I finally opened a shop!  I'm hoping I can make a little money to start buying some vintage items to put in here!!!  I need to find good homes for all the stuff I don't have room for.  Save Our Vintage!!!

Icons of Music by RedRobotCreative

I was searching through Etsy the other day and found this shop by RedRobotCreative.  Aren't these prints so awesome?!  I love all the bright colors and patterns the artist has used in the pieces.  Not to mention the subject matter. I am really thinking about getting the Stevie Wonder one.  My husband and I share a deep love for him and his music and it would be a great addition to our home!  It gives off such a 70s funky feeling.  I also really like the Frank Sinatra one for the midcentury inspired background.  Decisions, decisions.  Maybe my husband could make it for me and get it for Valentine's Day (hint, hint, Dan). Which is your favorite?

Obscure Books I Want

I love any kind of out of the ordinary books.  Chronicle makes a lot of them and they also always seem to be printed in a different format or on different kinds of paper.  I like that stuff and it probably makes me a nerd, but oh well!  I recently went to the Urban Outfitters store in Minneapolis and was surprised to find a whole section of the store dedicated to all the books they carry.  So, of course, when I got home I had to check online.  I found a couple I would really love and thought I'd share!

1.  The Virgin Suicides 

2.  Icons of Men's Style

3.  The Hangover Cookbook

4.  What the F*ck Should I Make for Dinner?

5.  Record Collecting for Girls

6.  The Great American Ale Trail

If I had a Million Dollars...

I don't know if anyone else out there has ever visited Zara.com, but it is amazing!  They have a lot of plain pieces.  I know that sounds horrible, but I like to have items in my wardrobe that are plain.  Just a simple pair of pants, or a skirt, or even a t-shirt.  It amazes me how hard it is to find items like that.  I don't like all the frilly things that they put on clothes all the time (they do have some of those pieces, too!).  This website kind of reminds me of an upscale Old Navy, but a whole lot better.

The designs remind me of vintage inspired pieces, but that are still modern.  Make sense?  You should go check out the website if you have not been there before. 

1.  Sailor Bowling Bag - $79.90
2.  Plain Basket Shopper - $109.00
3.  Raffia Messenger Bag - $79.90
4.  Two-Tone Rigid Bowling Bag - $169.00
5.  Small Leather Messenger Bag - $29.90
6.  Plaited Shopper - $149.00
7.  Mummy and Me Handbag - $89.90
8.  Basic Bowling Bag - $79.90

Etsy Seller: The Fancy Lamb

Name:  The Fancy Lamb

Location:  St. Louis, MO

Highest Priced Item:  $188.00

Lowest Priced Item:  $4.50

Items Sold:  1592

Items on Sale:  319

Odds are if you are visiting this blog, you like vintage.  So, you might be as excited as I am about this store.  Its called The Fancy Lamb and it is all things vintage.  There's vintage books, household items, patterns, cameras, train cases and, my favorite, journals made out of old hardcover books!

If you're like me, you like hoarding notebooks.  I don't know what it is about being a woman, but cute notebooks and nice pens bring me a lot of joy for some reason.  The one below if made from a Southeast Asia book, but there are so many others!  Textbooks, story books, other journals and more.  The pages inside are lined, but there are others with plain white.  They come in all different sizes and prices.  She even adds a couple of pages from the original book.  If you buy one, and fill it up, she'll give you instructions on how to refill it yourself!  I really want this so bad!!!

The rest of the items in the shop are vintage pieces she has found on her own.  I found a new love for train cases, and she has so many cute ones!  Enjoy!

Good ol' Pyrex.  I love green!  I may need to add this to my wishlist...

Old Dominos.  She suggests to use them in an art project.  It would make a cool picture frame or kids table.

Adorable yellow plaid picnic basket.

I used to have a typewriter that I would use to write down random stuff.  She has so many in the shop.  Its really making me want to buy another one.  I love the sound of the keys hitting the paper.  Its incredibly loud, and I know my husband would hate me, but it feels so awesome using one!

If I had a Million Dollars...

I am now 25 weeks pregnant and found out yesterday I will be having a girl!!!  I am also getting so pregnant that I cannot fit into any of my normal clothes anymore.  None of my bathing suits either.  Everything I wear is all pregnancy stuff.  Well, I do wear a couple of shirts, but they're not extra long and you can see that really awesome navy elastic that is on my pregnancy shorts.  Its pretty hot. 

After going through labor and getting back to a smaller version of myself with my first child, I have found a new confidence in me I didn't really have before.  I find myself looking through bathing suits and saying "hey, that might actually look good on me!"  when the thought of me being in a bathing suit used to disgust me.  I am so sad that I will be pregnant during the ENTIRE summer, and won't be able to wear any of these swimsuits.  I just might have to buy one for next year!

