Vintage Here, Vintage There: Out and About

Yesterday, we headed out to a park we always forget exists despite the chilly temps. I was on a mission to find mushrooms! Nathaniel Green Park apparently has some fun play places, one of which is mushroom themed, that are not only interesting but interactive. Fun for the kids AND cute for photos, right?

Not that we need much more cuteness than this.

We didn't make it to the mushrooms but we did stumble upon a pretty little garden with a Ruby-sized bridge and a small pond full of tadpoles and water bugs.

Ruby was so excited about those tadpoles that I thought she may fall in. She shimmied right down to the edge of the pond and waved and waved at those little swimmers. It's the little things, folks.

I bought my dress from Past Times Vintage a few weeks ago after seeing it pop up in a search for cotton dresses. I immediately fell for the colors and I loved the vertical stripes. Hello, slimming!

I found the bag at a church sale that I randomly drove past last month. You can't beat an interesting purse for $ .25. Deal of the month? Close.

I'm wearing: Vintage dress, Past Times Vintage. Cardigan and belt, Target. Boots, thrifted. Vintage purse, thrifted.

Ruby's wearing: Denim pea coat, thrifted. Vintage dress, gifted from an online friend. Tights and shoes, gifted from Mom.

Ruby loved trying to keep up with Sebastian when she wasn't getting a free ride on Daddy's shoulders.

Sometimes little adventures in town can be just what a work-at-home mama needs. They're usually inexpensive, can be enjoyed before (or after) nap time so that everyone is in a good mood, and can happen on a whim. I've been thinking about making another list of all of the places we never think to visit in Springfield for afternoons like these.

Here are some fun purses for afternoon adventures such as these: leather, needlepoint, floral, carpetbag, woven leather, hand-tooled, ethnic.

What kinds of little adventures do you take yourself or your family on? Head 'over there' later today to see what kind of big adventure Rubyellen and her girls went on this week (local AND free!) and try not to wish you could have gone, too! Hint: the most magical place on Earth.

xoxo,

Rachel

Vintage Here, Vintage There: Mother's Day

Mother's Day this year was pretty low key. Brett had finals looming so he had to study, Ruby got sick and was working on a few molars coming in, and I was just plain tired. Thankfully, we had beautiful weather! We let Brett study in my studio and got outside for a bit to play in our makeshift pool.

Ruby had a fever the night before but she was happy to get in that cold water and forget she was sick for awhile.

Her sun suit is from Nanna's Attic on Etsy. I saw it last week when preparing links for VH,VT and it reminded me of something I had when I was little. I think mine may have been a smock but it had a tulip on it. Mom or Grandmother, does that ring a bell? I got another vintage romper for her from the same shop that I'm hoping to use as a pattern to make some myself.

After a long day of relaxing Brett took a study break and we headed downtown for some iced coffee. I decided we should take advantage of the change of scenery for this week's VH,VT. Springfield, you have some great alleys.

This is a dress I got from Red Velvet last year and wore earlier in the year on a bowling trip. I realized after we left the house that I was wearing the wrong bra with this dress so it looks a little busty! HA!

I'm wearing: Vintage dress, Red Velvet. Belt, thrifted. Shoes, Target. Vintage scarf, thrifted. Sunglasses, ModCloth.

While Brett was taking photos of me, the littlest one was sneaking drinks from my iced coffee. Naughty, naughty.

Sebastian was pretending to be Spiderman and loved being in those back alleys! Ruby chased birds and tried to climb some loft dweller's back stairs.

Ruby's wearing: Summer smock gifted from 3RingCircus. Bloomers, thrifted. Vintage Minnetonka moccasins, thrifted. Heather of 3RingCircus is a sweet online friend and sent this and another pretty embroidered top that her daughter, Penelope, had outgrown. Thanks, Heather! We love them.

I'm so thankful to be their mother. So, so thankful.

I'm pretty sure every lady needs a vintage scarf in her wardrobe. Here are a few I found on Etsy: Here, here, here, here, and here.

Did you have a special Mother's Day? Did you get to wear a pretty dress? I know Rubyellen and her family had a relaxed Mother's Day weekend as well and I can't wait to see what she wore on her special day!

xoxo,
Rachel

p.s. Thank you for your votes for the Top 25 Kids' Style Blogs! You got Smile and Wave in the top 10 and I'm so flattered and thankful!

Vintage Here, Vintage There: Warm Weather

We took full advantage of the sunny weather today after so many days of rain and gray skies. Total mood changer! We went to a few fabric stores, played in the front yard, and made some messes inside. We're good at making them but I wish we were better at cleaning them up.

Ruby's wearing: Thrifted vintage top, tank top American Apparel from Gilt Group, white capris from Old Navy, navy Mary Janes gifted (Old Navy) from my mom.

Sebastian's wearing: Vintage shirt from Miskabelly, pants and shoes, Target.

I'm wearing: Vintage floral dress, Red Velvet. Vintage belt and shoes, thrifted.

Do you think it's easier or harder to incorporate vintage into your wardrobe during warmer months? If you love vintage dresses, probably. Even with cardigans, tights, and boots I was always a little too cold to feel really comfortable wearing dresses in January (or April this year!). Now that it's May I foresee dresses every day that we're hoping to get out of the house.

Here are a few of my favorite every day dresses from some favorite shops: Collared, Embroidered, Checked, and Denim and lace.

