Anthropologie's Tie-Neck Sweater Dress

For New Year's Eve I treated myself to Anthropologie's Tie-Neck Sweater Dress.  I love this dress!  I found a perfect cardigan to pair it with, the wind-swept cardigan, also from Anthropologie.

Home Sweet Home

 

 I wanted to share some pictures of my living room, which took a good 6 months to assemble.  I've quite pleased with it!

The rug is the Hand-knotted Garima Wool Rug from overstock.com.  I've seen it on a bunch of websites for twice as much.  Google "blue teardrop rug" and you'll find it elsewhere.

The sofa is the Corona Sofa from Macy's.  It's often on sale for $700.  It is problematic, I should mention.  There are lots of ripples.  I actually had to send the first one back.  So the reviews you'll read about the rippling is true, but I still love the sofa a lot.

The coffee table is a Broyhill Brasilia from 1963, I believe.  I scored it at a thrift store for $20 and refinished it.

The curtains are the Coqo Floral Curtain from Anthropologie.  They're as amazing as all of the reviews say.

The orange chairs are great vintage finds.

The tall dresser is going to get sandblasted next summer and refinished into a silver piece, but for now it is all original.  It's a Simmons steel dresser from the 1930s.

I made the book shelves and the curtain rods from galvanized steel plumbing pipe.

The wall hanging is a great piece that was an advertisement for a new housing development in the 1950s.  I found this on Etsy and had it shipped across the country to me.  Good luck finding another like it!


The boots are blue Frye Matilda.

The dress is Anthropologie's Laced with Grace Dress.

The industrial lamp is an old salon hair dryer from the 1930s.  It's called a "Turbinator", and I turned it into a great lamp!

The mid-century style lamp was a good thrift store find, but does need a new lamp shade.

The sewing machine is from the 1950s, and is a Remington -- same company that now makes guns.

I made the large stocking for my son when he was a baby.  My mother made the Pluto stocking for me when I was a baby.

And those xmas lights on the house -- I hung them myself!

 Oh, and this little Hippity-Hop Lamp can be found at Anthropologie here.

A Shoe Feast

Shoe love comes in waves.  Sometimes there's that one pair I'm saving up for.  Sometimes I find a dozen pairs to drool over.  Right now I'm finding that there are far too many shoes I'm loving. 

Manolo Blahnik's Suede D'Orsay Pump from Neiman Marcus.

$725.  Let me know when they go on sale!

I just adore these Polka Dot d'Orsays by Bettye Muller.  Sold for $370 at BHLDN.

AHH!  Which should I buy first!?  The Elopement Pump by Hey Lady is a darling vintage style.  It's $340 at BHLDN.

This shoe is called "Backlash" by Poetic License.  It is available at a number of stores, for around $100.  You may know the yellow one as "About the Benjamins Heel in Goldenrod" from ModCloth.com or the "Lass and Laddie Oxford" from Anthropologie (last year).  You may know the red one as "Aldourie Fling Booties" (this year, but just out of stock) from Anthropologie.  Know matter how you know them, know that you can find them in plenty of stores online, and they have great reviews everywhere.

New Bed

I found this queen headboard on ebay last night.  I just love it!  It's so different than anything else I've seen, and I think it will go beautifully with Anthropologie's crowned crane bedding, which I have, new, in the package, waiting to decorate my new room.  This headboard is from the mid to late 1950s and is made of pecan wood. 

Anthropologie's Crowned Crane Bedding

Furniture Shopping on a Whim

Now, I can only guess what someone is thinking... You paid to have that piece of junk shipped all the way to Salt Lake City from Vermont?  Yes.  And of course, I'm hoping that I didn't make a mistake and pay a stranger across the country to take my money and run.  What is this?  Well, it's a 1920s steel dresser by Simmons Furniture Co.  I found this diamond in the rough on craigslist for $100.  It needs refinished, but I am told it is in excellent condition.  

And this is what it should look like after fixing it up.  Isn't it lovely?

Ah, Fall!

I love fall!  Fall is sweaters, socks, scarves, boots, and soup... and I'm posting today to share some things I've found for fall.

We'll start off with Saltwater's Autumn 2010 collection.  I love this Wool Princess Coat, (232 pounds).  I'm pretty sure my curvy figure would fill it out better than the model, but I am hesitant to consider this because it looks like it's cut so big.  Last year I ordered and returned the Saltwater Wool Tulip Dress I blogged about previously, and according to their size chart I chose the best size for me, only to find it was about 8 sizes too large!  If you order from Saltwater, you may call the store directly and try to get someone to help you find the best size.  I recommend staying far away from their sizing guide!  Anyway, this charming coat with it's peter pan collar and pleats certainly would make a gal like me smile.  Of course I'd probably swap out the buttons for something with a bit more charm. 

Then there's this Velvet Pleated Dress in fern (112 pounds).  I don't know why I like this, because I don't think it particularly flattering on the model, again.  I can see this dress working so well with my red hair!  Here's a tip for anyone shopping at Saltwater this month -- use the (media) code EM10 and get 10% off the autumn collection through September 31, 2010.

Anthropologie's Loose Rein Boots, $268, are by Miss Albright - the maker of the infamous Winding Ruffle Boots from last year.  These boots flew off the shelf, and I can tell you first hand that they are beautifully made and very comfortable (and true to size). 

 Anthropologie's Oona Booties, $238, are so fun and different!  This is one of those things I think are great, and wonder, "what would I wear them with?" 

 This is Gidigio's Lace-Up Brogue, $325, on Gravity Pope.  A darling and traditional shoe -- at the top of my "to buy" list.

Would I ever leave Tracey Neuls out of my blogging about shoes?  No, I wouldn't.  I admit, I finally broke down and bought BOTH pairs of Tracey Neuls shoes that I previously blogged about.  I must say, they're worth EVERY penny.  You've never seen a more beautiful hand crafted shoe.  The VAw01, above in Slate, 295 pounds, I'm sure are no exception. I would buy these in a fluttering heartbeat!

Etsy Finds

I've been browsing Etsy a lot lately.  Here are some things I really love:

I really like this old photograph from Diabolus.  Bargain priced at $7.50!  Look at this handsome devil. (Sigh) Men just aren't what they used to be.  I'm so old fashioned -- I was born in the wrong decade for sure.

If I had a little girl, I'd pick up this in a heartbeat!  Listed by Captain Cat at $68.

Look at this fun wall hook!  This is a darling find at just $9 from Monkeyandsquirrel.  I love little charms like this.  I think it would look so good on a blue wall.