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Got a style/sustainability question? Know of an Etsy seller I should check out? Want to tell me about your vintage Fluevog collection? Whatever it is, feel free to drop me a line: DianaLynnSmiles *at* gmail.com. (replace *at* with the @ sign)
Hi and welcome! I'm Diana, and this is my blog, Smiles Go With Everything. As the title suggests, I write about a little bit of everything, but the majority of my focus is on style and sustainability and how the two interconnect. In between are sprinklings of baking, gardening, crafting, and whatever I feel like sharing.-
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Tag Archives: Vintage
“I turned on the light”
I made this tunic over a month ago, but I didn’t get around to incorporating it into an outfit until last week. It’s so hot and muggy right now, that long sleeves and leggings are usually too warm. But my school has a new a/c system now, and it’s freezing, so I get to wear clothes that aren’t completely seasonally appropriate.
This re-con really turned out beautifully, but I wish that the empire waist was just about an inch lower. It would be a lot more flattering. Unfortunately, because of how it’s designed, it’s something I can’t really alter. Eventually, I’d love to make something like this from scratch, so I could correct that. That is, whenever I actually have some time for from-scratch sewing.
As I’ve said before, I absolutely love my job, but the summer made me forget just how little free time I have while working. I didn’t do any blog reading all week last week, and my projects and to-do’s pilled up. I know I’ll relearn to budget my time again, but right now it’s a bit stressful. Once I get into a routine, I know it’ll be a lot better.
Tunic: Re-con made from Target tunics by me
Leggings: Target
Shoes: Easy Street
Cuff: Vintage via Sherry’s Yesterdaze
Necklace: Chocolate Cake Jewels
Quote: Don’t Bump the Glump!: And Other Fantasies
Shopping Plan: Weeks 29 and 30
*Weeks 29 and 30 of My Great Shopping Plan of 2010, where I attempt to stay on a budget and fill out my wardrobe*
Ann Taylor LOFT capris, $18 on eBay
So, life’s been busy since I started back at work, and I missed posting last week. These capris were the only thing I bought that week, because I was still waiting for my first paycheck. They’re cute and comfortable, but I’m going to be altering them a bit. I don’t like capris to have wide legs, so I’m going to taper them.
Blue raincoat: $5Grey Sheath: $5
After finally getting paid, I went to a fantastic vintage sale at one of my favorite local shops: Sherry’s Yesterdaze. I bought a $10 ticket to go to the early bird sale, and I’m glad I did. It was less crowded, which made me feel more comfortable shopping, and it gave me first dibs. I found these two gems above: the funky, pale blue raincoat looks awesome with my grey and purple wellies, and it’s got a really interesting construction. The grey sheath is absolutely amazing – I feel like I’m in Mad Men when I wear it. And it goes to show that sometimes, it’s okay to break your own rules. I generally never buy polyester, but I decided to make an exception with this dress It looks so amazing on, and it was only $5. I would prefer to find something similar made of wool or another natural fabric, but I still love it.
They also had $5 jewelry grab bags at the sale, so I got all this jewelry:
Vintage jewelry: $5I probably won’t keep all of it, but there’s a couple items in there that I really love.
Now that I’ve gone back to work, I’ve come to the realization that I really need to come back to my original focus of filling gaps in my wardrobe. The past few months, I’ve ignored my gaps list, and basically just bought whatever I happened to find. Now I’m back at work and realizing that I have no slacks that fit me, and only so many blouses and dresses that are work appropriate. It’s about time for some back to school shopping for me!
“Some fun things are hard”
Whew! My first week back at work was exhausting. My school was having the a/c replaced over the summer, and the construction isn’t quite finished yet, so it’s been very challenging getting ready for the beginning of the school year. I love being back at work, but it will take a few weeks for me to get used to the schedule again. I missed posting yesterday because I simply didn’t budget my weekend time well. I might be missing a couple posts here and there as I’m re-adjusting, but hopefully I’ll get back in the rhythm of things before too long.
When I first moved to my current home three years ago, I discovered this tiny little park only a couple blocks away. I’ve been meaning to take photos down here ever since then, yet somehow, I’d never gotten around to it. Since I really liked this outfit, and since it was my first day back at work, I decided to finally get down here and take some pictures. The park has a little tiny bridge right on the Hillsborough River, and it’s just gorgeous. I hope I can start getting down here more often.
