Home again, home again, jiggity jog

What’s better than shopping in your own closet? Shopping in your relatives’ closets!! While I was traveling for spring break, I hit up Louisville Kentucky, a surprisingly adorable and liberal town for, well, Kentucky, most of the citizens posessing way more teeth than I expected! Just kidding all you Kentuckians, especially Aunt Ellen. I wish I had better and more pictures, but I had to make do with what was available. You'll see more of the stuff I got when I incorporate it into outfits in the coming weeks!

Speaking of my aunt, maybe a love for vintage is genetic because my aunt made sure to load me up with plenty of vintage treasures from her closets that she swore she couldn’t wear anymore. My favorite scores include two jackets from the 1940’s, a cute pink one with the classic vampish silouhette, and a beautiful asian-inspired a-line jacket that is so gorgeous and delicate that I’m almost afraid to wear it. I transported my suitcase at the airport with the care you might expect from an overwrought mother with a stroller.

This is a candid picture of me at an art gallery in Louisville. I'm wearing the pink 1940's jacket.

The local vintage shopping, while not free and from my aunt’s closet, was also nothing to sneeze at. When I visit Louisville I always make sure to stop in my favorite vintage shop Elizabeth’s to see what’s new (or old, as it were). Being what my family refers to as “birthday week” I paid for very little on my own, but came away with some gems, including this amazing hat which I wore everywhere to battle the cold, and these cute little 50’s slacks that remind me of Audrey Hepburn.

   

I didn’t just binge on shopping. Of course no trip to the North East is complete without a visit to the friendly neighborhood White Castle!

And before I knew it, it was time to go to Cincinnati to visit my grandmother and try to stuff even more food into my already cake-bloated body. Graeter’s Ice cream is the other traditional North East Must Eat, and you can see why with the size of this chocolate chip... 

...and the chips are soft and oh so melt in your mouth chocolatey. (By the way, I know I am biased, but as far as grannies go, isn’t mine the cutest?)

And is it just me, or do you love thrifting in other cities? I know thrift stores are all kind of the same in their method and stock, but I get true pleasure from exploring the Good Will’s of other towns and have a favorite thrift store near my Grandma’s house. And whether or not foreign thrift store superiority is all in my imagination, the Cincinnati thrift stores were generous in their bounty this trip. I found a dreamy pair of Unisa brand T-Straps that had never been worn, as well as this cute peter-pan collared blouse! Maybe it was just the birthday gods smiling down their birthday luck.

Blouse: Thrifted in Cincinnati

Cardi: target

Jeans rolled into highwaters: F21

Shoes: Thrifted

Despite all the shopping and eating and presents, it was a relief to be back home. Yet another pair of T-Straps, these ones vintage from Etsy, were waiting to welcome me home when I got there. 

A little lower heeled and more sensible for daytime than the Unisa pair, they inspired today’s sort of 40’s outfit... if only I could make my hair cooperate into a 40’s ‘do as well!

Shirt: F21necklace: Thrifted in Cincinnatikey pin: antique store in LouisvilleSkirt: Vintage, thriftedJacket: thrifted on a different trip to CincinnatiT-straps: Vintage from etsyPurse: Given to me by a friend who was sick of it.

This satisfying week behind me, I now look forward to catchcing up on all my favorite blogs and maybe finding a little time for some school work in there somewhere too!

Zombies on the move!

For spring break, I am traveling around and hanging out with my favorite baby-boomers: My mom and my aunt! I'm in Louisville right now and am going to Cincinnati to see my grandma before all is said and done. I'm having a ball with all the vintage and thrifting to be done but don't have much time to blog. So while I am away, I thought I'd leave you with Six Random Things about myself that you may not already know.

1. Tattoos:

I love tattoos! I have several and am always fantasizing about getting more. Almost all of mine are literary inspired. The one here is from the book The Runaway Bunny.

2. Harry potter:

I am a Harry Potter freak. Not only do I have one of the aforementioned literary tattoos to comemorate this series, I am also diligently working in the academic realm on a literary thesis about the social issues and commentaries in the text. Nerd alert??

3. Fruit-flavored cream cheese and lox:

This weird combo just happens to be my favorite snack. Neighborhood delis know me by my lox and fruit fetish. They only make fun of me a little.

4. Religious studies:

I’m not religious myself, but I LOVE studying religion! I am a religious studies minor and my RELS classes are some of my favorites. It fuels my curiosity to understand what makes people tick. (In case you're curious, the badass religious figures above include Arjuna and Krishna from the Mahabharata, the republican party's favorite martyr J.C, his holiness the Dalai Lama who is always so cute with a big smile despite being totaly homeless, and a hasidic guy at the world's most well-loved wall)

5. Science Fiction and Mafia Stories:

These are two of my favorite genres. I love nothing better than a good violent mobster flick or a super-nerdy episode of Star Trek the next generation. I didn't know what to do with myself when the Sopranos ended.

6. The Great Outdoors:

Despite being a slave to fashion and clothing, I actually have an outdoorsy side! I was exposed to backpacking and kayaking from a young age with my dad, and the outdoor bug (perhaps you’d call it a tick) has stayed with me ever since. I even work at my University’s outdoor center!

Hope this was interesting and enlightening. Now I tag my hilarious, inappropriate, funny (though looks aren't everything) home-boy and local comic JOE PETTIS to tell us all 6 things about his bad self.