ASOS, old navy, OOTD, peplum, stella and dot, vintage

Casual Reception

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Top: ASOS Jeans: Old Navy Shoes: Thrift Cardigan: Vintage Necklace: Stella and Dot
             The daughter of an old friend of my mom’s got married  in mid september and had a low key reception in a local park. Randomly it happened to coincide with my first Saturday off in what seemed like forever. I figured it’d probably be pretty casual, and I was definitely over dressed, but I wanted to dress up a little and I finally had an occasion to wear this top. I couldn’t resist.  It was too cold to wear just the top so I threw my favorite fall/winter cardi on top. I seriously need more cashmere in my life, but it’s soo expensive. I mean on J crew it’s almost $200.00 for one sweater, way out of my price range. I guess I’ll have to keep a look out at the thrifts. Anyway I love this look, I’ve worn it a few times since and I always feel good in it. I also love any occasion when I can sport my favorite necklace.  I seriously need more events to wear my “fancier” clothes.

2012, haul, junk bonanza, thrift haul, vintage

Junk Bonanza

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source

 Last year my mom and I found about a local event called the Junk Bonanza. It’s basically just a big bi-annual antique,vintage, retro, and re-purposed three day shopping event.  We found some good stuff at pretty decent prices last year so we decided to go again this year. I had to work the first two days of the event but Saturday I closed so I had some time to browse and shop. We got there around 11/12 and the place was pretty packed. Things were pretty congested when we got through the gates but it got better as we went. This year it seemed like a majority of the booths had  re-purposed and/or shabby chic type items. Those items were ok but they’re not really my style. The shabby chic stuff is a lot of painted furniture (mostly in white, grey and pastels), a distressed look (real or faux, genearlly faux), and florals. It’s generally pretty feminine.

Example of a Shabby Chic-ish booth. loved the blue jay picture

 The re-pourposed stuff is kinda cool. There were definitely some really cool re-purposed items, but generally I like things to be kept the way they were.

Baseball bats and balls re-purposed into American flag wall art.

 There were definitely some serious trends going on. The “paint something with chalkboard paint” trend has apparently taken off like a rocket, there was a whole booth full of stuff painted with chalkboard paint.  Every time I saw chalkboard paint I thought of the Portlandia sketch “Put a bird on it!” except it would be “make it into a chalkboard!.” I don’t hate that trend, It’s just not for me. I’m not a huge fan of the look of a dusty chalkboard (you know after you erase whatever’s on the chalkboard) and constantly wiping down something seems like it’d be annoying. But I have seen it done really well. Anyway there were also a lot of vintage biology posters for sale. I like them but I’d like to find one super cheap, preferably in a thrift store.

some vintage biology posters for sale

There seemed to be a lot fewer antique/vintage booths, which was kind of a bummer. There were a few cool booths, one in particular was really cool with lots of mid-century stuff. My favorite booth had this slightly creepy monkey blowing bubbles that I kind of wish I had bought.

He’s kind of ragged and creepy, yet adorable. I mean he’s blowing bubbles!!! aww. 

 There was also a cool Heywood Wakefield side table in that booth that was cool but I didn’t see the price on it. There was also this really cool giant malt mixer.

I have to admit I kind of wish I had gotten this guy. His face is so funny and very expressive. But he wasn’t in the greatest condition. Maybe next time. 

 I love old portraits, I thought these were pretty cool. Look at all the cool 40’s (?) hairstyles!

You don’t see many plus-size mannequins, so I thought this was pretty cool.  But, if I read the tag right they wanted like $1000.00 dollars for it, way outta my price range.

 This sign was really cool too. I love the colors, but it was a tad out of my price range. But, it’s from a local vintage store so If I start to obsess I can always go there and see if they still have it, or some other cool signs.

 A cool mid-century light. I love mid-century lights but now that I have a few I’m looking for lights that are a little more unique/cool or that I can’t live without. The lights in this booth were cool but fairly similar to the lamps I already have.

