Cats and Dresses.

I'm on vacation at the moment, but of course I knew I'd be finding all manner of amazing things and so did not bother to make a note on this here blog! Plus, we all are aware that I tend to wander away for two weeks at a time and not say a word, so a prolonged silence would not have been uncharacteristic.

Today we stopped at the world's most glorious vintage/antique clothing store. The prices were so high that I couldn't have bought a thing there, but it was a particular kind of store that is so well-stocked, so loved and cared for that it was a treat just to go in a touch and see all the pretty clothes. The two women in the store were just lovely. They came and spoke to my mother and I for a good chunk of time about vintage clothes, about the intense work that goes into sewing, and showed us some gorgeous Victorian pieces.

However, there was one dress that that captured my heart and imagination like no other dress. Of course, I had to leave it behind, because my poor little bank account would have been not just empty, but negative. But look at it! It would have been the most perfect birthday dress!





Oh I love it! But I will have to be content with my quickly-taken little pictures, and perhaps doodling it in my journal. Perhaps someday I will wear it in a dream, though that might be even worse for not having it.

Part of the consolation of leaving empty-handed was the lovely little kitty sleeping in the sun on a pink set of chairs outside the store.



Oh she was so sweet! The whitest white, except when she started rolling around on the ground, with her pink nose and ears and little pads on her feet! And when she opened her eyes they were the most glorious shades of blue and green, like a little sea-cat!







And of course, just to keep the ball rolling, if you would please be so kind as to
VOTE FOR ME
in the Mad Men casting call :D Your words of encouragement and support are so sweet, they just make my day!

Oh My!

Oh my goodness! I have to, have to thank all of you lovely readers and people! All your comments here, on twitter, tumblr, and facebook (and elsewhere!) are just lovely. The reblogs and retweets and linking are more than a girl could ask for, along with all these sweet words and encouragement!

You are all so lovely, the most wonderful readers and friends <3 Thank you so, so much for all your support! I've done so well so far (at the moment I'm on page three! It's slipped a few times, but overall it's been so wonderful thanks to everyone!

Of course, you can still vote here until September 17th, once a day, if you'd like!

Thanks again for all your support and votes and such! I will have to come up with a special post/giveaway/gift or something in thanks soon!

Mad Men

Serious business!



Last year I wasn't watching Mad Men. Then, for no reason, I watched season three on demand. I was hooked, and continued to watch the series backwards as I anxiously awaited season four.

I wasn't watching when the Banana Republic Mad Men Casting Call was going on, but this year I've been waiting. For the past few weeks I've been positively obsessed with working on an outfit and taking the pictures to enter!




Screaming about the wind and uncomfortable nature of vintage foundation garments.

This is another Thought About it For a Week and Then Went Back and Got It dress. It's from Twilight Vintage in Troy (it's a dream there, a wonderful vintage dream) and it's been staring at me for months wondering why I wasn't wearing her. Suddenly, I realized this was the perfect debut opportunity.


I've been affectionately calling it 'The Joanie Dress' since the second I tried it on.

I found a pair of my grandmother's gloves to wear--they don't fit in the worst way! I have huge hands ( I have to wear the large gloves at work!), but thankfully they just look dainty in pictures instead of tiny. I remembered I had these shoes lurking around from two summers ago, even though now they are decimated, and borrowed my mother's vintage Avon bee pin along with a delicious leather bag from France she snagged at an estate sale ages and ages ago.



I tried my best with hair, although it really deflated badly in the wind, and ran crazy trying to find the perfect shade of coral lipstick. All of my usual haunts and brands let me down, till I found a gorgeous shade at Target (Revlon, Coral) for pennies!



I even wore period-accurate undergarments! It was rough. I will admit, I skipped the stockings because I couldn't keep my shoes on with them (and they're the neatest little things with original 1960s packaging, I didn't want to stain them with my shoes) but all the rest of it was there and boy. Stand up straight you do!

My entry is now up!
Vote for me here!

Sneaky Sneakers.

Image via this ebay listing, where they are a size 5 and thus, way too small for me.

I've seen Bensimon sneakers lurking around the internet for a while. I thought, meh, cute, but more canvas sneakers are the last thing I need! Then I tried on a pair at Madewell and thought, well now I see what all the fuss is about!

Of course, I feel extremly picky. I must have them in the mid-top and they must be this light blue. The internet has let me down thus far. Bah! I will find them somehow. Magically they are comfortable as anything, and even more inexplicably, make my feet (hoovering around an 8.5 or a 9) look smallish! How adorable they would be with little dresses, shorts, skirts, taking the fuss out of all the fussy little details I sometimes feel too frilled-over in.

I will find them, someday.

Shabby Apple Winner!

Hello dears! Just a quick pop in to announce the winner of the Shabby Apple giveaway!



At comment 52, Kaileigh of Sunny Side Up!
Congratulations! I'll be sending you an e-mail with details!

Thanks to everyone who entered <3333 Edited to add: Oh dear! I almost forgot!
For everyone, use the code
Allthishappiness10off
at Shabby Apple for 10% off!

