It has been so long since my last post. I've spent this past weekend with a nasty cold and taking care of Pj and Olivia, who also have nasty colds!  We were all feeling quite pathetic so we'd pile into our tiny bathroom, full of steam from the tub running and breathe in the wet, hot air. We stayed in our pajamas most of the time and napped frequently. We were hit with a shocking (and annoying) snow storm on Saturday morning that left my home town about 3 inches deep in wet slush. YUCK! Fortunately, the sun came out and melted all of it yesterday so I hope to get some outfit pics later this afternoon.

Yesterday, while Pj and Olivia napped, I curled up in front of the computer with a big glass of O.J. to look at pretty vintage things, which always makes me feel better.

Call them Pinnies, Pinafores, Jumpers or whatever, I love them! I've been searching for the perfect pinafore or pinny pattern for a long time and I have finally found it on etsy from auntnonniesnest 

 

Pinafores are the most perfect, versatile garment for a vintage wardrobe. You can wear them with matching blouses for a complete dress look, wear them all alone for summer days or mix it up with contrasting blouses, cardigans and accessories. They're lovely in cottons and wools alike. I cannot wait to make a few of these this year!

 Oh and a baby update: Everything is going great on the baby front! He'll be full term next week so if he can just hang on a little longer, we'll be in business! I start my weekly doctor's visits today, which always seems to put my antsy mind at ease. I have his cradle and crib all ready for his sleepy little head and all of his clothes are pre-washed and put away in his drawers. Our bags are in the trunk of the car and we're ready to roll! I do love pregnancy but I am SO ready for this to be over!

Today, the weather was so gorgeous that we decided to take Olivia to the park after dinner. She loves to be outside but lately it's been too cold to go out. Spring is finally here and we're all eager to get out and enjoy the sunshine. Here I am at 35 weeks pregnant!

 Olivia wore herself out playing on the slide, climbing up the slide and chasing squirrels and a really cute little boy.


Today, I wore my newest dress. It's a 50's shirtwaist dress from Sears that I bought at the BaleOut this weekend. It still had the original belt and was flawless and for $12, I couldn't pass it up. Even though it's blue (I have a TON of blue) I really liked the spring floral pattern.


When it started to get dark and chilly, we headed home and enjoyed Ben and Jerry's Creme Brulee ice cream. YUM!


Blue floral dress- The BaleOut
bakelite bead necklace-antique mall
tan and cream sandals- thrifted

Hello, darlings!
 I just wanted to pop in and mention that I have a guest post today on one of my favorite vintage fashion blogs, Tuppence Ha'Penny.

The post is the second installment for this week's vintage jewellery theme. It's all available for download on Tuppence Ha'Penny so pop over and check it out!

Tuppence Ha'Penny is written by the lovely Charlotte who has fabulous fashion sense and a love of vintage craftiness.

*Thank you for having me, Charlotte!! xoxo*

This past week has been completely crazy. We had snow on Monday morning and today it's in the 70's, I think. Our neighbor's snow man is a little white spot surrounded by muddy grass. I'm so happy that the first day of spring is just around the corner and I'll be running around without a jacket in no time!!
  Today, I decided to try out a little sunny weather treat: Pina Colada Yogurt Parfait

         You will need:
         vanilla or plain yogurt
         crushed pineapple or manadrin oranges (or both!)
         toasted coconut
Layer in a pretty parfait dish or glass and voila- an easy, delicious treat.

I also whipped up some sun tea and opened all of the windows in the house to let that fresh spring time air inside. After starting out the day feeling VERY yuck, it has started to turn into quite a lovely day!

I have a ton of corned beef and cabbage in the roaster for dinner with my mother in law, sister in law and nieces tonight. It should be very yummy! I  hope everyone has a Happy St Patrick's Day

Hehe, what a crazy day it's been! It started out with an invite from my mom to pop over and visit my Great Grandma this afternoon for celebrations of birthdays. I can't pass up an invitation to my Marmar's so I picked out a dress and pin curled my hair in an attempt to look put together on my outing.

