Desperately Seeking Deersign

TT: Minimal, six workspace necessities.

2008-11-05T16:05:00.012-05:00

One of my highest priorities right now is assembling my workspace. Anyone who works "hands on" knows how important it is to have SPACE to work in. No matter what you do with your time, whether it's blogging or creating textile designs, it is handy to have at least a small setup for your activities.

While working on the ideas for my own space I started to brainstorm the bare necessities, sort of a need by default for any office or work area.

#1. Desk or table (obvious enough)
#2. Chair (also obvious)
#3. Memo board (for the small papery bits)
#4. Easily accessible utility holder (aka. pencil holder)
#5. Storage (for the excess bits)
#6. Notebook (I'll get to why later)

Desk/Chair - It would not be a workspace without some sort of surface to work on and a place to rest your bottom when you are not busy leaping around from the sheer joy of the magic that you are creating.

Memo Board - Magnetic, push pin, or ribbon, it's convenient to be able to keep any inspiration or importation information in one spot. Many of us may have "inspiration" folders or places for important information on our computers but it just has more impact when it is always staring right back at you.

Utility Holder - Flat out, no arguments here, life is a lot easier when you have a pen right there ready to go instead of fumbling around a drawer. If you are anything like me, you also know it's good to have a regular spot for such things otherwise it will migrate all over the desk and will find itself all sorts of good hiding spots just when you really need a pen.

Containers - You may have shelves, drawers, or just the top of your desk, containers of various sizes keeps everything organized, easy to locate when needed, and helps you keep your area free of clutter and chaos. For my own space, I'm currently on the lookout for vintage kitchen containers. I think they'd be both attractive and convenient for storing my odds 'n ends.

Notebook - It may seem odd to consider something to write on a necessity but not something to write with. From my own experience I've found that I can always hunt down a utensil to write with (among the stranger things I've used in desperation: mascara, nail polish, toothpaste) and could even find a surfaces to write on (I have a terrible habit of writing on tables. You should have seen my past desks!)... but it is VERY useful to have all my little notes in one portable location (even if I have to re-copy them from my desk scribblings). I might not always want to drag my laptop around, my scribbled on desk may not be around for questioning, but my notebook can be.

So with my six workspace necessities in mind, I created two inspirational setups using some items from my favorites list on Etsy.

Row 1. Apex Desk by ruppeldesign, Mid Century Modern Metal Chairs @ backtocapri Row 2. Eiffel Tower Message Board by 3ButtonsN2Bows, Vintage pen holder @ bluebell bazaar Row 3. Stacking Canister @ GeneralWhimsy2, Chandelier Notebook by boundto

Row 1. Vintage Folding Desk @ fusionfurniture, Ply Bak side chair by lunarloungedesign Row 2. Memo Board - Black with toile by KimbaMade, Ceramic Owl Planter by fruitflypie Row 3. vintage canister set @ inventory101, Large Coptic Bound Journal by michaelwiltbank

(btw. If I had the money. That "Vintage Folding Desk" would be MINE!)

Yes, I was late this week... but the next Thematic Tuesday will appear on Tuesday ;)

What I wore today.....

2008-11-04T20:11:00.004-05:00

As mentioned yesterday, wearing one of my new Salvation Army finds today was put on hold due to a little Priority Mail box I received in the mail yesterday.

I try to avoid Ebay, most often it leads an array of impulse buys and on occasion paying more than I normally would at a brick 'n mortar shop. So I try to keep it for when I really need something. My closet was pretty much devoid of "winter" suitable dresses and after coming up dry for several weeks, I took my search to Ebay. I'd been thinking along the lines of vintage wool sweater dresses and found this number for the low "Buy It Now" price of $5.

The seller had priced the dress according to the fact that the skirt had a few small stains (barely noticeable and I think with a bit of elbow grease I could remove them) and the wool knit had become a bit nubbly (nothing a gentle use of a sweater shaver could not fix).

$5 with a few more shipping was something of a bargin for the dress (by Ebay standards) and this fact made it perfectly guilt-free when digging through the sellers other listings I found myself impulsively buying the best skirt EVER for a "Buy Now" price of $25.

Ah... but I'll save the BEST SKIRT EVER!!! for another post on another day. I didn't think it deserved it's first outting to be on a day where I spent most of it finishing up a website template for a client.

The dress was both warm and comfortable for a day spent coding at the computer in the terribly drafty house that I live in. With it I added a recently thrifted cardigan (that I've worn about 4 times already) and heels that I had picked up during my last shopping trip in Paris (which have also been previously posted about).

---

In other news, I'll be posting "Thematic Tuesday" tomorrow. After the unexpectedly busy day of rushing to finish a job early, I much rather go play video games with Mister.boyfriend than finish organizing my Etsy book marks for this week's post ;)

Also look out for the post on the clothing I thrifted during my adventures last weekend.

(and the unveiling of THE BEST SKIRT EEEEVVVVEEEERRR!)

I thrift, therefore I am.

2008-11-03T21:41:00.007-05:00

I went to two different thrift stores over the weekend and I did something of a mini haul. It is always a thrill when I find exactly what I am looking for such as with my new one person teapot.

I've been wanting one for awhile but just never wanted to shell out the cash whenever I saw one at the store. Andrea (acatofimpossiblecolour) tormented me with her lovely teapot and I almost broke down last week and grabbed one off of Ebay for $20.

Fortunately I stalled my trigger happy mouse finger long enough to come across this baby at the Goodwill for $1.50:

In all honesty I would have bought it no matter what the set looked like since I needed it more for utility than aesthetics but oh how it tickled me that the set was in yellow/black, the colors I'm painting my workspace.

Mister.boyfriend kept mentioning to me how we needed coasters and lo-n-behold I came across this vintage "alcohol proof" set for $1 at the Salvation Army:

I find the whole "alcohol proof" thing to be a bit odd. I'd be more worried by the drunks ruining my upholstery rather than my coasters......

Getting this print mounted on wood, at the Salvation Army, was a slightly impulsive buy. The depiction of the green boxy house surrounded by snow and bare trees came off as intriguing to me. As did the implied texture of the canvas. I immediately could think of no need for such things but for $1, I'll find a place for it.

I plan on painting this frame set, that I got for $1.50 at the Goodwill, black (I'm doing a yellow/black theme remember?) after I fix the connecting chain. The hanging frames are small with about a 2" (vertical) opening and I think some sort of minimal print would look lovely in them. Maybe a small sketch of a solitary object?

Mister.boyfriend and myself both had eyed this paper cutter at the Salvation Army and when I suggested getting it despite not having an immediate need for one, I heard no arguments.

When I still lived with my parents, I always used my dad's paper cutter for various projects. So I'm sure I'll find a use for it soon enough!

This nondescript patent leather purse that I found at the Goodwill is a perfect example how I always find myself wrapped up in the details.

The outside has a nice shape and is cute enough but I fell in love with the lining....

The cute striped lining made the purse totally worth $2 to me.

Despite knowing how to knit, I can never help picking up knitted/crocheted items at the thrifts. When the price is right I figure that it totally wins over the cost of doing it myself. Especially when the knitted item is a mustard colored beret (with a pompom!) for .50!

I thought the beret was my last grab from the Goodwill before I left but while waiting in line I spotted this pretty brooch for $1 in one of the display cases:

Also this weekend I came across a few new dresses, some more tights!, and a few other clothing items for myself. I'll save those finds for my next post. I had planned on wearing one of the dresses tomorrow but a package arrived for me in the mail today and I think my priorities have now shifted ;)

Who needs leaving the house on Halloween when you have flickr?

2008-11-01T12:26:00.010-04:00

rudi and spider, originally uploaded by you!me!dancing!.

When I came across you!me!dancing! and her beau (I presume), I came dangerously close to spilling my coffee all over the keyboard. My reaction was something along the lines of:

"HOLY CRAP! IT'S RUDI AND SPIDER!!!!"
*as the mug fumbles in my hand*

It makes me wish I was at least in the same state as my best friend, he would make a great Old Gregg. We could do some sort of group Boosh themed costume with my friend, me, and mister.boyfriend.. *sigh*

Freaky Friday no.1

2008-10-31T22:29:00.003-04:00

It's Friday and time for the first "Freaky Friday". Yes.... I have already "Thematic Tuesdays" and now I've attached another corny name to a weekly post. Do you have any better ideas for name?

If you poked around here enough you'll know that I enjoy thrifting. Some may even say that I am addicted to it. Every visit to a Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other stores, I always come across interesting specimens. Horrid fashion mishaps, weird items that you wonder "who'd buy that?", and other peculiarities that make most people laugh, then move on.

That's where "Freaky Friday" comes in. Every week when I'm browsing for treasures, instead of laughing then moving on from the occasional horror, I'll spend a few extra moments and take a picture. Forever immortalizing the items that are most likely doomed to remain unloved.

This week I found fascinating sweater. In my opinion it totally bypasses "So ugly it's kind of cool" and goes straight to "If you don't stop wearing that right now. I'll gouge my eyes out, then burn your sweater!!". I think this is a real doozy.....

For some reason it reminds me of Mimi from the Drew Carey show....

Would she approve?

In other thrifting news... I'm quite thrilled by my thrifty haul today. I'll be sure to take some pictures and do a post on it soon!

I could not resist......

2008-10-31T19:35:00.004-04:00

It's Halloween and the final two videos for my festive video countdown! As obvious as it may seem, I had to pick Thriller for one of the final two videos. How can it be Halloween without Michael Jackson, Vincent Price (his voice at least), and choreographed zombies?

