Sunday 30 September 2012

Etsy lunch bags

I am torn when it comes to packing lunches. I want to bring food with me to work, save money, eat right, etc. Unfortunately, I am, to a fault, preoccupied with finding attractive things to use for anything I do, even when I should be most concerned with sensibility, or efficiency, or whatever. So I don't like things like helmets, or padded shoes, or lunch bags, typically, because it is so rare to find attractive and/or inexpensive ones, and thus I don't do things like pack lunches, go for bike rides, or have proper foot support. Which is, of course, stupid. So here's a start - some nice, attractive (and yet, sensible and useful) lunch bags.




Time to get packing!

Retro psychedelic florals

My boyfriend can be partially credited with sparking this fascination. All of a sudden I find myself browsing crazy 60's and 70's retro flower patterned bedding, linens and housewares... such as the following:






Maybe soon I'll post some items we've found with funky floral patterns, now that I'm always on the lookout!

Milk & Amber Earrings of the Day

Well, it's been fall officially for a little over a week, but it's only been hitting me the last day or two that it is no. longer. summer. Sigh. The sweet smell of decaying fallen leaves is in the air, and soon, the last greens of summer will turn into fall oranges, browns, and yellows. Still beautiful, but it makes me realize I should enjoy the leaves while they're still on the trees. So, in honour of the last days of vibrant green on PEI, how about some classic gold hoops with emerald-coloured plastic gems?



Saturday 29 September 2012

Pale blue & gold

One of my favourite colour combinations of late. Here are some examples from Etsy:





Milk & Amber Earrings of the Day

I think everyone needs a little cobalt, cerulean, or azure in their life, don't you? This three-pack of funky 80's earrings ought to do the trick.






Thursday 27 September 2012

Coral skinnies

Just got these in the mail from Old Navy - they was just a great sale, got a dark indigo pair and a slouchy vintage-y lavender v-neck too - and now I'm trying to figure out what to wear 'em with. Grey? Big comfy sweaters? Other pastels? Button-ups? Can't wait to try 'em all!

Wednesday 26 September 2012

Retro Canadian pins

The 70's in Canada weren't just the heyday of politics, but design too! Retro Canadiana is all I want, be it clothes, crafts, or cool button pins like these beauts






Mad Men Party Dresses


Missin' these ladies, but glad we got a few good print-at-Shoppers-Drug-Mart-worthy pictures before they moved! xo

Milk & Amber Earrings of the Day


Cloudy grey earrings for a cloudy grey day.

Tuesday 25 September 2012

Grilled cheese!

If I ever post about food - and I will - it will probably about sandwiches, cheese, or best yet, grilled cheese sandwiches. I know I am  late to this, but I also know a lot of people have not yet tried this amazing trick with grld chz: instead of butter, use mayonnaise to grill. It takes longer and absorbs more heat, so it browns better and doesn't just blacken the outsides. The cheese has time to melt. It's awesome!

Here are some pics of a particularly triumphant grilled cheese: honey oatmeal bread from the farmer's market, Island gouda and shredded pizza mozzarella, and farmer's market garlic-dill aioli (on the inside). And , of course, mayo on the outside. Perfection!





Evolution of a Fridge Sandwich

Most of the time, the way I make food is by piling together whatever ingredients don't seem like a totally terrible mix. This was a particularly effective attempt at my fridge-food sandwich:


First: focaccia triangle sliced in half, with bits of local gouda and bacon, broiled in the oven.


Needs some sauce. How about some local garlic-dill aioli from the farmer's market?


Time for some greens. Mixed local greens and dill!


I have a long shift ahead, so I need a little more protein. Fried over-easy eggs.

Perfect! (Even better if served on some Corelle/Pyrex!)

Grey + pink


I'm not sure I'll be doing this much, but I love seeing other people's outfit posts, so it might be fun to try at least. It might be more of a "here are some earrings I wore, and then the rest of it." Anyway, here goes!

Yesterday for work, I decided to do some cheery pink silk shorts. I loved these shorts all summer, paired with bright coral tank tops, or floaty mint lace-back tops, or grey tees. This is my first fall-outfit attempt with them, with black tights underneath... Not sure I loved the effect after the day was done, but worth a shot. Might do a floaty crop top untucked over them instead next time.

You know, maybe I will do more of these posts. It kind of lets me see what I like and don't like about my outfits - in this case, I need a better fitting bra under there, yeesh!


Earrings of the day! Vintage pink & white rhinestone sunburst earrings.


Grey long-sleeve tee - Old Navy
Vintage pink shorts
Black tights - Old Navy
Black bow belt - Ardene

Alright, I guess that wasn't so bad. Might do this again soon!


Talk soon,
K

Sunday 23 September 2012

Sky blue, cloud white

Can't help but think about those summer days lying on the grass looking at the sky when I see these vintage plastic earrings.


Black / Gold

Vintage black and gold Eighties earrings. Nice to find delicate earrings from that decade.




Labels


Labels matter to me. Yes, I partly mean labels like Chanel and Yves Saint Laurent, à la that awful Sex and the City movie theme song. I do care about finding vintage designer stuff, because it's fun, interesting, and exciting. Same with heritage labels like Great Northern Knitters, a now-defunct heritage knitwear company from the Island, or Hudson Bay Company. 

I also take care in reading and learning about the actual, physical labels on my clothing and accessories. Where was it made? Are there hints about when it was made? Who made it? Was it union-made? Why did the textile industry in Canada have to disappear? Lots of questions can (and, I think, should) be asked about the provenance of things that you buy.

Which brings me to the vintage designer ties I have for sale on my Etsy shop. Many of them were made in Canada, and it makes me happy to think huge labels like Oscar de la Renta and Christian Dior outsourced their labour here, where clothing manufacturers aplenty made super-high-quality garments. If only that were still the case! 

Check out some of the labels on the ties on Milk & Amber:



Here's another Oscar de la Renta (above).

Or this red striped vintage Christian Dior tie.

A good label makes a good garment even better. If you have vintage clothing, try looking up the CA identfication number here so you can find more out about the things you own. It's a fun to try to know the history behind what you wear!

Pastels

It's interesting. In the past few months, I've taken to a few trends that I might not have gotten so caught up in if it weren't for the ubiquitous Instagram photos of top-knotted, Michael Kors watch-wearing, Peter Pan-collared ladies on Pinterest (Follow me here!). Coral, mint, peach, lavender, sky blue - yes, these pastels have always been favourites in my colour repertoire. But something about the way they've been presented to me has really made me so much more aware of my preferred palette, and I've become more adventurous with colours in my wardrobe as a result. Even my little sister and I joke about the ubiquity of certain trends on Pinterest - "wow, that's a nice Pinterest outfit" to refer to pink high-waisted shorts with a mint lace top.

Anyhow, I've taken to searching for these colours and have started offering some on Milk & Amber after combing through my stores. Here are some of those items!

Four-pack of vintage pastel enamel earrings, sourced around PEI.



It's safe to say that fall will change my colour preferences a bit, but it's been  a nice summer experimenting with these looks. I'm looking forward to blending these with fall colours too - mint with brown leather, lavender with forest green, peach and midnight blue... Exciting!
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