rainy day previews + a thrifty linen water recipe

I intended to take a lot more photos today, but it looks like the rain is getting in my way. It's not so bad though. TCM is playing Bette Davis movies all day, and I have so much laundering and mending to do, I won't complain about the rain. (Speaking of laundering: can I just tell you right now how filled with glee I am about Biz? That stuff is magical! I soaked the Givenchy juniors dress that I didn't think at all salvagable in it, and though the armpits are permanently faded, it took out all the yellowing. I now have hope for all the adorable white blouses in the stash, and can't wait to start cleaning them! Kind of sad, the level of excitement I'm experiencing over detergent. Oh well.)

Oh, and one more laundry-related topic. I decided I wanted a nice-smelling linen spray (scented detergents and Febreze are, in my opinion, nasty, and make my nose hurt) and found this recipe. It's for an 8 oz bottle, and mine is 22 oz. I adjusted the recipe a bit because the amount of EO used seemed high. The $9.99 bottle of lavender EO I had contained one tablespoon, and I couldn't see using the whole bottle in one measly 8 oz spray. So I used about 3/4 Tbsp (10 ml), 2 1/2 cups distilled water, and about 1/4 cup vodka. The scent is nice and strong, and it really makes ironing a bit less torturous. AND I decided to be REALLY thrifty, and bought some mega-bottles of lemon and lavender oils from LuckyVitamin.com (they have great prices on many of the health food store brands I like, like Tom's of Maine, Seventh Generation, etc.). They sell a 4 ounce bottle (8 times the $9.99 bottle I had) of NOW Foods brand lavender oil for $14.99. One important thing to note: when deciding on an oil for your linen water, be sure to choose a light-colored one, so you won't risk staining the garment.

And now, on to the rainy day preview...all items coming to the Etsy shop this week!

Sleek black 1950s L'Aiglon dress; you can't see in this photo, but the fabric has a really cool diagonal rib.



Horse and clover print 1970s blouse by Vera Neumann.

Beautiful 1950s blue suede pumps with cutouts at toes, by De Angelo.



1960s blue flying saucer hat:



Great transition-to-fall dress in plaid seersucker by Jonathan Logan.



1950s plaid blouse with big button tabs at waist.



Mod floral sleepover suitcase.



Buttercup dress, with nubby chenille texture.



Uber-pleated! Peridot dress.



Crazy canary mod raffia hat with tassel.



1950s back-to-school plaid dress, an R&K Original.



xo
K