giving + thanks.

whether you are traveling far (like us!) or staying put, may you be with those you love.

happy thanksgiving!

sister corita.

mw and I went to the far west side this afternoon to see the sister mary corita kent retrospective before it closed. the seriographs were vibrant, modern and socially relevant even after 40+ years. a must see.

from october 23 - december 5th at the zach feuer gallery, 530 west 24th street, nyc.

so many bees.

in the past few days, I've taken on the somewhat arduous task of cleaning out my closet. like, really paring down. in addition to finding that I owned twenty seven black turtlenecks (all vintage, all thrifted, all totally redundant), I rediscovered this delicate little 40s sweater from i. magnin. this sweater is quite special because it belonged to my great grandmother.

for some funny reason, I never noticed that the woven pattern looked like butterflies...and taking some liberty, somewhat like bees.

it was in the stars.

nineteen things.

I done got tagged by miss lauren and am currently fooling myself into thinking this is a lazy, quiet sunday when in fact, there is a load of work to be done around the house and for the shop. in the fine tradition of putting said work off for a moment, here are nineteen short answers to nineteen even shorter questions:

1. Your hair? refuses to hold a curl.

2. Your favorite food? white truffle and robiola pizza from fred's. oatmeal raisin cookies from levain bakery. french onion soup dumplings from stanton social.

3. Your favorite drink? fresh ruby red grapefruit juice. good red wine.

4. Your dream/goal? a vermont house.

5. Your hobby? de-cluttering.

6. Your fear? clutter, both physical and emotional.

7. Something you say all the time? shiza.

8. Something that you're not? loud.

9. Wishlist item? shelves. and a painting.

10. Last thing you did? microwaved this cooling cup of earl grey.

11. What are you wearing? what I slept in.

12. Your pet? could compete in this season's top chef and look good doing it.

13. Friends? are not on facebook.

14. Missing someone? misplaced nostalgia.

15. Something you're not wearing? socks.

16. Your favorite store? trader joe's.

17. Your favorite color? grey, taupe, green.

18. One place that I go to over and over? etsy.com.

19. Where do you eat? de mole, roberta's, flatbread!

...

photo via flickr.

an education.

such inspiring early 60s costumes and set design in an education.

(so inspiring, in fact, that I plucked these right out of my favorites as soon as I got home.)

three covers.

I'm totally guilty of being drawn to an album by its cover and the graphic, abstract and colorful covers of these animal collective lps are no exception.

less but better.

less and more: the design ethos of dieter rams opens today at the design museum in london. less but better, the idea that design can be timeless if pared down to its essential pieces. seemingly so easy in theory but so difficult in practice.

I know I must be growing up now that I want shelves more than I want shoes, vacations or jewelry.

this video on creative review came to me via mw via rg.

rhinestones, redux.

on my holiday wishlist: this necklace from bleachblack (via urbanoutfitters).

etsy picks: holiday sparkle.

coming soon at 13bees

it's getting about that time of year again, where the eggnog is spiked and finding the mistletoe becomes sport.

since it'd be a shame to be caught without the perfect dress and sparkling bag, I've rounded up some glamorous picks from the 2009 holiday collections of a few of my favorite etsy vintage shops:


shop holiday at deargoldenvintage


shop holiday at thegreedyseagull


shop holiday at small earth vintage

gifting myself early.

oh j.crew, you are the source of my failed self-restraint every single time.

deco drab.

the last four looks of the latest marni collection have got me in a tizzy. a palette with all the drab puttys and mousy browns that are so dear, but light and airy enough to undeniably read spring.

file away for warmer weather: marni s/s 2010.

dress update.

by now, anyone who occasionally reads this blog or follows my shop knows that I've got a serious thing for a great vintage dress. it's just too hard to stay away from them, so I tend not to.



but if you're reading this and also happen to stop by my shop once in awhile, I'm sure you don't need any convincing of the power of said great vintage dress.

and so...some great vintage dresses both newly listed and soon to be up.

etsy picks: stop talking.

mw and I also stopped into partners & spade, a retail shop cum gallery space in the east village that acts as a front of house for andy spade's consulting/marketing company. there's always something amazing going on in the back of the store: this time, they were baking mini cakes and assembling macaroons in a built-in industrial kitchen as we wondered around the perfectly curated old books and vintage microphone stands.

in one of the many drawers we found boxes of tiny cards that simply said "stop talking". it made us both laugh out loud. aren't there so many times you wish you had a box of these handy? or that it wouldn't be completely offensive to actually hand them out?

you can find the originals here (thanks, e!). and since etsy never disappoints, there's a similar set available via the ironcurtainpress.

while we're on the subject.

of dieter rams, let's talk about these gorgeous shelving systems from Vitsœ. mw and I spent about and hour inside the bond street store this weekend and totally fell in love with its stark off-whiteness and clean lines. we were thinking it'd be perfect for his always growing record collection in the office but as usual, our imaginations far exceed our wallets and now we're wondering if it wouldn't also work against the wall in the bedroom...



but that's sort of beside the point. sitting on one of the many shelves was this tiny, totally portable record player, the baby brother to the larger SK4. it's like the cooler, high design precursor to the walkman while looking like an ipod. not only that, but this thing plays upside down.

so, here's the thing.

...with estate sales: around these parts, the competition is fierce. sometimes, though, even if you're not with the first wave of folks let inside (ed note: the numbers are a total sham. we call mutiny.), there's still a decent chance you'll walk away with some sweet things.

case in point: I had it out for some grey flannel while we were waiting patiently in line friday morning and just like that, this belted henry rosenfeld from the 40s appears along with a gored 50s knee skirt. it was almost as though the vintage goddesses were beckoning to me from the upstairs closet. that sale produced these along with a handful of other darling things, so stay tuned. I also bought some spoons, but that's another post entirely.

update: the dress is here and the skirt is here.

radar eyes.

loving this poster from the radar eyes print show opening today in lic.

insound 10 classic.

see you tonight.

etsy picks: military inspired.

as the weather turns quickly cold, I myself am turning from a girl excited to put on a different dress everyday to someone who just wants to bundle up in the same warm coat.

loving this military inspired vintage cropped wool jacket, especially with black skinny jeans and ankle boots.

photos via TopsyDesign.

caramel cream.

this dress reminds me of coconut cream meringue or a sweet caramel cafe latte. in any case, good enough to eat and in the shop later today.

cun --> jfk.

we are happy to be home and finally brush the sand off but tulum, we miss you already.