art of... series

Hello! Today I am happy to be guest posting for my friend Michelle, one half of the Twig Creative duo. If you haven't already heard of their adorable handmade toy cameras, chairs, and more you are missing out! This one is definitely on my radar. Michelle and her husband are one talented couple and some of the nicest people I have met. She is doing a great series right now called 'The Art of...' and asked me to write about the art of vintage. It was fun to sit down and think about what beauty I see in all of these old used things I like so much ;) You can read it here.

then and now

Yesterday this fun picture popped up in my Pinterest feed and it made me smile...

 (pinned via jenny//source)

...because earlier that day I had snapped this one.

our growing library

(We are back and settling into a non-traveling summer routine. I have yet to go through all of our vacation pictures, but a recap will be coming soon!)

Most afternoons I carve out an hour or so during Lark's nap and the Little Miss and I have 'book time'. I've been letting her choose picture books, her favorites starting to look worn in, but the other day I decided to try a chapter book for the first time. This very copy of Charlotte's Web was my first chapter book, and it is a story that helped shape my love of reading early on, so it was an easy choice. I explained that there were not as many pictures so she would have to listen carefully and use her imagination. That day we got through two chapters which was more than I had hoped for and best of all - she liked it!

Adding a chapter book to our reading routine was such a nice change of pace for me. It helped rekindle my desire to build a library for my girls to fuel their love of books and learning. I have always been a bit of a bookworm myself, and enjoy snuggling on the couch reading all about bugs just as much as getting lost in a story.

Although we have plenty of present-day books in our library as well as on our wish list, I cannot resist snatching up all of the vintage books I come across at the thrift. And, lucky for me an old school teacher must have donated her books lately because I have been finding some real gems. Those pictured here are just a few of my favorite illustrations and typography - two of the main reasons I cannot resist them.

"Illustrated Atlas for Young America" 1956

"The Song of the Day Birds and the Night Birds" 1967 

"This is Music 5" 1962

"The Story Hour" 1957 

What present-day or classic books do you count as must-haves in your child's library? I would love to hear so we can continue to grow ours!

it never hurts to ask...

Oh, how I would love to pick out a brand new gorgeous sofa (among other things) for our home, but it just isn't in our budget right now. That is why I am always on the lookout for furniture when I am out thrifting. I have found some amazing deals on mid-century dressers, bookcases, and chairs in the past - I love the design and quality as much as the price tag. So, when I spied this couch the other day I hurried over with our lack of seating in the living room forefront in my mind. Although it wasn't my ideal color, it was still pretty, didn't have any funky smells, and was in fantastic condition. For a mere $35 I was sold...except, according to the tag, so was it.

A bit disappointed I checked out the rest of the store and found some other hidden gems (including a couple of beautiful 40's little girl dresses - be still my heart) but I couldn't stop thinking about that couch! I passed by it again and this time noticed that it was on hold. I found a worker and asked him if there was any way to find out if the person didn't come back to purchase it. He gave me a puzzled look, took the tag off and said he would be right back. A couple of minutes later he told me if I wanted the couch it was mine!

I should have thought about it, but the thrift store doesn't put things on hold all day long. If you don't come back with your receipt as proof of purchase within an hour or two the furniture goes back up for sale - the workers had just forgotten to take the sold tag off of this particular couch. I certainly wasn't complaining though because that 'sold' tag kept my couch sitting pretty for me all day long!

Lesson learned - it never hurts to ask! Have you found any good finds lately?

little vintage style v.3

Welcome to Little Vintage Style week 3! I mentioned last week that the weather has been chilly lately, so we are very happy the sun decided to shine this week! We've been enjoying being able to play outside every day and have gotten a little sun kissed in the process.  

On this bright and sunny morning LM was running around playing super hero with one of my t-shirts tied around her neck. She said she was Super Girl and Lark was Super Diaper - she cracks me up. Then she took her cape off and searched for dandelions around the yard.

I've been waiting for her to grow into this cute tulip pinafore top for over two years now, but I almost can't believe she is already old enough to wear it!

