Thriftaholic

Soiree at the Edgewater Antique Mall

2012-01-30T22:41:00.009-06:00

Last Saturday I had the good fortune to be my friend Katherine's date to a holiday soiree at the Edgewater Antique Mall. Yes, Katherine has expanded her vintage empire to include an antique mall booth; she already has a successful etsy shop and website, sells at local flea markets like Randolph Street Antique Market and Vintage Heaven, and of course she's also the co-creator of the wildly popular Vintage Bazaar.

Unless I'm traveling, I tend to avoid antique malls. Why? Well they are just too tempting! The merchandising is impeccable at the Edgewater Antique Mall and it's obvious each booth owner has carefully curated their merchandise to reflect their point of view. While I personally enjoy the "treasure hunt" aspect of scouring thrift stores, estate sales and flea markets for my vintage goods, it's relaxing and inspiring to occasionally stroll through a space like EAM where everything is clean and in good condition.

Besides molesting high quality Midcentury goods, Katherine and I feasted on delicious treats like homemade strawberry cheesecake, kugel (my first time trying it) and even miniature sandwiches stuffed with oven roasted turkey and cranberry sauce. YUM. Vintage & food, my two favorite things!

The best cheesecake I've eaten in nearly 2 years, so creamy and the strawberries were perfectly sweet. Someone also has some mad frosting piping skills!

Of course I had to take a few photos in Katherine's booth, I fell in love with the Seth Thomas clock above. If I'd gone to high school in the 1970s I imagine a clock like this would have been hanging in my classroom.

Sunshine yellow ice buckets! Geometric print end table! Massive sculptural glass art piece!

Across from Katherine's booth were a pair of 1960s patent leather shoes with POM POMS on the toes. Yes, I never knew I would ever want a pair of shoes like this either but when I tried them on it was like Cinderella trying on her glass slipper. It was also a miracle that they fit as vintage shoes NEVER fit my huge feet. The shoes also conveniently matched the rad rug in Katherine's booth.

I like the low square heels and cut outs. They need to come home with me soon.

Blenko glass fish. I'm not sure of its intended use but it would look great next to some silver rimmed Dorothy Thorpe lowball glasses on a bar.

I like the idea of displaying an instrument on a coffee table as an objet d'art. Katherine thought the table needed pottery. Thoughts?

Midcentury. Butterflies. Glitter. Yes, who knew this existed?

So many tempting lighting options. I wish all the rooms of my apartment didn't have ugly ceiling fans.

Embroidered cardigans hanging out near the bathroom.

The abstract cityscape painting caught my eye, it reminds me of the River West area of Chicago where all our skyscrapers are massed near the shimmering Chicago River. I have no idea what the green cube was originally meant for but it would make quite the statement in a living room.

Expressive Art Deco vernacular photos, the hand tinting on the woman was well done and I liked her pose and wistful gaze.

"Mantiques": Stuffed fish trophy, industrial fans and a Coca-Cola sign.

It's so hard to resist vintage kitty items.

Somehow I made it out of the Edgewater Antique Mall empty handed; I plan to go back my next pay day though to scoop up a few items!

Can't get enough of Katherine and her wares? Check out the post I did on the studio she shares with Cushion Chicago.

Wearing a 1950s Velvet Cloak In The Snow

2012-01-27T20:59:00.009-06:00

Yes, I'm posting more snow pictures, this set was taken last weekend during the second major snowfall of January-- 8 inches fell over the course of a day. I wore this outfit to the wedding themed Vintage Bazaar at the Empty Bottle last weekend, it seemed like the perfect opportunity to wear my 1950s black velvet hooded cloak, aqua gloves and 1950s aqua, black and white floral pattern dress. Perhaps I've been watching too much Once Upon a Time lately, but I felt like a character from a fairy tale in my hooded cloak. The cloak is super warm and surprisingly wearable since it has actual sleeves rather than just arm slits (like a traditional cloak).

Despite the snow it wasn't that cold out (it was in the 20s) so I took the opportunity to walk around my neighborhood and take photos. Scroll down to see more pictures of my outfit and to see glimpses of a snowy Ukrainian Village. The snow has since melted since it's been in the 40s the past two days but it's supposed to snow again here in Chicago tonight and tomorrow.

Of course I love the full skirt of the 1950s dress and the unusual color combination of black, white and my favorite color, aqua!

OUTFIT DETAILS
1950s velvet hooded cloak: The Village Family Outlet thrift store, Chicago
1950s dress: Knee Deep Vintage, Chicago
Vintage Lined Galoshes: Thifted in Chicago
1950s aqua gloves

The Freeze & Thaw Cycle

2012-01-25T21:13:00.008-06:00

Within the span of a week Chicago experienced both a small blizzard (8 inches of snow fell) and a thunderstorm-- it's definitely been an atypical winter this year. Up until two weeks ago the temperatures were still hitting the 50s; every other January I've lived here it's been 10 degrees or below!

Since moving to Chicago from Los Angeles in 2007, I have had to come up with ways to beat the lethargy of winter, it's definitely easy to go into "hibernation mode" when everything is slushy outside and it gets dark at 4PM. Instead of nesting into my apartment I challenge myself to re-explore one neighborhood each week to take photos, shop and discover areas that may have previously gone overlooked. Two weekends ago my roommate Adeline and I decided to poke around Lincoln Square, the historically German neighborhood that now houses tasty restaurants, a $5 movie theater (The Davis) and locally owned shops. We brunched at Julius Meinl, an Austrian cafe, then wandered around the snowy streets.

If you're curious about the first photo in the post, we came across this industrial pipe near a furniture store in the Ravenswood neighborhood area. Thankfully Adeline is indulgent with my blog photo whims and didn't question why I'd want to take a photo inside a huge pipe. I was tempted to pose as Da Vinci's "Vetruvian Man" but thought that might be a bit much.

There are rows of late 19th century brick buildings and little 2-story bungalows from the 1920s and '30s lining the side streets of Lincoln Square.

Julius Meinl is known for its coffee and its delectable baked treats. Somehow I resisted the "Chocolate Decadence" above in favor of walking to Cafe Selmarie for some Swedish cookies.

Perfectly frosted cupcakes at Julius Meinl.

There is no shortage of tempting confections in Lincoln Square, my favorite bakery is Cafe Selmarie, a Swedish bakery and restaurant with amazing chocolate croissants and rich buttery cookies. I always purchase the traditional Linzer cookies filled with raspberry jam-- they look as good as they taste!

While it can be difficult to stay stylish and warm during Midwest winters, I still manage to wear my vintage and thrifted dresses and skirts (no pants for me!) by wearing HUE brand wool tights or Cuddledud thermal leggings paired with knee high wool socks. When it's snowy I wear my vintage lined galoshes and bundle up in a 1970s wool coat with roomy hood.

Yes, I was able to wear a short skirt in 20 degree weather and not feel cold. As I've mentioned in previous posts, I have been wearing more separates lately and have thus tried to stock up on sweaters and skirts. The 1970s fairisle sweater was a happy discovery at the thrift, I also bought its twin in cream the same day. It's the first time I have worn a pullover style sweater in years, I'd stuck to cardigans since abandoning the chunky Felicity-style sweaters of the '90s. Thankfully this vintage sweater is cropped and isn't too bulky, cheers for warmth AND style!

OUTFIT DETAILS

1970s wool toggle coat with faux fur leopard trim: Crossroads Trading Company

1970s fair isle sweater: Thrifted in Chicago

Black Skirt: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

1970s galoshes: Thrifted in Chicago

Red wool beret: Gift from my mom

HUE brand wool tights

What are your winter dressing tips? Also be sure to check out Refinery 29's Chicago Winter Fashion Streetstyle Snaps slideshow for more seasonal style inspiration.

The Vintage Bazaar: Wedding Style

2012-01-21T21:10:00.006-06:00

Despite the 8 inches of snow blanketing the ground, with more snow falling this morning in Chicago, the latest incarnation of The Vintage Bazaar managed to pack in wall to wall customers yet again. Appropriately titled "Gettin' Hitched", today's flea market focused on everything you'd need for a vintage style wedding from the actual wedding dress to antique china settings. 15 vendors set up in The Empty Bottle, a rock venue/bar in the Ukrainian Village (my neighborhood!), including my friends Karyn of Dethrose Vintage, Lisa of Archives Vintage and Niki of Bombshellshocked.

Houndstooth Vintage's booth always catches my eye at each bazaar due to the excellent displays and unusual merchandise. Today was no different, I was especially drawn to the objects displayed under glass domes.

Dainty kid leather dancing shoes! Now I need to find a pair.

There were vintage cake toppers everywhere at the Bazaar but Houndstooth had the most, including the 1960s (maybe 70s?) pair above.

A dainty bud vase from Houndstooth holding a floral creation by Moss.

Serve your wedding feast on antique dishware from Dinner Party! Much more interesting than minimal white dishware.

Lisa's dainty pink lace dress would be perfect to wear to a spring wedding. She also had vintage lingerie in her booth including the tiered pantaloons below.

A gorgeous sparkly costume pearl necklace from Estate Chicago.

Mr. Modern sells clothing, housewares and jewelry at many flea markets across Chicago--I've previously purchased lockets from this vintage loving couple. The photo above and the two below are from their booth.

There were loads of sparkly jewels on hand for brides, bridesmaids and guests attending weddings. I was a fan of all the rhinestone pins above and the stunning aqua necklace below (could be your "something blue") offered by Bunny's Trunk Show.

Hot House Market's displays are always surprising and unique, this time around I enjoyed their use of seashells to display crystal earrings and the glass insulators being used as place tag holders.

As usual, Karyn had two racks bursting with stunning dresses and a table overflowing with purses, gloves, shoes and jewelry. I was extremely tempted by the copper leaf bangle pictured below.

The masterminds behind The Vintage Bazaar, Katherine & Libby, appropriately sitting on a vintage sofa near the front entrance of The Empty Bottle. They're two of the hardest working girls in Chicago's vintage community. Thanks ladies for putting on another fantastic flea market, I can't wait until next month's market at the Dank House!

Exploring The Historic Town of Eureka Springs, Arkansas

2012-01-19T21:56:00.002-06:00

Here is the last of my Arkansas posts, I've been back in Chicago since December 30th but took so many photos while at home that they've sustained me until now. The bright blue skies and warm temperatures in the South were a sharp contrast to the 12 degree weather that we're currently experiencing in Chicago.

I took advantage of the my time back home to take a day trip to the Victorian-era resort town of Eureka Springs. The entire town is actually a designated historic landmark site and has been a popular destination since the 1800s when tourists visited the natural springs for health reasons. The town boasts unique geography, Eureka Springs is nestled in the heart of the Ozark Hills so all the streets are winding and steep. In the 1960s artists and bohemians settled into Eureka Springs and opened galleries, coffee houses and shops in the 19th century buildings, thus helping to preserve the area's history.

Jade and I visited on a ridiculously sunny day which served as a contrast to the deserted streets-- we didn't realize it was the "off season" so at least half of the shops and restaurants were closed when we visited. It was also a lot more touristy than either of us remembered (I hadn't been there in 8 years) ; sadly the majority of the grand Victorian architecture housed tacky t-shirt and souvenir shops. We both agreed the town should replace those shops with more old timey or "quaint" establishments like a shoe cobber, General Store and hat maker-- maybe make it into the Arkansas version of Williamsburg?

Despite the emptiness of the town we enjoyed climbing the hills, poking into a few antique shops and having a picnic in a wooded area. Yes, a picnic in December! Of course I also took loads of photos and wore a 1960s inspired outfit to channel the hippie spirit of the area.

The view from "Inspiration Point" the lookout area was conveniently located next to an antique mall.

If I live in Eureka Springs this would be my house-- I love the color aqua and the simple wooden house seemed so cheerful. It was also for sale!

An odd sight-- no idea why this ukelele was hanging from a string on someone's back porch.

We became enamored with the Lonely Row House, it was the narrowest home I'd ever seen. It was isolated but had the architectural style of a row home which begs the question-- is it a row home if it's by itself? We peeked into the windows and saw what looked to be the original furnishings and stove, we hope someone gets around to fixing it up soon.

OUTFIT DETAILS

1960s velvet mini dress: Very Best Vintage, Chicago

1970s locket necklace: Rummage Sale, Chicago

1970s Southwest pattern sweater coat: Thrifted in Arkansas

Two-tone leather boots: Thrifted in Arkansas

1970s saddle shaped leather purse: Antique mall in Arkansas

HUE sweater tights

I'd been wanting a tooled leather bag in the shape of a saddle for ages but they were always priced out of my budget. Jade and I found this bag unexpectantly in a new-to-me antique mall for a very low price! It's pretty kitschy but I love it.

1980s bangles were found at The Potters Thrift store in Fayetteville. They're slightly tacky but I like the bling with the faux tortoiseshell.

Even the town's grocery store is vintage, take a look at that sign! Being a history nerd I'm happy that areas like Eureka Springs still exist in our country.

What historic sites have you visited recently? Has your town or city retained its original architecture?

Thanks Jade for taking these photos and taking this adventure with me!

Thrift Haul: Arkansas Style

2012-01-16T22:34:00.012-06:00

It's been months since I last posted a "Thrift Haul" post, partially due to cutting back on thrifting (budget and space limitations) and partially due to laziness about photographing my finds. When I'm back in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas, I spend half of my time there perusing thrift stores, antique malls and vintage shops. In Chicago I usually thrift alone but in Fayetteville either my mom or my friend Jade serve as my shopping buddy.

Oddly enough the thrifts weren't picked over like my last trip back in May; I scooped up many goodies for a low amount of money. We hit the usual spots but Jade also introduced me to a couple of antique malls I'd never been to before-- if you're wondering, in Arkansas antique malls generally tend to be more like indoor flea markets as they also have crafts/new items and are less curated than some of the fancy antique malls I've seen elsewhere in the U.S.

I'm not sure if this is a trend in rural areas in general or just an Arkansas trait in particular, but every small town in Arkansas has an antique store or flea market, even if they don't even have a traffic light! Jade and I hit one such store on the way back from a day trip to Eureka Springs (look for photos of our trip in the next post) and found treasures priced at 25 cents.

On this trip home my finds fell into 3 categories: Modern design/home decor, vintage Christmas items and loads of '50s-70s books.

A Midcentury Modern wooden sugar bowl (?) found at the Rose 2 Flea Market in Rogers. It was only marked as Made in Japan on the bottom though it does look Scandinavian in style.

Chrome and glass Pyrex diner style teapot and an orange plastic and glass sugar shaker. Wouldn't these two pieces look swell on a formica topped kitchen table? The shaker reminds me of my friend Katherine Raz and her love of all things vintage & orange.

Miniature yellow plastic basket purse & a 1970s whale paperweight. My mom was highly amused when she saw this basket, she said I had one just like it when I was little and it matched a pair of jelly shoes! Wish I'd kept those though I obviously wouldn't be able to fit the shoes anymore.

Metal & glass butterfly trivet/spoon rest and a Scandinavian painted wooden doll. The doll reminds me a little of the Japanese kokeshi or of Russian nesting dolls. The trivet needs to be cleaned up a bit but it's in the same style as a frog spoon rest I use in my Chicago apartment.

I love the sweet details on this doll, sadly her hair is shedding.

Vintage deadstock egg carton possibly from the 1940s? It's in such good shape I was initially suspicious and thought it was a reproduction but it's actually an original.

Thrifted 1970s purses, the gold clutch is huge and very sparkly. I liked the marbled plastic handle and the initials on the knitted bag.

I always buy holiday items after Christmas as they're 50-75 percent off! The nativity scene has a MCM feel to it (look at the slope of that roof) and the kissing bears under the mistletoe are too adorable.

A slightly creepy ornament from the 1940s or 1950s. This was found at the small town flea market and cost only 25 cents.

A 1950s snowman pin made out of pipe cleaners above and a Christmas corsage below. Both were also from the small town flea market and only 25 cents each.

The books above are intended for Katherine Raz but I'm tempted to keep them for myself.

The Teen Time book is an uncut book of paper dolls from the 1960s, I need to scan all the pages soon. It features some pretty amazing outfits including the ensembles below, I want to dress up for a '20s party! Also what is a "Platter Party"??

I'm always on the lookout for books, magazines and catalogs from the 1950s so was excited to find these two publications. The catalog on the right also needs to be scanned in the future, I want to own every dress pictured in it.

"5-Yard Sweep! 180 Inches of Swirling Twirling Beauty". Um I'm sold, how about you?

Sexy late 1960s styling of desserts from "The Dessert Lovers' Handbook" cookbook.

Why can't I ever say no to these 1950s cooking booklets?

Oh right, because they contain photos like the one above, look at the Sweet 16 cake. Pretty glorious.

Swirled bakelite handle knife, painted cedar treasure box and a tiny celluloid compact made in Germany. Is it me or is this arrangement of objects rather sinister? It must be the knife.

While out shopping I kept an eye out for vintage Arkansas postcards and ephemera to bring back to a Chicago friend. Sadly I kept coming across Chicago postcards (kind of ironic, eh?) and stereoscope cards from everywhere BUT Arkansas. The above stereoscope card is highly amusing and seems like it should be set in Arkansas even though it's actually of New York.

Of course my favorite antique mall/flea market, The Rose, came through with a booth full of vintage Arkansas postcards. The above is my absolute favorite-- a pin up beauty casually hanging out in the Ozark landscape. Yes indeed, it is a "scenic view".

Not pictured is a TON of vintage jewelry I thrifted along with a rad pair of boots and several purses. You can see a few pieces in this previous post and the rest will be popping up in vintage outfit posts in the next few weeks.

What did you find this week? Do you thrift when you travel?

Linking to Apron Thrift Girl and Her Library Adventures.

The 1950s Dress That Started It All...

2012-01-14T23:14:00.001-06:00

Five years ago during one of my usual shopping jaunts to the Goodwill Thrift Store around the corner from my Los Angeles apartment I decided to venture into the clothing section for the first time. While I'd frequented antique shops, flea markets and thrift stores since the age of 8 in the pursuit of jewelry, housewares and knick knacks, I had never thought about searching out vintage clothing prior to this trip. I'm not sure what prompted me to peruse the dress rack that day, but it was a decision that forever changed my wardrobe and shopping habits. After flipping past '80s ruffled confections and polyester monstrosities I came across a 1950s cotton polka dot dress with a twirly skirt. From that day my closet and wallet benefited from this discovery and I transitioned to wearing only vintage and thrifted clothing and accessories (except for shoes, tights and underwear of course!).

After several years of wear my first vintage dress had developed a frayed hem and a few holes-- but thankfully my mom fixed it up on my trip home so it was ready for a spin through Wilson Park, one of my hometown's beloved recreation spots. The highlight of Wilson Park is "The Castle" a sculptural structure designed by artist Frank Williams and constructed in the early 1980s. The area around the castle features a small pond, benches in the shape of flowers and inlaid tilework. It seemed like the perfect spot to photograph the dress "that started it all".

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1950s dress: Goodwill Thrift, Los Angeles, CA

Red trench coat: Borrowed from my mom

Red t-strap heels: Urban Outfitters

1960s upholstery purse: Thrifted in Arkansas

1960s Mod plastic bracelet: Thrifted in Arkansas

I have quite the collection of upholstery/carpet purses, I rediscovered this 1960s paisley print bag in my old room at my parents' home.

