A travelling hat is in town

I recently had the amazing privilege to participate in an amazing idea by Australian Milliner, Tanith Rowan.

The idea is as follows: She's created an adorable vintage inspired tilt-hat, and is sending it around the world to various vintage lovers. I jumped on the idea as fast as I could.

The hat has been named "Adelaide", and she had a lovely time with me here in San Diego.

I had grandiose plans for photoshoots, but it's been very warm here, and I haven't been feeling up to par these past couple of days. But I got out the house, and kindly asked my sister to photograph for me.

My grandma recently gave me one of her dresses either from the 60's or 70's, and I felt it suited Adelaide well.

Balboa Park is currently going through it's centennial celebrations, which means loads more visitors, and my sister and I getting frustrated with finding good photo spots.

[Outfit Details]
Dress- Grandmas 1960s or 1970s
Bakelite- Various
Purse- SDVFM
Shoes- Uhh I forgot.
Hat- Tanith Rowan

But in true sister fashion, she made it work. 

We popped into the United Nations building, and grabbed a photo with a tiny Australian flag (and a failed search for TimTams)

Then I posed in front of the famous Botanical Gardens.

I think Adelaide really enjoyed it in the park. And I think she enjoyed the weather more than I did. Haha!

It was so much fun hosting Tanith's beautiful hat. I could see every loving stitch placed into it. The hat has many more adventures to go on, and I can't wait to see where else she's headed.

I'm going to save up for one of Tanith's gorgeous custom hats, but she's also got a darling etsy shop with a few up for sale. Buy some so she can start a cozy college fund for her daughter!


And be sure to check the Sisterhood of The Hat tag on her blog, to see where else Adelaide has been!

Thank you for the fabulous opportunity, Tanith!

Vintage Flea Market Finds

Once again, the San Diego Vintage Flea Market has come and gone and I left with treasures!

I went with my friend Megan, and I actually brought my camera with me. But sadly, I only took two photos, and they were very similar to each other.

I had fun actually hanging with someone. We were both terrible influences on the other, and we laughed when some of the vendors said 'Oh I remember you, I sold you this!' After we shopped, we went and got something to eat, and our servers were wondering why we were dressed up 'so nicely'.

Alright, here's the haul! 

I got a SUPER CUTE HAT
A lovely dark blue purse, which is hard to photograph, but you'll see it in future posts!
A glove box!
Some sewing pamphlets
 I finally got a proper jewelry box!! I feel so grown up, haha!
And a big box of sewing notions and patterns. I'll touch on this one at a later post, and maybe sell some of the patterns that aren't Me.

I got a BUNCH of lovely sewing pamphlets from Solanah a few months back, and I'll talk about them in a future post. These are also by Mary Brooks Picken for Singer.

I got this super cute hat from a seller I've previously bought things from before. She told me she's very happy this hat is going to me, and each time she sees straw purses, she thinks of me. I shoulda gave her my card. Ah well, next one!

Here's a quick one of me in the hat.

I am so excited to have a proper jewelry box. I like how this one is, it has hooks for necklaces!

This little glove box was something I've needed for a bit. As I am now having a small growing collection of gloves, I need a better place for them.

I like the box still had its label on it. I tried to search for this company, and it seems they made a lot of glove boxes and stockings boxes in LA in the 30's and 40's.

I am glad I was able to share my love for flea markets with a good friend. Megan left with some cute items, and really enjoyed herself. And she told me how the flea markets are in The Netherlands, and... well my passport is still valid, and she speaks Dutch, and I wanna go now.

Megan's outfit details. (AkA I'm a terrible friend who didn't write all them down!)
Scarf- Thrifted
Blouse- H&M
Skirt- Ahhh I wanna say thrifted? Megan if you're reading this let a gal know!
Shoes- Thrift Trader

My outfit details (AKA, oops I'm an outfit repeater, sue me)
Dress- SD Vintage Flea Market
Earrings- Swap Meet
Bakelite- various
Purse- Rummage Sale
Stockings- What Katie Did
Shoes- Ross


I'm excited for the next flea market, and to hopefully scout some out in the LA/OC area.
And San Diego Comic Con will be starting tomorrow! So be sure to check my Instagram for awesome con photos!