Top: vintage thrifted, Pants: Gap thrifted, shoes: Keep

see v.1 here

see v.2 here

Link yours up below, we'd all love to see!

And, I'd appreciate a link back to here in your post, thanks!

little vintage style v.2

Welcome to Little Vintage Style 2.0! Around here it has been chilly with lots of wind, so I tried to think of places we could venture out to that were inside rather than be stuck in the house all day. Yesterday we went to the Museum of Art at BYU for some culture - which in the world of a 2 1/2 year old equals twirling around in a big room for an hour, but I enjoyed looking at the art!

Right now they have a beautiful exhibit on Carl Bloch - I highly recommend going if you can snag a reservation, they're free. Next to that exhibit is one on the written word/type (which you don't need a reservation for) and the main attraction is what I can only call a ginormous cube of stacked books. Now if that doesn't scream photo backdrop I don't know what does! Please excuse the iffy lighting, I tried my best...

I promise she was happy even though these pictures don't show it, they are the shots I could get in between all of the twirling and running around. And in case you were wondering, Lark was fast asleep in the stroller which was exactly what I wanted her to be doing!

Dress: vintage Kate Greenaway frock, ebay

Leggings: Target

Shoes: Saltwater sandals

Link yours up below, we'd all love to see!

see v.1 here

new feature... little vintage style

In the past I did a couple of sporadic 'little style' posts of LM wearing some cute vintage outfits. I meant to keep them up as more of a regular feature showing how we style children's vintage in our home, but somehow I haven't done one in almost 1, 2, 3, 4... 5 months!? How did that happen? I'll go ahead and blame being pregnant since that is the ultimate excuse and now I can no longer milk it... But, my point is I want to start documenting my favorite vintage clothing on my favorite almost 3-year-old girl again before she grows out of them all! And, now I have another sweet little one to add in the mix too (who happily gets to grow into her sisters vintage).

I am telling you this because I want to invite you to get your cute kiddos all gussied up in their vintage clothing and join me! I'll be posting 'little vintage style' pictures every Wednesday and you'll be able to link up with me here. I hope you'll want to show off your little ones because I want to see them, whether they are covered in vintage from head to toe or only sporting a poodle barrette! It will be a fun way to connect with other vintage lovin' mommas out there too (and if you know any invite them over). 

Of course if you want to jump in the picture with them all the better, I'm planning to sneak in a few myself. It'll be a good kick in the pants to dress up for the day - something I have not been doing much lately since the imminent threat of spit up continually lurks... but no more letting that stop me from being fashionable - at least once a week for now... :)

Hope to see you Wednesday!

xo

h+s kids: milla plum

One of the reasons I love selling vintage clothing is knowing that cast off, forgotten, or (in the best case) once loved items are getting a new life. So I did a little happy dance when I saw these pictures of items purchased from my shop...

(source)

I don't think these two dresses could have been paired with a more perfect model than Milla Plum, stylish daughter of James from Bleubird fame. I would absolutely love to see these pictures matched up next to the little girl who once wore them!

(source)

Lookin' good Miss Plum!

shop update

A peek at the latest shop update for the kiddos!

And something pretty I would wish for you.

Have a lovely weekend!

p.s. I did a little guest post for Charlotte on her brand new blog Little Lottie Loves today. She posts the cutest kids stuff, show her new space some love and check it out!

shop update: pretty dresses

The big dress update I've been working on is in the shop! Take a look below to see what's new. There are some really pretty options for Easter or the upcoming wedding season.

And... I need to clean up shop and make some room, so I added a SALE SALE SALE section with over 30 items all marked down 40% - nothing is over $9.00 so check it out!

 1940's deadstock navy dress/1950's pink sheer dress

 1950's white sheer dress/yellow yo-yo dress

1950's deadstock gray flower dress/1950's flower bodice dress

1950's yellow sash dress/1950's mint and lace dress

1940's blue flower dress/1940's flower print dress

1950's coral gingham dress/1940's lilac dress

1940's aqua hand painted roses dress/1950's blue alice dress

1950's purple floral dress/1940's garden block dress

1950's purple mexican dress/1950's blue watercolor dress

1940's ruffle shoulder dress/1930's feedsack print dress

I know all I've been posting about this week is dresses...sorry! I promise this is the last dress post for awhile. Hope you see something you like!

xo

coming soon...

