The Birds and the Bees

There are few things that temper my stress after a long day at work better than coming home to find packages of goodies from around the world, dinner ready on the stove and a glass of damson plum gin waiting for me.

 

This amazing watercolour-esque butterfly and wreath-print 1950s dress I spied on Croatia Vintage a few weeks ago. It was on hold for someone else, but I messaged lovely Caitlin in a bit of a frenzy just in case the other person backed out. They did within a few hours, and I was ecstatic - especially considering there were four other people behind me in the queue for it. The print is so surreal and amazing I can barely believe it's mine. I might wear it on my 21st birthday visit to the zoo, as it seems appropriate. Here's a photo of the dress's label, 'Beaumaker', taken from the Etsy listing. The yellow belt is off another vintage dress and my red enamel watch was my mum's when she was my age.

 Also pictured, a Red Emperor who came in our window one day to say hi, and lots of gin on my yellow 1950s formica table. Jack found this table for me at an opshop when we first moved in here a month ago, and it was much cheaper than the price they go for on Trade Me. It felt really serendipitous that it came to me, as I've lusted after them for years but never found one in a second hand shop. As soon as I had my own kitchen with a gap to fill, there my table was.

 The delicate painted bird stuck to my dresser mirror came in the mail today from the lovely Stevie, whose blog makes me wish I could be a kid at the museum she works at. We've known each other on the internet for ages and I've always loved her work, and I am so thrilled that I have a little bit of it now.

Liz asked in my last post for a close-up photo of the print on my Horrockses floral stripe dress, so here it is. You can tell even by these photos that it's had a good bit of wear, but it's still looking better than many modern dresses would after a few washes. I'm wearing it to an improv show tonight. Bye! 

Oh, P.S., I am selling three vintage dresses here, but the auctions end in two hours.

Home Sweet Home

These pictures were taken outside our new home by Jack, who was calling out posing instructions to me and making me laugh like an idiot. I've had the 'flu and been off work for a few days, and my 'flu has slowly turned into ear and sinus problems so I am a bit of a mess. The most strenuous activity I could manage today was a short walk to cash out at a consignment shop and spend all that money on one really, really pretty other dress, but I really wanted some photos of my newest Horrockses dress.  I got this one on Trade Me a couple of weeks ago and have worn it tonnes of times since. Everyone seems to like it as much as I do and I get lots of comments on it, which helps to validate the bidding war I got in to win it.
 

Wearing a 1950s Horrockses Fashion floral stripe dress with a bow collar from Trade Me, opshopped navy blue Roman sandals, Fieldguided Kate Bush lyric'd tote that I won on (I think) Amy Merrick's blog ages ago, clubmaster-esque opshopped sunglasses, my mum's old red enameled watch and my mum's old red rose hair bow from when she was a kid.

We have a white picket fence and an apple tree outside the window. Cute, right? This house is so perfect. I never saw it before I moved it, but Jack went to the viewing and was the only one there and the real estate agent said on the spot that we could have it. Why she decided a 20-something fella with long dreads and a huge beard (may they rest in peace) looked like such a good tenant she didn't even need to check our references is beyond me, but I am so glad she did because I LOVE IT HERE SO MUCH. This is my wardrobe:
Yes. Yesssss. I had to get like 30 more coathangers because for the first time in my life I can fit all of my dresses in one place!

Also are you guys interested on separate sales posts on here or would you rather I just posted a link to my Trade Me account? I have a handful of things I'd like to get rid of including an amazing size 6 made-in-NZ 1950s dress and I really just hate selling on Trade Me.

Hello...again...

I am possibly officially the worst co-blogger ever. I haven't posted since June last year. That really, really sucks. If it weren't for Georgia holding the fort this blog would have died a long time ago (so thanks, Georgia!).

But here I am, back in 2013 and ready to blog again! An awful lot of things have happened (and been bought) in the past months that I feel should have been featured here - for example, I've finished high school forever and I now own a Cambridge Satchel (which is beautiful - but more on that some other time). I was considering doing a big update-y post, but today I rearranged my bedroom and created some wonderful new spaces that I really like so I've decided to share some photos of my bedroom with you instead (seeing as I haven't shared any photos of my new house since my family and I moved here in May of last year!).