While I was on the phone with my mom, Pj was trying to start a fire in the livingroom- caveman style. When I gasped "Pj's starting a fire! He's got smoke!!" My mom replied in a nervous tone "But honey, you don't have a fireplace!" Like I said, crazy day...and it was only about 9am. But he built a fire with no open flame in the house, so -that's- good news!
For more on Pj's fire building, you can see the whole process (and his extreme excitement) on his blog.

 I haven't left the house much in the past few weeks and I was thrilled to have a sunny day and a chance to make my appearance into the big wide world. Sadly, my hair didn't respond to pin curls today. It didn't have nearly enough time to dry. I tried my scary vintage hair dryer, which I have never used before but after about 5 minutes, it decided that it didn't want to be a hairdryer anymore and it shut down. It's okay, it made me nervous anyway- as you can see!

 Luckily, I have my trusty hot rollers for back up. My hair is straight as spaghetti, fine and generally annoying. To combat the straight hair blues,  I apply diluted Lotta Body, dry it completely with a hair dryer and roll it up. It's the only way that I manage to get all day curls with hot rollers. As per usual, I was running late, so I tied it all up with a chiffon scarf and hit the town with Olivia's "Going to Grandma's" suitcase and Tinkerbell sippy cup as my glamorous accessories. By the time we reached our destination, the rollers were cool and my hair was set.

 I was pretty excited about today's ensemble (minus the sippy cup). I bought this 1950's shirtwaist dress about a year ago but have never worn it! I was bad and bought it without trying it on. I brought it home and discovered that it didn't button over my bust. Fortunately, I was able to fit it after a few simple alterations. I'm about 33 weeks pregnant now and I'm loving my dresses with full skirts. They have plenty of room for my ever-growing bump.

While I was at Marmar's house, she gave me these beautiful vintage beads and a pack of pads for my clip on earrings that she ordered a while back. Thank you, Marmar!







Outfit Details:
1950's Orange Shirtwaist Dress- Retro 101 St Louis MO
t-strap flats- Charlotte Russe
sunglasses- thrifted
vintage beads- from Marmar
vintage wicker and lucite purse- The Market Place Antiques, Columbia MO
vintage Going to Grandma's suitcase- St Charles Antique Mall
chiffon scarf- cheesy accessory store at the mall

We'll have two kids in one tiny room in a few weeks so I've been hard at work making the best use out of every square foot. Decorating a nursery for two is hard enough but when you have "one of each flavor" as my nurse worded it, it becomes even more of a challenge. We rent this two bedroom townhouse so painting and any serious changes were out of the question.

Oh, I don't think I've mentioned it yet but our little boy's name is "Rhys" as you can see by the pictures! :)


When I decorated Olivia's nursery, I wanted a room that would grow with her, both for simplicity and for our budget. I drew inspiration from things that made me smile when I was a little girl and from there, I let my imagination run wild. When I was little, I loved gardens, fairies, mermaids, birds and butterflies. I do love pink but I also used plenty of green, purple, blue and brown to keep it soothing and not so "pink". Olivia's butterfly shaped accent rug is from Home Goods.

When we were choosing a nursery theme for Rhys, we also wanted a soothing environment that would grow with him. I love the nautical theme because it reminded me of my love of mermaids and the sea and a child and it was more soothing than wild jungle animals or bright red Elmo. When we found out that we would have two peas in one little pod, I was happy to find that our boy's theme adapted well to Olivia's existing decor. The wall decals and fish shaped bath mat are from Target. I cut letters out of scrapbook paper to spell the kids names above their cribs. I arranged these themed wall decals on each side of the room to tie the two sides together.





For Olivia's crib bedding, I was set on sewing it all on my own. I used whimsical, vintage-inspired fabrics designed by Heather Ross and solid, inexpensive crib sheets. My mom is a fairy/fantasy artist so Pj's mom used a piece of my mom's art to hand embroider this beautiful baby quilt for Olivia. Now that Olivia is too old for bumpers, I have taken her bumpers apart and am using the Heather Ross fabric to make a twin sized quilt for her.









 Since I didn't have as much time for sewing crib bedding this time, I found a cute crib bedding set on ebay for a song. We're using the Tiddliwinks Sailboat crib set. I also had this cute little crab print swaddling blanket custom made by camillam on etsy. I used this little vintage inspired sailor print fabric to cover the Boppy pillow.


