Wear to Work & Shoe Hunting

Do you ever have those days where the work just keeps on coming, and no matter how much you hustle nothing seems to get done ? Well yesterday was one of those days - At least I was comfortable.





I am wearing the same Cheap Monday sunglasses, a shrug I bought in Japan (at a store I believe was called Lowry's Farm), the top is old from F21 and the skirt is from Anthro. Then there are the shoes. Oh, little Target shoes, you really are a great little pair- you have a slight wedge, you are comfy enough to walk home in, you are vegan, but let us not forget we all have our faults and well I'm sorry to say you are cheap.

I have had them since January, and they have been starting to fall apart since February- to be fair, I do wear them at least four days a week. I would like to find another pair of vegan shoes that I can wear to work with my more casual outfits and that I can also wear with more 'corporate looks' for meetings. Ideally this pair of shoes would be well-made and last a lot longer than the little Target pair.

This is easier said than done, because the laws of the universe are such, that,when you are really looking for one thing in particular (something that should be easy to find), be it a great pair of houndstooth trousers, a comfortable yet flattering pair of high waisted shorts, or simple black flats- the search is pretty much fruitless.

I have been looking for this perfect vegan work shoe for over two months, and Nada.

While the perfect pair of work shoes eludes me, I did come across some amazing vegan shoe collections: Cri de Coeur and Olsen Haus. I love these shoes, but they are more for play, than for work, at least at my office. I may still need to get these ...

From Cri de Coeur





From Olsen Haus




Where do you buy shoes?

Take a Hike

Yesterday Mario and I ventured out into the alien landscape that is the Pinnacles National Monument. The site of a long dead volcano, the park's odd landscape was formed by tectonic plate movement, erosion and faulting - it is amazing and at times reminded me of scenes from the 1960's Star Trek. When we got to the park on Sunday it was hot (it got to be over 100) yet we managed to complete our hike, and Mario got some pretty good pictures.

Yes, that's me climbing down the path beneath those bolders - in cut off shorts, a tank and hiking shoes. Nothing fashion-y here.



Next weekend we are hiking at the beach!

Kittens - Cookies - TV

As requested, here is a photo of our new Kitten. Her name is Bailey, and boy is she a handful! She kept me up last night by leaping up into bed and purring loudly right by my head. Sounds cute, but nothing is cute at 4am.



I've got lots of exciting news, and some fun things to share for this coming week.


But, for this morning I'm off to the Vegan Bakesale and to run some errands. Tonight we have no exciting plans, maybe we'll watch a movie on TV. Sometimes that is an okay thing to do.

From my closet: The harem trousers are back. I'm trying to find other ways to wear them, and ways to style them as a summer outfit piece.







Sunnies are Cheap Monday, Top is Anthro, Shrug was thrifted. The Harem trousers are from LaMixx on Etsy, and the shoes are vintage. These shoes are my favorite.

Hope you all have great weekend plans.

PORTLAND

Let the mini-vacations begin. Summer is here, and so is the time for sundresses, bbqs, picnics, trips to the beach, and time for well deserved vacations. While we can't take too much time off work, the hubs and I have plans to go off on short weekend trips around California, and then we are going on a road trip to Portland, Oregon in early August. We booked the hotel downtown and have mapped out our route. We will drive up the coast, to see Haystack Rock, the sand dunes, and to spend a few days at the beach, then we will have a few days to explore Portland before driving back through the center of the state and stopping by to see Crater Lake.

I'm looking forward to this so much! I hope you all have for summer adventures ahead.


From my closet:






Jacket from American Apparel, Top from Trovata, Trousers & Belt Zara, Shoes vintage. This is what I wore out today - it was so chilly and gloomy. Bay Area Summer you're bringing me down.

Hey East Bay-ers!!! Help Animals, Support Sustainability & get Delicious Vegan Treats!

What could be better than getting a tasty vegan treat to go along with your Saturday morning coffee at Peets? Oh yeah, helping out great organizations like Walk Oakland Bike Oakland, and the Berkeley East Bay Humane Society.

And it's all going down at ISSUES- one of my favorite Oakland spots. This Saturday from 11 am to 3pm, like the flyer says.

Hope to see you there!

Brooklyn Babes

There has been quite some buzz lately about Bruce Davidson, and his 1950's 'Brooklyn Gang' photos.



"Davidson’s 1959 project Brooklyn Gang is an intimate photographic study of a rebellious Brooklyn teenage gang, who called themselves The Jokers. Davidson was able to document their candid manifestations of worry, energy, enthusiasm, anger, and occasional sadness. The gang seemed to exist in their own secluded world, meandering from Coney Island to diners and taxicabs, anxiously moving forward with an unknown future and unknown goals. Some of them were even thoroughly troubled: one member died from a heroin overdose a few years after Davidson left them. Not only is Davidson’s work a sincere portrayal of troubled teenagers coming of age, but it also acts as a documentation of teenage life during 1950s, exposing the emotional climate of that time period and exposing the dark side of a supposedly innocent time period."