Anyway,  we walked around for a bit and saw some cool stuff but nothing we couldn’t live without. So after  we made the rounds and saw all the booths we left empty handed. It was fun to see all the stuff people had for sale and some of the re-purposed stuff. But, I didn’t see anything really unique. Most of the stuff I saw has been trendy on a lot of design/ vintage blogs for awhile. But it’s always fun to see cool vintage stuff. I have kind of a hard time at vintage/antique type stores. They have lots of cool stuff, but for me one of the best parts of getting vintage stuff is finding it in a thrift store or at an estate sale. There’s just a high you get when you find it “in the wild” that you don’t get in antique malls. But antique fairs/malls etc are great for finding stuff that is harder to find in thrifts like vintage lamps, some vintage furniture and signs. There are also some vintage/antique stores that have pretty good prices. But in antique fairs/malls you just don’t get that same high and I always think in the back of my head that I cold find that item for cheaper in a thrift store. Nonetheless I do love browsing antique/vintage stores, though it can be a bit overwhelming, even if I don’t tend to buy as much.  All in all it was a pretty good time and we’ll probably be back next year.

         

haul, pyrex, shoes, thrift, thrift haul, vintage

Thrift/Estate Sale Haul

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       One of my New Years resolutions was to read more, I’m even trying to do the 50/365 challenge this year (read 50 books by the end of the year) so I’ve been going to the library a lot more recently. Since I’ve been going out randomly during the week to return or pick up books from the library, I decided to visit some thrift stores while I’m out and about. I don’t expect to buy things and mostly just browse to see if I can find anything cool during the week. I haven’t really found anything amazing yet but I have found a few good things. I did though find a semi-cool mid century side board but it seemed cheap-ish so I passed on it and then I saw it on a local vintage re-seller’s facebook page. I’m not sure if I regret it. It did seem cheapish, it didn’t have a lot of storage, but it was kind of cool. I dunno next time I find some cool furniture I’ll definitely be thinking about it more. Anyway here are some of the things I’ve found in the last few weeks from thrift stores and estate sales.

      One of the pretty sweet things I found recently was this Green Wheat Pyrex dish. Though I didn’t find the cradle or lid it originally came with, It’s probably my favorite Pyrex find so far. It’s a little scratched and isn’t exactly mint, but it’s so pretty! Now I just have to find the lid and cradle it originally came with.

           
            I also found some cute vintage shoes! I don’t have any qualms about buying shoes from a thrift store, I’m not much of a germ-a-phoebe and as long as they’re in good shape I’m willing to buy. The only problem is there seems to be a lot fewer shoes at thrift stores in my size. So far I’ve only found two pairs of shoes (these included) at a thrift store. This can be kind of annoying since I’ve found some designer shoes, mostly Salvatore Feragamo, in thrift stores but they’ve all been too big. Anyway I found these nude (vinatge?) pointy toe shoes a couple weeks ago and kind of love them. The pointy toe classic pumps have been all over the runways of late, and I really like the way they look. They have a nice classic silhouette and the heel isn’t too high so I can wear them more often.
  

       I’ve also found some good things at Estate sales. I had seen this snack set at another estate sale a couple months ago but it was gone when I got there. So, when I saw that this snack set was still available at a recent estate sale I had to get it. I like the cool retro floral design on it. I think the “flowers” kind of look like a certain weed though, which is fitting since I bought it on 4/20.

At the same estate sale I found this Early American small Pyrex mixing bowl.

That’s all for now. Until next time, Happy Thrifts!

 

coastal contacts, gifted, glasses, OOTD, polka dots, thrift, vintage

Dot-ing it and Dot-ing it and Dot-ing it well

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Photo bombed by Tang yet again