For Christmas I was lucky enough to receive several pieces of vintage jewelry, including this 1960s (70s?) poodle pendant from Kelsey, a long time friend of my family. The poodle is from her personal collection and she passed it on to me knowing how much I love vintage pieces. Its tail and collar are made out of little faux pearls which makes it unique.

There are several benches in the shapes of flowers around The Castle, they were designed by artist Eugene Sargent. I'm sitting on the back of the flower and my mom is sitting on the front of the bench in the picture below.

What was your first vintage purchase? Did it change the way you shop or dress?

Lake Fayetteville: Awash in Gold & Blue

2012-01-09T21:07:00.000-06:00

Every time I return to my Arkansas hometown one of my first stops is my "special place," Lake Fayetteville. Compared to the grandeur of Chicago's Lake Michigan it seems more like a glorified pond, especially since swimming and fishing are prohibited, but I have fond memories of sitting and reading by its shores, calmed by the rustling of the trees in the surrounding woods and the gentle lapping of the water.

While it might seem strange to visit a lake in the winter, the sculptural quality of the bare tree branches and the crackling piles of leaves invited me to explore the shoreline. It helped that it was in the 50s and ridiculously sunny during this shoot, I love the way the warm golden light interacts with the vivid blue skies and the water in the photos. Oddly enough my outfit also mixed together warm and cool hues so I ended up matching the landscape.

I'm wearing a 1960s dress that I found at a Chicago rummage sale a few months ago-- my mom shortened it to a more wearable length. I've always loved plaid and especially enjoy the unusual colors of this dress, it can easily be worn in the winter or spring.

My purse is from the late 1970s/early 1980s and was thrifted in the Philippines. It has a slight Native American feel to it, right?

Warmer weather meant I could pile on the accessories-- the 1960s charm bracelet features a different model of phone on each circle and is from a consignment shop in Evanston. I thrifted the 1960s lucite bracelets in Fayetteville.

My greatest thrift score on my trip home was this pair of leather lace up boots. I love that they are two-tone, flat and Made in the USA. Best of all they were only $4!! Pretty amazing find as my feet are HUGE (9 1/2-10).

The cozy gray cardigan is from the 1950s and was dug out of the attic of an estate sale. My mom gave me the sweet aqua pin for Christmas and it's probably from the 1970s.

You'd never know it from these photos but Lake Fayetteville is located right off a busy highway across from our town's mall. It truly is a small slice of nature in the middle of the suburban sprawl.

Do you have a "special place"?

Arkansas 'n Missouri Railroad

2012-01-05T22:21:00.000-06:00

I'm back in Chicago after a 10-day vacation in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Surprisingly the weather wasn't too much warmer than Chicago this time around but it was super sunny-- unlike the gray skies that haunt the windy city for the majority of the winter.

Christmas Day we visited the Lights of the Ozarks and took the typical Christmas tree shots (seen in my previous post) but we also took pictures at the Arkansas & Missouri railroad yard in downtown Springdale. It probably looks familiar because I took photos there on my last trip home in May; I've always enjoyed revisiting locations in different seasons to see how it's changed.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1950s dress: Vintage shop in Chicago

Ribbon bow belt: Ribbon purchased from Michael's craft store

1960s green lucite necklace from a Chicago antique store. I loved how the large beads look like Christmas ornaments or lights. I believe the dress was handmade, it features rickrack trim along the collar and at the cuffs. From this close up you can also see how it has an unusual folk style pattern to the fabric.

1960s gold handbag found at my parents' home, I thrifted it previously in Arkansas. I'm wearing my favorite red suede heels from Urban Outfitters. I'm also wearing my usual HUE sweater tights.

Thanks mom for being patient as usual and taking all these photos for me!

An Arkansas Christmas

2011-12-27T20:38:00.005-06:00

What does an Arkansas Christmas look like? Well it obviously needs to somehow involve the Razorback, a wild pig, that serves as the University of Arkansas' mascot (pictured above in lights). Last year I stayed in Chicago for the holidays so this year I'm spending 10 days back in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas to make up for it.

Every year Fayetteville decorates its historic downtown square with thousands of Christmas lights in a display known as the "Lights of the Ozarks". Since my family moved here in 1995, it's been tradition for us to visit the lights during the holiday season so this year we visited on Christmas Day.

Arkansas Razorback!

Posing with my mom by a giant wreath in The Square.

I kind of regret not going for a camel ride now though it was bizarre that there were camels there in the first place-- maybe it alludes to the idea of a live nativity'?

There were also ponies! I always feel a little sad for ponies that have to be hitched up like this though they didn't seem to mind.

You'll see more photos of my Christmas outfit in the next post (we did a shoot at the train yard again!) but here I am wearing a 1950s dress in front of my parents' front door.

I've always loved my parents' eclectic assortment of ornaments, my family mixes together my dad's ornaments from the 1960s, ornaments my mom made in the 1980s and a variety of new and thrifted baubles. My mom made the little felt tiger above and I gave her the vintage angel last year. The kitschy knitted Santa and wreath were thrifted in Arkansas.

It's a star! No it's Santa! Another thrifted ornament.

My dad has been decorating with this set of Made in Japan circus ornaments since he bought them in the 1960s. Yes, over 40 years ago!

My favorite ornament, my mom bought it in the '80s from Sears. Who doesn't love a cute cat made out of pom poms peeping out of a stocking?

My mom holding the latest addition to her vintage salt & pepper shaker collection, I found this set at a Chicago antique store.

Holding up our gifts in front of the Christmas tree, besides my new camera (a Canon 60D digital dSLR), Santa brought me knee socks, tights and vintage jewelry. I REALLY needed the socks and tights as the laundry elves had stolen a majority of my pairs.

How was your holiday weekend? Any exciting plans for New Years Eve yet?

Red, Gold & Art Deco

2011-12-24T20:40:00.007-06:00

Today my family and I took a 2 hour drive to Tulsa, Oklahoma for Christmas Eve. When I was a kid we used to drive from my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas every year in order to shop at the Woodland Hills Shopping Mall. Since I rarely shop retail nowadays, we skipped the mall in favor of oogling the 1930s Art Deco architecture in the historic downtown district.

A majority of the buildings we saw were built at the turn of the century through the 1930s when Tulsa was an oil boom town. It has since diversified its industries but thankfully the city has preserved its rich architectural history. While the original businesses may no longer occupy the splendid buildings, a majority of the original signage and the exteriors remain the same 80 years later.

While the parking lot of the mall and Wal-mart were packed, the downtown area was eerily deserted. Without any other people around it was easy to imagine I was a girl from the 1950s exploring the city.

The Atlas Life Insurance company building was completed in 1922 but its iconic sign was later added in the 1940s. The insurance company resided in the building until 1991 and it now has been converted into a hotel.

I've been obsessed with peacocks lately so gravitated toward this stone detailing above a window. The curling vines and florals indicate that the building is Art Nouveau rather than Art Deco due to the focus on natural elements.

Since it's Christmas Eve I went all out with the red and gold, I definitely felt like a classy vintage lady sashaying down the street in my t-strap heels, gold handbag and cashmere cardigan!

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1950s beaded cashmere cardigan (lined in silk!): Estate sale, Chicago

1970s (?) wool skirt: Village Thrift, Chicago

1960s gold purse: Thrifted in Arkansas

Urban Outfitters suede t-strap heels

HUE sweater tights (so warm and comfortable!)

More building details, you can see the transition from Art Nouveau to Art Deco in the piece on the left-- it still has a natural subject (vines) but they have become more streamlined and abstract. The piece on the right demonstrates Art Deco's emphasis on geometric designs.

I found a little bit of Chicago in Tulsa-- the Mayo Hotel was built in the style of the Chicago School (Sullivanesque) and was designed by architect George Winkler. It was once the tallest building in Tulsa and celebrities like Charles Lindbergh, Babe Ruth, Charlie Chaplin, Mae West, Bob Hope and President John Kennedy once stayed at the luxurious hotel. After falling into disrepair in the 1980s, The Mayo is once again being used as a hotel and apartment building.

An Art Deco Museum is slated to open in Tulsa next year in the Philcade Building (wish it was open already!). The museum had set up two windows with Art Deco appliances as a teaser/preview. I believe the device above is a 1930s space heater, and below is a fan and another heater?

Does anyone know what this type of decorative overhanging on a building is called? I've mainly seen them on older hotels and movie theatres but never knew their technical architectural name.

Ornate metalwork on the overhang.

A Gothic Revival church built in the 1920s; the style was most popular during the Victorian Era and pretty much had died out by the 1930s.

If you celebrate Christmas, I hope you have a wonderful holiday! I'll be back soon with photos taken with my new camera (YAY!).

Frozen Waves in Madison, Wisconsin

2011-12-18T23:10:00.001-06:00

Winters in the Midwest can be brutal-- below 0 degree temperatures, the sun setting at 4PM and being required to wear layer upon layer of clothing-- but it also offers sights like the one above. It was actually 8 degrees when my talented friend and fellow photographer Tricia took these photos of me in Madison, Wisconsin last January. [Yes, due to logistics, I didn't get these photos from her until recently!] Since I grew up in temperature climates, it was the first time I'd seen a lake freeze over. The surface was solid enough for brave souls to walk across and we saw adventurers ice fishing and skating. Unfortunately I wasn't wearing hardy enough shoes for such escapades so we stuck close to shore. It was eeriely quiet during most of our time spent at the lake except for the creaking of the ice from time to time.

If you were wondering, yes I was chilly during the shooting of these photos! Scroll down to see shots of the coat I wore over this outfit, it's a bit bulky but ridiculously warm.

OUTFIT DETAILS:
1960s cotton paisley print dress: Very Best Vintage, Chicago
1950s sequined cardigan: Estate sale, Chicago
YSL leather boots: Crossroads Trading Company, Chicago
Wool Beret & Cuddl Dud Thermal Tights: Gifts from mom

I actually wore this outfit on Christmas last year but didn't get any good shots of it so am glad Tricia recorded it for me in such a wintry setting.

The lakefront is mere blocks from the sprawling University of Wisconsin campus but with all the snow it looks like there is no one else around for miles.

It's Nessie! The Loch Ness monster heads were a public art project, I'm not sure what they were made of but assume they were somehow anchored to the bottom of the lake.

Frozen waves!

Standing on the parking deck overlooking the lake.

See, told you I wore a coat, gloves and a scarf. I'm not that crazy. The coat is a 1950s find actually bought during that trip at a thrift store in Madison.

Trying to form a heart with my hands but sort of failing-- I Heart Madison! Here you can see my vintage silver rings and a 1960s watch that I also thrifted in Madison.

The wintry lake scenes were within walking distance of civilization-- in this case the downtown square and the Capitol building behind me. The area is home to an amazing farmer's market in the summer which I've also previously blogged about here and here.

It's been an oddly mild winter here in Chicago thus far, only two light powderings of snow and the temperatures haven't dipped much lower than the 30s. How has winter been for you so far? How do you stay practical AND fashionable?

All photos by Tricia LaPointe. Thanks Tricia! I can't wait to visit Madison again, it's been too long since my last visit.

Christkindl German Market in Chicago

2011-12-15T20:37:00.006-06:00

Every year I look forward to visiting the Christkindl German Christmas Market located in downtown Chicago's Daley Plaza. It's a miniature version of the famous German markets and it hosts 50 vendors and the city's official Christmas tree.

Today marked the third year in a row that I've visited the market, surprisingly I didn't make it there the first two years I lived in Chicago. While it can get RIDICULOUSLY packed during the weekend, I recommend going on a week night, early in the month of December if possible as the market gets more crowded the closer it gets to Christmas.

As I'm half German I appreciate all the tasty treats on offer including warm sugared pecans, baked apples, soft pretzels, potato pancakes and bratwurst (sausage). Of course no trip is complete to the market without a ceramic boot shaped mug full of Glühwein, a spiced mulled wine. It's warm so makes you feel cozy on a chilly winter evening.

Besides delicious street food, the market stalls sell gorgeous blown glass ornaments, Black Forest cuckoo clocks, wooden nutcrackers, knitted items like mittens and nesting dolls. In the past I've bought Christmas presents here but this year I'm doing a 100% thrifted and vintage Christmas so only purchased food at the market.

The ornament house is the most popular stop in the market, it's always packed with people! Their best selling ornament is the traditional German pickle shaped ornament.

I'm a big fan of the new TV series, "Once Upon A Time" so photographed this Snow White ornament in tribute to the show.

Charlie Chaplin ornaments!

Super adorable sheep ornaments at the Black Forest Cuckoo Clocks and Gifts booth. The next photo is from the same booth, they had my favorite items of the entire market.

Cuckoo clock ornaments that double as magnets.

Traditional soft style pretzels, I regret not trying that Pizza flavored one!

A wooden candle holder featuring a nativity scene above and a choir below.

Blown glass ornaments, the lighting was a little odd in this booth so I didn't get a shot of the marvelous ornaments in the shape of birds, animals and Santa.

Nativity scene at the front of the market.

Chicago's official Christmas tree, this year it's a 55-foot tall Colorado Spruce.

What are your holiday traditions every year? I'll be baking cookies (gingerbread, chocolate chip and chocolate crinkle!) tomorrow night and then I'll be heading home to Arkansas to visit my family next weekend.

Vintage Friends & Holiday Pop Up Shops

2011-12-11T21:10:00.009-06:00

Is it me or has the concept of the 'pop up shop' suddenly become ubiquitous? It could just be an urban trend or a product of the economy but this season I suddenly noticed more 1-day-only or 1 weekend only shopping events than I ever have before. Although I'm against the ridiculous big box commercialism of the holidays, I fully support local artists, Chicago businesses and of course my favorite, sellers of antiques and vintage items. While I'm not a vintage seller myself (I'm a collector/hoarder!), several of my friends and fellow bloggers sell at pop ups on a monthly or seasonal basis.

The three ladies in this post were all hawking their wares this Saturday so of course I had to drop by for a chat and to take photos.

My first stop on Saturday was the Firebelly Foundation 's pop up sale for charity. Karyn of Dethrose Vintage was there selling her always well curated selection of pre-1970s dresses, purses, jewelry and shoes. She's wearing a 1970s dress, a hat knitted by her sister and Anthropologie shoes.

I never would have thought to mix together coral and navy but Karyn's display of accessories convinced me otherwise.

Karyn has an eye for merchandising and display too, I like how she nested these colorful wallets in the wooden trinket box.

A vintage suitcase also serves as a display piece. I was amused to see a postcard pack from Tulsa, Oklahoma-- my family used to drive there once a year to go shopping.

After visiting with Karyn I headed off to a 5-story open studio sale held in an artist loft building where my friend Merl maintains her jewelry design business. She also sells vintage and LOVES cats. Definitely a girl after my own heart.

Merl teamed up our friend Lisa of Archives Vintage for the one-day sale. Lisa is pictured above on the left and Merl is on the right.

Merl and I posing in front of her display of vintage clothing and purses. I'm wearing a 1970s dress and '60s necklace.

A row of vintage necklaces and supplies that Merl uses in her jewelry design. What I love about her pieces is that she reworks a lot of found (vintage) elements into modern, wearable and often sculptural necklaces, bracelets and rings.

One of Merl's creations, I like how it's both edgy and feminine.

Chunky rings made with natural pebbles, crystals and rhinestones.

I had my eye on the crystal leaf and bronzed leaf necklace. There was just something about the contrast of textures and the natural motif that spoke to me.

Lisa & Merl, two talented and beautiful ladies! Lisa is wearing a stunning suit from the early 1960s (or 1950s?) and Merl is wearing a trapeze style sweater dress, not sure if it's vintage.

Best of all, Lisa was wearing gold glitter shoes! Unfortunately they were tricky to photograph but you get the idea. She also has a pair of silver glitter shoes, I'm so jealous.

Merl happily holding up her purchases from The Savoy Flea, a wondrous emporium of "refined oddments and vintage goods" located on the 5th floor of the building. Truth be told, I actually stopped at The Savoy Flea before swinging by Merl's studio-- I blame their clever advertising. Marianne, the proprietess of Savoy Flea, put a sign on each stair landing pointing upwards to the top.

By the time I reached the 5th floor I was out of breath but was instantly rewarded by the sight of a meticulously decorated and arranged space that wouldn't have looked out of place in an Anthropologie store or Crate & Barrel catalogue. Marianne could you please come to my apartment and redecorate it in the style of your shop?

The merchandising of Savoy Flea was superb, the prices very reasonable and the aesthetic unique. I'm as big of a fan of Midcentury Modern as everyone else but have been on burnout from it lately so it was refreshing to see Marinanne's brand of vintage that emphasized natural materials (wood, leather) and the mixing of masculine and feminine elements.

Yes I'd like everything in this photo please, the sunflower vessels are actually measuring cups.

I especially enjoyed the crafty repurposed elements in the shop as well, most of all the paper garlands are made out of old book pages. Why am I not better at d.i.y.?

An imaginative approach to holiday decorating, vintage Shiny Brite ornaments grouped together in an antique bird cage.

More crafty goodness above and below; traditional paper snowflakes cut out from book pages and even a wreath made from vintage ephemera. A very tasteful and Modern approach to holiday decorating.

Doesn't everyone need a bucket of swords in their home? I've now decided that my future living room NEEDS something similar to what's pictured above-- can you imagine the conversations it would spark?

I'll definitely be back to visit Marianne of The Savoy Flea and of course Merl to photograph their spaces again in the new year (with a new camera too!).

Did you make any new discoveries this weekend? Does your town or city host pop up shops and temporary events like the ones I attended?

Happy Birthday Mom!

2011-12-08T18:13:00.003-06:00

Happy Birthday Mom! Today is my mom's birthday and since she's a loyal reader of this blog, I thought it would be fitting to do a little tribute to her here. I'd appreciate it if you left a comment wishing her happy birthday too.

My mom is a fellow "thriftaholic"-- my father was the one who infected us with the antiquing bug but my mom quickly matched his enthusiasm for scouring garage sales, antique malls and thrift stores for items to add to her collections. She used to collect Barbie dolls, angels and Hallmark ornaments. Now she looks for owls, clothing (to wear) and dishware. Her biggest passion is her vintage salt and pepper collection, she has over 300 sets (all miraculously displayed in my parents' kitchen) and has been collecting them for over 15 years. Whenever I visit my parents in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas she is always up for a vintage adventure and we will happily hit all the thrift stores in the county over the course of my stay. She also takes blog photos for me, including the train yard and Lincoln Park Zoo shoots.

I often think of my mom as the Filipino Martha Stewart, by day she's a nurse but in her free time she devotes her time to all things crafty. She's a talented seamstress and can make me a dress just based on a photo of a garment that I desire. Her gift wrapping skills are legendary, her crochet projects used to wear blue ribbons at the Maui State Fair and she also can arrange flowers and create centerpieces out of cut fruit. She also cooks-- her signature dishes are a multi-layered "rainbow" jello dish she brings to holiday parties and Filipino fare like handrolled lumpia (meat-filled eggrolls). Whereas I tend to be a creature of clutter, she is super tidy and organized and has an eye for interior design. In a lot of ways we're opposites but I'm happy she's skilled in areas that I'm not; for example I can always count on her to alter and fix my vintage dresses as I'm terrible at sewing.

I've been lucky that my mom has always encouraged me in my various creative and scholastic endeavors -- her motto has always been "To Live Life Without Regrets." It's definitely something I strive to do in my own life and some day I hope to become as strong of a person as her.

