Alexandra Nurseries

Recently a friend told me about Alexandra Nurseries and offered to take me one day. She said it was a great nursery that also sold vintage things and had a cafe. She said I'd love it. Pretty plants, old stuff, and cake? No need to talk me into going! The selection of plants is great and they also have some wonderful vintage goods and a cozy cafe. Here are a few photos from Alexandra Nurseries. It's not exactly in the middle of anything in particular, but it's worth a diversion to discover this little gem. My mom's coming to visit in a few weeks and I can't wait to take her here!

A Few Days In Marrakesh

Last February, to help keep our minds off the cold, grey days, we decided to pick out a warm, fairly exotic place to go in spring. We have a long list of places we'd like to visit while we're living on this side of the world, and Marrakesh is just one of them. It's always good to have something to look forward to, especially a holiday! So earlier this week we spent a few days in Marrakesh. We stayed at a beautiful place called Jnane Tamsna 15 minutes outside the medina, which I read about on Mr. and Mrs. Smith. We needed no further persuading after reading more about them on their web site and reading many good reviews.

Just Keep Sewing

Lately I feel like every day goes by in a flash. I guess that's a good thing though! Though don't have a regular full-time job, I feel much busier than when I did have one. Not that having children isn't a full-time job, but really I only have Ellie 3 days a week now since Lois is in school and Ellie goes to nursery. Still, somehow I always feel frantic trying to squeeze all my need-to-dos and want-to-dos. And I'm almost always vacuuming regardless of what needs doing. I swear I'm attached to that thing. But of course I can usually manage to cram in some want-to-do time like making a visit to Sew Over It.

New From Jessie Chorley

I recently had the pleasure of doing some photos for Jessie Chorley, one of my favorite crafter-artists. She wanted some photos of new products to add to her online shop and we had a fun day chatting and shooting. Of course since these items are for sale, we needed to get nice full crisp photos of the products (all in a vertical orientation because that's what is needed for her site platform), but Jessie and I both really like the soft touch of an open aperture and I think the dreamy quality that results in a wide open aperture suits her style.

Amsterdam!

We're just back from a short trip to Amsterdam. I love Amsterdam! I've only been once before, but it's a top city on my list. It's cozy but doesn't feel too small (not to me as an outsider anyway); it's classy but laid back; it's edgy without falling off a cliff; it has a great mix of old a new, and it's just so pretty! I love the architecture of the houses and how the canals make their way between them. If you've read my blog a while you'll know I love them so much I made this, which is also one of my favorite things I've ever made.

The Art of Simple

Quickly before heading to my Lisbon post I meant to also mention a great shop in Seaside, FL called The Art of Simple. One of our rainy day activities during our drenched beach week was to go shopping (of course!) so we left Seagrove and headed to Seaside nearby where there are a handful of great shops (and some pretty great food trucks as well, BBQ and shaved ice to name a few). The Art of Simple is a gift shop, filled with plenty of nice soaps, candles, and various "gift shop" items, but what I really loved about the shop is they also sell some great vintage items as well.

The Little Black Dress

Natalie Wood sure does look amazing in her little black dress here. I love this picture. She looks like she's about to conquer the city, maybe even the world! I went on a hunt for a new little back dress (for an occasion to come), and found quite a few at Zara. Every gal need a little black dress, right? I have a few, but they're old-ish, and I'm just a little bored with them. So I decided to get a new one. I love Zara. Their color palate is, well, a little lacking in color--quite neutral, but I often love their clothes. Zara did not disappoint. They had so much to choose from. I tried on a handful of little blacks, and could have come home with a new black dress wardrobe, but I settled on two. And the prices are so reasonable, I think, for the quality. Here are a few little black dresses from Zara right now.

And these last two are the ones I bought. They both look much better on, I think, than in the pictures. I especially love the last one. It looks really good on, and I love the fabric. All of these are in the dresses section on the Zara web site. 

Liberty!

YAY, we have the internet again at our place!! You know what that means, right? That means I can catch up on blogs and spend entirely too much time online window shopping (uh, and paying bills and doing household stuff like that). Have you seen the new Liberty of London line for Target? I love it! It's probably been swirling around on blogs, but I had my first peek yesterday. I love Liberty fabric and the Liberty store here in London, but the real deal is a wee bit out of my price range, so I'm super excited to see some Liberty at Target. Looks promising, don't you think? Unfortunately almost everything is out of stock. Guess I'm not the only one who's into it. Liberty for him, her, baby and home! See it here at Target. 

