ol' faithful

all attempts at clever words are escaping me at the present moment. this is probably due to the obscene number of hours that i have spent writing a paper in the past two days. all creativity has been used up in trying to form a cohesive thesis statement about sir thomas wyatt's sonnet, farewell, love. 

what i do know is that this particular denim shirt has found its way into my daily life more often than not lately. insanely versatile, insanely comfortable, insanely easy to hide the split coffee on the sleeves by rolling them up or throwing on my favorite vest to hide the spills on the front. done and done. denim on denim, who knew i could ever learn to love you?

 

 

remember my buddy one photo up? i guess i will have to find a new one when we move. 

vintage denim shirt, hat, & suede vest, f21 jeans, steve madden loafers, essie nails and usually jewels. 

dear diary

oof what a long day!

today was one of those days in which no amount of coffee will reverse the yawning, you are inevitably waiting for said coffee to somehow end up spilt on you (which mine did in the form of spilling in the side pocket of my bag and then drenching through the shoulder strap onto me...this is the reason i own so much black) and where you couldn't help but check the watch on your wrist, the clock on the wall, and your phone just to triple check that yes, it had only been 20 minutes of class so far and you still had 95 minutes to go. days like these end in one of two ways for me (and sometimes a combination). i either come immediately home, find something on netflix that i can sorta pay attention to whilst reading a magazine and eating whatever in the house resembles candy or i suck it up a bit, hit the gym and create elaborate scenarios in my mind as i'm on the treadmill (also sorta paying attention to netflix - thanks iphone!). these elaborate scenarios run the gamut. everything from pretending that i am chasing down a suspect on foot (this usually reflects my netflix choice), imagining that i am getting ready to go on my big world tour concert and need to be in shape for all my fast-paced dance numbers a la beyonce, or one of my favorites, imagining the scenario when i'm just a runnin' down the road one day and happen upon, oh i don't know, tim lincecum or something..."oh, hey, did you need me to check your pulse?" but really. i do this. how else do people stay on those machines for any amount of time longer than 2 minutes? my attention span lasts until i do probably two good visual sweeps of the gym to see if anything interesting is going on and then i'm spent.

anyway, speaking of home (which i mentioned somewhere up there in the word barf of my slightly embarrassing workout techniques) WE ARE MOVING!!!!
oh, there is not a font big enough to convey how exciting this is! no more loud and rude neighbors! no more less-than-helpful property management! no more wondering if everyone who walks by just assumes that we are a trashy complex! we only have to be here for about two more weeks and then we get to blissfully chaotically transfer all our stuff to our new home! can't freaking wait!

a new address ignites hours of online shopping/drooling over interior design, beautiful photos that are born out of anthropology catalogs and whatever else anyone on pinterest has thoughtfully contributed. of course i am mentally spending the big $$$ on all these fabulous new things and will in reality just be refluffing the pillows that are already on our couch. but it never hurts to imagine...

 

i love the mix here: eclectic but with hints of modernity and simplicity

 

i don't think i would have balloons but i would definitely take the bench to put by the front door under the window. though now that i think about it, i would probably take the balloons too for a hint of festivity/cat toys.

 

i am in love with this rug! 

we already have a small collection of maps and the more i see them, the more i want them. another trip to the flea market is probably in order

our new place could probably fit inside this dressing room but someday...someday (sans the little dog and insert huge carl)

 

again, the rug, and the other rug and the window seat, and the farm table, and the chairs...

images plundered from shopuncovet.com/dietcokeandsmoke.tumblr/lisaleonardenline.com/4.bp.blogspot/williamwaldron/modernhepburn.tumblr

the force

i'm partially suspending my recent, but unspoken, theme of vintage lovelies here on thegirlone. but only partially as the lovely wool schoolboy cut blazer is indeed vintage and a happy favorite in my outerwear collection. however, something else has to be the main focus of this post. no, it's not the shoes (though they too are a favorite) and it's not the fact that the weather has dictated the necessity of flannel again but yes, friends, it is indeed the shirt.

yes, that is a star wars shirt you see below. and yes, it rocks my socks, boots, glasses, whathaveyou, it just rocks. let your geek flag fly free people and don your most favorite intergalactic war shirt of the empire vs the rebels and go to town. or go to lunch. or go to coffee which is where i went to meet a school-pal so we could attempt to scan a sir thomas wyatt sonnet.
 
i apologize for the excessive amounts of photos to follow...i am very excited about the shirt, as i also was about the lighting and location of the photos.

