Vintage Peach.

 

details: vintage dress & necklace via Beacon's Closet| belt & shoes via Value Village| tote via made

Today {day 3 of staycation} was pretty low key. We started with breakfast at one of my favorite places, which was a bust if you saw my tweet but decided to not let it ruin our day and go for a little stroll in the neighborhood. We popped in at the art supply store for Soner, then checked for a venue for my birthday party. Along the way we stopped for some outfit pics, since I know you guys miss them {haha, kidding, not really}.

I'm trying to get all my projects done with before this weekend since I'll be wanting to spend most of my time with this lucky lady who just happened to win a trip to NYC {more on that later, it's pretty coincidental}. Hopefully tonight turns into a more productive one as I've been finding it hard to stay cooped up indoors on such beautiful sunny days! On that note, must get going!

Simple Sangria.

Tonight we decided that it was going to be Mexican night. It was originally supposed to be tomorrow but I think just the thought of some delicious sangria and chips with guacamole, we couldn't wait another day. Since it was a last minute decision, I decided to throw together this basic sangria recipe together knowing that I wouldn't be able to let the fruit marinate in the wine for very long. Turns out is was one of the best sangria drinks we've made. 

Here's what I used: 

1 pear, chopped in small pieces

1 peach, chopped in small pieces

2 sprigs of mint

1/2 lime juice or lemon

1 bottle of cheap sweet red wine 

{and I do mean cheap. I bought mine at the grocery store for $6.99}

1 cup of Ginger Ale

* I wanted to add raspberries but i forgot to add them in. I bet it'd be delicious though!

Basically throw everything into a pitcher, add some ice and chill until ready to serve. 

Using the softer fruit helps it absorb the wine flavor faster.

Enjoy!

Day one.

As my first day of vacation comes to an end, I can honestly say that I am so happy we decided to stay in the city. Staying home, I feel that I'm getting so much stuff done and also being able to enjoy our neighborhood at a slower pace. Even though I slept in a little later than I wanted to I'm telling myself that it's completely acceptable.

details: sweater via Beacon's Closet| jeans via cheap monday| clogs c/o BC Shoes|

hat via Urban Outfitters| purse via Value Village

I started my day with a run over at the track near our place. It comes in handy having a park a few blocks from you when you don't really feel like committing to the gym. The gorgeous sunny weather also helped me get my butt out there. After that, both Soner and I got right to work on each of our own projects. I'm working on getting all of the t-shirts done for the Fashion Night Out launch (more details here) and Soner is working on his artwork for the New York Art Book Fair at the end of September. See what I mean by busy bees? This is why the staycation was a good idea for us. After a little while, we took a walk out to grab some lunch and take a few pictures. I have to say that after today, I'm kind of wishing that I got to work form home more often. The freedom you have is pretty awesome. I've never really experienced anything other than a 9-5 (8-6pm in NYC). I'm just going to assume that after a while the novelty wears off. Well that's it for me today, hope everyone else's day was great!

Date Bars.

Last night when we were "hunkered" down indoors because of the hurricane, I couldn't help but want to make some kind of treat. Not wanting to fuss with the oven, I found this recipe for date bars that simply require being chilled. It's all pretty easy and is all done in a food processor. The outcome is a nutritious, healthy snack.

Here's what you need:

12 dates (or amount that yields 1/2 cup)

2 tablespoons nut butter (almond, cashew, sunflower)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup oats

1/2 cup your choice of nuts/seeds (i used sunflowers seeds)

1/4 cup flaked coconut

1/4 cup raisins or other dried fruit

What you do:

1. In the food processor, puree the dates.

2. Add the nut butter, agave, and vanilla, and pulse until incorporated into the date mixture.

3. Pour in the oats, nuts/seeds, coconut and dried fruit, and process until everything is well combined.

4. Press the mixture in a shallow palstic container, chill, and cut into squares.

*This recipe can also be made raw by replacing the oats with more nuts/seeds and use vanilla bean instead of extract.

Enjoy!

Housekeeping.

It's here! My staycation is now underway! And to celebrate, I'm going to stay indoors and brace myself for a hurricane??! What the? Here's to hoping that it's not as bad as everyone is predicting and these are all simply precautions!

First things first, the winner of the Vintage Urban Renewal Giveaway is:

Congratulations Nicole! I'll be in contact with you shortly. 

Second, I wanted to share with you the flyer for the Fashion Night Out event I'm co-hosting with Dusty Rose Vintage. We're working on a launch of 100 re-worked vintage tees for FNO that will be available at the Artists & Fleas as well as online (for those who can't make it to the event). 

Part of the proceeds  will be donated to Permanent Wave. A group of women that are breaking down the barriers for ladies in the music/art industry. They believe in women collaborations instead of competitors. You can check them out on Facebook if you're interested in getting involved. 

Now off to get some supplies for this weekend! Stay safe if your in the Northeast!

Staycation plans.

