Jolly Holly Sugarplums?

Quite a few days ago I wandered across the border to Oregon land with Solanah to do some shopping. I must have been channeling the Christmas Spirit as I inadvertently left the house dress in my finest Kris Kringle attire. I hadn’t even noticed my festive attire til it was too late to change, and Solanah said I appeared to be Santa’s scandalous daughter. After I celebrated Christmas in April we headed home to work on our new shared space at the antique mall I work at, Old Glory. If you are a local reader, stop into the shop and see our hard work! I work weekends, and sign autographs HA!

Vintage Roadtrip 2011 + Giveaway Winner!

Last weekend, I slacked off. I didn't go through all the entries to my give-away. I went on a road trip instead. I have not had a weekend off from work in nearly 3 months, so I took full advantage of my consecutive free days and hit the road. We wandered off through out Oregon, and thrifted in every town we came across. We crossed mountains, canyons, and a few high deserts covered in snow.



I acquired a good deal of vintage that's heading into ye olde Etsy Shop this week, and spent some much needed time relaxing and having fun.

But, now.. On to the good stuff! Who won the fantastic awesome give-away sponsored by Lolita Girl Clothing, Lucky Cupcake Hairclips, and The Witchery Vintage?
Let's See...

By a random number pick via Random.Org the winner is... DRESS DAME!!!!
Please email me at it.twila.jean@gmail.com Miss to claim your lovely prizes!!!!

Thanks to all who participated, it was great fun! I look forward to many new followers and exciting giveaways in the future.

Fashionable Thrift Trip

This weekend, after a less than amazing Antique Expo, I decided to head back over the bridge to get some more thrifting done, and hopefully come home with a little but more inventory for my etsy shop.
After stopping for a mimosa down the block, and taking some blog pictures I did have a rather successful shopping adventure. After shopping, we just kind of wandered all over the city, before heading home. And yes, my feet were starting to hurt by the end of the day.


Do you love my latest pair of Bordello's? I hope to have a whole closet of them soon! There are so many colors and styles, I would never need anther pair of shoes again.
My hat is one of my few scores from Expo. $8.00 for a slightly cartoonish teal hat? Yes please!

Well, I will post the pictures from expo as soon as I get the rest of the images from Solanah, but til then, go enter the give-aways on her blog, and don't forget about mine!!

Aurora, not the borealis kind

Among a rather large list of things that get me very excited, road trips are somewhere in the top three. I can not, and will not ever turn down a trip anywhere, especially when promises of vintage are involved. (As you might recall... Epic Vintage Road Trip.) This weekend's short distance road trip landed us in Aurora, Or. This is the kind of town that you see in antique magazines for being a destination location of expensive antique acquisition. Basically, its a tiny town that is nothing but antique malls, with heavy price tags.

(Photo taken by Toma Amendolara )

Solanah, of course came along. Where would I be without my best vintage buddy? Toma of Blank Pages notoriety drove us, and brought along Rena who is also a major contributor to the zine.
After being accused of being day-walking vampires, and buying a few pieces of fancy serving dishes we headed out of the town to a farm that belonged to Toma's family.

(photos by Solanah.)

Solanah and I wandered through overgrown grass at the farm and snapped pictures. It was an amazingly sunny and clear day, like a pristine winter day with just the right chill to the air. Thankfully I was wearing a fabulous brown wool dress that I got from Solanah in a trade, it kept me warm while we wandered around barns and hen houses. The hat I am wearing is also from Solanah. It's a handmade 30s style hat from Red Star Art based out of Portland. (Which, as it were, is impossible to find. This artist seems to not want to be found.)

Overall I came home with next to nothing, but the trip itself was quite fun. We stopped at McMenamin's for lunch and pints and then found ourselves back home. I am thankful for little things in my life especially the wonderful friends I get to surround myself with. I had a wonderful weekend, and hope you can say the same.

Junking.

Last night husband surprised me with an impromptu date night! And bless his soul, he offered to take me to the antique mall for our date. How sweet right?
When we met, our favorite past time was "junking" or hunting old junk at thrift stores and antique malls. Clearly, we were meant for each other, as we can spend hours wandering thrifts and vintage shops.
Last night I squealed with joy when one of my favorite booths had these lovely patterns
Each pattern is pinned on to vintage fabric, and has all the original notions that were to go with the making of the piece. metal zippers, matching thread, even bias tape! How neat.. all the hard work has been cut out for me, pun intended. To top it off, they are my size... how could I resist?
The pic above, definitely needs to be clicked for the bigger version to see the glasses and detail on the second pattern... SO CUTE. The Skirt is from 1955, and the Dress is 1957. I am going to try and make them both up this week, if the dress is awesome, its gonna be my new summer staple.

I have caught the sewing bug for sure, I made a dress the other night (pictures and post to come) and since then, I just want sew up everything in my pile. And of course, add more projects to said pile.

Happy Tuesday all!

Hitting the Town with Solanah

I know, I mention her a lot, but seriously, Solanah is nearly my bestest of friends. I am quite fortunate to have a chum who is into vintage, and shopping and best of all, likes my kids! Yesterday we hit the town, doing what we do best: thrift. We headed to portland, and scored quite well vintage wise. After, we shared lunch on Hawthorne, at Bread and Ink Cafe.
I love the above group of pictures, I feel it really identifies my main interests in life. Beer, Food, and Shopping. You would not believe how much food I ordered at lunch, enough for a family I am sure.

