Weekly Wantsies

Welcome to another edition of Weekly Wantsies... where we torture ourselves by making lists of everything we want to own!  Window shopping is a cruel mistress, isn't she?

Caiti's picks:

1.) The sewing bug has been buzzing around me so bad. I want to make a million dresses with this fabric!

2.) It's no secret that I find shoes to be lovely and wonderful. I'd wear these with my moth dress for sure.

3.) Jess and I were just talking about how much I love gin. Gin and tonics are the best!

4.) I would put gin in these puppies! Also I like gin.

5.) Since I'm all about gin today, how about playing gin rummy with GAME OF THRONES playing cards!

Jess's Picks: 

1.  I found this dress on Asos the other day, and decided I'd wait to see if it went on sale... I went to pull it up today for this post and it's SOLD OUT.  My husband asked me if there were any dresses similar to it elsewhere and I played "Nothing Compares 2 U" and pouted because obviously there isn't.  Basically, what I'm saying is that I love it and if it doesn't come back I might be forever heartbroken.

2.  We have a big blank wall in the living room that needs a vintage pull down chart, and this one would be perfectamundo!

3.  I love typewriters. We sold one last week without realizing that it apparently wrote in bunch of amazing fonts, including cursive, so I soooooort of wish we'd kept it.  I love how industrial this one looks.

4.  GIVE ME ALL THE JADEITE.  We sold some Jadeite cups recently, and I miss them already (are you noticing a theme here? IT'S REGRET), and I desperately want my own jadeite collection now. 

What do you think of our picks?  Anything you're drooling over now?

xoxo,

Caiti & Jess

putting the pieces together

Sometimes it's a lot of fun to go shopping in our own store and put together cute little outfits.   We tend to shop/create in themes a lot without realizing it, so it's fun to piece it all together.  Here's an outfit I just made of some items we've got in the shop right now:

adorable, right?  I like that it's a super elegant, feminine print in really comfortable fabric... it's such a nice, flowy summer outfit.  Also, it's pretty obvious that we're a bit obsessed with florals at the moment, isn't it? 

You can find everything in our Etsy shop or at our brick & mortar in Westbrook, if you so happen to feel like recreating this at home.  (skirt here, shirt here, handmade necklace here)

hot hot heat

IT IS TOO HOT.  Lately we've been dealt the kind of weather that's really only good for lounging around in either A). an air conditioned space, or B). a pool, lake or some body of water.  However, we have an adorable little shop to run, so.. we've gotta haul ourselves out of the water and take care of business.  

These are the outfits we came up with to hang out in the heat..

OH, AND! We also both cut all our hair off.  Also due directly to the heat.  And Ginnifer Goodwin.  Damn her cute pixie face. 

 

Caiti borrowed liberally from the shop.  She's wearing one of our dresses, an anatomy necklace, and a belt that we have for sale.  Geez, girl, get your own closet.  Just kidding, this is our closet (we wash everything before we put it back. don't worry about our germs, okay?).

And Jess is rockin' all her own stuff.. a mixture of thrifted and target, as per usual.  Housedresses kind of rule, don't they?

Those Bee Earrings are Lucille's though!  They're actually a defective pair, so as per always with our screw ups, one of us gets to keep them!  We'll be putting regular, non defective ones up on Etsy soon though.  Also, check out our sign off in the background! and yes, if you can tell, that white blob below it is a piano.  Yes, we have a piano by the road.  If you're ever driving by in Westbrook you'll know it's us :D

stay cool,

Jess & Caiti

Weekly Wantsies

What Caiti's pining for:

1.) I love dresses, lately I've been all about the pastel floral sundress. So cute.

2.) My Dad's a biker so it may be rubbing off on me but I reallllly want a cropped leather jacket. 

3.) Also I need another skull in my collection and this ones lovely.

4.) Gold and seafoam and irrelevant to my life but these should be mine. Plus they're cheap!

5.) I've always liked the idea of monograms. I like these...

