Five random things that caught my eye this week

There are few times of the week more serene or beautiful than Sunday morning, especially come the merry days of spring. After a week that felt rather long at points, I'm especially grateful for the sense of tranquility this lovely early May morn brings with it. Time to unwind, work on blog posts, and tuck into a large bowl of fresh strawberries with lashing of vanilla yogurt for breakfast.

In the earlier days of this blog, I sometimes used to write a post on Fridays called "Five for Friday", which was a roundup of five links and/or images that had been captivating, inspiring, entertaining, or otherwise engaging me that week. It was a fun series and I miss it at times, so while today is Sunday, not Friday, I thought I'd share a quintet of things that have been on my radar throughout these early days of May.

-Casual 1950s summertime footwear: You may recall that amongst the four fun goals I had for 2012, was the desire to buy more shoes (scarcely alone on that one, I know) this year. A task that is easier said than done (I have very high arches and slightly uneven sized feet which can make shoe shopping a substantial uphill battle), it's been hit and miss so far this year. Though, I happy to say that I've added a few new pairs, nearly (no joke) doubling the size of my shoe wardrobe.

Most of those shoes though are best suited to spring and fall however, so I'm certainly still on the prowl for some vintage appropriate footwear to frolic through the next few months in.

To help inspire me as I hit my favourite local shoe and second hand stores, I'll be turning to fabulous mid-century images such as this 1959 Montgomery Ward catalog page (which comes by way of CapricornOneVintage on Flickr) to steer my style preferences. (I especially love the red pair with the little white bow in the first group of shoes on top left hand side. Which ones are your faves?)

-My City Antiquing: As someone who firmly believes that the world needs as many quality antique shops as it can get, and who loves to support my local antique and second hand dealers whenever possible, my attention was instantly piqued when I heard about a newly launched website called My City Antiquing.

Launched with the goal of building a worldwide database of antique stores, this site is built on a wiki platform that allows visitors to add addition listings for antique shops in their own cities (or really any city they desire) or simply pursue those that are already in the database. If you have a favourite antique shop in your neck of the woods, why not pop over and add it there so that other site visitors can discover your favourite second hand haunts, too?

 

-Vintage Seaside Flickr group: You gals know how much I adore Flickr groups devoted to the past, so it should come as to surprise to anyone that I'm more than a little smitten - especially as we head into the toastier months of the year - with the Vintage Seaside Flickr group.

Devoted, as it's name implies, to vintage images of the beach and sea, this group is a treasure trove of summertime inspiration for everything from swimsuits to actual vacation destinations you may want to visit in person some time. I could easily (and happily) blog just about every image in this group, but for today, I'll stop a bit short of that and instead share thirteen images from the group's pool that will definitely be inspiring this summer - and well beyond!

{1. badmode 1931, 2. badmode 1928, 3. At Boscombe. "I wish someone would snap me!", 4. 5 badmodemodellen, het leven juni 1928, 5. Belles of the beach, 6. 200 Beach at Tyndall Field, Florida WWII, 7. 1931-Beach Splits, 8. pc oostvoorne 1960, 9. Bathing Beauty 1950s, 10. charlston dansen op strand met draagbare radio 1925, 11. Bournemouth - Guess which is me?, 12. Interesting cut-out donkey, 13. engeland Broadstairs vrouwelijke surfers 1928}

-Bloglovin: I know, I'm scarcely ahead of the trend on this one, but after years of failing to find a feedreader that I even remotely enjoyed using (trust me, I tried tons!), it dawned on me that I should investigate Bloglovin (I'd joined up about three years ago and pretty much, somehow, forgot about it ever since - silly me!!!).

Well, goodness gracious, am I glad that I did. At long last I've discovered a streamlined, wonderfully easy to navigate and use feedreader that is proving thoroughly enjoyable to use. Yay!

