Let it snow (damnit)

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!

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...

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.....

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?

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....

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.....

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".