Things Jess is incredibly into:

1.  Lately I've been getting the urge to dress like Laura Petrie.  Which is sort of weird for me, since I'm consistently clad in dresses, but right now I want tanks and pedal pushers with flats, so.. This vintage tulip print tank top would be a perfect start to my Laura Petrie collection, no?

2.  I love insect jewelry, forever & always.  These bee earrings are (forgive the pun... yes... I'm going there...) the bee's knees.

3.  I LOVE messenger bags (I don't do well with normal purses), and I love vintage typography, so obviously this vintage typewriter messenger bag is a win/win.

4.  Perfect cropped jeans to go with my tank top.  PS.  I'm totally into Mod Cloth's new plus size collection. Pretty drool-worthy.

5.  Aaaaaaaaadorable red & black polka dot flats... to complete the ensemble!  Man, I would wear these with so many things.  

and, just in case you're wondering, Jess would definitely wear that whole collection together as one outfit.  for SURE.  And Caiti would wear everything in her collage as well... while carrying around the skull.  Because we're cool like that.

Wantingly yours,

Caiti & Jess

ain't no cure for the summertime blues

the shop seems to have a serious case of the blues goin' on lately... and I'm totally into it.

Vintage Silk Button Vest

Vintage Summertime Blues Plaid Tanktop 

Vintage High Waisted Denim Shorts

Vintage Baby Blue Polka Dot Dress - L/XL

Vintage Baby Blue Shirt Dress with Embroidery Detail

All these cool hues make me want to spend the day lounging around in a calm, blue body of water - lake, river, pool... doesn't matter to me!  Then again, I feel that way most days during the summer, don't you?

All those beauties are available in the shop, if you happen to be a bit more in the mood for online shopping than outdoor lounging.  Orrrr if you're in the mood for an adventure.. they're also available at our ACTUAL shop at 625 Bridgton Road in Westbrook.. if you're down for a road trip :)

Blogger Blurb: Michelle from Vintage Junky

Good morning, lovelies!  We're introducing a new feature on the ole blog called Blogger Blurbs.  We're picking some of our favorite bloggers and picking their brains with a bunch of random questions so we can all get to know each other a bit better.  Sounds like a rollicking good internet time, doesn't it?  

We're starting off the series today with Michelle, the lovely lady in charge of the Vintage Junky blog.  We love reading her blog to take a peek into her life... she has a great eye for vintage, and a talent for making things look amazing.  She makes me want to go repaint some furniture for my house... and also to learn how to embroider/be handy with a needle & thread, because she does some amazing projects!

So without further ado... here are the Qs & As with Michelle...

Were you always into vintage or was there a particular time when it started?

I think I have always liked things that were a little older or different.  My grandmother didn't have any "precious" antiques, But the things she had I was always drawn to.  Like those giant spoons and forks that used to be in every kitchen.  I actually have her set on my wall painted black.  Things made in the past were made with so much more thought and style.  And, I feel that they were made with better quality too.

Do you have a favorite costume designer, or movie (with amazing costuming)?

I think that Pride and Prejudice has incredible costuming and set design.  As for individual costumes, I can't get the green dress from Atonement out of my head (editor's note: I 1000% agree. We were just talking about this the other day!).  Or the black dress from Titanic.  I haven't seen the remake of Great Gatsby yet, but I imagine that I will love it as I love 20s design.  As for set design, I adore the Royal Tenenbaums.  

What is your favorite go to accessory?

I have some sparkly star bobby pins from Giant Dwarf and some vintage handpainted bobby pins that always make me feel pretty snazzy.

What is your most beloved curse word?

I have a 4 year old that literally repeats everything... at the perfect time too.  So, I try to keep it a little clean with "son of a nutcracker." The dirtier version of that is probably my go to when I break something or stub my toe.

What's your favorite DIY project that you've done yourself or aspire to?

I recently finished this deconstructed sampler:

http://vintagejunky.blogspot.com/2013/05/a-deconstructed-sampler.html 

 I also began knitting this year, so I aspire to knit a sweater.  Right now, I am just having fun with scarfs.  And maybe a quilt in the future.  I like having a project.

