Five for Friday: January 8, 2010

...After a brief hiatus away, the weekly Five for Friday post returns, bringing with it the first handful of what I hope will be a slew of wonderful, diverse, creative items, ideas and images to fuel the fires of inspiration for the coming year...

♥ ♥ ♥


{Utensils of timeless beauty}


{Everything in this elegantly serene collage of antique silverware speaks directly to my love of graceful, gorgeous items that have clearly endured the effects of time yet grown more sublime with each passing year. Something about these photos (which hail from sadieolive.com) reminds me of a classic saying that seems especially fitting around the New Year, “Make new friends, but keep the old, one is silver and the other is gold”.}


{Prettier than all the snowflakes in the arctic combined}


{Winter camouflage never looked so lovely! This darling two piece vintage suit with its fur collar (I'm hoping it's faux, but you'd have to ask the seller) and decorative bow channels a Russian princess vibe and would be the perfect way to stay both stylish and warm all season long. 1960s “Lilli Ann” suit, fits up to a 38 inch bust/32 inch waist, $165.00 (US), from etsy seller LipStick Whiskey.}


{This precious
little bank wants us all to love piggies once more}


{If being money-wise is amongst your resolutions this year (or if you’re all ready a saver whose looking for a charming place to stash your pennies), why not save every extra coin possible in this exceptionally cute, ever-so-slightly rococo ceramic piggy bank? Featuring cherub-esque gold wings and coming in at 6 inches tall, this massively adorable piggy is sure to become a treasured part of your home decor. Juicy Couture “If Pigs Could Fly” bank, $48.00 (US) from Revolve Clothing.}


{Proudly show winter it can’t defeat your passion for stunning open toed shoes!}


{Boasting a 4 inch stiletto, delicate ankle straps, cream hued fabric bow and a glossy black patent sheen, these intensely beautiful heels have exactly the right combination of elements to ensure they remain beloved favourites for many years to come. Black ankle strap stilettos, available in standard women’s sizes and half sizes (please note that some sizes appear to be sold out online at the moment), $34.00 from Newport News.}


{Help ensure you see everything 2010 has in store with crystal clear clarity}


{Tiny glistening rhinestones adorn the front and sides of this wonderfully pretty pair of 1950s cat’s eye glasses, adding instant pizzazz to whatever else in your wardrobe you opt to team them with. Vintage 1950s aurora rhinestone eyeglass frames (lenses not included), $127.00 (US) from etsy seller Vintage 50s Eyewear.}


Unsurprisingly the world outside is colder than the back of an ice cream delivery truck, the sidewalks slick and dangerously covered with a solid frosting of ice. One longs for the sight of bare, snow-free ground once more, but knows that such a resplendent treat is still many a week away in these parts. Consolation comes in the form of the odd sun-kissed day that appears, transforming the lacklustre snow in a brilliant playground of sparkling diamonds, as if to remind you that even the darkest season can radiate with majestic beauty.

I hope dearly that each of you has enjoyed a peaceful, happy first week of this new decade, and that your weekend ahead will be an amazing one!

Greetings 2010, I’ve been waiting for you!

This week begins what will one day encompass the third decade of my life, ushering in with it the end of ten years that saw much strife and worry the world over. The 2000s were many things to many people, myself included. Though I count myself extremely fortunate that I was not affectedly personally by any of the largest global catastrophes that occurred during the last decade (baring the trickle down effects of the economic crisis most of us are still very much feeling), I would certainly say that I faced innumerable personal challenges along the way.

It was a decade of growth, of pain, of moments that tore at the fabric of my soul, of hope in the face of adversity, of love and laughter, of overcoming the impossible, and immense realization. During the 2000s I morphed from a teenager into a woman, a bachelorette to a wife. I, particularly in the past three or so years, began to truly accept myself. Between the pages of the last ten years, at times, I lived heartache, breathed anguish, felt as alone as the moon, embraced bliss, survived, celebrated achievement, saw certain dreams materialize into entirely different realities, moved on, never stopped hoping.

Some of the very best and the very worst moments I’ve ever known took place in the 2000s, both bolstered me onwards in the most powerful of ways. I haven’t the slightest clue what this newborn decade, the 2010s, holds in store for the world – or myself, none of us do, but isn’t that part of what makes life, the constant sunrises and sets, highs and lows, so very worth it? The possibility that the future holds equal or better opportunities, greater levels of happiness, more beauty than the prior years.

It may sound odd to look to future on a blog devoted squarely to the past, yet in my eyes, the two are not entirely separate beings. In the days of yesteryear, those before my own life began, I find so much to love and embrace, to learn from and aspire to. These elements that speak to my heart help to guide many components of my future, and I hope, will help to make up some of the threads in the fabric of my future.



{The beginning of a fresh decade calls for a little starry eyed optimism, don’t you think? Image, from a 1948 copy of Charm magazine, via myvintagevogue’s Tumblr stream.}


Though it’s the morning of the third day of this massively new year, not the first, I want to take a moment now to say straight from my heart, welcome, 2010, and the decade you launch! No matter what you turn out to be, know that I’m routing for you all the way.