After a month-and-a-half hiatus from knitting, I finally grabbed my sweater project and started working on it again last week. It’s nice to feel busy doing something non-wedding, and also see the sweater take shape! Currently, I’ve finished the front and back, and have started on one sleeve. It’s so exciting! lol.
I know it probably doesn’t look like much yet, but it’s fun to see it begin to actually look like a sweater. I have been pleasantly surprised how easy this has been to knit, having heard that vintage patterns are sometimes difficult or rather confusing to work with. There have been a few moments when I had to stop and think a bit about what the directions were saying, but that’s what photocopying the instructions so I can pencil in my version is for, right? Perhaps if I’m really quick, I’ll get this done before the wedding! Yeah right… lol!
This past weekend the women at my church threw a large wedding shower for me, which although wasn’t a complete surprise (I had told Mom she needed to tell me the date/time, otherwise I might unknowingly plan something for that day!), it was just far bigger than I had expected. Which nearly brought me to tears! It was so nice to have my friends there, celebrating with me, and gave me some time to socialize with people I hadn’t been able to catch up with in ages. And it felt very much like Christmas with all the gifts L. and I received! The joke now is that we may still be lacking bedroom furniture (not a huge, big deal: we’re getting it as soon as we move the rest of our stuff to the apartment), but we have a completely kitted-out kitchen!
I hope you all are having a lovely Monday!!!
November 3, 2008 ·
10 lovely thoughts
posted in Uncategorized
· tags: knitting, vintage inspiration, wedding
This weekend was fruitful in so many ways: how did your’s go? Mine started a day early with the annual hospital-benefit rummage sale that I’ve faithfully attended for years (even to the point of dragging myself–still half sick–to the event, like last year!). It was definitely crowded this year, but the amazing selection of goods for sale (everything from antiques to modern designer wear) made up for bumping into people and having to squeeze through the throngs. Mom and I arrived bright and early, and both made out like bandits! I didn’t have a list or idea of what I wanted to look for: this year being my last year to attend, I decided I just wanted to enjoy the experience: and well, gosh-darnit, I wasn’t going to be uptight about finding anything! lol. Dunno if that mindset worked, or what, but I found some truly special treasures:
I’m especially pleased at my restraint to not purchase any winter-weight coats this year (despite my longing)! I did buy a red rain slicker, but that will come in handy in Florida, I think. And it was red: how could I pass it up?! lol. I also poked around and found a pretty umbrella (will work as a parasol for me; I’m rather fair skinned that sun protection is a must!), a 60s mustard-yellow overnight bag (in gorgeous condition–honeymoon here I come! haha!), various bits and pieces of clothing, etc. Unfortunately, I can’t photograph it all, because I was quite efficient this year, and all of the garments are being cleaned. lol.
One of my favorite finds were these two teacups. They were looking so lonely; all chipped and faded, no one wanted them! But I thought they were so pretty with their organic–almost modern–designs (how very Anthropologie?!). They’ll be perfect to hold bobby pins and short makeup brushes. (More images of rummage sale loot here.)
Saturday was the Big Hunt for dresses for my two bridesmaids. Both my younger sister and L.’s will be acting as my attendants. Though they’re eight years apart (mine is 21, his is 13), both girls are very petite and short. So finding dresses that would fit was a bit of a trick, but Banana Republic came to the rescue (thank you, BR, for making petite sizes!)! I found two, deep teal sheaths (the photo is for the fuschia style, but we found the teal) that are very 1960s (so they’ll compliment my dress design), and simple. Not typical “bridesmaids” dresses at all, but since this wedding is shaping up to be somewhat unconventional, it fits! lol
Sunday, I rested. I’ve been going at a frenetic pace lately, and had orders from both L. and my parents to rest. So I sat around, watched movies and caught up with the new season of Pushing Daisies. (I want to steal Anna Friel’s wardrobe!) Now, it’s back into Wedding Mode. Things are definitely kicking up a notch in that area… Five weeks ‘til!!!
Hope you’re having a fantastic start to the new week, friends!
October 20, 2008 ·
15 lovely thoughts
posted in Uncategorized
· tags: life, thrifting + vintage, wedding
[ more images from our Friday trip here. ]
A few weekends ago when I did the bridal photoshoot with Kate, I noticed while packing my dress that it had a few stiff spots on the lining and skirt overlay. I honestly didn’t think too much about it: if nothing else I thought it would hold up through the shoot and my wedding. But afterward, it became apparent that the dress was beginning to dry rot at an alarming rate. So, much to my sorrow, I decided that the stress of wondering whether my dress would hold up through the Big Day was just something I didn’t want to deal with!
