Thursday, October 1, 2009

Oh Boy, Here We Go

It's getting crazy for me right now; I'm a full-time student with two jobs, an honors thesis to complete, and 5 graduate applications to send out. I'm sure many of you all out there are experiencing high stress like I, whether it's unemployment, having a family, etc, we can all relate in some way. My advice is to really focus on the little things. For me, it's sitting down Monday afternoon and watching Mad Men online (no way could I afford cable..), taking a few moments to enjoy the beautiful weather, or thinking about the little things I have to look forward to (and not the monstrous deadlines looming ahead...). Halloween is my favorite holiday, and I always try to make a unique and cheap costume with my limited sewing skills.


Last year, I randomly decided I wanted to be corn... It was pretty easy. I found some white long john pants at wal-mart and dyed them dark green with some cheap fabric dye (RID I think it's called?). I took a yellow tank top and drew the kernels on with a brown sharpie. For the leaves, I cut two large pieces of dark green felt into big leaf-shaped pieces, and I sewed the bottom part onto the top of the pants, leaving the top part to hang over the sides. I'd imagine a banana could be done in a pretty similar way. My boyfriend spray-painted a box yellow to be butter (not my idea, but it was cute). He had to stand next to me otherwise no one had a clue what he was supposed to be...

Much better than the expensive and extremely revealing costumes most college females were donning that night!

My plans for this year:


I found a perfect red top and black skirt at Goodwill, along with a navy blue button down shirt. I sewed lace trim around the collar of the red shirt, and yellow bias tape along the bottom of the skirt. I'm having a little trouble with the collar for the popeye shirt, but I'll figure it out...

What is everyone else being for Halloween? Or am I the only one to be thinking about this so early?

-Erin

Thursday, September 10, 2009

The Ones That Got Away...

Since the weather's been getting cooler, I've been on the lookout for some flats that would go well with a skirt and tights. As much as I'm attached to my falling apart and smelly slip-on vans...I think I should probably try to expand my shoe collection (which currently consists of three pairs...) as my next "trying to be more girly" goal. My favorite shoes right now are t-strap flats and oxford flats. I'm very picky, especially regarding oxford flats, because they seem to be becoming "trendy" lately (Going to a university makes you loathe of all things 'hipster'). I'm looking for vintage ones, all worn in and soft, probably all black or grey.
PURE DKNY Bindi-T Strap Bone Flats
Available: ????

I saw these on ebay a little while ago. They were selling buy it now for 45$, and unbeknown est to me, they go for 135$. Of course, I had about 50 cents in my bank account at the time. Now that I've searched everywhere for these things, I'm kicking myself for not sucking it up and pulling out the credit card...




Top Left: My So Called Brogues $39.99 at Modcloth (Mostly because the name made me literally crack up; I'm way too tall to wear heels =( )

Top Right: Vintage Red Oxford Jazz Flats $24 at darlingvintage's etsy

Middle Right: vintage PINHOLE and CORSET Oxford Wedges $42 ar DearGoldenVintage's etsy

Bottom Left: Suedette Grey Bow Pump £25.00 at Miss Selfridge

Bottom Right: Pink Duchess America Black Vegan Leather Lace It Up $24 at Lulu's

Middle Right: vintage PINHOLE and CORSET Oxford Wedges $42 ar DearGoldenVintage's etsy

Erin

Tuesday, September 8, 2009

Quick Outfit Post


Skirt: A dress from forever 21 that I wore constantly in high school. it didn't fit right anymore so I made it into a skirt.
Shirt: White undershirt from Wal-Mart
Sunglasses: Modcloth

Cheapest outfit ever! Unfortunately, this is the most "retro" I've looked so far this school year. Still waiting on my student loan so I can go clothes shopping!

Erin

Monday, August 31, 2009

Days of Being Wild

Summer has come to an end for me, I'm afraid. I began my senior year of undergrad last Monday, and I haven't had much time for this blog. I'm not giving up on it by any means, I just won't likely be posting that often. I've still been enjoying reading everyone elses blogs, even if I haven't had time to comment (I've often been reading them while brushing my teeth or right as I'm about to fall asleep). The weather here is exquisite; reaching 75 midday with a nice fall breeze (and not even September!). This is Virginia, after all, so I'm sure there will be a couple more scorchers before summer hangs its head.
I never officially posted an end of summer to-do list, like the lovely Bug, but I was feeling quite spontaneous yesterday, and as I was sure it was to be one of the most beautiful days of the year, I went adventuring with my boyfriend. Two places I normally go every summer are Humpback Rock and Chiles' Peach Orchard. And off we went!


