Treasures from the Trash AKA Dumpster Diving!

We're finally moved into our new place and have started unpacking. I was in the basement tonight by our storage unit and N and I happened to walk by the trash area. There were several bins full of books and I couldn't resist looking. It seems a very elderly woman in the coop is moving on for assisted care and her kids were cleaning out her apartment. Our coop was one of the original Finnish coops in Brooklyn and founded in 1926. The woman must have been from Finland because of her beautiful book collection. I couldn't believe what was being thrown away. Even a Moonin book!

Here's the best of what I took:

My favorite by far is Tales from a Finnish Tupa. It was published in 1936 and has really beautiful color drawings.

One little book was published in 1880 and has an inscription in the front with the woman's name written in an old style calligraphy. In order to protect her privacy, I won't post a photo of that one though. I really hope she would be happy that someone rescued her treasures from the trash and will enjoy them!

Bunnies, Gnomes, and Ethiopian, oh my!

Why hello there. I feel like it's been forever since I blogged even though it's only been a week. Here's some spring fever for ya. I love it when people go overboard in their yards with holiday decorations. Check out this yard in Park Slope, they are really ready for Easter. Isn't it awesome that they incorporated gnomes into their decorations? My favorite.

I've hardly had time to take any outfit photos lately, but here's a little plaid dress for you. N actually bought me this dress new (on clearance) a few months ago and I wore it with long sleeves layered under it during winter a couple of times. Finally, it's the right season. X looks a little like Yoda in this photo doesn't he?

Dress: gift from N; Boots: Vegetarian Shoes

This weekend we had one of our favorite cuisines, Ethiopian. If you've never had it, the food comes in little piles on a pancake like bread called Injera. You don't get a fork! Everyone uses their fingers to scoop up the food with more Injera. It's so good. Pretty much all Ethiopian restaurants have a vegan section on the menu because the people in Ethiopia fast from animal products during Orthodox holidays. When we lived in D.C. we used to eat Ethiopian at least once a week because there's a huge community there.

I've been on the lookout for stuff for our apartment as we prepare for the move and hit up what I thought would be an amazing estate sale on Sunday morning. Unfortunately the ad was a lie, so disappointing. They claimed they would have a whole brownstone open with loads of vintage and antique items. Instead it was a basement with a few boxes of mostly uninteresting stuff, a few very overpriced antiques, and a couple of antique bed frames. I did get a little putto that was made by a Mexican artist. They were selling a collection of them, but I just bought one of the small ones. The creepy glass eyes drew me in...

LIB for a Long Day

Here's what I wore to work a 15 hour day for a fancy event my office had at the Waldorf Astoria. We were told to wear a little black dress and luckily I had the perfect one already in my closet. I consider this dress an amazing find for two reasons:

1. It's a satiny material but is totally vegan (no silk).
2. Was only $22 at a second hand store. (I won't mention the designer but it would have been well over $400 new)...

I know Thrifted Shift would be proud since my current cost per wear is $11. A pretty good price for a fancy look! I also wore it to my friend's cocktail wedding reception. Plus I know I'll wear it again since it's so classic.

Sorry I've been so busy and have hardly been blogging/commenting, but I promise I'll be back. Toodles!

Dress: Beacon's Closet; Shoes: very old retail; Jewelry: vintage

Hand-Me-Downs Have My Heart

I was so happy to come home last weekend to an amazing package from The Waves. Yes, I know. I'm pretty late posting this. It's been a crazy week and I have a feeling I'll be off my regular blogging schedule for a while. With work, doggies, home renovations, and starting to pack, I'm strapped for time!

I knew The Waves was sending me a dress that she had planned to donate. I expressed my love for it and she was so nice. My package felt pretty heavy for a dress and when I opened it, I was so surprised! Three awesome necklaces, a cat pin, a sweater vest, a vintage '70s dress, plus the original striped dress (from a flea market in Finland). There was also an Edward Gorey postcard (someone reads my blog)! I promise to show you everything soon, but for now, here I am rocking her vest and necklace. The Waves, your trash is my treasure, thank you! Now I just need to poke around for a cool piece of vintage menswear for her...

