this with a few other cotton printed skirts from the 40s/50s at a little antique shop in rural Texas. I'm undecided about whether to keep or put this one in the shop, though, because it fits me and I need more skirts to go with all of the white cotton blouses I've collected. The print is a bit bolder than I am used to, but it's faded and mellow enough to suit my taste I think. Either way, I gave it a spin today!

White cotton blouse - Primark (not sure if I should admit that, but it's true)
Vintage skirt - handmade, rural Texas antique shop
Vintage belt - Laura Ashley, thrifted
Sandals - Target

Anyway, that's it for this evening. I'm off to rest and watch more of the Little Dorrit miniseries which I've recently gotten hooked on, so have a lovely Sunday evening!

A Little Black Book

Since I've been trying to take it easy and fully recover this week, I've ended up spending a lot of time strolling around antique malls. I find wandering around those large places filled to the brim with all sorts of oddities, from huge antique wardrobes that are wider than my bedroom to the tiniest box of postcards, very peaceful. Usually I go during the daytime, so I am often one of the only people there and I find that the lovely shopkeepers are more than happy to give me first dibs on fresh estate items that they haven't put on the floor yet. So, during yesterday's wandering, I stumbled across this little black book.



Or, I should say, it seemed like a little book. Rather, it was a tiny little picture album containing one photo. I slowly opened it, expecting to see a stout man from the 1920s or something to that degree. But no...not quite. Instead, there was a girl. A very curious, interesting girl. The main thing that struck me about her was her glasses! I haven't seen too many pre-1930s photos of girls in glasses, so I am quite charmed. Indeed, everything about this photo - the hair, the dress, the flowers, the Mona Lisa smile - is just perfect in my mind. She has so much character. I think she was just waiting to be found, hidden inside that album underneath a stack of tintypes and photos.



What do you think her name is?

As for me, my outfit wasn't quite as brilliant as hers, but it was nonetheless practical and breezy for wandering around in and later hanging out with my husband at our favourite little coffee shop for Friday night music and a cup of Earl Grey.

White muslin blouse - Tjmaxx
Vintage skirt - thrifted
Sandals - Target
Vintage beaded necklace - my grandmother's

That little red necklace has a little bit of a backstory to it. I've had it since I was five - it was one of the few things I was given when my grandmother died. It's just a cheap little set of plastic beads, but how they have been loved. I've worn them everywhere from the Maasai Mara in Kenya to hip clubs in London, and just about everywhere in between. Those cheap little beads. Now they carry not only the memory of my grandmother, but the memories of my travels with them. It's funny how such small, seemingly unassuming objects can take on such meaning over time.

(I apologise if I am sounding nostalgic and rambly today - perhaps it is the euphoria one gets when they start feeling like a human being again after having been ill!)

Etsy Storque Mention, Cottage Style!

I know I am a dork, but I am so excited to be mentioned on the Etsy Storque blog! Emily Bidwell chose some absolutely stunning cottage-inspired pieces and she included my Miss Austen print! I'm very flattered because the other selections are just beautiful and very inspiring to me, especially right now as I am preparing to move and making plans for decorating a whole house (as opposed to my little apartment) and have always adored the cottage/shabby chic style. If you are interested, you can read the article here:

Etsy Finds: Cozy Cottage

1949 Ladies Home Journal Flip-Through

As promised yesterday, I thought I'd share some pictures from the August 1949 copy of the Ladies Home Journal with you. I didn't actually end up having time to properly read through it yesterday, but I couldn't resist nosing through it to see the pictures and all those wonderful ads! I'm sorry the photos aren't amazing - my scanner is teensy and this magazine is quite huge, so I had to photograph everything rather than scan.



I just love the kilt! I think this is for a collegiate-inspired editorial.




Fabulous black suits! The pockets on the first one remind me of the ones on that blue dress I found while I was travelling. So structured - the clothing is very architectural.




A gorgeous white blouse from a Vogue Patterns ad.



A peek inside a 1940s refrigerator! I think I spy some Pyrex...



Some examples of the latest in interior design in the summer of 1949.




I hope you enjoyed these and got a little bit of inspiration out of them, even if just a little bit of humour from the ads/interiors!

Tuesday's Lovely Finds - Hat Tricks

Thank you all for the incredibly sweet comments! You are such dears. I'm slowly but surely recovering (I think) - enough at least that I managed to get out of the house for some low-impact strolling (my muscles are still so weak, I can't manage much else at the moment) around an antique mall that I have recently discovered. I cannot tell you how many times I've driven by this store and not gone in because I thought it was more geared towards "interior decor" than actual antiques. But indeed, it's been a pleasant surprise. I have especially had good luck with hats there, so today's Tuesday finds are going to be focused on the many lovely hats that have come into my life in the past two weeks. (I do hope I don't look too pasty and tired in these photos!)

