Playing along with the I ♥ Spring Tag

Today is not only the first Saturday of April, but it just happens to be my darling mother's birthday as well. As such, it's especially jubilant day for me and not a time for long or overly serious blog posts in the slightest!

The sun is shining, the birds are (quite literally) singing right outside my window, the first gleeful hits of green are returning to the landscape and the world feels both alive and abuzz and with excitement and joy right now.

Back in 2013, I started seeing a fun little blog and YouTube video tag about spring appear on various sites (including Miss Budget Beauty) and tucked it away on my "to write a post about" list at the time.

Jump ahead three years, and today, on this blissful day, it seemed like the ideal time had come to answer the twelve quick questions in the I ♥ Spring Tag, before starting a fabulous day of birthday celebrations for my mom.

Playing along with the I ♥ Spring Tag

1. Favourite spring nail polish? Tough call!!! I really let the pastel adoring side of my wardrobe run wild and free in the spring, very much including with my nail polish picks, so it's tricky to narrow things down to just one favourite. That said, I do return year after year to Essie's Lilacism. It's such a cheery, sweet shade of purple that suits this season to a tee.






2. Must have spring lip colour?: Although I think it's been discontinued for a while, I still have the better part of a tube (that is holding up great), so I'm opting for one of the only coral shades that has ever looked good on me (coral face makeup + pink undertones in my skin are rarely a winning combo, but somehow this one works): MAC's Made With Love (seen in this outfit post from last May).



3. Favourite style of dress for spring? Something lightweight, immensely feminine, and very likely floral print (like the 1950s Horrockses stunners above!).




4. Favourite spring flower? There's sooo many to love and appreciate. How does one narrow it down to a single favourite. Hard, so hard! :) For the sake of their sublimely pretty scent alone, I think that lilacs may very well emerge as the winner for me in this camp, but I'm also partial to roses, hydrangeas, sweat peas (my mom's favourite flower), tulips, and lilies.





5. Favourite springtime (fashion) accessory? A great vintage straw hat and/or handbag (extra bonus points if flowers are involved with either), as they really symbolize the end of winter and return of warmer, milder weather and the gorgeous fashions that this chapter of the year entail.





6. What spring trends are you most looking forward to? Given that us vintage wearing folks usually make our own trends, this question isn't per se that applicable to my wardrobe, but in general some elements of springtime fashion that I adore and get excited for each year include the aforementioned straw accessories and floral dresses, pastel and/or sparkly jewelry, open toed shoes, capri pants, sheer (chiffon, silk, etc) scarves, lightweight mid-century blouses, and a royal garden's worth of hair flowers.





7. Favourite spring candle? Ooohh, good question! I'm a very avid candle buyer and user and definitely enjoy pairing many of my choices with the different seasons. When it comes to spring, I'd say probably something light and floral or subtly sweet, such as a jasmine (Voluspa, whose entire line of products I madly adore, makes an especially sublime jasmine candle, pictured above), lemon, rose or peach scent.




8. Favourite perfume/body spray for spring? For the past about 14 – 15 years now, my go-to warm weather scent has been Romance from Ralph Lauren. It's a truly beautiful classic that I will keep reaching for each spring and summer for as long as it's on the market.




9. What is spring like where you live? It generally starts around the beginning of April, when we hop from snow to rain that will usually last into May. From that point onward, the days generally start to heat up quite quickly as we live in one of the warmest parts of Canada, and by the beginning of June, it's not uncommon to feel like summer is here already.




10. What is your favourite thing about spring? That it means winter is over! :D I'm only half kidding there, but more seriously, hmmmmm, there's so much to adore about spring! From the return of yard sale season to the dipping one's toes in the lake (or ocean) again to the seasonal produce, a bevy of blooms everywhere to the spring's various holidays, and of course all of sweet, gorgeous warm weather vintage fashions themselves, too!




11. Are you a spring cleaner? Majorly so! We did a lot of our spring cleaning and around-the-house DIY jobs back in January, but you can bet your bottom dollar that I'll be busting out the ol' elbow grease at various points this spring, too.





