My Week According to Instagram

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I hope everyone had a good weekend.  Mine was filled with the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Friday night I had a first date with a guy that went well.  Saturday I had plans to hang out with some girls but then ended up falling down the last few steps in my apartment.  Ouch.  I landed against an antique trunk and my vintage bicycle.  I'm okay mostly.  Nothing is broken and it wasn't bad enough to go to hospital.  I am just very stiff, very bruised, and very sore.  Oh stupid clumsiness.

1. Oh Daryl, yes, yes yes.  Is it time of TWD yet?

2. Smudger got comfy on my legs.

3. Vintage cookbooks and repro Coke bottles line the ledge in my kitchen.

4. I discussed the gorgeous Oscar fashion here, including Jessica Chastain.

5. Some homemade banana bread.

6. This post went up on the blog.

7. New Style Crush post featuring Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

8. Heh, yes.  And my list is extensive but currently is starring Norman Reedus.

9. Some Jack the Giant Slayer bookmarks I got at the library.

10. Yum. Homemade strawberry whoopie pies with strawberry buttercream filling.

11. Shared this post on Instagram.

12. I wore my 1930s dress on a date Friday night.

13. A close-up of Friday's hair and makeup.

14. I discovered a Doctor Who cookie jar with departure noises!

15. And The Walking Dead board game. I must get these!

16. Another photo from this blog post.

My week thankfully was pretty uneventful to make up for the weekend.  I just hope this fall didn't make my back injury any worse.  It certainly feels that way now along with my bum, hip, shoulder, and wrists/hands.  Golly.  I'm going to keep this short and sweet as typing doesn't feel to good right now.  Today I will be spending the time resting and counting down until I see a certain muscly redneck wielding a crossbow.

My injury happened whilst digging in my purse as I walked down the steps.  Have any of you had any stupid injuries because you weren't paying attention or something along those lines?

My Week According to Instagram

Thank you to all my lovely friends on Instagram for the sweetest birthday wishes!  I truly had a wonderful day.  I got some lovely gifts including a huge amount of vintage cookbooks, vintage scarves, a new (to me, but major step up from what I currently use) camera, and a trip, among other great presents.  I finally saw Warm Bodies after much waiting and anticipation.  It lived up to my expectations and was equally as good as the novel.

I should hopefully get some actual outfit posts up coming into this new week.  It just seems to be when it rains, it pours, as the old saying goes.  On top of the things and stuff (couldn't help myself, fellow TWD fans will know what I mean) I'm currently dealing with, now my car is acting up even more so than normal.  The check engine light has been on since last inspection, then out of nowhere the airbag light came on.

Now, this week my battery is giving me issues.  It has been very cold here lately and there were some days where it just sat with no use and it wouldn't start.  I got it jumped by a neighbour who noticed the battery had some corrosion on it.  I get in to go to the library yesterday to pick up a Norman Reedus film they have on hold and of course it wouldn't start again.  So my step-dad came over, cleaned the corrosion off the battery, and gave me another jump.  Let's hope the cleaning did the trick and I won't have ay more problems because God knows I can't afford to get a new battery right now.

1. A vintage birthday image.

2. My 2nd birthday.

3-4. What I wore on my birthday last Sunday.

5. Vintage emerald and diamond ring + Warm Bodies= happy birthday girl.

6.  Red velvet with cream cheese icing birthday cake.

7. Thank you all!

8. Oh, yes.

9. Smudger playing Pretty Pretty Princess with the girls.

10. Oh, Daryl...

11. This was me after he returned to Team Prison.

12. Goofing off with vintage glasses at a vintage store.

13. Pretty new lippy my dad bought me as a gift.

14. Finally reading the Walking Dead.  I've read the first 9 issues or so already, but here we go again.

15. Fixing y hair in the mirror of a WWII Jeep.

16. Gorgeous Home Comfort ranges from the late 1800s.

17. 1930, 1932, and 1933 model Home Comfort ranges.

18. Norman Reedus was on Friday's E!News.  Lovely surprise!

19. Glamour shot and close up.

20. Good hair Saturday plus my pretty lippy.

 21. Wishing for Spring. My trip to Castle Tucker in Wiscasset, Maine last year.

22. WWII Weekend, 2011. Apparently the soldiers thought I'd look good with a gun. Thus flocked lots of people with their cameras.

