Waiting for spring.

Buffalo has rather schizo weather each spring. A day or two here will be sunny and almost warm, and a day or three there will be cloudy and windy - maybe even snowy. I'm really looking forward to the warmer days ahead, when I can just throw on a lightweight dress and pair of sandals and call it a day. These photos are from Dave's cousin's wedding last July, when I employed just that sort of dressing technique. Here's hoping I can do it again soon!

The wedding was at the Botanical Gardens, which are beautiful. After the lovely ceremony, guests had the opportunity to wander the grounds before heading to the reception. Neither Dave nor I had been there in years, so we were glad for the chance to check it out and snap some totes awesome blog pix.

Dress: BCBG

Shoes: from my sister's wedding

Purse: vintage, 20s?

Scarf: vintage Vera, wool, great grandmother's

Photos by Dave.

I fell 100% in love with this oversized checkerboard.

Hideyhole.

View from hideyhole.

Shrimp plant! This exists!

Spooooky ghost flower.

I was so excited to get a picture of this flower called "Confident Pride" (because that's hilarious), but realized later that it's actually "Confederate Pride," which is considerably less cool.

We found a twee mirror on our way out.

Spring, please come soon!

Giallo chair

If you didn't already guess, then you need to know that I have an insatiable taste for kitsch. So when Dave and I saw a photo of this chair in a preview of a local estate sale, we both flipped. The estate was that of a lady who was an interior designer in the 60s, and she had sooooo many amazing pieces that I would love to own, but this was the one that we both set our hearts on (as well as being the only thing in our price range). It reminds me of something that should be on the set of a 60s Italian horror film, straight out of any of Mario Bava's Technicolor sixties-does-Victorian giallo flicks or even Suspiria (my all-time favorite spooky movie)! Or maybe a Fellini film, like Juliet of the Spirits.

We debated leaving it there and going back another day later in the sale to see if the price dropped, but after watching other folks' reactions to it we knew we'd have some pretty stiff competition and there'd be no way it would still be around. After some hemming and hawing about the price on my part, we took it home! Dave said to regard it as an art piece. I like buying art.

I so wish I could've met the lady who originally owned this. Walking around her home, you really got a feel for her sense of style, and it was so in line with my own that I think we could've found plenty to gab about. When Dave spoke to her caretaker, she told us that the woman attached the rhinestones herself, then placed the chair directly across the entryway so "you'd walk into the room and the first thing you'd see is those eyes glinting in the light and staring back at you." That sounds exactly like something I would do!! We also think she painted and upholstered the chair herself, refurbishing an old piece. I should mention here that she had respect for history and antiques, as she was a board member of the local historical society and decorated the Teddy Roosevelt Inaugural Site in Buffalo.









Dave's best angry cherub impression. Is it not accurate?



All photos by Dave, except for the ones I took of him.

Impulse sale in my shop!

Howdy, y'all! As you may or may not know, I rarely have discount sales in my etsy store. However, I'm in a position where I could really use a few extra dolla dolla bills right now, so I've decided to hold an impromptu sale for my lovely blog-readers and twitter followers, likely for today only. If there's anything you've had your eye on in the shop, now's the time to buy! For a lush 20% off, please redeem coupon code: IMPULSE.

And thanks!

Meet the Girlies!

Well, hello all! Long time, no blog. I hope everyone's holidays were as wonderful as mine; I'm a lucky girl, indeed. I've also been having fun reading everyone's New Year's goals/resolutions. Here are a few of mine, in no particular order:

1.) Blog more regularly! I fell out of the habit, hard. I work in snowy, cold downtown Buffalo and one of my job duties is to make hand deliveries to various law offices and courthouses. I need to dress for warmth, comfort, and practicality. I still make an effort to be somewhat stylish, but it's difficult to photograph outfits indoors, and I'm not one of those girls who's willing to prance around for outfit photos in the wind and snow. Thus, I'm going to try to take my blog in a different direction for the winter and showcase my style in other ways. I'll be sharing photos from around my home, showing estate sale finds, and maybe posting some inspiration. Perhaps I'll find a way to sneak in a few outfits here and there, too, who knows? But I definitely want to get back in the blogging habit.

2.) Buy a house with Dave (fingers crossed)! MAIN GOAL OF THE YEAR

3.) Make fewer impulse purchases. Only buy what I really love, not just something kinda cute that happens to be on sale. Save to buy special, quality things; the time it'll take to save the money will also force me to take extra time to consider whether or not I really love/need the particular item. (At the top of my wishlist: a pair of black leather Repetto BB ballet flats, the red shorts or red dress from Rachel Antonoff's new S/S '11 collection, anything from Karla Spetic, and one of these Samantha Pleet pieces - not that I'll buy all or even any of these things! It's just a wishlist.)

4.) Work harder to grow my etsy store.

5.) Maybe travel, although it might be hard while saving up for the house. If Dave & I can make it to Disney World this summer for a week with my sisters and their significant others, I'll be a happy girl. But I wouldn't mind going to Paris, either!

In keeping with goal #1, I'd like to share some things I found in an antique store way back in September...

Meet the Girlies!!

Aren't they wonderful? The backs are printed too (!), and are marked with "The 'Girlies' 1967." They're made of a thick, sturdy cardboard. They'll all go on a little white shelf above my desk once I have a house; for now they're living (rather precariously) in my closet. Google doesn't tell me much about these ladies; do you know anything?

