New Goodies and Practically For Free!

In February I dropped off 3 garbage bags of vintage clothing to consign at Ruby Slipper. On Sunday I headed there with my Mom to pick up my consignment money and any remaining items.

My first surprise was that I had missed my actual appointment date. It was last weekend. Opps! I've been really scatter-brained since I got home from Israel. 

Despite missing my appointment, after some released frustration, the owner Tracey helped me pluck out my remaining consignment items (which were put back on the floor when I didn't show last week).

Before she wrote up my check I of course did some shopping. How could I not? Basically I was trading my old crap for pure vintage gold!!

I restrained myself, knowing I wanted to bring some actual money home too, not just more clothes. That and I'm trying really hard to be true to my "keep it simple" mantra. Just a little, not a lot. You know? Quality, not quantity...

Anyway...you get the point. 

Want to know what I got? 

Possibly my new favourite pair of shoes. Gloriously near perfect  condition green 40's pumps. I felt like Cinderella when I put these babies on! I was certain they wouldn't fit (they were $18! Can you believe that price?!?!?!?).

This pretty 40's hat.

And this gorgeous black sheer 50's dress with rhinestone buttons and matching belt! The possibilities with this baby are seemingly endless! These photos are not doing this amazing dress justice. I will be sure to wear it and take photos as soon as the weather co-operates.

And all for trade! And I still have half a rack of stuff I'm looking to get rid of in the basement. I'm toying with the idea of Etsy, but I'm still looking for a buyer for the lot. It's mostly 60's/70's/80's stuff that I've accumulated. I'd love to hear if you know anyone who might be interested! 

Hope you all had a great weekend! Now bring on the warm weather so I can wear my new dress!

Lisa.xo

Date Night

The Boy and I stayed in the other night for a low key date night. We bought the Frozen Planet DVD box set (we love nature documentaries!) and decided to stay in to watch some of it.

We had been looking for an excuse to drink the bottle of champagne that we had in our fridge anyway! lol!

So we kept in simple (my new mantra!), broke out some chips and salsa, popped in the DVD and sipped champagne while we lounged on the couch! It was great!

Lisa.xo

Wishlist: Anne Marie of Paris Champagne Bucket Purse

While surfing the blogosphere I randomly discovered a photo of this purse and had to know more.

And I want one. So quirky and cute!

It is a rare evening bag by the label Anne Marie of Paris who had a shop in the Meurice Hotel. Reportedly the bags where given to patrons of the hotel for New Years Eve some time in the 40's. 

Isn't it so adorable? All of the Anne Marie of Paris bags that I can find online are just as cute and quirky.

This one is for sale here for those of us feeling like high-rollers for the sum of $969 (I'm assuming US dollars). 

Well, let's just say I won't be buying this one...maybe next time! ;)

Lisa.xo

Israel: Day 7

Day 7 was my last day in Israel.

It was a pretty low key day. We met one of the festival organizers for lunch in the New City at a kosher restaurant called Rimon (pronounce Ramone...as in Joey. lol!). The restaurant had two sides: one milk and one meat! We sat on the milk side. I needed a coffee. I ordered Sole with Mushrooms, Fries and a Salad. It was good!

After lunch we grabbed a cab to Tel Aviv and bid Jerusalem good-bye.

"good-bye!"

In Tel Aviv we stayed at a hip art gallery/hotel in a cool residential area. The staff were all very smart, fun, cool people my age! 

The lobby of the hotel

The rest of the lobby

The hotel had happy hour from 5-6 pm and they had free champagne and kosher cookies! So of course we went down for a drink! :) 

Where we sat and had champagne

One of the girls: Renana and I really hit it off. I gave her my email address and blog address. I really hope she writes me. She's into vintage and history and art. She dances the Charleston and was teaching me some Lindy Hop steps in the lobby! lol! 

I could live Tel Aviv. And I was only there for 12 hours! lol! I've already got friends! :)

Graham's room where I crashed for 5 hours! 

I slept on a cot in here

I really wish I could have spent more time there. Tel Aviv was AMAZING! We had the most delicious meal at a cafe around the corner. Western food, not kosher.  

I had seafood linguine and a glass of red wine for dinner.