This photo is my shout out to S. of Simply Bike, who recently wrote about panda shots, which are photos you take of yourself while riding your bike. This was also my first time riding a bike in a dress and heels. It was only for a few blocks, and it wasn’t hard at all. Maybe next time I’ll trek out a little farther.
Dress: Soprano (via Li da la)
Belt: Vintage (via Sherry’s)
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Shoes: Fluevog Malibrans
Bracelet: Vintage (via garage sale)
Earrings: wear+thou
Quote: It’s Hard to Be Five: Learning How to Work My Control Panel
“Walk as proudly as you can and the world will look up to you”
Well, summer has been a lot of fun. However, irregular sleep patterns (sleeping past 5am!), irregular eating habits and a little too much snacking has taken its toll on my body. I’ve gained a little weight, which is leading to most of my jeans and slacks not fitting well (hence why I’ve been wearing the same pair of black shorts about 75% of the time lately).
These Gap Curvy jeans were too loose on me at the end of the school year, but right now, they fit perfectly. I’m happy with my body, and I’m not freaking out and going on a crash diet or anything. I’m working on making some small changes in my diet, and I’m pretty sure things will regulate themselves once I’m working again. For now, I’m just happy that I didn’t get rid of these jeans. I think that it makes sense to hold onto at least a few items of clothing that are either too large or to small on you, because weight generally fluctuates.
The important thing I’ve learned is to always be kind to yourself. Beating yourself up about weight fluctuation and getting depressed only makes things worse. A shift in weight doesn’t stop you from being a beautiful person, but having a foul attitude about things will.
Blouse: Coda (via Revolve)
Jeans: Gap Curvy
Flats: Easy Street
Earrings: Garage Sale
Necklace: Chocolate Cake Jewels
Bangles: Vintage (via garage sales and Sherry’s Yesterdaze)
Quote: Stand Tall, Molly Lou Melon
“Tweetily-tweet”
I think it’s true what they say about haircuts, that they usually look better about two weeks after you get them. I was feeling a bit frustrated with my new hair cut when I first got it, but now it’s really starting to grow on me (no pun intended).
My jewelry was quasi bird-themed with this outfit. The cuff has engravings of birds on it, and the earrings are shaped somewhat like feathers. And I even found a blue jay feather on the ground while taking these pictures. I used to love collecting feathers like this when I was a kid, and I fancied myself quite the birdwatcher. I even made a “camouflage” cover out of an old green wool blanket, thinking that the birds wouldn’t notice me if I cut holes in it and watched them from underneath. Needless to say, that idea didn’t work very well, especially in the Florida heat.
Tank: Soma (thrifted)
Cardigan: J Crew (via eBay)
Shorts: Ann Taylor LOFT (thrifted)
Sandals: Clarks Rime
Earrings: wear+thou
Cuff: Vintage via Sherry’s Yesterdaze
Purse: Morelle Charlotte
Quote: Jazzmatazz!
Shopping Plan: Week 27
*Week 27 of My Great Shopping Plan of 2010, where I attempt to stay on a budget and fill out my wardrobe*
After last week, I was very much on track with my budget. I still had $173 left for the month of August. I didn’t buy very much this week either. Since I work in the school system, my money has been limited during the summer, and it’s starting to get a bit low. I go back to work in two weeks, so I’ll be fine, but it means that I’ve had to tighten my spending a bit. I still managed to get one vintage jewel this week:
Vintage Cuff: $15 at Sherry’s Yesterdaze
I went into Sherry’s looking for some cool vintage housewares for my kitchen, since I’m currently obsessed with them. I ended up coming out with this gorgeous cuff. I love silver cuff bracelets, and I couldn’t pass up one with such beautiful engravings. I think that the birds on this bracelet may be quetzals, or at least, that’s how I’d like to think of them, since quetzals are one of my favorite kinds of birds.
That was all I bought this week, so I still have $158 left for the month. Once I start getting regular paychecks again, I’m sure I’ll be doing more shopping.
