Celia & Disturbia

2026 is off to a rocky start.  Barely out of a huge family holiday drama and we had a big trip and a couple of medical emergencies back to back to back.  I'm kind of tired already, but such is life and we just keep going.  We drove in all the winter chill to an out of state graduation that was in a small town in the middle of no where...and I loved it!  This tiny old town had so much history, tiny little eateries, funky small bookstores, and even an antique store where I found both this lovely vintage necklace and beaded bag for a song.  I have recently tried a new-to-me brand called Disturbia and though I only purchased two pieces in total, I am very pleased with the results.    

I ended my No Buy challenge after 8 weeks, by making this purchase from Disturbia and one other dress from Unique-Vintage and just in time for this trip because I knew I might want to look at thrift or antique stores and decided to allow myself that flexibility. Also, I like to plan for success, which is why I knew I didn't want to be ratcheted down on my spending during a family trip.  It worked like a charm.  I enjoyed my time with my family, the pressure was off me financially, and  I only spent $20 at the antique shop with no regrets about the lovely pieces I found there.

As far as this Celia Moth dress from Disturbia, it's unlike anything else in my wardrobe, and since it's also been a while since I've done a Youtube review of a brand, you can check out the lengthy, long winded details  on the video below.

 Outfit Info: Celia Moth Dress from Disturbia, Use my link to get $10 off your first order of $60 or more.  (just a referral link, not an affiliate) Necklace and purse are vintage, shoes are old from SheIn

Sofa Renovation: Part One

Years ago I found a matching antique sofa and chair set for which I paid $100.  The antique store owner told me the set had good bones but needed some TLC, so she just couldn't in good conscience ask for more than that.  It just so happened that I had $100 and plenty of TLC to spare, so I brought them home.  At that time we were in need of a new couch, ours had immediately given up the ghost even though we purchased it brand new only a few years before and paid top dollar hoping we were buying our forever couch.  No, like so much consumer goods today, it was expensive junk.

As I struggled to get the absurdly heavy cushions into my truck, the dealer told me that she thought they were stuffed with horsehair, which is why they were so heavy.  I was intrigued.

The upholstery was likely done in the 70s and was a black/red/gold paisley.  It was in perfect condition and something I thought I could work with as far as decorating.  However, the couch was trimmed in alligator faux leather which was crumbling and peeling. Years prior I read about painting fabric in a issue of Mary Jane's Farm.  I'd saved it and decided to revisit the idea since I had never done any major reupholstering before.  I started with the chair, painting the wood with chalk paint and using all-in-one for the fabric.  It was fairly easy to do and the effect was that my chair now looked and felt like vinyl.  It was great...for a while.

Although I attempted to scrape all the alligator vinyl off, once the paint soaked in, it began crumbling.  I frequently vacuumed up my chair crumbles and watched as it continued to disintegrate.  Crumbs aside this couch and chair were the most comfortable and durable I've ever owned, so I put up with the quirks.  You can see what that project looked like by clicking here.

Now, in our third summer of renovations, the house is finally starting to take shape.  We've ripped out carpet, torn down paneling and added on some rooms.  I had a clear vision of what I wanted from our living room and these pieces in either form, no longer fit.  I decided to take the plunge and reupholster them.  The chair needed the paint stripped and to be re-stained mission oak color, and I enlisted the help of a talented seamstress to help me cover the cushions.  Once I pulled all that old upholstery off, I discovered the original burgundy velvet underneath, and that the reason for the heavyweight cushions was not horsehair stuffing, but rather that each cushion had its own metal springs and frame!  The stuffing was actually cotton and straw.  Check out the completed work in my next Home Renovations post!

Business Whimsical

My daughter had a job interview coming up and the dress code was business/professional.  Having never worked a job like this before, she did not own anything in the way of business clothing.  I offered to let her borrow a few things from my closet for the interview.   The night before, I found her desperately rummaging through my clothes.  "Can I help you find something," I asked.  "Do you have any plain button down shirts,"  she replied.  "I have florals, stripes, and strawberries..., but no, no plain shirts."  She grabbed what she hoped was a plain white poplin button down, but let out an "Ugh!" when she saw that it had scalloped sleeves and collar embroidery.  "Why are all your clothes so whimsical?!"  ...I'm...sorry?  As much as I wanted to help, my clothes are anything but boring.  And while I do work in a professional setting, my style is decidedly business whimsical.