The second video I picked is another one from Supergrass. Much like Halloween not being the same without Thriller, I can't make any sort of music related list without giving Supergrass two spots!

#2. Supergrass - Rush Hour Soul
Click here to view the video on YouTube.

#1. Michael Jackson - Thriller
Click here to view the video on YouTube.

Missed the other videos? part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4

I'm gonna push you further into my dream....

2008-10-30T18:34:00.007-04:00

One more day until Halloween and I am surprisingly without plans. I guess I'll eat candy and watch my own video countdown ;)

#4. Metallica - Enter Sandman
You know you like a bit of the 'ole Metallica and despite all it's corniness... you think the video is pretty cool as well. Just admit it!

#3. Supergrass - Mary
If I recall correctly, this video banned from being played in the UK before 11pm at night.. or something along those lines. Supergrass is one of my most beloved bands and one of the greatest bands that I've listen to throughout my years. Mary is an interesting little ditty with a killer video ;)

Missed the other videos? part 1, part 2, part 3

The final two videos will be posted tomorrow!

Tea and Gary Numan....

2008-10-29T16:13:00.004-04:00

The past few days I've been feeling like I'm coming down with something... so I spent most of today nursing myself with tea and Gary Numan.

Today's guest star is 'Little', mister.boyfriends kitty and my step-kitty. Being the classy kitty that she is, I did not think she appreciated her name being a joke at the expense of her girth. So I renamed her:

Lady Lillian of Littleshire
aka. Little

When I first thrifted this skirt, I thought it buttoned up the front, then later I noticed that the pockets were angled the wrong way for the buttons to be in the front. A bit of a hassle to get myself into it but I love the skirt anyways. The sweater has a cute lace petter pan collar on it that mister.boyfriend hates! Ah well, I like the collar. Everything is thrifted with the exception of the leggings (gift) and socks (found floating around my sock drawer).

btw. I consider the backshot to be a painful reminder that I REALLY need a haircut. It's been on my "to do" list for over a month but I'm just too chicken to let a stranger whack at my hair. In the past, I've fallen victim to the hair dresser ignoring me and doing what they wanted. Sometimes it turned out decent (but still not what I had wanted) and after one occasion I pretty much wore a hat for the next 6 months.... hmm.

And I'm frightened by the liquid engineers.....

2008-10-29T12:51:00.006-04:00

Onward to videos #6 and #5 in my little Halloween video fest. yay! If you missed the first two parts, you can find them over this way: part 1, part 2

In the 20th century "chills" were no longer something exclusively as the result of the supernatural. Big brother, aggressive alien species, radioactive beasts, misunderstood androids, and other popular sci-fi themes have frequently been used to unnerve the populous.

Straying from the typical "oogey boogey" fare, the following two videos are from artists that I highly respect and have always been a bit keen on the seemingly "futuristic" slant to their work.

#6. Gary Numan - Metal

#5. Kraftwerk - The Robots

Four videos left to go and I only have 3 videos selected. What will my fourth selection be? Does any know? Tomorrow we will be back to the good 'ole fashioned creep and y.

Attn: Ladies of the thread...

2008-10-28T21:56:00.005-04:00

I was going through my feeds and noticed a post on OutsaPop Trashion picturing a really fabulous looking cape designed by Ceregana.

Besides the cape being one of the coolest articles of clothing I've seen in a while. The pattern is available for FREE!! Did my eyes deceive me? Is it true that the pattern is there for my taking and I don't have to spend hours gazing at the finished garment and plot how to make my own version?

I just about fainted from sheer delight!

For all you ladies of the thread you can find the FREE pattern over here at Burda Style.

(now I'm off to harass mister.boyfriend over the discovery)

Update: On the designer's Burda profile I found a link to her blog, sewable.blogspot.com - which contains more details on her patterns and loads of lovely finished pieces.

TT: Stick'in it to the man all year round!

2008-10-28T20:58:00.005-04:00

Welcome to the first Thematic Tuesday where I recommend items available at Etsy based on a specific theme. Sure this is not the first blog with an Etsy roundup. I believe that Etsy is a magical place with A LOT of goods for sale and the more people seeking out the best of the best, the merrier.

This week, in celebration of the best holiday EVER, we will be looking at ways to wear a little bit of Halloween spirit everyday. It always makes me smile to see a child wearing their Halloween costume in May and while adults are generally discouraged from such antics, we can still sneak a bit of the dress-up spirit under the radar of the "mature" sticks-in-the-mud.

Depending on your level of moxie some of these might be better suited for a cocktail party rather than a day at the office but details like tiny mustaches and monocles would be great fun to whip out when your supervisor is not looking!

(Left to Right) Row #1. Ascot Tie Cravat @ Gentlemansjabot, Minouchko ears (hair clips) @ agonie, Black bird leather cut out mask @ TomBanwell : Row #2. Little Red Riding Hood Cape ilikeyouworld, The Beaux @ topsyturvydesign, Indiana Jones Vintage Glasses @ eyeseevintage : Row #3. Vintage Gold Leafed Porcelain Lilies Tiara @ bellatiara, Sleuth Disguise Necklace @ paraphernalia, Felted scarf-collar @ rudman : Row #4. Monocle @ foundlings, Calloway @ FeatherBrain, Black Moustache @ lupin

It's not the monster mash....

2008-10-28T07:00:00.003-04:00

Two more videos to help you get your sweet Hallo-ween groove on and if you missed part 1, you can find it over this way.

#8. Stone Temple Pilots - Sour Girl
Sarah Michelle Gellar scares me. Seeing a dark field of strange Teletubby like creatures unnerves me and Scott Weiland's writhing (is that supposed to be a dance?) just creeps me out.

#7. Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers - Mary Jane's Last Dance
I love the song and think the video is erm, interesting..... Unlike Atlantic Records, the fine folks that allowed an embedded link to Sour Girl, Universal will stand for no such thing. So you'll have to click here to go to the YouTube page. See the video

Stay tuned for for the next two videos tomorrow and later today I'll be posting the first edition of "Thematic Tuesdays"!

I really need two computers so I can watch videos and work......

2008-10-27T13:37:00.005-04:00

The only issue I have with working on the computer is the temptation to do everything but what you are supposed to be doing. I spent a small part of my morning digging around on YouTube for the videos for my Halloween countdown and then admittedly wasted an hour perusing videos that had nothing to do with my blog entry.

If you are like me and see Jarvis Cocker for the hottie that he is, then you can't really blame me for slacking off a bit to watch Pulp videos.

Call me crazy... but I have always liked his dancing :P

Count down to the 'ween

2008-10-27T09:53:00.005-04:00

A lot of Americans consider Thanksgiving to be the start of the "holiday season". Being a big fan costumes and free candy, I beg to differ and consider Halloween to be the grand kickoff. I love Halloween. I love music videos. In celebration of the festive season I'll be recommending 10 music videos that, with a little imagination, could be seen as rather fitting for the occasion.

Each video thrills me in its own way, so the videos will be posted two each day in no particular order. Believe me, I tried to make a "best of" list but just did not have the heart.....

#10. Bauhaus - Bella Lugosi's Dead (from The Hunger)
I much prefer this clip over the video for the single. Bauhaus made a brief appearance in the 80's vampire flick "The Hunger". Staring David Bowie, Catherine Deneuve, and Susan Sarandon. I consider this movie to be something of a cheesefest, so it does not particularly trigger my "ick" radar.

#9. Aphex Twin - Come to daddy
Come to think of it, just about every Aphex Twin video I can think of falls under "creepy"...

So there we have it. Watch out for the next two videos tomorrow (and the aforementioned new regular addition to Tuesdays)....

The fate of the ideaboard idea and coming soon....

2008-10-25T19:44:00.006-04:00

You know it's a slow day at the Deersign Manor when I do three posts in one day.

Since I started posting to my blog again part of me wondered if I should return to doing the ideaboards. It was a great brain teaser of sorts for me and for the few that I actually blogged I liked the idea of sharing my visions with the world. The only hitch: assembling the boards on a weekly basis was rather time consuming for me. With life and my freelance work, I do not feel that I could keep up with such things if it had to adhere to a strict schedule.

I do love reading a blog with regular content and I'd rather not post just about the fact that I do indeed wear clothing. So I've brainstormed and decided that I will add two regular features to this blog. Both are things that I feel I can keep up with since it pretty much focuses on things I regularly do anyways.

Not much more will be said now. Just keep your eye out Tuesdays and Fridays!

(top photo by yours truly)

It's been a BERRY fine day...

2008-10-25T16:10:00.014-04:00

Silly me. I completely forgot I acquired a skirt as well on Wednesday. It looks to be homemade and has the most interesting strawberry print. Interesting I say since I wonder what sort of person (besides myself) would wear a skirt featuring strawberries. My lovely little red friends are flocked on a blue cotton fabric.

It's strange to think that my whole love of strawberries (one of my favorite foods, ya know) could have been spurred on by the deranged 80's children's cartoon known as "Strawberry Shortcake". I say deranged because they for one thing consistently abused the word "berry" (How BERRY nice to see you!!) and just look at the Wikipedia entry:

"Pupcake now belongs to Strawberry instead of Huck (who now has Shoofly Frog). Angel Cake no longer has Souffle skunk, but instead a lamb named Vanilla Icing. Lemon Meringue's pet frog, Frappe, is replaced by Sourball the skunk (possibly explained by the switching of Souffle skunk to Vanilla Icing for Angel Cake and switching of Pupcake to Shoofly Frog for Huck). Apple Dumplin's turtle, Teatime, is replaced by Apple Ducklin'. Rhubarb, Raspberry's pet, changed from a monkey to a raccoon. This might be explained by the existence of Banana Bongo (Tangerina Torta's monkey), although Banana Bongo himself was originally introduced as the leader of a monkey band on Seaberry Beach during the story introducing Coco Calypso and Seaberry Delight."