However, that left me in a bit of a pickle: I definitely didn’t want to go buy a modern bridal gown because they’re not my style (nor can I afford one). So that left me with only one alternative: vintage scavenging! Mom and I blocked off the entirety of Friday to go on our Wedding Gown Hunt.
This isn’t exactly the best thing that could happen 6 weeks shy of the wedding, but it certainly isn’t the worst! In a way, I’m very thankful that I discovered the problem now, and was actually excited about the opportunity to go shopping for another dress. I happily ran into my favorite vintage dealer while shopping, and she brought about 8 gowns out of storage for me to try on. I tried on everything from a regal 1940s piece to a mid 60s yellow gown that would’ve been very nontraditional! The one I ended up with is from the same decade, but quite different. It’s very elegant and simple (no lace): the style and way it fits me reminds me a lot of Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. (Sorry: no photos of my gown, since L. still peeks at my blog from time-to-time!) I’m just trying very hard not to second guess my choice; I have a tendency to have massive “buyer’s remorse” at times, and now is just one of those moments. *sigh*
Hope you all have had a splendid weekend!
October 12, 2008 ·
22 lovely thoughts
posted in Uncategorized
· tags: wedding
Just a snippet of what I spent my Sunday morning up to! Kate Headley and I met up bright and early (or, not so bright; but overcast light can be so flattering!) for a few hours of roaming around taking photographs. She needed some photos for her portfolio of work, and it wasn’t hard to convince me to model my wedding gown (yes, this is the one I’ll be wearing in less than two months for the actual wedding!) and a few other vintage pieces! We had way too much fun…
So, as L. would say: here’s a few peeks at my (short lived! lol!) modeling career! (Behind the cut to keep certain prying eyes away. L., darling: this means you!!!)
{ click here to continue reading this post }
September 28, 2008 ·
39 lovely thoughts
posted in creativity
· tags: life, wedding
I know it’s been quite awhile since I did a wedding update! Up until now I didn’t really have anything exciting or tangible to show: but I recently finished the invitations and wanted to share the results with you! My goal was to create fun cards that reflected our theme, were within what our minuscule budget could afford, and not be a hassle to make!
The result was fun, colorful and definitely fit within our budget and theme. Best of all, they ended up being easy to make (a bonus!!!). The most expensive aspect of the cards was the Japanese washi paper, but I bought it with other decorations in mind besides the invitations as well. I think in the end, these only cost around $60 for between 50-55 invitations that I made (and I’ve got lots of the red cardstock leftover for other things!). Which is a huge bargain imho.
Making these took some time, but construction was straight forward. The biggest help was to think out all the steps beforehand, so that I could make these in an assembly-line manner. I printed everything off and cut the papers (including the Japanese paper) out first, trimmed the red cardstock down, scored and folded the cardstock and then began gluing all the inserts into the invitations. The decorative strips were glued to the outside, then the Japanese character stamped on the inside flaps, and the cord added. I ended up deciding on simple, white business envelops that I picked up at target for about $1 a box. I decided that having nice envelopes wasn’t a priority, since no one will really care anyway. lol!
I’m pretty pleased with how these turned out–they look like little menus to me, which is so cute! Now I’m starting to get excited about all the other decorations… though for now I need to focus on folding paper cranes in my down time for the reception area and center pieces!
Here are some of this week’s inspiring links… enjoy!
Nubby dissects the art of personal branding (very informative and a must-read!)
for those of us that are sewing-geeks: everything you ever wanted to know about thread [ source ]
some groovy 1960s styles to get you inspired!
Super Kawaii Mama did it again with a fantastically simple, but oh-so-cute hair tutorial!
a post of nothing but vintage and vintage-inspired hair styles!
for those of us (like myself!) who are scarf-challenged, Sal shows different ways to wear a scarf
a Flickr set that I could browse for hours!
Have a lovely weekend, my friends! I’m afraid I’m coming down with a cold, and just want to spend a couple days curled up in a ball and watch movies (The Painted Veil has captured my attention)! But alas, there is too much to do… and so little time!
September 26, 2008 ·
20 lovely thoughts
posted in Uncategorized
· tags: wedding, weekly inspiration
