Tin Types

Biscuit tins have been a staple in British homes since Huntley & Palmers made the first decorative tin in 1831.  As Americans, we're more likely to have grown up with a ceramic cookie jar than a decorative tin, but there is something undeniably lovely about a kitchen shelf lined with pretty boxes filled with yummy things to eat or drink.  

It's something I have long admired about the British homes I entered during my time living there, and also remember fondly about my own grandmother's house as well.  Granted I was a tea and cookie lover long before I lived in England, but I grew a much greater appreciation for the ritual of afternoon tea during my time in that dear country.

    My tea & biscuit tin collecting days first began when I was a little girl and my mother got the notion in her head that she shouldn't go to the store and buy new tins for Christmas cookies every year when the local "junk stores" were filled with beautiful vintage tins for just pennies.  So for several years going to the junk stores to load bags with the most beautiful tins that would later be filled with cookies and given as gifts became a favorite tradition of ours.  

    Later when I moved out, I decorated my own bare kitchen in my first apartment with wooden tea boxes and candy tins as they emptied.  Something about having them on the walls made the kitchen seem so much cozier.  Sometime during all this, my mother remarked that the junk stores no longer carried tins (it had been many years at this point since we'd last looked) and she wished she had kept some for her kitchen.  And, so we searched together or I brought them home as souvenirs from my travels and her kitchen became cozy too. 

Now, all these years later, I still have my tins and have added a few more into the mix, and I use them not only for tea and cookies, but for other things around the house as well.

When I spotted this Horner Tea Tin print fabric at Hancock's I immdiately recognized some of the tins in my own collection and knew it would make the perfect autumn dress.  It was a perfect day for photos as well and I got so many beautiful pictures that I didn't get the chance to post them all last autumn, so I thought this would be a good time to share my love of tins and the unseen photos of this dress.

Outfit Info:  Robert Kaufman Library of Rarities Vintage Tea Tins Fabric from Hancock's-Paducah. YeMak Cardigan.  Sewing Pattern is Butterick Retro B5748. Bettie Page shoes.  Viviene of Holloway Petticoat.

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• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biscuit_tin
• https://www.vam.ac.uk/articles/biscuit-tins-a-bite-sized-history/#slideshow=562394146&slide=0
• https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/the-art-of-the-biscuit-tin-171494824/

Kafkaesque Life

I stumbled across this quote the other day somewhere on the web, and it's a feeling I've had myself so many times, I wondered if I hadn't said it too.  

Outfit Info:  Son de Flor Classic dress in Venice Floral

Right On Track

It's been a while since I've done a Spending Update.  In 2024, I decided it was finally time to rein in my spending. You can't change what you don't acknowledge, so my first step was to take a whole year to track every penny and analyze my habits and patterns.   It was eye opening and extremely helpful.  Once I saw my patterns I could set a budget and start sticking to it. 

Not to give away my progress report with the title of this post, but I feel like I'm on track with my spending this year.  I've had a few slips of course, because I'm not perfect, but overall, I'm really proud of my progress and determined to keep going and do even better in 2026.  While I will admit there were some really amazing sales or bargains on items I'd been eyeing for months or years and I did end up spending more than I budgeted for, even that seems like progress because it was all stuff I'd been watching and waiting for; I made zero impulse buys for an entire year!  And not once did I sit glued to a screen waiting for the absolute feeding frenzy of a collection drop.

As far as sticking to my budget, the thing that has really made it easier is that I just haven't bought from luxury brands.  I can still thrift regularly and stay well within my spending limits by simply avoiding all my favorite but insanely pricey shops.  This little resolution has slashed my spending in half and not least of which because those are the very shops that do those mad drops.  

I've had a lot of challenges this year, some really difficult times and it's been really tough to take it all without shopping as my emotional crutch.  However, I've been working really hard at just feeling the feelings, especially the really tough stuff, and processing it without any crutches.  Do I love that?  Nope, not at all.  Is it good for me?  Well, it sucks in the moment, but in the long run, I know that I will be healthier for going through these things in this way, processing my feelings rather than using something to dull the pain or delay the difficulty.  

With only a few months left in 2025, I feel really good about how far I've come this year and am more determined than ever to keep it up in 2026.  We still have a ways to go before the start of the new year though, so I'll definitely be talking about my budgeting year again.

Outfit Info:  Rainbow Madras Plaid Belted Dress from Unique Vintage

Autumn Work Wear

Ever the avid thrifter, I found this beautiful Anthropologie dress for about $20. This dress is a muted chocolate brown and ivory plaid with an ornate beaded collar.  I added a belt just to break up the print, and since there's this lovely collar, I skipped the necklace this time and went for hoop earrings instead.  I love my Ecosusi bow briefcases for work, and the real thrill in this outfit was these thrifted blue and brown oxford heels that I just adore.  I'll definitely add a cardigan or a blazer with this dress when I wear it to work, but I took these photos in the heat of summer and hadn't really gotten out my autumn wear yet, so you'll have to use your imagination there.

A Year of Change

If there is one thing we can always count on it's that life is ever changing.  This year has brought us a graduation, two weddings, a partially empty nest, and a funeral all in just the first six months. We also took a family vacation for the first time in five years and I had a persistent feeling while we were traveling that this might be the last time that our family travels just the four of us.  My oldest was even then making plans to leave the nest; she followed through shortly after and my youngest will follow.  My favorite workplace friend is retiring, leaving me wondering how I'll ever make it without her, because although I love my job, maybe she's the reason I've loved it so much, and perhaps it's time to move on if she won't be there....You see the spiral I get lost in.

I see the young people, the teens and early 20s, in my life feeling lost and desperately searching.  I tell them it's OK not to have everything figured out yet and that most people feel this way at this age.  I tell them to be patient and have some faith that things will work out.  And, yet, here I am at twice their age and then some, suddenly feeling that same kind of lostness and wishing like crazy I could just take a quick peek at life a few miles down the road so I know not just continually hope that things will turn out alright.

At times like these, when life is moving so quickly and everything is changing, it's important for me to: slow down.  breathe.  pray.  listen.  As much as I wish I could know the future, always make the right decisions, or at least have some measure of control over the outcome, I simply cannot.  Life is an amazing journey with so many twists and turns.  There are seasons of grief and seasons of joy and neither one lasts.  Things are always changing and that is the great beauty of it all. 

Outfit Info: Bordeaux Connie dress by Retrospec'd from Modern Millie, Shoes from B.A.I.T. Footwear

Strawberries Galore!

As summer slips away, I admit that I am both sad to see my beautiful bright florals and berry prints get packed away for another year and excited to bring out all my fall plaids.  Before I lose another moment of the summer sunshine though, I wanted to share this amazing thrift find.  Collectif is one of my most favorite vintage style brands; I was devastated when they closed down last year and elated when they finally returned.  I try to support them as much as my budget will allow, but when I find a great second-hand piece for a mere song, you better believe I bring it home.  Collectif has such amazing prints and the great quality clothing that I would have paid full price for this gem!  

Outfit Info:  Bag is old Collectif and Dress is thrifted Collectif, Shoes are by B.A.I.T., Cardigan is from YeMAK, Earrings from Kramaric Millinery