I’m so crazy busy with my new client but I always have time to check out the fabulousness on Etsy, so let’s get to it!

Don’t you love this sweet little clown dress? I do!

This tulip dress is too darling not to pass up!

I want a pair of these snuggly slippers in my size!

This coat makes me excited about the weather getting colder…

I’m so crushing on this terrific Marx dollhouse.

This sweater is so cozy, it makes me think about apres ski parties.

What a dapper tiger

You know I’m mad for plaid, and this little coat is killing me with its cuteness!

This little bank is too marvelous for words–featuring kids working! LOVE IT!

And last but not least, what shall we wear?

Hee hee! Happy Monday, folks!

This summer we spent a really fun week in my home state of Michigan. Greg is always a patient companion and takes me thrifting and to the local vintage shops!

We stumbled upon a little antique mall and there were soooo many cute things. I managed to restrain myself and not buy yet ANOTHER vintage purse. (of course i kind of regret not getting that one on the left!!!)

Ahhhh that harlequin music box was SO cute. And as big as a small ice chest!!!

At the thrift store I found a couple of really cool paint by numbers (much more unusual to find lately!). There were two of them with an asian theme—oddly one was painted much better than the other. I couldn’t tell if the artist just got tired by the time he/she got to the second painting OR if it was a duo and one just didn’t have the skillz. We shall never know!

I loved this box. Cool graphics!

One of my favorite Vintage Shops in Ann Arbor is The Get Up. It’s the cutest (and very reasonably priced!). I scored this awesome Pat Boone charm bracelet and that little black and white purse!

Loooooove those silver shoes, but alas they were just a tad too small….isn’t that always the way with vintage shoes?? And then oddly, these deadstock sandals below were tooooo big.

Those Ice Nude ice cube molds just cracked me up. “When good people get together, make ICE NUDES to chill their drinks!” You can be sure if you ever come over, I’ll be making you a beverage with some ice nudes, you GOOD PEOPLE, you!

Oh man, what a summer…

June was ghastly, July was a haze and August. Oh, August—it blew my mind.

I decided to take the month of August off and ended my long standing contract with a beloved client because I needed space to mourn and just recoup from losing my Dad.  I needed a bit of fun. And I got it in the form of TikiOasis, which was a downright hoot and a half.   It was wonderful.  Just me gabbing with my friends staying up late  laughing and having a complete blast wearing nutty hats and vintage muumuus.

When I returned, I of course was craving my family. I needed to snuggle my Peach. And what better place to do that than while camping.  It was the Peach’s first camping trip and we chose the perfect place for it–a darling lake called Pinecrest.  The trip was wonderful!  The Peach had a blast, but I must admit, I missed my bed.   We innocently decided to talk about the lake one morning with the Peach and it turned into a three hour trail of tears with a pre-schooler.  Hoo boy. But she was a good sport about it.  Even we were pooped after the hike.

But when you have a proper month off, you need to do something a bit extraordinary. And for me that was a trip to visit my dearest friend, Jen Otter in London.  This was the first time I returned to London since I was living there in 1993.  The weather was gorgeous and well, London showed me its prettiest side with gorgeous balmy weather in seventies and bright happy days.  Jennifer was the consummate guest.  We had the nicest tea that the Brown hotel (the Ritz was sadly booked) and I saw a brilliant exhibition at the V&A on eighties club fashion in London.  We had so much fun on our day trip to Brighton.  The pier was just dizzying. And we also found the Quadrophenia alley.

I felt I needed to end this month with a moment of reflection and decided to spend August 31st taking apart my father’s suits to make a memorial quilt.  He wore a suit almost every day of his career as a journalist and seeing them just turned me into a puddle.  It was then that I realized that mourning isn’t something that has a time limit. Or can put on hold with a lovely vacation.  It is an ongoing experience and that’s OK. It is part of me. And that is OK.

How was your August?

The first day of elementary school is full of excitement, butterflies in the tummy and just a little bit of anxiety. This is why I find the German “Schultüte” custom so especially charming! Maybe you’ve seen these awesome cones in older photos? Here is the story behind them!

The Schultüte tradition dates back to the early 19th century in Germany. Parents give their little first grade students a colorful, oversized cone to celebrate starting school for the very first time. The cone is typically filled with little treats like chocolates, candy and small gifts. So fun! My mother has a terrific photo of her and her Schultüte as a little girl that I’ll have to track down and share.

The name Schultüte loosely translates  to “school cone” (technically, Schule= school and Tüte=bag….sometimes you’ll see it spelled Schultuete when an umlaut isn’t available!). I remember we talked about getting one for Wolfie when he started first grade, but alas we never did! It looks so fun! Check out the grins on these kiddos…

images: barb lawrence

images: janwillemsen

I love these stylish little girls from 1969! Although she wasn’t ready for school yet, mama made the younger sister her own mini Schultüte so she wouldn’t feel left out. Aw!

image: Boxwoodcottage

I don’t know about you but everything seems better served in a cone! German parents and grandparents know this too and since around 1810 they have been helping ease those first day of school jitters by giving them Schultüten. Today, this charming tradition lives on as a celebration for children all over the country. In addition to slightly more modern designs, the cones are now filled with cool school supplies (like colored pencils and crayons) and little toys, in addition to the classic sweets!

image: linda6769

image: meehara

I think this tradition is so wonderful….would you try something like this for your little one when they enter elementary school? I think I would bend the rules and actually make one for 2nd or 3rd grade too! We just started school this week. Has your school begun yet??

PS: Here is a cute tutorial to make one yourself, or you can order one from Kinder Cone!

Well, things have been very crazy in my life recently, so I thought I would add to it with a little off the cuff trip to London. Actually–not too off the cuff, as I was actually planning it for June, but then my Dad got sick and well, you know the rest.

I actually spent a year after college on BUNAC working in London and had the best time of my life. I was always such an anglophile when I was growing up that I was obsessed with Queen Elizabeth and anything British for ages, reading everything by the Bronte sisters and Jane Austin. And tons of other misc. books that I could find based in London–like Noel Streitfeld’s Shoe book series or the adventures of Paddington Bear.

So, between the nuttiness of TikiOasis and a fun little camping jaunt with Eric and the Peach, I packed to go to London and am hopping on a plane tonight.  I’m going to stay with my darlingest friend, Jennifer Otter, who I’ve written about in the past here and we are going to have a blast doing some day trips and visiting.

But I will leave you with this dandy little video featuring Lucille Ball dancing with mods in London called, “Lucy in London”.  The marvelous Karen Finlay hipped me to it and I hope you will enjoy it as much as I do.

Any ideas of where to go and what to do? Lemme know!