Introducing a fun new post series: Links, Life, Love

 Soooooo, you guys remember back in early January when I decided to retire some of my long standing reoccurring blog post series? (As discussed in this post.) Though I've not yet regretted that decision for a moment and have greatly been enjoying exploring other writing channels in place of where they once occurred, the more time that goes on, the greater the sense of longing for some sort of regularly occurring link sharing post becomes.

I didn’t want to revive my "Vintage Link Love" series however, as I stand behind the reasons why it was handed a gold watch and sincerely thanked for its diligent years of loyal service. Instead I want to launch a new post right here, right now, that will combine elements of that past series with others topics that I often want to discuss with all of you, too, but don't always have the ability to set aside a whole post for right in the moment.

By the same token though, I don't want these posts to be a million miles long, nor will they necessarily be occurring here on a month-by-month basis. In fact, I want them to be as "on the fly” as possible.

They're going to combine a small smattering of (mostly vintage related) links from around the web that have caught my eye lately, include a (likely) brief look at some of what has been transpiring in my personal life lately, and also share some of things - online or off - that I've been loving and/or feeling deeply inspired by in recent weeks.

Generally speaking all of these are points that most of my readers really enjoy hearing about, so without further ado, may I present you to the first ever edition of Links, Life, Love.


Links:

I swear it was you, my dears, and your plethora of awesome posts in the first few weeks of 2016 that ultimately birthed this series. Try as I may, I couldn't stop bookmarking articles that spoke to me and that I, in turn, wanted to speak to each of you, my lovely readers, about. There's just too much awesomeness being created each day, week and month of the year online not to shine the spotlight on at least a wee fraction of it here.


-Detroit in the 1940s: Then as now, Detroit has not been without its highs and lows, struggles and beauties, as this striking photo filled piece from The Atlantic about the Motor City and its inhabitants during the mid-twentieth century heyday.


-The Ultimate List of Maternity Friendly Retro Clothing: Recently the immensely lovely Bethany from Miss Betty Doll gave birth to her second child, a gorgeous new daughter and little sister to her first sweet girl, and as she rocked vintage/repro/retro styles through her pregnancy, she decided to put together an excellent and very thorough list of some of the best sources for just such fashions when one is expecting. It's a must bookmark no matter if you ever plan to have wee ones of your own or not.


-Women of the Big Band era that everyone should know: My good friend - and fellow Canadian gal - Liz from Vintage Inn excels at penning informative, exciting, and just plain awesome history filled posts and one of her latest, which takes a gander at some of the female stars of the big band era, is no exception.


-Things Pale Girls are Sick of Hearing: Given that I've actually been called "a vampire" before in public by complete strangers, even when I wasn't wearing goth fashions or makeup, simply because of my light complexion, this great Forever Amber post hit home for me big time!


-How to alter clip-on earrings into post earrings: Let's face it, objectively, few people find clip-on earrings to be as comfortable as pierced styles, provided you have holes in your lobes, so if you've ever wished you could comfortably sport a pair of clip-ons without their pinchy pain, this wonderful DIY tutorial from Christina, that shows you how to convert clip-ons to post style earrings, is definitely for you!


-Vintage stocking guide: In need of a vintage stocking 101 class or just want to brush up on the details of sporting old school hosiery. Emeleigh to the rescue with this terrific entry on the subject.


-6 ways to temporarily trim a plain hat: Ever wanted to jazz up a ho-hum hat without permanently altering it? Enter these six stellar tips from endlessly talented milliner, my dear friend, and fellow vintage blogger Tanith Rowan to the rescue!


-And speaking of vintage hats (something that one should do often! :)), how fabulous is this detailed look at How to refresh vintage hats/veils from none other than the thoroughly lovely Emily from Emily's Vintage Visions. You'll never look at a bedraggled hat the same way again!


-And last, but definitely not least, a really sweet Facebook friend, and fellow old school adoring lady, of mine, Elizabeth, recently took the plunge and launched her own mid-century fashion blog called Gloriously Vintage. If you haven't caught wind of it already, I highly encourage you to go check Elizabeth's site out and shower her with love and comments as she begins her own exciting vintage blogging journey.

