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It's only Monday, and I'm already having an incredibly difficult day/week. Enjoy this beautiful dress that's at Melly now (not to mention a Lilly best seller), while I take a little blog break to pull it all together once again. xoxo.
Whoever started that bizarre lie that your early twenties is really nearly perfect is lying. I'd rather have a few wrinkles.
I swear. I can go for days at a time without spending a dime (even longer if you don't count gasoline and grocery trips). It's more fun to make stuff, don't you think? And besides, I like to make my money work for me, but- sometimes I have to give in. Case in point:
I have been hunting the longest time for sexy, but vintage-y heels. I wanted a t-strap, too, but most of the stuff out there is so... ugly or else over priced. I know when to splurge, and I have to say- shoes are not the place to do it (haircuts are, though!) These beautiful Steve Madden babies are from the DSW back room. Yes, beyond just DSW, their poorly lit, cramped back room. I win, I win! My lovely friend whom I share a namesake with, Katie, helped me choose these. I am in love- up next, fishnets.
xoxo
CW
Today, after paying bills and balancing my check book, I thought I would peruse a little bit on craigs list... for good finds. Nothing struck my interest, but I realize now another reason I love spring: garage sales. Wow, I am just like my mom. Lord help me.
I used to give my mom a hard time about having so many antiques, why did she scour stores and talk to dealers when everyone else went to the big box warehouse for their stuff? She had taste! Despite only being twenty three I have acquired quite the collection, and you know I learned how to bargain the correct way from my beautiful mom- who loves to say, "is there a little wiggle room in the price?" Wiggle room!
Of my favorite finds, here are a few...
Okay, this was a gift, but still... a 1940s bathing suit. I love this thing. I'm so scared to wear it out because the fabric is really different (not like the material of suits today), but really- how cute is that?
This cake stand was found at a garage sale- I have it on my desk now, but it works great for making desserts look even more heavenly. I think the purchase of this was around $10. I kid you not.
So this isn't mine, but I found it for dad. We were driving around St. Paul, and I spotted this. Basically I daughter-pressured him into purchasing it. You wouldn't believe the perfect condition it's in.
Antique Christmas bulbs from Hunt + Gather, my favorite antique store for finding small things- I love that place. For a package of about 15 bulbs cost was $8.
Some fool (well, maybe that was harsh) put this desk out for the garbage in my parent's neighborhood. Then I made two boys haul it up three flights of stairs. It seriously weighs a ton. I'm scared as to how I'll transport this bad boy when I move. It's from the 1940s and could use a pretty coat of paint, at some point. Until now, I'm enjoying the natural look of the wood! Cost was free (my favorite price).
The little gold "K" was found at my second favorite antique store next to Cupcake. I am seriously obsessed with that place and consider it a haven for whenever I need inspiration or a mood pick up. the owner is a kind hearted man with some excellent stories. I've already blogged about my green glass bottle with stopper from Ireland, it's a gem. The "K" I believe was $1.50 and the bottle was 8 euros (worth it!) This pretty quilt was finished for me by some very talented Amish women as a gift from my Grandma. The original and fabrics are antique to my knowledge. Oh, and there's my headboard which I found in the basement of my apartment. Another view of the gorgeous chippy-ness of it:
I love, love, love it all. What I really am hoping to find sometime this summer...
Mary pendant for a necklace in gold
Recoverable sitting chair with to die for bones
More silver frames with elaborate edges
Pillows, hand towels, or throws.
Today I woke up in a really ungrateful mood. It wasn't awful (I've felt worse), but it was significant enough to get me off to a slow start.
Somehow, like all days, the hours passed, and the morning turned to lunch time turned to afternoon.
By the time the sun was high in the sky, I felt better. After all, it was seventy two degree outside in Minneapolis- that should lift any mood.
When I drove up after work Kate was just returning from a walk. She smiled at me, and informed me that we had forgotten crushed tomatoes for our dinner recipe, but all was well- I had a can in the corner of our pantry.