Three of these photos are from our May trip to the Philippines (her homeland) and the last photo is from my MFA show opening last year. Unfortunately I don't have any nifty vintage photos of her at the moment as they are at my parents' house and need to be scanned.

Happy Birthday Mom and thank you for always supporting and believing in me! I wouldn't be the person I am today without you.

A Last Ode to Fall: Apple Pickin' & A Corn Maze

2011-12-02T20:00:00.014-06:00

Autumn is my favorite season and unfortunately it passed by much too quickly this year; after Thanksgiving there is a frantic race to Christmas and everyone forgets about pumpkins, golden leaves and Honey Crisp apples.

Since moving to the Midwest I've wanted to go apple picking and finally at the age of 26 I got the chance to go to a farm orchard located an hour south of Chicago in Indiana. Karyn of Dethrose Vintage and I went on a sunny and unseasonably warm Sunday way back in October. Oddly enough it seemed like everyone else in the blogosphere had also gone apple picking the same weekend so I ended up sitting on these photos until now.

It only cost two dollars to get into County Line Orchard and you only pay for the apples you pick (by the pound). Besides the apples there is also a corn maze, pumpkin patch and our favorite, apple cider and pumpkin DOUGHNUTS! So delicious.

Obviously we had to fortify ourselves with delicious doughnuts before all that strenuous apple picking! The apple cider version was my favorite, it was a cake rather than a yeast doughnut and was soft and fluffy. It was also dusted with cinnamon sugar! The pumpkin doughnut was also tasty but with the icing it was a bit too sweet for my tastes.

There is a wide variety of apples to choose from but I mainly stuck to my favorite, the Fuji.

Karyn and I actually saw people eating apples right after they picked them-- Karyn is just pretending to take a bite as we were a little weirded out about not washing them first!

I'd been wanting to wear this red 1950s calico print square dancing dress for months but never found the right occasion for it. I'm glad I wore it to the orchard as not only do I match the apples, the color pops in all the photos! It was also warm enough that day that I'm wearing red SANDALS in October.

Karen is wearing a little swiss dot 1940s dress, she wished it had a fuller skirt to gather up more apples.

Since I was wearing short sleeves I loaded up on my autumn-colored bracelets including 2 Bakelite bangles (the yellow ones) and my slightly crazy 1960s acorn bracelet.

I bought this bracelet with a $5 gift card I'd gotten from Unique Thrift Store a while back. It straddles the border of good taste but who doesn't love a good piece of kitschy jewelry every once in a while?

Our favorite part of the orchard was a section housing the more mature, taller trees. The growth was denser so it felt like we were in a fairy tale or the new TV show, Once Upon a Time.

The deeper we went into the orchard the more we found, including this sunflower field and a corn maze pictured below. The maze wasn't scary, the corn wasn't very tall so we could see our way out!

When we were posing in the corn we felt like 1950s girls doing a wholesome photo shoot for an apple growers' association... or the state of Indiana! Do you think the tourism board would hire us to promote their agriculture?

Karyn twirling in the corn. We have a history of twirling in pretty vintage dresses.

Sadly I didn't buy a pumpkin but we couldn't pass up the chance to take photos in the pumpkin patch. Oddly enough the patch was located next to the parking lot!

The blowup jack-o-lantern just seemed so cheerful. This was the first year I didn't carve a pumpkin, mainly because there's not a good place in my apartment to display it.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1950s Square Dancing Dress: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

Red Sandals: Zappos.com 5 years ago

Vintage Leather Belt: Brown Elephant Thrift, Chicago

1960s sunglasses: Chicago Antique Store

1960s acorn bracelet: Unique Thrift, Chicago

1970s Leather Satchel Purse: Garage Sale, Chicago

Vintage Bakelite & Resin Bangle Bracelets: Various Chicago Thrift Stores

See even more photos in Karyn's 2-part post: Part 1 and Part 2. Thanks again Karyn for going to the orchard with me and taking these wonderful photos!

Goodbye Autumn, hello Winter! I'm looking forward to peppermint mochas, baking and decorating cookies, snow (but not too much) and visiting the Christkindl German Christmas Market downtown.

What are your winter traditions? Are you sad to see autumn end?

Evolving Style: The Perfect Suede Skirt

2011-11-27T21:40:00.000-06:00

Since I gave up reading fashion magazines and started wearing almost exclusively vintage and secondhand clothing 5 years ago, I've looked to fellow style bloggers for inspiration. Lately I've found myself drawn to shorter, more fitted looks reminiscent of the 1960s and 1970s. My favorite group of bloggers reside in San Francisco; The Hummingbird Girls, Fancy Fine and A Fine Day for Sailing are on my daily reading list. These girls inspired me to hunt down a little suede skirt this autumn and it has been one of my staples this season.

Unfortunately it was too gloomy outside on Thanksgiving for photos so my roommate Adeline and I shot these on Black Friday instead (no we didn't do any shopping). The setting is the glorious St. Nicholas Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral. I'm lucky enough to see this cathedral every day from my living room window but had never got around to taking pictures by it.

The Cathedral is in the Neo-Byzantine baroque style and was based on St. Sofia's Church in Kyiv. It was completed in 1915, stands 112 feet high and can accommodate over 1,000 people! Unfortunately I have yet to see the interior but imagine it's quite grand.

Adeline posing with one of the cathedral's many columns, we felt like we were in Europe.

Massive, heavy carved wooden doors grace the entrance of the church.

Look at the intricate mosaic tile work! I've always imagined Turkey and Greece to have pieces like this everywhere.

In the background is a street typical of my neighborhood, most people live in brick 3-story apartment buildings built in the 1920s and '30s.

Please excuse my slightly awkward pose, I was trying to show off my vintage celluloid Fox pin. I believe he's from the 1930s or '40s? If you like him, there are 2 similar fox brooches currently on etsy here and here. I'm also wearing huge sterling silver rings that are Art Deco in style but probably date from the 1980s.

My 1970s Turkish wool upholstery/carpet bag oddly matched our surroundings.

The lacy open patternwork of my high heeled oxfords also echoed the tile floors.

Sadly it was gloomy by the end of our photo shoot but it was thankfully warm enough for me to walk around without tights!

OUTFIT DETAILS:
1990s Suede Skirt: Village Thrift Store, Chicago
Thrifted Banana Republic Tie Front Sweater: Brown Elephant, Chicago
Tan Wool Beret: H & M
1970s Turkish Carpet Purse: Randolph Street Antique Market
Bakelite Bangles: Goodwill Thrift Store, somewhere in the Chicago suburbs
1940s Celluloid Fox Brooch: Brown Elephant, Chicago
Sam Edelman Shoes: Crossroads Trading Company

How has your style evolved as you've gotten older? Do style blogs influence the way you dress?

Holidazzle! A Vintage Bazaar Pop Up Extravaganza.

2011-11-15T20:27:00.005-06:00

Last Friday Albert and I attended the latest incarnation of Chicago's beloved flea market, The Vintage Bazaar run by Katherine Raz and Libby Alexander. We were lucky enough to attend the Holidazzle preview party that featured cocktails by Logan Square bar and restaurant, Longman & Eagle. Unlike the September "Classic Flea" held at The Congress Theatre, this market was a smaller affair and involved 14 vendors in a storefront space in Logan Square. The result was a more curated shopping experience with a tightly edited selection of merchandise.

Unfortunately my aging camera doesn't handle low light situations well so I didn't take that many pictures on Friday. I actually went back again on Saturday during the day but it was cloudy so no natural light then either! Oh well, I still hope you enjoy the photos.

Curious about the first photo in this post? Be sure to scroll all the way down to find out more about it!

One of the stars of the market was Katherine Raz's Midcentury Modern Indoor Gas Fireplace! If I had the room you bet I'd pounced on it-- of course it sold pretty quickly. The chairs on either side of it were super comfy too, they felt like a more structured version of a beanbag chair.

Albert admiring himself in a 1970s designer yellow plastic mirror in Katherine's booth.

Katherine knows how to reel in her clientele-- I actually really wanted to buy a plastic bangle out of the hipster stocking stuffer area, does that mean I'm a hipster??

The folks over at Hot House Market have some mad merchandising and display skills. I especially enjoyed the tower of suitcases and the knitted granny blankets draped over two ladders.

More goodies from Hot House Market above and below, they made the vintage-inspired bottle stoppers. Wouldn't they make a fun stocking stuffer?

Of course the little rotund owl stoppers were my favorite.

I'm sure someone snatched up that sheep wall hanging right away-- I like that it includes a black sheep on the end.

Kimberly of Estate Chicago always finds the best jewelry. At the Bazaar she shared a booth with another vintage jewelry vendor, Melissa of Pure Vintage Chicago.

I fell in love with these two Mod 1960s (?) fish necklaces in Melissa's booth. Aren't they rad? I'm hoping they found a good home with a stylish lady.

Lots of lucite, Bakelite and plastic baubles in Melissa's booth. I've been obsessed with chunkier plastic jewelry lately (I blame Katherine's influence) so adored all these pieces.

A more masculine vignette from Houndstooth Vintage though I'd definitely want to own every piece in this photo!

Apt528 is another vendor who consistently has quirky and wonderful displays. Look at all that color in their booth! Also the sofa in the background can be customized in any fabric, pretty neat.

Albert hamming it up (as per usual) in a vintage dog mask in Karyn & Jon Dethrow's booth.

The highlight of the Vintage Bazaar was an old fashioned Paper Moon photo booth created by Jon Dethrow. I've featured photos of his creepily awesome goods before so it's no wonder he came up with such a fun idea.

Paper Moon backdrops were popular in America in the 1910s through the early 1950s. The early images were photos directly printed onto a postcard. The backdrop was created using a black piece of material decorated with stars that would be draped over a bench or wood platform that the subject(s) would sit upon. The 3-D moon cutout would be made of cardboard or wood and would help to give the illusion that the people were floating in a night sky. If you're interested in seeing a comprehensive collection of these photographs check out this collection on Flickr.

Albert's sad/stern pose, he was trying to imitate the staid look of old fashioned portraits when no one smiled (probably because the exposure times were so long and it was hard to sit still!).

Albert and I tried to both sit on the moon but I was terrified there might be an accident. Fortunately we emerged unscathed. Thanks again to Karyn & Jon for the opportunity and for sending the photos our way!

Want to see more photos of The Vintage Bazaar? Check out the blog roundups below:

A Trip To The Motherland (The Philippines)

2011-11-10T20:35:00.001-06:00

As the weather gets increasingly colder, damper and grayer here in Chicago my thoughts turned to warmer climates which reminded me that I never posted photos of my 2-week trip to the Philippines. I'm fortunate to be of mixed ethnic background-- my brave mom immigrated to the U.S. by herself back in the early 1980s from the Philippines. She met and married my dad (who is of German American background) in Southern California and I'm the product of this union. I have made the grueling plane trip to the Philippines several times in my life but 10 years had passed since our last trip. It was our longest stay there and I was nervous about not having access to the Internet, coffee or my cellphone. Fortunately a generous cousin let me borrow her laptop for the duration of the day and there was a Starbucks a 20-minute bus ride from my grandmother's home in Batangas City.

The majority of my mother's family still live in Batangas City, where she was born. It's a provincial city located about 2 hours away from the capital of Manila on the island of Luzon. Unfortunately I do not know the indigenous language, Tagalog, but a majority of the signs are in English and everyone learns English (and Spanish) in school.

Even in May the weather was blisteringly hot and humid. I packed every cotton vintage sundress I owned, several pairs of sandals and lots of sunscreen and mosquito spray. While there we hit the department stores and street markets for cute hair accessories; by midday my bangs were a mess.

There's always a lot of pressure to take amazing "National Geographic" style photographs while traveling abroad; I decided to just take pictures of whatever caught my eye rather than try to be overly artistic or conceptual. Thus there are a lot of photos of kitties (!), crumbly Spanish churches and me posing in various locales. I'll do another post in the future of just food pictures, I know you're excited.

We visited the tourist destination of Lucban, a nearly 3-hour journey from where we were staying. Lucban is famous for its regional version of Filipino sausage, longganisia (pictured above). There are dozens of stalls in the town's open air marketplace that sells native handicrafts but there's also a Western influence as seen through the Coca-Cola flags and animated character balloons seen below.

One of my cousins has a green thumb and orchids were growing everywhere in his backyard.

A kitty sheltering from the midday heat under a stepstool at my cousin's house.

Two tiny ice cream cones from a traveling ice cream man. My mom said the cones were bigger and the scoops more generous when she was a kid! The ice cream flavors in the Philippines were strange to my American tastes-- a popular flavor is CHEESE, ie vanilla ice cream studded with cubes of Cheddar Cheese, yuck. Ube, or purple yam, is also super popular. I bypassed both these options and instead got the safer sounding jackfruit. It was definitely refreshing.

Part of a painted mural on a concrete bus stop in Batangas City.

A traditional horse and buggy near Rizal Park in the capital of Manila.

Since the Philippines was the colony of the Spanish for over 400 years there are spectacular examples of Spanish architecture across the country, the majority of which are churches and cathedrals. I'm not religious but it would be pretty awe inspiring to attend mass in a 500-year-old church every Sunday!

The churches are so colossal it was difficult to get a full shot of them-- instead I settled for detail images like the base I'm sitting on above and a painted Virgin Mary statue below.

Despite the heat we weren't there during beach season, the second week we were there it was rainy, a precursor to the upcoming monsoon season. We didn't actually get to go swimming on the trip (sadness!) but we still went in search of coral and shells at this little beach.

My mom showing off some of the bounty we found, even the pebbles were pretty.

Of course the required sunset beach photo!

All of the museums are located in Manila-- oddly enough the museums were eeriely empty of visitors on a Saturday afternoon, my mom and I pretty much had the place to ourselves. While we had to check our bags at the front desk, none of the paintings had rope barriers in front of them and there were NO guards in each room. I could have gone up to any sculpture or painting and TOUCHED it (I was good and refrained).

Okay, had to sneak in a food picture, my mom and aunts constantly ate their favorite dessert, Halo Halo throughout the trip. It consists of shaved ice, evaporated milk and a variety of boiled sweet beans and fruits with a scoop of ube ice cream on top. It's a more textured version of a milkshake, personally I'm not a fan as I don't like all the jellied bits that go into it! It does make for a good picture though.

My grandmother and a majority of my aunts and uncles all have homes on one piece of family land. They raise chickens, goats, pigs and cows but do not farm. I'm sitting on a tire swing in my grandma's back yard. The roosters (like the one below) would all crow at sunrise, it was definitely my alarm each morning.

Of course the main reason for the trip for to visit family. My grandma is now in her late 80s but still going strong. She's holding a photograph of herself as a young woman, I think she was 15 years old in the picture.

A portrait of my grandmother standing in the doorway of her home.

My mom is holding her college graduation portrait above, she pretty much looks the same over 30 years later.

I was fortunate to have the opportunity to see where my mom grew up and to see a branch of the family that lives so far away. Do you have extended family that live in a foreign country? Have you had the chance to visit them?

Ruby Slippers & A Thrifty Halloween

2011-11-02T20:54:00.007-05:00

I've been dressing up for Halloween since the age of 4 (my first costume was Mary Had a Little Lamb) but this year I ended up waiting until the last moment to put together my costume. Originally I had wanted to be Carmen Miranda this year but the search for a colorful Spanish style dress at the thrifts was fruitless (pun intended!) and the hat would have been tricky to execute. The Friday before Halloween I cast an eye about my room and I saw this 1950s blue gingham square dancing dress and suddenly realized I could be Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. It's actually a bit of a costume repeat as I was Dorothy back in jr. high; back then my mom actually sewed my outfit for me (sadly I no longer fit said costume and the accessorizes are in Arkansas)! Surprisingly I had all the pieces to my costume already so just had to track down red glitter. It was a madhouse at my neighborhood Target the Saturday before Halloween and they were all sold out of glitter, thankfully Joanne's was close by and I bought the last red glitter within a 15 mile radius of my apartment! Thrifted Halloween costumes are a lot more unique and interesting (not to mention much cheaper) than the tacky polyester readymade costumes, am I right?

COSTUME DETAILS:

1950s blue gingham square dancing dress: Antique Mall in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas

1970s Basket Purse: White Elephant Thrift, Chicago

1930s/40s stuffed Toto dog: Rosemont Flea Market, Chicago

T-Strap Mary Jane Heels: Originally from Payless, covered in glitter to make ruby slippers

Sadly I didn't carve a jack-o-lantern this year, my apartment is on the 3rd floor so there isn't a good place to display it. I still purchased a mini pumpkin from a farmer's market in Lincoln Square (pictured above). The trees are aflame here, I spotted this tree on a walk through the Andersonville neighborhood.

A kitty jack-o-lantern spotted on the front porch of an Andersonville home. Will definitely have to make something similar next year.

My roommate, Adeline, also wore a thrifted Halloween costume, she went as the Mexican artist Frida Kahlo. The pink embroidered Mexican dress is actually mine and I picked up the stuffed monkey from the Unique thrift store. Monkeys actually appear as a frequent motif in Kahlo's paintings so we thought it would be funny if Adeline carried one around all night. Unfortunately she forgot to apply Kahlo's signature feature (the unibrow) before we took these photos but remedied the situation in time for the night's party.

Vintage Made in Japan flowers from my collection that we pinned in her hair.

We drove over to the Pilsen neighborhood to do a shoot with the colorful murals as a backdrop but the light had pretty much faded by the time we made it there. I'm not a fan of using flash so I'm only posting one of the pictures from that batch.

Post pictures of your Halloween costumes! Did you thrift or make your costume?

Adventures in Chinatown with Tabitha

2011-09-29T19:07:00.008-05:00

Since the age of 17, when I visited NYC's Chinatown, I've had a connection to the colorful enclaves that offer inexpensive treats, intricate architecture and annual events like the Lunar New Year Parade. During my college years in Los Angeles I worked at an art gallery in Chinatown; many of the old stores and restaurants there were taken over by contemporary art spaces. My first home in Chicago was actually in Chinatown, I sublet an apartment there over the summer before moving to my current neighborhood. Chicago's Chinatown is easily accessible via public transportation (Red Line El, Chinatown stop) and is only five minutes south of the downtown/Loop area. While it definitely can be touristy, it's my go-to spot for dim sum, boba (bubble tea) and candy reminiscent of my childhood in Hawa'ii.

Last month (oops meant to post this sooner!), my friend and fellow blogger, Tabitha of Defining Tabitha, met me in Chinatown for a photographic expedition and to have a brunch of dim sum. Coincidentally, Tabitha moved to Chicago from L.A. the same time I did, so we often reminisce about California when we see each other.

Chinatown is definitely one of the most photogenic areas of the city as there is color and pattern everywhere you turn. Tabitha's shoes even matched the staircase above.

Produce is sold curbside on Wentworth Avenue outside of a grocery store; surprisingly there are no open stalls or a marketplace like what can be found in L.A.'s Chinatown.

There's a mix of architectural styles and decades represented, including the sign above that looks to be from the 1950s or '60s.

Tabitha shows off her favorite accessory, bracelets, in front of intricate glazed tiles set into the wall of a temple.

Showing off my sandals near an abstract dragon formed in the cement near the corner of Wentworth and Cermak Avenue.

Tabitha had just gotten her hair cut into an adorable bob so I had to pose her for a few portraits in front of this chippy old door. It's part of an old building that's been abandoned since a fire took place a few years ago.

