Monday, July 29, 2013

Thrift Haul'n

 1. Ceramic French Bulldog.




I mean isn't he cute?



2. 50's Lady head vase. 





 I saw this amazing episode of the Antonio Treatment on HGTV a million years ago (or at least before it was cancelled, was it cancelled?). Anyway it was this cool family that lived in a 50's house and the wife was obsessed with all things 50's. She had some of the coolest collections ever, one of which was of head vases and they were soo cool.  Video for proof:

I knew after the episode that I wanted to collect them, but haven't really pulled the trigger on any until now. This one was $30, which isn't too bad, so I figured i'd get it. I found it at the cottage house, a local vintage occasional sale place. I like the cottage house but a lot of the people that sell there tend to like the shabby chic look. So i'll find a piece of furniture I like but it'll be shittly painted green and distressed, which really isn't my style. I like wood, I wish people would just leave wood alone.


3. Made in Japan red lotus dish







  I first saw these bowls on A living space and thought they looked really cool. I've found a lot of remakes of them that are a lot bigger and generally white or black, which are cool but not the vintage ones I was looking for. Then I found a mint one at Value Village and recently this red. I just think they're cute.

 4. Mid century buffet/credenza































After helping my friend run some errands and visiting one Savers with her I decided after dropping her off to go to Bloomington and check out that savers as they were having their pre-fourth of July sale for Savers club card members. I figured if I went Sunday I could focus on going to other Savers I don't frequent as often on Monday when it was 50% off for everyone. So while browsing the furniture, I have a set route I take at thrift stores that some day I'll write about, I came across this cool mid-century buffet. A lady was looking at it when I first spotted it and I immediately hoped she was just checking it out. Thankfully she was. I looked at it, took a picture of it, then went and looked at dresses and shoes to mull it over. Soon I came back and one of the employees came up and started talking to me. After a little bit I thought it was worth the $25.00 price tag and I'd probably regret it if I didn't get it. I mean look at those sexy legs! I think the guy kinda liked me because he gave me half off the thing even though I'm pretty sure furniture was excluded from the sale, but I'm not one to fuck up a discount. I was worried it wouldn't fit in my tiny little car but luckily it kinda sorta did. I did though have to drive home with my back door ajar and tied to my car with an Ethernet cord, kinda sketch but it worked out. I've been looking for a similar mid-century piece to use as storage for awhile so it was one of those come to Jesus moments when you find something you've been wanting for a long time. I have these two plastic organizers full of papers in my room that I've been dying to get rid of, so I plan to purge some of the paper and put the rest in the new buffet. The buffet isn't in mint condition, it has a chip on one of the sliding doors and one of it's corners but for $16.00 bucks you really can't complain too much.

5. Metal Crate




I've always liked the look of milk crates, maybe it's my love of dairy or maybe just that cool industrial look. When I saw this one at the thrift store it I knew I had to get it. It reminded me of a similar one I pinned ever so long ago from Urban Outfitters (for 40 bucks). Luckily this one is a real milk crate and was a cool 2 dollars. I'd call that a bargain. I'm gonna use it for cool industrial looking storage, maybe for books maybe not, we'll see.

6. Tiki Mugs GALORE!








I picked up all of these at a local Savers on their 4th of July Sale day. Since I already went to my usual Savers for the Savers club pre-sale the day before I was free to go to two of my favorite thrifts that I don't visit as often because they're not as convenient. Anyway I always search the housewares section during sale days, especially at Savers stores since their discount generally only applies to clothes, shoes, and accessories. So while everyone is looking through the stuff that's on sale you can scoop up some really cool things, that are still pretty cheap, in the section that isn't on sale. I found these beauts while checking the section for a second time. I think only one of the cups is actually vintage but I love a tiki mug and don't really care if it's vintage or not. One is actually from a local tiki restaurant, Psycho Suzi's that makes you put down a deposit if you order a drink with a fancy mug and if you decided to keep it $5 is added to your bill, if not they don't charge you.  I guess people were walking away with the mugs, but can you blame them?  Anyway I was glad I got to grow my tiki collection, it's really shaping up nicely.

7. Fiestaware Yellow Pitcher





This is really for my mom. I love fiestaware but she's invested in a whole dinner set of fiesta and is always on the lookout for more. So whenever I see fiestaware on a thrift excursion I usually pick it up for her. We already have a similar pitcher in red but I love the pitchers and I think the fun of Fiestaware is the ability to mix and match, so the more options, the more colors the better. The pitcher was a little pricey for a thrift store at $25.00 but It's fiestaware and pretty much everyone knows it's collectable so they price it accordingly. Plus I looked online and it was still cheaper than the similar pitchers I found (even the ones on sale), plus it's for my mom.

8.  Green Haeger Gondola Planter



























I try not to buy a ton of planters, unless they're really cool, as I don't have much of a green thumb and nothing really ever gets planted in them. But this little gondola guy was just too cool to pass up.


As always I'm linking up with A Living Space, Apron Thrift Girl, Remnant and Sir Thrift-A-Lot so go check out  everyone's cool thrift finds!