The rest of the evening, we spent cooking the most delicious meal. It was fantastic, and then Becky and Katie (who will kill me for posting this picture) arrived. Even better. We laughed really hard, and my heart was full of happiness.
From ungrateful to joyful thanks to a good meal, sun, and lovely friends.
Reminds me: happiness is as much a choice as many other things. I am a half glass full kind of person, it's time to get with it!
This happy white belt. I have no belts (until now), and for a person with a small waist (don't worry, my booty makes up for it) I should have more. Love it. I just think there's something so fun about this ensemble.
And my lucky stars: I don't have to wear a suit to work. I am sorry, but I have never seen a woman look good in a suit. Goodness no. I can hardly wear an oxford shirt, but that's only because uniform school required me to wear them for a few years...
Happy work days = dresses and skirts
Because I love baking, am half southern, and love the color red: I had to make the most gigantic red velvet cake for my Uncle Steve's birthday. Dear readers, it. was. divine.
I just don't think you can go wrong with red velvet + cream cheese frosting + coconut (almost an entire bag). Loved that we had red candles, too.
I should be asleep, but. Two instances got me thinking:
1-Somehow Kate has collected a large sum of Best Buy gift cards.
"I'm going to get us something for our apt next year" she told me one night when she was flossing her teeth in the bathroom. "Mm, like what?" I imagined something thrilling like a DVD player. "Girl, do you know they sell stand mixers there?"
A while back our little group of friends vowed that for our weddings we would buy each other mixers. "I told a person at work about our little pact to buy mixers, and they looked at me really weird" Kate told me. I shrugged my shoulders. There's nothing weird about getting your whipped cream whipped fast.
2- Two weeks ago Emma and I went to Patina with baby O. Some rude high school girl made a comment to her friend after staring at me about the show 16 and Pregnant. Hm, last time I checked I didn't look sixteen, but actually twenty-five. Which is a perfectly acceptable age to have a baby, and he's not mine anyway. Moving on.
We spotted the newest version of our mutual favorite cookbook- inspired by the mini magazines "Everyday Food" by Martha. I was kind of envious because Emma bought it right there on the spot.
I was so excited because she was so excited, and well- there are some damn good recipes in there.
So the moral of these two stories?
We are modern women, and we are domestic, too. We like to: cook, organize, bake, admire babies, tie on aprons, enjoy flowers, wear pearls, and get dressed up. We also like to: tell men how it rolls, work jobs, get dirty, drive fast, and stand up for what's right.
I am so incredibly blessed to be surrounded by such women. They are constant reminders to me that I am as much girly girl as a I am strength.
Boo Boo and I at my graduation party. One year ago (almost). Wow.
Sometimes, life is sweet. It's been that way for me since, oh, Friday. Here's why:
•Flower Show at Macy's with Katherine. I could smell how good it was all the way from the escalator. I love going downtown, and then dinner afterward. Mm Marketplace :)
•Beautiful, gorgeous, perfect weather. Wearing flip flops for the first time all day long. They kind of hurt (isn't it weird how we wear them 1/2 year long then they are suddenly kind of uncomfortable the second you put them on again after months?)
•Photo shoot with Joy on Sunday. People in this city sometimes have a staring problem. I mean, stop conversation and stare. Hm, uptown equals people watching? I suppose!
•Babystting little W and not-so-baby-anymore O. They are seriously the most adorable children ever. Nothing beats a three-year-old asking you if you poop.
•Interviewing at the. dream. magazine. Not kidding. Always making me remember: not my will, but God's. All is well.
•Finally scrapbooking and loving it and catching up.
Michael Collins and the Troubles: haven't started.
All We Ever Wanted Was Everything: sad, and addictive.
Something Blue: silly, and frivolous.
Under the Banner of Heaven: informative, but stuffy.