I'm posing in front of a mural created from tape that has somehow stayed intact for the past 4 years.

Tabitha & I ended up accidentally coordinating as we both wore sunshine yellow. I'd forgotten about this 1950s day dress, I don't wear it often as it has an odd high neckline and buttons all the way down the back. I rediscovered it at the perfect time, however, as shortly after this expedition it got chilly and rainy here in Chicago.

Do you have a Chinatown near you? What kind of 'touristy' activities do you like to do in your town or city?

Vintage Bazaar at The Congress Theater

2011-09-19T19:29:00.011-05:00

The Vintage Bazaar is my version of fashion week. While style bloggers were buzzing about the spring collections and having brushes with Anna Wintour, I was dreaming about the treasures awaiting me at the twice-yearly market that pops up in the Spring and Autumn. Organized by two savvy vintage lovin' friends, Libby & Katherine, The Vintage Bazaar caters to a younger generation of collectors that want to fill their wardrobes and homes with fairly priced vintage. It only costs $2 admission which grants customers access to 75 well curated booths (sorry no Chinese DVDs or tube socks here), a selection of local food vendors including my beloved Hoosier Mama Pie Company and services like a pop up barber shop, make up services and a free photo booth.

For the first time the Bazaar was both indoors and inside the historic Congress Theatre in Logan Square, a wise move despite the bleak weather. I can definitely say that this was THE best Bazaar yet, due to the breadth of merchandising, inexpensive prices and a roomier layout. It also helped that I got in early as press and wasn't helping out at a booth this time (which left me free to browse). Unfortunately my dinosaur of a camera doesn't do well in low lighting so I only concentrated on taking pictures of the outdoor booths. I'm naturally drawn to taking pictures of objects so consciously tried to actually +gasp+ take pictures of people ie vendors and customers too.

Of course the Bazaar is a magnet for other vintage bloggers like myself so I was happy to run into ladies I'd never met 'in real life' before, Liz of Zilderoh and Tasha of By Gum, By Golly. I also saw some familiar faces like Lisa of Archives Vintage (who volunteered to work at the front door), Karyn of Dethrose Vintage who was a vendor and Maranda of Persnickety Vintage.

Upon stepping outside the first display that caught my eye was this grouping of colorful 1960s luggage-- very "Pan Am". Of course I was delighted to find out that the cases belonged to Jen Style's booth, she's a frequent fixture on the Chicago flea market circuit and always finds the best accessories (look at those belts below!)

Jen is passionate about her business and it shows in the wonderful vintage outfits she always wears, her rockin' maxi skirt is very Pocahontas meets Bohemian, no?

Vintage. Cat. Photos. Yes, I might have squealed a little when spotting them in The Big Heist's booth. They were unearthed from a photographer's estate sale and thankfully three of the 5 x7 images now reside in my personal collection. Continuing the feline theme, I also adored the two embroidered tiger pillows they were selling (below).

Jacob Green, the Artistic Director of Hubris Productions, definitely has a dream job-- he seeks out clothing, accessories and objects to be used as props in theater productions. I also admired his merchandising skills, he used a stack of drawers to organize and highlight jewelry and home decor (an idea I want to steal for my apartment!).

A colorful wooden child's abacus caught my eye in a splashy 1960s/70s themed booth. I tried to justify a reason to buy it but sadly left it behind. Below are two more photos of the space, it made me want to break out the fondue pond and sink my feet into a shag rug.

Definitely the best apron I've seen in a while, I like the play on the adage "Cool as a cucumber".

A rope parrot purse caught my eye, possibly a vintage souvenir from a tropical land?

In the winter I pin a brooch on to all my sweaters/coats/jackets so these colorful enamel flowers grabbed my attention, I've never seen a butterfly in this style before.

Stacks of Jadeite! I'm also digging the pastel hued pottery, I can imagine this table being emptied quickly by happy customers.

One Tail To Love, a dog rescue group, had a well curated group of vintage items whose sales went directly to saving the pups. On the left is an Art Deco glass frame and and a blingin' Southwestern style necklace and on the right is a 1940s star blazer that unfortunately was in rough shape (I could see it starring in my autumn wardrobe otherwise).

I'm posing above with an old 4 x 5 press camera by the Dethrows' booth. Successful brother and sister duo, Jon & Karyn Dethrow, teamed up again to sell at the Bazaar and as usual their booth was swamped with customers. Karyn is always dressed to the 9s in vintage and her brother always offers up the most unusual and slightly macabre antiques I've ever come across in person. All the pieces in his section of the booth would fit right into a 21st century version of a Cabinet of Curiosities. Karyn was still setting up her racks when I took photos so the next six photos are of Jon's creepily awesome wares.

Both Albert and I were drawn to this Odd Fellows (secret society) framed insignia. Albert snagged it for his collection (jealous!) and I believe the skull is handpainted on a fabric background.

Did the skeleton eat the paint-by-numbers ballerina? Both Jon and Karyn have a quirky sense of humor.

Sarah Kincaid, of Skip About Like Lambs, poses with a 1970s Schwinn bicycle outside her booth. We discussed how she keeps her prices low in order to encourage people to adopt a more ethical lifestyle by shopping secondhand versus new. She actually recognized me from my blog and I was glad she said 'hi'; I'm looking forward to reading about her future adventures over on tumblr.

Sarah crammed a lot of goodies into her booth, just in this one photo I spy several vintage trends like the turban, floral '70s suitcase, statement '80s necklace and a well done embroidered floral picture.

Rudy's Roundup is a meticulously merchandised stationery and gift shop in Wicker Park that carries vintage items, artist-made jewelry and paper goods with a Midcentury vibe. It was the first time they'd sold at a flea market and it wasn't a surprise to see that their booth stood out with its organized, colorful displays. If it was spring I would have scooped up the pink flower necklace above.

Rudy's Roundup had the best vintage purse I've ever seen-- it was a crocodile bag but had two gold cat heads on either side of the handle and had little gold feet on the bottom of the bag. Some lucky girl out there is squiring about town with this bag on her arm.

I really wish my apartment wasn't already stuffed with furniture and housewares, Apartment 528 always has pieces I'd love to own, including the re-done white chair on the far left. Also, until the age of 10 my family's primary TV was a teeny black and white set similar to the one in the picture!

A bevy of owl necklaces (above) and figures (below) appropriately spotted at The Owl Lady's booth. Yes, she was ONLY selling owls.

A collection of cat eye frames ready for your prescription to be popped in-- the pearlescent '60s pair would make amazing sunglasses. I'd been reading Andrea's blog, Knick Knack Parade, for a few months and was excited to meet her and browse through her booth.

1970s suitcases and funky dresses at Indivijuli's booth.

Yes, I'm not sure what's going on in that middle painting either, I didn't catch the name of this vendor or the booth.

Sets of Dorothy Thorpe silver rimmed glassware (Mad Men!) and humorous book titles at Seek Vintage's booth. If you haven't been to Seek's retail location in Ukrainian Village/West Town you should swing by soon, they stock well priced vintage fashion for both men and women along with housewares.

Loose buttons in cigar boxes that reminded me of my grandmother's old tin of buttons.

Lynne & Ty McDaniel own a successful vintage shop, An Orange Moon, on the South Side of Chicago. Until the Bazaar I'd only been able to oogle their wares online so it was a pleasure to encounter their MCM furniture in person. If I was into Tiki I'd have scooped up the streamlined Polynesian lamp above.

Lynn also repurposes vintage pieces like these footstools reupholstered with feed sacks.

A rare photo of Albert & I together, we had Lynn take our picture in her groovy 1970s chairs. No, we did not coordinate the vintage brown & orange wool plaid, we're just that awesome.

Happy customer pictures above and below! I apologize to anyone with a fear of clowns but this shopper was ecstatic over her new (old) lamp.

A novel way to carry a purchase, also note that she came prepared in rain boots.

I'm posing on a vintage stool near one of the outdoor entrances, look at the line of people behind me!

Phew, congratulations if you made it to the end of this post! I'd originally planned to make it a 2-parter but decided it would be more cohesive as one. Please comment if you recognize any of the booths that I couldn't identify or if you want to share your finds/stories from the Bazaar. If this wasn't enough Vintage Bazaar action for you, check out the round ups below from fellow bloggers:

Avoision
By Gum, By Golly
Yellow Brick Home
Zilredloh

I'm also linking up to Her Library Adventures Flea Market Finds and Apron Thrift Girl 's Thrift Share Monday this week.

Polka Dots & Jazz Shoes

2011-09-12T21:55:00.006-05:00

It's been a slow transition into autumn here in Chicago; I'd already bought tights and brought out my boots last week and even had my first pumpkin latte of the season. For the past three days, however, the warmer temperatures have required reverting back to wearing cotton dresses and sandals which reminded me that I needed to post photos that were taken earlier this summer.

This set of photos were taken back in July by my friend and fellow blogger, Sara of It's About the Look. It was a hot and humid day and we took these pictures after hitting the Rosemont Flea Market at 7AM! The setting is a little park near Sara's apartment in the Ravenswood neighborhood, I'm posing in a gazebo above that curiously has an electric outlet (what would you plug into it?).

Since the weather was unusually humid in Chicago this summer I kept reverting to little cotton frocks and 'sensible' shoes. My main form of exercise is walking and in the warm months I'll walk 10-15 miles each week.

I can't tell if this 1960s dress was actually meant as a housedress (as it zips up the front) or a little Mod tent dress, either way I just belted it to give it more shape and to make it wearable for a variety of activities.

OUTFIT DETAILS:
1960s cotton polka dot dress: Garage sale in my neighborhood last summer
Leather Jazz Shoes : Thrifted in Chicago
1970s sunglasses: Salvation Army Thrift Store, Chicago
1970s tooled leather purse: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

ACCESSORY DETAILS:
1930s/40s blue glass and silver ring: Randolph Street Market, Chicago
1970s mother of pearl and silver Mexican ring: Private estate sale, Chicago
Pewter boat necklace: Swedish American Museum, Chicago

Since silver can be harder to date than gold/gold filled pieces I didn't have much in my jewelry collection until this summer. My taste in jewelry is gradually evolving as I also started wearing bigger, more unusual pieces.

We had no idea what purpose this faux rock serves, perhaps it's a sculpture? I felt a little like Alice in Wonderland posing on it.

I walked the length of the little stone wall and the two photos above are 'outtakes' from the shoot, I'm sure the sunbathers in the park thought we were silly!

Goodbye bare, tan legs and lush green lawns, I'll soon be saying hello to tights and brightly colored leaves. What pieces are you looking forward to wearing/buying this autumn?

Playing the Flâneur in My Own Neighborhood

2011-09-01T20:08:00.008-05:00

Before moving to Chicago four years ago I'd always lived in areas that required a car to get around efficiently; growing up in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas I dreamt of living in a more densely populated area where coffee shops, the grocery store, neat little vintage stores and cafes would all be within walking distance. After moving here from sprawling Los Angeles (where I went to USC), I moved into a 1920s apartment in the Ukrainian Village and haven't wanted to live anywhere else. Chicago is a city of neighborhoods and each has its own character, history and subculture. While I identify myself as a Near West Side girl (Ukrainian Village/Wicker Park/Bucktown/West Town/Logan Square) I've made it a point to explore the far reaches of the city from the first week that I lived here.

During fair weather, ie above 20 degrees Fahrenheit, I roam the streets in search of intriguing urban art and 19th century architecture, often stopping along the way to pick up an iced coffee and to browse through thrift and vintage shops. At least 3 times a week I'll make the 3-mile round trip jaunt to Wicker Park, the artsy/hipster neighborhood bordering mine. Usually these are solitary walks but last weekend my friend and fellow blogger Sara joined me for a photographic adventure. I'm inspired by bloggers like The Hummingbird Girls, Sally Jane Vintage and Ashley Ording who make their respective cities a prominent subject of their photographs.

Only a few blocks from my apartment is a century-old church and school that has now been shuttered and boarded up. As you can see from the photo above it was built in 1905. It's been standing empty for several years now, what happens to churches after they close?

The gates of the church were locked up tight so we didn't get to explore it as much as I'd like. There are many Ukrainian Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches in my neighborhood and I can hear the bells tolling every Sunday throughout the Village.

Ukrainian and Eastern European families live side by side with a younger generation of artists, musicians and students in my neighborhood thus colorful urban murals crop up next to 19th century brick 2-flats and the aforementioned churches. Sara and I were particularly drawn to this large mural on Damen Avenue that depicts a slice of the city (notice the elevated train in the background).

The art piece on the left was made out of some sort of vinyl that had been stuck to the brick wall and is located near Division & Damen.

We didn't end up taking pictures in the actual park that Wicker Park is named for but instead poked into the backyard/playground of an elementary school. There's a picnic table and seats hewn out of rough logs there that is an unexpected rustic touch in the middle of the urban environment.

JEWELRY DETAILS:

Mexican Sterling Silver Star Bracelet (1970s?): Scooped up for $5 at a Chicago estate sale

1960s resin bangles: Various Chicago thrift stores

1970s sterling silver ring: Private Estate Sale, Chicago

1940s smoky topaz silver ring: ?? Bought in Chicago 4 years ago, maybe Buffalo Exchange?

Does anyone have an idea how old this bracelet might be? The purple stones are cut glass and it's a heavy piece. It's marked 925, sterling and Mexico. Before this summer I rarely wore bracelets and steered clear of silver jewelry but now wear both-- this bracelet was only $5 at an otherwise boring and picked over estate sale.

My mini market bag, made of straw and leather, is the perfect purse for summer jaunts. It's roomy enough for a novel, a bottle of water and any goodies I might pick up along the way. After searching for a vintage market bag for years, I found this one at the Salvation Army for $3.

How rad is that gold tooth? As you can probably tell from the color scheme and style the man and the tree from my first photo are part of the same mural in Wicker Park.

OUTFIT DETAILS

1950s dress: Squaresville Vintage, Los Feliz neighborhood of Los Angeles

1950s pink bow fascinator: Antique store in Evanston

1960s sunglasses: Antique store in Chicago

1980s leather belt: N & K Vintage, Wicker Park

Espadrille Wedges: Shoe village of Liliw, Philippines

Thanks again to Sara of It's About the Look for taking all these wonderful photos! She'll be posting images & details of our walk over on her blog soon. I'm also linking up to Spunky Chateau's Thursdays are for Thrifters Roundup.

What is your neighborhood like? Do you often explore on foot or do you drive?

Sunny Shopping at Randolph Street Market

2011-08-28T21:10:00.008-05:00

As summer winds down here in Chicago I'm trying to squeeze in as many outdoor activities as possible to take advantage of the sunny weather. This weekend was the monthly Randolph Street Market and Albert & I attended on Saturday. Surprisingly I hadn't been to the market since the blogger meetup there in May so was happy to get the chance to stroll around and take pictures.

There were loads of well-priced jewelry at the outdoor booths, unfortunately I'm on a tight budget so couldn't snag any of the great pieces I saw-- instead I took pictures of two of my favorites. The bird brooch and bib necklace were from the same booth that was stuffed full of vintage baubles.

This 1970s bib necklace makes quite a statement-- look at the mouse engraved on the necklace and the huge kissing fish. I came back about 20 minutes later to try and take another photo of it but it was already gone!

Pictured are two stylish vendors, Leah of Onomatopoeia Vintage and Heather Medina. Albert introduced me to Leah a while ago and I've purchased some amazing dresses and coats from her. Both Leah and Heather are wearing 1950s shirt dresses, I wonder if they coordinated their colorful outfits?

Leah had an amazing bathing cap for sale, it has gold foil fringe on it! Also take a gander at the velvet hat, it would be perfect for autumn.

A bevy of 1950s/60s coats for sale, I actually own coats similar to the yellow, green and white ones (yes I have a ton of vintage coats).

I loved everything about this vignette, isn't the framed artwork stunning?

My grandmother collected butterfly items so they always remind me of her. I have a few framed butterflies under glass hanging in my living room but haven't come across an collage made out of wings before, they remind me of the cathedral window-style collages that artist Damien Hirst created out of butterfly wings. The dealer told me this piece was at least 50 years old and he was asking $60 for it.

A clever idea, vintage frames turned into chalkboards. If I was good at d.i.y. s projects I'd try to recreate this look at home.

A gorgeous handpainted wooden chest that's likely a hope or marriage chest. I have dreams of some day finding a large wooden chest to use as a coffee table.

Albert took home this hand-tinted poodle photo from Leah's booth along with other goodies. Sally Schwartz, the organizer of the Randolph Street Market, snapped this photo of us on the way out of the market.

Photos of my outfit are forthcoming in a future blog post. Did you hit the flea markets this weekend? What did you find? Peruse fellow bloggers' vintage treasures at Her Library Adventures weekly roundup.

Chicago Blogger Meetup in Pilsen

2011-08-24T19:56:00.004-05:00

Last Saturday I had the pleasure of attending the Chicago Blogger Meetup organized by the lovely Lisa of Archives Vintage. She spent months planning the meetup and took the time to put together goodie bags stuffed full of swag for each of us and also supplied champagne and cake balls that she'd baked herself. It's been a wonderful summer full of blogger meetups; it's always exciting to see familiar faces again and to meet new ladies at these events.

Deliciously Vintage, a cozy shop in the Pilsen neighborhood, was kind enough to host us-- I ended up staying the whole 3 hours and had a ball flipping through the garments for sale and exploring the ivy-covered back patio where these photos were taken.

I'm photographed above and below with Karyn of Dethrose Vintage, I'd been following her blog for a while and we often run into each other at flea markets where she sells her drool inducing vintage dresses, hats and purses. She's lucky enough to be selling vintage as her full-time job and is always outfitted in some of her lovely wares; as far as I know Karyn has never repeated an outfit, what a feat!

Oddly enough Karyn and I have never taken pictures together so we seized the opportunity to twirl in our dresses (felt like I was doing The Twist) while my sweet friend and fellow blogger, Sara, obligingly snapped photos for us.

Karyn actually wore a pair of 1950s pale yellow gloves to the event; I'm too messy/clumsy to wear gloves despite owning nearly a dozen pairs. We share a love for upholstery/carpet bags, her collection definitely rivals mine.

If you're wondering, yes, Karyn is super tall! I'm 5 foot 6 inches tall and was wearing 2 inch wedges. I believe Karyn is 5' 9"? She's wearing a 1940s dress and you can see my outfit information below.

OUTFIT DETAILS:
1950s dress: Knee Deep Vintage, Pilsen, Chicago
1980s Leather Belt: N & K Vintage, Wicker Park, Chicago
Deadstock green espadrille wedges: N & K Vintage, Wicker Park, Chicago
1960s resin bangles: Thrifted in Chicago
Vintage bee necklace: Thrift store in Columbus, Ohio
1950s/early 60s jumbo sized upholstery bag: Community Garage Sale, Chicago

Does this dress look familiar to you? It should as I wore it on my birthday brunch outing way back in March. Back then I had to wear a coat and tights with it, August is a much better time to wear it! I didn't style the dress in a radically different way, just different shoes and loaded on the jewelry.

The bodice of the dress is studded with tiny rhinestones and the buttons are larger rhinestones-- lots of bling. While digging around in my room before the meetup I came across this necklace I'd bought on the Indiana/Ohio trip that Albert and I had taken back in March. Sadly I'd forgotten about it but the color and its theme (a bee!) went well with the rose print of the dress. Based on the style how old do you think it is-- originally I thought it was newer (1980s) and made to look old but now I'm not so sure.

