A Sad Loss and the Perfect Pair of Shoes

Just a quick post...I had a bigger blog post planned, but my laptop went on the fritz and I think it may be done for. So here I am on our roommate's desktop, mourning the loss of my little Mac. We've been through a lot together over the past six years and its been a good run, but I think it might be time to say goodbye. Strangely enough, I am actually more than a little sad...how strange it is to become so attached to an inanimate object.

On a happier note, I think I may have found the perfect pair of shoes at Anthropologie's website! (although they are WAY out of my price range:) Its always fun to dream...

Bath Day

Today we decided to bathe our dog. Our stinky little bear (as we like to refer to her:). And man, oh man, does she hate baths. Its always quite the endeavor...she seems like she's going to just stand there and be patient, and then off she goes, slipping right out of our fingers. Its most definitely a two person job. So off we went to the back yard, me in my rain boots, Dan armed with a towel and soap, Sophie unaware of what was to come.

(Please click on any of the photos if you wish to enlarge them:)

Yet while she hates the process, she loves the result (I think being wet?) and runs around like a whirling dervish afterwards. Here are some pics that I snapped before we got the chance to towel her off. 

And she stopped...

After we finished with Sophie's bath, I decided to snap some outfit photos. This dress was a favorite of many people who commented on the last finds post I wrote. I really wish that I'd taken a picture of myself in it before I altered the sleeves and took up the hem. Its a Laura Ashley from the 80's and was initially about four inches longer with wrist-length tapered sleeves. I'm very pleased with the way it turned out. It really feels like a fancy party dress to me...although that didn't stop me from wearing it on bath day:)

Dress: Thrifted Laura Ashley

Shoes: Clarks

Kreativ Blogger Awards

Today when I opened my e-mail account, I had the most wonderful surprise. Lemondrop Marie nominated me for a Kreativ Blogger Award! So thank you to that wonderful and inspiring vintage huntress/librarian for the nod...if you haven't been to her blog yet, I highly recommend it, along with her Etsy shop:)

As part of the award, here are seven interesting things about me...

1. I was a debutante. White dress, white gloves, pearls, and one heck of a party. Dancing with my brother was the best part of the night.

2. I lived in Tuscany for six months in graduate school, attending the University of Siena and doing research in their state archives. In that time, I figured out how much I'm really capable of. Before I left I had only taken introduction to Italian I and II and had no real experience actually speaking the language.

3. I fell in love once in Paris on one very long June night what seems like a very, very long time ago. It was one of the most memorable nights of my life and even though it didn't work out, I'm glad that we shared the experience. Finding him on the crowded platform of Gare Du Nord two days later was a magical thing.

4. I got married in a court house in Chicago the day after St. Patrick's Day three years ago, wore a vintage blue cocktail dress with clovers printed all over it, and our cake was a St. Patrick's Day one left over from the day before. That may have been the best day of my life. I actually giggled when saying my vows.

5. I have a deep and abiding love for religious art, particularly Medieval Italian icons and Russian Orthodox icons. I actually own a 19th century Russian icon of the saints of marriage and family and its my prized possession. That being said, visiting Mark Rothko chapels gives me the same feeling as looking at religious art. It makes me happy to be near them.

6. My first crushes were on Rudolph Valentino (too much Turner Classic Movies:) and 60's era, boy band Beatles George Harrison. I used to sneak my dad's vintage Beatles records into my room and play them on my Fischer Price record player... he wasn't too pleased with me when he found out:)

7. When I was little, I grew so fast that people assumed I was developmentally challenged. I actually looked like I was five when I was two. No joke, in ballet class photos, I resemble a giant beside the other girls. I think that was the year I grew a whole foot. I'm now five foot ten and a half inches tall and have been that way since I was about 12.

And here is a list of seven other Kreativ Bloggers that I would like to nominate:


chickendinnercandybar

strawberry koi

Lagelle

the cats pajamas

Vixen Vintage

Keep It To Yourself

Felinofelice

Thanks too to everyone who commented on my last blog post! I was afraid that I sounded like such a big complainer...but was heartened by what you all wrote:) I think the funk is gone for good now!

Nominee Rules:
• Thank the person who nominated you for the award
• Copy the logo and place it on your blog
• Link to the person who nominated you for this award
• List seven things about yourself that people might find interesting
• Nominate and post links to the seven Kreativ Bloggers you nominate
• Leave a comment on each of the blogs, letting them know they have been nominated

Nicest Girl in the Room

Have you ever had one of those days when you wake up and everything feels as though its clicked into place? As if you're comfortable in your own skin, can just let yourself be, and are able to move through your day without a care in the world? Today was one of those days for me. Despite the heat (it was the first truly warm day of the year here), despite the fact that I had to take care of some school paperwork in administrative offices...everything was right with the world.

