Alive and in the meantime.

Pardon us. We're on vacation. In the great American west.

Bozeman, Montana 2009

We have been avoiding the internet in favor of

mountain hikes!

private pilates sessions!

marathon thrifting!!!

main street USA cuisine!

manicures!

pedicures!

swingsets!

poolside ice tea!

I wanted to take a quick break from the leisure to let you all know that I did pick a winner of the Mink Pink giveaway. I drew randomly from a pot and have to say a big, fat congratulations to Talia aka phloxblossom! She has very wisely chosen the fringed black mini-skirt. I comment her wearable, any-season choice! THANK YOU to everyone who threw their hat in the ring. I actually have another sweet giveaway lined up for the very near future. Keep your eyes open!!

oh how we change.

Bozeman, Montana 2005

Seacrest out. For the moment.

p.s. I just saw Austin blogger Sea of Shoes in VOGUE! Whaaaaa? That is ah-mazing.

frock 'em

I am happy to announce that the good people of chickdowntown have given me the opportunity to let one lucky girl (or boy, whatever) be a big fat winner in The Year of Living Thriftily's first ever GIVEAWAY! So that is the good news. The better news is that you don't get just one, solitary item to choose from. The winner can pick anything from the RIGHTEOUS, if I do say so myself, selection of MINK PINK items available online. 

I can't lie. I'm jealous. I want to win something adorable. *cue pouting* But the truth is, you deserve it more than I, good readers.

TO ENTER-  Just leave a comment! How easy is that? The winner will be randomly selected (pulled out of a hat or some such) next Monday, July 27th.  If you want to be entered TWICE, mention this giveaway and blog on your blog/facebook/billboard... Give me a shout out (did I just say shout out? hm.) and increase your winning odds. Shameless? yes. Smart? Also yes. Thx Jas.

The Mink Pink selection hints at Penny Lane and feminine wiles. Everything I love in clothing. If I weren't so bound by my oath to the god of thrift, I'd already have the following spoils in my greedy hands,

This would look awesome on me... or you. whichever.

I may be the only one, but I would wear this every.single.day.

For your summertime picnics in flower speckled fields.

This dress gives me a tingly, Chloe for Opening Ceremony kind of vibe, yes?

And that's not all. Go take a look at the Mink Pink goodies yourself. I know a lot of blogs have given away denim and those Elizabeth and James Tee-shirts, which are awesome. But let's face it... I do not wear tee-shirts OR jeans. I wanted to offer something that better reflected my own style and aesthetic preferences. It's my blog and I will drape myself in fringe and ruffles if I want to. 

Besides that, I have my autumn eye trained on some luxuriant scarves from Sir Alistair Rai.

If you want to keep up with chickdowntown, you can find them on twitter and facebook. I know I did.

EDIT: Please make sure you leave me an email address or that your blogger profile is accessible!! If not, I have to no way of contacting you should you win. Should have though of that earlier!!

Green eyes, she's not a monster.

*The song of my summer. Believe it.

So, My life goes one of two ways. 

I am either bored, listless, doing almost nothing on a daily basis (and you know what they say, only boring people get bored)... 

OR

I am in-over-my-head style busy. I am panic stricken in the face of endless tasks and to-do's, making me want to take a bottle of lambic to my bed and watch netflix instant movies in a puddle of booze.

I am very firmly planted inside the latter of these two possibilities. I have to say, I prefer it. I like being addled, if you can believe it. I like being occupied. I have never gotten into yoga because they're constantly badgering you to clear your mind, as if that is possible. I find pilates much more pleasant and calming because your brain is so distracted by the mechanics of the exercise (for example, pull your stomach up, ground your pelvis, keep your toes active and grow taller from both ends! All at once!!) that you do forget your life for an hour or so... without all the cosmic, spiritual hoo-ha that makes me so uncomfortable*

*not that I have a problem with spirituality... I just don't like to mix exercise with my soul.

Moving on. 

So let's examine the situation. Here is what is happening-

 1. My munchkin, aka "Da Pook" is off in Montana for the week at her Grandma and Bom-Boms house. She is having a blast. She is fishing, going to farmers markets, having play dates with outdoorsy kids and having the run of the place obviously. 

          Having all this freedom is nifty and all but I miss her. Don't you? In case you forgot how missable and almost edible her adorable little head is,

Avery models her new, thrifted, grunge-y sun dress.

So yeah, it's nice sleeping in and being my own boss (ahem) for the week, but I want to SQUUUUUEEEZE her!!

2. I have two kind of HUGEASAURUS styling projects coming up at the end of the month that are keeping me enslaved to the computer and the closet for most of my days. First I will be going back up to Houston to work with Page Parkes modeling agency again, styling test shoots for models with the amazing Tommy Chung. We should be shooting even more girls this time, which means even more clothes and even more hours standing on my stinkin feet!*

*this is not complaining. This is me toning down how awesome-tastic my job is.