It was definitely tempting to go over the top and wear a floral crown or hat to top off the outfit but in the end I kept it simple. I pinned this little cluster of 1960s daisies in my hair, they were purchased at an estate sale in my neighborhood earlier this summer.

Despite having documented my outfits for the blog for quite a while, I still feel awkward in front of the camera. The above shots are 'outtakes', Sara and I were joking around about how models always do the hands on hips/hunched back pose so here is my attempt at said pose! Pretty hilarious.

top row: Randi (Not Just Mom), Emily (Sartoriography), Lisa (Archives Vintage),
Me, Sara (It's About The Look), Nikia (ChiTown Fashionista)

bottom row: Piper Alexander (Cheap & Chic in Chicago), Tabitha (Defining Tabitha), Sabrina (Defying My Closet)

Unfortunately we weren't able to wrangle all the ladies together to take a group picture until the very end of the meetup so this is only a third of the people who showed up.

Thank you Lisa for organizing the meetup, I hope to attend many more in the future. A thank you also goes to Karyn for twirling with me for these photos (now we need a vintage lovin' red headed friend to complete our trio!) and to Sara for always being a patient photographer and a good friend to me.

Noir City Film Festival

2011-08-17T17:24:00.004-05:00

The Noir City Film Festival kicked off last week at the Music Box Theatre here in Chicago and I was fortunate enough to be granted 2 festival passes in order to view several of the films with a companion. The closing night of the festival is tomorrow so there's still time to catch a double feature for only $9.25 in a historic theatre.

Of course the festival required a vintage outfit complete with hat; this is more costume-like than my day-to-day wear but such a occasion called for it! It was difficult picking out a Noir-inspired outfit to wear in 80-degree weather as most of the films seem to be set in the autumn or winter (ie little wool suits, tilt hats, long evening gowns). Fortunately I'd picked up this lighter weight red herringbone jacket (probably from the 1950s) at the Brown Elephant a while ago so I built the look around it-- the hat and leopard print purse are also likely from the 1950s but my skirt and shoes are contemporary.

If I was actually a character in a Noir film I'd more likely be the ingenue or the spunky female newspaper woman rather than a hardboiled dame toting a pistol. It's difficult looking mysterious in photos when the sun is shining brightly, non-smiling photos of me also don't turn out well.

OUTFIT DETAILS

1950s red felt hat with feathers: Thrifted in Chicago 4 years ago (Salvation Army??)

1950s leopard handbag: Babe Ahern estate sale, Chicago

1950s suit jacket: Brown Elephant thrift, Chicago

Art Deco diamond & onyx gold ring: Flea Market in Wicker Park

Cheap Monday pencil skirt

Urban Outfitters red suede t-strap heels

My lovely friend and fellow blogger Sara was kind enough to meet up with me after the movie to take photos of my outfit. She lives within walking distance of the Music Box Theatre so we took photos in the alley behind her apartment.

Chicago is lucky to have a thriving vintage theatre like the Music Box, it was originally built in 1929 as a smaller neighborhood movie house and seated only 800 people compared to the deluxe movie palaces downtown that were multi-use and could seat over 3,000. It's partially for this reason that the Music Box has been able to survive the decades and is now being used to show foreign, revival, independent and cult films. The Music Box retains several of its original features including the ticket window I'm standing in front of in the above picture and its marquee.

Unfortunately I am not a film critic so I'm not going to delve into the details of the two movies I saw, "The Blue Dahlia" (1946) starring Alan Ladd and Veronica Lake and "The Chicago Deadline" (1949) starring Alan Ladd, Donna Reed and June Havoc. I'd recently finished reading Raymond Chandler's "The Long Goodbye," so chose to see "The Blue Dahlia" as he wrote the screenplay for the movie. Familiar Chandler character detective Philip Marlowe, however, is replaced by the character played by Ladd, a returning WWII veteran who must solve a murder in order to prove his own innocence.

"The Chicago Deadline" played to a packed theatre as it was actually shot here in the city and is a rare print and unavailable on DVD. The main draw for me was seeing the Chicago my grandmother grew up in and to see what the El and the skyline looked like in the 1940s. Surprisingly most of the action of the story took place in the Loop and River West areas instead of the city's neighborhoods. The actual plotline was a labyrinth but Ladd plays a detective who falls in love with the dead girl whose murder he's attempting to solve. Donna Reed plays the victim and we see snatches of her life through flashbacks narrated by her friends, relatives and lovers that Ladd manages to track down. In terms of cinematography, "The Chicago Deadline" is less stylistic and is done in a more straightforward, documentary style.

Thank you goes to The Music Box Theatre and the Film Noir Foundation for making my cinema outing possible.

Featured in "Time Out Chicago" Magazine

2011-08-09T20:18:00.005-05:00

Recently I had the honor of being featured in Time Out Chicago magazine in a column titled "Store Explorer". As an avid Time Out reader, I was excited when the writer, Web Behrens, asked me way back in January if I'd be interested in picking out an under the radar local shop to explore with him and a photographer. Since my two vices are coffee and vintage, Kouks Vintage Shop and Cafe in the Norwood Park neighborhood was a natural choice. I first discovered Kouks 3 years ago when I was adventuring all over the city in search of antique and vintage shops. Unfortunately it's a bit of a hike from my apartment via public transportation so it had been a while since my last visit to the store but when we arrived it was just as I'd remembered it-- a rambling house-like space crammed with sparkly baubles and colorful, graphic artwork.

Above is a screenshot from the Shopping & Style section of Time Out Chicago's website, my article was one of the top 3 stories of the week!

Even though I have a B.A. in print journalism and have previously been interviewed for various online and print publications, I didn't know what to expect upon arrival at Kouks for the shoot. Web was kind enough to give me a ride there and he actually started the interview while we were still in the car.

We arrived half an hour before the photographer in order to give him a chance to talk to the owner and for me to pick out 5-6 items in the shop that I wanted to have photographed for the article. It took a while to choose the items as there were literally piles of jewelry to sift through and there needed to be enough variety to be representative of Kouks' stock. You can see my picks in the online slideshow and little blurbs about what I thought about each item. Oddly enough they included the library lamp in the print version (below) but not in the online slideshow. They also omitted the funky 1970s sculptural necklace from the print version but included it in the online slideshow.

Click on the image above to see a scan of the print article, I was on page 47 of the August 4-10, 2011 issue. Last weekend was the music extravaganza known as Lollapalooza so the issue I'm featured in has 4 different commemorative covers highlighting 4 musicians at the fest. It's likely the most widely read/seen issue of Time Out due to the tens of thousands of festival goers who read it!

Thanks again to Web Behrens for the stellar article, Elizabeth Jochum for the photos and Time Out Chicago for always pointing me towards the best cultural events in the city each week.

Food Truck Picnic

2011-08-05T16:29:00.004-05:00

Yesterday evening my roommate Adeline and I went on a lady date in Humboldt Park. We'd been wanting to try the traditional Puerto Rican pressed sandwiches and espresso drinks at the Isla Cafe food truck since they opened 2 months ago. Unlike traditional food trucks that roam the streets of the city, Isla is stationed in the park all day, every day. Since they are specially licensed through the Chicago Park District, they are also allowed to cook food on the truck, unlike other food trucks in the city (due to the city's antiqued laws, blah).

The weather was actually perfect for such an outing, sunny but not too humid. I've been really lazy about dressing lately and here is my version of a casual outfit. I'm wearing a 1950s cotton Swirl brand wrap dress and a pair of leather loafers/moccasins. Since I don't wear shorts or tennis shoes this is my equivalent to such an ensemble-- both items are easy to slip on and super comfortable especially on a hot summer day.

Isla Cafe operates out of a vintage (probably 1950s?) Airstream trailer that brought to mind corny yet fun all-American roadtrips.

The menu at Isla is small, only 4 sandwiches, but they excel at what they do. Above is the traditional Puerto Rican confection known as a Malloraca that consists of ham and Muenster cheese pressed on a sweet, eggy bread. It is Puerto Rico's version of the traditional sweet and salty Monte Cristo sandwich. Yes, it is topped with powdered sugar! The bread reminded me of French Toast and the cheese and ham added just the right amount of savoryness to counteract the sugar. Accompanying the sandwich is a Cafe Dulce de Leche Helado or what is commonly known as an iced caramel latte.

Prices are low, my sandwich was only $3.75. Coffee drinks range from $1-3.75. Isla also offers tropical fruit milkshakes and fresh lemonade.

Adeline opted for a savory ham sandwich on buttery Sabrosa bread. It looks very similar to pressed Cuban sandwiches that I love.

After finishing our early dinner we decided to roam around the rambling park. Despite the fact we could see the iconic Chicago skyline it felt like the parks back in my homestate of Arkansas-- there are little flower gardens, ponds and sweet wooden bridges.

Sadly this was a restricted area, I would have liked to take pictures with the rowboat.

Above & below are detail shots of the jewelry I wore, I've been wearing these sterling silver pieces nonstop lately. Both the bracelets and the ring are from Buffalo Exchange in Chicago.

Not sure if this is Native American or Mexican made, the silver ring contains a piece of coral and a cabochon of Mother of Pearl (shell).

Despite being August everything was super green in the park and the flowers were thriving. Usually by this time of the year everything is brown and dead. We've had a ridiculous amount of rain this summer though so at least this is a positive outcome of those dreary days. My little leather loafer/moccasins are also from Buffalo Exchange.

Strolling through the flower lined paths I got bit by mosquitoes. :( Sadly 8 mosquito bites on my arms and legs was a souvenir of this outing in the park. We ended up hurrying out of the park after we realized bugs were everywhere!

Is anyone else freaking out that summer is almost over? I'll be happy to have the chance to layer again in the autumn but am not looking forward to wearing scarves and heavy wool coats again.

7 Foot Swordfish & Kane County Flea Market Finds

2011-08-01T20:54:00.011-05:00

My friend and thrifting partner-in-crime, Albert, outdid himself with this 7-foot-long stuffed and shellacked swordfish he found at the season opener of the Kane County Flea Market. Previously his wackiest purchase was a taxidermy goat head at an Indiana antiques store. While such tropical trophies are a more common find in California or Florida; in landlocked Illinois such a large fish would have traveled a long way to make it into the previous owner's basement or 'man cave'-- wish we knew the provenance of Mr. Swordfish.

These photos were taken back in June but the next Kane County Flea Market will be this weekend, August 6th and 7th. The market is located on on the county fairgrounds in the city of St. Charles, about an hour drive from the city of Chicago. Expect to spend 3-4 hours exploring the sprawling flea, vendors are set up outside in fields and inside where cows/pigs/chickens are judged during the fair!

Scroll down to see Albert parading his jumbo-sized swordfish through the market and to see my finds!

Phew, it was quite a feat getting a 7-foot-long swordish into a compact car! Its 'sword' was almost hitting the windshield and the backseat was pushed down so its torso/tail could fit comfortably in the trunk. Where was I? Well, I was riding next to the swordfish on the traffic-packed ride back into the city. Definitely an experience to tell my grandkids some day.

The aesthetic at Kane County skews heavily to the country/rural chic rather than the Midcentury Modern/industrial that is prevalent in Chicago markets. Common finds include farming equipment, wire egg baskets, wooden fruit crates and a variety of ceramic and glass housewares. I've yet to see much vintage clothing there but do come across vintage hats, purses and loads of jewelry.

There were only a handful of booths containing Midcentury furniture and accessories but the prices were definitely fair and very few customers were checking out the wares. If there had +ahem+ been room in the car I'd likely would have snagged the above 1950s red table. I'm also digging the Mod-style bird cage... in the design world vintage bird cages have been all the rage but I have no idea what I'd do with one.

Sadly this yellow metal rotary phone had seen better days.

This booth was entirely 1940s-1970s furniture. I fell in love with the 2-tier coffee table though I'd probably want to refinish it in a darker wood stain. Imagine all the books I could fit on that circular shelf...

Surprisingly all my finds from the market were tiny, perhaps to make up for the giant swordfish. All my goodies fit into my straw market bag! My first purchase was the above sterling silver signet ring. The seller told me it was Victorian, I believe that it's actually Art Deco and from the 1930s based on the stylized shoulders (sides of the ring). I'd been looking for a vintage signet ring for years but they were either tiny or engraved already. This one was only $10 and fits perfectly.

Quirky souvenir plastic pins, the lobster for Maine makes sense but why would Finland be represented by a banana?!? I believe these are from the 1960s or 70s.

A small metal picture frame on one side (with original insert of the Hollywood star Jean Rogers) with a mirror on the reverse. Jean was popular in the 1930s and '40s so I'm assuming the frame is from the era.

My favorite vendor clears out estates and just lines his booth with cardboard boxes full of junk/treasures. Since there is so much digging involved, the prices are always low! There are usually lots of dishes and glassware but sometimes I find oddities like the medicine bottles above. The polident bottle is made of plastic and has a metal screwtop. I believe both bottles are from the 1930s.

I have a fondness for medals and badges of all sorts, the one on the left is a 1930s swimming medal and the keychain on the right is from a trade association.

Two remnants of glamorous travel-- a TWA swizzle stick (1960s? 1970s?) and a souvenir railroad spike issued to a model train club.

The paint has worn away in spots on this large brooch but I was attracted to its unusual pink and white feathers, the rhinestones on its wings and its 3-D shape and the way the wings will flutter a little as a response to your body movements. I believe its belly is made out of bakelite as it's not clear like lucite. Based on the style it seems to be from the 1940s.

Phew, can't believe it took me so long to share these photos & finds with all of you. Please let me know if you have any information on the items pictured as jewelry can often be tricky to date.

Linking up to Flea Market Finds this week.

Featured in Refinery 29's Best & Brightest Chicago Style Bloggers

2011-07-25T20:44:00.005-05:00

Photo by Amy Creyer of Chicago Street Style for R29.

Recently I had the honor of being included in Refinery29's "Chicago's Best and Brightest Style Bloggers" that featured 13 of my fellow bloggers. I'm happy that I could represent the vintage/thrifted fashion community in the article; the entire outfit above besides my shoes are vintage. The photographer, Amy Creyer, and I are coincidentally from the same town in Arkansas and went to Fayetteville High School together. Somehow we both ended up in Chicago and the day of the shoot was the first time I'd seen her in 8 years!

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1980s star print dress worn as a top: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

Vintage ball skirt: Village Thrift, Chicago

1950s floral purse: Garage Sale, Chicago

1980s leather belt: N & K Vintage, Chicago

1960s sunglasses: Andersonville antique store, Chicago

Bakelite Bangles: Thrifted in Chicago

1970s (?) floral bib necklace: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

1950s gold bow hair clip: Antique store in Evanston

Urban Outfitters red suede peeptoe heels

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

Fortunately Tabitha of Defining Tabitha and Lisa of Archives Vintage were also at the shoot and I had the pleasure of hanging out with them afterwards at Silver Cloud (bar & grill). I'd met both of them at The Randolph Street cocktail hour back in May and am always happy to run into them at events.

While the three of us were chatting over our sandwiches and mac 'n cheese, Emma of Très Awesome: A Chicago Street Style Blog stopped into Silver Cloud. She had fortunately brought her camera along and graciously agreed to take photos of me, Tabitha and Lisa in the Wicker Park/Bucktown neighborhood. She has an excellent eye for detail and was ace at choosing the ideal backdrop to showcase our individual outfits.

We happened across this slightly rusty 1960s Volkswagen Van and knew it would fit the vintage vibe of my look. I fervently hoped the owner wouldn't come out and ask what we were doing but he or she would probably have been flattered by the attention the van was getting!

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

In the summer I always have the urge to chop off my wavy locks; accessories help mitigate this desire a bit. This wee gold metal bow hairclip is likely from the 1950s and was found at an Evanston antique shop. I like that it's dainty and not too ostentatious.

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

Usually I opt to wear bright colors but for the shoot I decided to mix bold patterns including the painterly pattern of florals and grass on this 1950s purse. It's an unusual shape and the metal handle looks like bamboo. It was found at a garage sale in my neighborhood last summer for only $5.

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

My huge 1960s sunglasses, I'm happy I haven't broken or lost these as of yet +knocks on wood+.

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

Does anyone know the era of this necklace? When I bought it at Buffalo Exchange a year ago I assumed it was from the 1970s. A vintage store owner in Milwaukee thought it was much older based on the look of the metal, she guessed 1940s. Thoughts? The little flowers have red glass beads in the middle and the metal content is unknown (copper? brass?).

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

Of course there had to be twirling shots! I'd been searching for a floaty ball skirt for a while and was happy to find this one for $4 at a thrift store. It's actually two layers, a filmy navy chiffon over a slightly shiny crimson satin. It's hard to tell in the photos but it has a iridescence to it in the right light.

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

Old Chicago meets new; I'm actually standing on a slice of the city's past: a brick alley that hides underneath the modernday black pavement.

Photo by Emma of Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog

My partners in crime (Tabitha on the right and Lisa in the middle) & I posing at the famous 6 Corners intersection in Wicker Park (where North Avenue/Milwaukee Avenue/Damen Avenue intersect). I'm loving how we're all wearing red and belted our respective outfits. I'm actually not that tall, I am 5 foot 6 inches tall and wearing 3 inch heels!

Thank you Emma for taking these glorious photos! I always look forward to seeing you around the Wicker Park neighborhood and at fashion/style events. You should definitely check out her blog, Très Awesome - A Chicago Street Style Blog soon! She also contributes to R29 and Elle Magazine's online site as a street style photographer.

Thrifting Through Grand Rapids, Michigan

2011-07-20T20:59:00.001-05:00

A couple of weeks ago I was fortunate enough to go on a whirlwind trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan with my friend Albert. He had to go pick up a car near there so we made it into a vintage-packed day and a half excursion.

Before heading North I consulted with fellow bloggers (and vintage lovers), Katherine Raz of BackGarage/The Vintage Bazaar and Tieka of Selective Potential on where to shop and what to eat. Since we were pressed for time we unfortunately did not get to visit the famed sculpture garden downtown or explore the art museum. We did, however, hit almost all of the antique shops in the area and several thrift stores! Be sure to scroll down to see photos of the stores we explored.

It's become standard to take a goofy photo of Albert on our outings now-- we found this antique industrial implement on the porch of an antique store. At the time I thought it was an old fashioned lawn mower but realized it isn't while looking at the picture now; can anyone identify it?

Our first stop was lunch at The Nantucket Baking Company. We actually picked up sandwiches made with their bread next door at Martha's Vineyard, an upscale deli and wine shop. At the bakery I had a difficult time choosing just one of the treats, everything looked delicious!

Towers of gigantic cookies, ridiculously low priced at $1.35 each! I decided on something old fashioned, a molasses cookie that was chewy and perfectly spiced.

My yummy chicken salad sandwich; there were no benches or seating at the bakery so we ended up eating lunch on the steps of a nearby church!

I'd never seen a rhubarb-flavored soda before; I found this bottle at the Martha's Vineyard deli. The Dry soda company is based out of Seattle and is a more natural and organic approach to soda.

Makeshift picnic!

Our first vintage stop was 29th Street Antiques, a rambling 2-story antique mall that contained a variety of goods for reasonable prices. Sadly the days of absurdly low prices are gone-- I kept having visions of finding Herman Miller chairs for $20 or under. No dice!

