Sunday, November 8, 2015

Vacation Slideshow: Halloween in New Orleans, Part 1

It was vacation time again this year!


New Orleans has been a place that's been on my wishlist for vacation destinations since I was in middle school and obsessed with Anne Rice books. The draw was only increased after I found out that not only Anne Rice lived there but also Trent Reznor from Nine Inch Nails. The more things I heard about New Orleans the more I wanted to go. For instance, their voodoo past, their ghost stories, their food, their love for Halloween, it's proximity to the swamp, Trashy Diva (of course), and Louisiana's Halloween haunted house in Baton Rouge, the 13th Gate, which continuously makes the top 5, several times number 1, on several lists of top Halloween haunted houses in the country. After years and years of pining to go, Tim and I finally made our way out there for a week long vacation.

We arrived on Tuesday night just in time to check into our B&B in the Garden District and meet up with a friend for dinner and then drinks on Frenchmen St. It was a wonderful way to get a taste of things to come.

On Wednesday, our first official full day there, Tim and I took the St. Charles Streetcar down to the French Quarter, made a mandatory stop at Cafe Du Monde for beignets and cafe au lait, and wandered around the French Quarter. We went to the French Market on Decatur St., had poboys at Killer Poboys in the Erin Rose bar, walked up and down Chartres St and Royal St where we stopped in at Trashy Diva on Royal to meet up with friends, then off to Magazine St in the lower Garden District area for a large meetup with lots of friends at the Trashy Diva shop there. Afterwards we zoomed back to the French Quarter for a nightly vampire tour where we ended our night after having a traditional cajun dinner at the well deserved local favorite, Coop's Place. What an incredible first day it was!


Day 1 (Wednesday):


Riding the streetcar in my Trashy Diva Streetcar dress

Outfit of the Day: Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in black and white plaid- Front View






Beautiful gas lamps everywhere

Park kitties hanging out at night in Jackson Square


Day 2 (Thursday):

On Thursday, our second day, we rented a car and drove up to Slidell where we met up with some more friends for a boat tour through the Honey Island swamp. The weather was perfect and the swamp gorgeous. We saw wild boar, an alligator, and turtles. Afterwards we all went to a nearby restaurant, the Southside Cafe.... it was my first and only restaurant where I remembered to order sweet tea. The muffalettas and fried seafood baskets were huge and delicious! We had just enough time that day to get back home, relax for a bit, then head out to meet up with some more friends for dinner at Le Crepe Nanou. We then ended our night by going out to the nearby Halloween haunted house, House of Shock. Highlights at this haunted house was the full service bar (which is pretty common at all NOLA locations though this is something we never see at our local haunted houses), the 3-D section, the room of mirrors, and the floor show while waiting in line.






















Shrimper's homes along the waterways

House along the waterway officially build to code

Baby alligator at the ticketing office for the swamp tour

Half a shrimp muffaletta at the South Side Cafe, Slidell, LA
 
Entrance into the House of Shock, Jefferson, LA



Outfit of the Day
Wednesday: 

(pictured above) For Wednesday I wore my Trashy Diva Streetcar dress in black and white plaid. I could not resist the opportunity to get to wear the Streetcar dress on the streetcar! 


Thursday:
On Thursday, for our day in the swamps, I opted to wear my Sourpuss Hey Kitten dress. After all, this dress features an all over print of smiling vintage Halloween cat faces and Halloween was, at this point, just around the corner! I paired this with my Rosita Bonita Pyewacket cat earrings, the image for which matched to a T! I also paired this with my comfortable walking shoes, Sketcher Go Walks.

Sourpuss Hey Kitten dress- Front View
For Thursday evening when we went out to dinner with friends I changed into my Trashy Diva 1940's dress in mini fleur. I couldn't resist packing as much New Orleans themed clothes as possible into this trip! I paired this dress with fleur de lis dangle earrings. I also paired this with my comfortable Sketcher Go Walks since I knew we'd be going out to the Halloween haunted house later that night and I was pretty sure there was going to be a lot of dirt roads out that way.

Trashy Diva 40's dress in Mini Fleur- Front View















Tuesday, October 27, 2015

Matching Your Dress to your Teaware Part 21: Halloween Edition #1

Happy Halloween Kittens!


In celebration of Halloween being just around the corner I wanted to post an extra special edition of Matching Your Dress to your Teaware featuring a modern take on Snow White!





I paired together an outfit that, to me, gave the vibe of Snow White. To create this look I wore my Trashy Diva yellow Maria dress with a true blue Heart of Haute Sweet sweater. For the final finishing touch I added a red bow headband which I feel really sets off the look!

I paired this with an adorable Snow White tea for one by Cardew which I found on Amazon.com.  While the Snow White on this tea for one is its own unique take on Snow White, I feel that the effect itself is perfect for Halloween.

This Cardew tea for one features an all over print of several different scenes throughout the story of Snow White. The colors are brilliant and abundant. It also features roses at the handle of the teapot which continues on the handle of the cup. One of my favorite things on novelty teapots is when quotes are incorporated into the design as they are here on the lid of the teapot with the words "Once upon a time in midwinter..." And again on the inside of the cup with the words, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall... who is the fairest of them all?" The placement itself is ingenious, creating a beautiful visual harmony throughout the two pieces.










Hope you all have a happy Halloween!





Monday, October 26, 2015

Outfit of the Day: True Vintage Day for a Birthday

The weekend before last was my dad's birthday! :D


My dad and step mom had a family get together at their house to mark the occasion. There was lots of food, good family, and cake!