Vest and Necklace: Hand Me Downs from The Waves; Dress: Beacon's Closet; Shoes: Melissa

Channeling in B&W Plaid

Anyone else have a piece of clothing that reminds them of a friend? Every time I wear this black and white plaid shirt dress, I think of my good friend J. She owns more plaid than any gal I know! In fact, I think she actually has more that one black and white plaid dress. J, you're my style inspiration of the day. 

Jeans: Old outlet; Dress: Beacon's Closet; Scarf: Sust

Moving on to my yard inspiration for the day. Oh, if only I had a yard at my new place. Very few people in New York City do! At least we have some pavement out back for potential container gardening. Here's some signs of spring in one of my favorite yards in Park Slope. Could it get any cuter with the painted daisies on the front fence?

I managed to squeeze in one of my favorite quick meals this weekend in between home renovation tasks. What would I do without vegan bánh mì? If you don't know, bánh mì is a very tasty Vietnamese sandwich. In New York City, you can find quite a few vegan options with tofu, mock chicken or mock fish. Whenever I go for bánh mì I usually also get my favorite drink, a taro soymilk bubble tea. If you're never had one be careful not to drink too fast or you might choke on a bubble! The bubbles are made of tapioca and are quite addictive.

Happy Monday everyone!

Green with Vintage

While I'm not Irish, I always make sure to wear some green for St. Patrick's Day. I guess it's force of habit stemming back to elementary school fears of being pinched. Here's a little vintage blouse I got thrifting about ten years ago. It's served me well on St. Patty's Day and at Christmas. I know this is kind of funny since it has Chinese dragons on the front and back.

Blouse: vintage; Skirt: around ten years old; Boots: Cri de Coeur

Since I've been on the subject lately, here are a few vintage postcards for you. Even though I don't generally seek out holiday theme postcards, I have three St. Patrick's Day postcards in my antique/vintage postcard collection. Of course my favorite is the moon!

I hope you all have a great St. Patty's Day wherever you are this weekend. Things can get pretty crazy on St. Patrick's Day in New York and since it's on a Saturday this year I'll be doing my best to avoid the crowds. Instead, it's back to the apartment renovation and of course a little doggie time.

May the luck of the Irish...I mean fur babies be with you!

Presents from Paris!

My mom-in-law visited this past weekend and brought me presents from her three week trip to Paris. Now I really want to go again! When N and I went to Paris more than five years ago, it was the first stop on a two and a half month honeymoon/backpacking adventure. We mainly hit up the top tourist spots which was really fun at the time since N had never been to Europe. In the future I want to go and see another side— the art galleries, book shops, antique stores, and flea markets. Have any of you read the David Sedaris book where he's window shopping in Paris and buys a real skeleton for his partner? That's the side of Paris I want to see.

 Mamam K knows me well, look at this treasure trove:

Check out the hand beading on my vintage clutch, so beautiful. She even got me a squished penny for my collection. The antique swallow buttons and the rhinestone swallow pin were quite a find! Now I have to pick something to sew my buttons on...

I love gnomes too and this little pin stole my heart:

She also sent and brought postcards for my collection. Merci beaucoup Mamam!

Sunny Sunday at the Postcard Show

The dress below was my mom's in the late '60s or early '70s. When I got it, the dress had long sleeves with cuffs and the pattern was overwhelming. Once I had the sleeves removed, voilà, I had a cute dress!

Dress: vintage; Cardigan: thrifted; Boots: Vegetarian Shoes; Necklace: vintage

I actually took the time to do something besides house stuff on Sunday. I went to the vintage postcard show! Since it only takes place in New York once or twice a year I knew I needed to make it.

A really gorgeous hotel lobby at the show

So many vendors from all over the world

As usual, I was one of the youngest people at the entire show. I know postcard collecting might seem like a pretty random hobby to many of you. I got drawn into it around seven years ago when I picked up a few interesting cards at an antique store. My hobby started out as a mild interest and has been growing ever since. I love that there's so much history to be learned from old postcards. Each one tells a story whether from the message on the back or the drawing or photo on the front. It's strange to think we're in an electronic age now. In a hundred years people won't have much in the way of our history to physically hold. It will all be digital files!

Check out these cards from the early 1900s. It's hard to believe that women only earned the right to vote in the United States in 1920. My heart hopes that by 2020 there is even more equality for EVERYONE in our world...

Some early 1900s women's suffrage cards

I left the show with some cool cards for my collection. I'll show you a few of of them sometime soon. Ta ta for now and Happy Monday!