Globe Shopping

Can you say dream job? I only wish I had the Sundance Channel so I could watch the full episodes. I first heard about Man Shops Globe the other day on Green and Pretty, and now I noticed it's all a-buzz in blogville. The show follows Anthropologie buyer Keith Johnson as he hunts for unique pieces for their stores. I always wondered where they got all those amazing fixtures for their merchandising (and ideas for a lot of the merchandise itself). How fun. You can watch clips here.

Greetings From The Plum Tree

Y'all know I always have to make a trip to The Plum Tree with my mom when I come home. It's one of my favorite antique shops in Atlanta, and it's always fun to see what Cindy is up to. She's so creative and has a great eye for display and is constantly updating and re-arranging the shop. It was so much fun to stop in. If we lived here, my wallet would be in big trouble. Here are a few pictures from around the shop. You can see pictures from past trips here and here.

For Keeps

Last week Caroline told me about an estate sale she thought I'd like to check out. When I looked at the pictures advertising the sale, like the one above, I knew I had to go (later I emailed Lisa about it, and of course she had already been and made quite a dent in her own wallet). I really wanted to see that little dress hanging from the bedpost in person and hoped it was still there. It was even better in person, and I bought it! At first I thought I might want to sell it in my etsy shop, but it's a keeper for sure. I don't think I'd actually have Lois wear it, but I thought it would look pretty in her room one day. I picture a little girl's room in shades of pale pink and ivory. I'm not really a pastel gal--neutral, bold and dark colors appeal to me more, but I can just picture this dress hanging on pale pink walls. It's silk and a perfect champagne color with a hint of shimmer to it. The hem is out, but that can be fixed.


I just got a few other little things at the sale, but earlier in the week, I found this dress, pictured below, at the Salvation Army and it's a keeper too. A soon as I saw it I hoped it would fit me, and it did! It's a great shape and knee length. I love the colors and the print. A lucky find for sure. With thrifting, I only get this lucky every once in a while--something great is either the wrong size, has a spot or tear, or something else is wrong with it. This one's close to perfect.


I'm at my mom's now in Atlanta and sooooo excited! I already went to the Goodwill near my mom's with my grandma (this thrifting, it's a family affair). I know, I have a shopping addiction. At least it's thrift shopping. I only spent $11 this morning. Oh, and I'll post Lois' 7 month birthday pictures soon.

Joli Jewelry

Lisa came over for dinner last night and of course we got to talking about the things we usually talk about--antiques and vintage goodies. She showed me some hotel silver on ebay that she has her eye on, and I showed her my latest thrift store scores (a round embroidered linen tablecloth and a cute white cotton crib skirt with navy pom poms, both for $1.50). One thing we both love that we talked about is jewelry. I don't wear much jewelry but I love it, especially antique and vintage jewelry. My favorite jewelry might be Joli Jewelry. They use vintage materials such as Bakelite and vintage glass, old metal findings, buttons, and even perfume bottle top crystals. What a beautiful way to recycle, don't you think? Check out the Joli selection at Clay Pot.

etsy Vintage

Listing a few pairs of vintage shoes that I love in my new etsy shop got me to wondering why I never wear so many vintage things that I have and love, so I removed my 3 pairs of vintage shoes and now just want to go hunt for more! I've found so much great vintage merchandise on etsy. I think my favorite shop that I've found so far is Allen Company Inc. I think what sets her shop apart from so many others is not only the style and quality of the vintage pieces, but her great photographs and photo styling. I look at her shop and think, yes, I'd like that; yes, I'd like those; oh and yes, that too! I hope my vintage shop will grow up to be as nice as hers--it's motivated me to re-take all my pictures when Andrew gets back in town with our camera. PS. Happy inauguration day! Speaking of vintage, did you see Aretha Franklin's hat? That was some bow!

Vintage Etsy Shop

I've opened a vintage etsy shop that I'll be running with my mom. It's just a start, but here it is, our shop: Lois and the Ladybug. Two people have already inquired about some of the fabric I listed, yippee!