you say it's your birthday...

i've said before that birthdays should be for moms and dads...they do ALL of the work and we just get to be born. now that i have friends who have become mothers or others who are in the final days of pregnancy, i think this at least 300 times as much as I did before. 

i honor of the ones who made me exactly 29 years ago today, here's one of the first family photos from my first forty-eight hours in this world.

 

my parents have been JUST this loving and supportive every day of my entire life, so to have 29 years with these two folks has been the greatest birthday gift of my life. so, happy birthday to me...but most importantly, thank you mama and daddy. 

let's get down(ton abbey)

only 6 more days until a personal wish of mine is granted! the season 2 of Downton Abbey premieres on PBS Sunday and i've been waiting since last spring to see it. i can hardly stand it.

everything about the first season was so incredible...the clothes (and hats!) the characters, the time period (the hats!), the story, the setting...i was so aboserbed that i watched the entire season in one weekend. i loved this BBC miniseries MORE than the BBC's pride and prejudice, which is saying something since it had colin firth in it...and i don't think i'm the only one. twice recently i asked someone what they'd watched and liked recently and they gushed with me about DA for many, many minutes. if you haven't seen it, start watching it on netflix or pbs streaming right this minute (or if you're at work, the MINUTE you get home.) if you watch one episode a night and two on Saturday until Sunday when the new one premieres, you'll be 100% caught up. you'll thank me, i promise.

if you aren't convinced, here are a few stills, and a link to the website, to whet your appetite.

 oh, did i mention that the hats are amazing?

of course i love the soap-opera-ish romances and the pot-boiling feuds between the sisters, the in-laws, and the servants, but some of my favorite pieces are the little period details and social and professional expectations of the world at that time since between the sinking of the titanic and beginning of World War I there was an incredible historical turning point. also, something about the society reminds me of earlier generations of southern families. i'm glad i don't live in those times, but i'm so intrigued...

also, if i'm preaching to the choir and you've already watched the show and are as excited as i am, take 2 minutes for the character quiz to find out your downton abbey doppelganger! the last season ended as world war one began, so i can't wait to find out where the writers pick up. let me know if you'll be watching so we can chat about it.

images from google

Happy New Year!

 boone and i are spending the new year in austin, tx with some of our dearest. when i think of nye, i think of sparkly clothes, champagne, and streamers, so we've not only packed our dancing shoes but also i'm thinking of packing my very own vintage champagne saucers because they feel SO old world and glamorous.

i hope YOUR new year's eve (and more importantly, your new year) is magical, glamorous, and filled with the ones you love.

so many treasures...

so a few weeks ago i went to some training in the city (new york city, actually)and i got to spend one night with some sweet friends, jenny and thomas. while thomas was in class, jenny and I went juking around their neighborhood, peeking in used book stores and thrift shops along our route. then we stumbled upon the best place in the whole world... olde good things. it was filled with treasures! treasures that i wanted to bring home SOOOOO bad.

and the best part was that they were old, and cool, and moderately priced.  if you live in new york or la, or scranton, pa (what?) then you're sinning if you haven't visted olde good things and taken home everything you can fit in your car.

mapping it out...

 so, this weekend went over to oxford for the football game and some tailgating...which was incredibly fun. we ate delicious food, danced at a piano bar with friends, drank just enough to feel fantastic, and even hit up the bookstore on our way out of town. i made a pit stop before we hit the road in off-square books, and noticed THESE fantastic gems inside and outside of the loo...
































which made me want a vintage pull down map for our house, like whoa. turns out, this isn't only MY idea...see how cool they look in an office or living room??

 

images from me, here, here, here, and here . Find your own vintage maps at etsy or on ebay!

inviting strangers...

i've been coming across lots of portraits of strangers in my interweb browsing this week...





these are from at

poppytalk

my mom is an incredibly talented portrait painter so i've always loved the way one looks in a space (in fact, "red legs" a pretty lady with red stockings is hanging in my living room right now) but i'm not sure how i feel about a gallery of strangers in my home. thoughts?

garage sale treasures...

i told you i'd share some of the best finds and a few snapshots from the weekend...so, here they are!

of course i took the photos with my mom's camera and left the shots of the back of this dress are on her computer...anyway, the back of the dress is out and it has this fab bow and looked like a dream, so i bought it.

here are the bottles. i think people who buy empty wine bottles at yard sales must not drink wine. otherwise, they'd just buy some wine, drink it, and use their own damn bottle. also, there were years and years of gourmet and saveur magazines...


lovely old photographs and actual mink caps... (plus a fox collar. it had already been sold when i started snapping photos)

and these two fab numbers from the 70s... (also two mexican wedding dresses: one bright yellow & the other purple with embroidery. plus some brooks brothers shirts and ferragamo shoes. my neighbor has great taste)

and this graduation dress. so pretty with the eyelet collar...


and some other stuff...lots, and lots of other stuff. i'm sorry you missed it...but maybe next time.

what i've been up to...

so i'm in the 'sip with my folks for a little bit while boone finishes up exams and papers (it wasn't fair for me to be finished and be around the house rubbing it in his face). i've been here since tues. and we've spent the whole time pulling together our very own GARAGE SALE!

image from flickr

i'm so sad you're not here because it's a neighborhood affair with tons of great stuff. five families (ok, women) pitched in some pretty fantastic things (vintage dresses, working new-ish appliances, fish-shaped glass bottles...) anyway, i'll try to take some photos this afternoon to show you what you're missing!

wishing for white...

i'm ready for spring... wish it was warm enough for me to wear this little number around town and i wish that it was after easter so white was acceptable. and MOST OF ALL i wish 13bees hadn't already sold it b/c it's just a dream! wouldn't it be so pretty for a bride to wear at a brunch or something?

dad with a mustache. and a sweet tie.

tomorrow is the end of Februhairy... and my mom just left my apartment after the most wonderful visit. in honor of both of these things, here's a fab photo of one of my favorite mustachioed men (who is no longer mustachioed, thank goodness)

style icon: rita hayworth

isn't she just perfect? i'm not bold enough to wear red lipstick like this, but i'm infatuated by women who are. last weekend i watched rita hayworth and gene kelly in the 1944 film, cover girl, and can't stop fantacizing about pulling out my hot rollers, finding a tube of red lipstick, and perching the most fantastic hat i can find over my left eyebrow. the good news is that boone has been searching for a '40s style three piece suit for months, so at least BOTH of us would look like we got trapped in a time warp. who's with us?









plus, the wedding scene is pretty dramatic... i'm not wild about ms. hayworth's ensemble here, but the bridesmaid outfit looks so chic.


photos from here, here, google, and flickr