 The crib was the single most important baby purchase for me so I wanted it to be comfortable and cute but above all- safe! I opted for a convertible crib with no drop down sides or other moving parts. We went with the Cadence 4-in-One by Baby Mod for both kids but they're different colors. A plastic storage tote fits neatly under each crib and holds extra sheets, blankets and waterproof crib pads.



  For late-night feedings and pre-nap stories, my rocking nook was a must-have. This compact hand-me-down glider fits perfectly at the foot of a crib next to this vintage bookshelf (which was the stage for many of my grandma's tea parties when she was a little girl). The bookshelf holds books from mine and Pj's childhoods as well as some new favorites.I sewed the cushion covers for the glider using durable indoor/outdoor canvas and dressed it up with Pj's beautiful blue baby blanket.
 Since both mine and Pj's mom kept a few of our babyhood keepsakes, I used them to decorate the nursery for our kids. They hold sentimental value and add to the vintage inspired look.




 I'm a cloth diapering momma but since we didn't have space for our changing table anymore, I had to think of a new storage solution for my two sizes of cloth diapers (50 prefolds per kid). Since we keep baby clothes in drawers, we had plenty of available closet space. I used a cheap wire rack to store diapers, shoes and out of season coats/jackets. A pretty box sits on top and keeps track of our Hemp Babies diaper soakers and Thirsties Duo Wrap covers.



 

For Olivia's clothing storage, I found an old beat-up dresser at a thrift store for $20. With a new coat of paint and wrought-iron drawer pulls, this dresser holds an ample amount of clothes and is a lovely addition to the nursery.

A few pretties and a wooden box for small baby needs sits atop the dresser. The carrot shaped dish holds diaper pins and snappi diaper fasteners. The terrarium was made by me and the antique owl paper weight is from my Great Great Grandma's collection.

For Rhys's clothes, we didn't have room for another dresser in the nursery but a small hand-me-down dresser fits perfectly in my bedroom and doubles up as Pj's night stand.

 It's not vintage or even vintage inspired but I LOVE our toy organizer (pictured above). It keeps toys out in the open so the kids won't have to dig around and dump out a whole toy box. It has a small footprint which frees up more floor space for playing.

                                                                       Making it Pretty
My mom is an artist so a few pieces of Grandma Mickie's art hangs on the walls. An embroidered butterfly made by my mother when she was 3 years old also hangs on Olivia's side of the room  Her friend, Lisa Hunt sent me the gift of these beautiful art prints from her Fairytale Tarot and Fantastical Creatures Tarot collection. I hung Lisa's Fairy Godmother between the two closet doors so she can keep an eye on both of my sleeping babes. The vintage  metal owl is from my Great Grandma's collection.


  Pj and I made this paper butterfly mobile, which was inspired by a similar (and much more expensive) version from Pottery Barn Kids. We cut butterfly shapes out of white card stock and tied them to fishing line, then attached the strings of paper butterflies to an old embroidery hoop. They hang just above the a/c register so they flutter gently when the air kicks on.






I found these antique German blocks that spell "Olivia" while Pj and I were visiting my aunt in Denver, CO while I was pregnant with Olivia. I found matching vintage blocks to spell "Rhys" from vintagebyalexkeller on etsy.

Anyways, that's my vintage inspired nursery for two! It's a tiny space but it holds everything we need and then some! As the kids grow, the cribs will convert to toddler beds, the rocking chair will probably be replaced by a little table and chairs for coloring and reading and baby toys and clothes will be passed on to others. I hope that you enjoyed this little tour of my favorite room in the house!

I felt the need for a slight change so I dyed my hair. Here's how it turned out....


I'm not as bitchy as I look (usually) I'm just really cold! *lol* It's kind of a reddish brown and I think I'm liking it! I've been red before but it's been a very long time!

My compact tutorial has been put on hold until Sunday (I hope!) I'm going on a short road trip tomorrow to explore new vintage shops. I promise to take lots of pics to show you!! Now, I have to go dig around and see what I'm going to wear! Its cold out and we'll be trying on clothes so I'm trying to find something cute but practical. We'll see!

