Moments of Autumn

I absolutely love that moment when you know summer has peaked and autumn is on the way.  It's that moment when you step out your door to a chill in the air and instinctively reach for a sweater before turning the kettle on.  For me and my little neck of the woods, that moment is here.

Outfit Info:  Classic Dress in Tiny Woodland Print by Son de Flor is thrifted. Shoes from B.A.I.T., Cardigan is from YeMAK.

Date Night Simplicity

I love to dress up for special occasions which includes date night, but in the heat of summer or in the hustle and bustle of a busy life, date night doesn't have to be a complicated thing.  Sometimes it's just as simple as grabbing a thrifted cotton little black dress, throwing on some pearls and some comfortable loafers and enjoying a little time with the person you love.  This Anthropologie dress cost me about $15 thrifted and it's very light and comfy.  Perfect for enjoying an outdoor dinner and drinks at one of our favorite restaurants.  And if it's a little too humid out for heels, I think this dress would look just as cute with sandals.

Outfit Info:  Anthropologie Dress is thrifted, Life Stride Loafers are thrifted, pearl clutch is vintage

 

Eye of the Tiger Summer

When a tiger is stalking its prey, it has a moment when it turns its head to the side, cocking their heads to the side and reveal eye-like spots just before striking.  This process is two fold: 1.  It distracts the prey.  2.  It allows the tiger to zero in and strike.  From this comes the saying, "Eye of the Tiger."  It means you are intensely focused on a goal.  This summer has been one of intense focus on the construction of our house.  Instead of building an entirely new structure as we planned when we moved out here, we have been adding on some space and reorganizing the existing place.  When we were touring our house with the realtor, we noticed that one of the ceiling panels was newer than the others.  After asking about it, we were informed that a tree had fallen on the roof several years prior but had been duely patched.  Didn't seem like an issue, so we moved ahead with the purchase.  

After moving in we noticed that an entire 1/3 of the house had no electricity...because of that tree fall.  After a year or two we noticed a window directly under that brand new ceiling panel would leak during heavy rain.  At around five years in the home, the entire ceiling in that same 1/3 of the house started to leak when it rained even a little.  Turns out, that spot wasn't properly patched at all and we now had big, big problems.  So, we had to make a decision about how to move forward and repair/renovate was the route we took.

Two years ago we put in some new floors, paint, etc and at the end of that hard work, that's when we noticed the leak.  We spent the winter planning and then last summer we began the addition.  We excavated, hand dug, hand mixed and poured concrete, measured, cut, drilled, and on and on and on.  This summer it was time to put on a new roof and the timing was critical so that we didn't get a torrential downpour while the roof was ripped off.  That meant we had to time out each phase of construction as closely as possible and wow is that hard to do when you have never done this type of thing before.

Every weekend for the past the past six months or more, plus every spare moment in between, we have worked on the house.  For all this time though we've had this intense focus, the eye of the tiger, we've done nothing else but build, build, build.  Now, it seems we are nearing the end...of phase one. Thankfully phase one was been the most challenging and physically demanding.  I'm hoping things go more smoothly after this, because I've made a vow to myself that once this is done, we won't ever do it again. We'll just kick back, relax, and enjoy what we've built.

As far as today's outfit, obviously this adorable tiger print suited the theme well.  It's never failed to amuse me how perspective can change in an instant.  One moment you see the a certain thing, or even the whole world one way, and then the paradigm shifts on a dime and everything is entirely different.  I've window shopped Modern Millie at least half a dozen times over the past year and I've seen this Tiger shirt dress and always passed it by.  Then one day I saw it and thought it looked like the cutest kitschy print and from a brand I love and trust and I just had to have it as part of my autumn wardrobe.  Eva Rose is a reasonably priced brand that always has adorable prints and very good quality, plus I love supporting smaller businesses like Modern Millie.  So this post is all tied up in a neat little bow.

Outfit Info: Tiger Dress by Eva Rose from Modern Millie

Companion Inspiration

In May I watched this lovely little film called Companion and did a review here on the blog. I was completely smitten with the style of the main character, Iris, played by Sophie Thatcher.  There was one outfit in particular that I really adored and it was this simple gray top accented with black trim, lace, and a bow.

I haven't had a sewing project in a while, but felt certain I could make myself something very close.  At first I looked at patterns so I could make something from scratch, but I realized somewhere in the process that I had seen a very similar style in a Dear Creatures dress from a decade ago.  After doing a little thrifting, I managed to find and buy the Fleetwood Mini dress by Dear Creatures for about $20 and then spent a further $15 buying lace, trim, and a package of bows so that I could make my own Iris dress.

