Christmas Gifts

Tony and I swapped Christmas gifts last night, in between the flurry of two jobs and a Craigslist meetup to buy a purse (more on that later...). He sneakily bought me this amazing 1940s dress that I had my eye on, but didn't know he was buying.

 

 

I was even more sneaky about Tony's gift: an Urban Outfitters sweater that he'd wanted. After I bought it, he couldn't find it online and made us drive around to several stores (I had to pull a few salespeople aside and tell them to not bother calling other locations to track it down). I think it's rather charming!

Miu Miu and More: Fun Prints to Liven Up Your Winter

I understand that winter is supposed to be a time for darker hues and subtle fashion looks. But, really, if I'm staring at a drab gray sky all day long I'd rather not add to the landscape. That's why prints are my best friend this time of year; my idea of donning "gay apparel" is putting on a blouse with cats all over it.

Therefore,  Miu Miu's Spring 2010 collection is one of my favorites: cats, sparrows, flowers and even some (tasteful) naked ladies abound! Take a look at the gallery here and let it brighten up your December day (it may be NSFW if your job minds illustrated topless women). And for those of us who can't afford designer duds, here are some fun, budget-appropriate prints:

Paws and Play Dress, $59.99 from ModCloth

Little Red Riding Hood Tights, $30.00 from Fred Flare

Hair Spray Retro Dress, $72.00 from Plasticland

 

Each and Aviary Way Top, $62.99 from ModCloth

Proper Pup Laptop Case, $44.99 from ModCloth

Noir Perfumed Puff Sleeve Top, $46.00 from Plasticland

(Originally posted by me at Lovelyish)

cats are OK - purrr

Sometimes I tell myself I'm not going to spend money on clothes for a while, and then I come across a shirt like this.

Holiday Party

I wore this beaded dress to a holiday party to benefit AIDS organizations last night. The event was located at a swanky glass shoppe and had free booze, which I thought to be a very dangerous combination. Thankfully, I left my heels at home; with this dress, you have to keep everything else very simple, shoes included. Photos with Santa coming soon!

Letters

Yesterday I wrote some long-overdue letters.I had been putting them off because, let's be honest, they take a while to compose. But the feeling of satisfaction I got upon sealing the envelope, drawing those arrows and putting on a stamp was divine.

The United States Postal Service is an institution many Americans tend to overlook. But it's rather difficult to imagine coming home for the day and not having mail to check, or being unable to send a postcard across state lines. The USPS is a staple of America, but with email drastically decreasing the volume of mail being sent, there are rumors that it won't even exist in 10 years. But what if Americans started writing letters again?

Most millennials I know have been using computers since grade school, and some have never even penned and mailed a letter. While email is a wonderful tool, there are a number or arguments for letter writing, the first of these being aesthetics. Mail has lots of pretty potential, and it can often be an expression of yourself to others. New writers should first consider their stationery: Try to choose something fairly versatile, on which you can pen letters both to grandma and your best friend. There are sites where you can customize your own stationery and also plenty of pre-printed options. One of my friends just decorates the paper herself. This same friend also adds a creative touch to her letters, one that gets compliments every time someone sees it -- a custom wax seal. Sealing your letter with wax is a surefire way to impress the receiver, and gives it a final creative touch.



The most impressive aspect of a letter, though, is the fact that you've taken the time to pen it. Most of us are glued to the computer during the day, and it's not difficult to throw together a nice email in the intermission between working on a project and checking Twitter. Letters take time to not only compose, but to consider the message being sent (not having a delete key makes one much more aware of what she's writing). A decent two-page letter takes at least a half hour to pen, and your recipient is sure to know she holds a special place in your heart upon seeing the time you've devoted to her from a distance.

Once you find a good pen pal (or three), there will be a certain thrill that accompanies your daily mail check. Nothing matches having a physical sign of friendship or love unexpectedly arrive at your doorstep, especially if that sign is filled with fun goodies (I received a letter last week with a Russian prayer card and vintage photo negatives folded inside it). Nab a cute box to store your letters in, and you'll have great mementos to pore over for years. It rather beats just saving something to a desktop folder.

(Originally posted by me on Lovelyish)

Uliana Sergienko Fall 2011: The Stuff My Fashion Dreams are Made Of

Having a love of most things Russian (I studied it in college) and a closet full of vintage duds, you can imagine my reaction upon seeing socialite Uliana Sergienko's new line of clothing -- which I would describe as, "1940s movie star vacations in Russia."

Actually, you probably can't imagine my response, because no one would expect an intelligent woman to react with the massive amount of glee that I did. Sergienko's collection has flattering, trim silhouettes, some impressive headpieces and dainty prints straight from bygone eras. But enough of my raving about it; have a look at our gallery of her designs. Additional photos of the collection can be found at the source. [via Etoday]

 

 

Tons more after the jump!

Bohemian Bisoux Giveaway

My favorite Etsy seller, Bohemian Bisoux, is having a giveaway via Fashion Forestry. Check it out here!