- From the Wikipedia entry on Strawberry Shortcake

If I had read that little blurb without knowing what it was related to. I would have guess it was part of some strange story written by a baker on an acid trip.

No really!

It was a blustery day today and despite all the bluster, the leaves just never sprinkled down from the trees whenever the shutter on my camera fired. Being the ever helpful fellow, mister.boyfriend took time out from his frolicking to help by tossing leaves into the frame.

Of course I could not stop laughing and got only one photo with the leaves where I did not look like a total dork. Before mister.boyfriend joined me outside, I had fortunately gotten a few shots when I could at least pretend to be serious.

I can't keep away from my raspberry tights. I'm sure in a few weeks I'll accidentally destroy them but in the meantime we are quite attached to each other. The brown silk/wool turtle neck I thrifted probably around this time last year. I've never been particularly keen on brown clothing. I was attracted to the tiny flecks of white, blue, and orange. Surprisingly the color did not look half bad on me and it's be a regular in my cold weather arsenal ever since.

Skirt: Thrifted
Turtleneck: Thrifted
Tights: Thrifted
Leather shoes: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted

100% Thrifted you say?

2008-10-24T19:20:00.001-04:00

I was quite enthusiastic about today's outfit. My newly thrifted raspberry tights and dress looked like they were made for each other! At the store the dress looked less than spectacular with it's tent like shape hanging limply on the hanger but despite mister.boyfriend making strange faces over it, I knew that all it needed was a belt!

See what I mean? It looked even cuter than what I dreamed up in my head at the thrift store. The bonus is that without the belt the dress goes from comfortable to exceptionally comfortable and made for a comfort filled morning while working at my computer.

When mister.boyfriend returned from work he was even pleasantly surprised by the dress looking better than he imagined and now considers it to be one of his favorites!

The dress is made out of a heavy cotton fabric which kept me reasonably toasty while indoors but when I ventured out of the house in the afternoon I added a vintage wool blazer that was one of my (very) few Ebay purchases while in France. According to the seller it was part of an usherette uniform for a theater in Paris during the 1940's.

Today I am most definately, 100% thrifted ;)

Dress: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted
Shoes: Thrifted
Tights: THRIFTED!!
Coat: Ebay

You went thrifting? Thrifting you say?

2008-10-24T17:05:00.009-04:00

Do I even need to mention any more that I went thrifting?

"Oh my gosh, Roxanne went thrifting AGAIN!"

Let's face it... I practically live at the Salvation Army near me (and I guess I should consider the nearest Goodwill and Savers to be my second homes).

"Are you heading back home?"

"No, I'm heading off to my second home, the Goodwill, because I'm badass like that."

Mister.boyfriend was kind enough to escort me to the Salvation Army the day before yesterday. Wednesday is the day where 4 out of 5 colors are half-off. Thrifting at full price is still a thrill but getting a 50% discount makes me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside.

We arrived quite late in the evening after the mad Wednesday rush (and the stock is not always the grandest there anyways) but despite not making a total haul, I did find a few "rarities" for me.

I always feel like a bit of a jerk when posting to 100% thrifted when I pretty much own only non-thrifted tights (though generally bought on the cheap). When it comes to used, I draw the line at undergarments (it's just scary to think of things rubbing on some strangers naughty bits), but I have no issue with NIP leg wear. Unfortunately, try as I might to thrift NIP tights, I totally don't fit the sizes I see 99.9% of the time. Add to that 99.9% of the time when I do find a pair in my size, it's that nasty 1970's Malibu Barbie orange. blech.

The sad part is a lot of the tights floating around thrift stores theoretically should fit me. When I was younger I avoid leg wear like the plague. Either I was stuck walking like a penguin since the crotch wouldn't go to where it was supposed to be or the tights would be distorted since I had to force them into position. In my early 20's it finally dawned on me that I should be wearing one size larger despite what the size charts always told me. I'm not exceptionally tall, 5 feet 8 inches, but my extra height comes from my legs. So when ever I come across leg wear in any capacity, I almost always need one size larger than what the package recommends.

(and of course the thrift stores always have plenty of leg wear that would fit me if only my height was more balanced between my legs and torso......)

but as mentioned, Wednesday was a day of thrifting "rarities" for me. I found not one but three pairs of tights. A lovely ribbed raspberry colored pair, neon-yellow sheers (packaged with a free pair of knee highs in the same color), and a white pair of tights designed for dancers.

The second "rarity" of note is that I also came across two pairs of gloves that actually fit me really well. Much like my sob tale of my hard to fit legs, I have what my dad calls "lady hands" topped off with long skinny fingers. So it's hard to find gloves that I can fit more than 3/4 of my finger into without the glove constantly sliding around my hand.

Thirdly, not particularly a "good" rarity but I found it rather amusing. The whole reason for the trip was my mission to find giant wool sweaters for the purpose of making wrist warmers (my vintage coats leave a frosty gap between the hemline and my wrist) and despite me considering big ugly sweaters to be a thrift store staple, they were wiped out that day! I guess it finally dawned on people that winter is coming!?

Being the crazed scavenger that I am, I did find three suitable sweaters crammed in various locations. I need to pick up a few sewing notions but I plan on starting the warmer making next week.

On the trip, I also scored a new dress (which I'm quite fond of) and two new sweaters. The dress I'm wearing today (with my thrifted tights!), so photos will follow shortly!

Seperated at birth....

2008-10-22T09:43:00.007-04:00

Photo from stephaniebracciano @ etsy

This cornflower blue number being sold by "Mid Western Vintage By Stephanie Bracciano" is the long lost twin to the red version that I picked up last month at the Salvation Army.

I'm in love with the flexibility and fit of my red version (and mister.boyfriend is quite fond of the skirt as well). Despite not being able to currently afford paying (even reasonable) store prices vintage items, I am indeed tempted to shell out $26 for the blue version. My red skirt just rocks so much it would be heaven to have the skirt in two colors!

If I manage to keep my resolve (which I probably will), I can only hope that the future owner will love the skirt as much as I love the red version.

Coffee, tea, or hair?

2008-10-19T14:35:00.006-04:00

My only issue in living with cats is that their hair gets EVERYWHERE.
Like in my morning cup of coffee....

Vintage teal skirt, mustard short sleeve sweater, black cardigan, belt and shoes are all thrifted. This skirt is one of my favorite recent finds. It's incredibly soft, like the sort of thing you would wrap babies or kittens in. The teal goes great with the mustard sweater that I thrifted in Paris! In fact I'm already pondering what else I could do with those colors...

Brr!

2008-10-18T19:13:00.005-04:00

It's starting to get chilly here! Finally it feels like fall and I'm rather excited about getting to partake in the world of layering again. I have never been a big jewelry person so as the weather heats up the variety to my accessories diminishes. The cooler months are perfect for piling on scarves, hats, gloves, coats, and even interesting leg wear.

Needless to say I am thrilled to the start accessorizing again! At least until shoveling the driveway becomes a regular part of my daily routine ;)

Wool blazer: Gap (4 years ago)
Houndstooth scarf: Random shop in Paris
Black sweater: Thrifted
Belt: Thrifted
Wool skirt: Vintage store in Paris
Tapestry handbag: Tag sale
Heels: Random shop in Paris

I can count on one hand the number of clothing items that I own from the Gap and 3 were thrifted! To my American eyes the coat looked very English and I fell in love despite the fact that since it was from the Gap it would be obnoxiously over priced. Half the reason why I rarely shop there is because their clothes are not always on par with the price (in my humble opinion). The blazer pills like crazy but despite having to constantly shave the darn thing, the blazer is still one of my favorite "transitional" jackets.

A double whamy....

2008-10-17T22:46:00.002-04:00

Spurred on by the glamorous ladies in old Hollywood movies, as a little girl I loved having an excuse for wardrobe changes throughout the day...

Who am I kidding? I still love an excuse to wear multiple outfits in one day!

The following is my casual day time ensemble (fancy name, eh?)

If you follow my posts on flickr you'll know that I'm unsure if this trench really works for me. It's about one size too big and with the inslulating lining in, it makes me feel akin to a marshmellow. It looks lovely unbuttoned though...

London Fog trench: Thrifted, Tee: Thrifted, Black skirt: Thrifted,
Houndstooth belt: ??, Yellow cardigan: Thrifted, Maryjanes: Monoprix

In the evening I wore this pretty much 100% thrifted ensemble to a show with mister.boyfriend. Admittedly, I get a strange kick out of wearing an entire outfit that costs much less than what a person might spend on a single shirt. Is it pride? Evil glee on being smarter than the average bear? I really can not place my finger on where the thrill comes from!

Green silk bolero: Thrifted (2€), Black strapless dress: Thrifted ($3), Lacey skirt (worn as an underskirt, you can see a hint of the edge): Thrifted back in highschool (50 cents), Black belt: Thrifted (2€), Tapestry handbag: Tag sale (25 cents), Heels (sames as the pair I wore on my last post): Thrifted (3€)

For the details... The dark gray tights I had floating amongst my sock drawer. I'm also wearing a pearl necklace that was a gift and later I added a black cashmere shawl, to keep away the chill, that I got for free off of Craigslist!

They call me mellow yellow...

2008-10-17T14:42:00.008-04:00

Finally! Practically a century ago (ok, two? three? months) I thrifted this trench,

I loved the shade of yellow so much,
I vowed to paint a room that color.

(and by the way. The photo of the trench is a terrible representation of the color. har!)