Giveaway: Shabby Apple, Oh la la!

Hello dears! I'm popping in for a quick minute to post about the giveaway I mentioned in my last checking-in post! The lovely people over at Shabby Apple contacted me about running a giveaway here, and since I have been eyeballing some of their lovely little frocks after seeing them on some other blogs, it seemed they would be perfect for my first giveaway! Shabby Apple is a lovely little site featuring some terribly adorable women's dresses and other delightful adornments (I can't wait for their apron section to fill to the brim!), so for this giveaway one lucky gal will be the winner of the OH LA LA dress (since my resistance to stripes is non-existent):


OH LA LA dress at Shabby Apple


Rules are as follows:
1.)1-3 entries per person.
2.) Take a visit over to shabbyapple.com and let me know what your favorite dress is or follow the shabbyapple blog and let me know in your comments on this post.
3.) Open to US residents only.
4.) All entries must be submitted by Sunday July 18th at 6pm.

A winner will be chosen at random next Sunday!

Summer Daze.

It's so hot. It's so hot and I can't stop talking or thinking about it, walking around sticking to everything I am in contact with.

Bit quiet around these parts, but soon we'll all be chirping up a storm! I have some outfits to share (went the film-route this time, but I still have to use up the roll!) and the blog's first giveaway coming up soon! In the meantime I've had a mini vacation from work, discovered more freckles and got an unfortunate sunburn.



But we'll be up and running again in no time!

All This Happiness on The Fashion Spot!

A little while ago I got an e-mail from Nika at The Fashion Spot about being featured! I was totally overjoyed and thrilled to bits--and a bit awed! I love The Fashion Spot, I'm so pleasantly surprised to be featured on there! You can check out the interview here, discussing how and why I started this funny little blog along with other tidbits! I'm pleased as punch (to drop another cliché) about it!

File Me Away.

I save outfits. Sometimes I spend ages thinking about what to wear (in general or with other things) when I ought to be thinking about pretty much anything else, before coming up with an outfit. Then I save it. Occasionally I write it down on a post-it note and wait. In the meantime I wear a lot of striped shirts and rolled jeans, lurking around my closet and waiting for the weather to ship-shape up and stop being a complete jerk.

For a while I stopped doing this. I decided that I would wear whatever I wanted whenever I wanted to wear it and wouldn't give two hoots about what anyone said. That went on for a while, but one does get tired of the wind up your skirt and snow in your boots (not to mention soggy hems and rain-flattened hair), until I relented and decided it was alright to wear a t-shirt sometimes. If I felt really down about it I could always wear something ridiculous on my head (a bow, something floral) to make up for it. I started filing outfits away again.


Dress from this post, one of two from a day's loot at Recycling Red Dresses

I mean, maybe it's because I' m hard on my clothes. All elbows ripping, hems pulled out, holes in strange places, not to mention drips, drops, and spills. What if each garment only has so many wears in it before the poor thing turns faded and sad, looses its shape, and becomes a dejected shade of its former loveliness and glory? If there are a finite number of wears to a dress, what is a girl to do? Especially with vintage, which has survived this long, but is usually a little bit older than anything else in the closet, and so while it can run with the best of them, doesn't it get a little bit winded a little bit faster? Am I wearing out my metaphors and queries here?

I do a lot of sitting around and waiting for the right hair day, occasion, or weather in order to wear an outfit. Sometimes, as is the blogger's dilemma I suppose, I wonder if it's worth wearing a cute outfit if there is no one to photograph it for me to post on here. I'm not saying I dress for the internet or anything but, maybe I do, just a little. I'm not really bothered by that, because I save my little outfits and new dresses anyway, whether someone sees them or not. There's a what if I don't do this dress/blouse/skirt/thingy justice with the rest of my outfit today feeling.

I almost saved this dress even longer. The first time you wear a dress that somehow meets your dreams is always laden with meaning and a bit of dread. It's never the first time you wear it again!

Then I decided I was being ridiculous and tossed it on for an afternoon, even though I had to tie the straps up in little knots because they were far too long and then switch my shoes since they rubbed and we walked up a hill in the heat. Still filing it though, for a more glorious wear.



Photos taken by John M.

Spotted Moth

Hello my dears!

I'm just popping in, amidst these rainy days and broken computers, to drop off a little treat! The nice folks at Spotted Moth have sent me a note offering a coupon code for my lovely readers! I'm partial to the golden noodle necklace (and the name of their Oh Barnacles! dress makes me chuckle), but they've got lots of pretty little dresses, jewels.

Spotted Moth is a stylish online store featuring unique clothing and accessories for women. Since launching in the spring of 2010, we have been very hands-on. Everything in our store is hand-made or hand-picked.

We make and sell the items that we, our friends and new friends (you!) would want to wear. You’ll find our catalog to be a mix of chic and sweet. We know (from experience) that staying stylish can sometimes be costly, so we make sure that our items are reasonably priced. (from the Spotted Moth site)

To get 15% off your order, use the coupon code HAPPINESS.
(Good till September 14th, one use per customer).