Pittsburgh

 - 30s cotton dress
 - 70s tooled leather bag
 - J. Crew flats

As  I mentioned last week, Tom and I made a road trip to Pittsburgh to see The National and on the way stopped by the Frank Lloyd Wright Fallingwater house for a tour.  While on the tour we heard an old lady remark that it was "a nice place to visit but I wouldn't want to live there."  Meanwhile, Tom and I were thinking the exact opposite.  Although, I bet it sure is cold there in the wintertime. 

After our tour we drove into Pittsburgh and walked around to a few vintage shops.  The shops were mostly packed with 70s era polyester and tacky prints, but I did manage to find a pretty white eyelet cotton skirt that came home with me.  Perhaps there are better vintage shops there, but I didn't happen upon them.  

For lunch we sat at the counter at Primanti Bros. and watched sandwich after sandwich being assembled;  fresh cut bread, grilled meat, cheese, fries, coleslaw, tomatoes, topped with another piece of bread.  We had the cheese combo and the fries come right in the sandwich.  

We took an after lunch stroll around the river and across one of the sunny yellow bridges before heading over to the show.  The National put on a great show and played a 22 song set that I didn't want to end.  I was only slightly disappointed that they didn't play "Fireproof" since I wanted to hear my name in the song.  But I was standing in the right place at the right time and during "Mr. November" Matt Berninger walked out into the crowd and I got tangled up in his mike cord and he ending up singing six inches from my face.  Good times. 

A Night With Nick Cave

Last week Tom and I headed to the Keswick Theater to see Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.  I put on my loudest vintage dress (the print is eerily similar to the one in the new Secret South collection) and the highest heels I own.  We don't go out very often so live it up, right?!  The show was, of course, amazing.  We saw him once before in NYC so I had an idea of what to expect.  Imagine going to a southern revival where the preacher is drunk, perverted and possessed.  In other words, it was pretty amazing!  If you have the chance to see him live, definitely check it out!

Where We've Been

 - UO jeans
 - old Gap flannel shirt
 - vintage wool sweater
 - Elizabeth & James jacket via Madewell
 - Alexa Chung for Madewell hat
 - thrifted boy's hiking boots

Where we've been, in case you were wondering, is on a post-holiday Southern road trip to Alabama and Virginia.  We spent a few wonderful days lazing about my parent's house and property, a day visiting old friends in Birmingham and stopped along the way home to spend the night at a friend's home and animal sanctuary in the hills of Virginia.  When we got home I cleaned out my jacket pockets and found a couple of creek-smoothed rocks, a handful of chicken feathers, a beer bottle cap, a shotgun shell and two road trip Taco Bell receipts. Definitely hard evidence that we had a good time. We're already planning our next trip down. 

Bocce Ball Date

- Madewell dress
- Rachel Comey boots
- vintage felt fedora
- thrifted J.Crew cashmere cardigan

The other day I came home and Tom surprised me with a mid-week date.  He didn't say where we were going, simply to "be ready to be mobile".  I had no idea what he had in store for us.  Turns out we went to a local park to play a round of bocce ball like a couple of old retirees.  I'm not sure we played by the exact rules, technically speaking, but we had so much fun doing it, we really didn't care.  For the record, I won.  Not that it matters.  ;) 

We followed up the game with dinner at a new (to us) restaurant, Joe's Famous American Kitchen.  It's a fancy sort of burger place, so not usually the first choice for a couple of vegetarians, but we'd heard they have a great falafel burger and decided to give it a shot.  Tom got the burger but as soon as I saw the brie, apple and salted caramel grilled cheese sandwich with homemade salt and vinegar potato chips on the menu I knew I what I was having.  Needless to say, it was pretty delicious and so big I could only eat half of it.  Oh, and more fried pickles!  Except this time they weren't the dried up fairground version of fried pickles, but thick, juicy spears that were hand battered and freshly fried.  Seriously worth it.

Renaissance Faire

 - UO jeans
 - Ace & Jig Dancer Tee
 - vintage boots
 - vintage felt fedora
 - Field Guided Tote
 - Datter Necklace

This past Sunday Tom and I, along with another couple, made our way to the Pennsylvania Renaissance Faire.  Despite living here for several years it was our first time to check it out.  Honestly, I had no idea it was such a huge production.  Trust me, there are people here who take this thing seriously.  Mostly we went to walk around and see the costumes, visit the winery and eat fried pickles.  It was a day full of fun and adventure that included sampling wine (some good, some not so good) from Mount Hope Winery, doing the polka/chicken dance with an old man in a Bavarian costume, watching glass blowing demonstrations, seeing lots of men on stilts and women in corsets, drinking lots of German beer (it was Oktoberfest weekend) and yes, eating deep fried pickles. 

