Outfit of the days- Feeling Dotty

Hello Kittens!

It had been a busy non-stop weekend this past weekend for me and my husband Tim. Not only was it our two year wedding anniversary weekend but it was also Mardi Gras weekend as well.

We kick started the annivesary weekend by going to the Tech Museum in San Jose to see the Star Wars exhibit with a group of friends. It was cool to get to see the actual models that were in the movies as well as the actual costumes and props. I was expecting there to be lots of hands-on exhibits seeing that it was the Tech Museum after all but all the hands on stuff seemed to either be broken or they took too much concentration and patience to do. We were kind of pressed for time so I just didn't have it in me to read the instructions for the hands on stuff ;p

With Jawa!

 

Han and Boba

Tim with the hands on interactive stuff

R2D2

Destroyer Droid

C3PO

The fun did not stop at the Museum. Later that evening we went to our first ever Mardi Gras party! I can now say I'm a big fan of Mardi Gras! ;) This party consisted of lots of good food, good company, good drinks and more good food: hurricanes, jambalaya, fried chicken, red beans and rice, stuffed bell peppers, dirty rice, king cake, all finished off with freshly made beignets. All I have to say is I ate to my heart's content and also that my friend Valencia's mom is the best for putting together this party and Valencia and her mom are awesome for making all this good food! Mardi Gras? Yes please!


Outfit of the day (Saturday):

For this fun filled day I picked a dress that is both stylish and comfortable, my Stop Staring Samantha dress which I got from JBR Clothing a while back. I love this dress because it is a retro style circle dress with 3/4 sleeves, polka dots, and is made of super warm, soft, sweater-type material, making it the perfect warm weather dress! I wore this with a peacock feather in my hair (from Beverly's modified by me) for Mardi Gras, turquoise tights, and Blowfish ankle strap flats.

Stop Staring Samantha Dress- Front View

Stop Staring Samantha Dress- Side View

On Sunday Tim and I had a nice sleep in after all the fun and eating from the Mardi Gras party the night before then went out to dinner at my favorite restaurant, Le Papillon in Fremont.  The food is always delicious there and the staff always treat you right! We had escargot, I had asparagus cream soup and the chicken cordon bleu, Tim had a salad and their pistachio crusted scallops, then even though we didn't order dessert, they came out with a plate full of samplings of their desserts with happy anniversary written on the plate in raspberry sauce and with a candle on the plate! So we got to end the night on a high note with vanilla ice cream, java chip ice cream, cherry ice cream, cheesecake, and fresh berries. Is there any wonder why this is my favorite restaurant?

Anniversary Soup at Le Papillon

Celebrating our 2nd year anniversary- Le Papillon

Outfit of the day (Sunday):

For this evening I picked a pencil skirted dress (Tim's favorite style) and wore my Hell Bunny Sandy dress which I got from Angry Young and Poor a while back. This polka dot dress buttons in the top front and has a cut out at the top of the bust. It also buttons in the back and has a cut out at the lower back. But because it is the beginning of March and still chilly I wore a black tank top under the dress which covered up the back cut out making it not so drafty and not so risque. I wore this dress with a red flower with red red feather in my hair from Vintage Alley, black back-seamed tights, and T.U.K. Kitty Heels from Journeys which also has polka dots along with a cute kitty face and cute little velvet red bows which the cats wear on their ear.

Hell Bunny Sandy Dress- Front View

Hell Bunny Sandy Dress- Side View

T.U.K. Kitty Heels

It was a weekend full of fun and food and good company and though this wasn't planned this way... full of polka dots!

A Peacock for All Occasions

""So beauti-ful," the priest said. "A tail full of suns," 

...and he crept forward on tiptoe and looked down on the bird's back where the polished gold and green design began. The peacock stood still as if he had just come down from some sun-drenched height to be a vision for them all." Flannery O'Conner, The Displaced Person

I love peacocks. They are so majestic. The way they prance, the way they lift their tails and show off their plumage, their call... “To the melancholy this sound is melancholy and to the hysterical it is hysterical. To me it has always sounded like a cheer for an invisible parade." Flannery O'Conner from her essay The King of the Birds.

