Vintage Babes

I love it when bloggers post pictures of old photos so I thought I would look online and post some of my recent favorites! These are all from Life Magazine. Click each photo for a link!

Elizabeth Taylor in London

A young Marilyn Monroe

Dean Martin and Shirley McLaine

Dorothy Dandridge

Audrey Hepburn and Grace Kelly backstage at the Oscars

For the Locals: Vintage Estate Sale

The lovely Liz (who owns Hill Valley Boutique) is hosting an estate sale this weekend in Minneapolis.  According to Liz, this woman is a huge vintage collector and is trying to downsize her collection. I work all day Saturday but plan on heading over Sunday. I hope there is something left!  If you want this info, check out the Craig's List post here. Per the post, "From a 50plus year collector. Items have been taken care of and are in great condition! Saturday January 19th 10am-4pm and Sunday January 20th 10am-3pm. cc accepted! Collectables, vintage housewares, gorgeous art and frames, depression era glass, original art, custom built in's, lots of beautiful furniture in great condition. Vintage lamps, storage cabinets, and much much more... Priced to move!"

 If you want more info, let me know in the comments or send me an email.

Hopefully some of you will be able to head over and check it out!

I Wear Your Grandad's Clothes

You guys. A song about thrifting. Plus, it's really catchy. I was sent this by 2 different people today and I love it!

Curled Hair and Vintage Twins

Outfit Details:
Top - Modcloth
Skirt - Thrifted
Cardigan - Heritage 1981

I wore this after Christmas to a comedy show that my brother was in. He is so funny but I was worried about how the other performers would be. It was really good! I even curled my hair you guys. That never happens. :) This skirt is a good story. I went to the thrift store and I think my former self died and donated a bunch of her skirts to Savers. Each skirt that I picked out from the vintage section fit me perfectly. Thank you vintage twin.  Sorry for my scattered thoughts today. I try to be funny and make no sense...

I am so happy it's Friday. I was sick all last weekend and didn't get anything done. Here's hoping for a productive, fun weekend. I might even take my tree down. Watch out.

Weirdly Personal

This may be just an odd quirk of mine (I have many) but I have a hard time talking to people about weight and money.  I can blab on forever about anything else but these two things make me clam up. I'm thinking because they are embarrassing to me that I have a hard time. Or, I don't want people to know that I have problems with both.

But, I'm taking the step and putting this out there because I want to hold myself accountable. I shared with you all of things I'm looking forward to in 2013 but I didn't share my actual resolutions. Mostly, because I didn't want to bog this blog (ha) down with negative things.  I looked at some of my pictures from when I first started blogging and I realized there are skirts/pants/tops that I have not worn since then because they don't fit.  There are a lot of bloggers that are posting about what they are eating, how they are working out, what they weigh, etc. Don't worry, this isn't going to turn into a nutrition/exercise blog.  I might post a list of blogs that I'm finding inspirational and let you follow along with them. I do want to post little updates on how I'm doing just so I can give myself a pat on the back. From my heaviest, I'm down about 8 lbs so far even after the holidays. I'm pretty proud about that since I was sick and haven't been to the gym in a while. I'm going to start trying to get back to the gym and get a routine going. Hopefully, I can keep the trend going! I'm trying to be down at least 15 before I go to Europe.

Also, I'm not doing well on the money front. For some reason, this is the hardest to admit. I'm in some serious debt and I have a huge trip planned that is going to cost a bunch of money. Not good. All of my expenses seem to be going up (mortgage, association dues, etc) but I'm not making any more money. However, I'm meeting with my parents this weekend to help me figure out a budget and I've been looking for ways to make some extra cash.  I'm going to apply for a part time job this week to help out with some bills.  I've gone on to a bunch of websites that pay for surveys or taste tests and signed up for those. I'm seeing if any of my friends want portraits done as well.  I don't charge much for them currently but it will be good practice and every little bit helps, right?  Any other suggestions about what you all are doing to save money would be great.

This is now out for the world to see... eek!

Pins and Tucking

Outfit Details:
Shirt, skirt, sweater, pin - Thrifted

This outfit was brought to you by the thrift store and having a day off. I look so much more put together and have more creativity when my brain doesn't have to think about other things. I think I need to start wearing more sweaters tucked into skirts. I need more thin sweaters but that is an issue for another day. I found this skirt while thrifting a while ago and I wanted to thank the weather for being cold enough that I could finally wear it. Have a great week!

Looking Back Is Through

Looking forward is always better right? I did a little New Year's/ blog birthday recap of 2012 in outfits so now I want to look forward to the new year. I try not to make "resolutions" per say because I don't like to feel disappointed in myself if they don't come true. However, there are a lot of things I have to look forward to so I thought I would share!

1. The BIG one is my trip to Europe in May. It's only 5 months away now! Eek! My "resolution" for this is to try to find ways to save more money so I can enjoy myself and also start digging more into researching this trip!

2. I am also photographing a wedding this summer for the ever lovely Megan and Chris. I'm really excited but also nervous. My "resolution" is to really practice with all different kinds of lighting and do some casual photo shoots with friends to get even better at portraits. I think taking photos in Europe will really help me learn even more about my camera and lighting as well. 

3. I broke up with my boyfriend in 2011 so 2012 was really a new experience for me. This year, I'm looking forward to dating more and also putting myself out there for more opportunities to meet people. My friend and I are thinking of joining Events and Adventures and going to some of the local events they throw for online daters. I was really burnt out in 2012 by online dating so I'm trying to figure out a way to get over that or meet more people in person.

4. I'm going to NYC in February for work.  We are done with work on Friday and I just talked to my friend that lives there and she is letting me stay with her for the weekend. I'm so excited to be in Brooklyn and do things a local would do instead of tons of touristy things like I've done the past couple times I've been there. If anyone lives in NYC and wants to meet up or has suggestions of what I should do, I would love to hear them!

5. Getting even more comfortable in my fashion. 2012 was a good year in terms of growth for me and I can always see that in my clothing. I am starting to wear what I want more and more and not worry about what people will think. I would love to purchase more vintage clothing and if I do buy new items, I want to make sure I love them and they are unique. I need a new pair of shoes for Europe but other than that, I'm sticking to the thrift store from now on!  I always love Valentine's fashion but her recap of 2012 really hit home for me.  Everything she wears has something unique or special about it and that's how I want to dress. 

I can't think of anything else right now but I would love to hear what you are all looking forward to this year!