Being Tourists

photos by Tom b. 

- vintage sweater dress
- F21 parka
- vintage boots
- vintage fedora
- vintage purse
- Julie Nolan bracelet & vintage bracelet

This weekend we had a house guest hailing all the way from Ireland.  Brian met up with us when we were in London for dinner and a bit of bar hopping (or pub as the case may be).  I learned very quickly that I should not try to keep up with the Irishman when it came to downing ales.  Now he's traveling across the US and made a stop for the weekend in Lancaster.  We played tour guide and showed him all of the must-see sites around Amish country.  If you've been following my blog for long, I'm sure you've seen all of these places as Tom and I have explored them many times ourselves.

We started the morning by driving up to Adamstown to hit the outdoor flea market.  It was vintage clothing and accessories weekend, but since we'd all been up late the night before we didn't make it to the flea market early enough to catch all the vendors.  I did manage to snag myself a little bling in the form of a multi-strand brass bracelet that is actually small enough to stay on my wrist.  I also picked up a 50s cotton sundress that is need of some love and a zipper. 

Then we stopped at a couple of covered bridges as we made our way back towards Lancaster.  We walked across the bridges, dodging cars in order to snap a few touristy photos.  An Amish horse and buggy crossed one of the bridges while we were standing on it.  The horse got spooked by the bridge and stopped halfway across, refusing to budge.  The Amishman had to get out and lead the horse the rest of the way then hop back into the moving buggy when he made it to the end of the bridge.  It doesn't get more Lancaster Amish than that.

We made our way to the Hans Herr house, the oldest standing homestead in Lancaster, built in 1719.  Not impressively old if you're from Ireland, but pretty dang old if you're from the States.  We visited the livestock that lives there, feeding the pigs half rotten crab apples from the adjacent orchard and picking clover to treat the hens.  You can really see the seasons changing around here with the pumpkin patches full of big orange pumpkins and piles of feed corn in the barns.

I'm making career of evil...

 - 60s lace shorts & top
 - Anthropologie sunglasses
 - Julie Nolan zodiac bracelet
 - 70s jute market bag
 - 80s Etienne Aigner flats
 - listening to (it's playing on Tom's iTunes as I write this): Blue Oyster Cult "Career of Evil" (lyrics by Patti Smith) 

Yesterday I walked downtown to shoot some photos for an upcoming guest post I'm working on.  More on that later this week.  Anyway, here's what I was wearing.  I haven't shown up around these parts in a while (except in vacation photos) so I thought I'd pop in quickly to say hello.  Hello!

Almost Goodbye

 - Ace & Jig dress
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - vintage Coach purse

This will be the last you'll see of me for a while.  We're in the last stages of preparing for our trip.  Bags are being packed.  Weather is being checked.  Final reservations are being made.  Eurail passes have been purchased.  The cat/house sitter has been hired.  I can't believe I'll be in London in just a few short days.   then it will be radio silence around here for about two weeks.  I thought about trying to set up some guest blogs, but I think I'll just let it mellow out around here for a little bit.  I'm sure I'll return with enough photos to last the rest of the summer.

Standing on a hill in my mountain of dreams...

 - Steven Alan dress
 - vintage oxfords
 - vintage Coach purse
 - vintage Rayban sunglasses
 - listening to:  Led Zeppelin "Going to California"

I don't know how it happened but suddenly our trip is only a week away.  It seems like yesterday that I started the countdown at 95 days.  Time flies!  I have an immeasurable amount of things to do in the next week before we leave.  As much as I've thought about what to pack, I haven't even taken my new backpack out of the box yet.  I better get to work.

All that summer we enjoyed it wind and rain and shine...

- Fletcher for Lyell sweater
 - vintage shorts
 - vintage Coach purse
 - J. Crew ballet flats
 - listening to:  The Hollies "Bus Stop"

A Mad Men Question

 - 60s dress via Etsy
 - Zara sandals
 - vintage Coach purse
 - thrifted belt

Have you all been watching Mad Men this season?  I always hesitate to say too much about the show because I don't want to spoil anything for those who haven't seen it yet but... I do wonder what you all think about this new season.  It just feels so different from the last ones.  Stranger.  Every time I watch a new episode I find myself saying, "that was the weirdest episode yet".  Don't get me wrong, I'm still loving it.  It's just... strange.  What do you think?

These ideas of mine percolate the mind...

 - Madewell shirt
 - 60s skirt
 - J. Crew ballet flats
 - vintage straw hat
 - Fiona Apple "Every Single Night"

After the Fiona Apple ticket debacle a few weeks ago when her shows were selling out before tickets even went on sale to the public, I am happy to report that I was able to snag tickets for her Washington DC show in June.  That will be even better since the new album will be out by then and I'll be able to know all the new songs.  I can't wait!

