Flickr Favourites: September 7, 2015

{Hair pins win war ~ X-Ray Delta One}


{Lady in Green postcard ~ Totally Mystified}  


{Acorn ~ Marko_K}



{Bon Fête postcard ~ Totally Mystified}



{Web ~ Kenny Louie}



{1960 Denby Pottery ad ~ Totally Mystified}



{1957 hair colors ~ Totally Mystified}


{Male Wood Duck ~ Karen Chappell}



{1956 illustration by Joan Beale ~ Totally Mystified}



{Vogue magazine 1948 ~ Dovima2010}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.}

♥ ♥ ♥


Has the first nip of autumn graced your town yet or are you still in the last energetic throws of summer? We land in the latter camp, but it won't be long now until the two seasons collide, their palettes mingling, their temperates fluctuating, their respective garden offerings changing hands in a silent waltz that has gone on for countless centuries.

The brief, gorgeous, enticing period that hangs between summer and autumn is rarely more than a two or three weeks long, but what a special, exciting time of the year it is! Warm, but not blazingly so, crisp, but not icy. It smells of lingering sunscreen and the first plumes of chimney smoke alike. School returns to session, swimsuits and wool coats pass each other like ship's in the night, one coming into rotation, as the other is loving packed away until late next summer (or a much needed winter vacation). There are peaches and pumpkins, summertime pinks and rusty fall golds, bare legs one day, knit tight clad gams the next.

There is a vitality that feels nearly palpable to the finale days of summer, as sunflowers sway in the breeze, backpack clad youngsters scampering down the sidewalk in the crisp morning light, and one's natural instinct to rouse the oven from hibernation returns as suddenly as the ability to comfortably wear open toed shoes disappears.

Today's edition of Flickr Favourites captures some of the hues and imagery itself of this fleeting window, this changing of the season guards, this new year of sorts, nearly four months before the ball officially drops.

While I do wish summer would stick around for another decade or so, I'll admit to feeling a touch giddy already about autumn's return and each merry, magical, marvelous day that it promises. Today however, with the thermostat still closer to July than January, I'll stay squarely parked in summer's camp a little longer. It's warm and sunny, tranquil and invigorating at the same time here, plus, it lets me wear my beloved vintage sundresses a little longer.

Soon though, as quickly as a spider spins a web during the night, fall will be here and I will, I assure you, be singing its praises from the amber leaf strew rooftop - seasonal blog posts aplenty squarely in tow.

Honey, I'm home!

Or, I should say, "Honeys, I'm home!", as I've sincerely missed each and every one of you while we were off gallivanting, sightseeing, antique & vintage shopping, and having a merry old time on Vancouver Island during the past couple of weeks.

Aside from the fact that it rained so much I almost started to worry that the Island might sink (I joke, but it was pretty darn wet there!), our trip was sublime and even the rain had its charm, beauty and perks, such as ensuring we spent a lot of time seeing indoor sights.

At the moment, as traveling tends to do to folks (especially those like me who are chronically ill), I'm rather knackered and will need a bit of time to recoup from our awesome trip. While I’m getting back into the swing of things,  I'll be packing up and shipping out all the Etsy shop orders that arrived in the last two weeks, unpacking our bags, getting ready for October's many celebrations at our house (including Canadian Thanksgiving, our 10th wedding anniversary, and three family birthdays all next week), and hopping happily back into my usual blogging (and online in general) routine right away
.



{We're back and that means it's time to jump head first into gearing up for all the many fabulous events and holidays that October houses, very much including my favourite holiday of the year: Halloween! Look for lots of exiting new posts pertaining to October 31st, as well as a product review guest post from Tony, highlights from our trips, outfit posts, vintage recipes, and lots more fall time fun here in the coming weeks. Image source.}



Though the damp weather did significantly cut down on the number of outfit shoots were were able to do, thankfully, on those rare sunny - or at least not completely soaking wet - days, we got in a few and I'll be sharing the snaps from them in the coming weeks, along with a post or two highlighting some of my very favourite elements (including the Victoria Vintage Fair and getting a chance to hand feed a group of endlessly adorable harbor seals) of our amazingly fun two week trip to Vancouver Island in the very near future.

I sincerely want to thank each and every one of the fantastic vintage loving ladies who guest posted for me while I was away. If you haven't had a chance to do so yet, I highly encourage you take a few minutes and read through all of the guest posts - on topics ranging from vintage knits to bead mid-century handbags, stylish old school fall fashions to the joys of collecting vintage books – today, as there is no shortage of great ideas, inspiration and informative alike to be gleaned from them.