I found this adorable boater-type hat (not quite a proper one - but so very cute!) last week and have been itching to show it off. It looks so much like something I imagine the Brodie set, from Muriel Spark's book The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, would have worn - tipped individually according to the wearer. This is going into the shop, because I already have my own wonderful boater. (which someday I will show you - it is a real Scottish ladies boater! Patrick also has a very fabulous gentleman's boater from Meyer the Hatter in New Orleans which I will share with you sometime) It's freshly listed here.



Alas, here is the long-awaited detail of that wonderful cherry hat that I told you all about when I came home from my road trip. I am still trying to figure out what just the right outfit for this hat will be. It's such a statement piece, yet I feel like a red dress might wash it out a bit. I'm not sure.



Another one of my Texas finds, this wonderful little white pillbox. Despite my huge hat collection, I do have a surprisingly lack of good pillbox style hats. I knew right away when I saw this one that it had to be purchased. I mean it's a white eyelet pillbox with bows! I'm still undecided as to whether I should keep it or put it in the shop though. I feel like this hat really wants a matching late 1950s/early 1960s knee-length wedding dress.



The glamorous blue velvet lady! I love the white pearl detail on this one. Unfortunately the blue didn't quite show up on camera, so you will have to take my word for it when I say what a lovely shade of royal blue it is.



A sweet little flower bonnet, also from Texas. The flowers and netting need a little love, but isn't it the loveliest shape?



And last but not least, today's antique mall find, the "Very Lana Turner" hat. Yes, it is the "Very Lana Turner" hat. Even the dealer's tag said so. This was a bit of a splurge for me, because I do tend to be a bit of a cheapskate when it comes to hats. (really, when you buy them as often as I do, I have to enforce some price limitations otherwise I'd go broke from my little habit!) But it was just so delicious and glamorous. I couldn't resist. The rhinestone detail is my idea of perfection. I do hope that I find a place to wear this one soon. It really must be worn out!



That is all for now. I also purchased a 1949 edition of the Ladies Home Journal today, so I shall be settling in to peruse that and perhaps later I will post some pictures from it. Have a nice Tuesday evening!

Under the weather...

I do apologise for the silence here over the past several days. I've been a bit under the weather and have been admittedly avoiding computer screens and keyboards so as to give my achy head and my achy muscles a rest. I will be back with plenty of good stuff once I successfully obliterate this illness. Indeed, it is doubly worse since the weather has been quite lovely and not too hot. So until I feel a little better, I shall leave you a little bit of inspiration with a Pre-Raphaelite feel. Alice Liddell, the namesake for Alice in Wonderland, as photographed in her early adulthood by my favourite photographer, the wonderful and talented Julia Margaret Cameron...

Tuesday's Lovely Finds

As promised, I am finally going to try and post photos of many of the fabulous vintage items I've found both here in Georgia and while on the road. I think I need to just go ahead and make a weekly segment out of it (what about every Tuesday? We'll see how well I can stick to that!) since I am constantly finding great things but they don't necessarily fit a certain theme.

So, let's begin, shall we? I know some of you may remember my mentioning a fabulous brown 1950s jacket with rhinestone buttons not long before I went out of town. This little handmade lovely is in stunning condition and it is in a larger size. I know a lot of my friends have expressed to me their frustration at not finding enough pretty vintage items in larger sizes. Well, this absolutely falls into the pretty category. I am so in love with the glamorous buttons and the pretty details like the faux pockets and sweetly cuffed elbow length sleeves. I just know that this was intended for a sexy pencil skirt (black?) and some wonderful high heels. And yes, it's heading into the shop very soon as well as a number of other wonderful 1950s items.



Next up, a pair of late 1930s/early 1940s dresses found baking in the stiflingly hot and humid back room of a north Texan antique shop. The dresses are both a sad state, but my bleeding heart ("I cannot leave these here to continue rotting. MUST SAVE!") could not let them go, so I bartered with the shop owner and got them for $5 and $9, respectively. I paid too much for the $9 one, but that is just me being cheap. Six Woolite baths (EACH) later, they are free of the ookyness and hopefully that wasn't rat pee... but they still have some problems. The apricot one is actually quite wearable, though the shoulder pads need replacing (they're dried up and er...crunchy) and it has some weird sun-fading in places. The blue one is definitely a little sadder, but may yet be wearable. One day. But look at those pockets!



I also wanted to share some of the photos and ephemera that I collected while travelling in Oklahoma and north Texas. I especially love perusing through boxes of old photographs. The antique store where I purchased these two ladies had a very cute little sign posted next to the box of photos that said "Need ancestors? Pick your own!!". When I took the photos up to the counter to pay, the old man running the store teasingly asked me if I had found myself some ancestors. I replied that I had chosen the prettiest and most stylish ladies so that I could tell everyone that my ancestors were knockouts with a sense of style. ;)

I love this girl's dress, and she is so pretty too. Perhaps it is a photo taken to send to her sweetheart who is off in WWI?