As if you won't be able to tell from above, I am really feeling the return of The Walking Dead.  The episodes have been soooo good thus far and I am quite pumped for tonight's new episode.  The Oscars?  Oh yeah...  Well I suppose I shall record the Oscars and watch The Walking Dead live.  What's a girl to do?  I can't willingly not watch Daryl Dixon when he's on.  It's no wonder I had a walker nightmare Friday night.  Most of you wouldn't think too much on that, but I have a very good imagination.  I seem to have the most realistic, horrifying zombie nightmares.  Does that stop me from reading the comic, fanfiction, or watching the programme?  Of course not.  But I'm not exaggerating when it's comes to how scary the dreams can be.  I usually wake up in a sweat and have trouble falling asleep again.

Are there any things that cause you nightmares, but you can't separate yourself from it?

My Week According to Instagram

It's my birthday!!!  Today!  Right now!  Today I turn 27...Yikes!  I'm the same age as my mum when she had me.  By the time she was this age she had three children.  I feel so behind.  Though things nowadays are a little different and there isn't as much pressure to get married and have children straight away.

But now that I am getting into my late 20s (geez), it really starts to get me thinking about the future and really paving the path for the things I want out of life.  I'm tired of going from job to job and would really like to find a career.  I have no idea what that is though.  Definitely something where I could dress up and be creative.  It also gets me thinking about how much I'd really like to meet a good man so I can take those steps towards settling down.  I don't have to get married and start popping out babies quite yet, but I'd at least like to be on my way towards that, even if it's a few years off.

1. Mmm, Daryl...

2. A great fashion book by the stylist of Mad Men.

3. Those arms... *swoon*

4. Playing with a new app.  This look is rather true now.

5. Entered a giveaway to win Julianne Hough's new shoe line.

6. Made a (at the time) truer to form comic self.

7. Shared this post on Instagram.

8. Gave myself glitzy nails.

9. Loved this photo from this post too much to not share it.

10. A stack of Jean Harlow films from the library.

11. Shared this post about Chuck from Pushing Daisies on Instagram.

12. A vintage Valentine.

13-14. Got gussied up for myself on Valentine's Day.

15. Vintage 1932 La Belle Chocolatier cookbook.

16. The recipe a used, a little well loved.

17. The finished result, which I then gave to my mum.

18. Haha, love this!

19. Oh The Notebook...I had to watch this for Valentine's Day.

20. Oh man, look at all that hair I chopped off!

21. My new haircut, au natural.

22. All styled up.

23. Ginger Rogers looks so stunning here.

24. What I wore thrifting yesterday.

25. A close up of my 1930s fur trimmed jacket and vintage hat.

26-27. Made out like a bandit at the thrift shop.

28. Throwback of me in a bonnet with my mum.

29. Vintage pink and cream Elton's square hatbox.

30. Vintage tan snap wrist opera gloves.

31. Vintage Miss Liberte hatbox.

32. Vintage rabbit fur coat.

33. Vintage dressing table powder dish.

34. Vintage floral tapestry bag and vintage gloves with blue knit trim.

35. Vintage t-strap heels.

36. Faux fur bolero.

37. Charcoal grey faux fur coat.

38. Vintage wooden hangers and vintage copies of Sherlock Holmes, The Hobbit, and Gone With the Wind.

39. A stack of vintage vinyls.

40. Vintage silver serving spoon, 1950s cookbook, and vintage Alka-Seltzer song book.

Yesterday my mum took me thrifting as part of a birthday present.  She could have spent that money to get another gift for me, but she knew how much I enjoyed going thrifting.  As you can see above, I made out like a bandit.  I didn't get as much clothing as I would have liked, but I did find some really amazing pieces.

Today my mum is taking me to go see Warm Bodies.  I am excited to finally go see it after reading the book and seeing constant advertisements for it.  We will then divulge in some yummy Pizza Hut pizza and of course my favourite, their breadsticks with extra seasoning.  Yum!  I'm starting to feel really sick so I hope it goes away so I can enjoy today.