{Those hats though!!!}

Life:

First and foremost, thank you very, very much to all those who shared their thoughts with me in the comment section of last week's post about some of the substantial changes that Etsy has been making lately.

I won't lie, I was pretty shook up by the major overhaul of that site (chiefly in terms of how seller's shops now look) and am still battling some stress and anxiety from it, but being a glass half full kind of gal, I'm trying to just buck up and make the best of things, believing wholeheartedly that when the reno dust has finally settled (even if that takes a few months) things will largely get back to normal there and my shop and I will have weathered this suddenly storm intact.

Secondly, it's spring! I know, stop the presses! But seriously, it is and that has me beyond jazzed. Though I was going through a rather rough patch on the health front throughout all of March and very early April (I was only well enough to leave the house twice in six weeks and then only for a little while each time; this sort of thing is super common for me, so it didn’t phase me too much, but I was starting to get cabin fever a bit as the sunshine rolled back into town and I really hope that April will be kinder to me in so much as my health is concerned).

Things are well here in our wee abode. March 19th marked the three year anniversary of the day that we brought home our darling dog, Annie, and the following day marked the 12th anniversary of when my husband, Tony, and I first met back in 2004. How time massively flies!




Speaking of my Italian cutie pie, he's headed to Austin, Texas at the end of this month for a brief work trip. It's not possible for me to tag along with him (it just doesn’t make sense for us to spend several hundred dollars on a ticket for me when he’ll be there for such a short time), but I'll definitely be saying hello to the Lone Star state in spirit and can't wait to here his first impressions of this very famous corner of the U.S.A..

With spring's arrival, even in the face of not doing too well health wise in recent weeks, I've been in a very creative, energetic mindset lately and have been a seriously productive panda in many areas of my life and work. Trust me when I say that, thanks to such, there are so many fun new posts coming down the pipeline this spring and summer - and I can hardly wait to share all of them with you!



Love:

Before I go any further, I would be truly remiss if I didn't thoroughly thank my beautiful friend Vanessa, from the blog, Nessbow, for inspiring this portion of my latest blog post series care of her own terrific ongoing series called Things I Love Thursday (in which she details some of the various things that she's been wild about lately).

These posts of hers have long struck a chord with me and I always knew that it wasn't a matter of if, but when, I finally took her lead and implemented something similar here on my own site.

So far spring I've been seriously crushing on the following things:


-Purple - as in the colour: Suddenly, I can't get enough of it in any form. Clothes, flowers, desserts, craft supplies, home decor, you name it, violet is my new game!

-The fact that, for the first time ever, my Instagram account hit more than 5,000 followers. This has been a milestone number that I've been working diligently to reach for quite some time now and I can't thank every who follows me enough for making it happen.

-Baby/new potatoes: A timeless favourite, I've scarcely been going more than three or four days without serving these scrumptious little nuggets up garden grown goodness - often with fresh mint, dill, or chives, a ribbon of butter and a glorious springtime sunset cascading over our dinner table to help make things even more sublime.

-The smell of fresh cut grass wafting through the breeze again (it is, after all, one of my top ten favourite scents of all time).

-Fellow vintage blogger Sabrina’s super cool newly launched Etsy shop, Inky Notions, which abounds with her splendid hand drawn illustrations, many of which are thoroughly vintage focused (watch for a collab post between Sabrina and I a little later this year – it’s going to be a blast!).

-The latest season of House of Cards. Action packed, riveting, and so full of that characteristically conniving, brilliant, megalomaniacal Frank and Claire Underwood goodness that we all adore.

-My new oversized blank page notebook that I've been cramming full of hand written notes and simple sketches for blog, Etsy and crafting related ideas that have been flowing like a waterfall from my mind in recent weeks.

-The Daily Otter. No matter what life throws my way, this site never fails to perk my mood back up in 0.005 seconds flat.


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

♥ ♥ ♥

So there you have it, sweet darling, links are back, you get to find out more about what's taking place in my life outside of the vintage realm, and I cap off the whole kit and caboodle by sharing a wee array of things that I'm crazy in love with right here and now. Delightfully fun, oui?