So off I went to Sherman Williams last night with mister.boyfriend and the coat in tow. Interestingly enough they had a paint chip of a very similar color (just a tad darker) dubbed "Torchlight". We got a quart of the color to test it out and ever since I've been amusing myself by slapping swatches of color on the wall during lulls in more important things to do . It's just what I wanted!

L--I--V--E

2008-10-17T09:22:00.003-04:00

Back to my 3 comfort movies... I previously rambled about the classic Hitchcock film Vertigo, a film that I consider to be romantic in an oddly strange way. I'm not even going to discuss the next film. If you've seen it you should know what a fantastic film it is and if you have not seen it, you really should.

Harold and Maude is like sunshine on celluloid. Yeah, I blubber a bit at the end but overall the story always helps me out of the worst of moods.

As mentioned previously what ties my comfort films together is their location. Harold and Maude is littered with scenes taking place in areas that I know well.

The scene with the motorcycle cop was filmed at the east end of the old Dumbarton Bridge. By the time I moved with my family to the East Bay a new bridge and highway had been built. What remained of the old bridge was left as a pier for fishing and the old highway was now part of a wildlife refuge. Just a short bike ride from my house, I can not even begin to count how many times I rode my bike down that stretch of road completely unaware that a really great scene was once filmed there.

Philosophy...

2008-10-16T14:12:00.007-04:00

When I started documenting what I wore my original intention was to get a good look at my own style (if there was one) and inspire myself to give my whole wardrobe a chance. It's been a positive experience encouraging me to care about my appearance on even the worst of days and related communities have opened up a world to me that is much bigger than anything you could ever find in a magazine.

In certain aspects of my life I can be rather "quirky". I'm not necessarily a perfectionist, there is just a small wrinkle in my personality that when I claim to be something, I'd like no evidence that I am anything but excellent at what I do. Photography has been something very close to me ever since I can recall the first time I developed pictures with my dad in the bathroom at our house. It was the first subject I studied after high school and something I've put a lot of effort into learning. I make no claims to be the greatest or the best but I do take pride in what I do know.

The aforementioned wrinkle often manifested itself in how I viewed myself as a photographer. In the past if I could not get the shot there was something irritatingly unacceptable it. Teeth grindingly, hair pullingly, sleepless nightly, unacceptable.

Last Spring I started to document what I wore. I was busy with my studies and most of the shots were quickies in bad locations. The anal retentive photographer in me was rather huffy that the rushed pictures were often not meeting standards. I kept telling myself to relax it's not about the photo it's about the clothes. It took awhile but eventually I did start to let go.

So strangely enough, one of the biggest things I've learned over the past few months is that bad photos are not going to destroy me. There is no secret photographic society that will see a crapy photo with my name attached to it, hunt me down, kick down my door, and burn my negatives as punishment. (That might be a bit exaggerated but you get the idea...)

The photographer (me) might just be tired that day, the model (also me) might be in a bad mood, the lighting gods could be on vacation (which happens often without controlled conditions), the location may just suck (and many do) or whatever the case may be. Sometimes even when you know how to do something well the situation can still be out of your control.

My outfit photos may not be about the photography but it does thrill me when I can get a decent shot. So like the dork that I am, in between loads of laundry you can find me standing in the drizzle trying to will the wind to blow just a little bit more in order to get just a slightly more interesting shot.

The vintage dress I purchased off of Ebay two years ago for a garden party. I ended up wearing another dress but I've always been quite fond of the pattern and thought the leaf motif was suitable for this gloomy Fall day. I added a pair of thrifted heels since the dress looked silly with flats and who cares if I look over dressed for my errands later. If Andrea can teeter around in heels while doing housework, I can teeter around a hardware store in heels!

Thrifty finds... the male edition

2008-10-15T20:25:00.006-04:00

It's thrilling to have a man who both accepts my thrifting addiction (yes, it is an addiction folks) and does not mind browsing for himself (yay company!). The trouble is finds for him are a bit of a rarity.

Mister.boyfriend is a tall and skinny fellow so when we do on occasion come across something that is not XXL, sadly the sleeves are often too short. (At least when we are looking for items with long sleeves. Which we are, since Winter is on the way)

Today my bag of Salvation Army finds included a few things for the man as well...

Pendelton wool cardigan

Vintage L.L. Bean hunting jacket

Everybody likes AC/DC

and look away now if corny things makes you want to barf...

Yes, I also found a ladies AC/DC shirt (after we found the mens one). Am I the only one who thinks thrifting his 'n hers AC/DC shirts is funny? Even the friendly clerk noticed and found it rather odd.

Mister.boyfriend was not immediately keen on the cardigan (well cardigans in general) but I always insist that modern men need to wear them more often, since I'm a gal who tends to crush on men from eras where things like cardigans were cool.

Even badasses like Steve McQueen wore them...

It's starting to feel like fall (again)

2008-10-15T13:52:00.007-04:00

On the unofficial list of my thrifting wants is to find another cardigan like the one I'm wearing. Slightly worn, thick, wooly, a bit on the large side, simple pattern, but in a darker shade. It's funny that I've owned (and loved) this sweater for over a year but only this week has it started appearing in my outfit photos. Like how I rarely bother to shoot my bags since I always have one or two bags in rotation. This cardigan is such a constant when it's a bit chilly and I want to be comfortable, I've only recently began to recognize it as part of an outfit rather than what I always throw on to keep warm.

I've worn this plaid dress several times since I thrifted (and posted about) it but today is the first time I ever bothered to photograph myself in it. I love the puffy sleeves and red stitching detail on the neckline.

Dress, cardigan, boots, and belt are all 100% thrifted.

Oh Midge....

2008-10-14T15:40:00.005-04:00

I started writing my previous post on Vertigo prior to getting dressed in the morning. My musings on Midge inspired me to imitate art today.

I was originally going to pair the vintage red cardigan and white blouse (both thrifted) with a black skirt but my choices were a lacy black skirt or a very fitted black pencil skirt. Neither seemed very 'Midge' so I opted for a grey a-line skirt I thrifted recently. The final touches were a pair a vintage black heels (also thrifted) and my glasses. (that I've had for 8+ years).

Which makes todays Midge tribute 100% thrifted. yay!

(btw... Please excuse how wrinkled the skirt looks. The cotton fabric is evil and will wrinkle if you just look at it.)

Vertigo

2008-10-14T09:16:00.016-04:00

When I'm feeling a bit down or overwhelmed I tend to resort to watching one of my comfort movies. Three films, that I've long consider as some of my favorites, consistently rise to the top whenever I am away from California. The movies have little in common plot wise but all were filmed in San Francisco and/or the Bay Area. Location may in ways be irrelevant to how much I enjoy the film as a whole (and the plot) but I can not deny that having glimpses of places which hold memories for me adds something extra to the whole cinematic experience.

The first film I'll blog about is one from a director that I've immensely enjoyed ever since I can recall. Frequently I use the blanket phrase "I hate horror movies" but its less that I dislike being scared and more I don't particularly enjoy seeing body parts fly around in a realistic fashion. That tends to send my already overactive imagination into overdrive long after the movie experience is over. I love a classy psychological thriller and many of the films directed by Alfred Hitchcock fit that bill.

By todays standards, the "chills" in many of his films seem quaint and I'll even admit that I'm not the biggest fan of when he went all out in Psycho or The Birds.

Shadow of a Doubt was the first film that gave me a good scare. The heroine realizes that her beloved uncle is really a serial killer and will anyone listen to her? No! At the tender age of six I was both frightened and riveted by her plight to escape the clutches of both the killer and make everyone else realize who Uncle Charlie really is. Needless to say this is 1943 and you won't see body parts flying. Just a clever use of sounds, lighting, and purpose to send your mind reeling.

Not all of Hitchcock's films involved blatant killers. An often reoccurring theme seems to be the poor hapless fellow who ends up over his head due to a situation that found him. Classics like Rear Window and North by Northwest tends to follow this general scheme, as does my favorite Hitchcock film Vertigo.

I will forever be dumbfounded to know that Vertigo was not very successful at the box office when it was first released in 1958. It stars James Stewart and the gorgeous Kim Novak, it's filmed in beautiful San Francisco (and some surrounding locations) and the story is absolutely mesmerizing! Even after you've already seen it and the initial twists are no longer surprising, I think its still plays as a very romantic film!

In a sort of twisted way....

The first time I saw "Vertigo" I was a bit young (7-ish) and subsequently could not completely follow the plot... but boy did I think Madeline (Kim Novak) was pretty.

and that suit!
I'd do horrible things to people for a suit like that...
(in a Hitchcockian fashion, of course)

Every time I watch Vertigo my heartbreaks for Scotty (James Stewart) and his illfated romance with Madeline... but in recent years a small part of me gets peeved that while Scotty is preoccupied running after the tragic Hitchcockian goddess. Who comes in and tries to set his mess of a life right? Good 'ole Midge.

Both to the audience and Scotty the girl pretty much stays on the back burner. She rushes in when her sensible nature is needed just to be overshadowed the next instant by the supernova that is Madeline.

Midge (Barbara Bel Geddesis) is the antithesis to Madeline. Of course she's not gonna grab Scotty's attention by floundering around in a puddle like a damsel in distress. The girls got a career, a level head and better things to do than spend hours getting dolled up or getting into trouble.

She's adorable, quirky and totally overlooked.

Beautiful, tragic, unattainable, as a little girl I loved the idea of the Hitchcock blond. It was almost as if she was an anti-heroine in a world filled with anti-heros. To this day I'd love to be siren in the vein of Madeline but as I get older the more I realize I'm destined to be a girl just like Midge. Every time I watch Vertigo I begin to see Midge as slightly cooler and hope that post-film she gave Scotty a swift kick in the ass for being such a jerk.