Oh, I have an ultrasound appointment tonight so I will also post pics as soon as I can!!

I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend and I'll see you all on Sunday! xoxo

p.s. I'm wearing a new lipstick in this pic, so I'll be doing a few 16 hour lipstick reviews soon.

green screw back dangle earrings- from Temperamental Broad
vintage grey needlepoint suit- Brenda Sue's Vintage Warrenton, MO

 I've been slacking in the laundry department lately so we thought it would be a good plan to load it all up and take care of all of it at the laundromat this morning

I kind of love laundromats (or "laundry- mats" as I call them)
I love the funny retro signs telling you to not play in the baskets, let your children run around like monsters and to not overload the washing machines. I love the candy machines, the interesting people that come and go and the general old fashioned feel of a laundromat  There's something hypnotic about watching your socks and towels go round in a swish of fresh, soapy water and that divine scent of warm, clean laundry....aahhhhhh!! I often smell those "clean linen" scented candles but there's nothing that compares to the real deal.
Today was Olivia's first time at the laundromat and I think she kind of loved it at first. We enjoyed walking around, watching all of the front loading washing machines and dryers do their thing. She had to touch every window, of course. We shared M&Ms from the candy machines and watched Pj play one of those vintage arcade games featuring a little triangle space ship shooting at things. Towards the end, she did get unruly so I had to hang her upside down and chew on her tummy until she decided to behave.

Laundry day outfits are always my favorite. It's like the day before grocery shopping when you throw together whatever you have left and it may or may not make sense. Very few of my shirts fit anymore and this blue vintage button-up blouse is one of them. It buttons across the bust but no longer fits across my belly so I got creative and paired it with this blue vintage sweater vest which I've never worn before. I left the shirt totally unbuttoned underneath.  I'm really loving the look and feel of sweater vests all of a sudden. After fighting with a few pairs of awful maternity pants, I went with this black stretchy skirt, comfy black flats and easy "rosie" scarf, which made me feel very much like a laundry lady.






Outfit:
vintage cotton scarf- warehouse sale
40's button-up blouse- thrifted, St. Vincent de Paul
sweater vest- warehouse sale
skirt- thrifted
flats- thrifted



and the scary blurry beast flying out of the dryer is the throw for my couch.

While this post probably doesn't pertain to most of my readers, I thought it would be fun to share and possibly helpful to any mommies-to-be out there.

The other day,  I realized that I'm only 8 weeks away from my due date and haven't packed for the hospital yet. When I had Olivia, I was induced a few weeks early so I went to the hospital with my purse and the clothes I was wearing to the doctor's office that morning. I'd like to be a little more prepared this time, if I can.
 Since Pj will probably be toting Olivia into the hospital (and we'll only be in there for about 2 days or so) I'm packing light and trying to keep it practical. The internet is full of lists of "must-have" items to take with you to the hospital but I feel that most of those items are overkill.

      It's very easy for a mommy-to-be to get excited and nervous and over-pack but packing light and keeping it simple makes life much easier when it's time to go to the hospital, transfer to another room and go home with the new bundle. A 3 piece set of luggage containing the baby's entire wardrobe and mother's vanity set will probably get in the way of medical staff and make life hard on the daddy when he's trying to find that one item that the laboring mother really needs. The hospital provides the necessities and of course, there are always plenty of helpful family members on hand, offering to run back home and get anything you need...like the car seat we had at home, not yet installed. Oops!

Fuzzy Socks- to keep feet warm during labor- I froze my butt off last time
Vintage blue nightgown and robe set- to wear after delivery
Memory Foam Slippers- a gift from Pj
Nursing Bras and cotton undies -yay for granny panties
Peach hair scarf and Ivory snood-I'll be too busy snuggling my new baby to deal with silly pin curls but a head scarf or easy snood looks cute in pictures
Lotion- For back and leg massages during labor
Nursing Pads-It usually takes a few days for milk to come in but I packed a few pairs of disposable nursing pads, just in case.
Navy yarn and crochet hook- For times of waiting around or late nights when I'm too excited/nervous to sleep
journal and pen- To document all of baby's firsts and stories for the scrapbook
Makeup/Toiletries bag- in a cute soap and glory bag
  
