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.

Just Keep Swimming...

Just keep swimming is my motto this week. I like to dig deep. Finding Nemoooooooo. When I worked at Starbucks, years ago, when things would get insanely busy the way they can in the worlds most popular yuppie cafe, my co-workers and I would sometimes spontaneously break into the Finding Nemo tune. "Just keep swimming, just keep swimming, just keep swimming..." It is silly but effective and sometimes the only way to break the hate spell that the service industry casts on its minions. You gotta laugh not to cry right? So the problem with the treading water metaphor is that when you stop treading water in the deep blue ocean you drown. There has to be an end, an other side, you may even just call it "land." In reality, the metaphor fails because life never actually stops coming at you. We are always treading water and we continue to do so. No land in sight. I guess the key is to get really, really strong legs and lungs. Learn to enjoy treading water. It burns, but if you're lucky you can get to the hurts so good frame of mind. So for the moment, life is busy and my head is barely above water. The good news is this will always be true.

You're going to be so impressed. Are you ready for this transition? I started with a water theme (up there!) and now I am going to talk about finding swim wear. Smoooooth. The consensus from the all important internet community and my own feelings have come together on the bathing suit issue. I will be buying one vintage and/or thrifted bathing suit and one new bathing suit for the summer season. Now, I don't know about you but I divide swim wear into really specific categories which is why I cannot just buy one. I have the bathing suit for swimming and the bathing suit for looking adorable. They are worn for different occasions and for different locations. This serves as further proof that I can over-think ANYTHING.  I have actually already purchased one bathing suit (the experience itself will be video blogged for maximum effect) which falls into the "getting sun" category. Yeah, ok, I should just call it the "tanning" category because that's what it's for. I prefer "getting sun" because it sounds healthier. Like I am really out there oiling up to get a healthy vitamin D injection and NOT because deep inside me lives a Laguna Hills cast member who was raised in Orange County and recoils at the sight of a pasty, tan-line free body. The good news is I have FINALLY sworn off tanning beds. I am not proud of it, but I was for years a devotee of the faux tan. It may be a few years before I can give up the tan thing completely but please give me some credit for at least going outside to do it now? Eh? Anyhow, the tanning bathing suit doesn't actually count. I never plan on wearing it anywhere but the pool in my cul de sac. It is essentially style free and serves only the purpose of revealing a lot of flesh to the suns rays.

I feel like I am blogging about a drug addiction here. Should I be this ashamed of wanting to be tan?

Feel free to vote.

So I think I am this obsessive about swimsuit seasons for abnormal reasons. I am not panicked about my abs, my butt, my cellulite, blah blaaah blaaaaahhhhhhh *passes out from boredom* Actually, I just can't stand to make any style choice without hours of deliberation. I mean, bathing suits are not hard to come by at all. They actually attack you when you walk through a department store. All those straps and beaded strings and brass rings getting caught on your purse hardware and hair while you try to make it across the room. Is that just me? Very possible. I regularly get caught on doorknobs. The point is I am a card carrying attention seeker and since I don't have a bangin beach body to command attention, I have in recent years made it a point to be creative with my by-the-water looks. Last year I think I reached my OVERDRESSED peak at the local YMCA. A large, kid friendly, cement complex with water falls and water toys and gads of harried mommies in tankinis and tee-shirts. We only went a few times last year but I very clearly remember rolling up in a vintage halter one-piece bathing suit, high waisted skirt and wedge platforms. My giant hop earrings, purposefully decorative head scarf and vintage mexican straw tote completed the ensemble. I have never gotten more baffled or hostile looks in one place. Quite the achievement in my warped mind.

I feel like it is important to highlight what kind of swim suit I would buy if my year long pledge, money, and figure were all non-issues. In that dream world I would buy one color of almost every Norma Kamali bathing suit ever.

And, these would both look AWFUL on me but one of you ladies needs step up to the plate.

girl need to eat a sanwich though... just sayin'.

Now, actual possibilities fall beneath the $350 dollar mark, unlike the swimsuits above. I definitely want a vintage reproduction style suit and I have narrowed it down to a few from the iconic Esther Williams swim wear line. 

ooohhh pretty.

Love, right?

Esther Williams suits available online at Esther Williams web site as well as MyBabyJo.com

As far as an actual vintage swimsuit I am partial to browsing the selection on ebay every week, waiting for the ideal choice. There are some AHMAZING pieces that pop up every once in awhile. No all of them are practical, not all of them are cost effective and very few of them would slide over my baby making hips. Here are a few that have caught me eye... I hope one of you gets your hands on one!!

Sheesh, I mean it's GOLD! This one ends in mere hours, hop on it!

Find the auction HERE.

I love the sexy tomboy vibe of this striped number.

Find the Auction HERE.

It's got FRINGE! And it's puke green. Awesome.

Find the auction HERE.

Saucy.

Find the Auction HERE.

This is just, ridiculous. Adorable on 15 levels. No arguments.

Find the auction HERE.

Gidget-esque. Love the detail on the top!

 

Find the auction HERE.

This is sweet as pie. Congrats on that body too, girl. Monokini lines are flattering. Who knew?

Find the auction HERE.

I am partial to the micro-mini dress as bathing suit vibe.

Find the auction HERE.

Oh that was fun. I am getting increasingly excited about the arrival of actual summer and not this faux summer that we are in here in Austin. I have already spent several hours at the neighborhood pool with my neighbors, my kids, and my neighbors kids. It is so leisurely and gossipy when we are out there I am thinking of pitching my own series "The Real Housewives of Austin, TX." It would work if any of us were actual housewives, had plastic surgery, or were horrible people. While I am working on correcting all that, I plan on growing my hair ridiculously long and taking lots of photos of Avery in her ITTY BITTY toddler bikini. You may have to avert your eyes though, cute that hard will cause illness. I know, I've seen it happen.

Happy Swimming guys! xo