With this being Mardi Gras weekend I figured it was a perfect time to blog about my new find, the Peacock Teapot from Edie Rose by Rachel Bilson... yes that Rachel Bilson from the show Hart of Dixie! Who knew that she also designed teaware, dinnerware, and other kitchenware?!

The Peacock Teapot from Edie Rose is in the shape of a peacock. The peacock's head, looking behind him, forms the lid of the teapot. His plumage, first curving up then cascading down, forms the handle as well as the backside of the teapot. Sculptured roses, one in full bloom and another still in its bud, encircle the spout. The spout itself is one of the roses' leaves. A raised relief design is seen throughout the teapot as well as the peacock's colors of turquoise, purple, and green. 

Isn't he lovely?

Peacock Teapot by Edie Rose

Notice how the peacock's expression seems to change depending on the view? Compare the first picture with the last picture...

And so I leave you with one more quote from Miss Flannery O'Conner on the beauty of the peacock..

"The peacock stopped just behind her, his tail--glittering green-gold and blue in the sunlight--lifted just enough so that it would not touch the ground. It flowed out on either side like a floating train and his head on the long blue reed-like neck was drawn back as if his attention were fixed in the distance on something no one else could see...." Flannery O'Conner, The Displaced Person

Happy Mardi Gras everyone!

The loveliest coats in the world

I recently purchased two of Trashy Diva's coats. 

These are the most loveliest coats I've ever owned! Though they are different in style, they both have their beautiful retro charm. When I wear these coats I feel like a movie star. These coats could have come straight out of an old Hollywood movie! In fact, one of these coats have been featured in the modern day TV show, True Blood.

The Courtney dress coat by Trashy Diva is a double breasted, luxurious, full skirted dress which features 3/4" sleeves, a wide portrait collar and two covered buttons in the front at the waist. I bought mine in black cotton sateen which has a slight sheen to the fabric and a smooth feel. It is made with wonderful attention to detail and unsurpassed quality I have come to expect from Trashy Diva. It is fully lined in black acetate taffeta which helps adds to the poof of the skirt and features razor sharp piping which farther helps hold the shape and gives the skirt of the dress coat a great flair. It also has a total of six hidden snap closures, three on the inner closure and three on the outer part of the inner closure to ensure the dress coat keeps it tailored look. I may have purchased this coat a size too small because I had a hard time keeping these snap closures snapped but a quick swap for two hook and eyes where the snap closures were and this dress fits like a dream.

I snatched this dress up from Blue Velvet Vintage when I saw they were selling out and when Trashy Diva sold out of my size but never fear, Trashy Diva has since restocked the Courtney dress coat in black ribbed rayon as well as has it in smoked leopard. Blue Velvet Vintage still has one size left in this dress coat as well as this dress coat in white. This dress coat is the same one as was worn by the vampire queen Sophie Anne in True Blood though this one has a black lining instead of her red lining.

This coat is amazing. Because of the luxuriousness of this dress coat with its tailored shape and beautiful style I would not be surprised to have seen Grace Kelly wearing it. It's something I would expect her character the beautiful, wealthy, sophisticated Lisa Fremont from Rear Window to step out in.

I ordered this dress coat in size 12 and other than the problems with the six small snap closures it seems to fit my 38-30-38, 5'3" frame just right.

Trashy Diva Courtney Dress Coat Front View

Trashy Diva Courtney Dress Coat Side View

Trashy Diva Courtney Dress Coat Side View

Trashy Diva Courtney Dress Coat Back View

Detail of Small Snap Closures Inner Closure

Detail of Small Snap Closures Outer Closure

Substituted one snap closure for hook and eye on inner closure

Also substituted one snap closure for hook and eye on outer closure and removed one side of the two remaining small snaps, left the other side of the two snaps because they were unnoticeable when the dress coat is worn.

The Trashy Diva Velvet Ginger jacket is pure 1950's starlet evening glamor! This jacket was modeled from a jacket handmade for Ginger Wallace but has an updated design to give it "more sex appeal" while remaining true to its vintage charm. It features 3/4" dolman sleeves, a cropped length, and a fitted waist giving it an authentic 1950s silhouette. This jacket has one covered button which closes at the cropped waist. Despite it's glamorous look and velvet fabric, the dolman sleeves ensures it is very comfortable to wear.