 

-Vintage picnic baskets: With the long anticipated return of snow-free weather, it's high time we got back into the swing of eating outdoors once more. Whether on the patio, in the backyard, at the beach, or in an idyllically pretty field on the outskirts of town, picnics are the name of the game again and I couldn't me more pleased about that fact.

Lacking a picnic basket at the moment however, I've been honing in on vintage ones lately, and especially like the colourful metal example below, which is available for $22.00 from etsy seller Christy's Cottage. Just image all the fun summertime meals you could pull of of this charmer!

♥ ♥ ♥

 

As some of the links and images above clearly demonstrate, it's plain to see that my mind is already geared towards summer. Spring was rather late in arriving to our area this year, a point which has only made me pine even more strongly for the sizzling hot, gorgeously sun-kissed days that (Mother Nature) willing lie ahead for us as we enjoy our first (as a couple - and Tony's first point blank) summer together in the Okanagan.

While I don't foresee bringing back a roundup like today's on a weekly basis right this moment, I do very much enjoy creating such posts and sharing a few of websites and images that have been on my mind lately in one concise spot, and will likely do so again from time-to-time from now on.

I hope that each of you has the most gorgeous, restful Sunday possible, and would love to hear about some of things that you've been loving online lately, too.

Sometimes black and blue can be a very good thing

When it comes to fashion, that is.

Like many of us, my wardrobe has a decent sized chunk of black pieces in it, but I'm certainly not a colour shy person and can happily report that you'll find also veritable rainbow of hues on my hangers, too.

Perhaps it harkens back to the colours of my little brother's nursery when he was a wee newborn whippersnapper, or perhaps it's the association with a clear sky. Whatever the reason I've always been a big fan of shades that fall on the pale to bright baby blue side of the spectrum.

There's something so fresh, upbeat and timeless about a chipper, feminine shade of blue, so when I spied the 1950s skirt (in the images below) earlier this year (while in the midst of shopping to fill in some of my wardrobe gaps) on etsy, I just knew it was destined for my closet.

Though various boxes of clothing and accessories (so hence the lack of gloves and/or a hat and/or a handbag in these shots) still remain to be unpacked, I've pulled out enough items to have the basis of a good, workable vintage wardrobe while I plug away at getting to the others.

Last Thursday I had the wonderful opportunity of visiting my maternal grandma, Bernice Schill, while she was briefly in town. This was, mind boggling as this fact is (for me), the first time we'd had the pleasure of seeing each other since my wedding back in October 2004, and I wanted to wear something sweet, girly, and not too formal (she was just popping in for a casual afternoon visit), so I decided it was high time I broke out my new (to me) baby blue skirt.

I've always enjoyed pairing pale blue with black, so that's the colour combo I went for with this outfit. Incidentally, I think it's a great set of hues for this time of the year, as we straddle the changing of the seasons - winter with its sombre, dark shades and spring with its airy, gentle colours.

Outfit details:

Blue hair flower: Ardene

Tiny black ribbon hair bow barrette (worn in the back): Dollar store

Black rhinestone earrings: Payless Shoes

Pearl necklace: Birthday gift from my husband ♥

Black cotton and lace top (worn under cardigan): Suzy Shier

Black cotton dolman sleeve cropped cardigan: Freddies of Pinewood

Faux pearl stretch bracelets: Real Canadian Superstore

Deadstock blue 1950s buckle waist skirt: etsy seller Garnet Vintage

Seamed stockings: eBay

Black pumps: Payless Shoes

Lipstick colour: MAC Russian Red

Photography by Antonio Cangiano

As avid readers may recall from the post about my four fun goals for 2012 back in early January, I vowed to try and share more "what I wore" pictures with all of you once we moved into our new home in British Columbia (while I have technically posted a few outfit images over the last three years, they've been rather few and far between).

Now that we're beginning to settle in and those aforementioned boxes of vintage clothes are getting unpacked, I can begin to make good on my promise - a point which I'm pretty much giddy with excitement about.

