New Skirt!

I am so excited to be posting this right now!

Last night I kind of just had this weird motivation. I walked to my fabric stash, picked out 2 fabrics and just went into the basement (sewing area) and worked on making a skirt. I have done it before but the last time I tried, I got stuck on the zipper. But this time, I was just ready.

I worked on it all night and then today, I finished it. My mom helped me out with the waistband (not hard, just didn't know what to do!) and I hemmed the waistband and bottom of the skirt by hand- it took about 2 hours just doing that. This time the zipper was easy because I knew what I was doing!

There are some errors but I think it's 100% wearable! (for me, at least!) The next one I will make will hopefully be perfect, since now I know what I'm doing and I understand the IMPORTANCE of notches, the tracing wheel and cutting out things correctly!!!

Here are some pics but they're not the greatest because it's 11pm and no one is around to take them for me! but you can click on them for more detail.
OH and before I forget, my poor dog Chip got skunked today!! Hilarious/sad. He's okay now, I think the smell is mostly gone. Poor guy.




This is me wearing it with a slip underneath because I didn't make lining, and it's pretty see thru! haha.


I love my hem choice!!!


White zipper
(color is a little distorted because I didn't use the flash!)

enjoy!! Maybe we'll see some in the shop soon?? who knows!!!

xo
Marjie

PS here's a pic of Chip while I'm bathing him:





haha

mega cuteness

Eli is not a very camera-friendly dog. But he wanted to come inside, so he let me take photos of him. What a nice trade!



his bandanna is a little too big! haha.

& chip kept barking and barkingggggg (it never ends!) i told him to go in his cage so he did.

I'll Call U!

Yesterday I hit the jackpot. I found this sweet 90's pink phone for just $2! And the best part: it came with a receipt dating back to 1990. AWESOME!! 
I have a phone just like this one already that I found in Kansas last year. I am so excited that now I have a set - I can't wait for the day I can hook them up to a landline & use them all the time!! 


 



Phone friends!!






this one needs to be cleaned up a bit, but I couldn't wait to post it online so I'll do it later! 















the color combination is stellar! 



bffs

where I've been!

Awesome! I just found this cool thing.


visited 8 states (3.55%)
Create your own visited map of The World

I have almost been to 4% of the world! If I hadn't lost my passport (it's in here somewhere, I KNOW IT!) I probably would be in Canada right now... instead I went to dwight, il haha!

Dwight, IL

I spent all day yesterday in Dwight, IL. Why, you ask? Well, I needed to make some money & my grandma needed help with her craft show, so I helped her set up & sell her items. I even brought some of my own to sell. But being in Dwight reminded me that I will always be a city girl. Or even a suburb girl. Or maybe just that I will never be a farm country girl.

There were many good things about the "Harvest Days" festival, though. There was a giant flea market, a big craft show, and the entire town was there. The bars were open and there was a thrift store directly across from our booth - how perfect! The bad part about the day was the downpour for 2 hours - that surely slowed sales and was a big downer for everyone, since it's an outdoor fest. However, once the rained stopped, sales picked up and by the end of the day, there was a noticeable dent in my grandma's inventory.

Being in Dwight was pretty fun though. It's interesting to see such a cultural difference between myself and everyone there. My grandma told me that "people in Dwight don't understand my items because this is a farm town" but I actually sold a few things. (to be honest, I figured I wouldn't sell much of my own stuff, but it was fun just setting up & tagging the items & seeing different ways to display) We took some photos & I'm about to list on etsy some of the things I found while at the flea market and thrift store. enjoy!



oh my gosh i WANTED this!! but once again, lack of space always intervenes


This is how you know you're in farm country:


Uhmm... yes.


They even had PBR!


DWIGHT!!!


this was my table:




and lastly, Mike in Dwight:

Back to School!

Today I had a very pleasant surprise: Natsumi is visiting! Natsumi was our Japanese foreign exchange student in high school when I was 17. We had 2 classes together, & she is definitely one of the most memorable students to pass through Oak Forest. My friend Katie called me, and she didn't say she was with Natsumi so when I ran outside, I was so excited to see her sitting in the front seat!

