I Hate Logos

Happy New Year! I haven't checked in here since before the jump (ha ha, using trendy online jargon - incorrectly), and I don't have a huge post or anything major to report. I've been busy sorting and purging and shredding (photographs of old boyfriends, incriminating tax returns, communications from the Mothership). But I also managed to do a little tiny bit of creative work - I customized a logo'ed handbag that I bought in October.

You got a glimpse of it here.

It's a lovely bag, rich dark-red leather, cross-body strap as well as a shorter strap, and just enough pockets and space to keep me organized and content. Except I hate logos.

I vowed to cover this glaring advertisement in some way, to personalize my purse and show Liz where she can shove her shiny vanity plaque. So I did this:

I took the flowers off a hat (seen here) that I had added them to. I rarely wore the hat, so it's now gone to St. Vincent de Paul's thrift shop, and the flowers are here, attached with embroidery thread and a tiny bit of glue.

 Of course, after finishing, another great option presented itself. My mother gave me this:

It was purchased on our family trip in 1964 (which I wrote about here). The badge would fit sideways over the logo, and I'm tempted to try it. The original adhesive might not hold, but I'm sure I could make it stick with some E-6000. Still haven't decided about this.

Anyway, I've been "doing" a little embroidery. The quotes mean that I'm mostly thinking about it and getting ideas. Now that I've said it publicly, I'd better follow through!

Val

Oops, I did it again

Remember last month when I posted pictures of my nephew-in-law Kenji when we had a family get-together (Easter)? Well, here are some more photos of my nephew-in-law Kenji at another family get-together (Mother's Day).

I was trying to crowd in on his hipness then, too.

His vest, which his mother sent him from Japan, has a striped back and striped lining in the pockets. The label actually says "University of Oxford." Maybe they're branching out to make some extra money?

Remember in my last post when I was wearing a red dress? Here I am wearing another red dress. I bought both dresses the same day at the thrift store, so I'm linking up - again - to Secondhand First at Citizen Rosebud. I'm just going around in circles here!

Since the dress is red, I'm also linking up with Share-in-Style: Red at Mis Papelicos.

I wore the leopard-print cardi to work twice that week, and then again on the weekend. Madness!

Remember when I told you about my blogger meet-up in my last post? I'm on my way to another one!

It's just like Groundhog Day, lasting all week.

Val

Red, Blue, Pompidou!

In my last post I told you about my first trip to Europe, fifty years ago. Well, twenty-five years ago I went to Europe for the second time. I spent three months studying in Rome, then traveled to Greece with a friend, spent some time with an Italian man in Firenze (that's all I'm sayin'), and eventually went to Paris on my own before flying home.

In Paris I took a really cool picture of the Centre Pompidou and made a necklace with it.

This set my color scheme for a recent outfit.

top - JCP; skirt - Docker's, thrifted; tights - Target; shoes - Dexter

I took more photos in this outfit, but I'm bored with my own backyard and too self-conscious to go out in public to take pictures. Sooooo, I decided to revisit Paris in 1989.

It was the centennial of the Eiffel Tower, so they had lights on it spelling out "100 ans." It was also the bicentennial of the French Revolution.

 The Louvre - so much to see, it would take more than one day and you'd still be overwhelmed.

Luxembourg Gardens - I stayed near here in the Latin Quarter. My little room and lumpy bed were under the eaves, up six flights of stairs, with the toilet and showers down the hall. I loved it!

And then we're back where we started, at the Pompidou Centre.

All these photos were printed on paper - I cut out paper dolls of me and glued them to the printed photos, then photographed them. Thanks again to Melanie for this idea!

It's time to get together for Visible Monday, so don't forget to head on over to Patti's on Sunday evening or Monday. Or Tuesday. And there's a Shoe Shine at Bella's, so here's the money shot for that.

 

A bientot, mes cheries!

Val