This will be a quick post as my mom is in town (all the way from Sakatchewan! Lucky me :D) to visit me for the weekend. We went shopping downtown Camrose this morning and despite the rain had a lot of fun (and spent quite a bit of money!)

First off I bought my first train case! It's from 1955 and in great condition (I think). The vintage shop was having a 40% off sale, so I got the case and 2 scarves for ~$30.

Train Case: 40% off $35 (Imagine Vintage)

At Twig, my staple clothing shop I also picked up this top. It looks like a blouse & cardigan, but really it's one piece. I was really surprised that I liked it - usually I like to actually layer things myself, but this one was too great to pass up, especially at $32.

Top: $32 (Twig)

I love the colour the pattern and lace.



The braided belt that came with it is divine too.



I also picked up my mom's tab at Twig while she wasn't looking as her Mother's Day present. I got in heck :p

Then we went to Superstore, because mom wanted to check out the clothes. I love Joe Fresh stuff, but when I go get groceries I keep in control and away from the clothes. Not this time! Luckily everything is veeeeery affordable, so I don't feel too bad.

The first thing I saw was this dress, with a gorgeous tropical pattern.

Dress: $20 (Joe Fresh)

Then I found this rad rockabilly skirt in my size!

Skirt: $7 (Joe Fresh)

I love the buttons too. I didn't try either of the things on, but I can always take them back or taken them in.



Aaaaand I also bought some sunglasses at Ardenes. My badness. These ones are my favourite colour - mint/teal (excuse the scraggly look, I had a long say of shopping).

Sunglasses: 2 / $15 (Ardenes)

These ones just scream Holly Golightly.


OK, time for happy hour, a delicious roast and relaxation.

Laur xo

I am officially no longer on vacation now, but I still managed to get in some cleaning at the tail end of my days off. At the Fairmont, we really only have two closets - a large walk-in in our living room and a linen closet - and so storage space is at a premium (we also have a cold-storage room in the basement, but it's terrifying. Like, dead body stash terrifying). Our linen closet is generally neat and tidy because it's not that big, but the large walk-in closet can become a bit of a disaster area. I also avoided it for a long time because that's where the mouse was living and I kept on having PTSD whenever I went in there.

But! I finally cleaned it out this week. I don't have any before pictures to show you, but believe me, it wasn't pretty. It's not like there was a lot of stuff, it just wasn't properly using the space. With the help of G (who had to clean out what was stuff to keep and stuff to toss) I neatened it up and am now using it as my main crafting storage, as G has completely taken over the office now that he's working from home. I don't mind at all, but I need my space too!

 
We had this organizer that had previously been utilized to hold beer (we drink a lot of craft beer and have a small fridge, but now we have a water dispenser with a built-in mini fridge, so that solved some problems) so I utilized it to hold my growing yarn stash.


I had previously wanted to get an over-the-door shoe organizer for my yarn, but I realized this would be better because A) I already owned it and B) you can get 3 skeins of the big Bernat Roving yarn in there, so I can group my stash by colour/project.


In the rest of the pockets I put in some sewing stuff, an embroidery hoop and floss and other crafty things that didn't really have a good home.


 I also am one of those people who collect pretty jars but don't really have a use for them, so I popped my knitting needles into one and set it on the shelf.


The needles are also held together with elastic bands so they always stayed grouped together. Those plastic things are former ribbon tubes with a binder clip, which works great if your skein is all tangled and you want to re-wrap it (the binder clip simply holds the end in place while you wind.

I really like this system because it doesn't take up extra space and everything that I don't need is now tucked neatly away, out of sight. When you lack storage space it's nice to have organization methods that are easy to access, maintain and that don't take up a lot of room themselves.

Something that I am also keeping in the closet is my new tripod, which I bought yesterday and already love.



G has a similar tripod but it's at his buisness partner's house, and I felt that I needed my own for outfit photos and of course, my own work. The best thing about having a clean closet is that I can keep the tripod set up so I can take my outfit photos quickly. The tripod even comes with a quick release so I can just plunk my camera on and take it off, no screwing around required! As long as I put the tripod in the same spot and then stand in the same spot every time, it will take very little tweaking to get a good photo.

Have I mentioned that we have finally been hit with our cliched Canadian weather? It was -20 today and snowed last night, which was actually a good thing for me, since I had to go out and take photos but had to make photos that haven't been done in a while at our paper - so no skating, sledding or people enjoying the sunshine. Since the weather has been so nice we haven't had cold weather and snow photos in a while, so I got to do that. I knew I would be under my wonderful mustard coat for the most part, so I didn't mind building a neutral outfit. Note the matching beret and tights.

Beret: Joe Fresh | Cardigan: Joe Fresh | Dress: Rickis Belt buckle: Divine Vintage | Tights: ??

I also got to bust out some good cold weather essentials in my outfit. I wear this slip a lot, not just because it's an extra layer but because I don't have a good petticoat and many of my unlined skirts stick to my legs when I walk (especially this one!) The slip is usually knee-length on me, but I tucked it up into my tights so it wouldn't show.

Slip: Imagine Vintage

Between the cardigan, the slip, the woolly tights and my big coat, I was snug as a bug in a rug when I was outside. I'm really excited that it has snowed - I love walking around while the big flakes fall  - but I really wish it didn't bring the cold winds with it! What about you - do you love winter or do you hibernate until spring time?

xo Laurie

As anyone who knows me well can tell you, I'm fairly pathetic when it comes to making decisions. Which is why I need your help deciding what to wear for my cousin's wedding, which will be outdoors and around 17 degrees this Saturday. We're getting ready at home and driving there, so I need to wear something that breathes and travels well.

I've narrowed it down to two choices. #1 is this modern dress by Joe Fresh with Payless red wedges.



 It's summery and light, but is a little wrinkled (I would iron) and might get moreso on the 4 hour drive.


Dress #2 is this vintage green dress from Imagine Vintage.

It's out of focus but you get the gist.

Please ignore the ugly stockinglettes, I had to see what these felt like with nylons on.

It's a little bit heavier, which might be good if it's windy and is a bit more dressy than the first. The only con is the shoes are a little bit too tight, but generally when I wear nylons they seem looser, so we'll see how that goes. Worse comes to worse I'll wear these to the wedding then run around afterwards to find suitable flats for dancing/drinking. I would be wearing What Katie Did seamed stockings with both, to hide my embarrassing mosquito bites.

Thoughts?

Also, here's what I'm wearing for the rest of my day (biking riding, being lazy in the sunshine before the thunderstorm later.)

New lippy: Covergirl 305 - Hot Passion

Hopefully you can't tell, but I stole the boy's boxers to wear as bicycle shorts. ha!

Please please let me know what you think of my wardrobe choices, or if I should dash it all and wear something else!

Once upon a time, I was a lot heavier than I am now. And, seemingly like magic, a lot of my weight disappeared (seriously, I did nothing. It just melted off I guess).

Therefore, some of my clothes are getting pretty huge on me, but instead of just giving them away to Goodwill I am hoping that some of my readers are willing to give them a good home.

If you're interested in any of these items, please email me at laurie[at]retro-reporter.com (instead of a comment) to discuss!

---

PUMPKIN SKIRT






PRICE: $15 + Shipping. Item sold as-is

---