Have any of you been to any flea markets? What cool things have you found?

Knitting Break

Sometimes I go back to my roots.
Knitting is one of my relaxing hobbies, and I'm glad I know how to do it. When I get stressed out from sewing, and school work, I kick back and pull out some needles and yarn.

Now I'm working on a sweater I started last year I believe? It's gonna be another colorwork piece, and I sadly lost my original plans for it, but I'm making do.

The needles are size 2.75mm, and it's fingering weight yarn. I've worked with both previously to make socks, but this is my first time using such small yarn to make something wearable! Needles to say I'm a bit nervous. But, if I mess up, I can rip back and start over!

One of my knitting tips I can leave you with is something to keep your hands nice and happy. When working with wool and other natural fiber yarns, it'll leave your hands scratchy and sad, I use Rose Salve (and when I do get it, I have one for my hands, the other for lips, and they last!)


Are any of you knitting in the middle of the summer? What are you working on?

The purple clad archer

Back when Age of Ultron came out, I got together with some friends, and we went to see it. I of course dressed up.

I've honestly been working on this skirt off and on for too long than I'd like to admit, but I'm happy with it.

Hawkeye is one of my favorite Avengers, and back when I started this skirt, I intended to make ones of all the Avengers. I might still do that.

I painted the shirt the night before the movie, and I'm still very pleased with how it came out, even if it was an afterthought.

As I posed our Boxer, Prince decided to see what I was up to.

He is very much aware of cameras, and he seems to dislike them, so he kept looking at me.

Not that I mind, he seemed to enjoy taking the spotlight from me for a bit.

Outfit details
Scarf- Gift from Jessica from Chronically Vintage
SHIELD Necklace- My friends at Petite Royale
Pins- made by friends
Bracelet- Rummage sale
Shirt- Target, painted by me.
Skirt- made by me
Socks and shoes- Target

I'm still trying to get better with my tripod and self-timer. And I'm trying to find nice places I can take pictures at...where I won't somehow cause a traffic accident.

Now the fun part! Here are some detail shots of the skirt.

Sewing Details

Fabric: Some type of poplin 

Pattern: Self-drafted circle skirt

Year: 1950's

Notions: Bias tape for binding, invisible zipper, two buttons, SO MANY BEADS

How historically accurate is it? Pretty accurate, if a gal in the 50's had a favorite avenger who had a bow and arrow, and was savvy with a needle and thread

Any tricky parts to the pattern?  Nope, I just had A LOT of hand work to do

Did you change anything?  Probably made my hem a bit longer

Time to complete: Lets not talk about it.

First worn: May 1st, 2015

Total cost: I shopped my stash! So free! I was very pleased.

Notes: I probably should have stabilized the applique, but it'll hold up fine if I hand wash it.

I had fun beading the H. I wanted a very subtle nod to Hawkeye in the skirt, and as some of his older costumes in the comics have an H somewhere, it fit.

The inside seams are clean finished.

The entire hem was bias-bound and catch stitched by hand. (Most of the ending for this was finished while watching Peaky Blinders.)

And there is a button on the inside to add more stability to the waistband, and to keep things nice and closed properly.



It feels good to post up a sewing project on here, and as the summer dwindles, I should have more up. With SDCC coming up, I am hoping to have a new costume to show off, AND properly get convention photos! My birthday will be during the convention, so that should be fun!

Have any of you sewn any cute outfits lately? Any that are an homage to a favorite character?

Feature on Lovebirds Vintage

The incredibly sweet Helen of Lovebirds Vintage featured me on her blog, and I answered some questions for her.



Go check it out, if you'd like to know a bit more about the gal behind the blog (and see one of my cosplays! Go go go!)

Wishlist for a spring picnic

Being from Southern California, spring time seems to come earlier than the rest of the states. As I type this, it's sunny out, but quite windy. If I were to go out and have a hypothetical picnic with a friend, I think I would shove them into these if they were in my closet.

