Oh, My Jeans....

Now - for my real opinion of the last few days.....I WANT MY JEANS!!!

I even walked past some ugly, red skinny jeans at Walmart and felt drawn to them.  Sad.  I haven't even tried on my jeans because I am afraid I would just cave once I felt the joy of wearing them.  

So, is this just getting mundane?  Boring?  Me, blogging about this whole crazy idea?  Is it worth the sacrifice and the separation anxiety I am experiencing?  I am even getting tired of putting outfits together.  At first, it was like playing Barbies, trying new combinations with different accessories.....without the ginormous boobs, of course....but I am just sick of it all right now.  Do I continue???  For now, I guess so.

I was momentarily happy with the outfit I put together on Wednesday.  I have figured out that dresses are more versatile than I once thought.  I liked my red and gray granny blouse under my red dress.  Obviously, I love cardigans and so, I had to wear one.  It is fun to think about layering with dresses.  I never realized this was an option before.  It was "dress, nylons, slip, and shoes"...that's it.  I have learned a few things in this process - no matter how trivial.

*Here's a peak at my messy kitchen.

In between fixing food for 300 (in one of my house coats.  I was too busy to snap a photo.  I am sure you can live without one.), I was able to finish my red and white dress.  I finished it on Valentine's - how fitting.  David and I agreed to celebrate after this whole orchestra dinner is over, so I am looking forward to wearing it out next week.  I like the way it turned out.  Omitting the zipper worked well and saved a ton of time.  I realize that using a different fabric wouldn't afford me the same luxury.

It's kind of hard to see the detail.  I really like the collar and tie.  It was super easy to do and cute.  I will post pics when I get my night out on the town.

Media Monday - Granny Chic

Granny Chic

In the spirit of Media Monday (which I have recently started on my other blog), I have decided to share this glorious book that arrived the other day in the mail.  It was a long three weeks, awaiting this treasure.  It is full of fun, granny chic ideas and projects.  Here's a sampling of what's inside:

fun projects

and dress patterns

and some home decorating tips.  So many fun adventures await me.....within the pages of this little bundle of inspiration!

Now, on to dresses.  I have been squeezing in some sewing time, but have still yet to finish my red and white frock.  In the mean time, this is what I wore yesterday:

my top - consisting of my granny cardigan and my Devil Makes Three concert T.  Nothing wrong with mixing it up a little, right???

my middle,

and my bottom.  This is what happens when you have a 9 year old take your photos.  Thanks, Steve!

  I did, finally, get my pillowcase skirt all sewn up.  It took all of 20 minutes.  I will be on the lookout for more pillowcase pairs, as more of these would make great work skirts in the summer.  We did finally get a photo of me in one piece:

And then, it just got crazy!

I will stop now.  I know it's getting a little obnoxious.

Hope your day is a great one!!

End of Season

In my desperate attempt to find spring, I just had to buy the dress I found in this fabric.  It was bright and cheerful, not at all dreary and depressing.....like the snow that Mother Nature just sent us.

I felt happy wearing my new thrifted find.  Although I didn't venture out much in it, because the roads were a mess and I like living.  Oh how I wish the snow would just go away already....

Saturday was the end Maren's basketball season.  We all agreed that going to watch her play was worthy of the danger we would face traveling on our county roads.  It was worth it.  She played two awesome games.  Although I am looking forward to some down time from basketball, I can't help but feel a little sad about not sitting on those hard plastic benches, every Saturday, watching my kids sweat their little hearts out.  Don't despair, I am sure me and this lovely gym will find each other again someday....

I guess the bright side of our dismal storm, is that I just found this vintage wool jumper the other day and it gave me the perfect opportunity to wear it.  It has great structure and detail - well worth the $4.00 I paid for it.  With the beige blouse and brown sweater, I felt like adding the red belt would give it, at least, a little pop of color.  I am starting to feel the need to add color anywhere possible.  Oh spring....where are you????

Thrifted Thursday - Accessories

It's Thrifted Thursdsay!!

So for your viewing pleasure, I decided to share some thrifted accessories.

I have wanted some vintage spectacles for awhile now.  I actually checked out a store in Portland last fall that had hundreds, HUNDREDS of vintage frames for sale.  A pair I really liked, cost a mere $220.  I would assume that anyone who follows this blog at all or knows me, could tell you that even as I admired them, I had them placed back in the case for some other granny chic lover to purchase. I actually questioned my decision for days after, telling myself, what better souvenir to remember such a lovely time with friends than something I put on my face everyday?

Last week, I put to rest those doubting thoughts when I ran across this pair for $14...case included. They are a lovely rose color with little flowers etched in the side.  I really couldn't tell how I looked in them, because the lenses made it impossible to see much of anything while on my face.  It was a gamble I was willing to wage.  Now to get the lenses switched out and on my face!

I also picked up this lovely umbrella.  It seems like I never have one when I need one.  For years, I would just use one of the kids' that resembled a monkey or dog.  I think it's time I had a grownup umbrella.  I picked this one up for $3.  I love the traditional handle.  I know it's more cumbersome than a compact, newer version, but this has character!  Plus, I love the vintage fabric.  It does need a little TLC, but I'm willing to invest.  Look out spring showers, here I come!

So look around.  Maybe you have some of these vintage treasures hiding in your closets and drawers.  If so, get them out and use them proudly!!

Okay - so dresses for the past couple of days.  This might not be too pretty.  Just a fair warning.

