vintage home

i have been extra aware of home design lately. searching for inspiration and creating new spaces in my home has always been one of my favorite hobbies, but lately it's been one of the top five things i think about every day. my interest was first stoked by this post, then reignited by francesca's post today and the impending arrival of a house guest, which always makes me want to make my apartment look the best that it can.
of course, i love me some vintage home decor, and most of our furniture and art and tchotchkes are of the second-hand persuasion. i've tried to create some little vintage-only vignettes, but eventually i want the whole house to look like an antique store!

-- i've started a colored glass collection (probably because my mom is a glass collector and it reminds me of home), which i'm using to stash the knitting and art supplies.
-- my little plant stand came from a garage sale. i love it so! the little cutouts are actually little hearts! and i consider that plant vintage because, for some reason, that is the plant i picture in apartments that belonged to college girls in the seventies.
-- only that little corner is very vintage-y in my kitchen. we use the club pot as a bread box. i stole the glass containers from my mommy (who hopefully won't make me give them back once she reads this). and boyfriend installed little hooks to display my vintage coffee cup collection - no two are the same and yet they all go together!
-- the rest of those pictures are from the bathroom - the one room in the house that is the most vintage, but then gets marred by ugly modern toilets and such! that floral crewelwork is probably my favorite wall hanging. someday i hope to have a hallway lined with such lovelies. this club pot used to be a planter until i killed the plant, so now it holds our extra change. the telephone conductors are another tribute to my mom's style. she used to have a much larger collection with all shapes and sizes.

my ultimate inspiration for whole-house-beautiness is the lovely miss francesca. since i've been reading her blog, the snapshots from her rooms have just floored me with their perfection. every little bit of her space is a step back in time and exudes her delicate style. go here to see the cutest video tour of her lovely home. see if you don't want to just move right in, or at least chuck everything you own and start over.
i've never been a fan of collections - i am generally of the belief that they are a waste of space and money - but i think i may have changed my mind without meaning to. i've just realized that i have four or five mini collections displayed in this very post (not to mention the 'collection' of clothes and shoes strewn all about the room i am sitting in). actually, i think the things i like the most from all these photos are the collections. they are little bits that tell a little more about the person that chose them, be they glass pieces, or barcello pillows (like the awesome ones below), or old photographs.
well, i've rambled on long enough...look at the pretty pictures!

left: old domino article spotted on the english muse. right: found here on flickr

the trip

a few months back, one of my girlfriends told me about this amazing vacation her mom takes every year. girlie's mommy and auntie pack up their sewing machines and head off for a resort vacation for a couple weeks to catch up with each other and their sewing projects. it's brilliant! so we booked a week at my grandma's house in tempe, arizona -- the closest we can afford to a resort -- complete with sparkling pool, fridge full of goodies, and a girl's night out with my grandma, her girlfriends, and bowls full of beer. yum!
some highlights from the week (clockwise from top left):

-- the gigantic stack of vintage fabric i've been hoarding since we started planning this trip. i also brought a stack of vintage patterns, but only managed to eke out one botched camisole from the seventies. the envelope was missing the pieces for the yoke so i winged it -- and it came out two sizes too big for the bottom. and, yes, i did fail pattern-making in college. i also hemmed made wearable two vintage dresses, and totally reconstructed a HUGE yellow mumu that is now one of my favorite sundresses!
-- the beautiful bougainvillea that has been gorgeously framing the garage since way before i was born.
-- possibly my favorite part about my grandma's oh-so-vintage house: the awesome floor tiles in my bedroom.
-- one of many quilts made by the long-gone ladies of my family. they're so old and delicate, it almost feels wrong actually using one on the bed!
-- the ruined cornbread i tried to make for our vegetarian tamale pie, right before it got thrown away for being bread soup instead of bread batter. i've been working on my homemade cornbread recipe at home, but foolishly bought the box stuff instead. there were three different recipes on the box and i think i followed them all. that's bad.
-- the wonderfully retro dark wood paneling that still remains in grandma's living room. she and my grandpa moved into this house in 1960. i love that so much of the decor has remained. there are also wrought-iron globe lamps, avocado green tile in the kitchen, and actual 1960's metal-umbrella-topped picnic tables from a fast food joint out in the backyard.