There is a range of business attire from Business Professional, which is the most formal and often involves suits and ties, to Business Casual, which is slacks, skirts, or well fitting dark wash jeans often paired with button down shirts and blazers, but allows more creativity in the form of bright colors, statement prints and jewelry.  Then there's my interpretation of it all. I prefer to wear multiple colors and prints, often with whimsical themes, outfits that say, Yeah, I'm working, but I'm having so much fun I hardly notice.  To that end, I thought I'd post photos of one of my favorite recent outfit compositions.  Nothing new in the mix, all old stuff that I put together and love for all its whimsy and office appropriateness.

Outfit Info:  Skirt is thrifted ModCloth, Top is old from Princess Highway, Bag is Ecosusi, Shoes are B.A.I.T. footwear, Cardigan is old from ModCloth. 

Crafting Project: New Life for Old Selkies

In 2022 I bought a Selkie Abbott Puff dress and altered it to fit in a way that is more flattering for me (click here to see that post).  Encouraged by the success of that project, I decided to tackle a few more problematic design features on my favorite Selkies including my Mucha Cottage Puff Dress (and click here for that one). 

  

At the end of each of those projects, I had a lot of left over (mostly organza) fabric.  Since the prints were so pretty, I decided to keep them in the hopes that one day I could use them on a different project.  As soon as I completed my first lampshade, (click here for that one) I knew exactly what I wanted to use all that extra lovely fabric for and the recent snow days presented me with plenty of time to sit down and really dig into the work.

I was gifted a pair of crystal globe lamps that had crumbling shades.  I removed the old shade outdoors so that the wind could carry away all the tiny crumbs. Then I wrapped the shades and selected four pretty ladies from the organza fabric of my Alphonse Mucha puff conversion and cut two of each.  

I spent so much time working on these shades, I developed callouses on my fingers.  And to be perfectly frank, because I am new to this game, the compositions aren't flowing naturally yet.  I spent a lot of time trying different fabrics and colors to see what looked best.  In the end I used an antique pink scarf topped with a floral applique for the center pieces to tie it all together and I am pleased with how this Mucha shade turned out.  

I'm going to put this little project under my home renovations tab although I don't intend to keep these shades for myself. I have recently inherited an abundance of antique lamps and fully intend to make new shades for them before gifting. I already have a taker for this set and look forward to blessing others from my abundance.

Strawberries & Stripes

I decided to do a No Buy to kick off 2026.  I actually started in December of 2025 and made it about 3 months without shopping or purchasing.  The only way for me to be really successful at this was to get off social media entirely and heavily restrict internet usage.  It went well until the stress piled up and I decided to scroll it away.  I ended up seeing stuff, wanting stuff, and then, yes, buying stuff.  

Specifically I bought this dress from Unique Vintage because it combines my love of dresses, vintage styles, and strawberries.  I waited a few weeks after purchasing this dress before taking photos, hoping that the flowers would start blooming and everything would be just as lovely and colorful as this dress, but nature does not always cooperate.  Never mind, I actually like these pretty orange grasses and dried flowers as a backdrop.

I am very pleasantly surprised by the quality of this dress.  Unique Vintage doesn't always have the quality to match the price tag on their dresses, but this one definitely was worth every penny. Only the top is lined, but the fabric is nice and thick and I added a petticoat for a fuller skirt.  My Strawberry Shortcake loving, little girl dreams all are coming true with this beauty.

Tryon for this dress is in the first 5 minutes of this video.

Outfit Info:  Strawberry and Stripe Swing Dress From Unique Vintage, Bag from Ecosusi, Strawberry Earrings from Etsy, Necklace is Vintage

Ocher & Sepia

Outfit posts are back!  I know it's only been a couple of weeks since I've done an outfit post, but it's actually been two and a half months since I went to take outfit photos.  I just really, really hate the cold, and I have been on a No Buy, which included very limited social media from the end of December '25 to the beginning of February '26.  

As you can see from the ochre and sepia hues of the background, Spring has not yet sprung.  I planted daffodils, tulips, and hyacinths in the autumn, and they are just poking their heads through the soil, but it's not quite time for all the rest of nature to show their Spring colors yet.  I figure if nature is holding on to her autumn palette for a while, I can too.  The old rule was to change over from brown accessories to white at Memorial Day and back again at Labor day, and while I don't exactly stick to those rules religiously, I can admit they exist for a reason in this part of the country.  It doesn't exactly look like the time for pastels and floral prints out here, so for today's post, I thought I'd share a thrifted find from 2025 that has become one of my favorite casual/office looks.

Outfit Info:  Bag is Ecosusi, Shoes are B.A.I.T., Maeve Bird Dress is Thrifted Anthropologie, Sweater is YeMak