It was especially strange though because I've been feeling restless and agitated for the past week or so. Every once in a blue moon I get into a funk (as my mother would call it) and feel a bit surly, a little tired of always having to be the nice young lady with the pleasant manners who understands other people's social foibles. Well, sometimes its liberating to feel like one doesn't have to be the nicest girl in the room.

Whenever I find myself in this state, it reminds me of a story that my husband told me about a good friend of his named Kurt whom he's known since the age of four. One day Dan, Kurt and their other elementary school friends were sitting around the lunch table. All of the sudden out of nowhere, Kurt pounded his little fist on the table and with a frustrated, determined, and not a little bit disgusted look on his face declared: "I'm sick and tired of being a nice little boy!" Then and there he decided that he was going to join the mob and be bad. Its even funnier because Dan swears that Kurt (one of the most serious, intelligent people I've ever met) never got older, he just grew bigger...so I can just imagine his determination and the others' astonishment:) 

Now, I have no nefarious plans in store and have only resorted to listening to more Nellie Mckay, smiling a little less at passing strangers and practicing more yoga in hopes of bringing myself out of the temporary funk. I think today was the day, and so as I set out into the world devoid of frustration, I decided to wear the romper that's been sitting in my closet and that I've been trying to decide if I should take back (although its probably far too late for that now:) I'm glad I kept it!

(Please click on any of the pictures if you wish to enlarge them:)

Romper: F21

Shoes: Target

Purse: Thrifted

We Love Colors Giveaway!

There's a great giveaway going on over at Chicken Dinner Candybar. She's giving away two pairs of We Love Colors tights to one lucky winner (oh goodness, I hope its me:) I don't know about you ladies, but I live in tights come winter...otherwise, I can't wear my beloved dresses! For more information on the ways to enter go here.

Fashion Inspiration: The Conformist

Some films tend to stick out in my mind after I've seen them. Either I can't stop thinking about the story or the look of the film, a particular character or the costumes. Usually though, all of these factors combine to make a picture appeal to me in so many ways that my mind always wanders back to it, no matter how long its been since I've seen it...and then I have to see it again:)  The Conformist is one of these. If I were to boil the thrust of the movie down to a one sentence, I'd say that its a highly stylized contemplation of fascism seen through the life (mostly in flash backs) of one man: Marcello, the ultimate aspiring conformist. Set it the 1930's, it features fabulous costumes from the era, art deco architecture and incredible lighting that reinforces the plot and action. I tried to find stills from one of my favorite scenes in the film where the two women go shopping in Paris, but could only locate a head shot of Dominique Sanda as Anna and Jean-Louis Trintignant as Marcello. For me, it might just be a perfect film: intellectually and visually stimulating, the sumptuous period elements draw me further into the ideas of the film.

Fashion-wise, I think my favorite of all these stills is the last one of Anna, lounging in a chair in her slacks and oxfords. In the scene preceding this, she slinks through an apartment full of male intellectuals (headed by her much-older husband) looking all tom-boyish, exuding bravura and sex appeal. I've been looking for a pair of shoes just like that for ages and only just realized today that her pair probably inspired by desire for them (after so many viewings). I think she's just perfect. 

Lady-Like Dress and a Splash of Color

I woke up this morning knowing that I needed to wear this dress. Its been sitting in my closet for nearly a month, but I hadn't yet found an opportunity. Its so lovely, floaty, lady-like and elegant and today I felt the need for an injection of just those things (as well as an excuse to wear my new shoes:). I wish I could say that I wore it to a tea house or a matinee at one of the old movie houses here, but instead we took a short (one hour) road trip to an inexpensive theatre to see Wolverine. I have to say that it was so gloriously over the top that I found it enjoyable and giggled through many parts that seemed to me more of a parody of the action/comic book genre. My husband thought it was flat-out great. All together a nice way to spend the afternoon...sharing a bucket of popcorn with the one you love while watching a jacked-up, growling Hugh Jackman saying cheesy one liners while CGI explosions decorate the background:) 

Anyway, back to the dress, the only problem is that it doesn't photograph particularly well. I had a hard time capturing the beauty of the white on cream embroidery and diaphanous nature of the fabric...so here are a few different attempts. 