This cute dress

These lovely shoes

 This hat, to keep the sun from hurting their eyes

Some lacy gloves

A stack of jangly Bakelite for the wrists

Some super fun pineapple earrings

And a lovely picnic basket to carry around all of our snacks!

How is the weather where you are? What would you have for a hypothetical picnic with a friend?

Review: Firmoo Glasses

Alternate title- You look a bit Harold Lloyd!

Now being someone who has terrible eye-sight, glasses are the kind of very important thing I need in my life. Being a very frugal student with terrible eye-sight means I don't get to upgrade on glasses very often.
I was very happy to receive an email from Firmoo asking if I could review their glasses on my blog.

Outfit Details
Peasant Blouse- made by me
Shorts- made by me
Shoes- Marshalls
Necklace(that you can hardly see)- Swap Meet
Glasses- c/o Firmoo

They have a special section just 'For Bloggers'. I'm assuming all the super hip and trendy bloggers adore these, so that's the selection they have. I hummed and hawed over some pairs, before I finally chose these.

At first, I had to get my prescription filled, so I asked if I could wait until I did that before I picked. Once I did so, I shot an email to Tina letting her know I got my prescription, and she let me pick my glasses. Which was super awesome, I think.

The glasses came extremely quickly, and the second I opened the package, I was met with a shiny new pair of glasses looking at me.

I desperately need to get them resized and fit to my face, but I just love them. Like any new pair of glasses, you see into all of time with them on, so I'm sure after I get the fit straightened, with regular wear, everything will be ok.
 My younger sister found them to be adorable on me, and my grandpa asked if I planned on hanging off of any clock hands anytime soon.

I thought their customer service was very nice, and I don't think I've ever had something ship to me in a day before, so that was good. Their site is very easy to navigate, and they are offering 50% off a pair of glasses for new customers! So I definitely recommend Firmoo if you'd like a nice inexpensive pair of glasses.



Disclaimer- I received these glasses free of charge from Firmoo.com in exchange for an honest review of their service.

Happiest Place on Earth

After having a bit of a difficult start of this month, my darling friends began to notice I wasn't my usual chipper self. After getting a text of 'What are you doing Monday?' and reminding with 'Nothing, holiday' I might have screeched upon reading 'Would you like to go to Disneyland?'

After coming to the conclusion that I won't be able to make Dapper Day this spring, I kinda shrugged off a Disneyland trip so soon. But my friends Tony and Erin really made sure that I would have a happy day.

I threw on the dress I got from the last flea market, and happily grinned in a sea of compliments the entire day. (Isn't Princess Jasmine adorable?!)

We all got a quick shot with Minnie Mouse before she went off to be in the parade, and she let us know how much she liked mine and Erin's dresses. Then we ran off to the train.

Outfit Details
Dress- San Diego Vintage Flea Market
Hat- Flashbacks
Earrings- Swap Meet
Gloves- Chronically Vintage
Purse- Rummage Sale
Shoes- Ross
Parasol- Disneyland

 I don't care this is blurry, look how cute Erin and Tony are with their Lady and the Tramp Disneybounds!

We hung out with Captain America for a little bit. He 'really liked our outfits, because it reminded him of his time' D'aww.

Then we hung out with Thor. He wanted 'the two princesses to strike warrior poses'. Erin and I take being warriors very seriously.

After that, we met up with Janey and Patrick for food, and a quick ride on Indy. Then we scampered to ride on Tower of Terror, then headed back home.

 I got a lot of sweet pep talks in regard to my computer issues for my Vintage Black History Month, and my lack of desire to blog after that. I really appreciate the kind people I've been surrounding myself with, in person and on the internet. As I work on this project all over again, I'll be thinking of their lovely smiling faces.

Have your friends recently surprised you when you were feeling down? Did they grab you and take you to one of your favorite places?

EDITED TO ADD- We got asked if it were Dapper Day a lot. I heard so many 'Oh man, is it Dapper Day, I missed it!'s.