Then tomorrow my dad is taking me out to dinner, so I'll get two treats two days in a row.  It will also be nice because I hardly ever see him.  Maybe twice a year.  And in that time we don't really get much quality time together so it will be nice to see him.  The last time I did something that was just the two of us was at least two years ago.  Ever since my parents got divorced and then he remarried, our relationship just started to suffer.  I wanted to have a closer bond with him, but he's not particularly the most touchy-feely type of person, so it's hard that I don't have the type of relationship with him that I'd like.  It makes me all the more grateful for how close I am to my mum.

But enough about that drama!  It's my birthday and it will be a good day.  I'm off to go see a sexy zombie Nicholas Hoult and eat some yummy, greasy food, if I can stomach it.  I hope you all had a grand weekend!  And please cross your fingers for me that I may start to feel better so I can enjoy the day.

My (Past Two) Week(s) According to Instagram

Sorry sorry sorry!  I've been MIA for over two weeks.  Life caught up with me and I neglected you as a result.  But I'm back a day late and a dollar short.  I also apologize for the spacing issue.  I tried to remedy it, but it's still acting up.

This past weekend my brother and sister-in-law drove down from Boston for a visit.  It was so lovely to see them.  They're both doctors so they work crazy hours and don't have much time off so I'm lucky if I see them once a year.

Saturday night my dad's side of the family all went out to eat at Viva.  Sunday my brother and his wife (plus my adorable niece, Daisy, the golden retriever) came over for brunch.  My mum made an amazing spread and I chipped in with apple struesel muffins and another red velvet cake.  My sister-in-law really wanted to try it after I posted photos of it on Facebook.  It was really special because I used my grandmother's recipe and it was even in her hand writing.

 

1. Sharing this post via Instagram.

2. The 1980's hot rollers I use to curl my hair.

3-4. Photo shoot for a future post; rocking my vintage fur hat.

 

5. The bridge at location with the sun hitting it just so.

6. Stone ruins I passed on a walk.  I wonder what it once looked like.

7. The handsome and well dressed Joseph Gordon-Levitt.

8. Knowlton Drugs and Seeds- could it be an old relation?

 

9. Creamy tomato pasta dinner.

10. Geeked out over Nicholas Hoult being a clue on Jeopardy.

11. A pearl bracelet I made.  It's for sale per request.

12. Longing for warmer weather.

 

13. Smudger keeping my lap warm during a nap.

14. An inspirational quote from the late great Audrey Hepburn.

15. Titanic cross-stitch in progress.

16. A gorgeous 1930's fur trim coat a neighbor gave to me.

 

17. A lovely 1930's dress my neighbor gave me.

18. And an Asian inspired vintage dress I was also given.

19. A plethora of vintage knitting, crocheting, cross-stitching, and fashion catalog magazines I got for free from my library.

20. A few of my favorite.

 

21-22. I love Emily Marie Palmer's style.  No idea who she is but she's in Catching Fire.

23. The stone ruins on a foggy day.

24. Showing off my gams in black thigh high back seam stockings and a garter belt.

 

25. Mixing patterns for a future blog post.

26-27. Red velvet cake using my late grandmother's famous recipe.

28. The gorgeous and recently single Nicholas Hoult.  If only you were mine.

 

29. Throwback photo from when I wore side-swept fringe.

30. Made Irish soda bread.

31. A very Irish dinner: corned beef and cabbage, Irish soda bread, and taters.

32. Dessert: apple dumplings.

 

33. My first attempt at fingerwaves since beauty school 4 years ago.

34. I used vintage clips designed for the wave.

35. Wearing my 1920's hat with my fingerwaves.

36. Still longing for warm weather in my grandmother's 1940's swimsuit.

 

37. One sexy zombie: Nicholas Hoult as R in Warm Bodies.

38. Craziness! Over 400 followers and counting!

39. What I wore out to dinner with my family.

40. Just finished reading this series (I know, a little late) and am in love.

 

41. I devoured this book in a day.  The film version won't come soon enough.

42. Warm Bodies looks so good. Nicholas Hoult is even beautiful as the undead.

My neighbor was sweet enough to drop off three vintage pieces that she couldn't sell at her thrift shop.  I was so thankful since I've been tight for money and haven't been able to buy anything for myself in a couple of months.  It's difficult to see everyone's swell thrift finds on Instagram, and not be able to revel in it yourself.  I know I am very blessed and have a wonderful closet full of items.  But that doesn't curb the urge at all.  It's not like a proper shop where the items will still be there weeks from now.  Once that piece is gone, it's out of your life forever.  That's part of the charm about thrifting though.  It's like a treasure hunt.  I know I will get to go shopping again in the future.  My drought won't last forever.  I'll just have to live vicariously through others and make due until that time comes.