I recently bought a 1920s fur capelet from BB, which I adore. Here are a few more of her pieces that I'm swooning over!

 

 

 

Mark Twain's "Advice to Little Girls"

I love this book written by Mark Twain (who would be 176 were he alive today!) called Advice to Little Girls. Naturally it's filled with plenty of Twain's great humor, but I think the illustrations are also worth noting. I rather like the teacher's outfit on the first page.

 

Source

Fantastic Food Day

Turns out, vodka is splendid with some ground pepper in it.

I also prepped a huge batch of healthy veggie soup for the week!

But for dinner, I made some beet/goat cheese/greens/mushrooms grilled cheese! But the poorer version (less fancy bread, one kind of mushroom).

Soup Weather

Cape & shirt : American Apparel, Shoes: Modcloth, Squirrel pin: Gifted vintage

Cute & Creepy

I bought this bobble head cat bank to put on my desk at work.
As an in-school suspension teacher, I have to find creative ways to make my students fear me.
I love him!

Lauren Moffatt

A few days ago I glimpsed an amazing Lauren Moffatt coat on A Beautiful Mess, and obsessively tried hunting an affordable one down for 30 minutes. No luck.
Last night I go into Anthropologie and mosey on over to the clearance rack, as is custom (though it's rare when I can even afford sale earrings there). And then I saw it. The coat! On clearance! And there was one left in my size! And it was 75% off! And it was mine. And here it is!

 1950s button up top, Modcloth skirt, 1930s heels.

I'll admit that it isn't quite as figure-fitting as I like a coat to be, so I'll probably belt it when worn. It definitely brightened up the overcast Saturday we had here!

Movember Celebration

 

The gentleman friend and I went to a Movember party the other night. It was pretty festive, though Burt Reynolds almost stole me away.

About Me

Hi! My name is Andrea, and I am a 22-year-old Missouri girl living in Austin, Texas.
Hopefully that statement didn't scare you away already. I promise that I am probably not the character type you think of when considering either state. If you even do so. I mean, I don't really go around thinking about Montana all day, though I'm sure it's a lovely place. So I doubt you really care too much about Missouri and/or Texas unless one of the two is doing something ridiculous (which happens).

I worked at a video game/music/movie/comic store for over five years, and since I started there in high school, my interests developed thusly. I like Pokemon, Scott Pilgrim, Left for Dead, a bit of record collecting, and a lot of Criterion collecting. I wrote my senior honors thesis on graphic novels.

One of my main passions is vintage clothing. I run an Etsy store called The Three Twins, but I hope to own a vintage clothing trailer some day (similar to the food trailers that Austin is well-known for). I used to work at a vintage store in Missouri, and I have a nice little collection of clothing (mostly dresses) that I still add to, to the dismay of my wallet.

I like looking at 1950s fashion, but wearing 1940s pieces. Don't ask why; I don't even know myself (though I am pictured in a 1950s dress above!).

I am currently working on writing a YA sci-fi/fantasy novel. After all, reading the genre was my primary hobby in high school.
I also love embroidery, photography, collecting toy cameras, and One Hundred Years of Solitude. (If I ever won the lottery, I would buy a first edition of OHYoS first thing!)

Embroidered Holidays

I'm broke, you're broke, we're all broke. And if you're like me, cheap-but-thoughtful gifts are a must during the holiday season. Do you know what's ultra-cheap? A needle and thread! For years I've been turning to embroidery for gifting (two of my boyfriend's past presents are pictured above), and with just a little practice, you can soon be stitching away for the holidays.

As with almost any crafty hobby, you're going to have to make some initial investments to get started. For embroidery, you'll need a proper needle, a hoop, floss (the fancy word for embroidery thread) and a pattern or two (you can also buy washable fabric markers if you want to draw out your own design). Most of these supplies can be found at local craft stores, though Sublime Stitching (mater of all things embroidery) does sell some cute starter kits. You can also buy some pretty novel accessories like these scissors (though doing so may defeat the purpose of trying to save money through embroidery):
Next, you'll need something to embroider on! While your thoughts may first turn to clothing, the number of items that can be decorated for others is pretty vast when you think about it. Let me just list a few off the top of my head: towels, napkins, aprons, bags, pillows, baby bibs, wall hangings, hair accessories, ties, necklaces (yeah, they can be done). The nice thing about embroidery is that most of these items can be found on a clearance rack, but no one will be insulted because you'll make them so pretty!


I would recommend practicing a few stitches before working on your gift. Sublime Stitching has a great tutorial on types of stitches, and it's free! I was a big fan of the super-easy but nice-looking split stitch when I got started.

So now you're ready to sit down and embroider. And I hope you're really ready, because this is going to take a while. I've spent over six hours on some projects. Granted, they were pretty detailed, but as a novice you're going to be getting used to stitching, removing mess-ups and giving your eyes lots of breaks (which isn't just a newbie thing). But it's cold outside, you're bundled up on the couch, and you have a Netflix queue (or some scenario along those lines). So get stitching!

(Posted originally at Lovelyish)