In a zombie apocalypse what is your weapon of choice?  

I don't know a lot about zombies, but I think a phoenix feather core wand and a good, healthy knowledge of Defense Against the Dark Arts would serve me well.

What is your most prized vintage possession and how did you acquire it?

Hmmmm..... this question is always so hard.  It is like the "what would you rescue from a burning house?" question.  So, it would have to be photos.  Most all of my stuff is vintage and would be so hard to replace.  I have an antique Swedish Mora clock that my husband bought me when I quit my "real" job.  But, I also have a mixing bowl of my grandmothers too that she gave me before she passed away.  If the house is burning and I have the photos backed up in a safe place online and my family is out, I am grabbing my little boy's stuffed dog though.  It is his favorite.  Seriously, I know it isn't about possessions, but I do love my vintage stuff. So, this is hard to really just pick one thing.  

from her Etsy shop... don't you love how she has the measurements right in the photo? adorable and smart!

Are there any blogs you'd like to recommend?

I love Purl Bee, Oh Happy Day, A Beautiful Mess.... those are just off the top of my head.  I get a lot of inspiration from those.  But, I am sure that isn't all.

---------

Isn't she fun?  Thanks for answering our questions, Michelle!  Be sure to check out her blog, and also visit her Etsy shop... she has lots of great vintage & vintage inspired pieces.  I hope you're all inspired to have a fun, vintage-filled day now! :)

Until next time,

Jess & Caiti

playing dress up

One of the best things about owning a vintage store is that you basically have a giant walk in closet to play in.  Complete with props and all sorts of fun furniture and things!  The other day we decided to take photos of some outfits because... well... because it's fun.  Also, because we usually take photos on a mannequin or a hanger, and sometimes it just doesn't translate how awesome the garment is.  Also it was fun.

just imagine that there was something super interesting on the ground that we were looking at... because apparently we posed in the exact same way in all three of these photos. whoops!

These shorts are insane.  And actually pretty amazing.

70s housewife realness.

Men's shirt + striped shorts = awesomeness!  We're both really into the idea of tying shirts up like that over shorts this summer.  It's very... 1990s... but somehow we still like it?

There were more photos, but we ended up cutting our heads off in most of them to make this graphic... which is probably good because we both got crazy hair in no time flat after trying on clothing.  Oh, and if you're down with a sale, everything in our Etsy shop is super cheap right now.  Anything that's in these photos that isn't up yet will be in the next few days.  

We've been too busy playing in our dream closet to list everything :)

xoxo,

Jess & Caiti

rainy day books

It's kind of a dreadfully rainy day where we are.  It's cold and dreary.  And it's Memorial Day Weekend... which makes it feel sort of a super bummer. We had plans to have a yard sale but that got rained all over.  Basically all I want to do today is curl up with a book. There's not a whole lot that's better than the feeling I get when I'm all bundled up in a warm blanket, listening to the rain fall outside, and reading a book.  It doesn't matter that the weather isn't perfect... you can still make a perfectly lovely day out of it, I think.

With that in mind, I was browsing around the shop and looking at some of my favorite books we have, and I realized that not only do I have a love for imperfect days like today, but I absolutely am in love with slightly flawed books.  A lot of people seem to look for things, books especially, that are in mint condition.  But my favorite thing is books that have a bit of wear on them.  I feel like it's part of the story!

Like this beauty.  It's a zoology book from 1903 and we're in love.  I mean, I love it... I don't think the feeling is mutual.  But whatever, my heart will go on (Celine Dion style)

If I listed this book online I'd have to disclose it's "flaws", which would include this writing in the front cover.  But it made my heart flutter when I saw this! I love knowing it's from a high school..  I think about all the students learning from it.. or maybe rolling their eyes and hating the class the book was for...  and  also, as a local nerd thing, I love that it's spelled "Scarboro" instead of how it's actually spelled now, which is "Scarborough".

And it has a huge ink stain that goes through about 5 pages... which I love maybe even more than the umlauts on the cover.   I keep picturing a teacher grading papers and dropping their pen on the book as they fell asleep.  The corners of the pages are probably folded from where their hand jerked them awake.