These are some amazing photos.











I love the overall look of these - they are gritty, sexy, teenage angsty, and dare I say 'cool'? (Get me a pencil skirt and big Brigitte Bardot hair, stat!) The photos remind me of the photography for the Richard Barnes book Mods. I have that book kicking around from when I was in a 'Mod' phase in high school. I'll have to dig it out and share.

I do have a slight obsession with New York / Brooklyn in the 50's because of the Abstract Impressionism movement, beat poets, and down beat jazz. Bruce Davidson is now added to that list.

Les animaux et les photos de Paris

Animal prints seem to be everywhere. Just why are they so endearing? Why is it that if I spot a tee, dress, dish cloth, towel, mug or dinnerware set with owls or horses or kittens printed on them- that I instantly fall in love? And, with the Miu Miu looks out there it has only intensified my love of all things animal print.





These things are lovely...





Raccoon top from Anthropologie.



Fox top from Ruche.




And, yet another seagull print. Skirt is from Asos.






As, you know I have been closet cleaning, and dress altering, and in general getting on with my to-do list. One thing I did this weekend that was long overdue - was to take the black and white film of photos I took in Paris to be developed. It has been years since my trip there, and I do not even remember exactly what I took pictures of. I hope to be pleasantly surprised, and I hope to escape the fate of having the ex-beau, (not the Swedish ex-beau, but the mopey ex-beau) pop up in a random shot or two.

Vain and Vapid

The Summer '10 collection from Vain and Vapid. I may need to make lots more room in the closet. I am always amazed by the talents of independent designers.

I mean just how awesome are these?

Seagulls have landed

We all have that dress, or dresses, in our closet. You, know that dress that would be oh so very perfect, if only it fit just right.

Well, as a vintage shopper I have quite a few of those. And in the past few months I've been letting go of much beloved items, that I know just cannot be tailored. I am also trying to get in gear with getting the dresses that can be altered to the seamstress, and or doing what little I can to fix them up on my own. One of my work in progress dresses, is this lovely little number... that I just imagine wearing to the beach, strolling in the sun with a wide brim hat, and wearing to walk by the Point Reyes lighthouse.



But it does need some work.



For starters it was a handmade dress, and the buttons the sew-er chose are a bit too bland. I would like to replace them with some cool looking wooden buttons.



Second, the dress is too long, but I don't want to hem it at the bottom, since I don't want to loose the seagull print there. So I need to have the seamstress take it in at the top, just at the bodice.

I tucked up the extra fabric there and tied a ribbon round to hold it in place. This is how I wore the dress yesterday. It worked but I had to sit very carefully, so as to not pull down on the extra fabric.



I hope to get to the seamstress (yet again) this week with this dress and a few other items in need. the trouble is, it turns a $7 find into $20 or more for the tailoring. How does a girl learn to be an expert seamstress?

Do you often find you hold on to items, because they are cute, even though they don't fit?

Yard Sale Part 2

Camera necklace and Typewrite necklace $1.00 each, or for trade.






High rise vintage trousers, $5.00 or for trade. Very comfy , they are just a bit too big for me would best fit a size small. They have a great little notch detail and buttons! Light wool blend, comfy to wear in summer.






Vintage silk dress. This dress has really great stitching it has a slight drop waist, pretty pleating, and buttons at the cuffs. $10. The photos do not do it justice. No flaws. it is in perfect vintage condition. It would be nice to have a vintage dress form...








Simple black top from Banana Republic. Slight puff sleeves and very comfy best for a size small.
$3.00, or for trade. It's so hard to photograph black. But this top was only worn a couple times and it is in new condition.



Please email if you have any questions. Or, trade suggestions. I am always looking for vegan or veggie cookbooks. And am looking for scarves and other accessories.

Thanks for stopping by!

Let the Yard Sale Begin- Part 1

Good morning! Here is the first installment of the 'Yard Sale' for this weekend. It is all I had time to take pictures of since as soon as I'm done putting this post up, we're off to run all our weekend errands and then we have to clean the apartment. Oh! and we have to play with the kitten of course.

The little denim jacket. $5 or for trade. ( I am in need of scarves, vintage buttons, and I am looking for veggie & vegan cookbooks as well.)

The jacket is a size xs. How I wore it sleeves rolled and over a striped tee.

The little white tops. The long sleeve top is an Erin Fetherstone for target button up. The second is a Banana Republic little white top both size xs. $2 each, or for trade.

Vintage sunglasses, plastic frames. $4.00 each

Necklaces, bracelet, and pin. $0.50 each, or for trade.

Books $1.00 each, or for trade. The World and Other Places is signed by the author.

More to come for tomorrow- just ran low on time this morning. Please email if you have any questions, need shipping quotes, or for trade offers. Thanks for stopping by!