For desert I had a pear and almond cream tart with chantily cream and a cappuccino. And the waiter brought us each a glass of free port! Very good with desert!

I was pretty tired at the end of the day, I was feeling emotional about leaving after having such a great evening. But I was also a bit homesick and eager to get on the plane to start heading home. There were dogs EVERYWHERE, all kind,s and it made me miss Dave. 

 

The next morning I got up at 4:30am and left for the airport at 5:10am to start the trek home. 

This is the Airbus 380 I took from Paris to Montreal

It was such an amazing trip! I saw and did things that I will never forget! If I had the chance I would go back. 

Lisa.xo 

Outfit: Pants the Way I Want to Wear Them

A couple days ago I shared an inspiration post with you about wearing pants. If you've been following my blog you know that I wear pants a lot. Especially in the Winter and Fall. I wish I was one of those girls who lives in skirts, but I'm not.

As I said before, why fight who I am and what makes me comfortable?

So in an effort to amp up the style factor of wearing pants (as you know my go-to is jeans) I went out and got myself a great pair of skinny black trousers from my favourite retailer: Jacob.

My grandparents were in town and I usually spend some time shopping with my grandma before dinner. She usually gives me some money to buy myself something. These days I've been saving it for bills and home renos, but yesterday got myself those aforementioned skinny trousers. A much needed staple in my wardrobe.

I know, didn't I just say I was craving simplicity and I was going to purge some stuff from my closet? Why add more? As far as I'm concerned, spending $70 on a pair of trousers I can see myself wearing almost daily is a great investment and is suddenly making so many things in my closet looking fresh and new again. Don't you feel that way too?

These wedges are new too. $30 for a new pair of shoes is also helping me see new possibilities in my lacklustre wardrobe.

So the moral of the story is: For $100 I've injected new life into my closet. I'm excited to get dressed and I'm also ready to get rid of a few pieces that are dragging me down. Yay!

Sometimes a girl just needs a pick me up! That and buying clothes is WAY more fun that paying bills! lol!

50's Sharkskin Blazer (part of a suit): Gift from Marina!

Black Multi-Strand Necklace: Le Chateau (old)

Bow Tee: Joe Fresh

Black Skinny Trousers: Jacob (buy them here!)

Navy/Cream Striped Wedges: Forever 21

My Favourite Vintage Purse (it goes with everything!): Value Village 

Lisa.xo

BTW. If you are looking for some crazy outfit and weight-loss inspiration check out Fab Gabs Vintage Blog's 365 day challenge! Julie is posting outfits every day for one year and working hard at going from 34" waist vintage clothing to 28" waist vintage clothing! 


You will not be dissapointed! Ok! Go check it out NOW! 
(and she's having a cool give-away right now too! Free lippy and other goodies!)

Israel: Days 5 & 6

I realized I have to share the rest of my trip with you!

We had our opening performance on our 5th day in Jerusalem. It nearly sold out! We were so afraid we would have a tiny audience. And they LOVED it! So many audience members stayed to talk to the actors. It was just what they needed. We also had several Canadians in the audience. So cool. 

We also did some more sight seeing before our performance that day. We drove to the top of the Mount of Olives. Saw The Church of the Ascension that is said Jesus ascended to Heaven from. We couldn't go in, but I took a few photos of the outside. That was neat. 

Church of the Ascension

The best part of the day and now a super close second to The Dead Sea was visiting the Garden of Gethsemane and the Church of all Nations where it is said that Jesus and his disciples prayed before the night of his crucifixion.The church is stunningly beautiful and the outside courtyard's trees are said to be 2000+ years old: the silent witnesses to Judas' betrayal of Jesus. 

Garden of Gethsemane next to the Church of All Nations

Inside the Church of All Nations

I am not a religious person, but there was something quite remarkable about this place. It is the holiest place I have ever felt and been in my entire life. Thinking about it brings tears to my eyes. Sitting in that church filled me with something and I cried. I just couldn't help myself. I don't know what it was...I just don't know...That is a very special place on earth. 

We also walked around the Old City some more.

We visited the Austrian Hospice, had apple strudel and coffee. Yum!!! Maybe the best coffee I've ever had. 