And ALL of those have their own dings and dents... but I love them all the more for it.  Give me a pretty book with old pages, and a rainy day any time and I'm down :)

How do you feel about old books?  Do you have any other old collections that are maybe a little beat up that you love dearly?  

Drearily yours,

Jess (and Caiti!)

PS.  If you're down with old books... the Junior Deluxe Editions are actually for sale in our Etsy shop... as long as you don't mind a few flaws ;) 

weekly wantsies!

It's been a while since we did a Weekly Wantsies post! As it turns out, owning a shop takes up a lot of time... who woulda thought?  So while most of our brain time is spent on things like pricing, inventory, and mostly how to balance everything without going crazy, we do have a bit of time to salivate over some goodies on the internet.  Here's what we're into this week:

Jess's Picks:

1.  I'm pretty in love with this dress.  I love the unusual color combination... I could definitely see myself wearing this all summer.  To the point where people would wonder if I had any other clothing.  

2.  THESE SUNGLASSES! Holy mamajamma!  Turquoise glitter cat eye sunglasses.  And they're legit vintage.  I mean, COME ON! I would never take these off. Even at night.  I'd be that person.

3.  I'm love the colors of these earrings!  And I happen to love Kate, the lady who runs Mad Meadow... so that doesn't hurt either.

4.  Green Wedges! swoon.

5.  I love these leggings!  I feel like wearing them would fulfill my desire to hang out in the woods all day during the summer. When you grow up in the country, it seems like you can never get rid of the urge to just hang out with trees.  Unless that's just me.  I'm fine with being the lonely weirdo who loves trees, whatever.


Caiti's Picks:

1.Mint (Yes!), Polka Dot (Yes!), Slight stretchiness (Yes!). These jeans are perfect in my opinion.
2.The Arctic Monkeys....always THE ARCTIC MONKEYS, to put out their 2013 album already.
3. It's a sloth necklace. They are pretty adorable creatures and this is a pretty adorable tribute.
4. I like a good drink, I'd like it better out of a rad glass.
5.Wedges are always a cute idea and I'm a sucker for anything nautical.

So what has you drooling?

Cheers
Caiti & Jess

oh dear deer

Did you know that you can call a group of deer not only a herd, but also a bunch, a mob, a parcel, or a rangale?  Don't collective nouns make things so much more fun?

We've obviously got quite the parcel of deer in the shop this week!  We recently picked the home of two twin sisters who were VERY into deer, and apparently that started a theme for us.  

Isn't this creamer basically the sweetest thing you've ever seen? We think so!

All items coming to the Etsy shop in the next few days

Deerly,

Jess & Caiti

shop update!

So far one of the best things about having an actual shop is the simple pleasure of having everything in one place.  Caiti and I have been splitting things between our respective houses and the flea market we were selling at for so long that it's surprisingly exciting to have everything all together! It used to be everything was always scattered around and we never knew what was located where.  We'd sell something on Etsy and it would be a mad scramble to figure out where the heck it was!  Also, taking photos was a pain in the butt.  Caiti's house had the best natural light so she ended up taking photos of most of the clothing, and I'd bring home small things from time to time so she didn't have to take on the whole workload.  But we were constantly trading the camera back and forth and swapping SD cards to edit images.  Not really fun. But NOW... we have a specific spot for taking Etsy photos! Huzzah!  It really is crazy exciting, I think. 

So I spent a good amount of Tuesday & Wednesday gleefully snapping away for Etsy listings.  Here's what we've been working on!

1930s Black Crepe Blouse (with INCREDIBLE embroidery & beading!)

Vintage Ballet Slipper Pink Half Slip

Vintage Pastel Orange Lace Slip

Vintage Orange Sherbet Pleated Dress

and... these are a couple pieces that were photographed on Wednesday that I'm especially fond of.  They'll be up on Etsy sometime soon (if you see anything you like, let us know and we can reserve it!)

I love the neutral-ness of this dress... but it's so fancy and lacy!