Top & Pants : Thrifted Cardigan: Vintage Boots: Gifted
        The weather has gotten colder in recent weeks, well not really “cold” as it’s normal temps for April, cold in the sense that we had highs in the 70’s just a few weeks ago. Anyway this “cold” snap has allowed me to show you some of the cold weather outfits I didn’t have the chance to Blog earlier this year. I’d been dying to debut this outfit for a while, I conceived of it while watching the Nate Berkus show last year. Nate had a fashion-y person on who put together an outfit using camel and polka-dots. While watching I though hey I have something like that! Unfortunately my lovely polka-dot shirt is a tad bit short and I was in need of high waisted jeans to pull off the look. Luckily I thrifted these pants a couple months ago and was finally able to live out my outfit in real life. I have to admit I’m pretty happy with how the outfit turned out. I got the top a year or so ago but haven’t really been able to wear it. It’s a bit short and it kind of has a peplum at the bottom. The shortness of the shirt means that the peplum hits at a rather unflattering place, on the tummy. So the best ways I’ve found to wear it is tucked in or under a cardigan/blazer. Despite it’s limitations I’m still in love with the shirt and will be wearing it a lot more this summer. I know you’re probably sick to death of this cardigan but I love it, so I can’t help adding it to outfits when it’s cold. It’s a perfect neutral color and it’s cashmere so it’s incredibly soft and warm. Every time I wear it I think I need to add more cashmere to my wardrobe. Anyway  I’ll try and do more outfits without the cardigan and if that doesn’t work I obviously won’t be sporting this cardi in the summer. 
         I wore this outfit to go pick up a copy of The Hunger Games from the library and check out some thrift stores. I finally got a super savers card, I tried to do it earlier but my printer wasn’t cooperating that day. Anyway I go to savers regularly so I might as well receive some of the benefits that go with the super savers card. I still haven’t seen the Hunger Games movie, but plan to soon. I just started the book, it’s a pretty easy read and think I’ll finish it soon. Oh and you may have noticed I got new glasses! I got these from Coastal Contacts. I wish the plastic part on top was a tad thicker but I like them.  I would definitely recommend Coastal, they have cute cheap glasses and if you order for the first time with them and put in the code FIRSTPAIRFREE they’ll give you a huge discount. My order also came speedily (in just a couple days) and shipping was free! I like that now I have more options with my eye-wear. I can wear my old glasses, these new ones or go with contacts whenever I want to change up my look.

50's, elephant, green, haul, planter, shop your house, thrift haul, vintage

Shop Your Home

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        Shop your home is a phrase I first heard on the Nate Berkus show a few year ago. It refers to changing up your interiors by moving furniture and home decor items from their current locations to different areas of your home. It also refers to re-discovering things packed away in basements and storage. I’ve done this a few time in my house. I found a few bedside tables to put in my room a few years ago and dug up some of my mom’s vintage clothes. Anyway, we recently had another shop your home moment when my mom brought up the above planter from the basement.

 After my our mini road trip to Red Wing Sunday my mom dug up this little gem. A few weeks ago we went to an estate sale that had this planter (though a bit bigger) as a lamp. While at the estate sale my mom exclaimed she had a very similar planter at home. We didn’t end up getting the lamp. They wanted around $250.00 for it and that’s just out of my price range. So, the next day I tried to find it but had no luck.  Thus, I was super happy when my mom brought it up from the basement Sunday. I’m kind of obsessed with it. I just have to figure out where to put it!
Tang also likes the planter.
Have you ever shopped your home? What did you find?

gifted, kohls, OOTD, red wing, road trip, target, thrift, vintage

Spring is in the Air

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Shirt: Kohls  Cardigan & Scarf: Vintage  Tights: Target  Skirt: Thrifted (orginally target)   
Shoes: Gifted  Earrings: PLNDR

