It’s the Vintage Kiddo Retro Round Up!

Oh, what a lovely weekend it was!  Sniffles aside, the Peach and I had some seriously necessary girl time after a week away in SLC.  We went to Fairyland again and even did a Pajama Pizza Movie Party!  And during breaks in Tinkerbell’s Secret of the Wing. I did manage to find some great little goodies to share with you! Enjoy!

This sweet little apricot of a dress makes me crave spring. Sigh! From Etsy seller, Salvage House.

Is it too early to think about Halloween and how this dress would be perfect outfit for a little Wednesday Addams, hmm??? From Etsy seller, the Little Plum.

Folks, you gotta check out this sweet pair of floral sneaks! With a zipper for a bit of extra 80s madness. Perfect for the Peach! From Etsy seller, Bondplace Vintage.

Oh man, don’t6 you love this Care Bears bag? Really, you can’t help but smile looking out at it! Tee hee! From Reware Vintage.

I would have bought this if I could have crammed Miss Peach into this darling rick rack windmill ruffled pink windbreaker. LOVE! From Etsy seller, Oliver’s Forest.

Get your toddler hooked on sweet music with this great vintage Fisher Price radio!  Isn’t it darling? Even just on a shelf, I love it! From Etsy seller, Brookaloo Vintage.

I would so buy this album if it were a real band!  I mean–look at those sweet bongo drums? This book is genius!  From Etsy seller, Betsy Fern Vintage.

I know football season is over, but I still think this little shirt is divine! From Etsy seller, Potato Cake Vintage.

Don’t you just want to choo choo choose this adorable blue corduroy shirt? From Etsy seller, Rowdy Roddy Vintage.

I’m very pro bowling, so I’m very close to getting this sassy bowling set for the Peach! From Etsy seller, Camp Ho-Ba-Chee.

Happy Monday!

Back When Interior Design Had it Going On // 1970s

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I love color, which is why the 1970s is one of my favorite eras. I just love looking through old interior design books—and while the 50s and 60s offer midcentury chic at it’s finest, the 1970s is like Mad Men on acid. TOO MUCH FUN! (erm…..the interiors….not Mad Men on acid.) I have several design books and The Practical Encyclopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement (whew! say that 10x fast) is one of the best. It’s a multi volume collection of style. Be prepared to have your mind blown….

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Which were your favorites?? I’m loving the lime green…the lucite…the built-ins in that bedroom with the green TV (LOVE) and then there is THE BED. Which is terrifyingly fab! And you??

{Images from Practical Encylopedia of Good Decorating and Home Improvement, 1970. While I own several of these books, I must confess I was lazy and didn’t scan them. These were scanned by the lovely Sandi Vincent. Many thanks Sandi!}

New Year’s Resolution Check In // Dottie’s Goals for 2013

As promised, I’m going to use this space to keep track of  goals I made for myself early January.  Well, I tried to keep my 2013 goals alive and well in January with decent results so far!  To keep myself on target, I thought I would do a few check-ins with you.

GOAL #1: WEAR MORE DRESSES

I kept my goal of wearing at least one dress a week.  But barely. I’ve decided to add skirts into the mix.  I must say for me dresses in the winter can be a bit tougher, but I’m buying some fleece lined tights to help out with that (when I would prefer a pair of cozy thick sweat pants) so I can have more than one layer of cloth between me and my cold house in the morning.

Some days I just want to throw on pants and that’s OK. So—most important realization with New Year’s goals so long—don’t take them too seriously! More like reminders than strict goals.  But I will say that when I did wear my dresses, I felt more put together and a bit sassier too. So, it was worth it just for that!

I included photographic evidence that I did wear them!  WARNING: I’m not really good at taking photos of myself–I’m always so judgmental of my figure/hair/etc., but I’m trying to get better. So forgive my totally dorky faces.  Any tips on taking photos of oneself would be greatly appreciated!

(Vintage dress with old v-neck long sleeved t-shirt cut down the middle and held together with an old circle pin. Shoes are from Dansko.)

(Black skirt that was given to me from my friend that lost a ton of weight! Westonwear shirt, black sweater I’ve had for a decade and those Dansko shoes again.)

(Dress from eShakti.com, that t-shirt cardi, and clogs from Hannah Andersson)

(Vintage dress my friend gave me and sassy/comfy shoes from Aerosoles

.  I can’t remember where I got the green tights, but I do love them so! Oh and the scarf I picked up at World Market a year or so ago.And I wore it with this coat I’ve had forever and some gloves I dyed pink in the great dying bonanza of ’12.)

GOAL 2: CRAFT MORE

This goal was all sorts of wonderful to do.  Since I was always putting off crafting for doing other misc. things, I had to make it a priority in my week, which really helped.   I forgot how much I adore it and how time seems to stop when I’m in the middle of doing it.

I’ve had this organization/purge thing I’ve been working on over that past few months (more on that later) so I had this desire to finish craft projects that I’ve had on my list for a long time. One of them was a quilt top I started in the spring of last year.  It was the craziest thing–this quilt I started. No pattern just a freakish need to craft that drove me to ransack my fabric collection and buy bags of scrap fabric on Etsy and sew them together.  I had sewn up the strips quickly, but by summer, they were languishing on a hanger where they stayed until a few weeks ago when I bought some muslin and sewed it all together.

