Wilbur Chocolate Factory

photos by Tom b.

- Alexa Chung for Madewell sweater
- vintage button up shirt
- vintage 60s skirt
- Topshop boots
- vintage Coach purse

My plan for posting photos today was to show you my Halloween costume that I wore yesterday. That plan was thwarted by a freak snowstorm that dumped about 5 inches of heavy, wet, sticky snow all over the region. My costume wasn't as elaborate as last year's but I was still dressed up as a character from a movie. Perhaps I'll recreate it later this week and snap some photos so I don't want to give it away just yet. Do you have any guesses?

Earlier last week Tom and I stopped in Lititz by the Wilbur Chocolate factory and snapped these photos. You can tour the factory and visit a little gift shop where they sell all sorts of chocolaty treats but it was all closed when we were there. The smell of chocolate in the air was such a tease coming out of the factory! I didn't get a treat but there was a little vending machine selling food for the ducks so I figured I'd give them a treat.

Whit Fall 2011

For a while there, it seemed like I was in fall-collection-posting overdrive. Every other day there would be a new set of looks I'd want to post about and even I got a bit tired of it. So... I tried to back off a bit but when I saw the new Whit collection, I knew I had to make an exception. I remember liking the fall 2010 collection a lot but when the spring collection came out it just wasn't my thing. Now that the 2011 fall collection is out, I'm back on the wagon. It seems to have a lot of the little things I love; bird prints, polka dots, lots of grey and navy and camel tones.

A Bit of a Celebration

- Goldie London dress
- vintage 60s boots
- AA tights

I'm in a bit of a celebratory mood over here. Why? Because my Etsy shop has just surpassed 2000 sales! Some days I feel like I'm moving in leaps and bounds on Etsy and other days I'm moving inch by inch. Lately it's been more of the inching along variety so I feel like the number 2000 is a bit of a landmark. I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you for supporting my Etsy shop for theses past few years. I couldn't do it without you and y'all are welcome to celebrate right along with me! For the next 2000 minutes (that's 33 and a third hours if you're counting) you can receive 20% off anything in the shop by using the code SJV2000. Thanks so much to every one of you for helping me reach this milestone!

As for this outfit it was seriously inspired by the George Harrison documentary, Living in the Material World, that has been airing on HBO the past couple of weeks. If you get a chance, I'd definitely check it out. It's a bit all over the place and there are some key moments that seem to be skimmed over, but it's still worth a watch just for the amazing archival footage. Toward the end of the first part (it airs in two parts) there is some killer film footage of Jane Birkin that's worth it alone!

Etsy Update: Smoke & Mirrors

winter sky dress... botanical shadow dress... heathered pintuck dress

crosswalk knit sweater... athena belted cardigan... sailing the seas wool sweater

rugby striped boyfriend sweater... monogrammed navy sweater... smokey mountains sweater

captain navy blazer... houndstooth plaid pea coat... peek-a-boo black coat

levis 501 boyfriend jeans... calvin klein fitted jeans... levis 501 faded jeans

penny lane plaid mini skirt... windowpane plaid pleated skirt... perfect navy mini skirt

dove grey pintuck dress... pinstripe navy dress... smoke & mirrors dress

diamond print jacket... tabitha tweed cropped top... aspen cotton jacket

Erb's Mill Covered Bridge

photos by Tom b.

- H&M dress
- ASOS duffle coat
- Topshop boots
- vintage silk scarf

Yesterday Tom and I had plans to go to NYC for the day but at the very last minute our plans fell through leaving us with an entire day at home with no real plans. It was such a lovely fall day we wanted to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air. We ended up taking a very touristy drive though the countryside, stopping at a couple of covered bridges along the way.

This bridge, spanning Hammer Creek, was originally built in 1847 for just $700 and was rebuilt in 1887. As we were sitting by the creek, several Amish horse & buggies crossed over the bridge. One had a teenage couple in it and the boy stopped the buggy right in the middle of the bridge making his girlfriend squeal in half terror. I couldn't help but wonder if he does that every time they cross a bridge.

Photography: Eugène Atget

The other day I was catching up on watching episodes of Boardwalk Empire. There was a scene where Nucky asks Margaret if she's ever seen Paris and she replied no. I started thinking about what Paris would have looked like had she visited in 1920. The closest thing I could think of was the photography of Eugène Atget. Atget was a French photographer that was known for documenting street scenes and the architecture of early 20th century Paris.

My favorites, which I've included in this post, feature some of the inhabitants (both living and inanimate) of the Great City, as he lovingly referred to Paris. If you delve further into his archives you'll discover many photographs that display seemingly abandoned streets and buildings void of any signs of life. It seems easy to me to imagine Nucky and Margaret inhabiting those empty spaces.

Pumpkin Patch

photos by Tom b.

