The Recipe for Love - and one seriously fun vintage outfit, to boot!

Outfit details

1950s green nylon/chiffon hair scarf: Unknown, had for years (possibly a gift)
1940s red plastic knot shaped screw back earrings: Purchased in person from a fellow vintage seller
1980s does 1950s chambray shirtwaist dress: (Probably) eBay (had for years)
1980s does 1950s citrus slice brooch: eBay
Brown vintage fabric belt: From a 1970s skirt purchased from Cricketcapers (see the two in action together here)
Vendula Recipe Tote Bag: c/o Vendula London
Vendula Recipe Clip Fastened Frame Wallet: c/o Vendula London
C. 1950s green gloves with ruffle details: Unknown, had for years (possibly eBay)
Yellow plastic bangle bracelet: Forever 21
C. 1950s/60s red twisted plastic bangle bracelet: eBay
C. 1950s/60s green moonglow plastic bangle bracelet: Unknown, had for years
Nude seamed nude stockings: eBay
Brown 1940s style faux leather round toe heel: Walmart
Lip colour: MAC Russian Red
 

Photography by Tony Cangiano

 
























































(As Tony frequently travels to the States for work, he often has a little bit of US currency to hand and thought it would be a fun touch to slip an American paper note into the wallet for this shot. I concur and think it really adds a delightful touch to this snap.)

♥ ♥ ♥

Rain, an unusually large and frequent amount of the wet stuff, has filled many of our days lately, making taking outfit snaps quite a challenge at times. On the very recent Saturday when these photos were captured, the light was changing ever thirty seconds or so and all of about ten minutes (tops) after we wrapped, the heavens opened up again and dropped countless more cats and dogs on us.

In fact, in all of the years I've live in the Okanagan (which collectively, is quite a few), I can't remember the last time we had such a damp, chilly spring (though, there have been pockets of warmer/sunnier days here and there, don't get me wrong). 

But enough of me being a hard core Canadian (that is to say, talking about the weather with great interest and detail - something of a national pastime in this beautiful country of ours) - especially since, in a lot of ways, I actually enjoy rainy weather and find there's a distinct serenity to it that really appeals to my soul.

Another thing that has always spoken to the very core of who I am and what I adore is cooking. This massively includes the collecting, creating, and using of recipes.

As such, the moment that I saw the recently released Vintage Recipe line of products from the wonderful UK accessories brand Vendula London, it was love at first sight.

Over the course of the past year, I've had the pleasure of teaming up with Vendula London twice previously here on my blog, and really adored the beautiful, extremely well made offerings that I received from them both of those times.

I have to say though, that the two awesomely lovely items - the Vendula Recipe Tote Bag and Vendula Recipe Clip Fastened Frame Wallet, respectively - are my absolute favourites to date, and I can't begin to thank Vendula enough for these wonderful review gifts.

Each of these products is bursting with shabby chic meets vintage inspired charm and whimsy, and has a design that also channels that of certain scrapbook styles, and thus appeals to me - as a long time paper crafter - all the more.

The detail on Vendula London's offerings is always impressive, but that of the Vintage Recipes collection is knock-your-socks off incredible!

Both the tote bag and wallet are double sided, with a different design on each side, and a beautiful culinary related printed cotton lining inside. Canvas, faux leather, cotton, and metal make up the various components of each are are all very durable, high quality materials.

One of the things that I adore most of all about Vendula's products is how incredibly creative they are. Each side of this bag and wallet is a work of art with unique, stylish, and timelessly beautiful elements combining to create a product that is head turningly stunning (and indeed, I've worn this bag out on two occasions and have been inundated by kind compliments from strangers and relatives alike each time I have).

Appearing on the outside of the tote bag and on the inside of the wallet is Vendula's "recipe for love", which includes such vital elements of life as humour, romance, joy, compatibility, trust, respect, sharing, tenderness, and patience.

As someone who believes in, and tries to live a life filled with, the virtues of such things this elegantly charming recipe resonated deeply with me, as I'm sure it does with many of you as well.

We are well served by putting this recipe into action as often as possible in our lives and I really admire Vendula London for creating products with such a touching, soulful reminder printed on it for all the world to see and hopefully try to embody as often as one can.

When it comes to the recipe for this outfit, I pulled heavily on the colour palette from the bag and wallet, as well as the lemon slices featured on the tote.

This 1980s does 1950s chambray shirtwaist dress is, without a doubt, one of my favourite dresses that I've ever owned. Interesting, though it has appeared on my Instagram at least a couple of times over the years (including on my 30th birthday and on the ferry ride to Vancouver Island that we took for our holiday there, both back in 2014), I believe this is the first time it's appeared here as part of an outfit post on my blog.

I love this frock so much, that if someone - for whatever strange and unusual reason - forced me to whittle my entire dress collection down to just five garments, this classic chambray shirtwaist dress would make the cut, no questions asked. It's akin to the dress equivalent of a light hued pair of jeans, is incredible comfortable, and works well the whole year round (especially from spring until mid-autumn).