Wednesday, July 24, 2013

Crop it to me Capin'





Top: ASOS Skirt: Ebay (American Apparel) Sandals: DV by Dolce Vita Bracelet: Nasty Gal
 
        I wore this outfit to the opening of my best friends first solo art show. If you're in the twin cities you can check out the show until August 7th at the Uptown Smitten Kitten. If you want to check out her art but don't live in Minnesota you can go to her blog (just an FYI some of her art is NSFW) and/or check out her facebook page.
          I've been wanting to try crop tops recently. I'm not gonna lie I was a little afraid of them at first, flashbacks to  middle school and the strong body image issues I had back then when crop tops/ tube tops grazed the midriffs of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera ran rampant in my mind. But after seeing so many bloggers of all sizes rocking them I decided to give them a try, and I have to say I kinda like them.  I got this one and a matching white one from ASOS for pretty cheap to wear with high waisted bottoms etc. Turns out they were just what I needed to re-invigorate my maxi skirts.

Wednesday, July 17, 2013

All Black Everythig





Top: H&M Skirt & Necklace : ASOS Shoes: Target Bracelet: Nasty Gal

           I wore this last month to go to a club for my friend's birthday. Looking back I should have injected more color into the outfit as it was Gay Pride weekend here in Minneapolis and we were at a Gay bar, but I've really been into black lately. I also should have worn a short sleeved shirt, It was kinda cold outside so I made a last minute long sleeve shirt decision that I immediately regretted when I went to the second floor of the club and it was sweltering. Your live and you learn I guess. Anyway I wore those heels all night, which is kind of an accomplishment as I'm not much of a heel girl. Those booties  have a very thick heel and are kind of like wearing a wedge so they're pretty comfortable, my feet did start to hurt towards the end of the night but not too badly. Anyway I'm gonna try and wear more heels, I have a really cute pair I want to wear I just have to figure out where. Anyway the club was packed and we definitely had some interesting run ins. I didn't dance as much as I wanted to but I did have a really good time.

Monday, July 15, 2013

Mississippi Road Trip: Springfield

         When my mom and I visited Taliesin last year the tour guide recommended we visit the Dana-Thompson house in Springfield, Illinois. That apparently planted a seed in my mom's head and this year for her birthday she wanted to go on a road-trip to see the house. We ended up also going to Memphis (my idea) and St. Louis (as it's only an hour away from Springfield). Springfield, honestly, isn't the most exciting place to visit but it does have a lot of historical things to see. Aside for the Dana-Thomas house it is also the capital of Illinois and the place Abraham Lincoln called home for most of his adult life, before he became President. Here's a little taste of Springfield (photo HEAVY post) :

The Dana-Thomas House. 
           Like most Frank Lloyd Wright houses I wasn't able to take pictures inside the house, but you can just tell from the outside how spectacular it is. Ms. Dana was a Springfield socialite who inherited a ton of money from her dad and built a house to entertain in on the lot of her dad's former home. Frank Lloyd Wright was notorious for going over budget so the Dana-Thomas house is a marvel to see because he was pretty much given carte blanche, which means it's a must-see for Frank Lloyd Wright fans.


Friday, July 12, 2013

Fourth O' July style

   


         
Top: target skirt: ASOS shoes: DV by dolce vita 

        This Fourth of July I was grateful for many things, but mostly that I didn't feel like death. The day before I felt awful so it was soo nice to just be able to be out and about like a normal person. Anyway I worked for most of the fourth and didn't really have concrete plans until after work at about 7pm.  My friend that I usually go see fireworks with was busy working so I went with a good friend from work. Luckily my friend lives really close to the (Mississippi) river, which is one of the places that has fireworks in/ around Minneapolis. So I parked at her house and we walked to the river. We watched fireworks from the stone arch bridge and then has some delicious food truck food. The weather was amazing  and it was a really fun night. 
        On to the outfit! I had a couple outfits in mind for this festive occasion but decided to go with this one after figuring out where I was going. Last year I went all red, white and blue and felt a little hokey. You can do patriotic really well and cool or you can do it badly and look like an elementary school teacher rocking a Fourth of July themed sweater vest. I had a tamed down outfit picked out that still had red, white, and blue but decided I just wasn't in the mood for it. So I went with this asos skirt I recently purchased and a simple white scoop neck top. I like the outfit although in hindsight white wasn't the best color for my food truck excursion. It could use a little more something but it was pretty hot out and it was a nice easy breezy outfit for the fourth.

Tuesday, July 9, 2013

Hmong Freedom Celebration 2013

          Last Saturday I went with a good friend from work to the Hmong Freedom Celebration. It's an annual event held in Como Park in St. Paul. The main draw is a big Soccer tournament that they hold, but they also have a beauty and talent competitions as well as food and vendors selling all sorts of goodies. The parking was crazy, we ended up parking in the Como Zoo overflow lot and taking a shuttle to the zoo then walking to the festival. Anyway it was really fun, we didn't really get to watch any of the soccer, as my friend had to work later that day. But we walked around ate and had a good time. We even went to the Zoo afterward for a while, which made us feel better about parking in the Zoo lot.

Monday, July 1, 2013

Bloglovin' it




Hey guys! Just a reminder that Google Reader Offically closes it's proverbial doors July 1st. If you don't already you can follow me on Bloglovin' and there's still (fleeting) time to transfer all you blogs from google reader to Bloglovin'.