What about Midge you dofus??!!

(screencaps taken from screenmusings.org)

Everbody sing... "Don't know what you got, till it's gone"

2008-10-13T14:17:00.007-04:00

As mentioned on my w_r post.. I know of only one Cinderella song but I thrifted this tee anyways. A person just can not go wrong with a rainbow skull tee for fifty cents...

Everything with the exception of the knee socks is thrifted.

While waiting for the water to boil for lunch, I got slightly narcissistic and took photos with an office chair that we are getting rid of. Ugly chairs like this are only good for plotting ways to destroy James Bond.

Follow my blog with bloglovin´

Let it snow (damnit)

2008-10-12T22:15:00.007-04:00

The weather has been gorgeous the past few days and part of me hates it. Why? I'm longing to wear the new winter duds I've been thrifting!

My "new" black wool coat is in perfect condition and circa the late 1960's. I picked it up last Friday at the Salvation Army for $12 (pricey for me.. but it is a beautiful coat). The vintage wool cape has a gold/blue houndstooth pattern, that's what attracted to me when I spotted it on the rack for ladies suit coats. I was pleasantly surprised to find out that the lovely fabric belonged to a cape! It was priced $3 but just so happened to have the right color tag for half-off that day at the SA.

Much like yesterday, today was spent cleaning. I rearranged the furniture (with the help of mister.boyfriend) in the room next to the bedroom and while I'm not 100% satisfied with it, it's the best that can be done for now and I think the new arrangement is indeed a vast improvement. Next on my to do list is to paint the room and thrift up some spiffy curtains (or at least fabric to make such things with).

I need to get on the ball with the painting before it gets so cold that I have the choice of freezing with windows open or dieing of asphyxiation :P

Hurrah for productivity!

2008-10-11T22:16:00.015-04:00

While mister.boyfriend was refinishing a vintage maple desk that we picked up at a tag sale some weeks ago ($20), I bounced (3 cups of coffee) around helping out when needed, rummaging through abandoned bits in the garage, and attempted to wrangle the mess in the second half of our bedroom (too much stuff, not enough storage).

Digging around in the closet, I stumbled upon an adorable pair of baby shoes. It turned out that they were mister.boyfriend's first pair of real shoes! I love the richness to the colors and the contrast stitching. Oh how I wish I could find a pair of grownup shoes like these....

(mister.boyfriend claims that one could find similar shoes in a bowling alley... but I think the shoes have a bit more umpf than that...)

Besides squealing over baby shoes, I uncovered in the garage a pile of new table legs (which is thrilling since I've been designing a custom desk for us and was wondering if we could even afford buying decorative legs). I also found an end table that was absolutely trashed but the legs were salvageable and perfect for another project I've been working on.

The end table after I assaulted it....

As for what I was wearing to clean today... Though the sunglasses and kneehighs keep this outfit from being 100% thrifted, it's amazing to look back to a few years ago and compare the amount of retail shopping I did then to now. I've long been a fan of thrifts but admittedly in the past I was often impatient about getting what I wanted and would resort to retail for a quick fix. Slowly I became more accustomed to ignoring the "gotta have it now" voices (which are good to ignore since more often than not, I don't need it RIGHT NOW) and now I'm quite proud that more often than not I'm wearing at least one thrifted item if not a whole outfit!

The vintage shirt (with sleeves rolled up) and cream colored overalls were both thrifted. I had thrifted the overalls for 50% off at the Salvation Army just for days like today. The "Converse" are hand-me-downs.

Oh weather, how you toy with me...

2008-10-10T22:51:00.005-04:00

It seems as if it was only a few days ago when I was dressed for fall... Oh wait, it was. The past two days have been lovely as far as the weather goes and I'm back to my warm weather gear. I know once the winter hits (snow and all) I'll find myself longing for warmer days... but as of right now I find myself longing for layers and vintage jackets. Especially since I picked up a killer vintage coat at the Salvation Army today for $12. It's understated black wool with a body flattering cut. I've been jonesing for a black wool coat for the past two winters and I'm glad I finally found a suitable one.

The vintage skirt I am wearing is something that I thrifted early September (half-off, Salvation Army) and I've worn it at least twice a week ever since then. I love how it flares, the pockets, the obnoxious bright red, and the fact that it's a wrap skirt. My black shirt is H&M from a few years back, the scarf I acquired for a euro at a fleamarket, and the sunglasses were acquired during a cocktail fueled shopping adventure with my friend when he was visiting Paris.

My new best friend.....

2008-10-10T10:02:00.011-04:00

I pretty much presumed that when I finally obtained a sewing machine it would be purchased purely because it fit the budget and had the functions that I needed. Since it was an object that I required to continue my various projects, the longer I looked, the longer I'd stay in my loop of anti-productivity. I had been searching for a machine since my move at thrifts, tag sales, and a occasional look at Craigslist. The thrifts and tag sales turned up nothing and Craigslist was overflowing with machines that were way out of my budget or just did not meet my needs.

Earlier this week I had given Craigslist another go and to my surprise I found the PERFECT machine. I don't mean perfect in a purely rational manner, indeed the machine was within my budget (in fact under budget) and did exactly what I wanted. To my surprise and glee it was also perfect in a purely superficial manner. If someone had taken me to a room filled with sewing machines this would have been the one I walked out the door with. I could not believe my luck and the whole transaction was nerve wracking (is it still available? is the seller gonna be flaky? is this all some crazy dream??) .

It's a bit abstract to think that a mechanical object could embody everything there is to know about my personal aesthetic, but if you were ask me to sum up what I find beautiful, I'd point to the sewing machine.

My Kenmore Model 50, whom I've yet to name

The condition is amazing! Despite the machine being around 40 years old, it looks as if I walked into Sears and bought it today. Black faux leather covers the base and the machine itself is a lovely glossy silver/pale lavender, depending on the lighting. It even came with two screwdrivers with handles that match the color of the machine! The case is covered in a textured almost tweed like finish in black and white.

I'm just glad that mister.boyfriend shares a similar taste and a love for all things mechanical. Otherwise he might have thought I was a bit off for being so thrilled over an inanimate object. After we got it home and sat staring at it he even commented,

mb: "That's a sexy machine..."
me: "Isn't it? It's so pretty..."
mb: "yeah"
me: "yeah"

In other tales... The weather currently can not make up it's mind if it's fall or the last dregs of summer and I've gone back to bare legs.

Vintage seafoam cardigan: thrifted
"Little Miss Naughty" shirt: fleamarket vendor
Mustard belt: fleamarket
Black dot skirt: H&M 2 or 3 years ago
Flats: Monoprix

Superhero?

2008-10-05T22:44:00.005-04:00

If you asked me, I'd say that I looked something like a superhero today.

Maybe it's the red/blue combo.

Vintage red wool cardigan:
Thrifted gift from my mom
Comfy blue vintage skirt:
Thrifted (yesterday at the SA, 50% off)
Blue thermal with polkadots and kangaroo pocket:
Thrifted (yesterday as well.... 50% off too!)
Brown leather boots:
Thrifted some months ago and worn about 1000 times since then
Mustard belt:
Fleamarket find and also worn 1000 times

This might just be a ransome note....

2008-10-04T20:02:00.006-04:00

So here I am again. I've been neglecting many things (such as this blog) but we all need to go a bit squishy in the head sometimes. I'm still attempting to adjust to being in a new place, back in the States (!!people speak English here!!), and trying not to get into a routine of laziness.

Friday, I went to a rather crummy Salvation Army with mister.boyfriend. Overpriced (due to it being in a college town methinks), enough shoppers to give anyone a migraine, and the stock was rather bland (and I don't think it was because the selection was just picked over). I did leave with two skirts (half off, otherwise they would have stayed there) and a jacket (which in hindsight looks not so great on me, so now it needs a new home) but all-in-all the experience sort of left me under thrifting raincloud.

Onward to Saturday. Mister.boyfriend, sympathetic towards my disappointment at the Salvation Army we had gone to the day before, took me to another Salvation Army. It was a completely different experience from the blunder the day before. Reasonable prices, decent stock, and most of what I found was 50%. huzzah!

Saturday's thrifting outfit. The brooch I picked up on my birthday at an antique store for $3 or $4 and the tapestry handbag was a steal for 25 cents at a tag sale. The rest of the outfit was thrifted in expeditions old (sweater/top) and new (grey skirt obtained two weeks ago) with the exception of the booties, which were bought in Paris two days before I left.

Better late than never.....

2008-09-11T07:39:00.007-04:00

Hello again persons of the interweb!

I've been quite busy these past few weeks. A good friend visited shortly before I left Paris which left me torn between having a good time and packing. The move went reasonably well (considering the obvious ripples that always occur during such events and a few last minute freak-outs) but in the end.. while I arrived slightly deranged and very much jet lagged in Massachusetts, I still possessed a decent portion of my sanity. Huzzah!

My last days in Paris and the first weeks in my new local have breezed by so quickly, blogging seemed to get lost in the midst of all the action and time spent with mister.boyfriend who I had not seen for four months.

Amongst the action, last week I turned 28. Mister.boyfriend took me to a lovely butterfly conservatory where the butterflies pretty much ignored me but one in particular took a great liking to mister.boyfriend.

Vintage dress: Ebay
Shoes: Monoprix
Bag: Berksha

It drives me crazy that on my birthday I left the house with my hair actually "done" (a rarity for me) and the humidity quickly destroyed my efforts. argh!