These photos were taken in front of our new house (the porch railing needs a paint job, I know; come slightly better weather, it's going to get one), so you can expect to see many others featuring this location as their backdrop over time.

Earlier this month I announced that the mister and I recently purchased our first car ever, and as some of you expressed interest in knowing what kind it was, I couldn't help but include a shot of our gorgeous new four wheeled baby here (it's a Jaguar that Tony found for a truly stellar deal down in the Lower Mainland...yes, I am still pinching myself in disbelief over the fact that we own a Jag!).

I'm constantly, perpetually inspired, impressed, and encouraged by the photos of the outfits that many of you ultra stylish vintage fashionistas post on your blogs, and wholeheartedly hope that from here on out I'll be able to do the same with my fashion shots for you gals, too.

Have a richly beautiful Monday and week ahead, sweet friends!

I’ve discovered the addictive joy of Pinterest

✯ Day 255 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

While Pinterest is by no means a hushed secret any more (it’s already been hailed as one of the 50 best websites of 2011 by Time Magazine), it wasn't until about a month or so ago that I began using it.

Last spring a very dear friend sent me an invite, which I accepted at the time, but for various reasons I wasn't able to devote the time needed then to properly explore the site and all it had to offer back then.

Jump ahead to this past August – after continually seeing mention after mention of Pinterest online – I decided it was high time I go see what everyone was buzzing about.

At its heart Pinterest is a giant online inspiration board. Members find (or "Pin") images (of just about anything you can imagine) online and then bookmark them to their Pinterest accounts.

Pinterest combines the practicality of an online bookmarking service with the seek-and-discover fun of StumbleUpon.com (a site that I was a major user of a few years back).

Users create categories (called boards) within their account and then organize the images they've saved however they desire. Members can (and most do) re-pin items that fellow Pinterest users have added to their boards. This makes for some wonderful communal sharing of fantastic photos (you can also comment on any and all images you - or other Pinterest members add).

This site is easy-as-pie to get the hang of, and let me tell you, highly (ridiculously) addictive!

 

I've already created more than 60 boards and have hundreds upon hundreds of pins (which you can see a sampling of in the screen shot above), all created in the span of about a month.

Now granted, I've mildly obsessed with Pinterest at the moment and won't usually be devoting anywhere near as much time as I did recently to it, but I definitely see this being a site that I'm going to use in the long run. It allows me to quickly create a virtual inspiration board that I can refer back to any time, use images I've pined for blog posts, and even turn into a wish list of sorts.

As you might expect, I've already started adding oodles of great vintage related images, which I’ve organized into different boards such as The Crazy Thirties, Fantastic Forties, Fabulous Fifties, Fantasy Vintage Wardrobe, Vintage home decor, Hollywood Past, and Vintage in a Modern World (amongst many others).

If you've not jumped on the Pinterest bandwagon yet, I highly recommend you do. It is a fabulous replacement (or supplement, as the case may be) for a host of bookmarking, wish list, and photo saving sites that quickly and easily allows you to corral all of the images and sites you find online and want to remember into one super handy-dandy spot.

For my Chronically Vintage readers who are already fellow Pinterest users, I'd love to see your boards and follow you there. You can find me (probably spending far too much time) on Pinterest under the username Vintage Blog (natch! :) ).

It's been a long time since a new communal website really captured my attention, but I can definitely say that Pinterest has and I couldn't be happier about it!

*PS*

Please feel free to pin anything you'd like from my posts here on Chronically Vintage. The more image sharing on Pinterest, the merrier! 

A terrifically pretty turquoise living room that will leave you feeling anything but blue!

✯ Day 155 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

Whereas earlier this spring I was heavily feeling purple (particularly when it came to my wardrobe choices), as spring marches ever closer to summer, I find that recently  my mind has been drawn heavily to crisp, confident shades of feel-good blues and turquoise.

