Outfit Post: Happy Holidays

Happy Holidays!

This Christmas was the first that I lived truly on my own. Last year I was living with my sister and the year prior I was still in my parent's house. It feels very odd when suddenly you have to buy your own tree, ornaments, and house decorations. Though to be fair I wasn't completely alone. My significant other helped me populate the tree and he was the one who made our cute buffalo plaid tree skirt that's hidden under the presents. 

Dress: Vintage Shoes: Retro Betty SLC Cardigan: Modcloth Petticoat: Modcloth

I was especially excited for Christmas this year because I was able to break out my gorgeous vintage Christmas dress. I had found it last year at a cute little shop in Salt Lake City called Decades and immediately fell in love. With it's cute brass buttons, full skirt, and fun collar this dress quickly became one of my favorite finds. Along with a cropped cardigan, which frankly is great and I'm slowly investing in all the colors of, it makes the cutest Christmas outfit. 

Did anyone else have a go to holiday dress this year?

Halloween Time

A bit late for a Halloween post, but I’m working hard to get back into blogging once again. This October I was lucky enough to be able to go to Disneyland during their Halloween celebration and it is always incredibly fun. This time around I was able to bring my significant other, Clark, along and I must say we were fairly proud of our costumes this year. We attended two of the Halloween parties that Disney organizes which we planned on dressing up as Kiki and Tombo from Kiki’s Delivery Service for one and Hogwarts students for the other. They were simple and fun to make!

For the bow, I used red fabric and hot glue. I folded, glued, and put a little stuffing into each side in order to help the two ends of the bow stand up well. The dress and shoes for my Kiki costume I bought on sale at Old Navy. Clark’s Tombo costume consisted of a top, pants and shoes that he purchased from Old Navy. He just rolled up his pants like Tombo’s and there was his costume! Though it does help that he greatly resembles the character.

When it comes to our Hogwarts Students costume both of us represented our individual houses with pride, I as a Ravenclaw and he as a Hufflepuff.

My costume consists of a wool Ravenclaw sweater I purchased from Whimsic Alley, a white button up from Old Navy, a Ravenclaw tie from SassyandChicFabrics, a black Modcloth skirt, and black Mary Jane flats from Old Navy. His consisted of vintage pieces and different clothing items that he purchased from Old Navy.

Pie Time

It's been quite awhile since I've baked anything. Several years back I use to love baking, but once I started college up in 2012 I just lost the time for it. Balancing both college and a part time job (with a two hour commute there and back, yikes!) left me little time for it. This was the first pie I've baked ever since moving to Utah three years ago...so as I said, it's been quite awhile.

 I actually got my enthusiasm for baking back a little bit because a friend's birthday came up and when do birthdays not call for baking? The recipe I used came from one of my favorite food blogs entitled Smitten Kitchen. I followed her recipe to the tee except for two minor alterations. Here's the link to it: https://smittenkitchen.com/2012/07/peach-pie/ 

The first was that I didn't poach my peaches to peel them and instead went straight for my peeler. In hindsight the poaching would have been best because as I peeled the peaches I was very worried about cutting my hand open, but then again that's just me.

Secondly, I stuck with cornstarch for thickening rather than using ground up tapioca balls. This was simply because the grocery store I ran to didn't carry tapioca balls. Cornstarch works just as well though and doesn't alter much at all. As the recipe says the tapioca just doesn't cloud the filling as much as the cornstarch which still doesn't affect the color a great deal.

Overall, it turned out wonderfully!  I was quite pleased with the resulting look and taste of this pie. Honestly, one of the simplest recipes and I highly recommend it. It highlights the sweetness of the peaches alone instead of overpowering them with sweetness and reheats very well if you're eating it over a couple of days.

I'm excited to try and get back into baking! I need to do some research and figure out what to try next. Any ideas?

Also! I'm hoping to get another outfit post featuring the outfit I'm wearing in these photos finished and published this week. Stay tuned!

Friday's Finds

This Friday's Favorites may have turned into a Saturday afternoon favorites due to a slight mix up of scheduling, but all the same it's still favorites found prior to Friday! 

