Monday, May 31, 2010

Remembering...


Thank you to all the service men and women for protecting our country and freedom. Remembering all those today and everyday who gave their life doing so. We are eternally grateful.



Friday, May 28, 2010

In My Shoes...

Since this is a holiday weekend, I decided to do my post for tomorrow, today. I know I will be entertaining tomorrow and won't have time.




“I did not have three thousand pairs of shoes, I had one thousand and sixty”
-Imelda Marcos



That's what my mother calls me...Imelda Marcos. She claims I have too many shoes.  Actually, my husband claims the same  thing. He believes it so much, that he said that when I buy shoes, I have to get rid of a pair I already have at home...I was like WHAT? Are you kidding??  That's absurd! 


Anyway, I thought about the shoes I wore in the 80's and thought, let me see if I can find some...sure enough, I did. The flood of memories came over me when I saw them.  I guess it just reminds me of a simpler time for me. Not having to worry about bills, a job, kids, a husband and life in general! 


omg, remember these? I had some EXACTLY like these!
Woven Leather Oxford Flats by



Cute for summer!
Saint Tropez Woven Platforms by


I'm officially in LOVE with these!
Black Suede Ankle Booties by


Do I have to wait until winter to start wearing boots again?
80's Ankle Boots by



Very cute heels!
Black Peep Toe by



Hmmm, I might have to give up a few pairs of shoes to buy some "new" ones ;)

Have a great Memorial Day Weekend and stay safe!

I've been tagged!


I was tagged by I'm Free 2 Be Mommy!

Now, let's get to the good stuff!


Things that make me grumpy!

  1. Hearing that people pay BIG money to BUY dogs! ADOPT people! There are too many dogs in this world to support puppy mills! UGH
  2. Browsing the "womens" section at the store, only to find things covered in flowers! Hello! we like to dress cute too! 
  3. Getting a pedicure only to have the paint chip the next day!
  4. Having to watch tennis ALL DAY because the hubs has DVR'd all the matches
  5. When you give someone the opportunity to cross the street (you're in your car)and they take their time! 
I am tagging the following bloggers!


Height of Vintage
Real-Vintage
Savi


Thursday, May 27, 2010

Hats Off To...

"A girl with a hat is just...SO vogue!"  One of my favorite lines from Sixteen Candles lines.  


Keeping that in mind, I've been on a hat kick lately and since finding the paisley hat from yesterdays post, I decided to see what else is out there in vintage land in terms of hats.  Oh boy, oh boy, look what I found! My fear is that I will be using money from the sales at my Etsy store to satisfy this new hat obsession! lol 


Black Felt Wool Hat by



Sunshine Cloche by



Union Made Cloche by



Black Cloche by




Birds in the Belfry Top Hat by



Raspberry Straw Cloche by

Ok, I could go on and on with more pics, so I tried to pick my favs. I'm generally a fedora hat person because it's just fits my face a little better. That being said, I am now in LOVE with cloches! I'm going to have to try one on before I commit to buying one.  

I threw in the top hat because I think it would be awesome with a simple vintage wedding gown. 

I am really digging the first felt wool hat too. Usually my closet is full of shoes. I might have to make room for some new hats! 


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Pretty in Paisley

As I sit her and reminisce about the 80's, which I do quite often (I know, I know...those glory days will pass you by!), I think about all the paisley I used to wear.  I remember the shoes, the shirts and yes, even the pants with the paisley print.  I was crazy for paisley! I'm wondering when it will come back, because I'm totally ready :) Hell, why should I wait? I might just bring it back for myself!  While the thought has crossed my mind, I decided to see what I could find on Etsy. Take a look at my fab vintage paisley finds!

 
Paisley Mesh Swimsuit by



Vintage Yellow Paisley Purse by



Dirty Eyes Blouse by





Paisley Cloche Flapper Hat by

I adore all the items, but the ones I would really love to have are the hat and the shirt. Don't think the shirt will fit, so I might have to just get the hat :)

What do y'all think?

Monday, May 24, 2010

Luau's and tissue flowers

Happy Monday to all!

One of my daily  blogs that I read is Diary of a Crafty Chica.  I was extremely excited about her post today because she has a tutorial on how to make tissue flowers.  Well, I happen to be planning a Luau for the 4th of July weekend and I haven't begun to experiment yet, but I had totally planned on making my own flowers as part of our decor! Low and behold I see her post....YIPPEEEEEE! She made it super easy for me. No research needed! Thanks Kathy!

