Black and White and Kind of Freezing

Do you guys remember the silly old joke- Whats black and white and red all over? A newspaper! (red=read) I don't think I've heard a new joke in a while. Not even the knock knock joke from a little brother who is out to entertain himself with our groaning. Or the wincing double whammy of a inappropriate one from grandma!  

Have you guys heard any good ones lately? Or some bad enough to cause some good groaning? Anyway, this outfit is another almost entirely thrifted one, although the sweater is from Ross, which amounts to something like the same. I love being able to find unique things like this belt, that aren't necessarily in fashion this moment and wouldn't appear in regular stores.

Unfortunately I needed to tighten it and I didn't know, so its hanging pretty low and loose in these photos! I am looking forward greatly to being able to wear this dress without a sweater this summer, maybe with a pair of red sandals... 

Anyway I hope its not so rainy were you are now, and have a wonderful Sunday!

Twirling

This skirt makes me feel like a Little House on the Prairie character! Laura or Mary, not Nellie. Giant poof sleeved monstrosities of Easter dresses remind me of Nellie. I love the way this skirt moves. It fans out and flutters just from walking, which looks lovely with the swirls of color.

Later in the day Chris and I escaped to the beach for a while, to look for driftwood for a project. We had to snap a few pictures of the skirt doing its thing in the wind. 

I am wondering how hard it would be to make a skirt like this, the individual components seem fairly simple! As my sewing skill increases a bit, I am starting to break down every garment I look at mentally. 

I would love to be able to sew all my own clothing eventually.  There's Little House on the Prairie for you. 

Apricot

This was a risky dress. It sat at Goodwill for three weeks, tempting me, but with stains right on the front. Still it was such a lovely color, and set off perfectly by its golden swirls, that I finally gave in. Luckily my Grandma (confirmed expert on possibly everything) had the perfect solution. Dawn dish soap, applied directly and left to sit for two days!

And its gone like it never was! Sadly this does not work on all stains. I have a beautiful turquoise off the shoulder dress I've been wrestling with for a year. I've even dyed it with no success! But I can't bear to get rid of it because its so darn pretty. Sigh.

I am still however, incredibly happy with this one. I added a necklace I made myself, a thrifted henley, and some perfectly old fashioned leather heels.

And the belt from the infernal dress-which-will-not-unstain. So there is some consolation anyway.

I love the way this looks with the light shining through it, and there is plenty of beautiful light today.

We are off on an exciting spice hunting adventure in Olympia! Hope you have a marvelous day! Any tips on stain removal?

Dressed in Purple

Sometimes thrift shopping is a long chase. Hours of digging can result in treasure (usually) or nothing (not often enough to suit my wallet!). This particular skirt however was just hanging there outside the dressing room, waiting for me! One woman's no go is... well you know the rest.

I absolutely love the trim around the bottom, the lacy petticoat underneath and the beautiful swinging movement of so much fabric. And it was packed with other items in a bag for seven dollars deal at Anchor Thrift Store in Ocean Shores Washington. It is a little store and out of the way, but for my money has better quality items than many larger stores.

I've found a number of gorgeous sixties dresses, and accessories that seem like they came from exotic vacations there. It is in a retirement community, which makes these sort of donations wonderfully likely. Its always fun to look for thrift stores in areas where people are different from you, especially on vacation. Even the things you don't want to buy are fun in an anthropological sense!

So if you pass a tiny, maybe even sketchy looking, secondhand store, give it a look! The shoes and necklace are also thrifted, and the shirt is from Walmart of all places! Have a nice day!