I actually stumbled across Stephanie Buscema's etsy shop ages ago. Her retro pin up type of art style is one of my favorites and I cannot wait for the day I'll be able to purchase one. She also carries many items she puts her prints on this tote being one of them of course. In my opinion there is nothing better than a retro inspired girl gang and is definitely something to invest in. This great tote and the rest of her great things can be found here!

If you have ever met me then you know I am not quiet about my love for all things Disney. In fact I'll be heading to Disneyland again this October! Before I go though I need to get this pin. Peter Pan, though problematic in many areas, has always been one of my favorite Disney films. This pin by Studio Grason captures the movie so well and is just plain adorable. Click here to look through all of his original pins!

I can never resist adding some gorgeous vintages dresses to this list of lovely things. As I continue to look for and become better at recognizing good quality vintage I always end back up at Two Old Beans' Etsy shop. These two women find some of the best vintage clothes and I am constantly falling in love with a new piece of theirs. As you can tell I couldn't narrow it down to one dress for this post! The first is a photo of their Coquette Dress. It's such a cute summery dress from the 50's. Throw on some red lipstick, a hat, and you'll stun. The second is the One Chance Dress and I am in love with the cape it comes with. It's what makes it so unique. Honestly, I'm dying to own and wear this dress every single day. You can browse through all of Two Old Beans' dresses here!

Outfit Post: Salt Lake Strolls

Despite living here for the past three years I have yet to see most of Salt Lake. This was the first time I went and took a walk around the capital building we have! I’m sad I had not gone before this spur of the moment trip because it’s a lovely little place. 

There are tree-lined gravel paths all around the building along with benches that are just perfect to bring a book to sit and read for a few hours. I must keep walking around the city to find these small gems because I know they’re everywhere.

Top: Target Skirt: Old Navy Hat: H&M Shoes: Old Navy Necklace: Gift

I suppose prior I wasn’t looking in the right places…though I imagine it helps when your boyfriend knows of quite a few. 

Taking a change of course, but I have to bring up my new hat. For the past couple of years I’ve been looking for a good boater hat. Ever since I saw Rebecca of A Clothes Horse sport one I knew I had to have one. I was in complete love. I never could find the perfect one. When I hunted for boaters they always were either too large or simply not there.

Finally, with I’ll admit some help, I was able to score one for pretty cheap! H&M had this one for only $15 and it does actually fit! I’ve always had a problem with hats because I have a child sized head, but miraculously this boater does the trick and comes in a larger size too.

As soon as I got my hands on it I had to wear it immediately which is where this summer    

gondolier-esq outfit came from. It’s a fun summer item to have and for me was perfect for a slow stroll.

Have any of you found any cute parts of your city that you’ve stumbled across or things you've been searching for as of late?

P.S.

As Clark and I walked back home from the Capital we came across the sweetest little cat named Max. This fellow was just a cute little model. I adore him and just had to include the photos of him that Clark snapped.

*Photos taken by Clark*

Friday's Favorites

Hands down collar/sweater clips are my favorite accessory. I have a tendency to not only wear them on everything, but structure an entire outfit around the fact that I just want to wear collar clips. They add just this great vintage-esq touch to anything and as a plus are always adorable. An English Garden on Etsy sells some of the cutest clips. Just look at these cloud ones! They’re precious. 

(Via: An English Garden)

Mödernaked is a handmade accessories brand on Etsy that sell some of my favorite backpacks. This Frida Backpack that they’ve created is inspired by Frida Kahlo and is stunning. It’s not overpoweringly floral and would complement many an outfit wonderfully. Plus it add cute functionality!

(Via: Mödernaked)

I’ve always been in love with Sockie’s art. Once I stumbled upon her blog Creature Type two years ago I found her weekly illustration project, The Big Book of Cats, to be clever and such a fun well done project. Since then her are and pins have always been something I’ve come back to. Recently she just created Boss Babes. A coloring book filled with different powerful women to color. Never have I found a coloring book I have been so enamored with (and trust me I have my fair share of coloring books). Go check it out because it’ll make your feminist heart swell.