The vintage cotton dress I am wearing was something I obtained on Ebay a few years ago. It's a funny item because the cotton fabric and comfy shape makes me think "day dress" but the v-neckline and pockets are trimmed with black velvet and the bodice has a smattering of rhinestones makes me think "evening". Unfortunately I'll have to soon replace the velvet trim since it has started flake off.

I had planned on wearing a cute pair of heels that I had obtained just a few days before leaving Paris but when I was told where we would be going I opted for flats.

On the way back from the conservatory we stopped by a antique store but I'll save that bit for a post on my various finds. I've been searching far and wide for bits to not only store my stuff but to make this house look more slightly more aesthetic and less "a single dude lives here".

Answer #1

2008-08-16T18:43:00.007-04:00

For everyone that played the game I posted in regards to my recently thrifted finds the first answer is...

3/B

"I come trimmed with rickrack. Made in "Switzerland" the label says."

Dress/Cardigan/Purse: Thrifted
Shoes: Ye olde Monoprix

I hope that everyone is having a good weekend!

Today I'm a "L-I-L-F"

2008-08-15T18:56:00.005-04:00

According to my friend who took this photo, I looked like a L-I-L-F (which means 'Librarian I'd like to f___k')...

I think librarians are cool, so it's all peaches with me!

Wrap 'dress': Thrifted (previously blogged here)

Slip: Thrifted
Shoes: Monoprix
Leather purse: Thrifted
Sunglasses: ??

btw.. Thanks to everyone who played my little game. I'll start revealing the answers tomorrow!

Just in case you did not know...

2008-08-13T16:50:00.007-04:00

fyi: Cleaning while listening to The Who leads to less cleaning and more leaping around in a shoddy imitation of Pete Townshend. Not that I am doing that or anything....

(photos from vh1)

Now back to my regularly scheduled cleaning...

Playtime...

2008-08-13T16:37:00.008-04:00

A few days ago I acquired a few new things at the thrift store I practically live at. Knowing most likely I'll have photos of me in them since I plan on wearing them while my friend is here. In the meantime I figured instead of taking limp clothes on the hanger photos, we could play a little game with my new finds.

Playing is simple: match the pattern to the description...

#4

Match with...
A. Gunne Sax I am not but I am still a delightful 70's era peasant dress.
B. I come trimmed with rickrack. Made in "Switzerland" the label says.
C. If it was the 80's, I'd wear this jumpsuit on a Club Med holiday.
D. I have no clues for what I may be, except a pencil skirt was made with me.

A letter to the thrift gods.....

2008-08-12T21:19:00.008-04:00

I'm indebted to you for the years of thrilling finds and most recently you've been extremely generous to me. All the lovelies I've come across in the past few weeks makes me in awe of your magical thrifty powers. This week I came to realize that while I am in no way ungrateful for all the thrifty goodness, I only have so much room in my suitcases and increasingly have found myself passing on treasures that you have so kindly provided. I'll always have room for a few things here and there, but what I've been finding goes way beyond the "here" and "there". One could say it may require me buying another suitcase if I do not watch myself. Of course I am a rational and reasonable person. So I've kept strong and steered clear of many thrifty thrills, albeit with a pang of sadness in my heart.

Some may think "Well why doesn't she just avoid the darn thrift stores until she leaves?". You know as well as I do that I am 100% incapable of any such thing. Especially since the shops I frequent the most are in neighborhoods that I am pretty much always in for various reasons. How can I resist taking a little peek since I am in the area anyways?

If it is not too much to ask, may I request that maybe you stop with the delights for just a few weeks? I'll very soon live in a new place... On the days where I find myself longing for the days in Paris and seek consolation by going to a thrift store, I'd appreciate some of that thrifty magic. Quite possibly much more than I would now.

With that said...

Thanks for the shoes!

Your faithful thrifter,
Roxanne

P.S.
I pretty presume that you are all dudes, thus me referring to you as "gods" rather than "goddesses", since a woman would be much more understanding and not put me in such a situation in the first place.

Disheveled is the word on the day..

2008-08-12T11:53:00.008-04:00

It's been over two weeks since I last documented an outfit of mine. Most of my days have been spent mulling around my flat and as a result my outfits have been either boring or repetitive. Surprisingly today I had one of those "half-asleep - throw on clothes and go out the door" outfits that actually worked. Everything served a purpose: the tank dress is a bit short so I added shorts, it was breezy outside so I added a cardigan, stepping on glass totally sucks so I needed shoes. I'll even admit I woke up with my hair still reasonably pulled back in the bun and thought "screw it", I left it alone and wandered out the door to the laundromat. Despite the casual nature of today's ensemble, it seemed to attract strange pervy dudes like flies!?

The shorts I'm wearing today are new favorites of mine, I thrifted them two weeks ago and have been wearing them regularly ever since. They were intended to be shorts for men but since when did I care about such things as labels? The tank dress I thrifted about a week ago. I got something of a discount after the woman at the register proclaimed that it was much too short to be considered a dress. So she charged me the shirt price!

Everything is thrifted, the t-straps I posted about previously, and the
vintage woven purse is a personal favorite of mine.

Thanks to Dr. Marten they'll be dancing in the streets...

2008-08-10T15:01:00.009-04:00

Ever since spandexpony posted about her recent purchase of a lovely floral pair Doc Martens, for the life of me I can not get the song from The Young Ones episode "Oil" out of my head.

I highly recommend checking out The Young Ones if you've never come across it before. It's one of my favorite shows.

I ponder things like moving, visits, & birthdays

2008-08-09T19:05:00.011-04:00

Though I still have some time before I move, a friend will be visiting me for his birthday about a week from now and then *poof* just a few days after he goes I will leave Paris. So, the way I see it, I have a week to finish packing the bulk of my stuff. Otherwise I'll have to gleefully tell my friend "Happy Birthday, your helping me finish packing". Being the good friend that he is I'm sure he would not mind in the least but since I like to pretend that I am a good hostess, I'd want to avoid such situations.

Since I'm running out of time, I'm not going to force myself to worry about things like the ideaboards. Yes, I've only done two so far and I feel rather silly about skipping them already but what can I do?

A few days ago mister.boyfriend celebrated his birthday, my good friend will be celebrating his in little over a week, and my own will be just a few short days after I return to the USA. All this recent pondering on what to get them got me thinking what I'd wish for me.

I'll keep any corny thoughts to myself and stick to listing the material wants...

I rarely NEED anything.. but I can not hide from the fact that these heels from Re-mix Vintage Shoes would go perfectly with 98% of what I own. The lovely olive green color would definitely rid me of my "I always wear black shoes because they go with anything" funk.

I have not purchased anything from Delia*s since I was about 16 (gosh, I feel old) but this camera tee thrills me to no end. I can even name the models on it. Even from the tiny picture! I bet half the owners of this tee can not say the same...

(image from sewalot.com)
A sewing machine would be the most useful gift for me right now. I plan on starting my own business soon (or at least working for myself as a designer of exciting things) and I've been coming up with ideas galore. It all sounds great in my head with the exception that I need a sewing machine in order to execute many of my ideas.

Of course nobody is going to buy me $400 Fluevog's for my birthday. Nor do I expect them to. I'm just mentioning them since I've been lusting after such boots for quite sometime and I may just have to go rob a bank for my pretties.

With that said.. I hope that everyone is having a good weekend!

As my roommate makes out like a bandit...

2008-08-07T16:20:00.010-04:00

Right now I'm in the middle of something like a moving slump. I'm so tired of sorting and making decisions, that I just want to chuck what remains into the trash and be done with it. With less than 20 days, at times I feel like I am skirting along the lines of panic but thankfully today I've officially finished going through everything that I had stashed in odd places (i.e. the dark recesses under my bed) and what remains seems slightly more manageable. I might even start packing the first suitcase tomorrow...

All the while my roommate has (gleefully) been the recipient of my purged clothes. Being around two sizes smaller than myself, she's the ideal candidate for the stuff that does not fit or fits rather unflatteringly on myself. Like a lovely red "wiggle" dress I thrifted 2 years ago. The flimsy material hung to every lump on my body making me look along the lines of a overcooked sausage. Of course my roommate looks awesome in it but I was still sad seeing the dress go no matter how much it looked like crap on me.

----

Despite getting closer to the move, I'm still thrifting. Much less actively than a few months ago but I've still been indulging myself once a week. Strangely enough, even though when I buy something at a thrift obviously I'm acquiring one more item to move, I've found it has been a good motivation to keep on purging. Finding a really cute dress that fits well gives me the motivation to let go of a few items that look less than great on me.

Besides, I'm moving from Paris to the middle-of-nowhere. Who knows what thrifting will be like in my future?

(You can click on the photo for a large version.. It might make it easier to see the patterns on my recent finds....)

I love the seemingly "random" pocket on this dress...

This came with a matching fabric belt but I think it will look better with a contrasting belt...

There are thin stripes in the two white bands and it snaps up the front... I'm sure this was supposed to be a smock of sorts but I shall wear this as a dress regardless of its original intentions.

It does not look like much on the hanger. I passed by this about 6 times before I thought "what the heck" and grabbed it.. I'm glad I did since it looks much better on than flopping around on a hanger.

The print on this vintage shirt dress totally sold me! It hangs sort of strangely on the hanger but looks quite nice on...

The dresses were 3€ each and most were found on a rack of unloved housecoats/robes... Sorry I don't have pictures of me in them. I'm not feeling particularly photogenic right now.

ideaboard #2 // Irma Vep

2008-08-01T17:03:00.020-04:00

When I say "Irma Vep", I'm not talking about the film where Maggie Cheung flounces about in latex. I'm thinking more along the lines of the femme fatale in Louis Feuillade's silent serial Les Vampires.