I am always drawn to Victorian photographs. I think it is a combination of the clothes, the colouring, and the general oldness of them. To think that photography had not been around all that long when these were taken is quite extraordinary to me. I also love that she is smiling! I don't often come across people smiling in such old photos, so it is a sweet touch.



And last but not least, my little expat's guide to Weisbaden, Germany! I stumbled across this in the book section of an antique shop, and picked it up mainly because of the bizarre pinup girl walking a turkey on a leash. Indeed, I think that would get anyone's attention, don't you agree? As it turned out, it was the November (Thanksgiving) issue of a little booklet that was published for American servicemen and their families living in Germany. Very cool! It is especially interesting to me, as someone who has been an expat, to have a look into what expat life was like back in 1956 Germany. The magazine is full of bad jokes, German business ads with awkward English, and updates on American trends. Did you know that in November 1956, shoes with pastel soles were en vogue?

Tea Parties and Hats

I do apologise for not writing more this weekend, but it has been quite a whirlwind! I barely had a chance to catch my breath from the roadtrip before I was thrust into July 4th celebrations and tea parties and all of the baking that accompanied those events.

Yesterday's tea party went very well, and much delicious food and fun was had by all. Since the tea was fancy dress up (hats required) I decided to dress around my hat. I found a fantastic little 1930s cloche a few months back that has been waiting for the perfect outing. It's a little bit misshapen, so it required more than a few hat pins to secure it so that it sat smoothly on my head, but in the end it worked out and was very worth the many treacherous hat pins.


To go with my hat, I chose a little black cotton 1930s-inspired dress that I made myself back in April. The collar is vintage, and I really think it is one of the most beautiful collars I have ever seen. It has such a lovely aged colour to it and a wonderful exaggerated shape. I think it suits the simple black dress perfectly.


I made my tiny whole wheat scones by special request from the in-laws. It's a delicious and very easy recipe, so if you are interested in trying it, it's posted here.


And for the record, I really will post better photos of all those fabulous vintage finds I've had from the last couple of weeks, and I promise that I will try to do it soon! :)

Farm Life

Hello, all! I am back from the big mother/daughter roadtrip to Oklahoma '09, laden with many antique and vintage finds from southern Oklahoma and Texas. Clothing-wise, it wasn't quite as successful as I was hoping (many wonderful items, but most were both damaged and very overpriced considering, so I had to pass on a number of pretties), but I did end up with a few nice things. I came across a wealth of beautiful cotton printed skirts from the 1950s and scooped all of them up. I am still deciding which ones to keep and which ones to sell. I am fiendish about vintage cotton skirts, so I was pretty excited to find those. I also found several hats that struck my fancy! (not a hard thing to do, and not a moment too soon for the tea party that my sister-in-law and mother-in-law are throwing on Sunday!)

Here's a tiny preview of what I found...


Yes, ladies, that is a 1950s sunhat with cherries on it. Actually, the hat is period, the cherries are not. But it was still darn cute for $4! As well as the clothing items, I will share more details about some of the ephemera I collected at a very interesting antique bookstore once I get some better photos of everything.

Meanwhile, I will share a few photos with you of my grandparent's farm. One of the things I love most about visiting them is being surrounded by nature, even if it is tended and worked as a farm. They are so far from the city (at least three hours from a large city) that there is very little pollution, so it is always nice to clear my lungs. And of course my grandfather is an avid and devoted farmer (Up at 5am and works sun up to sun down! Not much of a retiree, is he?) so the table is always full of fresh picked organic veggies! (as a vegetarian, I never have any problem eating there!) Though, every time I go out there I do realise what a city girl I am (I can't help it, I am a hyperactive personality and tend to get bored very quickly if I don't have anything to do!) and how much my years living abroad make me stick out like a sore thumb when we venture into the tiny nearby town. But small doses of the farm life are quite nice and pastoral. Here is a sampling of some of the highlights of the trip.

My favourite tree on the farm...and it's hay bail season! While I was there someone came and hauled all 68 bails off (it took about four trips)




Three generations of ladies - me, my mother and my grandmother shelling purple hull peas (like black eyed peas) on the back porch...I felt like I had been lost in another era.


Beautiful cabbage in my grandmother's front garden.


Lovely apples growing in the orchard.


I'm still recovering from the long drive and have a pretty busy weekend ahead of me (July 4th and Sunday tea), but I will try and post more pictures of my hats and skirts by Sunday evening. (hopefully!) I hope you all have a very happy July 4th!