          It’s been increasingly warm these last few days in good ole Minnesota, which is incredibly rare. Last year round this time we still had a thick wall of snow. It seems though that the amazingly mild winter we’ve had is turning into an early spring (fingers crossed). Still it’s Minnesota and in an instant the weather can turn right back to cold and snowy. I got up early Sunday and my mom and I decided to go on a mini road trip. My bestie had just been on one herself to Maiden Rock, WI so I was semi-inspired by her trip and suggested Red Wing, a (semi) nearby town. We’d been to Red Wing a few years before and went to a pottery place (Red Wing is famous for shoes and pottery) and then pretty much left. We went a different more scenic route this time; possibly due to our GPS that seems to be fond of scenic byways instead of seemingly quicker routs. Either way we had a really nice drive and ended up in Red Wing. While there we gawked at some beautiful old houses in town and then went to a mallish place that had antique stores. I inherited a love of all things old from my mom so we browsed the three whole levels of antiques, ohhing and awwing at all the cool stuff. Most of the stuff was pottery and glass/table ware. Though those things are nice they’re not exactly things either of us really collect, so we left empty handed but with some serious eye strain (So. Much . Stuff). I didn’t take any pictures, though I did take my camera. I haven’t quite mastered the taking pictures all the time thing, which is one of my blogger weaknesses. Though I like to take pictures I also like to live in the moment and experience what I’m doing “in the now.” Sometimes I feel like you can get caught up trying to take pictures of the memories and not really experience it to the fullest. I’m working on trying to figure out a good balance and next road trip I’ll definitely take at least some pictures.
            Anyway since we were going out and it was nice out I decided to wear a “blog worthy” outfit. I’ve been dying to wear/blog this outfit since I got the skirt and figured I should seize the opportunity and go for it. In my original conception it had a collar necklace and my knee high black boots, but since we were going to a small town I decided to make it a bit more casual. I really like how the outfit turned out even though  I could have gone bare legged, it was that warm! But, I don’t really trust spring weather and sometimes the temperature in Minneapolis can differ drastically from the temperature in other towns so I erred on the side of caution and went with the tights. I totally love this outfit and you can definitely expect to see more of this skirt in the future.

OOTD, PLNDR, target, thrift, vintage

And I’m Back

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 Shirt and Jeans: Thrift  Cardigan: Vintage  Earrings: PLNDR Shoes: Target
Finally an outfit! I got my camera back last week but I was sick most of last week and didn’t exactly look or feel camera ready. Anyway I didn’t actually wear this outfit today I wore it in January/February during my forced hiatus. But, I liked it at the time and figured  I’d re-create it to get the outfit posting momentum back. Looking at the photos I’m not as in love with the outfit as I was when I first wore it, but it’s not too bad.

DSW, Enid, forever 21, Ghost World, Icon, Inspiration, OOTD, skirt a day challenge, thrift, vintage

Day 10: Copy Cat

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Bowling Shirt: Vintage  Skirt: love 21(forever 21)  Shoes: DSW  Bag: market in Ecuador Earrings: thrift

             And so we meet the last day of the skirt challenge. I’m excited. I have to say I’m glad I took the challenge, it made me really think about the skirts in my wardrobe and how to style them, but I’m also glad it’s over. Now I can post pants and dresses!! Get ready. Anyway I had a hard time thinking of an icon/designer look I wanted to copy. But this morning when I woke up, at a ridiculously early hour, I suddenly had it, Enid from Ghost World! I’ve loved the movie Ghost World since I first watched it in middle school and have even read one of the comic the story is based on. While watching it I totally fell in love with Enid. Not only is she a busty four-eyes but she’s funny, sarcastic and had a great sense of style. I was totally in love with everything Enid especially her clothes and room decor. When it comes to style icons most of mine have pretty edgy/funky style. I’d say my style is classic with a little bit of funk, so I always look to celebrities and other style icons with funky/edgier taste to get ideas on how to incorporate their look into mine. I think Enid’s look has three basic qualities: Vintage, color and pattern. Her style is an eclectic mix of 70’s punk and 60’s mod that I’m just in love with and is reasonably on trend. Peter pan collars, plaid, leather jackets, skinny jeans, funky t-shirts, docs and mod inspired clothing are all things you can pick up in almost any retail or thrift store right now.

Enid’s different looks from the movie

             So when I decided to choose Enid as my style icon I googled her to check out some of the outfits from the movie. I found the pictures I was looking for but I also found out that British designer Luella did a spring/summer 2008 collection of Enid inspired clothes. I checked out the runway show online and was even more inspired! I definitely have at least 3 Enid inspired looks besides this one that I’ll be posting soon. I think one of the great things about Enid’s style is the incorporation of t-shirts. As my style has evolved I’ve found it harder to incorporate crew neck t-shirts into my wardrobe stylishly. As someone whose pretty busty and has a rather short neck I tend to veer away from them, but I have a ton of cool crew neck t-shirts that I’ve gotten from school etc. that I’d love to incorporate into my wardrobe. Luckily Enid is an avid fan of the crew neck t-shirt and gives totally amazing inspiration on how to rock a crew neck.