With the end of this week fast approaching I can't help but get excited about my staycation next week. Yeah, weird right? I have a whole week off yet I'm staying in town for it. Soner and I had originally planned to attend a wedding in Seattle. Then it turned into a Seattle/Vancouver trip. Then it turned into a L.A./ Seattle/Vancouver trip. Then everything got dropped except for Vancouver, and well since we're apparently too busy to plan a proper vacation, it turned into this staycation.

So, I've been coming up with a list of things I want to get done next week and hopefully, I'll get about 75% of these things checked off:

- Work on my blog header & other few blog design things

- Get the rest of the 100 t-shirts done for Fashion Night Out.

- Go to the gym or running track at least 4 times

- Wake up at 8am to get stuff done

- Plan a picnic in the park with Soner

- Possibly get out of the city for one night

- Do at least 5 outfit  photoshoots

- Organize closet to get ready for Fall

- Do a drop off at either Beacon's or Buffalo, or both!

- Have at least one weekday brunch with friends {this to me sounds luxurious}

- Get a proper mani/pedi

Hmm, am I missing anything? I feel like with the amount of stuff I accomplish on my nights and weekends, having a whole week off should be so easy to get things accomplished. Wish me luck!

And now since I don't like posting without a picture, here's me and my niece Adesse, sporting her first thrifted onesie. {I couldn't help myself at Value Village}

Birthday time.

Here are a few more pictures from Saturday's pirate party. 

Pirate cupcakes for the birthday boy.

I think my mom found this at the dollar store in the Halloween section. It was perfect for the occasion.

Quinn enjoying his birthday cupcakes.

It's always fun to get a present that's bigger than you are. Look at his face. He doesn't even know what to do with it. 

Of course we unpacked it and he climbed right in. A baby in a box picture is always a classic.

My family surprised me with my own vegan chocolate birthday cake! They bought it at the vegetarian/vegan restaurant The Green Door in Ottawa. I highly recommend this spot for lunch. 

Quinn gave me this piece of artwork. Yup, he finger painted this masterpiece just for moi. I'm highly impressed with his skills and this is definitely going up on our wall soon.

I have a lot more pictures to post but I wanted to keep the niece vs nephew posts separate. You know, as to not play favorites. So expect some more pictures coming tomorrow! 

Non related, how crazy was that earthquake today?? I work on the 4th floor in a Midtown building in Manhattan and felt the ground under me shaking! I know you West coaster's are  used to it, but i don't think i'll ever get used to the idea of the earth shaking beneath my feet. Maybe that's just me. I like to think it's mother earth telling us to stop destroying this planet. 

Pirate banner

This past weekend, I took a trip up north to visit my family in Ottawa, ON. Not only was it Quinn's (my nephew) 1st birthday but I also got to see my brand new niece of one week, Adesse. Since I have over 400 pictures to sort through, I thought I'd start with posting pictures of Quinn's birthday banner that Soner and I offered to make. Since he was having a pirate themed bash, we thought of every "pirate thing" imaginable to make up the letters.

The banner is mostly made out of felt that we cut out using paper stencils then pinning them to the felt and cutting the shapes. We used tacky glue to glue them on to the triangles and then Soner used his magic with puffy paints and googly eyes for the details. I was pretty proud of the outcome and am looking forward to trying this again.

Giveaway time!

Well, yesterday I promised you a special post, and since I {always} keep my promises, here it is! That shirt I was wearing yesterday? you know that really cool one with the tiki ladies printed all over it? Well, it was just one of the cool finds you'll get from etsy shop Vintage Urban Renewal!

Today, I've collaborated with them to offer one lucky reader  a $25 gift certificate!

 I wanted to do something a little different and asked shop owner Michelle a few questions in order to know more about the person behind the shop! Here's what she had to share:

1. Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

My name is Michelle, I grew up in Boston and married someone from Hawaii named Jon. We met halfway in between in a small rural valley in Southern Oregon called Grants Pass, where we live with our two daughter's Olivia and Maddie, a cat named Bagheera and four chickens. 


2. What got you into vintage selling?


To keep ourselves busy in our sleepy little town, we own a snow and skate shop and a small new and used clothing boutique as well as a Japanese restaurant.  Buying used clothing for our store, I realized that our town is a great place to buy vintage clothing but does not have much in the way of buyers, due to the abundance of retired people. That is why I decided to open an etsy shop about 18 months ago by the name of Vintage Urban Renewal.

3.What is the thing you like most about your job as a vintage seller?

Growing up in the 70s and 80s has given me a great nostalgic love for bohemian and retro style clothing which seems to find it's way into my life in large quantities. I love wearing and styling this era of clothing and have passed this on to my daughter's who also have come to appreciate the quality and beauty of vintage pieces. Some of our best family memories are packing up our vintage mercedes that runs on veggie oil from our restaurant and going on a road trip to all the small towns in Oregon and Northern California looking for those hidden thrift stores, where that incredible one of a kind piece is just waiting to be discovered. 