I actually blogged about this skirt last week, as I found it when I was out thrifting.  I thought I would have to shorten it to get the length I wanted, but I was...wrong.  I found it was a high waisted skirt, so the length was perfect once I got it on.  It paired perfectly with my short waisted sweater.  I was pretty happy with this outfit.

Here's where it might get ugly.....

It's not that I found my outfit to be ugly, but my whole day was a bust.  I went to Logan to run errands and barely made it home before losing some of my vision because of my throbbing migraine.  Good thing my dress was a comfy one, because I just laid there for the rest of the day with this lovely pillow on my head.  In an effort to be authentic.....

And there you have it - me showing you the good, the bad, and the ugly.  My life isn't perfect so my blog shouldn't be either, right?  Just keepin' it real, my friends.  (I am a little creeped out by this picture.  It reminds me of those taken at funerals.)

I forgot to mention that I thrifted this dress because I love the funky retro print.  It isn't vintage, but I liked the easy A line form and stretch of the fabric.

Go PHS - my dress said it all!

With the weekend past and the big game over, I finally took a breath and realized that I hadn't blogged in a few days.  The end of last week was filled with the basketball games of four of our children.  Two of them ended their seasons and one of those two ended her career (can you only call it that if they are getting paid?)  So proud of Hannah and the grace and determination she has shown over the past four years.

So here is the run down of my dresses over the past couple of days.  Friday I was hoping to get in quite a bit of sewing.  I had three projects to work on - one big, two small.  I only accomplished one small task.  What a disappointment.  Here's what I did:

I picked up this lovely vintage dress from a friend.  The only problem, is that I am not quite as blessed in some areas as other women.  This is my sad face about the droopiness in the chest area of this dress.  Other than being too big there, it was a perfect fit and length.

This is my happy face after taking in the side seams.  It's hard to tell a real difference from the pictures, but it was exactly what the dress needed to fit like a glove.  Lesson:  never turn down a cute dress that is close to fitting.  Alterations cans be simple.

The next day was basketball games.  At Hannah's last home game, I made the mistake of wearing a dress in the colors of the opposing team.  She lovingly reminded me that I shouldn't do that again.  So I chose to wear the most Preston outfit I could find.  I think it might be a bit obnoxious.

I thrifted the blue jumper and had the gold blouse.  I knew I needed something over it because of the cold, so I just threw on my trusty black cardigan, tights, and a belt.  I think this might be color blocking gone bad.  Can you tell we took this picture at midnight when we got home?  I look a little haggered.  That's what a day of basketball will do to you.

Sunday was the big game and I had no intention of wearing team colors.  I just wanted to be comfy, so I put on one of my favorite house dresses, a sweater, and leggings.  Truth be told - I put it back on today since all I did yesterday was sit around and that's about all I've done today.

Aside from blogging and straightening the house, I did get my granny squares laid out.  I got them all finished up yesterday while I "watched" the game.  Now I just have to stitch them together.  Gigi will be so thrilled with her new afghan!

Thrifted Thursday.....even though it's Friday.

Yesterday was quite busy.  I was running around town in a last minute effort to gather all the props needed for Steven's wax museum project at school.  Of course, coming up with what he needed made a trip to the thrift store a necessity.  After finding what he needed, I found a few treasures of my own.  Now for show and tell...

I found this cute skirt and zippers.  The skirt is a little longer than I would like, so some altering is in order.  The material has a little stretch to it, so it should be super comfy and easy to work in.  I am sure the zippers will come in handy later.  Here's a closeup of the print on the skirt.  I love flowers!

 I also love that I picked up some funky and fun polyester fabric.  There's got to be at least 2 1/2 yards.

I couldn't pass up this fabric for two reasons.  One, the fabric has stretch which makes any dress made out of it easy to wear and easy to get on and off.  Also, retro designs and  this bright tangerine color are everywhere.  It makes it a little less scary to make a vintage dress in a design/color that are "in" right now.  Here's the dress pattern I plan to use.

Not sure if you can see it too good, but I think I will do the straighter silhouette of the sleeveless dress, but add the sleeves and the collar of the belted one.  I also think that with the stretch of the fabric, I might be able to eliminate the zipper in the back, saving me time and a trip to town.  I think with the fabric and the pattern, the grand total for this dress will be around $4.  Now that makes me happy!

You know what else makes me happy?  Finding and using items in a new way.  I found a set of pillow cases for a couple bucks.  I love the brightness of the print and once again, FLOWERS!!  I am hoping to piece them together, using the cuff of the case as the hem.  Then I just have to stitch a casing for some elastic.  Wha-la.....I have a cute and comfy skirt.

  Finally, I picked up this formal dress for $10.  I wasn't sure if it was fancy enough to really wear to a formal dance, but I think it would be awful cute shortened and worn with a cardigan.  It could be worn out to dinner or some other special event.  I just wish it would fit me.  It will have to be for one of the girls.

I love the bow at the waist and the rich gold color.

Sorry this is so long, but I couldn't finish without mentioning my encounter with greatness.

It's Bing Crosby....well, Steven was Bing for his wax museum project at school yesterday.  There was too much congestion at the school to snap a picture and by the time we got home, he'd already changed in the car.  I still needed a picture with such a handsome guy in a cool hat.  

The dress I wore yesterday, I bought at Forever 21.  I picked it up the day before on my shopping spree to SLC.  My blouse was thrifted.  So many of the blouses at Forever 21 are very similar to ones found at second hand stores.  I love Forever 21, but would check out thrift stores first before buying any retro blouses there.  The cost is only about 20% of a new one.

Well, I'm off to work on the various projects I have lined out for today.  After a day of chasing, a day of sewing will be therapeutic for sure!