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In Her Closet-Latest Thrift Finds

Late 70's Christian Dior Lace Skirt-I'm wanting all shades of cocoa for summer, so I may have squealed when I spotted this skirt on the rack.

80's Grid Silk Top-I have a habit of picking up these little tops in every thrift store I visit. I have this crazy idea that everything will eventually be made of polyester and I'll never find a cute print in a breathable fabric again. 

Late 70's Halston Matte Jersey Maxi Skirt-The original minimal.

Early 80's Bill Blass Check Separates-I'm loving my matching tops and bottoms. I'm thinking about having the skirt hemmed short. 

90's Express Diamond Pattern Skirt in Forest Green-I have a feeling I'll be wearing this a lot in the fall with tights.

80's Polka Dot Peplum Dress-Couldn't have asked for a more spot on piece for spring 2012.

Late 60's red silk jacket from Saks Fifth Avenue-I was crossing fingers, legs, and toes in the dressing room that this would fit me.

For a long time I had to turn a blind eye to home stuff when I was at the flea market or thrift store. Now I have to bolt pass the racks of clothes and concentrate on buying things for our new (but very old) house.

Well, until this week, when I knew my local thrift store was having their big kick off event for the new season. They stock the store from top to bottom with fresh donations. 

As you can see, I'm still obsessed with prints, especially checks and grid patterns. I bought a couple more pieces, but they are already getting cleaned up. I'm particularly over-the-moon about a suit from the 1960's. Both pieces are made from the heaviest white silk shantung, with the dress having a jewel encrusted v-neckline. I feel a little Jackie O in it, can't wait to show you guys. 

Photography: Moodboard

 

 

Windows Inside the House?

We have a row of tilt windows on the wall that divides the dining room from the kitchen. I've tried doing some research on google, but unfortunately I just get page after page discussing windows on the outer walls of the house. 

Any smarties out there know the windows purpose if they were made to be inside? Heat/air transfer? Or any other thoughts on what you think happened?

When we first looked at the house we planned on removing that wall to expand the kitchen. Of course, it is the first thing that attracts guests when they walk into the dining room and they all say "no!" when we tell them our plans. We have to reassure them that we want to repurpose the windows later on. There's an attic that we hope to turn into a guest suite/storage room down the road.

I was advised to just live in the house as-is for a while and let IT dictate what you really need to change. I'm glad I listened to that advice. The kitchen remodel I wanted to start on immediately has been put off because we are quickly realizing that the upstairs bathroom just isn't working for us. All of a sudden that small kitchen became not so bad;) Wrestling with shower curtains every morning in a cumbersome clawfoot tub? Not so good.

(This is the staging furniture. Our dining set can be seen in this post)

 

Masterpiece's Great Expectations

I got so caught up in the big screen adaptation of Great Expectations that I almost missed the made-for-tv version happening April 1. Bring it, Masterpiece!

Another eerily beautiful Miss Havisham, this time played by Gillian Anderson. I've never watched X-Files, but I thought she was good in The House of Mirth, so I have high hopes. Oh, and hello to the pretty boy playing Pip. 

Images: BBC

Bright Pink Things Making Me Happy

J.Crew Colorblock Stripe Boatneck Tee-I wasn't crazy about spending $45 on a t-shirt, but I was hooked on the pretty pink glow it reflects on your face. I wore this to update my driver's license and I took my best pic ever (which means I looked less crazy).

Schick neon pink razors make shaving my legs a little more fun.

Michelle Williams pretty in pink Valentino dress.

Images 1, 2: Moodboard 3: Zimbio

 

 

House Progress: Closet Plans

Our house was built in 1900, and the closets are all placed in the corners of the bedrooms with space to hang like...five things. This is pretty standard for homes of this age, so I was thrilled that I could have a walk-in closet thanks to a small room upstairs with a cabinet.

This is my current wish list for updating the closet:

1. I would love for the cabinet to be stained or painted black, like in the inspiration pics above.

2. We live in the South, and as such almost every room in the house has a ceiling fan. I could go on a whole diatribe about ceiling fans, but I'll spare you. I'm hoping to replace the fan in this room with a sparkly chandelier. 

3. A full-length mirror that I did not buy from the dollar store. Though they always make me look 10 pounds thinner, which is hard to turn down.

4. While our house escaped a lot of the destruction that can come from being converted into a duplex (and then back into a single family), there are still many cheap fixes that we have to repair. Like painting wood the same color as...wood. So we need to strip the brown paint off the floor and look for a soft rug to stand on while dressing.

5. I'm planning on painting the walls white, but nude pink paint samples have been trying to work their way into the inspiration folder.

6. The closet is the only place that we are thinking about painting the wood trim white. I'm not going to make a decision until I paint the walls and finish the cabinet. 

 

Home Inspiration: Shoe Storage

I'm thrilled with the built-in cabinet in my closet, and would love to add another standing one like this for shoes. Such a pretty way to keep items dust-free, visible, and easily accessible. 

Images scanned by Moodboard from Elle Decoration (Simon Brown) and Lucky Magazine (Lucas Allen)

House Progress: Painting Choices

We've had boxes of paint laying in the hallway causing a constant reminder of how much work we still have to do in the house. We finally got tired of stepping over them to get out the front door and attacked the foyer and front living room this weekend.

Our inspiration for color choices came from many visits to art museums. I knew that I wanted dark, moody walls that would make seafoam greens and creamy pinks less precious, just like in my favorite oil paintings. To get started, we ordered samples of Black Blue, Drawing Room Blue, Hague Blue, and Down Pipe from Farrow & Ball. 

I had Drawing Room Blue or Hague Blue marked for the foyer. Drawing Room Blue looked like a rich navy in pictures, but it turned out almost violet on our wall and was quickly eliminated. Hague Blue was beautiful but still too much color. I had Black Blue in mind for the dining room, but we knew immediately it was exactly what we wanted for the foyer. It's like Japanese indigo fabric overdyed with black and emerald green pigments. If that makes any sense.

Benjamin Moore's Kendall Charcoal had been high on the list for the living room, but it is now swathed in Farrow & Ball's Down Pipe. It was the wildcard color and it turned out to be my husband's favorite. It's so hard to describe because it is such a dense grey with shades of blue or green depending on the light.

I'm still narrowing down the perfect dark color for the dining room, but don't fear, there will be light. The rest of the house will most likely have white walls. 

Favorite Runway Looks: Proenza Schouler Fall 2012

My kind of outfit from Proenza Schouler. Oversized it-could-be-your-boyfriend's top stuffed into a feminine skirt.

I would wear that Quilted Wrap Skirt every day. Unfortunately, it is going to retail for $2,825, so I guess that won't be happening any time soon.

Not really sure how functional this see through jacket is but I like the way it looks.

Easy peasy lemon squeezy kind of outfit. Can someone please give me her haircut?

The footwear I'll be crushing on for fall 2012. 

Images: Vogue.com