As you can see the Dear  Creatures dress has lots of pleets, but not much else in the way of embellishment.  This alteration was extremely easy.  I just added a lacy trim to the underside of the neckline and sleeves, and at the hem.  I also added a band of lace across the bodice and put a bow in the center.  Easy peasy.  Instant Iris dress.  For the outfit I chose a yellow cardi and a thrifted blue ModCloth coat since the days have suddenly turned chilly, and I've worn this outfit to work twice already but added black tights since it's freezing in my work building all year round.

Outfit Info:  Dear Creatures Fleetwood Mini

It's Raining Bernie Dexters

Hallelujah!  I finally found this adorable puppy print from the same thrift seller as I found the cat print dress, so I got a very nice deal and combined shipping.  Believe it or not, I am nearing the end of my Bernie Dexter ISO list.  Yes, that's right, I've nearly captured them all.  I'll miss the hunt when it's over, but her shop has reopened, so I'm sure there will be some new Bernie's that catch my eye too.

This vintage Jessica McClintock clutch has been quite a bit of exposure here on the blog.  I can't believe I found this gem at a local flea market for under $10.  It's perfect with my vintage style dresses.

Outfit Info:  Bernie Dexter Dress is old, Vintage Jessica McClintock purse, shoes are old

 

Fall-ing in Love with Dolly & Dotty

Just because it starts as a work relationship doesn't mean it can't blossom into true love.  Sometimes a collaboration turns into a lasting love affair and such has been the case with Dolly and Dotty.  I worked with this up-and-coming brand many times in 2024 and I absolutely adored all the beautiful dresses they sent me.  (If you'd like to see those posts click here.) I still go back and browse every now and then to see what new beautiful prints and styles they've come up with lately.  When I saw this Sleepy Cat print on my favorite of all styles, a shirt dress!, I knew I had to have it for my autumn wardrobe.  This style is called the Mabel and I'm currently eyeing it in a couple of other prints as well.  My birthday has just come and gone, and I've been asked by a few lovely people in my life what I would like.  Hmmm...let me think.  Pretty dresses from Dolly and Dotty, of course!

Outfit Info: Sleepy Cat Book Print Shirt Dress from Dolly and Dotty

Style Inspiration

We all have days, sometimes weeks, or even seasons in life where we don't feel like we have the energy--energy to dress our best.  It's perfectly normal and absolutely fine when these days hit, but over time, the way you dress can affect your mindset.  I'm a firm believer that on those days when I feel like I just don't have it in me, if I go ahead and dress to impress, my mood and mindset shift to match how I dress.  The easiest way to combat those down days is to have some stylish but comfortable outfits that take very little effort to make you look and consequently feel amazing and lift you out of that slump right away.  

Joel Meyerowitz.  American, b. 1938.  Blonde on a Lambretta, 1965.  Manhattan, New York

    I came across this photo taken in 1965 of a young woman, likely on her way to work, in New York.  Let this be your dose of inspiration if you're feeling like you just don't have it in you today.  It's just a dress, some heels, and a necklace and yet she looks put together and very stylish.  Remember this gal, especially on your down days, because it's worth the little effort to feel chic and confident.

Movie Review: Weapons!

My birthday month is the hottest, driest, and most miserable of the year.  It also happens to be the time of the worst movies.  With summer vacation wrapping up, all the money making blockbusters have come and gone, and August is the time when studios dump whatever is left at the bottom of the barrel into theaters because no one is really going to see them anyway.  I make these connections between my birthday, the weather, and the cinema to explain why I rarely go to the movies as part of my birthday celebration.  However, this year, I heard from a movie critic whose reviews I trust about 80% of the time that a film called Weapons had just released and was surprisingly good.  I stopped the review right there, determined to go into this movie knowing absolutely nothing and come out totally blown away.  Mr. Bleu likewise said his favorite critics had liked the movie, so we loaded up for my birthday celebration of dinner and a movie.

First of all, let me just say, there will be no spoilers here.  I'm going to say very little other than I;m super glad that Amy Madigan, (a beloved 80s actress who starred as Chanice in Uncle Buck and Annie Kinsella in Field of Dreams )  is in fine form in this movie and is also hands down the most stylish dame on the block.

Justine, played by Julia Garner is the close second and also the last as far as fashion to fawn over in this film.  She has the perfect teacher-cute vibe with her short curls, lots of stripes, and hearts, and very tasteful jewelry.

There are a few acting all-stars such as Benedict Wong and Josh Brolin and to a lesser degree Justin Long (Galaxy Quest and He's Just Not That Into You) and Alden Eherenreich (Solo) who along with all the other talent deliver solid performances and pull together an interesting story that kept me guessing til the last second of the early part of the end.  Over all, this was an extremely enjoyable film and in a world full of boring remakes of already boring remakes and phoned-in sequel after sequel after sequel, something new, well told, and enjoyable is all I'm really looking for.