- thrifted silk shirt
- H&M shorts
- Rachel Comey boots
- vintage Coach purse

This time of year Lancaster becomes covered with orange polka-dotted fields. It seems like everywhere you go there's a field full of pumpkins just begging to be carved into jack-o-lanterns. We stopped in this field just before sunset on our way to eat Thai food in Willow Street.

Etsy Collection: Changing Leaves

fawn wool & fur coat... hooded wool trench coat... sherlock trench coat

gant wool toggle coat... tweed short cape... classic camel toggle coat

dijon wool mini dress... seaton hall skirt & vest... basket weave sheath dress

stafford camel overcoat... caramel wool cape... blush swing coat

steel striped sweater... marigold wool sweater... rustic fair isle sweater

coffee plaid shirt dress... sunny tweed dress... goldenrod belted dress

toffee wool shorts... wool pleated skirt... houndstooth wool shorts

southwest belted cardigan... autumn sweater cape... marled knit cardigan

The Skinny Barn

photos by Tom b.

- UO dress
- vintage Edwardian era jacket
- UO chelsea boots
- Madewell acorn necklace
- vintage Coach purse
- vintage silk scarf

Tom and I have driven by this skinny barn lots of times and every time we do, we wonder aloud what in the world it was used for. Last night we finally stopped to check it out up close. Now it's used as a haven for all sorts of birds, mostly barn swallows that have built their nests in the rafters. But its original purpose escapes me. Our best guess is that it was used as a tobacco barn where farmers hang and dry the tobacco that is commonly grown around this area. Any guesses?

Masscob A/W 2011

As much as I love to look at the fancier lookbooks, Masscob's A/W 2011 collection definitely reflects a little more of my actual style at the moment. Lots of casual layers, black chelsea boots, easy fitting printed dresses and comfortable separates.

Te Chichi Autumn 2011

I'm pretty sure I've posted about Te Chichi once before on the blog but had forgotten all about it until I ran across these images from their Autumn 2011 lookbook. It definitely has an Anthropologie vibe about it which, of course, I always love. The liberty print pieces are especially nice.

P.S. I want to thank everyone who entered the Milk & Bread Vintage giveaway! The lucky winner has been randomly chosen and is... Jennyboo from Hummingbird Girls. Congrats and Happy Shopping!

Etsy Collection: Teal & Merlot

twilight stripes dress... grey houndstooth dress... teal angora dress

ruby corduroy jumper... heathered grey dress... merlot wool dress

confetti print dress... noir floral dress... sunset floral dress

teal cowl neck sweater... maroon marled sweater... wool ski sweater

tweed winter coat... fair isle sweater jacket... grey toggle coat

avant fold blouse... autumn plaid shirt... lilac stripe sweater

slate plaid skirt... tweed wool skirt... blanket stripe skirt

dove grey blazer... velveteen cropped vest... charcoal striped blazer

Alive & Well

- vintage Diane von Furstenberg sweater
- Madewell jeans
- UO chelsea boots
- Alexa Chung for Madewell hat
- vintage Coach purse
- Madewell mail bag

Hello! I am alive and well despite not showing my face around here very much lately. I stopped on the way to drop off some packages at the post office today (thus the big mail bag I'm carrying) to prove that I'm still kickin' and also to show you that you haven't been missing much as far as what I've been wearing. I've worn some variation of this outfit everyday that I've left the house for at least the last week. Keepin' it casual! But really, I think the cooler weather has me thinking about things like camping and hiking so I've been dressing like I'm preparing for a trip into the woods when really I'm just hiking to the post office.

Nadinoo Autumn 2011

I've been waiting for this! I'm so excited to finally see the pieces from the Nadinoo Autumn collection. I know I say it every time but I think this might be my favorite collection by Nadia yet. And we still have the winter pieces to look forward to as well!

Goldie London

I've spent the last hour or so cyber-stalking Goldie London. I've been reading the blog, looking through the shop, checking out the pieces available on ASOS and gathering these lookbook photos from their Facebook. I am officially ready to start dressing like a modern day Marianne Faithfull! I'm sort of obsessing over that perfect velvet dress with the buttons on the front. Of course it's not showing up in their shop so I guess I'll have to keep my fingers crossed to find something similar in vintage form.

Etsy Collection: Autumn Harvest

sheer floral print dress... oakleaf plaid dress... latte sweater dress

brick red wool coat... autumn harvest cape... terracotta hooded coat

pumpkin suede coat... herringbone tweed blazer... gainsbourg suede jacket

jersey drawstring dress... chevron stripe dress... appleseed wool dress

ruby corduroy jumper... autumn striped top... folk print dress

forest hooded sweater... space dyed knit turtleneck... emerald striped sweater

split pea plaid skirt... moss wool embroidered sweater... aztec pleated wool skirt

rust wool skirt... woodstock plaid skirt... cranberry corduroy skirt