I'm looking forward to working with the whole team again. Alot of the shots from the last shoot turned out really well!

Sheets from the last shoot

Immediately following, Tommy and I will be shooting a fall eco-fashion story for a magazine I cannot disclose yet. I have to admit that at first the idea of doing a completely "green" shoot wasn't ringing by bell. I didn't know a whole lot about eco-friendly designers a week ago and I pictured a lot of crunchy, art-school looking garb. I have been pleasantly surprised! There are more options and better quality offerings than I could have imagined!! In case you're as naive as I when it comes to the subject, some of my favorite sustainable/environmentally responsible fashion discoveries have been,

The Battalion

 

*I may have to spend months searching, but I will find that cape from last season. I will.

POPOMOMO

Lina Rennell

*I adore that bathing suit and fringe belt!

Bahar Shahpar

*that little floral frock is achingly sweet.

Also, a couple of great sites/resources that I discovered, and you might also like, if you aren't up on the eco-tip yet,

* TheFourHundred- A great little online "showroom" for higher end eco-labels. Ashley Watsons recyled leather belts are wondrous!

* TheGreenLoop- I imagine all truly green glamour girls know this one inside and out. A dizzying aray of goodies that won't push your carbon footprint any farther.

* Gorgeously Green- Your comprehensive how to be green and look good doing it web site. I will be frequenting this one a lot as I try (I said TRY) to convert my beauty product collection to an all natural selection.

So I don't expect to start blogging regularly about "going green" and whatnot, but the more I find the more intrigued I am. My particular mission for planet earth is currently focused on RE-USING and I am happy that way. For now. All in all, I am VERY excited about our eco-fashion story and cannot wait to show it off here!

3. (Yeah, we're still counting) I have been thrifting like a MANIAC. Not only do I have big plans for Magnolia Family Vintage, which has unfortunately been neglected in the face of the rest of my life, but I have been newly inspired in the search for my OWN collection of secondhand treasures. I'm going to use this opportunity to show off some of my newest acquisitions,

*Vintage sunglasses, Goodwill

*Vintage cross stitch handbag, Goodwill

*Big Ol' platforms! Salvation Army

*Lace top, Salvation Army

*I can't lie, I ebayed this United Colors of Beneton frock!

*Rockabilly-esque halter dress, Goodwill

*Low-heel platforms, Goodwill

*I got this pretty, cotton Necessary Objects dress from Buffalo Exchange. I love it. And I did flash on purpose to cover my face. AND YES I AM WEARING FLIP-FLOPS IN PUBLIC. Ugh, I think the Austin heat has broken my spirit...

That's not even the lot of it! I may start hosting thrifting boot-camps in the near future. I still get the question " How do you find cool stuff?" pretty regularly. I have tried to explain it but I may have to take it a step further. Seminars? Pamphlets? We all learn differently.

4. And as if this blog hasn't gotten EPIC enough in length, I have one more thing to report on. I recently got together with several other Austin bloggers for a hot, steamy, sweat filled (we were outside after all) photo shoot to accompany a piece in the Daily Texan.

We are the voice of Austin... apparently. We are a handsome bunch if I do say so myself.

Little Leigh, the articles author, wore a splendid thrifted top. So of course I took her photograph... against her will.

Tolley Moseley over at Austin Eavesdropper wore her MFV garage sale earrings!!

It was a blast to meet other bloggers and I can't wait to see our mugs all over the front page of UT's newspaper in the near future.

So while that is the last drop of blogging I can handle today, I want to let you guys know I'll be hosting one of those nifty Chickdowntown giveaways here!! I have seen them on a lot of other great blog (haven't won anything yet, sadly) and now I get to do my own! Joy! Just so you know, winning or being given FREE new clothes is basically the same as thrifting. I promise. So, keep checking back for your chance to win something lovely and covetable...

Seacrest Out.

Wake up.

"I wish I had a scream as loud as an air raid siren so I could grab people’s attention but good and tell them that hating themselves is not going to be the magical key to weight loss and perfect health. Self-loathing is not a f***ing character-builder. It doesn’t make you stronger. It doesn’t make you better. It’s just an ever-deepening, creepy-ass trap; a trap that is a huge moneymaker for corporations that do not have and never will have good intentions. You’re not disgusting. You’re not freakish. You’re not ugly. And you’re never going to be perfect. And holy s**t, that is so okay. "

      source

Summertime relics.

For your consideration!

New VINTAGE up in the Magnolia Family Vintage shop right now!!!

*modeled by the newest addition to the family, Monica.

 

... keep it in the family.

Shade.

My face is as sun kissed as it needs to be. I'm beginning to freckle.

So, I picked up some anti-ultraviolet gear at the salvation army this week.

Somewhere once lived Jade. She loved airbrushing and ballet.

You don't know if I'm being ironic or if I am mocking people who wear things to be ironic.

seacrest out.