Here is a sneak peak at what I scored for my Etsy Shop, and one little dress that I am keeping all for me... The red one with the stripe bow. Seriously then, would you sell it? No, I think not.
Expect these new goodies later this week. Plus a few more pieces, including a decadent 40s rayon dress. Oh, how I love the thrill and excitement that comes along with buying vintage frocks!

20s Style Thrifting

A quick pop in our local American Cancer Society Thrift Store, usually proves fruitless. Their prices are usually exceedingly high, and its all late 90s "Sag Harbor" clothing. Today though, I stumbled upon these little gems and could not resist. And for a small price of $3.00 why would I?
These lovely oxfords are modern-made by Bronx, and are so darn comfy! I love that they have the perfect 20s-30s heel, and that they are white! I am torn on what to do with them. I like them bit they do not match any dress I own, I could sell them to someone who would love them, I could give them to Solanah as they seem to be her style and size. Decisions, decisions...

Back in the Saddle

I am mostly healed from my tooth extractions, and ready to hit the keyboard again. I am sure you all missed me dreadfully over the weekend? Haha.

Today was an eventful day with my ever-favorite real-life blogger buddy, Solanah. We hit the thrift circuit and scored many great dresses for our Etsy Shops. Then we popped over to Hippo Hardware, to look at things I might need to restore my 1941 Bungalow. Hippo Hardware is an amazing salvage shop, full of wonderous old junk and delicious deco decor! Sinks, tubs, lights, door knobs, everything you need for your old house.
Of course while we were out and about we thought to stop and get some in action outfit pictures.
I am wearing my Grandma's fur cardigan, and the 1930s knit dress we thrifted. I pulled my hair into some victory rolls and faux bangs, as this has become my quick hair staple. I was complimented on my hair several times today, so thank you world for the ego boost!

If you are wondering what is going on in the bottom picture, I am standing under the giant hippo, of Hippo Harware. I sometimes get smushed by giant hippos, call it an occupational hazzard.
There you have my highly unusual outfit post du jour. One can't get to secure in one's surroundings, you never know when a giant hippo might appear!

Back to the Bins - Weekend High-lights

I explained the wonderful and disgusting world that is the Goodwill Outlet, or Bins as they are casually known, in this post. But, to give you a solid view of all the unusual artifacts you might uncover while sifting through endless piles of castaways, I present you with this...
Among the underwear, broken glassware, and suitcases, you too can find a bowling ball! See the bins have everything a person could ever need. They also have a huge assortment of sweet tiger shirts from the 80s.

Well, back to real posting on Monday. I just thought I would share this little tid-bit for the weekend crowd.

Spotted!

Solanah and I tend to frequent a few local haunts, and one of them took our picture and featured us on their website! How dandy of them. I seem to be missing some make-up or something? anyway, you can see the website here: Redlight Clothing Exchange.

In other exciting news, I won the give-away over at Dandelion Vintage's Blog, so now I have some great vintage goodies on their way to me. I am quite excited!

The Mystical Land of the Bins

What are the Bins? Not really all that mystical, quite dirty, and a small step above dumpster diving. So what makes the Goodwill Outlet Stores (its formal name) so alluring to us vintage lovers? The fact that among piles of underpants, broken glass, 6 metric tons of Christmas decor, stained bedsheets, and volumes of books, their lies hidden treasures. And you purchase said items, by the pound!
I will admit, its getting harder and harder to find treasures of vintage caliber, as there are many vintage hunters, known as "pickers' who spend hours on end at the bins. Regardless, Solanah and I ventured out to the biggest outlet in our area yesterday. We were marginally successful, only spending $30, and leaving with shoes, purses, 50s nightgowns, a 40s wedding dress, a 60s dress suit set, many skirts and fabric for making more vintage-inspired clothes!

We did encounter some undesirable items, like a few pairs of underwear and an unnerving doll attached to a liquor bottle that "followed" us around the store all day. It was all quite sinister for sure!

(Click to enlarge!! It's exciting, I swear!)

The Bins are scattered all over the US, I am not sure if they have such a thing overseas, but if they do, you should go. But, don't forget your gloves! It gets dirty...

Monday Thrift Trip..

(click to enlarge!)

I met up with darling Solanah yesterday for some thrifting and I was spoiled with good luck and gifts. I have more to post on this subject, but I am heading out so here is a quick run down of this snap shot!

1. my "40s" style oxford heels!!!!!!! These have been on my wishlist for months, and I scored them for $10! What a great deal.
2. Pink 30s Jantzen skirt, a gift from Solanah. How nice of her? Very!
3. A full sized suitcase I got in central Oregon for $2.00 and it matches my set.

I like when life works out in my favor. This has been one of those "it's the little things" moments!

Busy Bettie

Sorry for the silence.
I have nearly a million seperate posts I need to make, but I have been outrageously busy this week.

I GOT THE MODELING GIG!
I think it should work out well.. stay tuned for that!

I have been shopping like mad, to fill my ETSY shop, so I can re-purchase my camera that was stolen from my shop.
I am doing ok, except that items are magically finding their way into my closet instead of my Etsy.

I will leave you with this image of my Terrible Three Year Old Son
Wearing my new 50s sunglasses! What a score $25!!! They are a keeper for sure. I guess the kid is as well.