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

One of those days

That's what today was. Everything and everyone was conspiring against me with slowness, disorganization, or just plain stupidity, and I found it really hard to get anything done. Well, I did manage to get something done, and listed a few of the new goodies in my Etsy shop. You can click that there link to visit, or click my Etsy Mini over there in the righthand margin (which also shows you the latest items in the shop, handy!) --->.

I had strawberries and Swedish cream for dessert tonight (from this Mark Bittman Bitten post), which helped a little. Because isn't anything Swedish always better than anything not-Swedish?

But I also plan to end my evening with a smile by viewing the wonderful Flickr photostream of * Eartha Kitsch *. She has an amazing home, style, and sense of humor. Her home definitely fulfills that Twin Peaks/cabin-y/lodge-y/1950s thing that I love so much. Go check it out--you won't be sorry!

And now on to the new goods! Here are photos of blouses and dresses coming to the Etsy shop this week. First, this 1960s linen wiggle dress by Alison Ayres:

The cutest and funniest chicken and herb print novelty print blouse by Cos Cob!

My FAVORITE dress of the Big Score so far, this olive and bronze polka-dot print taffeta party dress:

A silk scarf-neck blouse by Bill Atkinson, Glen of Michigan.

Creamsicle gingham shirtwaist dress.

Purple sateen ascot neck blouse.




Green and yellow floral print party dress.

I also photographed several hats this weekend. I'll post those tomorrow.

'Night all--here is to a better, more productive day tomorrow!

xo

k

Saturday night dress preview!

Here's the first sneak peek at just a few of the dresses and blouses from our Big Score!

"You may talk about your dearest May/And sing of Rosa Lee/But the Yellow Rose of Texas/Beats the belles of Tennessee."

Birds and the bees wrap blouse, made of lawn cotton.

Red scooter romper, by Don-About, a division of Nelly Don.

Bohemian poet blouse, eyelet lace and fluttery sleeves. Label is A Dotti Original.

1950s blue print Jonathan Logan Dress.

More 1950s--a picnic tablecloth-print blouse with inverted pleats front and back!

These will be showing up in the Etsy shop starting tomorrow or Monday. I have a ton more ready for photographing, and also several incredible hats. In fact, while sorting through the hats I ran across a Hattie Carnegie, straw with a very interesting doodad on the crown. I'll have to post a photo tomorrow.

I'm ready to rest and relax with a bit of Greek yogurt and some of the 10 pounds of strawberries I froze last month before the local harvest ran out. And maybe watch the last episode I have on DVD of Da Vinci's Inquest. Anyone else a fan of this great Canadian cop/coroner show? I'm annoyed that it's only available here in the States through the third season. Hrmph.

xo
k

We may never be able to park in the garage again

Sneak peek at a few lovelies, airing out in the backyard.

The little plaid button tab-waist blouse on the left is adorable. Also love the print on the sage green dress.

Three of the most amazing prints in a row here: olive and bronze polka-dot chiffon party dress, blue and black rose print cocktail dress, yellow rose sundress. Swoon! I plan to start getting these photographed this weekend.

xo
K

First post! And a big score...

Hello! And welcome to the inaugural post of the blog. I've been wanting to do this for a long time. As my favorite band the Replacements sang: it's too late to turn back, here we go!

Anyone who collects or loves vintage can tell you that The Big Score is always in the back of your mind. You might scour thrift stores, and sleep in your car to be first in line at estate sales. You might stop at every yard sale you see, and if you're lucky, you might find one or two great pieces.

But you can't stop thinking about The Big Score. The Big Score is found in the back room of an old shoe store, long out of business, that never got rid of extra stock. It's in the home of a woman who loved fashion...and who never threw anything away.

The other day Andy got a call from someone who said she had a "houseful" of vintage. Yeah, sure, he thought, a house full of polyester pants and housecoats maybe. But then he phoned me to let me know he was neck-deep in vintage dresses. This woman's mother had been a total fashionista. She'd had friends in the rag trade, and had purchased huge quantities of clothing at sample sales and end of season sales (the same way my thrifty-yet-chic Grandma Edna shoppped).


She did this (get ready) from the 1940s to the 1970s!

Here, in photographs, is a little taste of what Andy has brought home. So far.

A whole rack of dresses. Boxes and boxes of hats and purses. A pile of garbage bags not yet opened with more dresses, sweaters, and blouses inside.


It represents what was in ONE ROOM of the house. There is still more to come, and we are going to be very busy getting it ready for sale.

(There are at least three L'Aignon dresses!)

I can't wait to see exactly what's in this treasure trove. I hope you'll stick around and stay tuned to the blog for sneak previews!