 

nicole platform booties, f21 jeans & flannel, target star wars shirt & glasses, vintage blazer & bracelets,  usual rings

i rather like the last image to be of me walking away form the camera/screen...adds a nice feeling of closure, doesn't it?

can't stop

happy monday pals! hopefully you are finding a balance between productivity and whateverelse may be vying for your attention. i myself keep flopping back and forth between studying the british canon, listening to the giants dubble header(!!!!) blogs, pinterest, and online (wishful) shopping. before i get my butt up off the couch and go for a run, i wanted to share a musical obsession that i can't stop listening to: 

 

dry the river, new ceremony
<3

tropicana

three days of excessive amounts of sun and beaching (i know, i don't think this is real life either) has put me in the mindset of summer summer summer. and one thing that caught my eye repeatedly in the spring/summer collections that came out last fall (oh the fashion year is silly) was the return to tropical prints a la vintage inspiration from cruises, tropical destinations and what i presume to be the iconic life of the beach boys. which reminds me, read a good joke the other day:
the beach boys walk into a bar...
round?
round?
get a round?
i'll get a round...
yeah.
are you laughing? it's okay if you aren't. it's also okay if you despise the beach boys (like i do) and you generally abstain from california adventures in disney land for the very reason that they play the beach boys on repeat. it's also okay if you have never been to california adventures, but you should amend that and just put up with the beach boys music. 

  

 

 

vintage top paradise found (ha), jeans uo, platform sandals indigo by clark, wholeshitton of bracelets from all over and glasses target.

  

i'm not going to lie, i was totally singing "if you like piña coladas" in my head while i was taking these pictures. also, does anyone else think that i am not smiling enough in this batch of photos? anywho, this vintage lovely was found at my favorite thrift haunt in town and i am eternally grateful for the recycling of fashion for the mere fact that i can replicate something i find inspirational for $1 and not $129858778345 (which, let's face it, is what any amount over $1 can sometimes look like). summer esq weather also makes me feel like i should cover my arm in things that jingle and clink together.

simple

if you hadn't already noticed, and i don't take any offense if you didn't, thegirlone is looking a little bit different. a little cleaned up, a bit more simple but with a few more details (oxymoron?).

and in keeping with the simple theme, this post reiterates that notion with the idea that if you have a great vintage piece, keep the rest simple and let the attention shine on that which has earned it throughout the years. a "respect your elders" sentiment if you will. as is due, the attention is all to be focused on the pants below. they are also a major score from working at the vintage store in sb (talked about here). they are bonafide navy blues that came in a collection of such pants to the store whilst i was a happy employee. i love them dearly but don't wear them out too often due to them being wool and a magnet for any article of dust/cat hair/me hair/etc. my other resurrections of favorite vintage pieces inspired me to take them out for a spin.

 

k.i.s.s. - keep it simple, stupid.
racerback tank american rag, f21 sandals, waxing poetic necklace, usual rings + vintage cocktail, vintage & world market bangles, uo glasses

vtinage dreams

this vest is what my vintage dreams are made of.

it is one of my favorite pieces in my closet and i find that every time i wear it, i am almost giddy with material love. let me digress for a moment, when i lived in santa barbara and went to brooks, there was this amazing vintage store on state street that had the most incredible selection of goods that one ever could find. they rented out every single piece in the store for a fraction of its price, should one choose to purchase, and were ideal for 99% of our photo shoots. after brooks i got a job there briefly and though it seemed like the greatest place to work when i was a customer, the owner was crazy!!! i don't even remember her name but i do remember getting scolded for wearing a sweater that had a hole in it and being required to show up at least 20 minutes early for every shift so that i could study up on my vintage clothing knowledge. i think i was on the verge of tears working there more times than not. however, the upside was that i got to work in a vintage store that also more often than not tempted my small paycheck. this vest is one such piece that i could not leave without. it is a hand-stitched piece of art from what was czechoslovakia, that was brought over to america by the stitcher's granddaughter. the detailing is just gorgeous and i feel very fortunate to have its history as well as it in general.

 

 

great fun for layering over dressed, under jacket, etc. 

express leather jacket, grey jersey dress, billabong men's belt, indigo by clarks booties, kiss me coral revlon lipstick, bracelet/bangles vintage

the other side of the closet

posing in the stairwell, la la la...
this post is dedicated to stealing borrowing from e's closet on days when i hope to keep all layers far from hugging too tight. enter in the borrowed tee: a true vintage number as in it belonged to a grandma before it belonged to e. the front reads: garami...for governor (the lettering has faded out partway through) and it is just about as soft as something can get before it gets transferred into the baby blanket category.
the borrowed jacket: somewhere between a military/olive green, properly faded from washing and stained in all the right ways (what?). anyway, it is huge and very comfty and fun fact in the wee early days (almost 7 years ago) of our awkward-tall-18yrold-exciting-flirty love, i stole this from him and didn't take it off for at least a week...sigh...the heart wants what the heart wants.
the rest is a pair of levis that i have been wearing for nearly 6 years and now fit in the "boyfriend jeans" way, as well as my favorite black blazer, and heals found at a church yardsale plus some concoction of lipstick colors to keep some part of me slightly feminine. add glasses and go!