12. Any plans for spring break or upcoming vacations? None at the moment (boo!!!), but one never knows what exciting travel adventure is waiting for them next, and even if a bigger getaway isn't in the cards this spring, I suspect Tony and I will try to get in a weekend road trip or two now that roads are becoming a lot safer to drive on again.

I'm not going to tap anyone specifically, so all means, if you'd like to play along, too, please do!

Spring is a stellar season and one that doesn't necessarily get as much love on the blog/YouTube video tag front as the other three, so I say we shower it with an April shower’s worth of blog tag answers this time around. :)

{To learn more about a specific image used in this post, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

♥ ♥ ♥

Here's to the start of April and what I hope will be a brilliant fourth month of the year for everyone! I have oodles of fun things in the works for both this month and the rest of spring - including lots of exciting warm(er) weather outfit posts - and can hardly wait to share such happenings here with all with you.

First though, I'm off to celebrate the birth of the woman who gave me life. My sweet mama, who I love, cherish and am grateful for beyond words - and whose birthday has always ensured that April kicked off on an especially happy note for our family.

Vintage Fashionista Friday: April 2, 2010

{Wonderfully fun thanks to their chipper violet hue and double use of hearts, these gorgeous earrings are also agelessly chic thanks to the fact that they’re comprised of amethysts, diamonds (3.71 ctw) and white gold. Perfect for a night out with the girls, your beloved, or any day when you want to add a splash of glamour to your ensemble, these purple heart shaped earrings, which are available for $179.00 US from myjewelrybox.com, are the sort of accessory that becomes a family heirloom.}



{Instantly evoke an old school aesthetic with this delightful little pot of cake mascara, complete with matching brush for easy application. Prior to the late 1950s and the invention of mascara in tubes, gals wanting to darken (and/or elongate) their lashes turned to pots of black mascara that were very similar to this one to do so. Those with sensitive eyes (*raises hand*) will welcome the fact that this cake mascara (which can be had for $17.90 US from The Vermont Country Store) is free of the chemical fixatives that are found in most brands of liquid/tube mascara.}



{Dripping with refined elegance and sporting a timelessly beautiful design, this Little Black Dress from the 1950s will look as sublime on any occasion you were to nowadays as it did over half a century ago. This silk and linen blend, black cocktail dress fits up to a 38 inch bust/28 inch waist, and can be yours for $98.00 US from etsy seller Thirteen Bees Vintage.}



{If ever there was a lovely black pair of gloves that effortlessly see you through any situation with ease, this is it. Fitting a size 6.5 hand, these vintage beaded gloves are an utter steal at just $6.00 US from etsy seller Vintage Orphans.}



{This is rich, darkly hued sterling silver and amethyst bracelet looks as though it could easily be an old world, antique piece, yet is in fact a modern day treasure that was skilfully handmade by etsy seller Neonglow Jewelry Design, who sells this alluring creation for $38.00 US.}



{Chauffeur your “must haves” for a night out around town in this immensely lovely black vintage evening bag covered in teeny-tiny silver dots and accompanied by a thin silver shoulder strap. Produced by Mardane, this smart and sweet snap-clasp handbag can be found for $24.00 US from etsy seller The Vintageholic Frog.}



{Every bit as versatile as a pair in white – and packing a sizeable dose more of pizzaz - these classic pumps in a soft, brushed silver hue would look enchanting with just about any evening dress, especially a LBD like the marvellous one above. These vintage Stuart Weitzman high heeled shoes, which fit a ladies size seven foot, are available from amongst the wares in etsy seller 99 Vintage’s shop.}

♥ ♥ ♥


This week’s fashionista is named after my beloved mother, whose birthday just happens to be today. A woman of timeless beauty (and a heart of gold), my mom’s style is hard to pin down – perhaps because she’s never veered into one particular fashion camp. I would say it encompasses equal parts elegance and youth, classical-ness and femininity. My mother has always been adept at picking exactly the right outfit for any occasion, thus creating a sort of effortless Grace Kelly-esque more than qualifies her for the title of vintage fashionista in my books.


Wishing you all a weekend filled with bliss, relaxation and tasty Easter treats!