I'm thinking they might help me model some things for my shop at some point? Here's the redhead showing off a sweet little nylon polka dot bed jacket:

It looks a little funny, but whatevs. Love!

The last of the golden sun.

Well, winter is starting to settle in here in Buffalo. It's time to grit our teeth and brace ourselves for biting winds, dark skies and endless snow. It's not all bad, though - there are also cheerful holiday parties, myriad reasons to dress up, and lots of excuses to stay in and play video games with my husband (my favorite!). These photos were taken two weeks ago on one of the last nice, sunny fall days. It seems like fall only just got here; I'll miss it! Here's to looking on the sunny side.



70s sweater: wildfellhallvintage on etsy
Trouser jeans: Habitual via Gilt
80s quilted chain strap bag: wildfellhallvintage on etsy
Trench: Priorities
Vintage Ferragamos: Estate sale

Photos by Dave

Man, do I have a few goodies to show off in this post. First off, a few months ago I won a gift card to the sweet Wildfell Hall's etsy vintage shop via a giveaway on Huzzah! Vintage's blog. There were so many lovely goods to choose from that it took me a few days to make up my mind, but I finally settled on this lovely sweater (the labels says it's by "Cuddle Knits"! How could I resist?) and classic bag. I have very few items in my closet in either beige or navy - key neutrals! - so a wardrobe gap was handily filled. I've actually worn this exact outfit quite a few times this month, and I've been wearing the purse almost every day since I got it. Thanks so much, Amy!

Also, I'm always on the hunt for Ferragamos in my size, especially their bow flats, but it always seems like everything on ebay or etsy is really narrow. Well, the morning these photos were taken, we went to an estate sale, and the lady had a WHOLE ROOM full of Ferragamos that fit me like a dream! The sale was jackpot central in other areas, and Dave and I walked from our apartment and could only take what we could carry, so I selected a few favorites and wore the best pair posthaste:



I also got a 20s lace dress, mesh beaded 50s cardigan, Peal & Co. oxfords (STUNNING OMG), a fur capelet, a 60s wool junior dress... I can't wait to share it all with you! Most of it's going into the store at some point, hopefully.

After the estate sale, we went home to store my goodies, I put on my new old shoes, and we headed out to lunch at our favorite place. Oh, it was a perfect day! Don't stay away too long this year, Mr. Sun!

On Display

60s lace dress: my grandmother sewed this for my mom's high school dance!
Moto jacket: Anna Grace
Tights: It's a mystery
Antique handbag: gift from my grandmother
Boots: Industry, via Modcloth

Photos by Dave

The title of this post is so douchey, I'm sorry. I wore this outfit to a gallery recently. My husband’s robot art was showing for a few hours at the Burchfield Penney, along with several other local artists. A band played, and spoken word pieces were performed. I have never seen so many fashionable Buffalonians in one place; I kinda wish I had taken some snaps of the other attendees! Besides that, it was a wonderful event and the gallery was gorgeous. Dave was pretty excited to have his work shown there (I love this picture; he's so cute and happy):



It was really a gorgeous set-up:





Let me tell you about this dress. It belonged to my mother in the 60s. My grandmother sewed it for her high school cotillion (either sophomore or junior year). It fits me perfectly, and came into my life exactly when I was craving a cream-colored lace dress over the summer, when Francesca kept showing all her romantically pretty 60s and 70s lace dress finds on her blog. I got the fever for lace dresses pretty bad.

One of the docents gave me a really nice compliment on my purse, which made me so happy. I respect a docent's taste! I'm having trouble dating the bag though, anyone know its era?



I really love the pattern and colors, especially those graceful gazelles!

Thank you so much for reading; I really do appreciate everyone who stops by this blog. <3

In which I look like a snotty rich lady nerd, and there is some controversy.

Vintage tweed jacket: Lilli Ann, 60s
Tunic: Express
Jeans: Banana Republic
Boots: Miz Mooz
Vintage hand-painted basket bag: gift from my mother

Photos by Dave

I have this lovely, iconic Lilli Ann jacket that my mom bought from ebay before prices for Lilli Ann were too insane. It didn't fit, so I was able to buy it from her - lucky me! It's cozy, the design is fantastic, and the fur is so, so soft. But I'm not sure how I feel about wearing fur, even though it's vintage, and wearing vintage fur is quite PC: it's environmentally friendly (you're recycling), you're not contributing to a demand for new fur, and some say that you're honoring the animal by ensuring its fur isn't rotting away in a closet, attic, or landfill somewhere.



However, wearing fur is so tricky. I'm always afraid someone won't understand it's vintage, and why wearing it is okay. I remember wearing another gorgeous fur collar Lilli Ann jacket to greet my new boyfriend (now husband) one Christmas. He didn't know it was vintage, and was probably horrified. To me and you it might seem obvious, but not everyone recognizes vintage design.



A girl in the elevator avoided eye contact with me (or was it just my imagination?), and some crazy lady tripped me in the convenience store. At first I thought she just had some mental health issues, but maybe she was offended by the fur... ? I still wear it, and even get compliments on it, but always in the back of my mind, I'm wondering how people react.


Did I mention that it's cozy?


On another, lighter note, how great is this purse? I have a small collection of handpainted and decoupaged box/basket purses from the 60s and 70s; I just love them! They take up a lot of space though, so I'm very choosy. This one has autumn leaves painted on the top, so it's perfect for fall.



What are your thoughts on vintage fur? Do you wear it? If so, how do people react?