The owners of 29th Street Antiques were very friendly and even printed out a google map and highlighted other antique shops in the area. Thankfully all the shops were within a 5-10 minute drive of each other, some were even clustered all together on the same block.

We raced over to a flea market that the owner of 29th Street Antiques told us about-- unfortunately it contained only 4 vendors! Surprisingly we still found a few treasures and luckily there was a massive brick warehouse (used to be the Sligh furniture factory) across the street that contains 3 antique shops. Antiques at Victoria's Warehouse was already closed by the time we got there but we stopped into Lost & Found Treasures and Century Antiques. The owner of Lost & Found actually sells at the Randolph Street Market here in Chicago and accordingly had a focus on higher end Midcentury Modern and industrial furniture.

At Lost & Found I found an owl lamp that matches an owl side table that currently resides in my dining room. They also carried the now ubiquitous design staple, the giant marquee letter.

A sculptural lamp seen at Lost & Found Antiques. It reminds me of fiber optic displays.

My favorite stop was Century Antiques, a rather cluttered antique mall where I had to dig a little more for the treasures but they had lower prices and lots of ephemera, knick knacks and all around good junk. I'd much prefer to search through piles of vintage goods over feeling like I can't touch the pristine 1950s furniture that costs thousands of dollars-- makes it feel more like a treasure hunt.

An oversized GE fan, due to my fear of vintage electronics I still haven't bought one though it would be useful in this horrible heatwave Chicago is currently experiencing.

A glorious confection of a hat, it would be perfect for the spring time.

Hrm, photography magazines used to be pretty racy-- look at the bombshell pinup on the cover! Can you imagine paying 10 cents for a magazine?

I'm a collector of vintage tins (mainly tea/biscuit/cookies) and was tempted by the potato chip and LARD cans. Aren't the colors and graphics wonderful?

We also visited the Salvation Army and St. Vincent's thrift stores on Wealthy Avenue. Despite the Salvation Army being 2 stories I didn't find any pre-80s clothing and most of the items in both stores were fairly new. Maybe we went on an off day as The Salvation Army store was highly recommended by several people. :(

We ended the day in Grand Rapids by grabbing dinner at Marie Catrib's, a farm-to-table cafe dedicated to organic, seasonal fare. The menu had a Greek/Mediterranean bent to it and there were plenty of vegetarian and even gluten-free options. Both Albert & I eat meat but appreciated the restaurant's approach to food. The photo above depicts my iced tea and Albert's dinner of grilled fish tacos with garlic-lime-citrus slaw. I really wanted the fish tacos too but unfortunately they were marinated in cilantro (I'm allergic!).

Instead I opted for this heavy mess of deliciousness--meatloaf made with beef and pork stuffed with cheese and roasted red pepper. There is more cheese and marinara sauce over the top of it. It's an open faced sandwich as the meatloaf is nestling on a piece of grilled brown bread spread with mashed potatoes. Yes, I fell into a food coma after eating this, I can imagine it would be perfect for the cold, dark days of winter.

Thank you Albert for letting me tag along on the trip! Look for more photos of the antique stores and our purchases in the next post.

Summer Adventures with Blogger Pal Sara!

2011-07-12T23:28:00.005-05:00

Yes, folks, I'm dishing up more sassy cross-blog action tonight, this summer has been ripe for blogger meetups in Chicago! I had the fortune to meet Sara (pictured on the right), who writes It's About the Look, a couple of weeks ago at the Havaianas event. We took some fun outfit photos at North Avenue Beach that day and made plans to hang out this past weekend.

Every 2nd Friday of the month, the Pilsen neighborhood organizes an art walk and the vintage stores in the area stay open late to host sales. Throw in free wine/cocktails and it's a perfect Friday night activity. We arrived just in time to take outfit photos before the light faded. I've been having a hard time finding new (vintage) summer frocks so I have been shopping my own closet lately-- I dug out this floaty silk number to wear as it was cool and colorful. I don't wear it often as the fit is a bit wonky but an added vintage brooch helped to define the waist more-- I'm so used to belting everything now, it was hard to go without one.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

Silk Dress: Garage Sale in my neighborhood 4 years ago, originally sold at Anthropologie

Vintage Tooled Leather Purse: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

Black Espadrille Wedges: Shoe Village of Liliw, Philippines

1950s Double-tiered pink bead necklace: Salvation Army, Chicago

1950s Cocktail Ring: PCC Flea Market, Los Angeles

1960s brooch as dress clip: Private Vintage Sale, Chicago

Despite my lack of summer clothing finds, I have been able to pick up loads of accessories-- mainly jewelry but also some lovely leather handbags including this one from Buffalo Exchange. Since I'm on a budget I've been trading in items from own closet for store credit-- so that means this bag was free!

I haven't painted my nails regularly since high school but suddenly felt compelled to reach for the nail polish bottle after putting on the frothy dress. The manicure lasted a total of 3 days before I took it off, haha. Now I remember why I don't wear nail polish anymore! Maybe I should invest in higher quality polish, hrm.

The 1950s cocktail ring is my favorite color, I think it came with me from Los Angeles when I moved to Chicago 4 years ago. It likely came from the PCC Flea Market.

A super sparkly 1960s (?) brooch being worn as a dress clip-- the waist on the dress gathers to the side and it needed a little more definition. The brooch was only a $1 at a private vintage sale that I went to in a Chicago suburb with Lisa of Archives Vintage 3 weeks ago.

Sara is definitely a master of bold prints & textures in her outfits-- I also love her Bohemian vibe. It's hard to see in this photo but she had some 1970s jewelry on that I adored. She'll have outfit details over on her blog soon.

The bright hues of this home caught our eye-- it reminded me of the painted Victorian homes in San Francisco. Thankfully the owners didn't pop out to ask us what we were doing on their porch! We did, however, have one home owner open her door after we took dozens of photos on her stairs-- she didn't seem to mind when she realized it was 2 well dressed ladies but we awkwardly scuttled away down the street after that, haha. Ah, the perils of being a fashion/style blogger.

The obligatory twirling shots, unfortunately it was pretty dark at this point so they are a more blurry then intended, oh well you still get the idea!

After perusing all the galleries in Pilsen we hit Knee Deep Vintage and Comet Vintage. We both purchased items off the $1 rack at Knee Deep, I can't wait to see how Sara styles the vest she bought.

It's only Tuesday but we're already planning adventures for this weekend-- can't wait! Look for more photos of Sara & I on the blog in the weeks to come. :)

Thrifted Sparkle & A Belmont Harbor Outfit

2011-07-10T18:27:00.006-05:00

It's been ages since I've done a 'thrift haul' post-- I have a backlog of treasures to photograph but my 6-year-old Canon Rebel dSLR is on its last legs, the automatic focus is pretty much shot and it can be tricky using the manual focus in low lighting situations. It's pretty depressing as a photographer to have such a crappy camera but there's not much I can do until I procure a new camera (which sadly won't be a for a while).

While downloading the thrift haul pictures I found these outfit pictures taken almost 3 weeks ago at Belmont Harbor; my roommate & I went to see a free movie in the park there, "The Greatest Show on Earth". It was nearly dusk when we took the pictures so we had to use the dreaded flash on a few!

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1960s handmade sundress: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

Striped Espadrille Sandals: Shoe Village of Liliw, Philippines

1970s/80s silver bow necklace: Thrifted, Suburban thrift store

1960s bangles: Chicago thrift stores

1980s straw tote: Unique thrift store, Chicago

My favorite summer weekend activity is waking up early to hit all the garage, yard and rummage sales in my neighborhood. I'm used to the crazy competitive garage sale culture of my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas where I used to wake up at 6AM to hover outside of the first sale 15 minutes before they opened. Chicagoans, however, are much more lax about their opening times, I've had to awkwardly wait up to an hour after the promised start time as disheveled individuals set up their tables. The below finds are from a Saturday jaunt 3 weeks ago, they were the result of hitting 2 garage sales and a church rummage sale.

I'm not a big collector of glassware but couldn't resist the colours and shapes of these two pressed glass pieces. My grandmother had a similar toothpick holder although hers was clear and not green. The cobalt piece seems to be a creamer and is likely from the 1940s.

At the same garage sale I bought the aquamarine glass creamer & sugar set. They are much smaller than a standard size so I'm wondering if they were meant for children?

Sometimes I just stumble into unadvertised garage sales-- I came across one on the way to the church rummage sale. It was mainly craft items but there were a few vintage pieces hidden among the dozens of wicker baskets and faux flowers. I tend to avoid buying ashtrays but was attracted to the atomic 1950s shape and upon inspecting it further discerned that it's solid SILVER. Nice! The cut crystal bottle is newer, from 1984 (based on an inscription) and also has a solid silver top.

The ashtray could use a good polish, it's pretty grimy at the moment. I'll likely use it to hold jewelry.

I also found this heavy glass paperweight containing a Victorian photo at the same garage sale. All three items came to a grand total of $5! I'm pleased I scooped up the silver items before a gold/silver scavenger did-- it depresses me when scrappers buy vintage pieces as I know they will be melted down for the metal. :(

I snuck into the church rummage sale 10 minutes before they officially opened, teehee, and thus had first pick of an array of sparkly goodies. One of the organizers of the sale had donated some of her mother's 1950s jewelry which I scooped up quickly! The above pearl collar is in excellent condition, I'm brainstorming ways to style it in the future.

Rhinestones! I'm not a big clip earring person but they came with the marvelous 1950s starburst pin.

Another rhinestone pin & earring set. I think they're also from the 1950s.

A sterling silver and rhinestone cocktail ring, likely from the 1950s. I believe the box it is in even older, sadly the velvet top is damaged.

I'd already paid for my items when the organizers put out these wee touristy knick knacks. Yes, I'm a sucker for these ceramic baubles. They all appear to be toothpick holders as they all have small openings at the top and are hollow. The piece on the left is meant to resemble an old fashioned pot belly stove and the piece on the right is in the shape of a clothes iron.

What vintage tidbits have you found lately? Check out what others in the vintage blog community have found over at HLA's Flea Market Finds & ATG's Thrift Share Mondays.

1970s Style at North Avenue Beach

2011-07-05T22:17:00.003-05:00

I kicked off the 4th of July weekend off early last Thursday and attended a party at North Avenue Beach hosted by Havaianas. They invited Chicago-area fashion and style bloggers to help them kick off the start of their pop-up shop, located right on the beach. While there I enjoyed eating mini cupcakes from Crumb, indulging in a free cocktail and making new friends. Unfortunately the weather was not on our side, as the sky was stormy the whole time we were there and I just made it back on a bus before the rain and HAIL. Yes, Chicago actually got 'golf-ball' size hail that night, I hadn't seen hail that big here before (we used to frequently get hail back in my Southern hometown).

Fortunately I met Sara, of It's About the Look, at the party and we had a chance to do a mini photo shoot of our outfits before the rain let loose. She's super sweet and I'm looking forward to our future summer adventures together!

Sarah is great at posing, check out her blog for shots of her nifty eye makeup and details of where she found her outfit.

Besides my shoes, my entire outfit is vintage and from the 1970s! Since I wear the same vintage pieces yearround (with layers in the winter), I've been trying to find ways to mix up my warddrobe-- here I wore a 1970s skirt found at the Salvation Army as a skirt.

Yet another one of my 1970s saddle bags, I have quite the collection now-- this one has tooled flowers on the front and is the perfect size for outdoor music fests, bbqs and the beach!

Since I'm wearing simpler dresses in the summer I tend to wear bolder jewelry, a good example is this tiered gold leaf necklace. I found it four years ago at a garage sale-- it was actually hanging from a branch in the person's back yard and I had to ask them if it was for sale!

In the summer I also rock bangle bracelets, this set of wood bangles was found at a Chicago thrift store. The copper Etruscan style ring was found at a Chicago antique store and the wide leather belt at the Brown Elephant thrift store during their 50 percent off sale!

It was so windy my hair kept flying all over the place while we were taking pictures, sadly not in the cool 'windblown' look either. The bunch of flowers in my hair are old millinery pieces found at an estate sale (I just bobbypinned them behind my ear).

Look at that ominous sky, the storm is about to roll in any minute! See more coverage of the Havaianas event at Amy Creyer's blog, Chicago Street Style.

Twirling in Peach at A Blogger Meetup

2011-06-21T21:22:00.002-05:00

Somehow nearly a month has slipped by since these photos were taken by the wonderful Veronika of Ticktock Vintage during a blogger meetup organized by the Randolph Street Market. The June market is actually going to be held this weekend and the weather is forecast to be much better than last month's!

While I've already posted about the market itself and the fun items I found there, these photos were taken during a cocktail hour on Friday, the day before the flea market. Surprisingly I've never shared this frothy 1960s peach dress on the blog before, I originally purchased it from Knee Deep Vintage to wear to my MFA photography show opening last year. Since then it's been my go-to frock for my art openings. It's not hard to see why-- the color makes me stand out in a crowd (especially the black attire-wearing gallery folk) and it has the best skirt for twirling.

Since it was chilly that night I paired the dress with tights and a 1950s mink stole. Does anyone have advice on keeping a vintage stole closed? It's too thick for a sweater clip and it doesn't have a button or ribbons attached to it.

OUTFIT DETAILS

1960s peach dress: Knee Deep Vintage, Chicago

1950s mink stole: Village Thrift, Chicago

Peach floral headband: Forever 21 Accessories Store, Chicago

Black Mary Janes: Payless Shoes a few years ago

It was wonderful having a fellow fashion blogger take my photos as Veronika knew what kind of shots I wanted, including detail close ups of my purse and headband!

1950s upholstery/carpet bag: Estate Sale, Chicago

1950s 3-tiered 'pearl' necklace: Estate Sale, Chicago

The absolute best part of the evening was being able to meet in person the fabulous ladies whose blogs I've been following for the past year or more. When I first started this blog back in 2007 the vintage fashion blog scene was sparse, now I'm lucky that there is a strong contingent of women in Chicago and the Midwest who document their personal style on a regular basis.

Above I'm pictured with Lisa of Archives Vintage, Veronika of Ticktock Vintage and Emily of Sartoriography.

Of course put bloggers together and zany antics ensue including the above can can line!

Left to Right (top): Tara of Haute Lunch, Me, Lisa of Archives Vintage, Emily of Sartoriography and Tieka of Selective Potential.

Left to Right (bottom): Sabrina from Defying My Closet, Tabitha of Fashion Therapist, Veronika of Ticktock Vintage and Andrea of Blonde Bedhead.

Most of the bloggers pictured above are based in Chicago but we were also lucky enough to be joined by two out-of-towners including Tieka of Selective Potential and Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage.

Left to Right: Sabrina of Defying My Closet, Tara of Haute Lunch, Tabitha of Fashion Therapist, Lisa of Archives Vintage, Me, Emily of Sartoriography, Veronika from Tick Tock Vintage, Andrea of Blonde Bedhead and Tieka of Selective Potential.

Don't worry, Veronika was in no danger of falling! She's so light we had no problem hoisting her up for a fun shot.

Thank you ladies for contributing to the swell time I had at the cocktail hour! I'm looking forward to meeting up with all of you again in the near future.

Tips for Finding A Bargain at Randolph St Market & Beyond

2011-06-09T20:24:00.006-05:00

As a 16-year veteran of vintage shopping (I started young), I'm constantly on the hunt not only for a treasure at garage sales, thrift stores or flea markets, but for a good deal. It's easy to have a stylish home or wardrobe with an unlimited budget-- the challenge and the joy lies in finding a pristine 1940s dress for $1 in a dusty attic or beating someone to a Midcentury Modern lamp for $5 at a rummage sale.

Curated vintage markets, however, can be intimidating. Dealers know what they have and price accordingly-- is it still possible to find a bargain at this type of venue? Since I'm a collector and dealer I don't have to worry about profit margins but do have to keep to a tight budget on my junking jaunts. At the season opener of the Randolph Street Market 2 weekends ago I set a challenge for myself: to spend $20 or less. Below are some tips on what I did and how to find a deal wherever you go.

1. Be Willing to Dig

When I'm shopping higher priced markets I seek out the 'junk' man or woman; they're easily spotted by the lack of price tags on their merchandise, the precarious piles of goods on their tables and cartons containing a mishmash of items. One dealer at another Chicago-area flea market, Kane County, puts out cardboard boxes brimming with newspaper-wrapped objects that shoppers uncover in search of their collectibles. While it takes more time and work to go through these types of booths, the reward is a pile of vintage for very little money.

2. Consider Fixer Upper/Imperfect Pieces

If you're a casual collector or wear vintage clothing every day (like I do), it's important to consider items that are flawed or need some d.i.y. help. Of course we have all seen the fabulous "before & after" posts of furniture finds at Apartment Therapy and Design Sponge; paint or new knobs/hardware can completely change the character of a piece. I'm lucky enough to have a talented seamstress mom so I can pick up dresses that are missing buttons, have split seams or need to be re-hemmed. Think creatively; bike baskets, wood crates and even Pyrex baking dishes can be easily cleaned up and can serve as handy storage in cramped apartments. Dealers will price 'as is' items lower or if you notice damage use it as a jumping off point for haggling.

3. Haggle

Yes, this might seem obvious but prices are rarely 'set' at flea markets and garage/yard sales-- just don't be pushy or rude in the pursuit of a bargain. The easiest way to start haggling is to ask the seller: "Is this your best price?" or "Could you do better?". Most sellers are going to be willing to work with customers, especially when purchasing more than one item. Don't insult the seller by offering a $1 for a $20 item, aim for knocking down the price 20 to 30 percent. Another strategy is to buy a more expensive item (ie a piece of furniture) then ask if a smaller item can be thrown in free to sweeten the deal. Be sure to show real interest in an item and chat about what you envision doing with it-- if I'm buying vintage ephemera or snapshots I bring up being an artist, with clothing or accessories I explain that my wardrobe is completely vintage and secondhand. Dealers are collectors too and want to see their pieces go to a good home!

4. Build a Relationship with Dealers

I make it a point to have conversations with dealers that I buy from or who have interesting booths. I'll usually ask them how long they've been in the business, where they're from and what they collect. Full-time sellers will often have a booth at the same shows every week or month, in the same spot. Once they get to know me they'll be on the look out for items that fit my taste and also be more willing to give me a discount (see above tip). Inbetween flea market seasons dealers also have to unload goods that didn't sell or are slightly damaged; their regular customers can get first dibs on these vintage clearouts. Dealers also specialize in certain areas of collecting and serve as indispensable sources of information that can be hard to find even on the Internet. Besides getting a deal, building a relationship with dealers can lead to friendships with fellow vintage-crazed individuals (I met my friend Albert at a flea market 2 years ago when I bought some vintage photo booth photos from him!).

5. Focus on Smaller Pieces

If my budget is tight but I want to wander the market for a while I focus on smaller items that take a while to sift through like vintage snapshots, postcards, novels and cookbooks. To update my decor I look for planters, drawings or small paintings and suitcases (that also serve as storage). Barware is often inexpensive, swizzle sticks are very 1960s Mad Men and can be picked up for as little as 25 cents. If dresses are priced too high I'll instead look for a whimsical brooch or a lace collar to change the look of a frock already in my warddrobe. Souvenir scarfs, old menus and maps can be framed or pinned on a wall as a cheap form of art. Other tid bits I look for include keychains, buttons, political pins, wax seals, glass bottles (to use as vases), dice from Las Vegas casinos and celluloid Cracker Jack charms.