As the tote bag is the rightful star of the show here, I kept my accessories somewhat low key, but not entirely subtle - after all, it's hard for a large sized vintage citrus slice brooch to ever read as understated!

A hair scarf, 1940s earrings, assorted bangles, olive-y green hued ruffled mid-century gloves, and classic brown faux leather pumps round out the mix and add up the perfect sort of ensemble for a weekend afternoon of errand running - no matter the weather!

From its darling cherry faux leather charm on the zipper to the recipe for love and the awesome vintage inspired notes, this gorgeous canvas tote bag and wallet from Vendula London are every bit as much "me" as this chambray shirtwaist dress is and both instantly add up to a recipe for wardrobe happiness in my (cook)books.

Perfect Autumn Days Filled with Laughter and Fun

Outfit details

C. 1930s/40s burgundy felt hat with netting: Garb-Oh Vintage
Brown and white plastic cameo earrings: Handmade by me
1960s does 1930s brown and black fur coat: Yard sale find
Hell Bunny Kim Flare Dress in Black: Retro Glam
1950s brown gloves: Unknown, had for years (probably eBay or Etsy)
Autumn Leaves Vintage Style Bag: c/o Vendula London
Black seamed nude stockings: eBay
Burgundy faux leather pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Party Line

Photography by Tony Cangiano  

♥ ♥ ♥

The days are growing shorter with each passing sunset. The light struggles to produce much intensity, frost tips the morning blades of grass, and coats become a necessity - most days at least - once more. We're heading into the second half of autumn and while it may not have quite the vibrant hues or caramel sunshine of earlier weeks, it is still part of my favourite season and I always try to savour every last day until the first snowfall ushers in winter's brazen return.

I borrowed the title of today's post from the words written on the gorgeous Vendula London Autumn Leaves Clip Fastened Bag that I’m sporting here, which the company very kindly sent me as a review gift.

Today's post is the second time that I've had the pleasure of working with Vendula London (you can read about the other and get oodles of information about this stellar UK accessories brand in this post from September) and just as with the first, their product(s) nailed it out of the ball park.

This awesome burgundy corduroy purse - which I want to sincerely thank the company for - is part vintage looking, part shabby chic, and part scrapbook style, which is perfect for me because I'm a old school wearing, shabby chic adoring, passionate paper crafter. The autumn theme is what really melted my knees like ice cream on a slice of hot apple pie, however.

I've owned many bags, new and old alike, over the years, but this is the first that was ever specifically fall themed. Well made, elegant and playful at the same time, nice and roomy, and a cinch to dress up or down, Vendula's gorgeous Autumn Leaves Clip Fastened Bag is an enchanting purse that personifies the creativity, quality and appeal of this British company's awesome offerings (which you can receive free shipping on for all orders over $150.00 USD when you use the coupon code FDUS at checkout).

It struck me a few days ago that almost every year, come autumn, I dip my toes into 1930s inspired fashion. As much as I adore and appreciate the looks of that history rich decade, a lot of the styles from it do not work very well on my short, hourglass figure. Some, particularly those from about '37 onward, do though, and thus it's usually the tail end of the decade that I dabble with every now and then.

Save - possibly (it could be either 30s or 40s) for the hat - nothing here is genuinely from the 1930s, but as is often the case, clothing doesn't have to be from a particular era to look the part or channel the spirit of certain time period.

The dress is from Hell Bunny, purchased last winter, but not yet worn on the blog. The coat is a 1960s does 1930s gem that I bought a few summers ago at a yard sale in a neighbouring town. The burgundy hat, which I sported here earlier this fall (in this outfit post) hails from Garb-Oh Vintage and has proven to be the most frequently reached for chapeau in my wardrobe this season.

We nabbed these photos in front of one side of the SS Sicamous, a good sized paddle wheeler boat that once plied the waters of Okanagan Lake until - fittingly one might say (given my ensemble) - the mid-1930s.

It went through several years of of having an uncertain future, but thankfully some of the locals of the time had the good sense to see it as an important piece of history and to ultimately create a dedicated volunteer run society for its preservation and upkeep. For decades now it has been docked on the shorts of Okanagan Lake here in Penticton and is popular venue for weddings, music and fashion shows, and various other local events (in addition to being open to the public as a museum).

It has always been one of my very favourite sights in our small town and given its colour palette and history, it seemed like a fitting place to highlight not only this 1930s inspired look, but my resplendent new Vendula London bag as well – after all, one can only image the wealth of luggage and handbags alike that spent time on this boat during its glory days!

Fall really is a joyful time for me and I am so grateful for each sublimely pretty day of it. The smiles and the styles, the hues and the happiness, and, yes, even the return of coat weather. There is a natural flow to life and the seasons are a huge part of it, so I've never tried to fight their changes.

Instead I look at them as an exciting opportunity to let another segment of my wardrobe have it's moment in the limelight and to get reacquainted with old (garment/accessory) friends, while also welcoming new ones like this delightful, old school inspired burgundy kiss lock purse into the fashion fold as well.