I cannot begin to express my thanks to those of you who left me kind words on my post yesterday. I don't even know most of you in person and it warms my heart to read your comments. Thank you.
And now let's have a look at the post I wanted to share with you yesterday...
Since I've cut my bangs more and more people tell me I remind them of Zooey Deschanel. Especially in 500 Days of Summer where I hear she wears a parade of cute vintage dresses (Haven't seen the movie, not a huge fan of romantic comedies). Apparently I live under a rock or something; I was unaware of the fashion cuteness of Zooey Deschanel. I mean I know who she is...I saw Elf, but had no idea what her actual fashion persona was like at all.
I've seen the light people. I've been Googling images of this adorable girl for a few days now. So I thought I would share a few with you.
Whether on screen or off Zooey Deschanel's style is a great source of inspiration for any girl who wants to inject some vintage style into her wardrobe without looking like she's wearing a costume. She wears her clothes well and never looks overdone. Simple and beautiful.
And Now We Interrupt Our Regularly Scheduled Programming...
I had a completely different post planned for today, but our day yesterday has derailed that completely.
I'm not quite sure where to begin...I feel like I should be making jokes about it to lighten the mood, but it still might be a little too soon...for me...I'm not even sure what to call it yet either. Neither does any of the weather networks...I've heard severe thunderstorms, plow winds (extremely strong straigh-line winds) and funnel clouds.
After what I experienced. the first two just don't seem to do it justice.
Yesterday The Boy, Dave and I went out to Twin Lakes Beach (one of the sites of last years flood for those of you on the up and up with Manitoban news) to my friend Jenny's cabin for a fun beach day!
We did have a great day! The sun was warm, there was a slight warm breeze and the water was delightful. We lounged on the beach, rode the Sea-Doo, went for boat rides and swam with the dog.
Mid afternoon the clouds started to look like rain and they were headed straight for us. So we packed up our gear and sat under the boat house until the rain started. And then it started to hail, so we ran into the cabin. Pea sized pieces at first and then the hail grew until it was the size of a quarter. It was pretty crazy! We were laughing and throwing bits of hail at each other. The Boy was worried about his truck so he parked it under a tree to shield it. Little did we know what was coming next.
Then the wind picked up and the rain started to fall harder. Water stared to pour in through the windows of the cabin. We tried to stuff them up with towels, but it didn't help. The towels got soaked in minutes and the water spilled onto the floor. At this point I started to worry. The windows weren't feeling so secure and the rain and wind and hail was abusing the poor little cabin. The sound was deafening. We were all freaking out. Jenny was trying to call her parents who were staying at another cabin with little luck when the window in the far bedroom broke and glass blew into the house. We ran and closed the door. The Boy was standing at the back door fixated on his truck and I kept yelling at him to come inside. Just as I turned around to give up on him he came inside and yelled "A tree just fell on my truck!" It was no small tree. This tree was huge!
We didn't have much time to think about the truck when We saw the boathouse (which we had been sheltering under not even an hour earlier) lift off it's foundation and slam onto the roof of the cabin!! The entire house shook. The power went out, all of the ceiling lights fell out and the rest of the front windows of the cabin broke. And the wind and rain and hail continued without apology. We were terrified. I just kept praying that it would end and that the cabin wasn't going to fall in on us. It was like being in a movie.
After all that we just sat and waited until the next thing. Whatever it was going to be. The Boy held Dave in his lap and held my hand. I tried to breath and stay as calm as I could so we could deal with whatever came next. Thankfully that was the worst of it. Eventually the storm started to die down. The hail stopped and the rain lightened to a trickle and the wind ceased to blow so hard. We emerged from the cabin to assess the damage to our things, because thankfully we were all ok.
The best news is that the tree didn't demolish our truck we were still able to drive it home. The worst news is that Jenny's family isn't sure whether their cabin is repairable any more. They didn't sustain too much damage after last years flood, but the combination of the two might just make it a tear down. Time will tell.
For the next two hours we cleaned up and spoke to the neighbours. Hydro came to fix the power and the fallen power lines. Fire trucks came to put out fires and police came to take pictures and reports. It was a bit of a haze. Overall there were minor injuries in the area. No one died, but the property damage was high. Some peoples cabins were blown apart like cardboard shacks and there were too many fallen trees to count.