I've been on a book reading bender lately.  I read four books in just a week or so.  I couldn't put down the Hunger Games series and Warm Bodies was read in a day.  There's something bittersweet about finishing a book you love so much.  You don't want to let it go yet at the same time you greedily want to consume the last few pages like it's the air I breathe.  Now I'm left wanting more.

Do you have any suggestions of books or a series I should read?

Follow me on Instagram at _vintage_vixen_

My Week According to Instagram

I'm still going through my rough patch and have been pretty depressed lately.  But you all have your own worries and problems, so I won't trouble you with mine.  I do go back and forth a lot and quite easily from happy to sad.

Something to be happy about was baking cookies all day Friday with my mum.  By the time all was said and done, we made ten different kinds of confectionery treats.  It was exhausting but fun.  I brought Christmas music along which we listened to.  I had no idea how many different versions of the same songs I had on my playlist.

1. Dear Santa...

2. Willow, the newest addition to my mum's brood.

3. Nancy Carroll, 1928.

4. So true.

5. It doesn't seem quite right that this is in someone's scrap pile.

6. Googly eyed Reindeer socks.

7. Sleepy puppy.

8. Chocolate chip cookies.

9. Pretty rolled sugar cookies.

10. Snickerdoodles.

11. My favourite decorated cookies.

12. Peanut butter blossoms.

13-14. Outfit of the day on Saturday. I love this jumper.

15. I couldn't help it with this one.

16. Sam Palladio from Nashville. Handsome and talented.

Pretty much all the television I have been watching has consisted of Christmas films I've recorded on my DVR.  Let's just say the Lifetime and Hallmark Channels and I are as thick as thieves by now.  Some I have seen in the past, but most of them are new to me this year.  Whenever I get down, it's a surefire bet that they can cheer me up and spread warmth through my soul.

Today we hammered out the last three cookies that we didn't have time to bake on Friday.  All that's left is to decorate the gingerbread men that we weren't able to frost today.  Unfortunately, a bunch of them turned out all wobbly since we didn't have a cheesecloth to roll them out on.  They still tasted yummy though.

What are your favourite things you do to get ready for Christmas?

My Week According to Instagram

This week was pretty good, though it didn't end on such a positive note.  I came home from work last night after midnight and it was quite cold in my flat.  I looked at the thermostat and it read around 60 degrees Fahrenheit.  I turned the hot tap on and it just ran cold.  It was a miserable night's sleep.  Smudger and I were all bundled up in bed and still couldn't sleep well.  When I woke up this morning it cooled down to about 50 degrees (which is quite cold when the wind is howling)!  It was too much to bear.  Poor Smudgie was shaking like a leaf so we packed a few things up and went to my mum's house until the landlord refueled at our flat.

Thanksgiving ended up being quite nice, although a bit hectic.  Mum and I spent all day cooking and baking (me being the genius that I am, did it in high heeled booties).  It was really fun.  I enjoy cooking and baking but don't do it that often myself since I live alone and also work second shift.  It was just three of us for dinner but then my brother, his wife, and my nephew stopped by for desert.  After they left Mum and I watched a bit of a film called Love at the Thanksgiving Day Parade.  I've seen it already and it's a really cute movie.

1. Adorable vintage looking hand mirror from the Dollar Tree.

2. Handmade Christmas gift tags available here.

3. Gone With the Wind marathon on AMC.

4. Mummy holding me when I was a wee lass.

5. Thanksgiving day outfit; soaking up the sunlight.

6. Five homemade pies: 2 pumpkin, 1 lemon meringue, 1 apple, and 1 cran-apple.

7. The apple pie I made.  I love the lattice work.

8. Lemon meringue pie.

9. Misty waking up from her nap.

10. Thanksgiving before the feast begins.

11. Thanksgiving outfit again, including the jumper and handbag.

12. My partner in crime, my mummy.

I'm so excited for my next day off on Tuesday.  I'm going to be spending the day decorating my flat for Christmas.  I love decorating for the different holidays or just in general.  There's a house a few minutes away that is selling boughs from their pine trees so I'm going to get some, put a red ribbon on them, and hang them under each window.  I also got a great CD yesterday full of old Christmas music from artists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Bing Crosby, Louis Armstrong, and others.

