An Award? For Little Ole Moi?

Lady N from Flair was kind enough to tag me with a Thinking Blogger Award. I’m obviously delighted and flattered to be recognized by a fellow blogger. She had this to say about my wee little blog:

Another thrifted fashion blog that I love because I love Sally Jane’s wardrobe remixes. She owns an online vintage shop which she is currently thrifting for as she makes her move from LA to the East Coast. How fun is that, to be thrifting for a living? She has the best vintage finds in her shop – making me think of thrifting and vintage in a whole new way.

Lady N, you’re making me blush! I’ve really got to get back to those Wardrobe Remixes soon. I consider my blog to still be a work in progress. I try to keep the tone light and positive and it’s been a great creative outlet for me. Hopefully over the next year it will continue to grow and reach even more people all over the globe. Thanks a million to everyone reading!

If I understand the concept of The Thinking Blogger Award correctly, after being tagged I’m supposed to pass along this honor to four other blogs. I’ve seen the award pop up on most of the fashion blogs I frequent so I’m going to go a different route and honor four non-fashion related blogs that give me daily pleasure. In no particular order:

The Daily Coyote: Ever dream of just dropping out and living in the wilderness far away from people and cities and all the madness? That’s exactly what Shreve has done. After making a cross country trip on her Vespa (for cryin' out loud!) she settled in Wyoming and is now raising a coyote that was abandoned by its mother as a pup. I enjoy her photos, her writing and the idea that she’s out there making it on her own terms.

Where’s The Revolution: Written by a vegan who loves to cook this blog is filled with lots of yummy recipes and ideas for the aspiring vegan (or staunch vegetarian in my case). She also brings to light issues ranging from animal cruelty to living green. Plus the site is goldmine of links to other great environmental, political and animal rights blogs.

Cute Overload: OK, if you haven’t already heard of this one, you’ve obviously been living under a rock. If I’m feeling the least bit down or stressed at work I hop right on over to CO to fill my daily dose of puppies, kittens or whatever adorable animal that pops up from time to time. Cute otters, anyone? Bear cubs? Squirrels? You can find it all here.

SnipHits (and Misses): In her own words, Betty is “not your average garden-variety PTA mom. This blog is not PG-13. I live with bikers, date musicians, have a sailor for an ex-husband, and I am related to a family of schizophrenics and manic depressives. I am bipolar and constantly teetering on the verge of poverty, heartbreak, or insanity. I heartily enjoying cursing, drinking, sex, and knitting.” That pretty much says it all. Well, except for the part where she’s a phenomenal writer with a blazing wit, a self-deprecating sense of humor and is achingly honest about her daily trials and tribulations. I think she just might be the next Dooce.

New at Sally Jane Vintage

Here are the all the goods going in the store this week. Cute plaid jumpers, more mini dresses and a beautiful Rothschild coat. I'm doing my best to clear out all the winter goodies to make room for all the spring pieces I've been storing. I'll be doing a Spring Preview week towards the beginning of February so make sure you check back in. Thanks as always for stopping by!

Shoe Stretching

Come on, admit it. All of us are guilty of falling in love with a pair of shoes that are just a wee bit (or maybe a lot!) too small for us. Maybe it was an Ebay purchase that didn't quite work out or a thrifted pair that you couldn't pass up for only $2. Whatever the reason, we all know wearing shoes that are too small is bad for our feet. As I was purging my closet, getting ready for the big move, I ran across a pair of beloved boots, an Ebay purchase from a year or so ago. I'd almost forgotten why they had been banished into shoe purgatory. I set them aside to wear to work the next day. Needless to say, about halfway through the next day I began to remember why the boots had been banished. The right one feels about a half size smaller than the left one, pinching my toes and being all around annoying. I checked to make sure the boots are actually a matching pair and they are. And the last time I checked my feet were a matching pair as well. I am hoping to come up with a way to stretch the one boot so I don't have to part with yet another pair of too small shoes.

I know I could take them to a shoe repair shop and have them professionally stretched but I just fancy myself a little more of a DIY kind of girl. Besides, paying to have the shoes stretched kind of defeats getting them for such a good bargain. A little internet research turned up these options:

1. "To soften leather cut a potato up and stuff it into the area that you want stretched or softened. It works, don't ask me how but it does. Leave the potato overnight and see if they're better!" How can I put this lightly. Um, NO! No potatoes in the shoes, please. Next!
2. "Put on a heavy pair of socks, spray the inside of the shoe with 50-50 water and rubbing alcohol solution, and wear the shoes for 20 minutes- almost always works." There were a lot of these "put on wet socks" solutions out there. Sounds more like a recipe for blisters if you ask me.
3. "Place a plastic bag in the shoe and fill the bag with water. Place the shoe in the freezer. When the ice expands the shoe will stretch as well." This sounds the most promising so far. I can see how, technically, it could work. I'm afraid that freezing might not be good for the vintage leather.
4. "Stuff your shoe full of damp newspaper as full as you can possibly do it and leave it overnight." This sounds like a possible solution. Much better than a wet sock.
5. "Put the shoe on with a pair of thick socks. Heat the leather for about one minute with a hair dryer to soften the leather. Walk around in the shoes until they are completely cooled off." Now this sounds more like my speed. Toasty toes and stretched shoes at the same time? Perfect.

I'll be putting (some) of these to the test and I'll be sure to let you know how it goes. Anybody out there have any other suggestions? And please, step away from the vegetables.

Happy New Year!

Some of you may have noticed my complete lack of Wardrobe Remix photos as of late. There's a good reason for that, I swear! A few posts back I mentioned some big changes coming up for me in 2008 and I'm finally able to share them with you. I'm packing my bags and heading east, ladies! I'm leaving sunny Los Angeles for snowy Pennsylvania. As of January 14th, I'll no longer be an Angeleno. My boyfriend, our three cats and myself are driving cross country with layovers at the Grand Canyon and Birmingham, AL (my home town). The reason for the stop over in B'ham is twofold. The first, of course, is visiting friends and family. The second is thrifting! Yay! I'll be hitting up all my favorite old haunts and restocking the store (and possibly my closet). I've been busy packing and planning for the past few weeks and 90% of my wardrobe is already boxed and ready to go; hence the lack of wardrobe photos. I figured I wouldn't bore you with my uniform of jeans and tees for the next couple of weeks. As soon as we get settled again I'll be back up and running with lots of photos. Wish us luck in the weeks ahead. I’ll do my best to keep up with the blog and I can’t wait to share photos of our trip and our new place with you. Happy 2008!

My Perfect Party Dress

If I were going to a New Year’s Eve party (which I’m not) and if I had $200 to burn (which I don’t) this is the dress in which I would get embarrassingly drunk and stumble around (which I would never do! ;)

Spring Inspirations from Balenciaga

To be honest, I haven't really given Spring fashions any thought up until this point. Today we received our new Spring Balenciaga Look Book at work. Oh my! I'm loving the bold prints, the ethnic head wraps, the 60's shift dress silhouettes. Obviously I won't have any real Balenciagas hanging in my closet but I think the point of looking at photos like these is to simply walk away with some inspiration and make it your own with things you can afford. You could easily find an ethnic print scarf at a thrift store or flea market, throw it on with a flower print dress and some wedge sandals and viola! You're there! Click on each picture to view a larger version.

New at Sally Jane Vintage

Another exciting week of vintage fashions going in the store. Cute mod dresses, more plaid jumpers, hot 80's dress and shoes! Be sure to check it out. Thanks as always for stopping by!