I've heard now that the winds were 100 to 150km/hr (that's up to 93 miles an hour) and that Twin Lakes Beach (where we were) was hit harder than anywhere else in Manitoba. Here's a youtube video from the area yesterday that is similar to what we experienced:
I've uploaded one of my videos on youtube too:
I haven't been in shock that badly since my Dad died. And I have never been so scared in all my life. On the way home The Boy and I were mostly silent. We did talk a bit about what happened and we're so thankful that we're ok and it's just the truck that was damaged a little. It could have been a lot worse.
Ok, this is the last birthday post for this year (I swear!). I wanted to post this earlier this month, but my computer wasn't recognizing the memory card from my camera and I couldn't find the USB cable for the life of me. Blah, blah, blah, enough excuses...
This was my last birthday celebration. With my family! All of my siblings and my new nephew went over to my Mom's for drinks, delicious food (my Mom is the best cook, no really...) and cake!
But first, how about some gratuitous shots of my adorable nephew Casey first!
That's a Johnny Cash Folsom Prison onesie he's wearing...yup! He's a cool kid.
Casey and Mom! (Or Kim as we like to call her)
Casey insisted that he take over the picture taking so I could enjoy my own party!
My Mom made these delicious focaccia bread things. One kind had tomatoes and basil and pesto and the other was potato and caramelized onions. Yum! And my brother brought Half Pints' new beer over for us to taste. It's not on the market yet...it was a Mexican dark lager they're calling "Noche De Los Alebrijes". I'm not sure how drunk people are going to order it. I can barely say that sober! lol! It was delicious! I can't wait for it to be in stores this fall (Half Pints is a local brewery that my brother works at).
We love Half Pints beer. And this Transformer does too! (maybe he was a Dinobot, I'm not sure)
This photo really encompasses the chaos that my family is! Never a dull moment!
I really wish I had some more photos to share, but I was busy visiting and it's really hard to take photos that aren't blurry when there are 2 dogs and a 10 month old flying around the room! lol!
So instead, how about some pictures of cake! Yeah, cake! This is a vegan spice cake my Mom made. My brother Matt's girlfriend Katie has some severe milk and dairy allergies so we eat a lot of vegan food when she's around. We call it "Katie friendly". It was Lisa friendly too! This cake was delicious! lol!
Thanks for indulging my in one last birthday post. You won't have to put up with any more until next year!
Winnipeg Vintage Reviewed: WildWood Rose Vintage (Winnipeg's Premier Underground Vintage Shop)
WildWood Rose Vintage309 Churchill Dr Etsy Shop wildwoodrose@mts.net 204-955-1967
***** out of 5
This spring I had the pleasure of meeting Patti Henderson of Etsy's WildWood Rose Vintage. I was looking for someone to buy the remaining vintage stock from my consignment at Ruby Slipper. It turns out Patti was advertising on Kijiji looking for vintage to purchase. I, of course, answered the ad and found myself in Patti's basement 3 days later.
Here's the thing about WildWood Rose: it's not just an Etsy shop. Patti also sells her stock out of her basement shop in her own home. It's tricked out with clothes racks and stuffed to the gills with quality vintage! I had heard rumblings about this underground vintage shop, but never knew how to find it!The minute I walked down the stairs I knew I'd found heaven!
Patti's shop is pretty special. Not everyone knows about it and not just anyone can drop in to shop it. You can of course buy at will from her online shop through Etsy , but if you want to peruse the goods in Patti's basement you must have an invitation. It is not open to the public. The shop is open by appointment only.
Now I'm not normally one for elitism, but knowing that I've stepped into Winnipeg's underground vintage shop makes me feel pretty cool. And I'm sure if you live in Winnipeg and are genuinely looking for something you could contact Patti (contact info is at the top of the post), or convo her through her Etsy shop and get an invite. You too can feel cool like me.
Patti is a costume designer for film and has developed her taste for vintage as well as her collection through years of working on movies in both Canada and the United States.
She was very friendly and we talked easily about vintage and Winnipeg's film community for over an hour while she sorted through my vintage and I sifted through hers. She told me she can host bachelorette parties (bring your own wine or champagne and shop till your hearts content with your gal pals!) and has been known to have an open house on weekends where anyone savvy enough to be in the loop can drop in and shop sans invitation (watch her Etsy shop announcements and Facebook page for this info)!
WildWood Rose Vintage is a well curated shop full of high quality vintage clothing from the 20's to the 70's. Everything has been cleaned and repaired prior to hitting the sales floor. I was overwhelmed looking through the racks in Patti's shop. There were so many beautiful pieces! If I was in the market for a gorgeous vintage suit or party dress, I would call Patti first. Her shop is not confined to clothes alone, there were, of course, racks and racks of shoes, many hats and beautiful purses! Not to mention jewellery and other beauty accessories (I still have my eye on an antique Bakelite and Celluloid Vanity Set). I could spend many hours and many dollars in Patti's shop. It's been a long time since I've felt that way about shop in Winnipeg.
