Thrifty Threads

Today, a huge snow storm hit Missouri. It was so pretty that we had to get out of the house. After days of Christmas feasting, Pj and I craved nothing but veggies. There's a Goodwill right up the street, next to the grocery store. In the window, I saw what looked like bright red shawls! When I got in, I was disappointed to see that they were just felt Christmas tree skirts! :( *oops*
Aside from the mistaken tree skirts and -adorable- shoes that were all too small, I did find some treasures and all of it was less than $15! The jacket pictured above still had a price tag on it for $86 but since it was at goodwill, I only paid $4! The wool skirt above was also a steal ($3) and fits perfectly!! The red cardigan and black polka dot skirt is a project in the making. The skirt waistband is too tight and the cardigan is...less than pleasing. Stay tuned for the re-vamping of that outfit!

My post-Christmas Shopping Spree

Yay! Christmas is over!! It's not that I dont love the lights, the cookies and getting all dressed up, its that I have an -enormous- family and SO many places to go! We cut back on visits this year so we only had 7 places to go. Yep, -only- 7! It was a great Christmas though, and my little Olivia really enjoyed her first holiday season and her very first white Christmas.
The thing I really love about this time of year, though are the sales! Pj and I ran out to Target this morning to pick up a baby swing for our little peanut. Oh, Target. How do I love you, let me count the ways.....
1.) "yucky yellow" purse. I guess it's more of a mustard color, but I lovingly call it "yucky yellow" because to be blunt, it's the color of breast fed baby poo. However, my association to poo does not keep me from squealing "EEeeeeee! It's a yucky yellow purse!!!!" as I run down the aisles of the accessories section to snatch it up. Not only is it yucky yellow (my new favorite color) but its big enough to fit my keys, wallet, baby wipes and over 10 cloth diapers! I -do- adore my Petunia Pickle Bottom diaper bag (It's -so- chic!!) but I really don't like to lug it around the store just so I can pick up milk, cat litter and laundry detergent. The best thing about my lovely purse is that it was on sale! *yay, me!*
2.) "yucky yellow" cardigan. yucky yellow is one of the key colors of a vintage wardrobe, I think, so I could not pass up this cute cardigan!
3.) Lovely Green Sweater. I adore green this time of year. Missouri is so gray and bleak. There's nothing that brightens me up like green. Plus, the empire waist and deep v are good for curvy figures.
4.) Knee-High Socks. The sock selection at Target is usually pretty good. It was a bit picked over today, being the day after x-mas, but I still found a few fabulous pairs, some with buttons, some argyle and all various colors of vintage style.
Cardigan-Target
Socks- Target
Purse- Target
Shoes-Payless
Skirt-Goodwill

How I fell for Vintage

Hi, My name is Brittany, Im a 24 year old housewife and stay at home mommy. I have always loved fashion and spent many years sewing costumes for LARP (live action role-playing games), renaissance faires, Halloween and just 'cause I love to sew! I love to study historical fashion for fun and design some of my own clothes and costumes. I married my husband, Pj last year and quit my job as a cook to be a housewife in January of this year. I had my first baby girl, Olivia in October and since then, became too busy for silly things like getting out of my pajamas. I lived in my pj's for over a month, while adjusting to mommyhood and one day decided that I had enough with no longer being fashionable. I remembered my grandma telling me all about the way housewives were in the 50's, how they always wore dresses even to clean, how shorts were never appropriate for a lady and watching my daily fix of Desperate Housewives re-runs thinking about how Bree Van DeKamp manages to clean her house, bake fabulous desserts and keep such a perfect little flippy 'do....it really got me thinking....50's style shirt dresses would be PERFECT for a stay at home mommy to wear on a daily basis! They'd be comfy, pretty and I could even wear my pretty little vintage aprons when I cook dinner and clean house! Thats when it all began. Then it occured to me that in the 50's, most gals didn't have "junk in the trunk" (like me!) and most of them didnt wear a size 9 shoe (like me) and most of them wouldnt even consider breastfeeding their babies and ending up with an obnoxiously enormous bust size (like me). I've checked out some vintage clothes at Antique shops and have never seen anything remotely close to a size 16 and with my hips and the fact that I'm 5'7 would never get me down to the classic 1940's petite size! So, I ran out and found some vintage style patterns at my local fabric store, picked up some fabric (woo-hoo, 60% off wool blends!) and got my butt to the sewing machine. I found some great vintage buttons at the Antique mall up the street to complete the look and here I am, decked out in handmade vintage cuteness! And now, I'm head over heels in love with vintage!

Skirt-handmade by me
Blouse-handmade by me (pattern was slightly altered)
Shoes-payless
Purse-Target
Hat-The Vintage Haberdashery
Gloves- Alton, IL antique store