Some of my favorite looks from Luella’s SS 2008 Enid inspired collection.

          On to the outfit! Enid wears a lot of cool graphic skirts, like the green one on the movie poster, but I don’t really have any that compare. Instead of copying Enid’s style I went with an outfit inspired by it. To me a main component of Enid style is vintage. A year or so ago I found this vintage bowling shirt in a pile of my mom’s vintage clothes. I knew it was cool but I didn’t really know how to style it. Then today I knew Enid’s style would work effortlessly with this top. In my dream world I would have paired it with a more graphic printed skirt, maybe something in a plaid, but I don’t have any plaid skirts so I opted for this magenta skirt that appeals to Enid’s use of bright colors.  If I went 100% Enid on this outfit I would have added my leather Jacked and Docs but it’s was an unseasonably hot day, 70 degrees, and I haven’t broken my Docs in yet. The last time I wore them it took them less than 10 minutes to tear apart my heels. Anyway when the weather cools off I’ll definitely do more Enid inspired looks and post them here. In the mean time I’ll be looking for more cool t-shirts, patterned skirts, big nerdy glasses, mod inspired clothes and more vintage, to really amp up the Enid-spiration. Lastly here’s a video of the opening to Ghost World, I can’t get this song or there urge to dance around to it out of my mind!

20's, 50's, 60's, atomic lamps, dental cabinet, haul, junk bonanza, lamps, metal cabinet, pin up, thrift haul, vintage

Junk Bonanza

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          So as I mentioned two weeks ago I went to the Junk Bonanza, which we randomly heard about through my mom’s co-worker. There were tons of vendors from all over the upper midwest and was full of cool stuff. Unfortunately I’m a bad blogger and didn’t take any pictures while there, I’ll try and work on that. Basically it had a flea market type set-up with lots of different vendors that, I believe, were all antique dealers. There was a lot of distressed shabby chic-esque furniture, which really isn’t my thing, but there were also a lot of other cool stuff including mid century and art deco items. A lot of the stuff was a bit too pricey for us but we did get a lot of cool ideas for using vintage items in different ways, refurbishing old furniture and checked out some really cool antiques. Aside from what we bought there was a really cool old dental cabinet that looked exactly like this, it had tons of little drawers with cool ceramic organizers. It was $2100.00,  a little out of our price range, but it was really really cool and while drooling over it we thought of a million cool ways to use it. We’re seriously still drooling over it, maybe one day I’ll have the money to get one. Antique dental cabinets, who knew?

        Ultimately we did end up buying some stuff including two really cool atomic 50’s lamps, a 20’s metal cabinet and a pin-up photo. I love 50’s and 60’s era stuff and I’ve sorta started collecting 50’s and 60’s lamps. A couple years ago I stumbled upon two retro 50’s atomic lamps and fell in love. Now I’m sort of obsessed. I’m always on the look out for cool 50’s and 60’s lamps at garage sales, estate sales, thrift stores and any antique stores. So far I’ve only found ones that really appeal to me at antique stores and estate sales, which depending on the pricing at the store/sale can be a good or bad thing. All in all it was a pretty cool experience and we’ll definitely be back next year.

20’s Cabinet:

Cabinet closed with 20’s vignette (picture, bowl and lamp) that my mom styled. 
close up of vignette
cute feet

50’s Lamps:

ceramic deer in vessel. I think they look like they’re at a Drive in movie, but maybe that’s just me.

ceramic cat I bought recently in hopes it would bring me some job luck, jury’s still out on whether it’ll actually help.
close up of lamp trim

lamp base

Pin Up (possibly NSFW):

Black woman pin up

And finally I thought I’d introduce my other cat Diamond. When I was taking the above pictures she was sunbathing on the floor so I snapped a few pictures of her.