Antiquing makes for awesome baking
I alluded to having an awesome day in my post earlier today. That awesomeness was because of the above items. I went antiquing at an lovely little spot called Seminole Heights Antiques & Consignment. There’s actually two antique shops and Tampa Street Market in this cute little plaza, so I love to frequent it. Between the two antique shops, I found some awesome deals this week. I’ve been wanting to get a copy of Joy of Cooking ever since I saw Julie and Julia. Then I found this brand new copy sitting on a shelf at the shop for a mere $15!! It looks like someone must have received it as a gift and never used it, because it’s in pristine shape. I also got that cute mid-century organizer for my desk at work.
At the next shop, I spotted these muffin tins and snatched them up for a mere $1.50 a piece! I’ve been wanting to try baking muffins for awhile, but I didn’t have the appropriate cookware.
Armed with my new cookbook and muffin tins, I went home, scrubbed the tins, and proceeded to bake my first ever from-scratch batch of blueberry muffins.
It’s heaven I tell you. Nothing is more fun than cooking and baking with vintage housewares. They have so much more character and durability than more modern cookware.
Yum.
Vintage Etsy Love: Yellow Kitchens
*Every Wednesday, I take a look at some of the beautiful items found at one of the best places for buying and selling hand-made and vintage: Etsy. Buying hand-made and vintage lets you own beautiful, unique objects with character. It keeps things out of the landfills and supports artists and small businesses who are trying to make a living doing what they love. If you have a particular theme you’d love to see, drop me a line and let me know. *
I’ve been doing a bit of antiquing this week, and I’ve become completely smitten with vintage kitchen items. In particular, ones that are sunshine yellow. And I’m thinking of gradually phasing out all of my random chipping Walmart (ugh!) and Kmart dishes and bowls in favor of some of these vintage beauties.
Dansk Sunshine Yellow Enamel Pot, $35
Yellow Salt and Pepper Shakers, $8
Sunshine Yellow Pyrex Bowl Complete Set, $118
Very Yellow Copco Canisters, $12
Sunshine Yellow Pitcher, $8.50
Shopping Plan: Week 24
*Week 24 of My Great Shopping Plan of 2010, where I attempt to stay on a budget and fill out my wardrobe*
Garage sale finds, $9 total
Whenever a neighborhood garage sale happens, I love to hop on my bike and go treasure hunting. I’m pretty picky, so sometimes I’ll come back with nothing. Other times, I’ll come back with some amazing finds at crazy prices. That’s what happened this past weekend. I was a bit late getting started (11:00ish) but there were still a lot of good sales going on. I found that fun straw tote at the first garage sale ($2). It turned out to be pretty handy, because I carried all the rest of my purchases in it. It’s a great carry-all, and will be perfect for trips to the beach, farmer’s market, or just to carry miscellany around.
The next sale I went to had a fantastic stash of vintage jewelry. I got two beautiful creamy pearl necklaces (you can never have too many pearls!), some Sarah Coventry brooches and one matching earring (we couldn’t find the other one) for a mere $2! I plan on turning the earring into a necklace charm.
At the last sale (which was an estate sale) I got that beautiful yellow Vera scarf and the white straw hat. I’m kind of addicted to yellow, so I know I’ll use the scarf. I’m not so sure about the hat, but I’ve really been wanting a cute straw hat for the summer, so I figured it was worth a shot. Those were $5 (a bit overpriced for a garage sale, but still cheaper than it would be at a brick and mortar shop).
So, after last week, I had $41 left for the month of July. I spent $9, so now there’s $32 left.
“Everything in French sounds fancy”
How do you make a 3/4 sleeve cotton and cashmere tee work in the heat of summer? Pair it with shorts and sandals! I was determined to wear this lightweight tee, despite the fact that it’s in the 90s everyday now. I realized that if I balanced out the longer sleeve length with shorts, I could wear it and still not be overheated. The head scarf was mostly there to add a nice pop of color. It also brought out the color of this gorgeous nail polish, which I’ll be talking about more tomorrow.
For some reason, I always feel very French when I wear this striped tee. I’m not really sure where the association of stripes and France began. The head scarf added a nice Euro touch as well.
Do you see stripes as French, Nautical or both? Or something else?
Shirt: J Crew (via eBay)
Shorts: Ann Taylor LOFT
Sandals: Born (via eBay)
Purse: Morelle Charlotte
Scarf: Vintage
Cuff: via Classy Consignment
Earrings: Efy Tal
Quote: Fancy Nancy
Nail Polish: No Miss Manalapan Melon