Thursday, May 20, 2010

Who can resist pin ups?

I for one, can't! I've always loved pin up girls. The hair, the makeup, the fashion, the confidence and the sexiness. It just goes along with my obsession for vintage.

I remember when I was younger, I would always look for pin up pics when we would go to antique stores. I would try and style my hair (major failure!) like them. Now, the makeup, I could totally do and rock it! Sometimes I still do :)

I was downloading some music last night and remembered that I wanted Beyonce's "Why Don't You Love ME?" music video. I love that she does the whole retro housewife! She's got the perfect body for a retro pin up girl too. Curves galore!  Check out her video and them some of my fav pin up girl pics below.








Wednesday, May 19, 2010

My Favorite Local Designer

I am ashamed to say that I've been hiding something from you guys. Something.....actually, someone amazing. I don't know why, but I've just now thought about sharing her with you :)


Some years ago when I started working for UT, I met LaTarsha Williams aka Delmonicole. I got to know her as a person and we became pretty good friends.  She had always mentioned how she would love to start her designing career. We would always talk about how each of us would love to start our own businesses and not have to work for "the man" :)


Luckily for us, we were both able to start our dreams.  For her, quite literally. Let me explain...when we would discuss her ability to come up with fashions, she would tell me that her designs would come to her in her dreams!! She would describe to me how her dreams would dictate what her next design would be.  It was just amazing and so are the creations...which is why I just had to share them with you.  I'm hoping that she'll start creating plus sized designs because we are in desperate need of a good designer!! :)


Below are a few examples of what she's created:













As you can see she is UBER talented and creative! I wish her all the best with her Delmonicole clothing line.

If you are interested in any of the above designs, you can contact her directly at delmonicole@yahoo.com

Her website will be up and running soon! It's www.delmonicole.com for future reference.

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

How do you not get offended?

Lately, there have been quite a few people that have asked me what is up with my son's posts on Facebook.  They've been somewhat emotional and depressing.  So, I get the people telling me the following:  tell him to grow a pair, be a man, stop being a wuss, put his purse down, stop being such a girl, does he want some cheese with his wine....you get the picture.

First, let me explain that he is 18 and has recently endured a breakup. Now, we all know at 18 we have found "the one" and are devastated by a breakup. It's the end of the world and nothing you can say or do matters. Remember those days? I certainly do, which is why I can totally relate to him and none of his posts bother me.  So, why should it bother others? If you don't like it, don't read it, right? Well, that's my opinion, I guess.

I also attribute his emotions to being raised solely by a woman and being around nothing but women growing up.  I was a single mother when he was 8 and his father was absent for the first few years after our divorce.  That combined with the fact that all my girlfriends gave birth to girls (all around the same age as my son) and that's who he grew up with. My friends tease him saying that the outside world sees him as a major "player" because he's constantly surrounded by girls and he has never seen it because he considers them his cousins. They all call him when they have a problem with a boy.  He's been exposed to lots of progesterone! :)  I can honestly say that he's a very sensitive male.  He's in tune to what women want and/or need.  Is there something wrong with that? He's also the biggest worry wart you will ever meet. I have to constantly remind him that things should never get serious enough to risk your own health (he's had episodes where he worries so much that he makes himself sick).

Another thing...some of his posts have to deal with his current dilemma on college choices, whether to stay at home or go away to college.  Major life changing decisions.  So, where they may seem like he's being overly sensitive, he's actually just stating the obvious....that he needs to take things seriously right now and make a decision for his future.  Of course, no one knows what he's talking about, unless they ask.  Which, they have not.

So, I ask you, my readers....should I be offended when people say, tell your son to grown a pair? My take on the issue is....if you don't like what he's saying, then don't read it. Am I being too sensitive about the whole issue myself?



Thursday, May 13, 2010

Etsy finds

While posting some new items on my Etsy today, I was browsing other Vintage shops and found some great pieces I wanted to share with you. There are some great sellers on Etsy with some even better prices!



Stunning Mesh Chain Necklace
VintageThreadz
$65







Nautical Top
Height Of Vintage
$24








This isn't vintage, but I just LOVED it!
Chandelier Pendant Necklace
Pengwynne7
$16

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

My furry kids

Between the family, friends, fashion and parties, there is a super special place in my heart for my furry children. I can't express how much these little babies mean to me.  The newest addition to my family is Dory and she has just grabbed my heart and not let go. I asked my husband today if there is such a thing as loving a dog TOO much. To which he replied "if you find yourself painting her toenails, then yes".  Whoops, too late then!