6. Go on the Second Day

While the selection is the best on the first day, the best prices will be on the last day of a flea market. If possible, target the out-of-town dealers who want to clear out as much merchandise as possible before heading back home. At some markets, dealers will replenish their stock on the second day while other sellers might only be there on the second day due to other obligations. Even in the last hour of a sale I have managed to scoop up piles of treasures for much less than the marked prices.

The photos thus far through this post (and the next 3) are from a booth at the Randolph Street Market that specialized in nautical goods. The husband and wife team are based out of Wisconsin and even in the first hour of the sale were open to bargaining. They had some of the most unusual items at the market and the prices were also reasonable.

Can't you imagine one of those ship portholes mounted on a wall? The wooden floaters (?) were my favorite item of the booth-- can't remember how much they were, probably around $7, but they would look best as a cluster on a wall or as a sculptural element in an room.

Sadly this AMAZING hand and the heart handcarved folk sculpture was out of my budget (it was $45). Definitely a fair price as I'd never come across anything remotely like it before.

What did I end up coming home with for under $20? The two cardboard signs above came from the nautical booth and are from the 1930s or 1940s. They are meant for use in a diner but were deadstock that the dealers found in a warehouse. The text caught my eye as well as the suggestive nature of the phrasing (or is that just me?).

They were marked at $8 each but since I bought two they were only $6 each. I have plans to frame them and put them up in my kitchen.

You're all aware of my passion for vintage jewelry-- following my own advice I made for the 'junk' man and pawed through all his unpriced pieces. After 20 minutes of digging I asked him how much the badge above and the two pins below would be-- he sold them to me for $5 total.

I apologize for the un-PC pin, I bought it because it was so quirky and definitely wouldn't be something that a company would hand out today. It wasn't until I photographed it that I realized the bit of fur was in the shape of a seal (!!). Poor seals. :( Apparently this factory is still in existence, I'm curious what sort of souvenirs they're handing out now?

The rooster pin is small and well loved but he'll be happy on one of my blazers come autumn.

What are your tips for finding bargains? What smaller items do you keep an eye out for while junking?

[Be sure to visit other people's vintage finds over at Apron Thrift Girl's Thrift Share Monday!]

1960s Banana Earrings & Randolph Street Market Outfit

2011-06-05T19:48:00.003-05:00

Since we're so starved for sun a majority of the year in Chicago, our summers are always packed with street fests, outdoor music concerts, garage sales and my favorite, flea markets! I've been so busy enjoying the warm temperatures and sunshine that sadly the blog has been neglected. Right now I'm working through a backlog of photos including the outfit pictures that Luis of ChiCity Trends took of me at last week's Randolph Street Market. Thank you for all the feedback on the overview post I did of the market, it was difficult to leave some of those items behind!

Those of you who follow designer trends in the contemporary fashion world have likely heard of Prada's S/S 2011 banana earrings done in honor of 1920s risque dancer Josephine Baker (who made the banana skirt famous). Surprisingly I found my 1960s glass banana earrings at an Evanston indoor flea market/rummage sale a few months before Prada debuted their line. It's funny how my vintage finds often coordinate with what's going on in high fashion!

Prada's version of the banana earrings (they're made of plastic) and a pair also inspired by Josephine Baker. Image from Fashion Bomb Daily.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1970s Chevron Dress: Popkiller Second, Little Tokyo, Los Angeles

1970s Floppy black straw hat: Downtown millinery shop in Los Angeles

1970s Leather Saddlebag: Buffalo Exchange, Chicago

1980s (?) leather belt: Brown Elephant, Chicago

1960s banana earrings: Evanston flea market

1950s ROTC Medal: Rosemont Flea Market, Chicago

GAP jean jacket: Good Will Thrift Store, Madison, Wisconsin

Espadrille Wedges: Shoe Village of Liliw, Philippines

Despite my adoration of vintage jewelry I usually steer clear of bracelets-- this summer, however, I can't get enough of bangles. I found this set of 3 wooden bangles at a local thrift store and my 1920s onyx and gold ring was found at a Wicker Park flea market 2 years ago.

A close up of the banana earrings. Yes, they definitely remind me of Andy Warhol's silkscreen images every time I wear them.

One of the many unusual items I came across at the Randolph Street Market was this armadillo purse. Jenny of Hummingbird Girls owns a very similar bag.

Left to right: Luis of ChiCity Trends, Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage, Tieka of Selective Potential and me. Photo by Andrea of Blonde Bedhead.

I was lucky to be roaming the Randolph Street Market with three lovely bloggers. You can see the photos they took and their point of view on our adventures here: Veronika's roundup at Tick Tock Vintage, Luis at ChiCity Trends and Tieka at Selective Potential.

Left to right: Me, Andrea of Blonde Bedhead, Veronika of Tick Tock Vintage and Tieka of Selective Potential. Photo by Luis of ChiCity Trends.

Here is a full length photo of our outfits taken inside during the blogger mimosa brunch sponsored by Randolph Street Market. Thank you Luis for the wonderful photos and to Randolph for hosting us.

Randolph Street Market: Opening Weekend!

2011-05-29T22:07:00.007-05:00

Memorial Day Weekend means grilling, sunning at the beach and the chance to wear white again, right? In Chicago it also means the start of VINTAGE shopping season, when flea markets like the Randolph Street Market are outdoors again and packed with more vendors than ever before.

I was fortunate enough to be invited to the first ever blogger events sponsored by the Randolph Street Market this weekend. I'll be posting photos from the 2 events and my finds from the market over the next few days. Originally I planned one mega post but didn't think any of you would appreciate 50+ photos in one go!

My friend Albert was my +1 for Saturday morning's event-- a blogger brunch and early admission to the market. The market didn't officially open to the public until 10AM but we got to go in 2 hours early, at 8AM. We thankfully fueled up with coffee before perusing the goods. Unfortunately the forecast was grim (it was super gray while we were there) so I'm happy the three hours we were there the rain held off.

Enjoy this quick photographic tour of the market and if anyone reading knows the vendors of these items leave a comment so I can post up any contact information/websites.

Look at this aqua rolling bbq/grill/bar. Isn't this the perfect item for a patio? It also had an attached umbrella to shade the cook while he or she is flipping burgers.

As you can tell, aqua is my favorite color so I always gravite towards taking pictures of items in this hue. One of the 'hot' vintage trends right now are birdcages, I was drawn to the shape and color of this model-- it looks to be from the 1960s? I know industrial numbers and letters are rather passé now but it's hard not to be sucked in by their graphic look.

I'm finding myself more and more drawn to 'rustic chic' items. Yes, I can't escape my Arkansas past. I think the metal box is some sort of animal trap/carrier? Old signage is always chic, I'm curious what 'thrifty stamps' were?

The photos above and below reminded me of the trend reports from the latest Brimfield Market-- apparently worn in leather chairs are 'so hot right now'.

Who can resist space age/mod/1960s orange streamlined goodness? No idea where the 31 sign originally hailed from, Albert thought it was from an airport.

Handhooked kitten pillow that the vendor said was from the early 1900s. So tempted to get it but I have a rule against buying vintage pillows.

Albert posing with a super kitsch hand tinted photograph of a poodle in our friend Leah's booth. Either Albert or I should have brought it home, it was only $35.

Above and below are two more shots from Leah's booth. Look at the groovy print on the shirt: birds, butterflies AND flowers.

Vintage Hawaiiana always tempts me as my first name is Hawaiian and I spent half my childhood in Maui. The woman in cateye glasses portrait also called to me but I'm trying not to inundate my apartment with even more kitsched out art.

While browsing the market I found myself drawn more and more to unusual, older items with the character and soul that is lacking from the usual MCM fare that I favor. One great example of this style is Jon Dethrow's items at the booth he shared with his sister Karyn of Dethrose Vintage. Both of them have impeccable tastes, wish I had a brother to serve as my thrifting/antiquing partner in crime.

Another photo from the Dethrow's booth, wish I'd gotten more, there were tons of customers there so I didn't want to get in the way.

Albert is an avid collector of folk art and owns several 3-D portraits like the one above. They are called fotoescultura and were created by artisans in Mexico mainly in the 1930s and 1940s and are based on a photographic image. The 'suit jacket' is painted wood and it's set into a glass and wood frame. Outside of this vendor I'd never seen this type of art before, wish I could have afforded to add one to my collection.

On the right are more examples of the fotoesculturas (along with some creepy carved bunny dolls) and on the left is a scene from another booth-- I'm not Catholic but collect vintage Virgin Mary statues/medals.

Did any of you go to the Randolph Street Market? What did you find?

I'm linking up to Her Library Adventures' Flea Market Finds this week too.

Down by the Pond

2011-05-25T18:32:00.003-05:00

Fortunately I got the chance to meet up with Jade, my friend since high school and former co-blogger here at Thriftaholic, during the few days back in my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas. The day before I left to come back to Chicago we met up at her home in Centerton, a more rural area about 30 minutes from Fayetteville.

Luckily she's always a good sport about taking blog photos for me so we wandered over to a commercial pond near her home. The area of Arkansas we're from is actually more suburban than rural, you might think otherwise from my photos as I tend to seek out more rustic areas to photograph. Ponds, fields and 'abandoned' train yards make better pictures than Wal-marts and chain restaurants, right?

I was excited to rediscover this 1970s novelty print halter dress in my old closet at my parents' home. I'd bought it 5 years ago in L.A. at a now-closed store called the Dust Factory. The dress used to have a built-in bra which unfortunately made it unwearable. My handy seamstress mother cut out the inserts and put in new elastic so it was instantly wearable (thanks mom!) It's made out of cotton so it will be my go-to frock for sunny days spent at the beach or at the park this summer.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1970s frog & daisy print cotton dress: Dust Factory, Los Angeles (now closed)

Basket Purse: Found in my closet at my parents' house, think I found it at an Arkansas thrift store

Vintage Yellow & Green Plastic Bangles: Fayetteville thrift store

Vintage Yellow Bracelet: Village Thrift Store, Montreal, Canada

1960s sunglasses: Antique Store, Andersonville, Chicago

Leather Belt: Brown Elephant Thrift Store, Chicago

Denim Espadrilles: Shoe Village of Liliw, Philippines

Jade and I found a field dotted with cows and yellow flowers by the pond but unfortunately a wicked barbed wire fence separated us from the idyllic setting. I was game for going over the fence but we couldn't find an opening anywhere... next time we'll have to bring a stepstool! Ah the things I do for blog photos.

Thanks Jade for taking the photos! She'll be updating her blog, Out Thrifting, in the near future with her vintage finds.

Thrift Haul: Juice King & Safari

2011-05-23T19:23:00.007-05:00

When I first moved to Chicago 4 years ago I couldn't get enough of vintage kitchenware; it was plentiful and cheap at every thrift store and estate sale I visited. I have since scaled back on the kitchenware due to a bursting china hutch and packed pantry shelves. There is also NO counter space in my kitchen (we made do with a portable island and several carts) so I've steered clear of vintage appliances. When I spied this yellow Juice King from the 1950s (maybe '40s?) at an estate sale, however, I knew it would be perfect in my kitchen. My kitchen's color scheme is aqua and yellow and all my appliances are yellow.

The Juice King is a perfect example of Modernism: it celebrates streamlined style with form following function. Best of all it doesn't require electricity, just 'woman power' to crank down the arm. Also look at all that shiny chrome and gentle curves; it's downright sexy for a kitchen appliance!

Scroll down for more photos of the Juice King in action and other items found at 2 Chicago estate sales.

Yes, I bought that orange just for the photos! The design is so simple & clever, the metal cone has holes in it so the juice drains into the metal cup below. I'm not sure how many oranges it would take to fill up the cup!

The main draw of the sale where I found the Juice King was not Midcentury kitchenware but a trophy room with a dozen mounted taxidermied heads of African animals hunted in the 1920s in Africa. There was also a rug (!) made from a whole cheetah. Despite the fact that I'm a carnivore and enjoying fishing, it made me sad to see animals I'd only previously seen in zoos stuffed on a wall. I also kept having flashbacks to Lion King as there actually was a lion head and a warthog too. They were actually having a silent auction for the items so I'm not sure how much they cost.

Anyways, I went to the sale as I was intensely curious what the rest of the home would look like-- there were animal motifs everywhere, including elephant knickknacks, hunting magazines and safari hats. Besides the trophy room it was a fairly standard Chicago-style bungalow, no leopard wallpaper (sadly).

This sweet little stuffed animal is probably from the 1970s and has its original tag. The tag identifies it as a 'big leopard', part of the Nature Babies series produced by R. Dakin & Co. It was made in Japan out of all new materials.

My leopard is resting upon a humorous 1955 pulp style Safari magazine. It was shocking to see how people thought about wild animals back then-- it's all about hunting rather than preservation.

Even the tag is fabulous, I like how the little gray cat is popping out of the mod style leaves.

A little stuffed camel to continue the African animal theme. He was made in Japan but has no manufacturer name, but he's similar to the Dakin dream pets from the 1960s and '70s.

An early molded plastic pin, it's unfortunately missing one of the little pieces of plastic in the binoculars but it would look great on a navy blazer. After doing research the only information I found on it is that a seller on ebay identified it as being from the 1920s or 1930s (I'm thinking it's actually from the 1940s or '50s). On the right is an enameled pin that was a souvenir from Japan-- it seems older based on the clasp, maybe 1950s or '60s?

Above and below are a few spreads from the 1955 "Safari" magazine-- there are some over the top illustrations in there but I found the behind the scenes look on how to shoot a cobra fascinating.

I didn't expect to find the above hand tinted photobooth photo at the safari sale, it was the only vernacular photo there. It's framed in a metal frame from the 1930s and has the date August 15, 1934 written on the back.

The other sale I went to was located only blocks from my house (which never happens). Most of the items were more contemporary but I found a few older tidbits there. The sunflower above is a large pin and the fabric flowers below are Made in Japan craft supplies that I'll be incorporating into a hat or headbands.

An anachromism of the past, hankerchiefs! I can't imagine blowing my nose on any of these novelty print hankerchiefs though as they're all too adorable.

Vintage kangaroo items seem rare, maybe this was a souvenir from Australia?

When I first saw the above hankerchief I thought it was Valentine's Day with cupids. Imagine my surprise when I looked closer and realized the little sprites had nets and were catching atomic butterflies!

Closeup of the atomic butterflies, I'd love a shirt in this print. Or stationery!

A wildly colored 1950s Christmas hanky, not sure what the designers were thinking at the time-- there is a neon green reindeer up there!

The best find of the second sale is this straw market bag with leather straps. I'd been searching for a market bag for ages (and nearly broke down and bought one off ebay) but was ecstatic to find this in the basement of the sale of all places! It's going to get lots of mileage this summer; it will be filled with fresh bread, fruits and veggies from the farmer's market or will hold my towel & flip flops for the beach! Not sure how old it is, probably 1970s or 1980s.

What did you find this week? I'm liking up to Apron Thrift Girl's "Thrift Share Monday" and Her Library Adventures "Flea Market Finds".

Choo Choo, All Aboard!

2011-05-19T13:11:00.003-05:00

I've had a love affair with trains since childhood when I would accompany my father to his Model Railroad Club meetings every Saturday at the Maui Mall. His club had built an elaborate set in a storefront and all the members would bring their model trains to run on the tracks while they exchanged tidbits about their latest finds and the progress they'd made on their mini sets they had created in their basements or garage. In the days before the Internet (and vintage blogs!) this was the main way hobbyists passed on information and bonded with others that shared their passion. I remember my dad puttering around after work, painting tiny houses and landscaping the set we had in our garage with flocked trees and even a little pond with wee pebbles.

While technically I ride a train every day on my commute in Chicago, it's a subway and not a classic rail train. Whenever I go back to my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas I enjoy exploring the railyard in the neighboring town of Springdale. The Arkansas & Missouri railroad still runs through my town but there's no longer a station there, it has since been turned into a restaurant.

I've done several photo shoots at the railyard before so planned to do an outfit shoot there with my mom acting as photographer. We went about 40 minutes before sunset but it was still a bit bright for optimum photos.

After taking a few pictures two engineers walked out of the building and said that we wouldn't be allowed to take pictures near the active tracks! This was the FIRST time I'd ever see any people around the railyard, I didn't realize there was even a train that came through there anymore as part of the tracks are overgrown with grass and most of the cars seem to be out of commission. I was still determined to get pictures so we went across to street to an area that had a few parked passenger cars and a caboose (no engines sadly) and we were sure to stay away from the 'active rail' so they wouldn't yell at us. Consequently the shoot was a bit rushed but I hope you enjoy the photos anyways!

I'm showing off some of my newest acquisitions found on the Philippines trip-- a pair of amazing sandals found for $4 (new) in a village specializing in the making of just shoes and a vintage leather satchel found in a thrift store there-- I'll be posting more about the spots I shopped in future posts.

OUTFIT DETAILS:

1960s cotton dress: Leah of Onomatopoeia Vintage (Indiana dealer who sells in Chicago)

1960s sunglasses: Andersonville antique store

Thrifted Leather Concha Belt: Buffalo Exchange, Wicker Park, Chicago

Black Espadrilles: Liliw (a village that makes shoes!), Philippines

1970s Samsonite flight attendant bag: Fayetteville, Arkansas garage sale

1980s Capezio leather satchel: Thrift store in Batangas City, Philippines

1970s scarf: The best garage sale that my mom & I went to years ago, bought 100 scarfs for $10!

1950s silver charm bracelet: Gift from my cousin

1970s (?) ring: Rosemont Flea Market, Chicago

Rows and Rows of rusting train wheels, can you see why I thought this railyard was abandoned?

Rail yards are popular places to shoot, check out Sally Jane Vintage's train shoot and Vintage Vixen's playful photos.

Do you have fond memories of trains? Share your experiences or photos here!

This week I'm also participating in the Thrifty Thursday Link Party over at Spunky Chateau. Check out everyone's fun outfits and finds.

Thrift Haul: Hometown Finds

2011-05-10T07:32:00.004-05:00

During my high school years I spent every summer weekend traversing my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas in search of yard and garage sales. Garage sale shopping is a competitive sport in Fayetteville; as estate sales are rare (we have estate auctions) and there's a limited supply of vintage due to the small population. I often woke up at 6 to be at my first sale 15 minutes before they opened. Yes, sales start at 7AM in Fayetteville, unlike Chicago where they start as late as 11 or noon! After 2 hours of driving the perimeter of my town in search of treasure I'd hit Rick's Bakery for a delicious sausage roll, glazed doughnut and coffee. Then I'd usually go back to bed!

Whenever I'm back home on a visit during the summer I continue the tradition-- which I did two weekends ago with my mom. The best stop of the day was a rare estate sale that hadn't been advertised online or in the paper, we just saw a handmade sign on the freeway promising a 'garage sale' with no address, times or date. When we pulled up to the rambling house there were two men outside who gestured for us to come in-- while I'm a veteran of estate sales (I've been to hundreds in Chicago), I was a bit apprehensive as the whole affair seemed so informal. It turned out to be safe, however, albeit definitely a dirty 'digger' sale. My mom was a trooper as she had never been to an estate sale before. Since it was a private sale there wasn't any signage in the house and many of the items did not have price tags. We also did quite a bit of digging in the basement and through closets.

