About Amy

playing dress-up

after a wonderful trip vintage shopping, i finally decided it was time to start selling my favorites. it hurts but it is becoming apparent to me that i need to pare down.  so this morning i set up the camera and did a little fashion show.  (i applaud all those fashion bloggers who can hoof it down the street with their tripods and fabulous costumes.  i am not one of them. i can't even muster enough courage to stand in my front yard for a picture.)

this tuxedo shirt is in excellent condition and fits perfectly.  

i love this bat-wing sweater...so eighties and so pretty.

oh my goodness, can you really have too many shirtdresses?  how about in madras?  i am wild about this dress.  it will be very difficult to part with.

goodbye old friend.  it's time for you to find a new home.  

the color of this maxi is incredible and sunny.  it is so light and flowey.  i swear you can't help but feel pretty in this one.

this will be the hardest to part with.  

another go-to dress.  

i am going to try to get these up in the shop soon.  party season is quickly approaching and you'll need something fresh and fun to wear...there's nothing better than vintage.  you can be confident in knowing that no one else will be wearing the same thing as you!

amy

cover up

i think i am in serious need of some great vintage coveralls like katie's.

they are perfect but oh so hard to find.  we recently attended a party where a few gents were sporting their coveralls...they looked pretty sharp i must say.

drop by katie's blog.  she's one of my daily reads and takes some gorgeous pics.  very inspiring.

amy

 

 

nellie in november

it happens every year.  i spend all my "all hallow's" energy on the halloween party and once it's over, i'm ready to move on to the next big thing.  the kids certainly aren't ready to kiss halloween goodbye, so i keep my holly jolly planning to myself.  

i had so much fun putting together last year's gift ideas that i thought i'd make it more official.

beginning monday, november 1st, i will be posting fabulous christmas ideas twice (and sometimes thrice) weekly.  they may be vintage or thrifty or crafted or collections.  they may be for your home or for gifts.  you'll just have to see...i am so very excited!

amy

more from the estate sale

after filling a few very large boxes with my finds, i stumbled upon the best thing...

the perfect bed for ollie's room!  isn't it adorable?!  a measly $30 got me the headboard, footboard, and rails.  oliver loves it.  it works so well in his room and really made everything come together (finally).  now all i need is to figure out some curtains.

the woman who lived in the house of the estate sale was a lifelong collector of owls (how perfect) so i also scored several wonderful pieces from her collection.  a few were added to oliver's room...

and several will be added to the shop...

i picked up a cheap little tea towel because i liked the stripes but then got it home and found a partially embroidered owl.

i guess i'm going to have to take up embroidering again.  

i planned to share a few photos of my "new" dress but just wasn't feeling it.  since thrifting it two weeks ago, i couldn't even tell you how many times i've worn it.

amy 

you won't believe it

almost two weeks ago i headed down south for some coffee and vintage hunting with my dear friend heidi.  we poked around the sweetest shop housed in a little bungalow then onto an estate sale.  and oh my goodness, what a sale!  the few pictures i am sharing barely scratch the surface.  

this quirky oil and vinegar cruet is indeed missing a head, but i love it!  i think he'd be perfect on a casual holiday table.

these canisters have had a good life.  the colors are amazing.  maybe in a bathroom or a kids' room (perfect for all those barbie accessories).

the color of these melamine cups and saucers is as perfect as they come.

another fantastic canister set.  but you haven't seen this...

this HUGE melamine set is in such great condition and i'm putting it in the shop.  the amazing thing is that this wasn't even my best find.  i'll share that tomorrow.

amy 

whew- what a weekend!

i am so wiped out.  friday was spent doing nothing but cooking and cleaning and spookifying the house.  same thing saturday till go time.  our theme this year was "the legend of sleepy waldo".  

i decorated the house in all sorts of vintage country glory.  old quilts, lacey-but-tattered tablecloths, doilies, faded pictures and books...i think it looked great.

the small room off our living room was transformed into the kids' "spooky shop" where they sold their magic wands and all sorts of gross goodies like earwax (candy corn), bat bones (black licorice), and buttercream brains (really delicious red velvet cupcakes heavily frosted with buttercream frosting).

they shared their space with my gypsy momma.  i created a netted tent for her divining table and tools using about 15 yards of black tulle, a hula hoop, a string of lights, and various vintage scarves.  

but the part of the event i was most excited about was the creepy forest we created in our little breakfast room.  the ceiling was already destroyed late in the summer, so it was just screaming for a halloween makeover.  we gathered up every silk ficus tree we could get our hands on and built towering trees and branches from my favorite material ever, paper grocery sacks.  everything was draped with fat yarn that looked so much like spanish moss.

spooky creatures were hung throughout, and nestled in the forest was none other than the headless horseman.  i used my little mannequin.  i bulked up her shoulders with a towel then clothed her in my grandmother's old leather trench.  we threw on a spooky record, lit the twinkle lights and enjoyed the scariest little breakfast nook you ever did see.

it was so much work but completely worth it.  just look at the smile on my sophia's face.

halloween is nothing but fun.  everyone gets to be a kid.  

do you have any fun parties this season?

amy

glamorous mystics

for our last few halloween parties,  my mom has completely lost herself in the role of fortune teller.  guests both young and old are transfixed by her performance...it really is fantastic.  but each year we struggle with her turban.  so this year i went on a search for turban bedecked ladies and am so pleased with what i found.  look at all these glamorous and exotic women!

these beautiful images of dancer Ruth St. Denis were found on fed by birds.  please visit this link for more images...they are gorgeous!

catherine baba.  completely amazing!  

a bewitching 1920's starlet.

kelly wearstler really can do no wrong.  

kate looks completely natural turbaned.

photos five, six, and seven were found on Blydesign.

oh to be so confident!  what does your future hold?

amy

yeah, you're back...

but where have you been?  

good question.  i guess i was just trying to get my thoughts together.  i have taken on the role as daisy scout leader which is way more involved than i expected (seriously filled with meetings and paperwork- it doesn't help that i lack time management skills).  i am busy planning this weekend's halloween fete (it's going to be great!).  and the kids...oh the kids.

i am really excited to share my halloween party projects but don't have many pictures yet.  this year we are forgoing the traditional goody bag and setting up a "spooky shop" instead.  the kids are responsible for dreaming up and creating the goods they are "selling".  cheap is great but free is the best!  i love the magic wands they've made.  

sophia and oliver collected sticks from the park then painted them with tempera paint.  then they wrapped the ends with colorful electrical tape.  a lot of glue and even more glitter was all that was needed to officially turn these sticks into wands.  a la peanut butter sandwiches!

amy

test

amy

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