 

 

this isn't the stairwell. this is the door to my neighbors (private!!!) laundry room that i just discovered today. i am outraged btw (though not in this picture because i only smooshed my face up against the window to see what was behind the blinds after the photo).

giddy (up)

maybe it is in the blood. or maybe it is on the runways. or maybe i just like to say that i don't own very many red things and then go out and disprove myself. or, mind bender...maybe it is all three!!! alls i knows is, that i be liking any shirt with pearl buttons, cowboy motifs and that come from my favorite vintage haunt here in sc.

first: pearl buttons. what says "class" more than that? answer: nada. i mean, come on, they feel so much more fancy than just your average button and they snap! snap! with that really satisfying sound!
second: cowboy motifs: this one runs the gamut. from politically incorrect statements regarding native americans to stage coaches and ropin' -- all probable scenes are accounted for!
third: things red. apparently they are calling my name. now, admittedly, had this shirt been any other color, i would have still purchased said shirt, but it happens to boast that bright cherry tomato red that manages (quite easily) to stand in sharp contrast to the otherwise monotonous collection of plaid and black that hangs in my closet.

 

hookin' thumbs in belt loops is a must

 

i think my arms are raised in a "see??? isn't this an awesome shirt???" sorta way

 

pearl buttons!!!!

 

official introduction of my furry, orange pal. aint he cute?!? and so photogenic. i feel like he improves the image ten-fold.

 

alas, he is a large marge and i think this image of the two of us getting to know each other really demonstrates his true size. also, you get to see my shoes, which, as you know, i love. 

 

one more for good measure (and i like his back paws here).

vintage shirt, h&m boyfriend shorts, uo wedges, target glasses, two simple silver chains that i have been wearing for a month without removal (gifts from parents back when i was in junior high) and usual rings.

 

lovin'

who's exhausted? raise your hand. i'm raising mine. i thought that was supposed to be a "holiday" weekend...oh yes, i forgot, those are usually not in the realm of the relaxing unless it is a self-imposed "holiday" in which case, by all means, i hope you spent more time in bed/on couch/near any horizontal position possible with a limited amount of brain-wave activity happening. take that however you want.

but my new favorite adjective stems from a new quarter. which, although it goes insanely quick and i appreciate sitting through 10 weeks of class rather than 16, makes it hard to adjust every 3 months. especially when this one calls for a 5 am wake up call. who does this? oh, me. and to think...i have two best friends who willingly (read: real world obligations) do this daily. oy!

anyway, yes, tired. but fueled on by the ever approaching warm summer months. i am certifiably solar powered, termed by my dear b, and at least enjoy walking onto campus as the sun peaks over the horizon makes for a pretty incredible view: sun + mountains + ocean. so in lieu of those moments and the happy face of the sun, i can't wait to use the following:

 

bathing suit!!!!! yes!!! how can this not be on the horizon of exciting things to come??? bottoms by h&m for a mere $3 (uh-huh!!!) plus what i am terming my beetlejuice bandeau (all i want lately are things that scream the beetlejuice tux. you know how people always refer to dumb and dumber and the pastel tux duo in reference to any formal occasion? well, the beetlejuice tux is the one that does it for me. the only thing holding me back from purchasing something along said lines for k & p's upcoming nuptials is that 1) i am in it, 2) she said no sequins but i'm 99.9% sure that she also meant nothing along these lines (pun intended) either and 3) if i bought said tux, who knows if i would ever take it off and that would be bad because i'm prone to spilling.  

(wow...long caption)

 

a lacy, vintage top found at a thrift store that i am imagining with high-waisted things and fun sandals. easy, breezy, summer. done. 

 

 large stone pendant necklaces that are unique and stunning! this beauty was a very generous gift from a long-time family friend (whom we stayed with in az for spring training). she makes some incredible jewelry but also boasts a room full of vintage goodies that is left over from when she closed her store.

proof that hoarding isn't all bad - this necklace. originally purchased back in 2007 from uo on majorsupernexttonothing sale and which i proceeded to wear a handful of times. flash forward 5 years and not only does it fit my "living by the beach motif" but also brings about the whole two-chain-in-one thing i love so dearly.

 the best things are always free. as in free gift with purchase? eh...maybe, maybe not. and not that i am want for more little pouch/carrier/thingies but i did happen to toss out a lot before we moved and now every time i pack my bags (which i seem to have done a lot in the past 8 months) i can't find the right little doodad to put makeup, jewelry, whathaveyou in without dumping something else out. also, i really needed to restock my face lotion and sunscreen and clinique just happened to be dumping these + a collection of spring nude shades into customers' open hands. 

 

and finally, this is my new pal. i don't know his name nor do i have any clever made-up ones (yet). he has been showcasing a canny knack for finding me whilst i'm out posing for myself and making himself (loudly) known. so you will be seeing more of him in up-coming posts ;) fun stuff.