When do you normally decorate for Christmas?

My Week According to Instagram

So I survived Frankenstorm!  Though I didn't go unscathed.  I had leaks in my ceiling that caused some damage.  But thankfully I managed to be one of the lucky ones that didn't lose power.  I was very grateful for that fact.  I was also off on Monday, which was the worst of the days.

I had off yesterday and today.  I spent the weekend with my mum sewing and hanging out.  I made a case for my Kindle and began on a dress.  I think the Kindle case turned out well enough for my first stab at it.  I also had to tweak it a bit to fit my specific Kindle model.  I'm excited to make more now that I've got the hang of it, and put them up on my Etsy.

1. Recently acquired vintage luggage.

2. Grilled cheese on a rainy day.

3. Rice cereal pumpkin treats for Halloween.

4. Ceiling leak because of Sandy.

5. Ceiling rain water dripping in a pot.

6. 1920s inspired hair.

7. Ceiling damage from Sandy.

8. Hocus Pocus on Halloween.

9. Smudger in his hot dog costume...he's not that amused.

10. World War II Weekend, June 2012.

11. Knowlton family coat of arms.

12. World War II Weekend, June 2011.

13. Vintage back seam nylons.

14. Vintage coat.

15. Braving the cold for outfit photos.

16. Sewing time!  A vintage pincushion.

I don't really have much else to report.  I'm a bit tired from Daylight Savings Time, so I believe I will call it a night.  Did you do anything fun this week?

My Week According to Instagram

Nothing too exciting happened the first several days of the week.  I worked Monday through Thursday so those days didn't consist of much.  Friday I had off and spent a lovely day with my mum.

We spent the day thrifting at a few different shops.  I didn't get my usual load of bounty, but I did get a few nice pieces.  The most exciting thing is a stunning vintage 1940s coat that my mum got me for Christmas.  She wasn't going to show me at first, but she wanted to make sure it fit.  I can't wait to get it!  It's so lovely!

We had lunch at the little diner in my town that we also wanted to check out.  They had the cutest Victorian era reproduction Coca-Cola signs hanging around.  The food was so delicious too.

We ended up having to go grocery shopping then.  Crazy!  I really had to go no matter what, but it was still crazy.  We are supposed to be getting a really bad storm here in the next few days so people were going into survivor mode.  I've heard insane reports about how generators are sold out everywhere and Walmart no longer has any water!  I guess they're expecting it to be really bad.  It's rather scary...  Hopefully it won't be quite as bad as they are saying it to be.

1-4. Baking pumpkin shaped spritz cookies with my vintage mixer.

5. Romance in bloom.

6. Lady Mary Crawley.

7-8. Old WWI advertisements.

9. Old newspaper article about WWI ending.

10. Incredible Downton Abbey companion book.

11. Sharing  this post with my Instagram followers.

12. Gorgeous foliage on the way to work.

13. Sharing this post with my Instagram followers.

14. My mum's new dog, Gracie.

15. Taking my mum's pups for a walk.

16. Freshly curled hair.

17. Freshly done vintage mani.

18. Vintage jewelry box.

19. My mum's 1960s dress from middle school.

20. Oxfords and leaves.

 21. Taking outfit photos in the park.

22. The most beautiful shoes I've ever seen...that were too small.

23. Lunch at the Railroad Diner with mum.

24. Ethel and Bobby Kennedy.

 

25. A cute wee bug on my mums.

26. Last Sunday's thrifting outfit.

27. Hello, Hook!  Another reason to love Once Upon a Time.

I'm excited to have off tomorrow.  It's going to be horrible out, so it's the perfect day to lay on the couch and try to finish watching my list of Halloween movies with a cup of hot mint chocolate.  Hopefully the power stays on so I can achieve that.  And also hopefully it won't be so terrible tonight at work that they make me stay the night.  Keep your fingers crossed for me!