And once I finished the front I had to make the back, which I did in a couple of hours! So, my work here is FINISHED!  Now, I’m going to take it to a quilting shop and have it machine quilted.  This quilt is headed for the Peach’s bed! Perfect!

GOAL #3: GO TO A MUSEUM A MONTH

I can’t lie–I barely made this one in time!  On Jan. 31st, I went to the DeYoung Museum in SF with my friend, Eileen. I think  lunch and a museum visit are a perfect friend date!  We saw Nureyev’s costume exhibit, which was magnificent!

I love ballet and I must admit that I love the costumes just as much as the dancing, so it was a real treat to see the details of these glorious outfits close up.

I knew ballet dancers were small, but these looked like they would fit small children–they were so tiny!  The craftmanship was amazing. Like this ribbon basketweave accent. To die for.

For February, I hope to do as well as I did last month with my resolutions.  Crafting wise, I’m hoping to focus on finally doing those little flannel smocks for the Peach that I’ve been wanting to do since… oh… NOVEMBER. And I’m hoping to go to SFMOMA for Paul Klee’s exhibit.

What about you? How are you doing on any goals you are working on?

It’s not too early for Valentine’s Day!

Hello everyone! Did you have a good weekend? We did, albeit the Peach caught a nasty cold and so we had a more mellow weekend than normal, but still so much fun!  Lots of TV watching and tea and of course looking for goodies online to share with you. And because it is officially February and we are spitting distance to Valentine’s Day, I thought I would use that as the inspiration for this week’s fings!  Enjoy!

Don’t you love this little folksie embroidered dressie? I do! From Etsy seller, sparv in the iele tree.

Who needs red hearts when you can get green ones? Like in this cozy ski sweater! From Etsy seller, Wee Little Ones Vintage.

A little embroidered heart goes a long way in my heart! From Etsy seller, the Little Plum!

Don’t you want a pair of heart corduroy flares? Well, today is your lucky day! From Etsy seller, Tea with Tilly.

 

For all those dollies you love so much–treat them to a sweet heart of a crib! From Etsy seller, Vintage Estate Lore.

I would never discard this book! It involves my two favorite things–Valentines and cats! YEAH! From Etsy seller, Vintage Book Bazaar.

I think I need a moment alone with this perfect little red romper. With the polka dot top hat, cane and mousie. LOVE! From Etsy seller, BreedBaby NYC.

Is there a more perfect game for Valentine’s Day than Hearts? Exactly! From Etsy seller, Chirp!

Oh, that Lishyloo has some seriously glorious holiday outfits. And she doesn’t skimp on Valentine’s Day.  Like this boom of a great hearty dress.

Ah, these darling little vintage elf shoes would look great on your little Cupid!  From Etsy seller, Uncommon Vintage.

Happy Monday, folks!

Friday Link Hootenanny // Cool Things to Browse

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TGIF Baby! Do you have any big plans? We are finally on an upswing from all these awful colds and flu bug that are swirling around. We have a few things to do, but I think we’ll keep on taking it easy. In the mean time, here are some fun things I stumbled upon while browsing ye olde webbie!

1. KACHEW.

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These elephant tissue boxes are adorable! Get them here.

2. LAND OF 1000 NODS.
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The talented Lisa Congdon has a new line of bedding featuring her retro-style buildings motif. It’s super cute! It’s called the 1001 Good Nights Crib Bedding. I love it.

3. FRIDA BE YOU AND ME.
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I have aways loved Frida Kahlo and felt a connection to her—she’s half German and half Mexican, just like me. I was also always intrigued by her outfits—she was “retro” before it was even a word, wearing traditional dresses that no one of the period would have ever worn or gotten away with. For the first time her closet has been opened to the public, “Appearances Can Be Deceiving: The Dresses of Frida Kahlo.” See more about it here. I wish I could see them!

4. SF GIRL BEFORE & AFTER.
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Victoria of sfgirlbybay just moved into a super cute cottage. I love seeing what she did with the place. But even more interesting is seeing how it was a so-so cottage when she first moved in. Check out these before and after photos. WOW!

5. BOWL ME OVER.
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I’m sure it’d still be sloppy, but this ramen bowl for iPhone owners is making me giggle. See it here.

6. FREE FREE FREE!
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Designer Breanna Rose has a fantastic collection of fabulous and FREE fonts you can download. Aw yeah! Some cool ones, check them out here.

7. VALENTINES ARE FOR SUCKERS. (the sweet ones)
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Looking for a fun DIY Valentine idea? This one from Design Mom is super clever!

8.PEEK-A-BOO KITTY.
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Have you stopped by The Coveteur? It’s a voyeuristic sneak peek into the homes and closets of celeb fashionistas. I’m a big So You Think You Can Dance fan, and I loved seeing cute Cat Deeley’s digs. Check ’em out here!

9. HIP HIP HOORAY.
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Alexander Wang’s little niece Aila is ridiculously hip and cute. I mean really.

10. BONUS VIDEO. DANCE. DANCE.
This made the rounds a year or so ago…but I just watched it again the other night and it just made me smile. Have you seen it? If not, you must. Dancing just always makes me happy.

And if you have seen it, then check out the sublime Candy Johnson in the closing credits for 1963s BEACH PARTY. BRILLIANT!