The floor in the Austrian Hospice

Inside the Austrian Hospice restaurant

And I saw the Wailing Wall. I have to say I was a little under-whelmed. 

The Wailing Wall

It was so touristy. Maybe it's because I'm not Jewish...but it was just a little un-impressive...oh well...Gotta see that Wailing Wall if you visit Jerusalem right?  

Passover and Easter made the city CRAZY! It took us almost 2 hours to return our rental car. So many closed streets right now and they change every hour! Religion rules over everything here. It's nuts. We were so glad to get rid of that car...

The next day Graham and I visited The Dome of the Rock in the Muslim quarter in the Old City. Getting there was a bit of a chore. We only knew one way in and had to walk through the courtyard by the Wailing Wall to get in. Because of Passover there were thousands of Jews praying. It was shoulder to shoulder people. 

We walked through that crowd...ugh.

Graham was hesitating...but I said: "We walked all this way to see the Dome. We're pushing through this crowd". So I grabbed his hand, held my purse tight to my body, hugged the we made our way through the crowd. 

As Graham and I walked into the muslim quarter there were some men sitting there. They asked me to cover up. I asked if I should cover my head or my arms, they said arms. Graham asked if he should take off his hat. They said: "We don't care, do what you want" lol! That says so much doesn't it?!

 There were a lot of places we couldn't stand or touch or go into in this section of the Old City. And there were a lot of guards with guns walking around, it was a bit unsettling.

Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount

Non-Muslims are only allowed in the Muslim quarter in the morning from 8-11am. It was very beautiful. More Byzantinian archetecture. Although the Dome has undergone several upgrades over the last few millennia...I just don't the know the details. It beautiful though.

The muslim quarter was so much quieter than the Wailing Wall. Fewer people. We could hear the Jewish prayers being broadcast...Jerusalem...where so many religions collide...it's just so strange and surreal. 

 

That night we had another performance. We had another great show! 

The Boys hard at work! 

It was the best show the guys have had yet! One of the young (my age maybe) Israeli ushers told me with tears in his eyes that he sympathized with the Gentile character and assured me that all Israelis did not hate Palestinians. I was speechless. We also had many former Winnipeggers who now call Israel their home in the audience! One family drove over an hour into Jerusalem to see the show! What a small world we live in! :)

After the show we went to the American Colony Hotel for drinks and some food. Beautiful hotel! One of the nicest in Jerusalem apparently. I had local beer, two Tom Collins and Shrimp Falafel with Tahini! OMG! So good! Trying to think how to replicate the shrimp at home. 

Cellar Bar in the American Colony Hotel

I had one more day in Israel. I'll share it with you in the next few days! Then it's back to our regularly scheduled program! 

Lisa.xo

Simplicity

I am craving simplicity these days. My house seems too full, my closet seems too full, there is just too much to do. I'm sure you all feel my pain. When life is like this I tend to clean. I think my basement and my closet are on my hit-list this week....

As the weather warms I also crave simpler dress. The beautiful weather in Israel was a real tease...I have been dying to just throw on a dress and some heels sans tights etc...

Today was actually warm enough to do so. 

I think I'm actually a lazy dresser. That's why I love dresses so much. It's just so easy to look put together. No fuss, no muss. Throw it on and you look like you've tried so hard. 

I haven't worn this dress in a year or two. I've worn it on the blog before. I bought it for $1 in Gimli years ago. It's choice was inspired by Solanah in this dress today. Beautiful and simple. Perfect.

Speaking of simplicity, I've been simplifying my look these days too. Although I'm wearing eyeliner today, I've been forgoing it recently. I really like how fresh faced I look without it. I'll be sure to show you soon.

I've also been curling my hair a lot less. I've been braiding it loosely at night and wearing it down and wavy during the day. My hair looks healthier and I only spend 1/2 hour getting ready instead of a full hour. It's nice.

70's does 40's Floral Dress: Thrifted in Gimli

Petticoat: Vintage Glory

Flower Brooch: Ricki's

Green Pumps: Forever 21

Wooden Bangle: Ragpickers

Vintage Tooled Leather Purse: Value Village

Is it just me, or have you been craving simplicity? How are you taking care of this craving? 

Lisa.xo