Yeah, I said it!  I’m putting a little Christ back in the season.  This year especially–I just haven’t been feeling well and haven’t gotten into any of my normal routines.  It is Dec 16th and I haven’t even filled out one Christmas card or wrapped one present.  It’s absolutely painful to think about how much still needs to get done.  My only saving grace is that I bought a poinsettia and hosted a dinner last weekend for friends that looked  mildly seasonal i.e. green goblets, white plates and red flowers.  *sigh*  Is anyone else having this problem this year?  Am I all alone?  I swear that I want to be more motivated, I just can seem to ignite the fire.

I almost posted pictures of pretty parties and food that I found online, but thought that might be a little soul-crushing if anyone is in the same boat as me.   Instead, I am sticking with the paper theme and posting some lovely retro holiday cards that will, hopefully, inspire me to get my sad carpal tunnel stricken hand a writing this weekend.  Please feel free to taunt or make fun of me–I usually find these methods motivating.  Or you could tell me how much you have already completed and maybe I will feel compelled to catch up?

I love paper!  I have loved everything about it since I was a kid–the crisp feeling between your fingers, the smell and the tingle of excitement that comes from flipping through a stack of finely crafted Italian card stock.  Is that creepy?  I used to play secretary as a child and my grandmother would get pads of Rx brand paper from her neighbor for me to “take my notes.”  My collection of paper has dwindled over the years because I found it very hard to move and store when I lived in NYC.  When you have no place to put food or clothes in your studio, that box of stationary you’ve had since you were 9 seems less of a priority.

I have been slowly trying to build my collection back up.  I am due for some personalized letterpressed note cards with my married name, but those are a little pricey to request as a gift.  I also need to up the ante with my thank you cards, the dollar bin at Target always has these really cute note cards that I keep grabbing, but the quality is a little lame.  I thought I might add the journals below to my holiday wish list this year.  I like that they have a retro vibe, but are modern and covered in cloth.  I found them in the Bust Magazine Shop.

I had a moment of actual nausea today while pulling together my morning post.  I had been planning to do a “Get The Look” post for Built by Wendy clothes.  This designer is absolutely brilliant!  I love at least half of what she/they put out every season–especially the coats.  My friend Holly has a 3/4 sleeve, just past the knee black dress coat from this store that would make you drool!

I am still on the hunt for my special dress to wear during my week of celebrations (yes, I plan to wear said dress for the entire week!)  I thought I would browse through the beautiful selection of  frocks on Built by Wendy, that also happen to be in my current fave color combinations red, black, white and grey.  Well my excitement quickly turned to disgust!  $240, really?  For a wool dress?  Am I missing a huge piece to this puzzle? Indie design label turned couture? Obviously I am exaggerating, but I know a little bit about the clothing manufacturing process and still can’t get my head around these prices.  This is a recession…are people, and more specifically early 20’s people still paying these prices?  Bleh!

To give a little reprieve (and hope for us sensible gals), Built by Wendy offers do-it-yourself patterns (available in their store, on the site and last I checked at Urban Outfitters).  The patterns are $15–if you have sewing skills and an extra $8 for fabric, you have the perfect combination to look super cute while not spending 1/4 of your paycheck.

The first image below is a blouse in the fall line currently selling for $140, the pattern (though the picture is very summer-ish) has similar lines and the perfect sleeve length.  So buy the pattern, make the top and then go and…I don’t know….do something sensible like pay your electric bill!

That is right my sister’s….Christmas planning has begun.  The lists are being crafted and the checking account is already starting to drain in anticipation of the birth of Jesus.  Kind of odd that we have turned a spiritual holiday into a consumer spending frenzy, eh?  I won’t dwell on that as the span of time between Thanksgiving and Christmas really is my favorite time of year.  I love buying presents (and receiving them) and wrapping gifts and baking treats.  The old cliche of Christmas making you want to be a better person rings true for this gal.

So yesterday I was exchanging emails with my mother-in-law about lists and gifts.  This is a big year–in the span of six weeks, it is their 40th wedding anniversary, our 1st wedding anniversary and three of our birthdays.  Yikes!  That is a lot of gift giving….so in preparation for said giving and receiving, I found this lovely little chart to map out sizes and color preferences.  How cute!  You can even download it yourself from illustrator, Cookie’s blog.  Now my only concern is the fact that this cute little gal has nipples showing and I really don’t think my mother-in-law would like to picture me naked anytime soon, so I might paste a little dress on her before emailing this, but the concept and illustration is just adorable.

It’s time to start the holiday cheer!

I am dedicating this post to my oldest and dearest friend, Melissa.  Melissa recently had a little baby boy named James.  He is too freakin’ adorable.  Because of the distance between us, she is in Cleveland I am in Chicago, I have not met the little dude yet.  About 2 months ago I bought him a little present and started to stitch him an additional momento.  I planned on sending it that week–but my ridiculous carpal tunnel started acting up so I laid off the needle for a few days (embroidery needle that is….) and that turned into weeks!!!  My thoughtful and sometimes irksome husband pointed out last night “you know babies grow really fast, right? Do you think that outfit is even going to fit him by the time you finish that stitching?”  And to him I must reply: touche!

Where does the time go and how have 2 months passed?  I feel sick.  This weekend it is getting done or else one of you has to come to my house or my cube (office friends) and literally punch me in the face. 