I absolutely adore this jacket. I was lucky enough to come across it during Trashy Diva's 50% off sale items sale which made it a steal! This jacket was made for ballrooms and black tie dinners. I imagine it being the perfect jacket to take with you to one of the fancy night clubs where Xavier Cugat and his Orchestra played in Esther Williams' movies.

I ordered this jacket in medium which I was really hesitant about but following the size chart proved to be correct and this jacket fit me just right.

Trashy Diva Ginger Jacket Front View

Trashy Diva Ginger Jacket Front View- dolman sleeves

Trashy Diva Ginger Jacket Side View

Trashy Diva Ginger Jacket Back View

With both the Trashy Diva Courtney Dress Coat and the Trashy Diva Ginger Jacket I wore my Lucky 13 City Gal dress, a perfect dress for both jackets, with my Naturalizer Collna heels.

Outfit of the day, kitties galore!

Hello Kittens!

On Sunday I went out to lunch with one of my bff's to celebrate her birthday. Wendy has been a busy bee as of late so we didn't have one of our marathon shopping/hang days as usual but we did have a great time catching up, having lunch in the Hayward home front at Buffalo Bills, then making a fun and much needed trip over to Joanns where I finally picked up my notions for my next dress project (but that will be a different post in the -hopefully- not too distant future), and she picked up tons of cute fabric for making quilts!

For this special bff birthday outing I wore my Peach/pink cat dress which Wendy spotted for me at Target (Modcloth now has this dress in blue), peach cardi also from Target, cat tights I got from ebay (which I've also seen on Modcloth), my Gabrielle Rocha peach flats from Zappos, and I topped it all off with a peach hair flower from my favorite local retro retailer Vintage Alley. It was like Caturday, only it was Sunday. :)

Cat Detail, Piping Detail Front of Dress

Front View

Side View

Front View

Back View. Love the cat tails on the back of these tights!

A bit of personal flair!

"Different," she said, "with a special something and a very very personal flair."

LOL. Okay I get show tunes stuck in my head. Love "At the Ballet" from A Chorus Line. But I digress...

As some of you might have noticed I love my Chinese inspired velvet Mary Janes I got from Urban Outfitters over the Christmas season. They are slowly becoming my new go-to shoe for stepping out. They are flats which is my favorite kind of shoe to wear, plus they are furry on the inside which help keep my feet and toes warm even when it's cold and I'm not wearing tights. But at times, they could seem a little plain. So I got the idea to jazz these up a bit with hair flowers turned shoe clips!

I found these hair clips at Forever 21 and took them home for a whooping $1.50. I love Forever 21! While I like them as hair clips just fine, I figured they would be better served as shoe clips :)

And here you go! Pictures!

Why, Hello There Kitty!

Flower hair clips + velvet Mary Janes with furry lining = Fun new quick project!

Aren't They Lovely?

Side View

Top View

The Curious Case of C.C. Cookie with Wolfgang in the background

I love fun quick projects! Don't you? :)

The Chicago, the Ft. Lauderdale, and the NOLA

I had so much fun making my first cat sweater clip a couple weeks ago that this last week I made a couple more. 

These sweater clips are relatively easy to make and just require a few supplies from Etsy, Joann's, and a hot glue gun and they take only a few minutes to make.

Because each of these sweater clips seem to have their own personalities it got me thinking of what I would name them if I were to name them after a particular city they feel like they should have been born in.


The Chicago is a pink and white cat cameo or cabonchon with pink pearls. I think of Chicago in the 1950s when I see this sweater clip
 

The Ft. Lauderdale is a super colorful green, blue and pink cameo with flamingos and palm trees with shiney pink transparent beads... who wouldn't think of Ft. Lauderdale in the 1950s when they see this fun sweater clip!

The NOLA is a black and ivory cat cameo with a dark silver chain. This sweater clip is much darker than the other two and makes me think of the New Orleans of Anne Rice's books. It is just like my previous sweater clip from Cat Got Your Chain except the cameo is smaller and darker having an ivory colored cat rather than a white cat... even though the chain and style of cameo are exactly the same, this slight color difference in cat makes such a big difference in feel to me... if Cat Got Your Chain had a location name I would name it the San Francisco but this one is definitely the NOLA.