Perhaps it's daydreams about Caribbean beaches, where dusty white sands march in perfect harmony with the nearly surreal aquamarine seas, or maybe it stems from the fact that cheerful blues tend to feature heavily in summertime decor (think melamine dishware and punchy hued throw pillows, for example).

Whatever sparked my current colour fixation, I'm pleased that it did, because there are few more soothing - yet equally lively - shades out there than a zesty turquoise blue, precisely like the one in the captivating living room below.

Hailing from the UK website House to Home, this photo gorgeously showcases the allure and charm of a living room done up in sparklingly pretty hues of perfectly summertime worthy blue, snowman white, and fresh-from-the-garden pink.

Weaving old school elegance (such as the ornate mirror atop the fireplace mantle and the curvaceously legged furniture) with a whimsical touch of modernity (e.g., the intentionally unfinished paint job at the top of the walls), this spacious living room is the sort of chic, fresh, very appealing space that captures the same sense of turquoise's unfailing beauty as the tropical waters mentioned above.

Whether you're drawn to the colours, the design, or the timelessly lovely pieces at work in this marvelous vintage inspired living room, it spills forth with an abundance of blissful bright blue to inspire your home decor and summertime wardrobe pieces alike all through the season and well beyond.

A real contender for the pinkest vintage bathroom of all time!

✯ Day 148 of Vintage 365 ✯

 

When I look at the image below, I'm instantly reminded of the classic expression, "in for a penny, in for a pound". However in this instance, the indulgence is not so much one of spending money, but rather of the judicious use of one single hue.

Bursting forth at every seem with a riot of monochromatic colour, this bathroom from 1958 is decked out from head to toe (or more accurately, tub to toilet) in blush pink!

The tiles, the vanity, the matching shower curtain and drapes, the towels - nearly everything is as pink as a stick of bubble gum. And like chewing gum, it has an unmistakable sweetness and appeal that's quick to spot and hard to shake off.

{Incredibly pink vintage bathroom image from the pages of the fall and winter Montgomery Ward catalog of 1958. Image via the terrific pages of saltycotton on Flickr.}

While it takes a lot (!) of commitment to cover any room in your house with just one single bright colour, there's something to be said for - and admired about - those with the decorating moxie to pull it off.

Pink is my absolute favourite colour of all time, but even I would have to stop and really ponder if I could adorn my whole powder room in this girly, pretty, cotton candy inspired hue.

For those who are looking to add a little - or a whole lot - of pink to their vintage inspired and decorated bathrooms, this blazingly pink beauty is certainly one to save for the inspiration file.

While you may not be yearning for quite such a liberal dose of rose, if this is one colour you love and would enjoy adorning your bathroom - or for that matter, any room in your house - with, you'd be hard pressed to find a more pink example of home 1950s home decor anywhere!

And the winner of the CollectibleSpectacle giveaway is...

...None other than the absolutely fabulous Traci from The Bakery. Congratulations, Traci dear, please email any time you wish so that I can forward your details onto CollectibleSpectacle and you can get down to the super fun task of picking out your favourite pair of gorgeous vintage eyeglasses.



{Yeeeeh, Traci! If you haven’t had a chance to swing by Traci’s blog, be sure to treat yourself and head over there right now for a hearty dose of vintage goodness.}

This stellar giveaway generated a fantastic response, resulting in a total of 75 comments. This morning using a random number generator (click here if you’d like to see a screen shot of the random number that was generated), entry #55 popped up as the wonderful winner of this giveaway.

I want to thank each and every one of you who took the time to enter, tweet, post about, or otherwise help spread the news about the CollectibleSpectacle giveaway. Through your posts, I discovered several brand-new-to-me blogs and also had the joy of hearing from long-time blogging friends.

Massive congrats again, Traci! For those who didn’t win, please fear not, I already have future giveaways in the works for other enchanting items, which I hope you’ll all love too!

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? :)