(Please click on any of the pictures if you wish to enlarge them:)

Dress: Thrifted

Necklace: Thrifted

Ring: Thrifted

Shoes: Blowfish

Pussy Bows and New Shoes

I have been scouring thrift stores for about a year now looking for a pussy bow blouse. No luck though, as always happens (in my experience) when one enters a thrift store with definite ideas about purchases in mind. So I was delightfully surprised to find this dress in a thrift store several weeks ago. I love dresses, they're so easy to wear, especially in the summer. I find this one ingenious because of the combination of fabrics and little belt that give it more of a skirt and blouse feel (maybe I'm a little too easily impressed, now that I re-read that:). I paired it with my red heels for a pop of color, along with some mix and match bracelets, the ship pin that I found in a Tennessee antique store last summer and my 3/4 length denim jacket. I wasn't too sure about the color of the latter when I bought it, but figured that I could dye it if it didn't work with my wardrobe. Then I saw a photo of Diane Kruger wearing a similar one and knew that I could make it work...I think she always looks so chic:)

(Please click on any of the pictures if you wish to enlarge them:)

And on to the new shoes! I have to preface this with an explanation, so please bear with me.  A few days ago, on my way home, I had to walk through a torrential downpour to get from the bus to my front door. I have to say that I'm usually absolutely put out by having to walk through the rain. As I once explained to my incredulous husband, 'if you spent half an hour getting ready this morning, you wouldn't want it all to be ruined by a rainstorm either.' That being said, this day I was happy to be out because I'd been visiting my husband on his lunch break. I thought to myself, you'll be home soon and then you can put on pajamas, crawl into bed all warm and dry, and enjoy an afternoon of Agatha Christie and hot tea because you don't have anywhere else to be today but in bed. 

Well, while my mind was already curled up with a book,  my body was being soaked by a puddle that some not "nice person" in a Porche had driven through. I couldn't believe it...I actually stood there stunned, waiting for him/her to back up the car and apologize:) I think it was right around then that I realized how wet my feet were. I didn't worry too much about it, what with the rain, the puddle, and my now fervent desire to get home. When I did reach my doorstop though, I realized that there was a hole in the bottom of my shoe. Yes, I'd worn straight through another pair of black flats. There was nothing to do, I reasoned, but to go out and buy a new pair of these utilitarian (and I thought ubiquitous) flats.

I walk a lot on my own time and at work. So I thought it was justified to go shopping at my earliest convenience. That time fell today. Off I went to DSW, thinking naively that I would surely be able to find a pair of closed toed, black wedges (I've recently realized that  I don't really like wearing flats - the holy ones were one of my last few holdouts). I'm not sure if its seasonal or what, but I was there for a good hour and a half and didn't see any black wedges that were (a) in my size (b) appropriate for work or (c) appealing in any way. What I did find, and eventually buy, were these brown strappy heels. 

Okay, so they're not black, they're a little too high for one of my jobs and they're not in the least bit what I was looking for....but they're so cute and comfortable! I only wish they came in colors other than black and brown. I could totally see myself wearing purple and green pairs as well:) I've bullied myself into buying "appropriate" shoes before, only to realize that I don't like them and therefore don't really want to wear them. I chose not to do that today and am quite happy with my decision. I guess something good definitely came out of that rainy day and those holy shoes.

Blog Award

I am just over the moon about this award, thanks to Letters from the Home-Front! It is such a compliment and encourager to receive it, especially from such an inspiring blogger. So now, as part of the award, here are 15 of my favorite "great reads," in no particular order. To accept the award, just click on the image above, post it to your blog and list your fifteen favorite reads.

Chicken Dinner Candybar

The World Looks Red

My Antiquated Cup of Tea

A Curious Seamstress

Casey's Elegant Musings

Felinofelice

Beyond Common Style

Penelope Nightingale

A Modern Domestic

In Bug's Drawers

Pretty Little Pictures

Sally Jane Vintage

FrouFrouu

Lune Vintage (I so wish I could visit her store:)

Retro Ways 

I wish that I could include every blog that I follow and read daily. Thanks to the lovely bloggers who have posted my link, those who have chosen to follow Kaleidoscopic Refrains, and anyone who comments. I appreciate all of you so very much!

Home Again, Home Again...

After almost a week in Florida and another five days in New Hampshire over the holiday weekend, I'm back home. It was a nice break from my daily routine, but I've missed blogging. Although I tried out some new outfits in Florida, I didn't take any photos of them and mostly concentrated on spending time with my parents and siblings. The few pictures that I did take were of Florida scenery. It always surprises me (even though I know it shouldn't) when people tell me that they don't think of Florida as being rural or agricultural. I grew up in a farming community where the biggest cultural event is a festival that celebrates one of its traditional crops (strawberries) and features pig races and dung throwing contests. I have to say that I do enjoy living in a city now, but there is something nostalgically lovely and, at the same time, quirky about my home state that I enjoy revisiting. 

So here are a few of the pictures that I took while away. I've missed you all and look forward to catching up on everyone's blog posts (as well as writing more of my own:)!