 I'm working away getting a bunch of dresses ready to be listed in the shop for Easter - baby sizes all the way up to young girl! I want to have all the listings ready to go in case I say, have a baby any day now... and if I keep myself busy it keeps my mind off the waiting game :)

I mentioned my niece came over to model some of the bigger dresses for me this last weekend and here is a little sneak peek. I may be biased but I think I have the most gorgeous niece ever and she is only ten. You better believe the boys will be chasing her in a few years!

Can't wait to show you the rest! I better go take advantage of nap time now and get started on the smaller dresses... 

xo

nursing friendly dresses

I am ready for this baby to come out. And not necessarily because I am uncomfortable, because I have really easy pregnancies, it's more like I am just ready for a change. I'm sure this time of year doesn't help with Spring right around the corner too. I am looking forward to both baby and warmer weather!

I spent some time this weekend day-dreaming that I'd already had the baby and browsed for nursing friendly button-up vintage dresses on etsy. I found the perfect one for me (not pictured), but I liked all of these too. It makes me feel like my time spent searching was not as wasted if I share with you, hope you see something you like! :)

top: asymmetry, country, pink smocked

middle: chambray floral, pink gingham, flower power

bottom: red & cream, mint ruffle, geometric mod

Happy Monday!

something to brighten your day - CLOSED

I haven't had much thrifting luck lately, so I was thrilled to stumble upon two vintage floral suitcases sitting forlornly on the floor in the wrong aisle. They were like two little happy surprises waiting to brighten my day! So, I thought I would like to brighten someone else's day too and give one away! 

I'll be keeping the blue one (below) for the Little Miss to play with and take on overnighters, but the orange one pictured above is up for grabs! I would say it is in good condition, a few scuffs here and there but the zipper works fine and it is clean overall. Measures about 17"x10".

To enter leave a comment on this post telling me how someone has brightened your day before, or what would brighten your day! And, although not required passing this giveaway along is appreciated and will gain you another entry (leave a separate comment). I'll have to keep this one to US readers only because of shipping costs, sorry! A winner will be picked randomly and announced on Friday the 25th, good luck! :)

playing dress up

 We've been having fun playing dress up around here. This little girl is discovering her inner fashion diva and wants to try on every dress and pair of shoes she sees - even if they are for tiny babies. She got in trouble today for taking her sneakers off in Target four different times because she, "needed to walk on her feet" over to the sandal section. I swear she would be entertained for a whole afternoon with a just pile of shoes to try on! Which is actually not a bad idea.

I remember loving to play dress up when I was little. My mom had (still has) a big old steamer trunk full of vintage dress up clothes, hats, gloves, glasses, shawls, shoes, purses... you name it. We always had so much fun digging through it, so I don't blame the Little Miss for wanting to dig through my vintage kids closet!

This little dress will make another appearance soon as I have plans for it, but first I need to mend some seams. And those cowgirl boots are too big but she likes to wear them around the house anyway.

This sweet dress is in the shop. The shoes are some of my favorites ever, also too big for her! I think she was pretending to go to work with her lunchbox - she says she works at the farm :)

And this dress is from her own closet. I have a feeling playing dress up will be in our regular routine from now on. Maybe I can convince my mom to lend me some of her old dress up accessories because I think these (pretty horrible, sorry) pictures are lacking some Mary Poppins hats, kid gloves, and granny glasses!

mary blair

The Little Miss is fast becoming obsessed with the Little Golden Book I Can Fly. She has me read it to her multiple times in a row, although she ends up practically reading it to me as she has all the words memorized. And I love it too, how can you not adore Mary Blair's sweet illustrations?

So I decided to search for some more of her work and now I think I'm the one with a new obsession. I'm so glad I came across her work, it is truly inspiring!

source

images found here