I try and take her with me everywhere. I've even told my hubs that I'm tempted to move to Austin because the city is just so dang pet friendly and I love it! You can take your pets to restaurants!  I totally wish Houston would follow them. I even bought a "purse" to carry her around in. :)

I've been taking pictures of her left and right. I think I have more pics of her than I do of my own kids....sad, right? In my defense, my kids don't really like taking pics.

Here are a few I would love to share with the world (well, with the few of you that follow my blog).  Check them out...she's aDORYble! hahaha
















Don't you just want to kiss her?

Monday, May 10, 2010

Review....one of my favs


In addition to my many business ventures, I have what's known as Instant Diva. This is a partnership with a friend. Our goal? To give the consumer a quality product that is easy to put in and take out for a quick hair change...in an instant!  It's simple, but effective.  We started out with our hand sewn clip in hair extensions (variety of colors).  The difference between ours and other retailers? Theirs are mass productions aimed at making a buck and our poor quality. Ours? Carefully hand sewn (2 layers) hair pieces to create a fuller and bolder look to your hair. 


In addition to our hair pieces, we discovered Lime Crime Make Up. This girl is awesome! The colors are bold and fierce and are a perfect compliment to our hair! In the beginning, I thought, I better buy some of these and test them out first. At first I was a little disappointed because they weren't as vibrant as advertised. Well, what I didn't know is you're supposed to wet the brush a little to get those effects! As soon as I did, I was blown away.


See some samples below. These are just a small sample of what she has. Aren't they gorgeous?


   

Friday, May 7, 2010

My first clothing finds


It's been so busy here in our household. Senior pics, graduation invitations, graduation party invitations, shopping for our trip, etc, etc, etc. The list goes on and on. I say all this because I know I've been slacking with my posts. As soon as I get through  my sons graduation, I should be able to stay on top of this more. :)

I did want to give you a sneak peak at the few items I found and will list on my Etsy shortly.

Owls were a must have in the 70's


Who didn't have mushrooms in their kitchen?


Oh mamma, if this were my size, I would totally rock this!



Another one I wish would fit :)

Hopefully, these will all be listed by the weekend. I've got a full day ahead of me today and tomorrow preparing for Mother's Day.  

Hasta la pasta!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Something new....well, old

So, I've been debating on whether or not to stick with just jewelry in my Etsy store.   Meaning, should I try clothing and/or knickknacks and such.  Well, today I went to my usual thrifts in search of my jewelry (which by the way, was a big disappointment).  I decided to take a look in the clothing and housewares stuff.  At one store, I was able to find the CUTEST vintage dress. Mind you, it does need a little bit of repair work, but nothing I can't handle. It will just put my sewing skills to the test :)  I also found a BEAUTIFUL vintage leather coat. OMG, if it were my size, I would have kept it, I tell ya! It's actually in pretty good condition. I just need to secure the buttons a little more. The last clothing item I found was this FANTASTIC green overcoat. Once again, if it were my size, I would probably keep it :)

On to the next store....no clothing on this trip. I figured I would try a little at a time to test the waters out there in Etsy land.  At this store is where I perused the home section making sure not to overlook anything. Since this was my first attempt at this, I wanted to make sure I took my time to make sure I was actually picking vintage items. To my liking, I was able to find the cutest 70's ceramic salt and pepper shakers decorated with mushrooms. Just the mere image of the mushroom, brought that era to mind. I remember my mom had lots of stuff with mushrooms and frogs on them.  I also found a owl (very prominent in the 70's) figurine that was just too adorable to pass up. The last thing I found, which I thought was very unique was an clear ashtray that had 70's stamps glued to the bottom of it so it would show through the ashtray when placed upright. It has green felt to cover up the stamps, which gave it a nice backdrop.

I have to say I'm pleased with my purchases and am very excited to start photographing and listing them on Etsy. I hope I have luck with selling them. I had such a great time searching for these items, that I totally wouldn't mind doing this on a regular basis.

I'll be listing them tomorrow, so keep your eye out. I'm crossing my fingers and toes! Wish me luck!


Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Savi Giveaway!

It seems like there are quite a few giveaways out there! While promoting my own, I stumbled across Savi on Etsy. Her giveaway is too cute! Her items on Etsy are also cute. I'm thinking about purchasing one myself :)

Click here to enter! Good luck!