Outfits: Finally Fur

I always get excited for fall dressing. Cozy, warm layers and especially fur. I'm not picky either, I'll take faux or the real deal.

This cardigan happens to be of the faux fur variety. It is an oldie, but a goodie. I bought it new from Ricki's when I was in university and even though it's fallen out of rotation from time to time I've never ever been able to give it away. It's a great example of high street fashion mimicking great vintage style.

It's starting to get noticeably dark here much earlier and I'm so glad I opted to paint my dressing room white. It's making taking outfit photos indoors much easier at night.  

50's Cat Eye Glasses: were Grandma Cotton's 

Faux Fur Collar Pink Cardigan: Ricki's

Rhinestone Key Brooch: Rhymes with Orange

Black Jersey Dress: Buffalo

Black Plaid Tights: Ricki's 

40's Black Suede Peep Toe Slingbacks: Vintage Glory

Best Purse in the Entire World (goes with freakin' everything!): thrifted, Value Village

Need more daily outfit inspiration from Butterflies and Daisys? Follow me on Instagram! I post there almost daily!

Lisa.xo

A New Home with Me

Last week I did some thrift shopping with my friend Leyan (she's a thrifting newbie, so I was showing her the ropes!).

It's been a while since I've been (not working in the summer means I have to curb my spending) and naturally, I came home with a few treasures.

We hit up one of the Value Villages in the city (the one on Pembina Hwy for anyone residing in Winnipeg). I think it's one of the best VV's in town. You can usually find very gently used designer clothing for a fraction of the cost and it seems to be riddled with vintage.

That being said, this time around I walked away with only a few small items. I've really been wanting a pair of leopard print flats and there was a pair sitting on the shelf ready and waiting for me!

I also brought home these lovely vintage evening handbags. I'm pretty sure the black one is 40's/50's. I have an abundance of black evening bags, but I love the brass closure and the size. I have a hard time fitting my iPhone in some of my vintage clutches and purses, but this one has room to spare!
The silver one is clearly late 60's/early 70's. I just love it's metal handle. Adorable!

We also hit up Ruby Slipper at it's "new" location on St. Anne's Road. I say "new" because they've been there for a year, but it's on the opposite end of the city from where I live and I am rarely in that area with time to spare for shopping. Last thursday was my first visit since they moved
(Keep an eye here for an update on my Ruby Slipper review! Coming soon!).

There were a few dresses I liked, but not enough to buy. And I was very tempted to take home a shortie mink coat with opera collar, but I wasn't feeling it enough either. Ah well..

I did buy some accessories. Two berets: one cream coloured and one blue (which I forgot to photograph because I already put them away in storage with my other berets).

I brought home this lovely carved celluloid and rhinestone bracelet (the green one was another VV purchase that day). No chips, no missing stones. It's absolutely perfect.

And my favourite purchase of the day (and you thought I couldn't top the bracelet?!). These sea turtle scatter pins.
I only wish they'd photographed better. The blue is so deep and rich in person - like the bottom edge of the largest pin. I adore them!! I can't wait to wear them. :)

So those are the latest finds! What have you brought home recently?

Lisa.xo

"It Looks Like a Used Clothing Store"

That's what The Boy said when I showed him how I re-arranged my dressing room last night while he was out snowmobiling. That'll teach him to leave me alone for an entire day! ;)

Warning! This is a picture heavy post!

Honestly, I've been dreaming about re-configuring my dressing room for a while now, almost since we bought our house. Frankly I'd love 3 PAX wardrobes all kitted out from IKEA, but I just can't afford them right now. That $1500 is better spent in other places.

So I've been scouring Pintrest for inspiration. I thought I liked the idea of my clothes behind doors (and it would be better to keep the vintage out of the light), but I was continually drawn to rooms with the clothes out in the open on display. I was inspired to get my clothes out of the closet and create a wardrobe on a budget.

These are some of the images that inspired me:

Check out my Pintrest board Dressing Room Ideas for more inspiring images!


For those of you who may have forgotten, here's what my room looked like before:

And the dirty little secret I kept from you is that I have my treadmill in my dressing room (see it peeking into the pic below on the right?!). It used to live beside my vanity in the corner of the room in plain sight. Not pretty. My goal was to eventually move my clothes into a wardrobe on the wall you see below and put this treadmill in the closet behind a curtain or a screen when not in use.

And that's exactly what I did last night when The Boy was out hehehe... (he hates it when I upset the house like this, so it's better for him to see the "after", even if I know he won't like it) I went to work assembling my new clothing rack and moving the furniture around.
Here are a few shots of the chaos:

Almost there!

Normal people might empty the room completely, vacuum then start bringing things back in. But I'm far from normal and really, what's the fun in that?

Here's what it looks like now:

This is the view of the room when you walk in now! 

I am in love with the results. Instead of looking at the treadmill when you walk by you see this. I don't care if The Boy thinks it looks like a used clothing store - I took it as a compliment! ;)

And here's the other side of the room.

And the closet. Less pretty - the treadmill does a great job of looking terrible in here wherever it is, but I need it, so here it sits.

This summer I've got plans to paint this room white - I'm still deciding on a tone. I want to room to be a neutral backdrop for my clothes, not compete with them. I've also got some window treatments from one of my old apartments in storage I want to put up in here, find an effective way to hide the treadmill, hang a full length mirror on the back of the door and put in a rug. Eventually we'll get the carpet changed in here too.

I've got this rug picked out from IKEA. That's my next purchase for this space. I've got to try and mask the brown shag carpet.

This major upgrade only cost me $140! I bought a second clothing rack, an expandable hanging clothing rod and some more 3M hooks to hang more hats on the wall. Oh ya, and some sweat equity. I think in the end I'll be able to renovate the entire room (including new carpet) for less than $1500! Take that IKEA!

What do you think? I spent an hour laying on the floor enjoying my handiwork this morning! haha! 

Lisa.xo

Outfits: Variations on a Theme

Another outfit from the road (although we're in town for the weekend!). As you can see, this one is similar to the one I showed you last week. 

It's a fail-proof formula really: cute beret, tee-shirt, cardigan, skinny jeans, vintage jewelry, boots. I have a number of these outfits in my suitcase. 

What you don't see here is how many layers I'm actually wearing. Under the cardigan, the tee-shirt and the white long sleeve tee shirt is a tank top. Under my jeans are thermal long johns and under my boots are thermal socks. Sometimes I wear another pair of knee high socks over the thermals. And often I will layer on a scarf if the gym we're performing in is cold. 

As you can see, I did manage to wear my new necklace. I thought maybe when I bought it, it was too fancy to wear out in rural Manitoba. Nope! Nothing like a tee-shirt and rhinestones!

Chartreuse Knit Beret: Forever 21

Vintage Rhinestone Necklace: thrifted in Swan River

Aqua Tee Shirt: thrifted

Long Sleeve White Tee (under tee and cardigan): Ricki's

Leopard Print Cardigan: Joe Fresh

Black Skinny Jeans: Forever 21

Over the Knee Boots: Urban Planet

We head back out for the next leg of the tour on Sunday. It's a shorter stint this time - only a week and a half.

Lisa.xo