4. Tell us about one item that made you think twice about not keeping it for yourself! (what was it? why you liked it?)

One of the hardest parts about buying and selling vintage is: YOU CAN'T KEEP EVERYTHING THAT YOU BUY. Luckily it does not all fit me especially shoes. Which brings me to another interesting observation: THE CUTEST ITEMS ARE USUALLY THE SMALLEST. Even in my most determined moments when I found a pair of tall, fringed leather boots with turquoise stones embellished on them from the 70s made in Spain, I could not squeeze my size 9 feet into their size 6.5 bohemian loveliness. This is where my daughter's come in, because most everything fits them and they have now become a part of the business, buying items, listing items, and modeling items.

Another huge challenge for me is inventory management and my newest endeavor to get control of this beast is a 24' vintage 1964 trailer that i am converting into a studio for taking pics and storing items as well as using as an office. I can't tell you how excited I am to transform this and make it my own space.

5. Any tips you've learned along the way to pass on to new vintage sellers?


The biggest tip I can give to newbie vintage sellers would be: JUST BECAUSE IT'S VINTAGE DOESN'T MEAN YOU SHOULD SELL IT. What I mean by that is, over time I have come to define better and better what I want to sell as opposed to just selling anything. Figure out what you want your shop to look like, will you use a mannequin or live models, will you specialize in a certain era or type of clothing, will you sell higher or lower priced items, are your customers young working women or older collectors. can you find a certain abundance of these items easily, etc.  Whatever you sell should interest and excite you. Do not sell fancy gowns from the 50s if that is not your forte, no matter how much someone else is making on etsy selling that item.

 Above all---Be true to who you are.---and everything else will fall into place.

***

What an amazing lady! I mean, a vintage Mercedes that runs on veggie oil? What about her cute daughter that models for the shop!! I'm so glad I got to know this wonderful woman through this collaboration! 

 And now to enter the giveaway:


1. Visit Vintage Urban Renewal and tell me which item from the shop is your fave! 


2. Don't forget to leave me your email so I can contact you if you win. 

**For extra entries, tweet or mention this giveaway in your blog post! {Don't forget to come back and let me know that you did so.}


Giveaway ends on Friday August 26th at noon! Good luck to everyone that enters! This is an international giveaway.

vintage shirt.

details: shirt via Vintage Urban Renewal| jeans, BDG via Julie| 

shoes via Value Village| necklace via Beacon's Closet|

Last night I got together with a few of my girlfriends, and their fella's to watch an outdoor screening of Wayne's World. Remember this post when it got rained out and I was really bummed out? Well, turns out they keep some extra rain dates at the end of the summer to replay any movie that got cancelled. Next week's movie is Clueless, and I'm pretty sure I'll be watching that one too!

So I got into a casual outfit, grabbed my beach chair and settled in with some delicious vegan food from the V-Spot tent and some friends to relive all of the Wayne and Garth awesomeness. 

I have a super special post for tomorrow so make sure to check back! Hint, it has something to do with where I got this shirt! It's pretty great isn't it?? 

polka dots.

details: dress via swap w/ Megan| belt via value village| shoes via Jeffrey Campbell

Please excuse the serious face in the last two pictures. Turns out people LOVE to stare at you when someone is taking your picture. Probably my biggest pet peeve really. Another lovely dress from my swap with Megan that I was hesitating to wear due to its long sleeve but alas, Monday was the perfect opportunity to wear it {with tights!} since it was so rainy and chilly out.  It's funny because I actually own this dress in White. You can see my outfit posts with it here. 

Alright, enough small talk! I"m heading out to the park to watch an outdoor screening of Wayne's World with my girls!!

spin pins.

Here's a super easy hairstyle that can be done in a matter of minutes. The secret? Goody Spin pins. I discovered these the other day while browsing the hair accessory aisle at Duane Reade. Since I've been looking for another option besides hair elastics which can be quite damaging, I thought I'd try them out. They're really easy to work with but need a little more reinforcing with a few bobby pins (for my hair length & texture anyway).

Here, I recreated the hairstyle from the BHLDN night I attended a few weeks ago.

1. Start with dry hair. I used some styling spray on mine & curled it a little with a flat iron.

2. Loosely twist hair to the side. 

The messier the better, I suggest you tease your hair and then twist.

3. Coil it up right in back of your ear.

4. You'll need 2 spin pins and a few bobby pins,

5. Insert the spin pins by twisting them clockwise into your bun. 

You can place them anywhere but just make sure you don't cross them.

6. Secure any loose ends with a few bobby pins.

lunch date.

details: dress via kensiegirl| shirt & necklace via value village| Worischofer shoes c/o Modcloth

After our lunch yesterday, we had some time to walk around the city and shop a little bit. We stumbled upon this church and decided to venture in and take a few pictures. I loved this little courtyard and big stone walls. I also remember taking a ghost tour last year and starting at this very church since the rumors are that it's being haunted by Peter Stuyvesant. Pretty cool right? New York has no shortage of crazy history to be uncovered. 

I convinced Soner to let me take a few pictures of him as well. We had a nice little photo session before continuing our  day of shopping around. It was a beautiful sunny Friday afternoon and I'm going to be sad when our Summer Fridays/Summer ours comes to an end. In NY {if your lucky} you half days every Friday starting on memorial day weekend and up until labor day. It's so nice to be able to get your weekend started just a tad earlier, especially if you're heading out of town, which I think is common here in the city.