The lovely Musidora stars in this 10-part serial that brings to life Irma Vep. As a member of the gang "Les Vampires" she slinks about dressed in a skin-tight black costume and commits an array of dastardly deeds.
I won't go into the details of the serial, but the bit that made me go "wowie" was when Irma Vep makes her dramatic appearance at the theater dressed very much like a bat.

Prior to the first time Irma Vep came to my attention, I had long been a fan of the illustrator/author Edward Gorey. One of my favorite stories of his is La Chauve-Souris Dorée (or The Gilded Bat).

So it is very possible that I might just have a thing for women dressed as bats (or wish to be one my self).

ideaboard #2 is a sitting room inspired by the past, wickedness, and Irma Vep. The cabinets could be suitable to hold a small library (books on poisons maybe?) or to showcase heisted goods before they find themselves in the hands of the highest bidder. Seating is plentiful in order to accommodate many persons involved in the latest plot. A sideboard behind the sofa could store snifters and a variety of liquors (who doesn't love a drink while plotting?). Finally, table lamps would provide mood lighting and could be moved in order to view maps or other bits of information better.

Wallpaper // "Bat and Poppies" fabric @ Arts & Crafts Home
Cabinets // Elliptic Library Cabinet @ Jayson Home & Garden
Chair // Queen Ann Arm Chair @ Baker Furniture
Lamp // Alhambre Table Lamp @ Bellacor
Distressed Sideboard // Napoleon Sideboard @ Jayson Home & Garden
Damask Pillow // Brown Vintage Damask 17" Square Pillow @ Lamps Plus
Map Pillow // Antique World Map Pillow @ Lamps Plus
Sofa // Scrolled Arm Sofa @ Baker Furniture
Chairs // Regency Tub Chair @ Baker Furniture
Small Table // Paris End Table @ Decorati

When I started planning this room I found it was the perfect opportunity to use a favorite print design of mine "Bat and Poppies", a wallpaper designed by M. P. Verneuil in 1897. While rather surreal (Bats with poppies??), it is a beautiful design and would be a fine touch to this room.

Image credits: "Qui? Quoi?" etc poster from the wikipedia entry, still from the movie I had on my hd but could not find a reliable source online, book cover from goreydetails.net, "Bat and Poppies" wallpaper achome.co.uk.

Thriftyness, updates, etc.

2008-07-31T15:40:00.007-04:00

People of earth,

I'm not completely gone, I've just been ill for several days and recently got back into the swing of things. It's amazing how behind you can become on absolutely EVERYTHING after spending 5 days in bed. So I'll get back to your blogs and my own blogging soon enough!

In the meantime... I managed to sneak off to a thrift while out running errands and found a few things. While trying to capture everything, the sun was setting fast and I didn't get a chance to document the entire haul but here are three selections.

I have a obnoxiously red vintage trench already but I've been in the market for one in a more subdued color. The color of this trench that I got for 3€ is a funny one to photograph. In "regular" light it's a medium toned earthy yellow and in low light it could almost pass for more of a deep khaki color. I described it to my boyfriend as a "1970's yellow" after he was discussing painting what would be my room and me saying that I want it to be exactly the same color as the trench I just thrifted. The cut of the coat is not the grandest (it's more of a rectangle and I have a thing for more swingy shapes on my coats) but that's the beautiful thing about trenches. You can belt them so they have more shape...

The buttons are rather bland as well. So once I'm back in the US, I think I'll replace them with brown wood ones (and possibly add a brown sash as well?).

If you look at my love of plaid from a psychological point of view... It might have something to do with experiencing adolescence during the 90's. Unfortunately in retail and thrifts I generally come across plaid items that are better suited for cold weather. So it thrilled me to find this vintage cotton dress. The fabric makes it ideal for summer and I think the colors would help it be wearable during colder months (with a bit of layering).

A long time ago (and I mean 1997? 1998?) I made myself vow to a "no vintage polyester" policy. Well, it was more like a "no synthetics in general" policy. Of course on a rare occasion that rule has been broken but I'm quite proud of the fact that a huge percentage of my vintage consists of natural fabrics. With this dress I crossed the fabric boundaries and accepted this little polyester number into my wardrobe. The selling points? The neck ties into a bow! It still has it's belt!

and the real clincher...

In my still slightly ill mind, that had just spent several days bed ridden and watching VAST amounts of Star Trek, I thought "HOLY CRAP! THAT PATTERN LOOKS LIKE SPACE!". Before you run off thinking I've completely lost it, just look at the pattern. The graduated hued deep blue with the white spots could be the fabric of space littered with stars and the swirly blue bits could represent wormholes or comets or other interesting stellar bits.

and it's blue! Mr. Spock wears blue!

Knowing all that.. Not buying that dress would have been highly illogical.

My new bag in action...

2008-07-24T17:26:00.013-04:00

I request that you please excuse the dramatic "I just spent 25min on the metro which was 1000x hotter than the sweltering streets above" pose.

Skirt, silk blouse, heels: thrifted
Vintage leather belt: Free
Purse: acquired through bribery

Recent thrifty acquisitions

2008-07-23T18:15:00.005-04:00

Yes, yes... I know I may be moving but who can resist a deal?

I came here with two suitcases, I plan on leaving with four. Owning only two suitcases I needed to find myself another two to use. A few weeks ago I found a rather nice leather suitcase (with keys) left outside for trash day. Which brought my suitcase total to three. This nifty number pictured here makes number 4.

This is my new favorite purse and the best purse ever!

Which once was a child's dress will now be a spiffy tunic top for me...

Belts are compact, so I feel no guilt with obtaining a few new ones..

The great purge 2008, part 3

2008-07-22T18:50:00.005-04:00

What I will bring with me on my move may be littered with rules and hard decisions.. but today I realized that one group possessions rises above any such philosophies:

The cameras are totally going with me. Each and everyone of them.

Photo by: Roxanne

Chaos was what killed the dinosaurs, darling.

2008-07-21T14:57:00.009-04:00

It's been years since I've consumed significant quantities of television.. Which is why more often than not when people consult me about the latest shows, I stare at them blankly.

(i.e. I might just be the only woman alive who has never seen an episode of "Sex in the City".)

In the blogosphere I occasionally see someone referencing or commenting on a show called "Gossip Girls". I would not be surprised that such a show is meant for someone younger than myself, so it's not a big deal that I really know very little about it.

Yet every time I see photos for said show on blogs, it just screams "HEATHERS" at me. Am I showing my age now?

Any of you remember the movie Heathers?

Damn, I love that movie.

Images from the film Heathers have been shamelessly glipped
off the interweb... In an attempt to promote said film.

More thrifted goods in action...

2008-07-21T12:27:00.009-04:00

Don't you just love it when you find something at the thrift store then a few min later... you find something else that goes perfectly with it?

Such as the story for this tank and skirt I thrifted last week. I dug the skirt out of the bin of skirts and just a few min later I found this simple stripe tank that goes quite well with it (methinks).

Tank, skirt, thrifted last week
Belt, thrifted a few months ago
Heels, thrifted some months back

The great purge 2008, part 2b

2008-07-20T20:19:00.005-04:00

Speaking of purging my books... I thought it might be worth mentioning that I also need to weed through the homeless books I always rescue when I see piles of junk on the side of the road.

Do I really need a Italian/French dictionary?

Considering that I am not a master of French nor do I know any Italian...

Did I ever need one??

(To keep myself from looking completely crazy.. The book was vintage with nice typography...)

The great purge 2008, part 2

2008-07-20T19:09:00.010-04:00

The first Ikea bag filled with purged clothing..

Last time I posted about my upcoming move I mentioned the three general rules I'm trying to abide by in order to make this move as easy and efficient as possible. They were something along the lines of....

1. Don't move anything that I can live without
2. I might need it NOW but will I need it where I'm moving to?
3. If it costs more (or equal) to transport than I could buy that item again for, is it still worth moving?

For example... I'm not even going to bother taking any basic household items like dishes, pots, pans, etc. First off, I will be moving in with my man and he already has that sort stuff. Though arguably it may not be as visually appealing as my stuff (hehe), the United States does have magical places like Target and thrift stores. So I could show up at my new residence turn up my nose at what the man has and venture off on a buying spree for quite possibly a lot less than it is worth to bring what I may already own. We could say household goods falls under #2 - they already exist where I'm going to live next, and even #3 - I can replace everything easily and cheaply if needed.

When sorting through my book collection I also found #2 applied quite well. Books are a heavy and a general pain to move. My first instinct (I love books!!) was to toss them all into boxes and ship them. With #2 and a critical eye I realized that it is quite possible that I will no longer explicitly need some of my books. While trying to learn French I amassed many books on the language. I don't plan on forgetting what I've learned and I hope to continue practicing, but with no longer needing to know French for my daily life... Do I really need a large sum of books on the subject? This also works for any books I have on France or the city of Paris itself. Directories, guides and the like, are relevant while I'm still living here but won't be particularly useful once I'm no longer living here. Places constantly change and evolve, so books containing time sensitive information may no longer be relevant the next time I could need them again.

I've also been looking critically at any design reference books that I purchased while a student. Studying something that I never really studied before, I was hungry for ANYTHING on the subject. Three years later not only did I learn many new things, I also now have my own opinions, ideas, and style. Books that I pretty much know the subject matter and have not needed since my first (or second) year might not be of use to me anymore. Also knowing a lot more about the subject matter, some books might not contain information that is relevant to my own ideas or technique.

