This past weekend marked another Valentine’s Day – Mr. Dressed and I celebrated with our usual flare: getting fancy, a dinner at Manna (one of our favorite restaurants in town), followed by presents back at the homestead. And as we are barreling towards our 10 year wedding anniversary, I can’t help but marvel at how lucky I am to have found someone with whom I simply fit.
Within our small vintage-loving community, some pieces will take on greater value than others. Certain prints, certain labels – lusted after not just for the quality of the garment, but for its rarity or the the status it provides. I think this is true of most small, niche communities – there’s always a hierarchy. The Haves vs. the Have Nots. The Unicorns, the ISOs, the Holy Grails. These pieces ebb and flow in price tag and rarity, keeping us ever wondering, searching, sniffing the air like a dapple deer.
As a society, I generally don’t think we’re all that good at waiting. It hasn’t always been this way. I’m going to sound like one of those walking-barefoot-uphill-in-the-snow type of old ladies, but back in the days, pre-technology, I had to wait for a lot of things. Letters to arrive in the mail. A trip to the mall for a new pair of shoes. The latest episode of my favorite show. I used to be able to wait in line with nothing but my thoughts to entertain me. Nowadays, we can send off emails with lightning speed, grab a new…
Around this time last year, I interviewed the amazing Nikki Redcliffe. And she was everything I want to be when I grow up – confident, brilliant, and unapologetically fabulous. Whenever I feature a fellow vintage-loving lady, I get the fun part of trolling through their blogs or IG feeds for some of my favorite outfits they’ve shared. And Nikki’s feed is chock full of 1950’s swoon-worthy finery. I need to pause for a minute to wipe the drool…
As most of you guys know by now, as a little girl I had dreams of one day becoming a marine biologist. I know this is a common career goal for many-a-five year old, to later make way for other paths. But, I was one of those little girls for whom the dream stuck. From little girl to PhD Candidate to a fully fledged professor running my own lab. And to this day, I still can’t believe I get paid to do what I love…
I think sometimes we tend to find comfort in what we know – a certain vibe, a certain pace. And going outside of that comfort zone can be pretty jarring. Deep down, I think I always considered myself a city girl. You know, wise and worldly and all that. Even though the reality is, I’ve lived in a lot of different places, with varying degrees of cosmopolitan. Everything from a huge, bustling metropolis, with 8 million people crowding its streets, to a tiny fishing village, with little more than 500 people and a dairy. We’ve lived in the most isolated city…
Have you ever had an idea that you immediately scoffed at? You know the one: Where, as soon as the thought forms in your head, you laugh at the absurdity… Despite the pie-in-the-sky nature of it all, you share it with your husband anyway, with the first words out of your mouth being, “I know this sounds nuts, but…” And then what if you just went and did it anyway?? If this kind of story sounds intriguing, read on….
Truth be told, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. Christmas cookies are kind of wasted on me and I’m not a fan of egg nog (it’s a wonder Santa didn’t just pass by me for my rejection of Christmas staples). Even as a kid, I could hoard my Halloween candy for months, much to my sister’s chagrin. I’m the weird girl who goes to a restaurant and says she’ll just have one bite of her husband’s dessert, and actually means it. But, if I ever do hedge away from the garlic bread and towards the dessert tray (rare,…
I don’t know about you guys, but I’ve been binging on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel ever since the new season aired. And while swooning over the costumes and reveling in the glitz and the glam, I particularly appreciate how sassy Midge always has the perfect comeback. She has an uncanny knack for getting on stage and going off the cuff. Always ready with the appropriate one liner to zing the hecklers. Now, I’m sure having a screen writer doesn’t hurt, but there are way too many moments in life where I think of the perfect thing to say far too…
The other week I met with an industrious, charming group of freshman who were assigned to interview a faculty member whose research aligned with their career interests. We arranged a time to meet and they sat around the table, smiling politely in my direction, pens poised. One assumed the role of the scribe, another the interviewer, the others fiddled with their notebooks. And I remembered so poignantly being them, nervously shaking hands with a professor and seeing nothing but the space between where I was and where they sat.