Again, I'm not setting a schedule for these posts. They'll appear here every so often, once I've built up at least a few entries for each of the three sections they entail and, you know, the fact that I have a place to share these things with you all again is my final "love entry" for this inaugural edition.

Have a marvelous Monday and gorgeous week ahead, everyone!

26 things that always make me smile

The world is a never-ending playground of possibility, and I for one have long been enticed by countless elements that it presents its inhabitants with. Not one to tunnel vision my way through life, I fall into the eclectic camp. Admiring, questioning, enveloping myself with, fantasizing about, falling head-over-heels in love with countless places, items, people, moments, creations, sounds, scents, tastes, thoughts.

While, naturally, certain things consistently rank highest on my list of favourites, it seems that each day a new fascination comes along that brings joy to heart, intrigues my intellect, makes me question past assumptions, gets me as revved up as a hummingbird, sooths my soul, spurs my creativity, or simply – and perhaps most importantly – makes me even more thankful that I’m alive.

Today in particular it’s easy to reflect on the fact that I’m a living, breathing member of society, for on this particular date 26 years ago, I entered the world.

In celebration of my birthday, I thought it would be delightfully fun to share with you all, twenty six (amongst the countless number of) random, wonderful things that have long been passions, interests, dreams, and favourites of mine. One entry for each year I’ve called this humble planet home.



~*~ 26 things that always make me smile ~*~


~*~ Creative individuals ~*~




~*~ Perfectly golden duchess potatoes ~*~





~*~ Rambling, charmingly aged British manor houses ~*~





~*~ Songs that have the power to instantly bring me right back to another time and place in my life ~*~




~*~ Kitchen items in my favourite colour (pink!) ~*~




~*~ Bing Crosby ~*~





~*~ The rich scent of chimney smoke drifting through the air on a bitingly cold day ~*~





~*~ Writing letters by hand ~*~





~*~ The strength and wisdom my mother has shown me ~*~





~*~ Wildly electric lightning storms ~*~





~*~ The feeling of fresh beginnings that comes with new school supplies ~*~





~*~ Baroque and Rococo art, decor, and fashion ~*~





~*~ Being BFFs with my husband ~*~





~*~ The almost haunting call I feel to travel to the Yukon (where I have ancestral roots) ~*~





~*~ Ultra feminine fashions ~*~





~*~ Pulling together a delicious meal on the fly when it appears that there’s “nothing to eat” ~*~





~*~ Splendidly pretty, crisp-as-Melba toast, jewel toned autumn leaves ~*~





~*~ Matryoshka dolls (and anything depicting them) ~*~




~*~ Sporting both ruby red lipstick and nail polish at the same time ~*~




~*~ The feeling that comes from holding a vintage item and sensing that a snippet of time is resting in your palms ~*~




~*~ Russian literature ~*~





~*~ Snuggling up with a ridiculously cozy blanket ~*~





~*~ Reaching for the stars ~*~





~*~ The incredibly tranquil sensation of a warm summer breeze ~*~





~*~ Drive-in movie theaters ~*~





~*~ All of you, my amazing vintage loving blog friends! ~*~




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


As another birthday morn commences, I am acutely aware that there will be events in the coming twelve months that will be anything but gorgeous at times, however it’s unrealistic to say expect life to always be a bed of roses (an ingrained truth that age seems to make one all the more attuned to).

Yet, am I as certain as the air I breathe, that more often than not, the entries above, plus many more new discoveries and favourites, and the mysterious promise of the very future itself will keep me smiling for another exhilarating year – and really, what more could any birthday girl possibly ask for? :)

Welcome back, September, I’ve missed you something fierce! (Plus passing along the Stylish Blogger Award)

So begins the month that hearkens the arrival of autumn, my most beloved season, and (with any luck) a return to more bearable temperatures! I am literally gleefully to see September return and cannot wait for all of the resplendent elements that autumn brings with it.

Before I go any further, I want to take a moment to extend my heartfelt thanks to those who left lovely "get well" comments for me in regards to my post on Monday. I'm feeling a little bit better, but am quite ill at the moment still (just one of those flare-ups I'm going to have to let run it's painful course). Thank you so much, everyone, for your sweet words. You are such wonderfully caring dears!