There's really no one better to grace the door of my bedroom than Patti Smith.

I found myself a desk and put together this new workspace today featuring the blackboard I made myself, a 1950s dining chair, my Instax Mini 8 (a Christmas gift), a Maidenhair fern and my collection of Popular Penguins, among other things. It feels great to have table space without too much clutter!

Hung from a string of fairy lights, a string of polaroid pictures taken with my Instax Mini and pegged to some twine with teeny tiny wooden pegs, featuring a photo of me & Georgia when she came down to Christchurch recently! I love all of these photographs so much.

The very DIY jewellery organiser made from picture hooks and twine that I put together last month, my favourite perfume and Karen Walker jewellery, and a see-through storage box (actually just a recycled Ferrero Rocher box) inspired by this post on Love Aesthetics.

A sneaky mirror photo of my messy hair and $7 thrifted daisy shorts. They were just sitting there, waiting for me. So amazing. Also featuring hydrangeas in an old Coca-Cola bottle.

I love my bed so much. It has a beautiful quilted linen headboard and I love sleeping in plain bedding so I bought a white duvet cover from Ikea when I travelled to Australia last December (amongst other things that I struggled to fit in my suitcase on the way home).

It feels great to have a nice-looking, well-functioning and uncluttered space to spend time in. I also recently had a massive wardrobe clean-out - I've gotten quite sick of having so much clothing that never gets worn or loved - so for all our New Zealand followers, I'll be listing a lot of vintage dresses on Trademe soon, so keep an eye out!

I'm trying to be a better blogger. Really, I am. Hopefully this gets the ball rolling again. But in the meantime...

(PS. This is one parenthesis-heavy blog post!)

Oriental Bay

Ah, god, we are in our new house and it is SO GOOD. Everything is pale blue and we get so much sunshine and we have all this amazing space to put all our things in. Where clothes used to take a week to dry in the valley, here on the hill they are crisp after an hour on the line. Amazing. I am not quite ready to show photos of it because it's still a bit messy but here are a couple from earlier in summer that Christie suggested I share. My flatmate (former, I suppose) and I were both suuuper hungover the Sunday these were taken, but a swim in the sea at Oriental Bay cleansed us of our sins. Photos by Kita.

 Look at that mop. Thankfully my friend Margot cut off like six inches of it today, it was getting so gross. My 1950s black swimsuit is from Margot's mum's costume box, plus opshopped sunglasses and scarf.


And my obligatory Datter necklace.

Also while I'm here I might as well share these, from a sunny Sunday picnic several months ago in my friend Rose's amazing garden.

Wearing a lily-of-the-valley dress I got made in Vietnam from fabric that my friend Ella gave me, and Columbine tights. Glam, right. Photos by Ben Laksana.

Waddup 2013

Hi guys! Happy new year and all that! I hope everyone is well. Excuse my extended absence. My trusty old Mac crapped out in November, and after 48 emails and many phone calls, I picked up my replacement today. It was close-to-free thanks to the endlessly complicated joys of extended warranties, and now I can do the blog thing again.

I don't really have any proper bloggy photos though, sorry. Jack and I are moving house tomorrow so my dresses have spent the week bundled up in black rubbish bags. However, in December I received a new phone from my parents as a graduation present, and despite previously condemning it and thinking it was a waste of time, I've become one of those people who's really into Instagram. Sorryyyyy. So in lieu of some better-quality photos, here are some recent photos from mine.



 My three 1950s Horrockses dresses, Popsicle, and a vintage cardigan with a Ruby Boutique dress.


Packing for a jaunt to Christchurch and then wearing my dresses - a 1950s California Cottons one, then a 1950s rose-print one that I got for free from the opshop I volunteer at.


On the shore of Lake Tekapo, an opshop we stumbled across in Twizel, getting drunk with Christie.



The great floral couch we picked up from the side of the road, patting Lola in my new birdy print dress, a work-appropriate 1950s gingham dress.

Life is good.