 

We drove past the old high school and decided to go walk around it, hoping we could get in without an appointment. It was no problem, since everyone remembered Natsumi and loved her! We visited our old lockers, classrooms, lunchroom, gym, and of course our favorite teachers. Some recognized me, some didn't. (I looked like this when I was in high school!) We found the teacher that Natsumi and I both had for Information Media and were lucky she didn't have a class! We asked about some videos we made back in high school and were sooo lucky she still had them.. on vhs, nonetheless! We watched them for almost an hour, seeing students we totally forgot about and laughing at our dean's awful, awful acting skills. The movie that was made with my group was called "real world oak forest" and was nothing short of ridiculous. I am also very happy I grew out my hair and stopped dying it! :p

 

From back to school

Natsumi in front of her old locker. 

katie performing in the cafetorium (cafeteria + auditorium) 

I hope I can get some pictures of Natsumi and I back in high school. She said she has them, but she's not going back to Japan until Sunday. I think they had to do with "let's see how many articles of clothing we can put on and then take pictures like models" haha. Stay tuned for those... 

In a weird way, I'm really glad we randomly decided to go back to the high school. We had a blast, it was awesome to see Natsumi, and got some great photos out of it. Plus, I feel like I got closure after seeing the Real World Oak Forest.. I've been trying to get a hold of it for awhile, but I think our group copy has been lost. All in all, it was a great Thursday. 

flea market < 3 !

This past weekend I went to some garage sales + the weekly flea market. I found some amazing items for some amazing prices!! I'm most likely going to keep everything, which never happens!

A stunning group of vintage necklaces - all for $5. I can't stop wearing the whale one!








some gorgeous painted bangles





I bought several of these "True Confessions" magazines from the 60's. Not only are the articles great, but there are some amazing vintage ads that reflect on many items I sell!

Royal Traveller & Lady Baltimore - suitcase brands I am quite familiar with.

Du Pont Nylon

a vintage Pan Am Airplane toy - amazing! I love anything Pan Am!

and lastly, some retro pins. It was hard to choose just a few - I wanted them all!  

new handmade items in the shop!

big shop update tonight! I did end up posting those shorts & i listed some handmade items by my mother, a blazer & an adorable vest.

It might seem weird to be listing something handmade with love by your mother, but she won't be wearing them and neither will i! so why not pass it on to someone who will love them? that's what i'm all about - it would make both of us feel better to know they're not sitting in a chest but instead being worn and shown off somewhere around the world :)




i also listed a lovely skirt that i've had for almost 2 years! I bought it thinking it was a skirt, and when i went to model it, i discovered that it was a pair of shorts! now, i have respect for garments in their original form, but i knew it would be 1000x better as a fun and flirty pleated skirt. and of course, with it's design, it's perfect for fall!





there are some other great items as well & more on the way of course!
i also can't wait to post what i found at garage sales this past weekend - some amazing necklaces, including the one i'm wearing in all of my new listings! I also went to the flea market and found some great treasures - i will try to post those tomorrow!

xox
marjie

is it too late?

with summer coming to a close, i am saddened but also excited for fall weather. I am always in a hat, hoodie or sweater, boots and have started wearing some fun accessories. however, I have a dilemma: I am ready and able to post some vintage pairs of shorts. But is it too late?

Is it ever too late, though? Do you post sandals in the winter time? I, for one, never limit myself - there is nothing to stop me from buying a bathing suit in January. So would it be sensible to list said shorts? I mean, they really ARE amazing..



super fun blue & white shorts - vintage deadstock shorts size large


A.M.A.Z.I.N.G plaid high - waisted shorts - vintage handmade size medium.



FUN FUN FUN vivid pink & purple floral shorts with a scrunched waistband size medium






So.... what do you think? List or Wait? :)

boyfriend shirts!

I'm really excited about these 2 amazing boyfriend shirts. I love how the photos turned out & that I'm starting to branch out & experimenting with things I normally wouldn't go near. I used to stick with what I knew - dresses, retro shirts, etc. - but now I'm becoming more and more interested in actual fashion now and what I can contribute to it. Sure, everyone loves a fun 60's polka dot dress, but you can't wear that more than a few times a year! (well, you can! but not everyone will think so) so while I will stay 100% true to my roots and what made me come into this world, I'm also going to start featuring items I've never worked with before, including boots, coats, blazers, etc.




vintage Guess shirt in a thin, lightweight cotton:


vintage Avon Fashions shirt with seafoam stripes and a great pastel design on the cuffs & collars:

chip + eli

Chip: social, super super smart, photogenic   

From Dogs

From Dogs

From Dogs

and Eli: terrified of cameras, people, noises, shadows, storms. yes, that 2nd picture is of him in a computer desk. 

From Dogs

From Dogs

From Dogs