I'm looking forward to seeing how Rubyellen styled her baby bump and three beauties 'over there'. They always look so good! Oh, and see how much fun they had for True's fifth birthday over the weekend. Ponies!

Thanks for reading. I appreciate it so much!
xo,
Rachel

Vintage Here, Vintage There: Last Weekend

We managed to sneak in some family photos in our Easter best last Sunday after lunch. I'm pretty sure it's always worth it to make these happen even if a certain four year old is rarely interested. We'll be looking back on these for years trying to recall what life was like when these two were this age!

I wore this vintage frock for the first time and think it's going to be in regular rotation all spring and summer! It's from Red Velvet here in Springfield. I forgot how much I love wearing navy!

Ruby wore her new shoes but a dress we already had rather than the ones I got so excited about the week before. They'll be ready for her next year when she can fill them out. This year she looked just peachy in her smocked vintage top and plaid Mary Janes.

Brett's wearing: I can't even remember. Probably from the mall.
Sebastian's wearing: Target and Old Navy head to toe. I think those pants are going to fit him next year, too!
I'm wearing: Red Velvet vintage dress, thrifted Michael Kors wedges, vintage belt, bracelet from F21.
Ruby's wearing: Vintage smocked dress, Etsy. Mary Janes from Payless. Last minute cardigan from Wal-Mart.

Brett got some new frames and I have to say he looks pretty hot in them. Also, pretend you don't notice my roots growing out. I'm not going for the old-fashioned way to get the ombre look, I'm just really bad at going ANYWHERE to get my hair done. I'm among the many girls with curls that have had bad experiences and get a twitch anytime they sit down and get asked how many inches they'd like cut off.

It's on the list. And...wish me luck.

Here are a few of my favorite vintage shirt dresses on Etsy: Striped, Raspberry, In the Navy, Interesting, Aqua plaid, and Ruffled.

Rubyellen has something coming up for Vintage Here, Vintage There soon so stay tuned! Did you (or your crew) get dressed up for Easter? I'd LOVE to see any photos of anyone in vintage for Easter. Feel free to link up in the comments section!

xoxo,
Rachel

Vintage Here, Vintage There: A Vintage Easter

This week's VH,VT post is dedicated to vintage Easter outfits! Whether you celebrate Easter at church or at home, it's a great reason to dress up for an extra special occasion so Rubyellen and I thought it'd be fun to share what we're dressing our kiddos in this year.

I've got a little bit of a stock pile of pretty spring dresses for Ruby to wear. A few of them were purchased recently from Etsy but most were local finds or gifts.

Many of them I've had since we found out we were having a girl almost a year and a half ago and they've still got some growing room because we've got a petite little girl on our hands.

I was originally going to take photos of the dresses and thought I'd get some props out to make it more fun but Ruby jumped right in and started playing quietly with her Easter eggs. So, I carefully turned her around for better light and took advantage of her sitting still to get some fun Easter shots!

In the above photos, Ruby's wearing a vintage gingham dress that I found locally, thrifted seersucker bloomers, and sandals from Target. The vintage sand bucket was found in Pauls Valley, OK.

I did an ad trade for two sweet vintage dresses from Blue Bird Lucy's that were extra special and then purchased one from Ms. Tips vintage (all in the same day) to make sure one of the three fit. The one above is from Ms. Tips and is still a little big but the shape of it allows for the sash to tighten it a bit and make it work. One of the other two will probably fit by the end of the summer and the other can be next year's Easter dress!

I told Kim of Blue Bird Lucy's that I'd love to have them all out on display but I doubt Sebastian would be excited about staring at dresses all of the time.

I love the detail on this dress. Even the back is pretty.

The above are all the dresses I pulled to have her try on today to make sure we were set for Sunday. On more than one occasion I've planned way ahead in gathering things and then forgotten something like matching tights or the shoes were suddenly too small or the cardigan to go over something was dirty. Ruby was a good sport about letting me dress and undress her and towards the end I could just tell one was going to be too big.

I rarely have luck finding vintage shoes locally but we do find a lot of shoes at our local consignment and thrift stores. Lately I've been finding things a few sizes too big that she can grow into so I headed off to the mall last weekend to find her something to match her dresses. I came home with the light pink pair of patent leather shoes from Old Navy and then went back earlier today for a pair of darker pink shoes for her more casual dresses. The sandals were from Target a few weeks ago. This girl is set for the next few months unless her feet decide to grow all of the sudden!

It may be a little close to Easter to guarantee a vintage dress or shoes makes it to your house in time but here are some of my favorites from Etsy vintage shops.

Dresses: lemon chiffon, pink ruffles, drop waist, pink gingham and lace, sheer white, lilac, yellow smocked dress, pink chiffon, mint romper, pixel dress.

For the little men: shorts with suspenders, vest and pants, romper, shirt and bow tie, blue baby suit, striped dress shirt, shorts suit, bow tie, blue jumper.

Shoes: pink jellies, Stride Rites, navy Walkrights, eighties does fifties, huaraches, more vintage jellies, suede moccasins, saddle shoes #1, saddle shoes #2, fancy and metallic.

As far as my own Easter dress, the jury is still out. Really, I just haven't gotten that far yet! I'm sure I have something perfectly lovely already in my closet that just needs a little taken in at the bottom so I'll be sure to share what we all ended up in next week.

Be sure to check in over there with the Bratchers later to see what they're doing for Easter this year!

Do you already have Easter Sunday outfits figured out at your house?

xoxo,
Rachel