(Via: Sockie)

Now a days I’ve been doing quite a bit of camping and there are always things needed and enamel mugs is one of them. There are always different cute designs for them, but Ohh Deer’s floral mugs have me floored. They’re simple and adorable little things that’ll add some fun to an early camp morning’s French Press coffee.

(Via: Ohh Deer)

In my opinion, the best sort of movie/television referencing items are the ones that work on a subtle nod. Which is why I think this Twin Peaks wooden brooch is great! It has two key show elements, the Twin Peaks and a damn fine cup of coffee, in one cute brooch. It’s a nod to a fantastic show and to those who’ve seen it. It’s perfect.

(Via: Hungry Designs)

I hope you come across some weekend finds especially during those Memorial Day Sales!

- Rebecca

Outfit Post: Memory Grove Park

My top and skirt came from two of my favorite places here in SLC: Retro Betty and Maeberry Vintage. My houndstooth skirt I was lucky enough to pick up at the local shop before Maeberry switched to being an online only retailer. I highly recommend checking out the etsy shop (https://www.etsy.com/shop/MaeberryVintage). Rachel also does some great instagram sales! As for Retro Betty it's this adorable little shop in Salt Lake City that carries both vintage and retro inspired clothes. There are always mannequins with the newest dresses in front of the funky seasonally decorated shop. Both are truly great local finds. 

Top: Hell Bunny from Retro Betty Skirt: Vintage from Maeberry Vintage Tights: Old Navy Shoes: Old Navy Glasses: Bonlook (Here)

On another note, this Hell Bunny sweater I'm wearing is not only the softest thing, but also reminds me a bit of the Dita Cardigan that I'll probably never have the chance to own (Here!). If you can shell out the $200 please go for it. It's beautiful. 

Also! I recently bought a tripod so rather than occasionally bribing someone to take outfit photos I can take my own. I'm already planning more regular updates and different kinds of posts! 

- Rebecca

*Photos By Me*

Style Love: Ingrid Bergman

One actress I could not neglect within my Style Love series is Ingrid Bergman. I've been enamored with her effortless style since I first saw Casablanca. So, here's looking at you kid.

Ingrid Bergman is the master of the casual, but put together ensemble. She perfectly sums up the fashion of the 1940's with her clean cut and menswear inspired looks. Plus her roles in Casablanca and many Hitchcock films are absolutely classic! 

I'll never be able to understand how perfect each of her hats are for her outfits!

Ingrid Bergman's ensembles also bounce between structured and flowing in such a way that keeps her style interesting and alive. She didn't stick with one look that was comfortable, instead it changed in ways that still fit well with her look.

I'll always recommend her films for both acting quality and her breathtaking wardrobe! 

- Rebecca

The Vintage Whites Market

Last month I was given a sudden, but wonderful, opportunity by a local vintage seller named Maeberry Vintage check Rachael's store out on Etsy and her Instagram (maeberry_vintage). Because of her I was able to take part in a vintage/retro inspired fashion show! 

There is this lovely little market that sells all things vintage called The Vintage Whites Market. This market travels around and stops in different places (Utah being one!). It's founded and run by two ladies, Jana and Vanessa. They organize and even run a blog about the VWM at vintagewhitesblog.com. They created a fashion show for the sellers to be able to showcase some of their pieces. Rachael was put in charge of it and made a call for models on Instagram.

I'm not exactly sure what possessed me to email her. I'm the person who has a specific comfort zone and stays there. Still, I sent her an email then suddenly I was there getting my hair and make up done with the other twenty or so ladies.

If you haven't noticed from the photos I was given a stunning green wiggle dress to wear from a local seller by the name of Retro Betty. Adorable little dress boutique. If you're local and have yet to go I highly recommend a stop. I do believe that this dress is should still be there if you're interested. It's incredibly comfortable despite not looking so. Honestly, I bought it out of a mixture of impulse and desire for a souvenir from the show and have yet to regret my purchase. Now I just have a new piece to experiment with!

Modeling for this show was such a neat experience and everyone I met was wonderful. I hope have have this opportunity again soon!

*These gorgeous photos were not taken by me! All except the 5th photo was take by Jazmin of the Keepin It Fresco. The 5th photo was taken by Jessica*