Not at all something I need but with visitors and pictures going in scrapbooks, a swipe of mascara and lip gloss makes a girl feel pretty. I packed my makeup in this cute little Soap and Glory bag, a gift from my sister. I have a vintage compact, refilled with my shade of powder, a tube of mascara, concealer, liquid liner and a tube of berry colored lip gloss. I also bought a pack of  facial cleansing wipes and a small bottle of my favorite facial moisturizer. I have hair pins and a ponytail holder in the Anne Taintor change purse and a rat tailed comb in the bag.  My makeup bag holds my toiletries, all travel-sized: toothbrush and paste, deodorant, shampoo, conditioner and body wash.

Other Stuff-Since both of our moms will be present during delivery, we don't bother with the phone list or camera. The excited grandmas take care of spreading the news and taking LOADS of pictures of their new little bundle. I leave the cash for snacks to Pj. He knows that hospital cafeteria and ATM locations like the back of his hand! :) I will also toss a few pillows from home in the car at the last minute. The hospital usually has an extra pillow on hand but I'm a pillow hog and it's nice to have your own pillow! :)

For Baby, Daddy and Big Sister
Pj packs his own little bag, which will probably contain a change of clothes, pajama pants and something to entertain him

Olivia will be staying with my mom and her toys, books, clothes and portable crib are already over there. I also left a list of favorite foods, dosage for Tylenol and teething medicine and the emergency number for her pediatrician- just in case!

For the baby, I packed a gown (which I LOOOOVE on babies. They're SO cute!) and this cute little elephant print sleeper. Olivia was full term but she wore preemie size when she was born. Since this baby is only 4 pounds now, I think he'll be small too but we went ahead with the newborn size anyway. I'm sure that I can ask a grandma to bring a preemie outfit if we end up needing it. We also brought a nice warm blanket for the car ride home. I will also be packing the baby book for copies of those tiny ink footprints! :)
 So, that's it! If you're packing your own hospital bag, especially for the first time, I suggest asking other moms what they brought with them and what they actually used. Think about what makes you feel comfortable when you're in pain or not feeling well and let that guide you in your packing.

This has nothing to do with vintage fashion or anything but I can't resist posting new ultrasound pics of my little boy!

 I went for an ultrasound this afternoon to check his growth and what-not. They said that he's about 4 pounds right now and that everything looks good! I don't have to see the maternal/fetal medicine specialist anymore unless my doctor thinks I might have a problem. YAY!!! That guy makes me so nervous every time I see him so I'll be thrilled if I can go without seeing him again. I still have to take it really easy and lay down as much as possible but I'm making major progress on crochet and other couch-friendly projects. :)

Anyway, I made sure to ask for pics today and here they are:

that's a profile view of his face! It looks like he may have daddy's chin and mommy's nose

So that's what's been kicking me! Towards the top of the image, you can see a big, whoppin' foot

We also got to see him lounging with his legs crossed at the ankles, just like his daddy! 8 more weeks till my due date! :)

I am so incredibly excited so please excuse me while I ramble on a bit...
 Pj called me on his lunch break today to tell me that he had a surprise for me when he got home. It's a late valentine's day gift because some big poo on etsy never shipped out what he had originally ordered and he had to cancel the order.

silly vintage valentine from neatneatneat.wordpress.com

   Anyway, he came home and surprised me with a beautiful, shiny, new digital camera!!! It's a Canon Powershot SX110IS and it is absolutely fabulous. Our last digital camera (a crummy, cheap Kodak thing from Walmart) is the -worst- camera on the face of the earth and we are both so thrilled to be rid of it.
  With the new baby on the way, Olivia doing amazing things and both of us having a blog, our family really needed a nice new camera with non-sticky buttons and no shutter delay. I am tickled pink! Thank you for my beautiful camera, Muffin! (Yes, Pj is the Muffin Man)





It's so funny that he bought a new camera for me because over the weekend, I lost our old one! I went thrifting and I thought that it fell out of the diaper bag in our travels. Luckily, I did find it this morning in a bag full of Pj's thrift store finds so I was able to save my precious pics of Olivia.
Well, expect lots of -beautiful- pictures in the near future, thanks to "The Muffin Man"