Thrift Store Spotlight: Tatters Vintage

 

Tatters Vintage happens to be only a block away from my house, yet it took me more than 6 months to step through the front door. I don't know it if was the store front and facade, it just didn't strike me as a vintage store. It seemed 'sports apparel' like. Anyway, once I stepped in, I was VERY Pleasantly surprised!

They buy most of their clothing from Estate sales, or costumers but are VERY specific in what they want, motorcycle jackets, only clothing from the 1970s and earlier, and lots of old rock t-shirts. 

 

I of course gravitated to the dresses, which there were SO MANY TO CHOOSE FROM. Once again, thanks goodness I am saving money....so i just browsed, otherwise the options would have surely made my mind explode in delight.



So, I have found I LOVE vintage aprons, though i would never actually use one. I don't think I've ever actually worn an apron outside work, which is a shame, cause they make me happy to look at :D

Thought I only took photos of the women's side of the store, Tatters defiantly went against the mold of most thrift/vintage stores in that it had a HUGE men's section! 

Fancy Favorites #4

 

Do I look like I can that this is a children's themed party? All I am sayin' is that the amount of fun things to do, and colors that abound....I LOVE COLOR. and this is amazing.

Not only this dress, but really the entire collection. Just so simple an classic.

if I possessed and balance or Grace, I would surely own these. But alas....

At the Walker Art Center here in Minneapolis, this is absolutely one of my favorite pieces. To see it in person, it is astounding. Yves Klein, Suaire de Mondo Cane (Mondo Cane Shroud).

I'm pretty sure I have eyed this ring for over 2 years now. Too bad I'm a total cheapskate 

These Map prints on Etsy are just gorgeous! Visit the shop!

Fancy Favorites #3

 
FAVORITES OF THE WEEK TIME! YAYAYAYAYAY (PLEASE, please, PLEASE hear Kermit the Frog saying the 'yay'. It is the best)

I can't even use words to describe how amazing I think these pieces are. They are all thread drawings and installations. PLEASE go look at them ALL.

I also just discovered Photoboother.com and think it is pretty spectacular. Fact.

Polka dots. Check. leather (fake, yes) detailing. Check. If it had a longer strap it would be perfect.

Love this shop on Etsy. I just wish I had Money...

Finally, I've been eyeing this cocktail shaker for quite some time....(cough, hint, cough)

Girls Can Wear Bow Ties

Button Down (Old): Old Navy     Cardigan: Dump Find     Bow Tie: A pin from a Cardigan that I swapped with a friend!     Shorts: Old Navy (Old)     Tights:Dump...(first worn here)     Rain Boots: Thrift Find     Belt: Thrift Find     Bracelets: DIY Bangles (Post to come soon...)

So I have never worn this outfit before, and just kinda threw it on. I am trying to go through clothing I never wear, and this button down is in that pile. What you can't see is that I ave it safety pinned twice in the bust area....damn button downs. Otherwise it fits great. Story of my life. The rest just kinda all came together!

I have to admit, a little over a month in, and I am starting to really miss longer hair. I think i just miss the versatility of having longer hair. I don't mean really long, just enough to play around with here and there. No doubt, I needed to cut it, and it will be healthier when it grows out with all the damage/dye gone...but can't it grow faster?

TO ALASKA! (Again...)

Right now I live in Minneapolis. Once upon a time (for reference, in this story that means 4.5 months ago) I lived in Fairbanks, Alaska. And loved it. I then got this crazy idea that I needed to go to graduate school...got accepted to a school in Minneapolis, and *POOF* Moved. 


Now Minneapolis has been great thus far, really. (As great as a city int eh winter acn be...) but it just isn't for me. I miss the woods. I miss the isolation of a cabin. I miss my amazing friends. So, after much talk with Nick, we decided to move on back to Fairbanks.


I AM SO EXCITED. I also want to throw up at the thought of packing everything in my life up again. You take the good with the bad. And, if you are me, you try to make the good FRICKIN' AWESOME. So, I have started planning out our return home driving trip. Yes, we drove down here, and we are truckin' it back. Added Bonus: one of my fancy favorites EVER, our friend Glenna, is doing the trek with us. WE ARE GOING TO SMELL SO BAD AND BE SO HAPPY.


I thought, I would try and keep everyone informed with the trip as i plan it, and as it happens. Which means maps, pictures, and itineraries! (ALL THINGS I LOVE...EQUALLY. I'm a nerd.)


The first time I trucked up to Alaska from South Carolina (Post here) was awesome! When I trucked back down to Minneapolis almost 5 months ago (Post here) it was once again, AWESOME.  This time, I picked a THIRD route to take, and i believe it may be most awesome of all because, for once, I am truckin' the distance during camping season. OH JESUS I'M EXCITED.