The painting of the Indian (?) man was my ultimate prize from the estate sale, I found him in a dingy box of prints in the basement. His price? $2! I've come to adore these slightly kitsch Midcentury portraits but they command high prices in Chicago. He is by far the most unusual portrait of this genre that I've come across, look at that mustache! While this type of portrait was usually done by a hobbyist/amateur this one appears 'legit', there is a stamp from an L.A. gallery on the back of it, need to do some research to find out about the company.

Another find was this little ceramic honey pot in the shape of a bee-- I think he's from the 1960s? I have 2 similar smaller honey pots already in my kitchen. It's clever how the honey stick doubles as his stinger.

Unfortunately I came across only one of these heavy ship bookends, it will still be happy on my bookcase though-- since I started collecting Nautical items for my bathroom I can't help picking up ship/sea creature themed goodies while out antiquing.

My mom's largest collection is her vintage salt & pepper shakers-- she has HUNDREDS of them. At the estate sale she found six more pairs to add to her collection. They were sad and filthy in a drawer but a majority of them were still in good shape. They're likely from the 1940s or 1950s. She paid only $10 for all of them.

This 1970s granny square crocheted blanket also caught my mom's eye. It was in the far corner of a bedroom closet and she had to clamber over several obstacles to get to it-- her work was rewarded as the blanket was only $3.

Our first stop of the day was actually a charity rummage sale in the next town over that proclaimed it would have goods donated from FIFTY families. We arrived 15 minutes early while the volunteers were still putting out boxes. While I try to be polite and wait until the actual start time, a few dealers were already circling the merchandise so I had to get out of the car and start shamelessly digging through the boxes. There was mainly newer items and it looked more like 5-10 families had donated, NOT 50.

We did manage to find a few treasures though including the 1970s owl salt & pepper shakers, a dainty hand embroidered bird picture and a contemporary Russel Wright pitcher. I was especially excited by the pitcher as I've always wanted some Wright dishware but it's usually too expensive-- when new this pitcher sold for $90! I got mine for $2, whee. Glad the dealers overlooked it!

After a quick breakfast at Rick's Bakery (another tradition continues) we hit a few thrift stores. Unfortunately I walked out of the new Potters Thrift empty handed (it looks like Monkeybox scored all the vintage goods-- she actually went to the store on the same day but a few hours later, what a weird coincidence). We then headed to my favorite tiny thrift store that always yields vintage items. Unfortunately their pricing has gotten out of control-- their prices used to be 25 or 50 cents and often the lady at the register would just give you a bargain price for a pile of items. Sadly those days are gone. Now vintage necklaces are on average $9 and anything else deemed 'old' has been marked way up. Oh well, still found a few affordable bits including the three sets of plastic bangle bracelets above (I fancy the green marbled set is Bakelite... haven't tested it).

There was also a small collection of souvenir plates for sale (another one of my weaknesses) and I picked this one out as one of the little vignettes features the "Esther Williams swimming pool." I read Esther Williams' biography a couple of years ago and it's my favorite of the old movie star biographies.

I encouraged my mom to buy this amazing blueberry pie plate-- I've come across a few of the pie plates sans cover so was excited to see how fun and colorful this one was, it looks like a cartoon. It's made in Japan and is probably from the 1970s.

Look it even includes a recipe for blueberry pie inside, how handy! We also went to a new Goodwill thrift in a neighboring town but again it felt picked over. It seems like a LOT more people are thrift shopping in the region now, maybe there are more etsy/ebay sellers in this economy? I blame the influx of antiques themed TV shows for people's sudden awareness of thrift stores, ah well.

What did you find last week?

LINKED TO: Thrift Share Monday & Flea Market Finds.

Road Trip: Madison Zoo

2011-05-08T10:17:00.002-05:00

Phew, so this is the last of the photos from my Easter road trip to Milwaukee & Madison, Wisconsin with my roommate Adeline. I took a staggering amount of photos for such a short trip so had to spread them out over 4 posts!

All the photos in this post were taken on Easter Sunday, we originally wanted to do brunch with my friends but we ended up waking up later than expected and places were either closed or required reservations. We decided to just wander over to Monroe Street where we had seen a lot of coffee shops the day before. Lucky for us Barriques Wine Cave was open; at first I thought it was a wine bar but it's actually a coffee shop/cafe that also sells/serves wine and spirits! What an unusual pairing.

The cafe was packed with students cramming for tests and writing papers. Kind of gave me some horrible flashbacks!

YUMM I think the name of this drink was "caramel roll", wish I remember what was in it-- think it was caramel, cinnamon and vanilla. It was like an amped up version of my usual vanilla latte! With it I ate a delicious bbq chicken wrap packed full of big chunks of chicken, large strips of smoky bacon, spinach, tomato and ranch dressing.

After our tasty brunch we headed over to the nearby zoo which is FREE. It was packed with families enjoying the warm weather (it was the sunniest day of our trip).

If you're curious about my outfit details:

Little cotton floral dress -- a contemporary find at Buffalo Exchange, think it was originally from Urban Outfitters.

Black Leather Jazz Flats-- Village Thrift, Chicago

1960s floral crown/headpiece-- Indiana flea market

1970s cardigan-- Wicker Park flea market

Stamped leather purse-- Brown Elephant thrift, Chicago

I buy a 'new' dress for Easter each year, a tradition I carried over from childhood (my dresses back then were all about the tulle and sequins!). Sadly I couldn't find a vintage dress that was to my liking but found this little contemporary frock at my favorite secondhand store, Buffalo Exchange. I don't have a shot of the back but it has an open cutout back with a little tie!

Road Trip: Madison Part 2!

2011-05-04T02:42:00.002-05:00

Since I took so many pictures on Day 2 of the Easter Weekend road trip I took with my roommate to Wisconsin I split up the posts for the day. Did you miss Part 1 of the Madison post, read it HERE.

After the farmer's market we headed to Daisy Cafe for lunch-- I've been there before and ordered the same delicious sandwich, a chicken burger made of ground chicken, roasted tomatoes, cheese and bacon, YUM. Sadly no pictures from the cafe but we did take quite a few in a little neighborhood lined with coffee shops and boutiques, situated on a 4-block stretch of Monroe Street. I'm not even sure what the pointing hand sign was advertising or the shop associated with it, just knew we had to take a goofy photo with it! I also wouldn't mind having that sign in my home... hrm.

This little painted backdrop was in honor of Easter/spring and was in the window of a quaint looking pharmacy.

Our main purpose for going to the area was to visit the Grace Chosey art gallery. The gallery has showcased contemporary regional and national art since the 1970s. The picture above is a detail of a panoramic painting done by Tricia's professor. Unfortunately I don't remember his name and can't find the information on the gallery website. :(

Thankfully I photographed the title tag for the above piece which is by Christine Echtner. Both Adeline & I enjoyed her style and subject matter, I thought this painting had a retro feel with the bathing cap. I was also drawn to her use of texture, in this case the sequins, and the way the water/beach has become abstract.

Pretty much in love with that clock; here I am posing on Monroe street not far from the gallery.

After the gallery we continued our perusal of art downtown at the Museum of Contemporary Art. On the way there we happened across the very humorous marquee at The Orpheum. Okay, Cake (the band) seems normal then you're hit with "EVIL BONG 3D". Really, 3D? Is that necessary?

Unfortunately no photographs are allowed in the museum so we took advantage of the rooftop sculpture garden to take in a view of the city. Yay more peeks of sunshine!

I was drawn to this chaotic sculpture made out of PVC piping-- it has a sense of kinetic energy and movement despite being a static piece.

While by the museum we popped into a few boutiques including Little Luxuries, a shop carrying whimsical items for the home and to wear. The little bird whistle and the glasses case made of silicon were both found there (sadly neither came home with me). Just a few stores down is Anthology, a wonderfully cozy store chock full of locally made cards, jewelry, posters and trinkets. It reminded me of the Renegade store in Chicago.

The trinket dishes pictured above and below were just my style, they are stamped ceramic pieces. The prices were reasonable but I resisted purchasing them as I already have a ridiculous amount of knicknackery in my apartment already.

After all that walking we needed a cool beverage, Tricia & Steve took us to one of their favorite watering holes, Paul's Club, in the downtown area. It has a slight dive bar feel (in a good way), drinks were cheap and there was a GIANT tree in the middle of the bar. No, it wasn't alive but it looked quite real.

We ended the night with dinner & drinks at The Old Fashioned, right by The Capitol. It's actually a Wisconsin-themed restaurant so for an appetizer we got deep fried cheese curds (!), drank beer (I ordered a raspberry flavored one) and munched on delights like a double bratwurst. On the walls were old beer signs and displays from now defunct breweries.

Read about the rest of the trip, DAY 1: Milwaukee and DAY 2: Madison (part 1).

Road Trip: Milwaukee to Madison!

2011-05-01T07:38:00.001-05:00

On day 2 of the Wisconsin road trip [Read about Day 1 HERE] I took Easter weekend with my roommate, we woke up at 7AM so we could head over to Brady Street to scoop up some pastries & cookies from Scortino's Bakery. They have THE best Italian cookies and they're also reasonably priced at $8 a pound. We wandered down Brady until we came across a coffee shop that looked homey and we found Rochambo Coffee & Tea shop, set inside a colorful Victorian home. I'm posing on the front porch of the coffee shop in the above photo. If you're curious I'm wearing a 1940s apron-style dress and a 1970s cardigan.

Scortino's has a fun mosaic of bread in front of the shop so we of course had to pose in front of it! Upclose it becomes abstract. My roommate Adeline is pictured above and I'm below in my wool pea coat, yes it was that cold!

Despite being rainy the day before, the sun peeked out several times on Saturday. There was amazing light coming through the front window so I kept taking photos while waiting for my coffee drink to be made.

The street was pretty much empty and quiet, 7:30AM is an early breakfast time for most people!

My 'new' stamped leather bucket bag, I recently thrifted it at the Brown Elephant and while it has a 1970s vibe it's contemporary (probably only a few years old). Can't remember where I found the little straw cloche hat, probably a Chicago thrift store. It was hard to decide on a coffee drink but I ended up going with my old standby, an iced vanilla latte.

Another recent thrift find, a sterling silver peacock ring. I think it's a knockoff of a Pamela Love ring, it looks exactly like it except it has rhinestones rather than emeralds. You can also see a closeup of the pattern on my dress, not sure what the purple flowers are supposed to be-- peonies?

After our tasty breakfast we drove the 1 1/2 hours over to Madison, Wisconsin. The Madison leg of our trip was more relaxing than Milwaukee has I have been going there 2-3 times a year for the past 4 years. My friends Tricia & Steve live there so they also acted as our local tour guides for the time we were there. We met them at the opening day of the Madison Farmer's Market, outside the Capitol Building in their downtown. Above we're posing in front of The Capitol. Yes, this was the scene of all those protests a few months ago that you might have heard about!

At the market I picked up my favorite Wisconsin staple, squeaky cheese curds, a jar of pear jam, a house plant (Forget Me Not flowers), some early tomatoes and a sugar cookie shaped like Wisconsin (pictured below). I of course got the blue one, yes I'm a Democrat if you're wondering.

We saw this man dressed up as a carrot at the market; he was advertising for a natural co-opt that specialized in alternative medicines. Of course we had to take a picture with him, it turned out pretty comical!!

Stay tuned for part 2 of this post! I took so many photos that there would have been to many to include in one entry.

Road Trip: Milwaukee!

2011-04-29T20:19:00.005-05:00

Over Easter weekend my roommate & I took a short 3-day trip to Wisconsin and hit Milwaukee on the first day and spent 1 1/2 days in Madison before heading back to Chicago. I've been to both cities numerous times (especially Madison) but tried to see new places in each city to expand my experience.

Unfortunately it was rainy and wet while we're in Milwaukee and there was quite a bit of construction on the roads so we didn't end up going out at night as we had originally planned. We also left Chicago later than we had hoped so we were rushing around all day to get to shops before they closed-- unfortunately we missed seeing the Frank Lloyd Wright exhibition at the contemporary museum but we still took picture in front of the amazing structure anyways!

The best meal of the entire trip was also our first meal-- Honeypie Cafe had an extensive beer/drinks list, delicious cafe food made from locally sourced ingredients and a cozy, vintage style setting complete with taxidermy and vintage portraits on the walls (see below).

Neither Adeline or I enjoy beer very much but since we were in Milwaukee decided we should try the specialty of a "beermosa", beer (New Glarus) mixed with orange juice. I tried some and it was surprisingly tasty! On the right you can see the rows of delicious cupcakes and pies.

It was difficult to decide what to order, in the end I settled on a duck BLT with a slice of banana cream pie for dessert.

Adeline's German chocolate cupcake above was so large she could only manage to eat half of it at lunch.

Again with the beer... Milwaukee is the beer capital of the Midwest so that meant we had to take a tour of a brewery. We decided to tour the Miller brewery as it's FREE and was close to the other neighborhoods we wanted to visit.

Unfortunately since it was a holiday (Good Friday) we didn't actually get to see the factory in motion but we did get the chance to see the facilities including the massive industrial kettles where they begin the process of making beer.

The warehouse/distribution center above was cavernous; below you can see the cave they used in the olden days to store and age the beers. Now it's just used as a tourist attraction, the girl in the moon sign is the brewery's logo.

The tour included 3 free samples of beer, we assumed it would be shot glass sized samples so we were shocked when they brought out full sized glasses of beer! A little worrisome as everyone had to drive from the brewery afterwards. We sampled MGD 64, their 64-calorie beer, that I found to be too light and carbonated. The second sample was Miller Lite and the third my favorite, a honeyweiss from Leinenkugel (a small Wisconsin brewery that was taken over by Miller).

We had a good time in the gift shop before the tour, the cowboy hats made of old beer cartons were especially amusing. The one I found surprisingly matched my outfit!

By the tour was over the Milwaukee Art Museum had unfortunately already closed but I wanted Adeline to at least see the outside of it-- the museum overlooks Lake Michigan and is meant to look like a ship (it even has flexible wings/sails that can flap). The iconic addition to the museum was designed by Spanish architect Santiago Calatrava and was completed in 2001 (the museum has been around since 1888).

As you can see from the last photo it started raining by the time we were finished taking photos by the museum. Afterwards we just had enough time to hit two vintage shops on Brady Street and we ate dinner at Lulu's Cafe. We also went back to Brady Street for breakfast the next day so I'll be sharing those photos tomorrow.

Right now I'm writing you from my hometown of Fayetteville, Arkansas... I'll be setting up blog posts to publish while I'm in the Philippines for the next 2 weeks. I'll also have wireless Internet access so will try to keep up with all of your blogs too!

Vernacular Photo Tuesday: Summer at the Shore

2011-04-26T23:09:00.003-05:00

A short post this week--should be packing right now for my 3 week vacation but didn't want to miss Vernacular Photo Tuesday. I picked appropriate photos for my vacation-- I'll be sunning quite a bit on the shores of the Pacific Ocean while in the Philippines. The majority of the photos are of friends in Miami Beach during the '50s. The color photo is from Waikiki and I'm unsure where the last two photos are from. Sorry for the lack of commentary too, hope you enjoy the visuals!

As I took the time and effort to scan these images, please post a link back to Thriftaholic if you repost them on your tumblr/blog/etc. Thanks!

3 Outfits from Lake Forest Resale

2011-04-24T23:12:00.004-05:00

Earlier this week I posted a preview of Diana's new thrift shop, Lake Forest Resale. Today I'm presenting 3 'looks' I put together from items found on my visit to the store. As most of you reading this blog know, I wear vintage and thrifted items on a daily basis and secondhand items make up 90 percent of my warddrobe (sadly I have to mainly wear contemporary shoes). Despite being a curvy lady I still have good luck at stores, it just takes some patience and digging! Fortunately Diana separates out vintage goodies into one section in her well curated shop so it didn't take long to put together some favorites!

If you're curious what the town of Lake Forest looks like I've included photos I took of the historic downtown square just after the outlook photos. As I mentioned previously, it is definitely the upscale version of the fictional Stars Hollow of Gilmore Girls fame.

LOOK 1: "Boho Wedding" or "Southern Hippie Chic"

Despite being from the South (or because of it) I shy away from items like cowboy boots. When I saw this well weathered pair, however, I knew they would look fantastic with the little empire waist dress from the '60s/70s and the perfectly beat up 1990s leather backpack (that seems to be all the rage lately).

Where to wear this outfit: Easter (could have worn this today!), a Spring wedding or on a road trip to the South.

White is difficult to photograph so it's hard to make out all the detailing on the bodice of the dress-- there are little white embroidered flowers along the neckline, sleeves and bodice.

Look 2: "1970s Cocktail Party" or "Golden Gala"

Another item in the vintage section, this 1970s dress epitomizes glamor. It's a maxi length, made out of a floaty material (chiffon?) and included a matching scarf that was perfect for draping around the shoulders or to wave in the breeze dramatically. I paired it with a pair of blingin' peep toe heels to make it even more glitzy. I'm perched on a 1920s steamer trunk that incidentally is also for sale.

Where to wear this outfit: To a gallery opening, fashion show or anywhere else you want to make a splash!

Chicago spring weather means having to wear thick cardigans, tights and boots still, if not a wool coat. Fortunately Lake Forest Resale has you covered-- I saw quite a few colorful 'grandpa sweaters', oversized men's sweaters that can be worn belted over a dress. I picked out a vintage Izod wool cardigan in apple green to wear with the outfit I'd worn to the shop.

Look 3: "1960s Bike Ride" or "Borrowed from the Boyfriend"

This last outfit was definitely my style and something I'd wear on a day to day basis rather than for a certain occasion or event. My inspiration was 1960s spring picnics in quaint All American towns-- the vintage daisy chain blanket, picnic basket and Izod sweater are all available at Diana's shop. The 1950s abstract print dress was a Cheap Thrills Find (vintage store in Fayetteville, Arkansas), the straw hat was thrifted in Madision, Wisconsin and the lion belt is from the 1980s and was thrifted in Chicago.

Where to wear this outfit: Picnics, brunch with the girls, reading at the coffee shop, flea market shopping or the farmer's market.

Lake Forest Resale is just located off the historic square in downtown Lake Forest, located conveniently off a Metra regional transit stop. Located along the coast of Lake Michigan, the town was founded in the 1850s as a stop for travelers headed south to Chicago. Despite having a small population (just over 20,000 people) Lake Forest has a rich design history with architects like Howard Van Doren Shaw, David Adler, Arthur Heun, Henry Ives Cobb and modernist George Fred Keck having left their mark on the residential and commercial structures of the town.

All of these photos were taken in historic Market Square, designed by Howard Van Doren Shaw and completed in 1916 as the commercial center of Lake Forest. Unfortunately a majority of the older businesses are gone (including the 2nd ever Marshall Fields in the country) but thankfully the buildings remain intact and now house shops like J. Crew and Williams Sonoma.

Above the 1930s Art Deco post office. The eagle columns flank each side of the main entrance and are lit at night.

Unfortunately I did not have time to step inside the stationery shop but based on its sign it appears to be one of the original businesses of the square (or at least has been around since the 1940s or so?).

A large fountain overlooks the center of the square, unfortunately the water was turned off as it was around 40 degrees.

Lake Forest has made its mark on literature and pop culture world-- there are references to it in "The Great Gatsby" in movies like "Ferris Bueller's Day Off", "Public Enemies" and "Uncle Buck."