No pictures of the peach orchard I'm afraid. I got to have my favorite thing in the entire world though- Chiles' Peach Frozen Yogurt!!! I love peach ice cream so much, and every time I get it I say "Screamy Mimi screams for peach ice cream!" and my boyfriend looks at me like I'm crazy. I asked my Mom and it is apparently from a book I had as a child:

Haha on Amazon it says "a great book for loud children" ...I'll have to ask my Mother about that one...

Have a great week!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

I love clothes, but they don't love me back

Fall is my absolute favorite season. All of my best childhood memories take place in fall; from elementary school trips to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch to my very favorite holiday, Halloween. All this blogging about fall fashion wish lists has me quite excited, but also quite frustrated.

I am the worst girl I know at finding clothes.

I have always been oddly proportioned, but the weight I've gained this past year has brought me down to an all-time low self-esteem wise. I have a very long torso, so I can't find shirts long enough, and when I wear jeans I spill over the top with no shirt to cover it! None of my clothes seem to fit right, and when I shop I can't seem to find any either. The summertime, in a way, is easier for me because my temporary solution has been to simply wear dresses. Unfortunately, when I'm not done up in vintage wear, I'm very much a jeans girl, so I haven't felt comfortable in clothing (or my skin for that matter) in quite a while now. And so, I dedicate this post to all tall women who have a hard time finding clothes. I'm trying to develop a plan to find clothes that are flattering to me. So far, I've been on the lookout for very long shirts that don't hug the body, but also don't hang like a baby-doll top so that I look pregnant underneath. This has proved to be quite the daunting and difficult task! Second, I'm searching for warm, opaque colored tights so that I can continue to wear dresses and higher-waisted skirts. If anyone has any advice for me, I'd love to hear it!




L.A. Lacer Top at ModCloth
Opaque Tights at Urban Outfitters
Hey, Sailor Ladies Top at emandsprout's etsy

So that's my strategy...Now, just have to wait until my student loans come in so I can afford new clothes...

-Erin

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Fisherman's Island Wildlife Refuge: A Journey in Pictures


Driving over the 17 mile long Chesapeake Bay Bridge. I love this bridge, and was determined to cross it at some point in my vacation (despite the steep toll). As I love being spontaneous, I had no plans whatsoever for once we reached the Eastern Shore.

We could see Fisherman's Island and the Cape Charles lighthouse (I have a kind of obsession with lighthouses). Once we got off the bridge, I spotted a sign for a wildlife refuge, and we decided to go explore. There was a nice visitors center/museum with a nice older man there to guide us to a walking path. Walks and hikes are my absolute favorite thing, so I was very excited, even though it was probably 97 degrees!

A sampling of the wildlife (minus me of course). One of the best parts was walking in some sort of tunnel area that was full of barn swallow nests. I saw baby swallows being fed by their mommies! Looking over into the marsh, it looked like the muddy ground was moving. It turned out to be hundreds of tiny crabs scurrying about. The refuge is famous for its birds, and we stood looking for them for quite some time. We ended up spotting a few herons, egrets, and hawks. Along the path was the biggest blackberry patch I'd ever seen. I was picking them and eating them the whole time we were walking. My boyfriend was entirely grossed out by this; "ew how can you eat that in the wild, how do you know it's not poison??" I suppose we were raised quite differently haha.


Erin

Sunday, August 2, 2009

....Wherever It May Take You



I may be back from my vacation, but with no home, I suppose I am still traveling. I have found myself for several weeks now longing for some vintage luggage. Perhaps a rugged plastic Samsonite with a matching train case? Etsy has a bunch of great options...if only I could afford one.



Top Left: Great Little Overnight Case 15.00$ at Angie's Closet
Center Left: The Tomato Red Vintage Suitcase 44.00$ at jessjamesjake
Bottom Left: Vintage Royal Traveler Robin's Egg Suitcase 42.00$ at adVintageous
Top Right: Vintage American Tourister Weekender Suitcase 48.00$ at VintageNinaRamone
Bottom Right: Vintage Featherlite Blue Train Case 15.00$ at VintageNinaRamone

Erin