of course, we had to sample the local flavor in thrift shops.
the first day we went out unprepared, hoping to run into a cute little coffeehouse with free wifi from which to plan our journey. somehow, we went every way but the right way, and couldn't even find ourselves a starbucks! we stopped at a walgreens while i called for backup (my mom) to google for us, but when we tried to head out, my car wouldn't start! we're so lucky we got stuck at the drug store instead of in the middle of the desert -- we had plenty to eat and drink and read while we waited for the tow truck for over an hour. it was actually pretty fun!
the second day, with rhonda the honda up and running again, we checked more than ten thrift stores off of our prepared list. below are some of the finds (some of the others are staying with me) and these should be in the shop by the weekend.


this is the first vacation i've ever taken where i actually missed my job. i had planned on working while we were there, but when it came down to it, i felt like i was ignoring my friend and my grandma too much. i didn't realize before how much time i actually spend on all this -- it's fun, so it doesn't ever feel like work! i think it was wednesday night that i decided to just give it a rest, and it was almost uncomfortable not blogging, listing items, or vintage hunting! it's so cool to realize how much i love this.

now it's time to play catch-up!

p.s. make sure you read the post below! the big huge sale ends june 30th at midnight!

super huge sale!!!

hello! i'm back! i was sweating it up in arizona all last week. i meant to mention it beforehand and post along the way, but of course, things don't always work out the way i plan. there will be more on that soon.

in the meantime, i'm throwing a sale in the shop -- just for you lovely blog readers.

here's how it goes:
take 20% off the listed price on all new items.
take 30% off items listed between 5/30 and 6/15.
take 50% off all the rest!
*if you are a return customer, you'll get an extra 10% off!!!*

discounts will be refunded via paypal, or you can convo me for a revised invoice.
be sure to mention the sale in your message to seller at checkout!

sale lasts til midnight on june 30th.

so many shoes!

i mentioned before i think that each week's collection usually seems to have a theme. try and guess the common thread between this week's goodies!
deborah jean's shoe section is about to be overflowing with perfection! pumps, flats, huaraches, mary janes, sandals, peep toes, round toes, stacked heels, designer, casual.... in all sizes - even 5 and 10!






i also managed to find some clothes for the shop this week (but man, was it hard -- first finding anything worth buying, and then trying to keep it out of my closet!)
two of those essential silk tank tops in perfectly versatile non-colors, some ridiculously awesome lime green chic brand shorts, and the most amazing 1950s cotton bathing suit are among my favorites. which are your favorites?

lazy bones

here's the sneak preview for last week's loot! i finally did the photoshoot today - last week i just wasn't feeling it. the good news is that i have to get all of these goodies into the shop before thursday which is when i'll be shooting the ridiculous amount of awesomeness that i found today for next week's update. a little hint - today's bounty includes about 15 pairs of vintage shoes in all sizes, shapes, and colors! and i'm not even keeping any of them!

also next week: a little surprise i think you're gonna loooooove. yay!

diy on the fly

i woke up from my nap yesterday with one hour in which to shower and get dressed for a drinks date in celebration of my friend's 25th birthday. that's normally more than enough time for me (i like to consider myself low-maintenance, at least in that respect) but i couldn't find anything to wear. when that happens, i always start with what i know i want to wear -- in this case, the shorts were the starting point because everything else is dirty -- and then build around it.
i looked frantically through my drawers for a loose, cap sleeve shirt that i could belt before remembering, oh yeah, i don't have one of those. but i did have a hanes v-neck tee shirt and a pair of scissors!
with fifteen minutes til my friend was due to pick me up, i lay the shirt on the floor and cut out a larger v neck, using the previous one as a guide. then i lopped off the sleeves, using the first finished one as a guide for the second for some semblance of evenness. then, since i've decided that detail in the back is one of my signature design favorites, i cut a scoop neck in the back. and i cut off the hem (under the finished seam) to keep up the unfinished look but also keep from looking too homemade.

