Self-Fulfilling Prophecy

I finally succumbed to Pandora. I know why they called it that - once you open the box, you can't close it again. Right now I'm listening to Mark Ronson Radio, and I'm lovin' the funk! I've been so behind on new music, and I still can't stand certain "artists" who are more manufactured diva than musician. But I just came from a hip little cafe that was playing some cool funk, so I had to hear more when I got home.

Off The Waffle

Self-Fulfilling Prophecy waffle with bacon and egg, and a cappuccino

It was such a beautiful day.

Clematis in the morning

We rode our bikes into town - it was sunny but brisk, with a north wind. I'm not one to do the Lycra bike suits, or anything that comes from a sporting goods shop, so this is what I wore.

These thrifted jeans are perfect for biking because they're soft and don't fight me when I'm pedalling, and the pegged pants don't get caught in the chain. I layered a camisole and long-sleeved T-shirt under my Target "Little Wing" shirt and Christopher & Banks jacket. The brooch is a wire chaos concoction I made.

No reason you can't look classy when you're riding a bike, right?

The boots are new to me, and the first wearable item I've bought in months. They were half-price at the thrift store, and with my senior discount they were only $6.25!

New boots, and it's time for Shoe Shine at Sheila's! Sheila is getting into the menswear look, too - come and take a look.

As I'm typing this, I'm listening to Amy Winehouse sing "Valerie." I'm digging Pandora!

Val-erie

SToned

I usually try to have some kind of thematic cohesion to my posts, something that pulls the text and photographs together. Maybe you haven't noticed. Seriously? You haven't noticed how hard I work on this? Well, then you won't notice that my theme got stretched a bit in this post, but I think we'll get there in the end.

You see, I've got photos of the skirt I gave you a sneak peek of here.

And I've got more photos from the Scavenger Hunt that I dumped out of the bottom of my handbag. These are of my city, Eugene.

And the only thing I could think of to unite them was stones. Have you ever read The Stones of Venice by John Ruskin? No, I haven't either, and I have two degrees in Art History. Maybe I'll get to it one day.

For now, I present to you My Stoned Skirt and The Stones of Eugene, in one rambling post.

I found the skirt at St. Vinnie's thrift shop - just the right size! The stoney-pebbley print was irresistible. I wore it with white tights in the morning, which looked about the same as my white legs. By afternoon, it was hot so I ditched the tights.

 

The shoes were previously seen here. The top is just a basic tee from Kohl's.

Now to the stones of Eugene. Downtown Eugene has a lot of mid-century architecture, and very few old buildings.

There used to be some lovely old architecture, but it wasn't cool to have old buildings in the 1960s, so some were razed and some were adapted.
 

And in case you're wondering, Eugene was named for its founder (circa 1850) and first postmaster, Eugene Skinner. Eugene is an odd name for a city, but it's better than the original moniker of Skinner's Mudhole, which I'm guessing was dreamed up in a saloon.

This was taken about a month ago - all the trees have leaves now, lots of leaves.

Now for an added bonus and another stitch in the thematic jacket that is trying to hold this post together, here are some photos of Venice, taken in 1989.

Linking up with Citizen Rosebud for Secondhand First and then to Not Dead Yet Style for Visible Monday.

Ciao, amici!

Val

A Week of New Clothes

Oh, hello! 

Sorry if I seem surprised, but I almost forgot I had a blog! I've been bounding from my sewing machine to my glue pot to my Kindle with just enough time to watch "A Bit of Fry and Laurie" to take the edge off after the evening news.

But I have results to show you! 

I've been working on this for a few weeks, among other things. I don't know if I should call it a kimonic or a tunono. Thoughts?

This is a Marketplace of India jacket, previously seen in the photo below from my old blog, and a couple of months ago here.

I took off the neck placket and added this beautiful fabric that came from a too-small thrifted top. I added a snap on the inside (and do you think I could get it on the right way around when I sewed it on? Ha!). On the outer edge I added a button, formerly black but colored with red nail polish.

The fabric at the bottom came from this skirt, also pictured on my old blog...

...which I shortened. The scrap was the perfect length and width!

Ooops, I still have some blue chalk marking the middle.

The ribbon needs some remedial work. I used fabric glue to try to reduce my time with a needle and thread – again, ha! It's not holding. I had to staple it at work so it wouldn't fall off. So I'll be sewing it on later – a stitch in time saves wasted glue.

I had a few crocheted flowers that I added to mask seams, and I might add some embroidery eventually, and maybe another layer on the bottom if I find the right fabric. It's a work in progress.

I know it sounds like I'm a genius. Ah, dear reader, I'm not. I had many fierce contretemps with the sewing machine when it would knot itself up in a big hissy fit, and each time it was user error. I now keep the manual nearby, which is, to me, the height of humility.

 The black trousers are Lee, and the old black sandals are Docs.

Yes, I do have a week of new clothes ahead – either new to me or newly altered – but you'll have to be patient. 

Oh, okay, maybe just a little teaser because it matches the color scheme today.

from St. Vinnie's thrift store

A little late, but I'm linking up with Creative Mondays.

Val

Smell My Post

I've been meaning to write about the eau de toilette that I use. It makes sense to talk about an obscure scent online, don't you think?

I've been wearing this for about seven years now, ever since I discovered it at the gift shop at our local art museum. It's by L'Aromarine, an old Parisian  parfumier, from what I've found on the web. The one I wear is Oceane. They must have got the idea from Kramer on Seinfeld.

I tried on a few of their scents before I purchased a different one. As I was driving home I smelled it again, and it had changed from smelling like a citrus punch to reeking like an old lady's sofa! I drove straight back to the shop and exchanged it for this one. Oceane is light and fresh, and doesn't really smell of anything except clean. It becomes a little sweeter after awhile, but it's never overpowering.

A bottle can last me a couple of years - this is only the third one I've bought, and they don't make this label anymore. The company is now called Outremer (outre mer, beyond the sea), and they've changed all their labels. They're still pretty, but less obviously Art Deco.

So I'm glad I immortalized this one in a resin pendant.

It was one of my first resin projects. I wanted to do a pendant with a woman's face, something sort of graphic-y in a retro style, and I thought it might be nice to have some typography. Then I noticed the bottle in my bathroom - perfect!

For those who are interested in the process, after soaking off the label and cutting it to size, I coated it with Mod Podge and glued it in the bezel. Once it was dry I poured in the resin. I added some small plastic beads, which melted a little in the resin. Then I dangled some bead segments from the bottom of the pendant.

It's one of my favorite necklaces, and I'll always have a little bit of this cool label!

Here's the whole top, 'cause I know you want to see the outfit.

Some chalk scribbles on the paper blind behind me. The jeans and boots are thrifted. I don't remember where the top is from - I had to cut the label off so it wouldn't show through the lace in back.

Unfortunately, there's still a little bit of the label sewn in the seam. Dumb.

I would recommend scents by Outremer, but not unless you can try them first. You never know how they'll develop on your skin. My local shop no longer stocks it, but I'll continue to buy Oceane as long as I can find it online. When I'm an old lady my sofa will smell lovely and fresh!

Linking up my necklace with Creative Mondays.

Have a great week, everyone!

Val