Moving is hard, especially if you are like me and have a tendency to develop strange nostalgic attachments to inanimate objects. It is easy to say "I don't need this" but it is hard to say that then actually get rid of it!

---

Going through my stuff seems like a never ending ordeal and next time I chose to ramble about it, I think I'll discuss my new and exciting "One bag" policy that I have been applying to the sorting of my clothing.

and in other news.. I'm still actively thrifting (I'm sure I'll be thrifting up until the day before I leave Paris) and will post some of my recent finds tomorrow.

ideaboard #1 // Breakfast of Champions

2008-07-18T10:54:00.019-04:00

Nutella for me is something of an acquired taste. Only recently has it become an item you would regularly find on my shelf. When I have time in the morning I usually slather it on a small crepe and top if off with bananas.

This morning I was aware that I'd most likely be unable to finish the ideaboard I had been working on in my spare time for this blog. Darn me for being one of those people that get obsessed with specific details! Unsure of what I could do, inspiration struck when I made this morning's breakfast. A crepe with Nutella (unseen in the photo), bananas, set on a lovely blue plate (that belongs to my roommate), and a glass of cranberry juice.

Photo of my breakfast by Rox

Click to enlarge...

I scoured the internet and my archives looking for the perfect table with that could emulate the texture of a crepe. Cork as a material came to mind since the patterns vary (much like crepes do) and it is available in an array of hues. During my search I found some lovely mid-century pieces made from cork such as this table by Paul Frankl, but nothing really suited the bill. That's when I thought one could cut a giant place-mat of sorts from cork to the size of the table. Such a place-mat would add a bit of texture to the arrangement and would also insure that nothing would ever skid off the table! (har har)

The colors chosen pretty much were taken from my breakfast. Soft creamy yellows for the banana, deep rich browns for the Nutella, a back drop of blue and a hint of red.

Pictured in "Breakfast of Champions",
Chandelier: " Voltolina" @ forzieri
Dinnerware: "Kata" @ target
Table: "Frank" @ jayson home & garden
Chairs: "Martine" @ restoration hardware

Photo of the Nutella spread obtained from Wikipedia.

Update: Mission Statement 170708

2008-07-17T09:37:00.013-04:00

Above: An early conceptual illustration for a class project
Below: Style board for a "Steampunk" parlor

From the beginning I've been tossing around ideas for regular design related features. I recognize that there exists MANY blogs with emphasis on specifically interior or product design and many more about design in general. Quite a few of those blogs have an eye towards the latest and greatest. I'm not one to snub trends but knowing that such things are well covered elsewhere I've decided to focus more on inspiration from what could be seen as individual preferences regardless of what is "now".

The first weekly feature will consist of a mood and style board centered around a specific theme. It may sounds like a common design blog feature but as mentioned I'm thinking less "Orange and gray are the colors for Autumn" and more "This week is a room inspired by Dolly Parton". I plan on submitting a style idea for your perusal every Friday.

For the second, I'd like to do a post weekly on my love for inanimate objects and the designers who create them. While this feature is no way unique, I hope I can come up with people and objects that may have never came to your attention for before.

In short... I'm trying to put the past several years devoted to studying design to good use!

With that said, the first "ideaboard" will be posted tomorrow and now I'm off to locate wherever my camera charger is hiding ;)

The great purge 2008, part 1

2008-07-17T08:51:00.010-04:00

Photo by: Roxanne

With something like 40 days or so before I leave France and head back across the Atlantic, I am really starting to feel the pressure on what to do with my 3+ years worth of acquisitions. Shipping overseas is expensive and in all honesty do I really need everything I have now? No. With this in mind, I've been trying brainstorm and organize how I could objectively go through EVERYTHING and discard what I really don't need.

About five years ago my parents decided to move out of California after living in the house I called home for 20 years. I was going to be traveling in Europe during the move, so prior to my departure I went on a rather eclectic attempt to downsize years upon years of possessions. During my adolescence I stayed in the bedroom that had a rather large walk-in closet. That led to never really needing to get rid of anything. Though I considered my efforts to downsize to be admirable (I sold clothes mostly for .50 or $1 each and earned almost $400 at the family garage sale), after the move both myself and my parents found ourselves unpacking boxes of things that in hindsight, we did not really need.

With that lesson learned, I've come up with three general rules:

1. Don't move anything that I can live without
2. I might need it NOW but will I need it where I'm moving to?
3. If it costs more (or equal) to transport than I could buy that item again for, is it still worth moving?

Next post, I will delve deeper into my musings on applying the aforementioned rules to my purge.

Thrifted goods in action

2008-07-10T13:41:00.016-04:00

Photos by: Roxanne

Here are the boots that I thrifted a few weeks back. Paired with a vintage dress (thrifted) and a vintage belt (thrifted).

I think I might just wee myself....

2008-07-07T16:38:00.017-04:00

BERLIN (Reuters) - Film historians had doubted they would ever find the missing portions of "Metropolis" -- until three reels of the science fiction film made in Germany a long time ago, were discovered in a country far, far away. (read the rest here)

Doth mine eyes deceive me? I am not just thrilled out of a biased love for the Fritz Lang masterpiece. It always tickles me when 'lost' portions of silent films are found......

In my younger days I was adamant with my belief that people were absolutely brainless not to recognize certain films for the masterpieces that they were and care for them accordingly. Box office returns? Who cares? Conservation of space and recycling of materials be damned!

Now, I see such things as both a collective and subject experience. I'm sure that there is a whole slew of films that any viewers of this blog could agree with me, if they were somehow destroyed, none of us would cry over it. Yet, to the dismay of my roommate (and I'm sure many of you), I have to admit that every time I wander past my roommate's collection of Doris Day films and I see Doris' glowing face smiling up at me, I want to chuck the lot into a raging fire.

I may be a total idiot for not seeing why people find Doris Day appealing (I'd like to think I'm not) but the fact that remains that if I became ruler of the world, Ms. Day movies would be the first thing to go.

The studios that manhandled what became classic cinema might have felt completely justified when they made their decisions, much like how I feel completely justified in wanting to create a Day-free world.

Edit: You can view a few stills from the found footage at the German paper Die Zeit's website... (gallery over here)

Thrifting in June: Things that start with the letter S part 3

2008-06-19T15:58:00.006-04:00

Taking up even less space than a Summer dresses, scarves are another sans-guilt thrifting pleasure of mine. Heck, if I run out of room in my suitcase..... I could always stuff my bra with them, or something..... Not to mention, I feel like I totally scored this month with one fine piece. Mounds of items crammed in a bin may seem a bit overwhelming, but it does pay to rummage through them!

Thrifting in June: Things that start with the letter S
Part 3: Scarves and SCORE!

The top number is butter soft silk with hand painted tulips. I just loved the floral pattern on the second, sadly it had no indication who/what/where it came from. It's a pity since I'd most likely be on Ebay right now trying to hunt down similar ones.

(update: I noticed finally that the second scarf has the Avon logo hidden amongst the flora. Who would have thought it?)

Score? SCORE? I adored the colors and the pattern long before I noticed it was a Hermès. Ever since I was a kid I've held some sort of fascination with the various State seals. The design commemorates the United States bicentennial back in 1976. This lovely number was purchased for a mere 1,50€.

Thrifting in June: Things that start with the letter S part 2

2008-06-18T10:38:00.003-04:00

Summer dresses are one of the few things that I do not feel any amount of guilt while thrifting this month. The cotton delights take up much less space than let's say shoes or a sweater and while they are very comfortable during the warmer months, I can always layer one during the colder months if I need a bit of color pick-me-up.

Thrifting in June: Things that start with the letter S
Part 2: Summer dresses

Thrifting in June: Things that start with the letter S part 1

2008-06-17T11:19:00.005-04:00

It's June. The weather may be spastic, but seeing as that I am now officially out of school, I have quite a bit of free time on my hands. So admittedly, I've spent more time milling around various thrifts this month than partaking in any more productive activities.

Not that thrifting is anti-productive.... The rational part of me just thinks that with the big continental move approaching, the last thing I need is more stuff.

For example.... In late May my boyfriend, who paid me a graduation visit, was a kind enough fellow to not only bring an empty suitcase with him but also packed lightly in his other suitcase, in order to assist in getting some of my belongings back to the States. I opted to cram the suitcases full with seasonal gear and a good portion of my overflowing shoe collection (in my room, shoes were literally spewing forth from the various nooks I had them crammed into). For less than 24-hours after I had a manageable amount of shoes, then I went thrifting.......

and now we get to the first installment of:
Thrifting in June: Things that begin with the letter S
Part 1: Shoes

Of course I did not get these all at once. I've been picking up pairs here and there over the past few weeks. At first I told myself that for every 'new' pair I got, I'd get rid of an old pair.

Now it's more like for every TWO 'new' pairs I get, I will get rid of an old pair.....

With the vast number of shoes I'm always forced to pass on since the shoes always seem to be around a 7 or 8 and I am gifted with size 10 (41) feet, it is always a thrill when I do find shoes in my size!

Greetings and salutations....

2008-06-09T18:45:00.001-04:00

Good day kind folks of the intraweb,

Like many girls, I like clothes and pretty things.

Like many persons of my age-bracket, I enjoy thrifting, diy, and things of days-gone-by. I grew up attached to a computing device, playing fantasy games, reading books, and watching Japanese animation, so I've also been known to dabble in a bit of geekery.

Like a small percentage of the world, I have recently obtained a degree in Interior Design and will be pursing a career as that and my true love, product design.

This is a blog less about me and more about my interests, obsessions, and opinionated rants littered with my deranged reasoning. Which all have a tendency to take on a life of their own.......

- Roxanne