Pink Fluorescent Stripe Triangle Bikini - Topshop.com - $55.00
Mauve Polka Big Pant Bikini - Topshop.com - $66.00
IRON FIST Zombie Chomper Womens Swimsuit Set - Tillys.com - $47.99
Scallop Stripe Bandeau Bikini - Topshop.com - $55.00
Polka-dot bandeau bikini by Flamingo Sands - TheOutNet.com - $56.00
Red Stripe Ring Bandeau Bikini - Topshop.com - $55.00

By the way, if you  have never browsed on Topshop.com, I highly recommend it.  The clothes are amazing!!!

If I had a Million Dollars...

I am pretty much obsessed with looking at stuff on the internet I cannot afford.  Nothing that's too extravagant, just things that I can't buy for myself right now.  If I actually was able to buy the things, I probably wouldn't get as much joy out of them as I do thinking about me owning them.  Haha.  Maybe its how they say they the fantasy is better than reality. 

So, I thought I'd share a couple of my findings today.  The theme today is wedge heels.  I really want to start wearing heels, but I have NO skills in walking in them.  Hence, why I'm showing wedges.  They are all so beautiful!

Descriptions are from left to right, like you're reading a book.

Me Too 'Princess' Espadrille Slingback $59
Seychelles 'Harlow' Espadrille Sandal $95
Diba Dance With Me - Red Satin Stripe $59
WINNIE Fuschia Suede T-Bar Espadrille Wedges $130
Giuseppe Zanotti Design Sandals $650
Paloma Barceló Natalia suede espadrille wedges $305 (185 GBP)
Melissa Shoes Patchuli - Peach $155 (145 AUD)
Delanna Sandal $255 (155 GBP)
Restricted Ann Wedge - Black $50

Happy (One-Day-Out-of-the-Year-that-People-Pretend-They-Care-for-the) Earth Day!

I'm going to admit, that I'm not the most earth friendly person in the world.  I have been trying to get better, but my first motivation, for the most part, isn't to help save the earth.  Haha.  Great way to start an Earth Day themed blog.  My first concern is keeping my family and I healthy and maybe saving some money.  I do get satisfaction knowing that some of the things we do help the environment.  We recently bought a hybrid SUV, but our motivation there was to save money.  Our old one only got about 13 mpg and the new one gets 30 mpg, which helps us so much!  We do recycle, so I guess that is one thing that we do that is for the earth.  Now I don't feel so bad!

Since its Earth Day, I have a couple of sites that I wanted to share to help celebrate.

First, my friend, Rebecca, showed me a site called The Perennial Plate.  It is a website with about 10 minute webisodes from Daniel Klein, an experienced chef, all about all kinds of good food and exactly where it comes from.  Not from a factory, but from the farms and people that created it. 
The first season, Klein went around Minnesota visiting different people that practice sustainable living.  The episodes were posted every Monday for a year.  He visited a woman who gave up her career in corporate America to raise her own sheep and make her own cheese, a man that goes through the process of making your own maple syrup, and a couple who converted half of their garage into a green house (I want to do this!!!).  These are only a couple of the 52 that are posted. 
The second season will be starting on May 9th.  In this season he will be traveling all over the country to different places with the same sustainable philosophies.  If you know of any farm or person in your area that would make a good story, you can email the site and they may consider stopping!

If you live in Raleigh, or will be there this Saturday (like me!), the Handmade Market will be in downtown at Cobblestone Hall in City Market.  There will be 50 different vendors selling all their awesome handmade stuff!  It starts at 11am and goes till 5pm.  Admission is free, and if you are one of the first to arrive you get a free gift.  They are holding the market to raise money for Toxic Free NC, which is an organization that is fighting pesticide pollution in North Carolina.  If you give any kind of donation you will get a raffle ticket for a chance to win a gift basket. 

Blue Rose Reusables

My friend, Nikita, started a small business selling eco-friendly snack and sandwich bags.  They are adorable!  She has found some incredibly cute fabric!  You can buy a couple of these for Earth Day to help celebrate.  I'm getting the purple ones!  She doesn't have a website, but you can like her store by going to Facebook and putting Blue Rose Reusables in the search bar.  Or you can just click the link above.  Here's some info from her site and some pictures of the bags:

"These adorable and stylish snack bags are completely environmentally friendly! Stop using all those plastic snack bags! Fill these bags with your kids edibles and when you are done simply turn them inside out for a quick wash in the sink. For heavily soiled bags simply turn them inside out and throw them in the washing machine! Hang dry."