This dress is actually a 1980s Laura Ashley sundress that was atrociously long, which made it pretty unattractive.  Caiti decided to shorten the hem a bit, and now we're both head over heels in love with it.  It's like the perfect spring dress!  Funny what a difference a little chop can make, huh? 

I'm very into this red & white striped blazer.  It's a light weight fabric and has a linen look to it so it would be perfect for spring.  I'm really into stripes right now (obviously). 

Hope you're ready for lots more Etsy listings, now that we've got the space :)

xoxo,

Jess

weekly wantsies

Our internet browsing got derailed a bit by big exciting plans (official news soon!), and we missed last week's Weekly Wantsies post, but fear not... we've got some new fun things for you to ogle over with us!

Here's what Jess has fallen in love with this week...

1. Every fabric ever on Spoonflower. But specifically, this fabric, which is adorned in fine leather bound books. I bet it smells like mahogany.  Also, it's titled "Monsieur Fancypantaloon's Instant Library" - how could you EVER resist something so delightful?

2.  This tote from Wunderkammer Culture. I can't resist a deer, or a canvas tote, so it's a win/win.

3.  Green. Scalloped. Flats.  HELLO, SPRING!  Also, why have I never looked at Lulu's until now? Why didn't someone tell me it's fabulous? So many good shoes!

4.  An octopus tea cup! I've been meaning to start drinking more tea, and this would obviously make a fantastical companion to my tea drinking endeavors.

What Caiti is coveting this week...

1. I bought this jersey knit gold mini skirt with black polka dots and pretty much everything revolves around wearing that thing. These boots would look amazing with it. 

2. I've been feeling nesty lately. This print belongs in my bathroom I think.

3. I'm a crazy cat lady, what can I say.

4. These probably wouldn't go with my polka dot skirt but they fulfil my Peter Pan fetish.

xoxo,

Jess & Caiti

Weekly Wantsies

Welcome to our Second Round of Weekly Wantsies! This is where we let you know what sort of things we're fancying from our travels around the internet. Last week we were into shoes, music, and more shoes. This week we're kind of all over the place. Let's go window shopping, shall we?

What Caiti has spied this week:

1. There is moss in these earrings. Adorable.

2. I've always loved those gross ol' taxidermy heads at flea markets but never knew how to fit one into my decor. Well this pseudo taxidermied one has seafoam horns! Done and Done.

3. I just like the swans.

4. Uhhh Stormtrooper pancake anyone?

What Jess is drooling over:

1. Black has seemed to creep its way into my wardrobe in the past few months. I was always more of a fan of brown, but hey, things change. what better way to wear black than with a 1940s dress from Wildfell Hall?

2. David Bowie Mugshot Ring. I don't even need to explain why I'd want this (hint: because it's AMAZING)

3.  I need new boots. Desperately. Mine are literally falling apart, yet I keep wearing them.  I'm in love with these Chocolate Cravings boots - they go with both black AND brown! perfect for a girl who's apparently transitioning into gothness.

4. Speaking of transitioning into gothness... or just weirdness... I give you: the bug belt! Perfection, I say.

What are you pining after this week?

xoxo,

Jess & Caiti

Coat Sale!

There's a HUGE storm heading our way in Maine.  We're supposed to be getting well over a foot of snow.  Some reports are seriously saying over TWO FEET, which is just ridiculous.  Despite that, we've got Spring on the brains.  We're dreaming of warm weather, flip flops, and yard sales... sweet, sweet yard sales.  So we're doing a blowout coat sale on Etsy! Since it's still quite chilly out, you can totally benefit from our spring fever and get cozied up for not a lot of cash! 

Check out the Sale Section here

and here are some of the lovelies up for grabs:

Vintage 1940s Swing Coat L/XL - looove this.

 

Vintage Maroon Faux Fur & Vintage Leather Fox Fur Trimmed

Vintage Tan Wool Coat (with AMAZING buttons) & Vintage Suede & Mink Coat

What's the weather like in your neck of the woods?

 Hope you've got something (or someone) to bundle up with!

Stay Cozy,

Jess & Caiti