I decided a little extra inspiration wouldn’t hurt, so I started snooping online and found The Baby Gardner’s Baby Bloggie.  The whole blog is focused around vintage baby things.  Oh my goodness, I can’t believe I just found this site!  Now I promise I will not start inundating you with baby posts, but I am entering my 30’s in 6 weeks and the baby phase has only just begun for my girlfriends.  I now have a destination for unique/vintage gift ideas.  I have added a little embroidery pattern to give you a smile and me a kick in the butt!

Oh Hello again, Monday–It has been too long.

So next month is chocked full of big milestones for me; it is my 30th birthday and my 1st wedding anniversary and both fall on the same week as Thanksgiving!  (My favorite holiday.  I think because it always meant presents for me and not everyone else. ha!)  With all these big events coming up…the question is whatever will I wear to commemorate such events?  I mean the death of my 20’s does not happen everyday and celebrating the passing of one year of marriage (Matt and I are lucky to come out alive.)  It is time to get our party faces on!

In order to get inspiration I obviously decided to look into my Mad Men vault.  I mean fancy dinners and big celebrations call for a little retro decadence, right?  I really want something unique so my usual go-to’s of Forever, Target and the Maxx just won’t do.  I want something where a girdle is required and I need a team to strap me in.  I remembered some lovely patterns on @ampersandwich’s Etsy store.  Ahh, perfect!  Now if you have read my bio, you know this level of sewing, especially with a vintage pattern (they are not meant for doh doh’s like me), would not be an easy task, but hmmm…an occasion such as this could warrant sourcing fabric and taking it to a seamstress, no?  I think so.

I can’t decide if I want a little Betty style, all frilly and poufy and pretty or a little Joan (remember I will have a girdle on) all tight and sexy?  I think my favorite, Peggy, will need to stay home—even though she is upping her game now.  Below are a couple of initial picks.  I am thinking bright royal blue fabric and red lips. Thoughts?

My Husband asked me last night what a stylist does and what qualifies them for that position? Given my work with stylist’s for my day job, I had no definitive answer for him, but I wanted to illustrate that there is a large variance of skill level, roles and clients.  I thought a back-to-school shopping trip with Barret Wertz on ThreadBanger might be the perfect answer.  Enjoy!

Did I mention that I have an intense love for finger puppets?  I have no idea why that is or where that comes from, but I do.  I find them so adorable and not creepy like full-size puppets.  A couple of weeks back we were on a mini-road trip back to Ohio for the weekend and we stopped at Taco Bell (don’t judge…I love the bell as well).  My step-son got a kids meal, which of course came with a toy.  We stopped getting excited over these toys quite a while back because they are usually pretty lame!  To my surprise, Milo pulls out the coolest toy, EVER!  It was a thumb wrestling “arena” with Lucha Libre masks for your thumbs. Holy Cow!  How stinking cute is this?  I say High Five to whomever dreamed this up–it has given me lots of laughs.  Look at the little arms…please tell me you are laughing right now?

For those of you who are not familiar with Luch Libre, here is the Wikipedia definition: “Lucha libre (Spanish for “free wrestling” or free fighting) is a term used in Mexico, and other Spanish-speaking countries referring to a form of professional wrestling involving varied techniques and moves. Mexican wrestling is characterized by rapid sequences of holds and moves, as well as ‘high-flying moves’, some of which have been adopted in the United States, and colorful masks. Lucha libre has also transcended the language barrier to some extent as evidenced by works such as Mucha Lucha and Nacho Libre. Lucha libre performers are known as luchadores (singular luchador).”

I am sure my love for finger puppets does not travel far so instead I did a little hunting for other Lucha Libre inspired goods. Enjoy! (Click the links to find/buy the goods via Sublime Stitching and some crazy ebay store.)

The popularity of Etsy has started to make it very difficult to find the “real goods”.  I have spent hours trying different keyword combinations to find cute, tailored clothing only to realize that I found a handful of lovely designers that charge $200 per handmade dress.  oy!  Recently I have tried to change my search and destroy methods by using my peeps on twitter.  If you follow gals with similar style, chances are good they will post links that you will enjoy. With that said I must introduce you to Patricia Valery a.k.a. Evil Needles.

Patricia hand makes all of her clothing and still manages to be affordable, I love that!  Her clothing is tailored without being high maintenance or fussy (so I think the washing machine should be safe for most of these cotton blends) and the fall color combinations are right up my alley.  The teal, olive, red and leopard prints make me want to put on some tights and a three-quarter sleeve jacket and walk through a pile of leaves during sunset. (obviously in a very glamorous fashion shoot kind of way.)

Oh, did I mention that she also designs some of the ladies merch for Reverend Horton Heat?  *swoon*  You must check out her Etsy store, as this is one gal that does not blend in the DIY crowd.

“A Matryoshka doll or a Russian nested doll (often incorrectly referred to as a Babushka doll – babushka means “grandmother” in Russian), is a set of dolls of decreasing sizes placed one inside the other. “Matryoshka” (Матрёшка) is a derivative of the Russian female first name “Matryona”, which was a very popular name among peasants in old Russia. The name “Matryona” in turn is related to the Latin root “mater” and means “mother”, so the name is closely connected with motherhood and in turn the doll has come to symbolize fertility.” Stated by Wikipedia.

Now this particular version does not offer any little mini’s inside, but what it does offer is a darling little sewing kit.  Which seems to coincide with the motherly roots of the name. This is a perfect purse or desk companion.  How many times have you had a button fall off, or a skirt rip?  Maybe I am abnormal, but I would say at least once a week I (or someone in my general cube area) have a minor trauma that could do with a little touch-up.

If this were half sewing kit/half first aid kit it would make my Christmas gold list!