As for the clothes and accessories I brought in to sell, Patti was very precise about what she wanted to buy and what she did not. This impressed me. As a seller, she knows what is moving, what she can use in films she's working on and what is stagnant or unusable to her. She is not just taking anything and everything that might be considered vintage. I truly wish I had taken everything I had to her in the beginning instead of consigning at Ruby Slipper first. She bought nearly everything I brought outright and offered me top dollar for it (she even told me I had excellent taste! Flattery will get you everywhere!) and, as you would expect, did some trade for a few items I couldn't leave without. I was thrilled with the cheque she cut me and even more thrilled with my new finds!
Be warned though, you will pay top dollar for vintage in Patti's shop. Her prices are not your typical discounted Winnipeg vintage prices. They are more comparable to the internet market, but well worth the extra money.
Wildwood Rose Vintage is the kind of shop the Winnipeg vintage landscape desperately needs. Quality vintage, well curated and cared for, carrying a broad range of styles and eras for any kind of vintage clothing fanatic. It may be said that the only downside is that it does not have a brick and mortar store front in a commercial area open to the public. I wouldn't say that though. I think it's current incarnation only adds to it's allure.
Lisa.xo
For more 'Winnipeg Vintage Reviews' click here and scroll down.
Remember the other day when I mentioned I went thrift shopping and brought home a few goodies?
Here's what I brought home:
A lovely vintage cotton slip. I would gather it's 60's (anyone know for sure? I find Canadian labels quite hard to research online). I know someone is going to give me flack for saying this, but I almost didn't buy it. It was priced at $6.99 and I thought that was a bit steep for a slip. On the other hand I thought that it looked pretty "new" and how often do I find cotton slips? It will make a great night gown or I have a few sheer dresses it might look nice under as well.
Bonus Points for anyone who can spot the sleeping puppy in the mirror!
I also bought this pretty faux pearl necklace. It was hanging with the plastic jewellery and I kept inspecting it to make sure my eyes weren't deceiving me. It was $3.99. Score! Now in my excitement at my awesome find (Value Village has amazing pricers who don't usually let these kind of things slip by) I forgot to try it on. Turns out it's a tad small for my neck, but I think I'll add two thin pieces of off-white ribbon to the ends so I can wear it.
And finally a black straw hat. This near mint beauty was $3.99! It has occurred to me that this hat may be 80's (it doesn't have any labels to deny or confirm this), but I like it anyway. Thoughts?
I also bought a very comfortable black jersey dress (modern, from Buffalo) with a HUGE circle skirt to wear with tights and boots in the winter (I love me some jersey dresses with tights in the winter!) which is currently in the laundry. I'm sure you'll be seeing it when the weather gets colder. And I bought a plain half slip.
Have you brought any goodies home to your closet recently? Do tell!
Show and Tell: 50's Pink Satin Prom Dress with White Lace Overlay
This dress is very special to me. I've owned it since high school.
In my senior years (I went to high school for four years) I directed the acting for our high school musicals. In my final year we presented Grease. Through some twist of fate (I can't remember the details anymore) my Mom and I ended up buying most of the costumes for the main characters in the show.
At that point in my life I had a number of years of thrift shopping experience under my belt. And you could still buy good vintage in a thrift store (nobody was invested in it back then...those were the days!!). I was so enamoured with the clothes we bought for the show I never asked my high school to reimburse me for them and kept them (with my Mom's permission of course...I'm pretty sure she paid for all of them! Love you Mom!!). And so began my collection of vintage.
This dress was in the lot. The girl who played Patty Simcox (head of the cheerleading squad) wore this dress to the big school dance.
And the interior construction:
It's a little difficult to see in this shot, but you can see the extra wide side seams on this dress. A sure sign of real vintage!
As you can see, this beauty is not without a little damage. I would attribute this one to being worn in a high school musical. I may sew it closed one day.
And the tags. The small tag denotes this dress as a size 12. And the bottom tag is quite faded. It does recommend dry cleaning though.
I've sold a lot of the pieces I kept from the show, but this one has remained in my closet. I'm positive we paid between $8 and $10 dollars for it and I still can't believe we costumed a musical set in the 50's from Value Village. Those were the days (didn't I just say that?!).
Want to see more of my collection? More Show and Tell posts here (just click and scroll down!).
