crafty girl

I think I've mentioned before that sometimes I get to bring projects home from work. This is one of our new lines Christy Tomlinson's "She" by Pink Paislee. It's really fun and mixed media-y, I guess because she designed it as stuff she would actually use in her own work. I made this wood plaque, which I think I'll buy when we're done displaying it at the store, a bunch of cards, and a scrapbook page I don't show here because I haven't added the photo yet. I think the plaque would be really fun displayed in a craft room, hence the phrase (I love those wood letters, by the way!) "crafty girl."

p.s. One of the managers at work, Beth, just started a circle Smash. She got a Smash book (super cool mixed media journals) and is passing it around, letting different people do a page. She gave it to me to do the first page and I'm such a mix of nervous and excited! I also just took her art journaling class at the store, which was a blast.

spring, at last

dress - thrifted, floral headpiece - handmade, tights - target, boots - thrifted

Spring may be here finally but it's still rather shy. I took these on the first day of spring, after some freak snow that morning melted off. It was a beautiful day, but still so cold! Since then, I've had a few brief glimpses of spring: days warm enough to eat lunch outside, well bundled of course, a light rain that smelled of spring, a few days a wore a sweater instead of a heavy coat and didn't regret it, and a couple glorious sunny days. But this has all been interspersed with pouring rain, heavy winds, and even still some minor snow and occasionally hail.

This lovely floral crown was made for me by my . . . aunt's danish sister-in-law? I think that's right. It was for my aunt's wedding years ago, and she made them for all the girl cousins. It's rather snug (maybe I had a smaller head then?) and can be uncomfortable to wear for long periods of time, but you know how I love thematic dressing. I just couldn't resist it for spring! 

Finally I will leave you with some goofy pictures of me jumping and twirling. I for once wasn't trying to snap pictures in the minute and a half before I had to leave for work, so I was able to play around and get something good. Jumping pictures are, like, really hard you guys! I had to delete probably twenty bad ones.

   

bagel love

There is nothing better for lunch than a poppyseed bagel with cream cheese, lox, capers, and red onions. Stopped by Mikie's Brooklyn Bagels after staying at Emily's one night. I remember going to Mikie's when I was a kid but I think it's changed ownership over the years. Still totally delicious but I feel weird buying bagels from asians instead of a jewish guy. Ever since I ate this bagel I've been thinking about New York and how much I miss good jewish delis. I think I'm overdue for a visit to my aunt in Manhattan.

is it spring yet?

Because I am sure sick of winter. Woke up this morning to snow, once again falling. And instead of a giddy "oh my god, SNOW" I groaned and rolled back over in bed. Luckily it wasn't sticking on the roads so getting to work was fine. In fact once you got to town and out of the woods where I live, it really wasn't snowing anymore. We better have a damn good summer this year, after this yucky winter.

cardigan - thrifted, tshirt - vintage depeche mode, skirt - thrifted, tights - hansel from basel, boots - thrifted, purse - thrifted dooney & burke with vintage scarf

I really wish I had gotten some detail shots today because these tights are deathly adorable. The little scallops/waves are actually yellow and have a red dot at the apex of each loop. My manager saw them on Pinterest and I guess thought "those are so Rachel!" so she showed them to me and I just had to have them. I put off buying them for awhile and right after I did, I saw an interview with Miranda July and she was wearing them in navy. Hey, if they're good enough for Miranda July, they're good enough for me.

I will also have to show you this scarf in greater detail because the pattern is really sweet. It's not one of my nicer thrifted/vintage scarves. I think it's nylon or acetate instead of silk so it can be too slick and too firm. Basically, it's not the best scarf for tying my hair back and I'm not sure I like it around my neck either. But tied on my plain black bag for a pop of color? That works for me!

pink

shirt - thrifted, skirt - thrifted, tights - target, shoes - target, cardigan - hand me down, purse - thrifted dooney & burke, lips - cherries in the snow by revlon

I am SO not a pink person. Even when I was a little girl, and I was totally a girly girl, I never really liked pink. Purple, yes. Red and blue, definitely. Green, sometimes, but that was my mom's color. But lately pink has been popping up in my wardrobe. Not bright pink, or magenta, or baby pink, or anything like that, but soft pinks. Rose and blush and all the vintage-y sorts of pinks.  I don't know why I keep gravitating towards these soft, nude-y pinks when I generally don't like pink. This camisole definitely falls into the "good" pink category. Do you have any colors which surprise you how much you like or wear them?

dating

So I went on a date with this older guy awhile back. He was really nice and I had fun, but it just . . . didn't seem to go anywhere. I suppose the attraction wasn't there? I dunno, I'm bad at dating. I feel awkward and then just stop talking to them. Which is kind of what I did in this situation and I regret that. I'm just really bad at rejecting guys so I take the coward's way out.

Anyhow, I looked really cute on the date, if I do say so myself! I took this badly lit picture after I got home. This is my favorite sweater/dress/skirt combo. Also, I'm wearing lipstick! Which I've been too lazy for lately. Also, holy dehydration these days, my lips have been so damn chapped! Too many cigarettes, not enough water.

sweater - stepdad's, floral dress - thrifted, pleated skirt - hand me down, tights - target, shoes - jeffrey campbell, lips - revlon really red, purse - thrifted dooney & burke

lucky grocery store

I think the QFC next to my work is lucky. A few days ago, when I was getting cash back, there was a few extra dollars in the cash dispenser and yesterday I found a diamond. Well, I think it's a diamond, I need to take it to a jeweler but it passes all the home tests I googled. It scratches glass, quite easily I might add. If I breathe on it, the fog dissipates quickly. When it's placed on newspaper face down, the print is not readable. So I think it's real . . . I found it under the self checkout where my friend from work was buying something. The ring was smushed so the stone had fallen out but I saw the sparkly stone and picked them both up. And yes, I'm going to keep it. It's not like a wallet or a phone where it's pretty easy to figure out who it belongs to. I don't want to just turn it in the the grocery store for someone else to pocket. Now I just have decide what to do with it. Should I have it reset in a ring or something?

iceland sweater

sweater - icelandica (reykjavik), shorts - macy's, tights - forgot, shoes - jeffrey campbell, purse - thrifted dooney & burke

I think that clothing is one of the best souvenirs you can buy. Not tacky "all I got was this tshirt" or "I (heart) NY"* sorts of things, but things that truly reflect the culture of the place you visited. Or just something simply stylish which will remind you of the city you bought it and make you smile. This sweater fits into the culture category since it is a traditional Icelandic design, made by local knitters out of Icelandic wool, which is famous for very warm. On the other hand, my favorite summer jacket, the military inspired one I bought in Sydney would fit into the stylish city category. There is nothing particularly Australian about that jacket but every time I wear it I think of Sydney and walking down by the harbor and shopping with my cousin. And the Liberty handkerchief perhaps straddles the line between the two categories. It's not quite as LONDON as the sweater is Icelandic, but Liberty is certainly a very British brand.

I was certainly very glad for that famously warm Icelandic wool (the sweater is seriously fuzzy) when it snowed AGAIN. What is with this late snow? We had some last year and now I wake up at the end of February and it's snowing. So bizarre! This time it didn't stick around very long, or even snow very much before it melted off.

*I do have a "I (heart) NY" tshirt that I regularly sleep in.