Weekend Plans

 - Madewell silk blouse
 - 70s knit skirt
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - vintage Coach purse

This weekend, unlike recent ones, holds some promise for excitement.  There's an estate sale that I'm going to on Saturday morning that I'm pretty excited about (hopefully I'll get to take some photos and show you more later).  I really don't know if I'll buy anything... I mostly just want to snoop around the house and marvel at all the antiques. The sun is already out which means I'll get to spend some time in the garden.  That means a trip to the garden center which is one of my favorite places to wander around for hours.  I want to take everything home with me.  And, since Tom is out of town until Monday I have a lady-date with a girlfriend for Thai food on Sunday night (followed by Mad Men, of course).

I want to rock your gypsy soul...

 - Dusen Dusen dress
 - vintage denim jacket
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - vintage Coach purse
 - listening to: Van Morrison "Into the Mystic" 

I wish I could say the slow blogging was due to some exciting activities around here, but the truth is actually quite boring. It's just the daily grind of working and cooking dinner and taking care of the house and blah, blah, blah.  At least the weather has been nice which means lunches on the patio and fresh herbs from the garden.  And I must admit I've been suffering from a case of blogger apathy lately.  The best days have been the days when I haven't even turned on my computer. 

So... this is what I've been wearing a lot of lately.  Isn't it nice when you find a dress you've been wanting has gone on sale and it's still available in your size (and only your size)?  That's exactly what happened with this Dusen Dusen dress.  It's silk and light as air and I feel like I'm going to live in it all summer.  The only downside is the skirt is quite full so I risk having a Marilyn moment any time there's a breeze.

Zou Bisou Bisou

- 90s Gap sweater
 - 60s wool skirt
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - J.Crew hat
 - listening to:  Gillian Hills - Zou Bisou Bisou

Did you watch the premiere of Mad Med season 5 last night?   Tom and I went out to dinner beforehand for Thai food and tried to make predictions about what we thought each character might be up to.  Would Don really be married again?  Would Roger still be?  Would Joan still be working since she had her baby?  It was nice, after nearly two years, to finally get some answers to those questions.  I don't want to give anything away to those who haven't yet seen the episode.  While the episode wasn't at all plot driven, it was just a glimpse into each character's (except Betty) life at the moment.  Now that we're all caught up with our old friends, now it's time to see where this season will take all of them. 

Make a wish on a silver sun, a day like this can't be wasted...

 - American Apparel dress (worn as a top)
 - 60s skirt
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - barrette from Lawrence
 - listening to:  South - With the Tides "Silver Sun"

Casual Weekend

photos by Tom b.

 - 30s blazer
 - APC top
 - H&M jeans
 - J.Crew flats
 - vintage Aigner bag
 - vintage silk scarf
 - Garnet Jewelry necklace

Sweet Treats

 - 60s mini dress
 - 60s cotton blouse
 - vintage cardigan
 - 60s girl's coat
 - UO hat
 - thrifted 90s boots

Last Friday Tom and I were invited to the set up of a special exhibit at a museum downtown (more on that tomorrow).  Looking back at this photo it's hard to believe I had to wear so many layers just a week ago.  And I was cold the whole time!  After our time at the museum, we stopped at Central Market to buy fresh veggies and on the way home made a last second detour into La Petite Patisserie.  Tom treated us to a fresh baked lemon cupcake and a butterscotch blondie with pecans and chocolate chips.  Yum!  

Cars passin' by but none of them seem to go my way...

 - 60s velveteen dress from Lawrence
 - Gap sweater
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - vintage barrette from Lawrence
 - listening to: Rancid - And Out Come the Wolves  "Olympia, WA"

Faint dreams creeping, endless...

 - vintage blouse
 - 50s wool skirt
 - Rachel Comey boots
 - vintage barrette from Lawrence
 - listening to: Chelsea Wolfe - Apokalypsis "Mer"

I'm finally getting around to experimenting a bit with my new camera.  I'm quite clumsy and have dropped and broken more than one little point and shoot camera so I'm super paranoid every time I pick the new one up that I'm going to somehow manage to break it.  I was also hesitant to put in on my tripod for outfit photos since a strong wind once knocked over one of my smaller cameras that was attached to the tripod and it was never the same.  But I ended up taking the chance and so far, so good (fingers crossed). Now I just have to learn a bit more about metering the photos since all of the ones I took ended up a bit overexposed.  I was able to salvage this one.  Yes, I'm super pale, but I'm not a ghost!