So here, for now, is our tentative route:

DAY ONE 

Minneapolis, MN--Makoshika State Park, Glendive, MT (625 mi - about 9 hours 56 mins) 

DAY TWO 

Makoshika State Park, Glendive, MT--Elkwater, AB, Canada (406 mi - about 7 hours 57 mins) 

DAY THREE 

Elkwater, AB, Canada--Lake Louise, AB, Canada (335 mi - about 6 hours 14 mins) 

DAY FOUR 

Lake Louise, AB, Canada--Purden Lake Provincial Park, Sinclair Mills, BC, Canada (343 mi - about 7 hours 52 mins) 

DAY FIVE 

Purden Lake Provincial Park, Sinclair Mills, BC, Canada--Kitwanga Mountain Provincial Park, Kitwanga, BC, Canada (342 mi - about 7 hours 25 mins) 

DAY SIX 

Kitwanga Mountain Provincial Park, Kitwanga, BC, Canada--Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park, Kitimat-Stikine D, BC, Canada (235 mi - about 5 hours 17 mins) 

DAY SEVEN 

Kinaskan Lake Provincial Park, Kitimat-Stikine D, BC, Canada--Teslin Lake, YT, Canada (374 mi - about 8 hours 45 mins) 

DAY EIGHT 

Teslin Lake, YT, Canada--Kluane Lake, Yukon, Unorganized, YT, Canada (263 mi - about 6 hours 12 mins) 

DAY NINE 

Kluane Lake, Yukon, Unorganized, YT, Canada--Goldstream Road, Fox, AK (437 mi - about 8 hours 35 mins)

Fancy Favorites #3

I have wanted one of these scratch off maps for the longest time...maybe it is time to just buck up ad buy one.

Overall, the color-blocking trend is not something I would emulate, but I LOVE color blocked flats and sandals. They are GRAND.

This lamp made of collected toy figurines glued together and spray painted over at the Modcloth blog gives me SO MANY IDEAS

The art in the Etsy Store MarysGranddaughter is awesome. Reminds me a lot of Edward Gorey. 

And finally, I love this dress at ASOS even if the model looks to be about 13 years old...

Stationery 2.0

I have a lot of scraps of things laying around my apartment; Scraps of fabric, yarn, paper, threads, every type of glue you can think of, photos, etc. When I received this bright set of stationery from my mom, I decided to put some of my scraps to use, and personalize the note-cards a bit!

Supplies: 
*A set of note cards/stationery (mine where a gift, thanks mom!)
*Scraps of fabric (I literally have  brown shopping bag full of scraps in bigger than a coaster. Most just in shreds....)
*Glue (I used tacky glue, but you can really use most types I would think)
*Scissors
*Bright colored or fun patterned paper (I actually used paint samples that I found at a large home supply store. They were too bright to pass up!)
*Embroidery thread and needles


Steps:
*Decide what image/shape you want to add to your note cards. I went with a 'K' for my name, and just free hand cut it out. I like things when they aren't uniform, so the differences of freehand didn't bother me. You could do initials, any shape, a silhouette, anything!
*I don't own a sewing machine, so I simply hand sewed all my 'K's to my note cards. I just did it at night while watching some TV with Nick, not time consuming at all!
*To spruce up the envelopes, I traced the shape of the inside flap onto one of my paint chips and used that as the template for all the rest of the envelopes
*After I simply glue the paint samples to the envelopes, making sure not to cover up the adhesive strip to seal the letter when finished!

TADA! So Simple, and adds a little flare to generic stationery! What do you guys think!?

And then, once time I went to Minneapolis

In October 2011 I took a leap and moved from Fairbanks, Alaska to Minneapolis, Minnesota with my boyfriend Nick and my cat Nigel.  I had been accepted to a Grad. School in the twin cities, and after 3 years in Alaska decided it was time for something new. I packed up my ford explorer (oh the amount of clothing I had to give away...and craft supplies...so much...STUFF) and started the journey down. 

This time I decided I wanted to go a different route from from how I had made my journey in March 2009 on my way up to Alaska.  This time I would change the route at Edmonton.

Final journey Fairbanks, AK--Whitehorse, YK--Laird Hot Springs--Dawson Creek--Edmonton, Alberta--(drove through the Night)--Minneapolis, MN. I'm not generally a very articulate person, so instead, I will just caption some photos for you all, how does that sound, eh?!

Nigel had his own little perch made up between the two front seats (above our heards, really) so that he could keep watch the entire ride

OBLIGATORY PICTURES AT SIGNS TO MARK OUR JOURNEY! AHH!

So, I have this little dinosaur finger puppet. I've named him Bronty. He has been with me since high school, and never leaves my car, and goes on so many amazing trips with me. This is Bronty enjoying the array of Canadian beverages on our trip...

Nick pursuing through the Watson lake Sign forest. You can hang a sign from wherever here, it's pretty neat-o

One of the nights on our trip we set up camp at the Liard Hot Springs Park. The next morning we woke up super early, packed our tent up, and then went and took a dip in the hot springs to start our day before breakfast and everything. It was glorious. (for those of you who have never encountered a hot spring, they are naturally occurring. and one of the happiest places on earth.

DOUBLE RAINBOW!? and I mean, this lake... I basically wanted to stop and set up camp every  hour or so...and then never leave....

Nigel would leave the perch every so often to make sure everything outside the car was going on all right. He is just the cutest thing ever. *gritting my teeth right now as I type this...* On the right is a picture from inside the Citadel Theatre in Edmonton, Alberta. All the pictures I took couldn't even begin to capture how awesome it was.

And as we slowly came to the last day or two of our trip, we stumbled upon the World's largest Easter Egg (In Saskatchewan I believe) and Bronty and I had a small photo session to share our love.