Likewise, thank you deeply to all those who left comments on various posts and for me on social media throughout our travels. I always adore hearing from, and connecting with you, and really look forward to continuing to do so as we work our way through the last three months of 2014 and (of course) beyond.

Though our trip was very action packed, it was also delightfully relaxing by sheer virtue of the fact that I got a massively needed breather from the heavy stress and work load I've been under the year, as well as a break from my day-to-day routine at home as well.

As a result, I can honestly say that I've returned far more relaxed, with my energy levels somewhat recharged and a fresh, much needed outlook on how to balance work, life, and downtime from here on out. Thus happily proving, as I always find, that travelling is without a doubt one of the most rewarding and important things a person can ever do.

Singing the praises of autumn's return

Autumn, it's very name exudes a sense of the poetic beauty that abounds throughout the season. This is a time of abundance and endings, where a bountiful harvest overlaps with the final days of truly warm sunshine for many in the more northerly parts of the world, and countless crispy, crunchy leaves looking as though they've been cast in lustrous metals tumble down as we tuck our sundresses away once more (or at the very least, partner them with opaque tights).

There is no segment of the year that I adore more than autumn - especially the first few weeks, when golden light and the renewed scent of chimney smoke dance in gracious harmony through the days, as dusk grows ever shorter, grinning pumpkins seem to chase away the last few mosquitos of summer, and a certain almost electric magic fills the air.



{Fall means apple picking (be sure to take a style cue from this cute 1940s gal and wear a darling novelty print dress when you do), pumpkin patch trips, generously sized Thanksgiving feasts, ghost stories told around campfires, wool coats, closed toed shoes, and a bevy of other marvelous things we haven't enjoyed for many a long month. Image source.}



Time realizes that it need not rush so any more, much as there is to be done as September wraps up and October - beloved, dear, gorgeous, thrillingly spooky, October - settles in for what, if one is lucky, may be the last snow-free month of the year. Sometimes snow strikes before the witching hour of All Hallows Eve, but not always, and the "will it, won't it?" aspect always holds its own certain familiar appeal.

We know the year is winding down, the lingering spirit of summer's merriment hangs in the air, but we can already foresee the winter holiday season in the very next thought, too. For now though, Santa and his team of reindeer are a good ways off. There's cornucopias, scarecrows, thick slices of pumpkin pie, Halloween costumes, and Remembrance Day poppies to come first.

No matter what is transpiring in my life at the time, year after year, without fail, I feel a sense of childlike giddiness when autumn returns. I smile, trample playfully through freshly raked piles of leaves, and inhale as much of the fragrant air, which seems to contain notes of cinnamon, dried foliage, and freshly chopped wood in every breath.

Fall is always a busy season at our house, containing as it does everything from Canadian Thanksgiving to our wedding anniversary, Halloween to one week in mid-October with three family birthdays, but I wouldn't have it any other way.



{Though it can be an action packed time for us, autumn always seems to come bearing a profusion serenity, the likes of which summer can rarely match, and this calmer pace suits - and sooths - me just fine. Image source.}



I associate this chapter of year with productivity (gone is the relentlessly sweltering heat of summer that can zap one's energy to the point where just getting through the day from morning to night feels like a significant achievement), good company, decorating, planning, and scrumptious slow cooked meals.

It's never easy to part ways with summer (even if its heat can get on one's a little nerves at times), and I know that as soon as we awaken to the first frost of the season, I'll feel a twinge of longing for the dog days that were upon us just a few weeks ago. Right now though, I'm all about autumn and every last joy, possibility, familiar favourite, new adventure, and caramel filled dessert it contains.

The gorgeous, snow-free side of this season tends to be short, and by November, we might as well roll out the welcome mat for Frosty the Snowman, but right here and now it's just beginning and there are weeks left of mild days and a kaleidoscopic colour palette adorning mother nature to savour.

I hope deeply that this autumn is a beautiful one for each of you. I know that 2013 hasn't been the easiest of years for a lot of people, but perhaps this bronze light covered second to last chapter will prove less problematic and stressful for all of us.

Join me, won't you, in raising a steaming mug of hot apple cider to that hope and the thought of every good and wonderful thing that makes up this resplendently lovely season!