elegant musings

today has been one of those unusually productive days in which I managed to get a million-and-one-things done, to the amazement of my to-do list! from the mundane (“pay bills”) to fun (“go thrifting”); just about everything is crossed off. this reminds me of the satisfied feeling I always get during the school semester when I get everything on my homework list done.


thrifting, sad to say, was only so-so in the clothing department. however, I did score a significant amount of fabric (see above, which is only about half of what I hauled away today) for crafting, stuffies and *coughcough*quilting*cough* (on my wish list of things to learn, after the boy’s mom offered to teach me how and loan me some of her equipment). so yay! I also purchased a few vintage patterns, most of which are to sell but a few I’m keeping for myself. I’m in love with that Halston pattern right now; the cape is just so yummy. not that I need to make a cape, because I’ve got a perfectly good vintage Yves Saint Laurent one sitting in my collection!


also, more preparations for the shoppe!! I’m getting so excited about the launch next week; and I’m sure I’m in no way prepared enough, but I can only be so ready before it becomes insane to wait any longer (I think I reached that point about six months ago! lol!). oh, and for those interested: I set up a email update list for the curiosity shoppe. be sure to sign up if you’d like to receive shoppe update notification and the occasional subscriber-only special!

last, but not least, my little polar bear was finished today:

(isn’t he cute?!)

inspiration
:: scrimshaw bangles
:: junk trees
:: yes press

1950s handmade pink jacket




vintage full slip




vintage half slip




old photographs


hodge-podge

I worked for four days straight, and am very happy to have a couple days off to recharge before the craziness starts up again. In my free time I’ve been doing a lot of thrifting and such, which is starting to cause my room to be taken over by all these lovely finds! So I do believe that certain, select items will be offered for sale when the Elegant Musings online shop debuts later this summer... stay tuned for more details of that as June approaches. :)

Hope everyone is having a lovely week so far! I know I’m just soaking up the gloriously sunny weather. There is something about this time of the later spring/early summer that always delights me.

reading::the beautiful fall
listening::wynton marsalis
inspiration::thirza schaap

Ah, summer is here. No, not in the official sense, but rather my summer has begun! This is the first week of my scholastic summer break--no more school, homework, chilling with the buds in the student lounge, relationship politics--until August. I’m utterly relaxed and happy right now, ready to spend my summer working, spending time with friends and family and some much-needed creative time. To be perfectly honest, this past semester really stank; mostly because I managed to get waaay off track after three semesters of over-achiever status, I slipped. But thankfully, I seemed to have bucked up enough the last month to rescue what I could of my grades. Learn. Move on. Don’t repeat.

So, I’m now very ready for a relaxing summer. Just being me!! Lots of thrifting is in store too--I can just feel it in my fingertips! lol. I went to a Goodwill I’ve never been to the last week, hoping for some great finds. Alas, just about everything I’m usually on the hunt for was pretty unexciting (most “chain” thrift stores around here are that way--I wonder why??), but look what I found after going through the records:


Yay! I’ve started collecting records; my mom bought a turn table last fall and my sister and I have been steadily acquiring a few records here and there. I remember listening to my parents collection as a kid and there is something so fun and nostalgic for me about this “old school” form of the music experience. I’m keeping my eyes peeled for a turn table of my own in thrift stores and yard sales this summer... I need something in my room so I can listen to my Frank Sinatra (no one else likes him except me... lol)!!


Oh, and I’m trying to get back into the habit of documenting my outfits again. I’ve been buying so many pieces of vintage and altering some new purchases that I want to show them off. I’m usually too lazy (or having an “ugly day”) to photograph them, but today I dragged my sister to the backyard to take a few snapshots. Click on the photos for details...






Have a lovely day, all! :)

listening::simon & garfunkel::
reading::nothing::
inspiration::amanda’s new studio

Its been years since I bothered to yard sale. Somehow as a young adult, waking up early Saturday morning just didn’t appeal to me--despite my widely known love of a bargain/“junk” hunt. This morning, despite having worked late the evening before, I dragged myself out of bed and hit the community-wide yard sale. Boy, am I glad I did!! I found a nice selection of what I term “pretty junk” that was calling my name (and quite easy on the wallet...):







I also picked up a small, four-drawer storage unit (for a whopping $5) that needs to be repainted. But once its given a few fresh coats of a soft white semi-gloss, I think it’ll be perfect for stashing my sewing/crafting supplies that are getting out of hand. Well, almost... I think this will call for a trip to Target or the Container Store to get little organizers for all the drawers. ‘Cause a drawer full of tangled supplies kinda defeats the purpose! :)

Have a lovely weekend!
listening::new order::
reading::threads::
inspiration::paper shelves::