see more (way better) ways to alter an old white tee here.

top: reconstructed white tee
belt: urban outfitters
shorts: formerly f21 jeans turned to cut-offs in a similar nothing-to-wear-gotta-go-now situation
shoes: thrifted

i want

dress from mimi's gamines, t strap sandals and calderon handbag from nstyle vintage

i just happened to do a little etsy wish-listing last night, and the items i fell in love with just happen to look totally and utterly fantastic together. please make this your new favorite outfit since i can't afford to. or just drool all over your keyboard as i am doing right now.

little news

i've joined twitter! now you can get my tiny posts there that tell you about my big posts here!
in other little news, this totally adorable pumpkin daydress is now listed in the shop along with three other new lovelies. see, it's a tiny shop update so it's 'little news.'
more later! and you'll hear it here first!

is it summer yet?

after spending many days sick indoors, i finally get to go outside, and summer has disappeared! this is california. it is june. and today it is gloomy, threatening rain, and barely 70 degrees. it's too hard to get dressed when the weather is like this. colors seem too bright. sandals leave my tootsies cold. i reach for my winter staples, but they look funny this time of year - even if they are functional.
you're probably all out prancing around in sundresses and sandals right now, but i've done a little shopping for those of us still in transition.

lightweight layering dresses
these dresses are perfect because they're not too bright, and not too obviously summery, but if the sun does peek out, you can strip down to a sleeveless dress and pretend it's been warm all day.

raw goods vintage, vintage revolver, splendidred

neutral cardigan
it feels so silly to be wearing a sweater in the summertime, but i've been relying on my lightweight tan cashmere sweater all week. maybe since it's neutral, it looks more like summer tanned arms than a sweater?

red eye vintage, this year's model

start with the basics
since i don't have any of those pretty little dresses above, i started with the three pieces i do have that i knew would work for the day.
my new favorite item to stockpile (i bought four last week and will be getting lots for the shop as soon as i can) is a simple silk tank top. it helps you stay cool when it's warm and warm when it's cool. i bought them to wear tucked into high-waisted skirts, but ended up wearing mine like in this photo, loose over skinny black jeans.
i tucked those jeans into my trusty campus boots - the perfect fallback when no shoes seem to go, and the main component in my plan to keep myself warm this morning.
a brown leather belt works its way into my outfits most days, so i whipped that out too for a good jumping off point.

rerun vintage, le amor vintage, fox and his friends

a full, short skirt
with those three starter pieces, the final bit of the what-to-wear-today puzzle would be a full short skirt. i like it with the long, silk tank top loose over the skirt and belted at the waist, forming a little peplum over the fullness of the skirt. way cute, no?

what circa, allen company inc, vintage rose clothing

guten tag

well hello, easiest tag ever! nice to meet you! the lovely miss lauren has tagged me again with the super fun task of sharing my favorites from etsy. since this is one of my favorite kinds of posts to do anway, i was already prepared.
here's just a few of my favorites, which definitely seem to be sticking to a pattern -- blue dresses, lots of florals, and some lovely vintage swimwear... i'm especially smitten with these bathing suits, but i can't cheat on the awesome, never-worn one i found thrifting last month that was obviously made for nobody but me.
p.s. pardon the crap writing here today, i've been sick in bed since friday. it sucks.

margaret pearl

hihlo studio

jess james jake

best finds

greasy waitress

raw goods vintage

secret lake

now let's see what mavera, starr, and priscilla have in their favorites!

my favorites ever, again

let me say for the final time that every single week i post my favorite pieces ever to the shop. now i will never have to tell you again.
this week's collection is extra special for all the silks and fancies spotted throughout. there's even an early 70s missoni dress -- i can't believe that one's not going straight into my closet.
i can't wait to list all these! but i'll have to....they'll be trickling into the shop starting tonight.