Outfit of the Day:
For this day's activities I wore my vintage 1960's cool watercolors style dress with a crocheted navy cape, the dress I found on ebay and the cape I found on etsy. Both were total scores! I paired this with navy blue flats.

Vintage Blue Watercolors dress- Front View

Vintage Blue Watercolors dress- Side View

Vintage Blue Watercolors dress- Front View

Vintage Blue Watercolors dress- Front View

Vintage Blue Watercolors dress- Side View



Saturday, October 24, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Pumpkin Patch and Corn Maze!

It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown!


Last Saturday my friend and I went out for a wonderful full day outing. We started at the bi-annual Alameda Point Vintage Fashion Faire in Alameda. At first, walking in, it occurred to me this was going to be a lot smaller than the Vintage Fashion Expo that I went to a few weeks ago, but as we walked around and started looking through the 50+ vendor's booths I realized this one actually had a lot more clothes which is the thing I really want to look at! :) This time, I walked away with a lovely 1960's purple boucle cape! It was the first thing that caught my eye and I learned from the last vintage fashion expo that if you see something you like you'd better grab it quick because you never know if it's going to last! I'm totally looking forward to the next upcoming one later in the year! Maybe for that one I will be better about taking photos.

After the fashion faire we had lunch on Alameda's main shopping street, Park St, and popped into my favorite vintage shop there, Juniper Tree Vintage, where I found a super cute small sized vintage style Halloween cat lantern to add to my one item collection. Maybe you can spot it behind me in my Outfit of the Day photos below?

After we had our fill of Alameda we drove to Livermore to go to the corn maze and pumpkin patch!! This stop was precluded by a necessary stop at Starbucks along the way for pumpkin spice lattes <3


Spooky entrance into the corn maze


The bridge

View from atop the bridge: Corn all around









Hay bale maze for the kids

Let's see how I've grown!





Outfit of the Day:
For this day's activities I couldn't resist wearing my Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white Gingham! Black and white gingham is just to fall to me!! <3 I paired this a vintage short sleeve orange collared cardigan which I found at a local shop, 23 Skidoo, earlier this summer, black flats, and Halloween cat earrings from Rosita Bonita which I got from Trashy Diva

Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white gingham- Side View

Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white gingham- Front View

Trashy Diva Lena Picnic dress in black and white gingham- Side View

Rosita Bonita Pyewacket earrings- Close Up











Saturday, October 17, 2015

Matching Your Dress to Your Teawar Part 20: Miss Mary Poppins!

"Practically perfect in every way" is a perfect description for this Perfect Pairing! 


This Mary Poppins teapot with cup and saucer set from the Etsy shop, Second Chance Ceramics, is so incredibly cute and charming! It features illustrations from the original book illustrated by Mary Shepard. I love the layout and attention to detail in this teapot and cup and saucer set, all designed by shop owner Antonia at Second Change Ceramics who recycles white porcelain and stoneware mugs by adding her own handmade decals. This specific design is currently out of stock but there is a plethora of designs available through the shop!

Mary Poppins Teapot, image source, Second Chance Ceramics: https://www.etsy.com/listing/206987751/reserved-mary-poppins-tea-pot-teapot-cup?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

Mary Poppins Teapot, image source, Second Chance Ceramics: https://www.etsy.com/listing/206987751/reserved-mary-poppins-tea-pot-teapot-cup?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

Mary Poppins Cup and Saucer, image source, Second Chance Ceramics: https://www.etsy.com/listing/206987751/reserved-mary-poppins-tea-pot-teapot-cup?utm_source=Pinterest&utm_medium=PageTools&utm_campaign=Share

Pairing with this teapot with cup and saucer set is this adorable Louise Green hat! When I first saw this Louise Green Cherry Doll Hat on Trashy Diva's website my thoughts immediately turned to Mary Poppins! I adore this dark woven boater style hat with all its cute attention to detail! I swoon every time I see it. While this particular style is sold out on the Trashy Diva website, Trashy Diva does not have a lack of other wonderful and equally amazing Louise Green hats! Oh how wonderful though, it would be to wear this hat while sipping a cup of tea! A spoonful of sugar and everything would be practically perfect in every way!


Louise Green Cherry Doll Hat, image source: http://www.trashydiva.com/




Tuesday, October 13, 2015

Outfit of the Day: Cactus Rouge

Hello Kittens


Last Saturday the weather was absolutely perfect! It was one of those perfect Summer to Fall transition days where it was warm but not too hot and cool but not too cold. What made it all the more perfect was that Tim and I got to spend the day not just at one but two bbqs! I was super happy to be out and about in this perfect weather visiting friends and so happy as well for this perfect weather as it let me wear one of my more summery dresses but allowed for me to layer it up in one of my most favorite vintage cardigans!


Outfit of the Day:
For this day's activities I chose to wear my new Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge. I paired this with some (unusual for me) fancier shoes, red Miz Mooz Heloise t-straps, and a vintage cream beaded collared cardigan which I got from Etsy some years back. I also paired this with the most perfect pairing, a cute cactus necklace I fortuitously found in nearby Pleasanton a few weeks back in a boutique shop called Prim Boutique.


Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge- Front View

Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge- Front View

Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge- Side View

Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge- Front View

Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge- Front View

Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge- Side View

Trashy Diva Bonita dress in Cactus Rouge with Cactus necklace from Prim Boutique- Close Up