Over the past few weeks I’ve received blog awards from five different, fantastic ladies (thank you each deeply!). I’ve not had a chance to blog about any of the accolades yet, but thought that I would use today as the perfect time to start passing along one of these awards.

At the end of July fellow Torontonian Poke Salad Annie (of Loose Leaf Tigers) bestowed the Stylish blogger Award upon me, which really means a lot as I adore this stylish, cultured, wonderful gal’s blog and was super touched to receive an award from her.

The conditions of the award suggest that the receiver list 10 facts about themselves that their readers may not know. As it really hasn’t been that long since my last such post, I thought I would put a creative spin on this award for and instead list ten of my favourite things about September.

First however I want to pass along the Stylish blogger Award to ten amazing (and immensely stylish!) blogs that continually fill me with a plethora of inspiration. It is always terribly tricky to whittle down a list of fellow bloggers to pass an award along to, so please, by all means, if your name is not listed below, still feel to bestow this award upon your own splendid site.




Kirsten from Leproust Vintage

Simply Colette

Jennifer from Stay Classy LA

Syd from Golden Girl of the West

Kelley Anne from Kaleidoscopic Refrains:

Mademoiselle Coco from Knitter from the Past

Lagelle, the Art of accessorizing

Miss Matilda from Miss Matilda Dreams

Oh, Kirby!

Rosina Lee


Each of the recipients is welcome to pass this award along to whomever they wish (please copy and save the graphic above to your desktop of online photo album if you’d like to post it on your are), or simply accept it with my heartfelt thanks for being the magnificently lovely blogs you are.


{10 elements of September that I perpetually adore}



{A return to temperatures that permit the comfortable wearing of outfits sporting long sleeves and lightweight coats and wraps. I always feel more comfortable when I can don clothing that covers me up more than it tries to show me off.}



{The reappearance of longer nights. Few things rival the beauty and tranquility of a summer dusk that seems to last forever, but truthfully I like waking up in darkness and rarely mind the sun setting earlier in the evening. Perhaps I’m part vampire, who knows? ;D}



{Wonderfully relaxing nights spent playing card and board games, as a breath-taking harvest moon casts its amber glow through the living room window.}



{Leaves! Glorious, fiery hued, crisp as melba toast leaves. Raked, blowing in the wind, for jumping into piles of, for simply admiring their dazzling beauty, there are countless reasons why I adore autumn leaves!}



{Anything and everything to do with fresh-from-the-orchard apples! From apple sauce to cider, pies to pancakes, caramel to baked, come fall I eat so many apples the doctor is bound to stay away all year long! :D}



{The unmatched scent of wood smoke as it wafts like a cheerful specter through the ever-more-crisp autumn skies, first at night and then as the season progresses, all day long. Eternally one of my favourite smells on earth.}



{Walks in nature...preferably in the wildness, but I’ll certainly settle for an urban setting, too. The emphasis is on filling my lungs, still parched from summer, with as much refreshing, invigorating autumn air as possible.}



{The first crop of newly harvested pumpkins that begin appearing in the grocery shops by the middle of the month. I can never hold off until Thanksgiving to bake my first pumpkin pie of the season and delight in whipping one (or more!) up look before October has arrived.}



{Jumper style dresses and other types of frocks that can be worn over top of blouses, turtlenecks and long sleeved shirts. Often paired with dark hued tights, this look is a definite favourite of mine that I count down the seconds all summer long to start wearing again (turtlenecks and +40 temperatures being the natural enemies that they are).}



{The need to add – instead of remove – layers of bedding at night. As a self-described “cuddle bug”, I adore snuggling up and cocooning myself with a cozy, super soft blanket or two as the mercury begins to plummet outside.}

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


Thank you again deeply Loose Leaf Tiger for the wonderful award! I encourage anyone who is not familiar with this lovely lady and her fascinating (often vintage themed) blog to swing by and pay her a visit.

This post is what I’m sure will be the first of many that will highlight my intense love of autumn and everything that the season brings with it.

I know that a lot of us had have come through a scorchingly hot summer and are as eager as can be for the arrival of fall. I would adore hearing about the things that spark your love of this season and what you’re looking most forward to as the last days of summer melt away into our memories.