Finds from Vaasa

Check out my new lamp (below). I was trilled to find it, as I'm always on the lookout for 50's items to give our home a more retro look. It cost me 15 euros from the Jupiter-second hand shop in Vaasa.

In Vaasa I also picked up a few other items, such as the shirts below, the white bracelet and the sandals I'm wearing.

 

The shorts used to be my mothers and both handbags are second hand. The next item I almost regret buying. The waist is waay to high on me, what was I thinking?

Similar thoughs come to mind looking at the next top, why did I get it? I have something similar but better, on this top the checks feel somehow too big...Shoes from Ellos.

The shoe laces would look better in white, don't you think? I also picked up some other bits and pieces, the flower is and actual hat pin, yay!

 

Now I just can't wait for the weather to get warmer so that I can go out in these clothes without freezing to death...

Leopard print accessories and seven things you didn't know about me, part 7

Today I felt like wearing my mother's old leather jacket from the seventies for my trip to the flea-market. To match it, I put on a pair of mum's or dad's 70's trousers, a pair of 70's style boots and a hat, and picked out a matching handbag (matching in colour, not decacade.) This sort of stuff is what I would wear ten years ago, when I hand not yet discovered the 40's and 50's. Blending in with the crowd never really was my thing...

On the subject of blending in, these shoes may be in a camouflage pattern, but perhaps meant for other environments than what we have around here...Aaw. Just look at them. They came back with me from Grand Canaria and are just waiting for an occasion to be worn.

More shopping finds! I found the belts (second hand) on my latest trip to Vaasa, and the leopard print cloth they are resting on is a sarong which I also bought on holiday. It goes well with my leopard print bikini...

And now, for the final part of the seven things you didn't know about me-challenge! I have stopped using deodorants and antiperspirants. Instead I use this stuff;

Cocnut oil. Note, this is the virgin oil stuff, not the hardened grease you find next to the butter in the shops. The oil is antibacterial and if you put some under your arms, the oil kills of the sweat-eating bacteria who cause sweat to smell and it last maybe 8 hours or so. The oil is solid under temperatures of 24 c if I remember correctly, and fluent when warmer. Basically what I do is wash my armpits with water only (soap reacts badly with the oil) then I take a bit of solid oil out of the jar (I've put some in a separate jar for use as deodorant, in case I wanna use the big jar for cooking), the oil starts to melt in contact with my warm fingers and I can then rub the oil onto my skin. Done! I do sweat, but I don't smell of it. I smell lightly of coconut! I actually tested the oil by putting some under just one arm when going to work one day, and what do you know, in the evening one armpit didn't smell but the other did...

One of these days (=when I get inspired) I intend to make an actual deodorant-mixture containing this oil and a few other natural-ish ingredients (recipe found here) but for now I'm getting by with just the oil. Thanks to Ina who posted about alternative deodorants here! If you wanna try this, I can tell you that the 200ml jar I bought cost about 4,95 at the big supermarket nearby, and it's organic too. There were more than just one to choose from as well. I found it in the section for sauces and asian ingredients. There are many other uses for the oil, it can be used for cooking, skin and hair care etc, and there's loads of information on the web if you just search for it.

Well then, feel free to tell us seven things we didn't know about you, or if you like, accept the challenge of giving up your old chemical-filled deodorant for a more natural one! Have a lovely weekend!

The story goes on

I'm feeling a bit like someone who does not practice what they preach. A few days after writing about limiting my shopping I have gone and placed two(!) orders for new clothes...But then again, I am trying to get some stuff that I ehem, think, I need for our upcoming trip to Grand Canaria. Like a new bikini!

This on is from Halens and I ordered it in navy blue with white dots (click on the image to see the whole bikini). I also ordered the top in black, in case it might match some bottoms I already own. I would have liked the bottoms to bee a bit more retro with a higher waist but I haven't been able to find any in this country...

At Haléns I also spotted a coat that I could not pass by, come on, it's fake leopard! And on sale...(click for source)

I also realized that my beloved white (well, used to be white) ballerinas are falling apart and that I desperately need some white shoes for warmer days. So I sent for some to try on from Ellos;

Hopefully they are comfortable even with the heel, and small enough for my tiny feet! I also completely fell in love with these;

And because I have started to like my converse style winter shoes so much, I wanted something similar for summer;

Okay, so I might not keep all this stuff that I just ordered, being a size tiny I kinda need to send for a few alternatives and hope that at least one might fit me. Besides a girl can never have enough shoes, right? Eh...

Controlled shopping spree...or?

This winter I have been trying to control my shopping a bit. Reasons;

- I'm sick of the consumer society where consuming=happiness and people buy things for the sake of buying. I don't want to become someone who does that.

- I have too much stuff already, do I really, really need more...? 

- I have a huge pile of to-alter items that have been waiting for action, maybe I should focus on making what I already have wearable instead of adding to the pile? What is ultimately more satisfying, buying new/second hand or making/altering something myself? Personally, being the creative person that I am, I think the second option...

- I'm trying to change my way of thinking in the direction of "being happy with what you've got" in order to make myself, well, happier! 

All this has made me a lot picker on the few occasions that I actually have gone shopping, as I am really trying to think about whether I really need  something or just want it. Will it fit with other items in my wardrobe/home? Is it practical etc. And yes, I have also considerably limited myself when it comes to actually going somewhere to shop. Why did I feel like going shopping? Because I need something or just for the sake of shopping? Could I make something instead of going out? I have also struggled a bit with accepting that coming home empty handed is not a failure, but a success. This one is still hard... 

Anybody else recognize these kinds of thoughts? 

So basically I was doing pretty well. Until we went to the big city of Vaasa and all of it's shops last weekend...

On the other hand, I really, really liked this jacket/jumper (from H&M) and I have been looking for some high-waisted jeans (second hand but look brand new) for a long time already. The stripy socks are also H&M.

The stripey top is an item that I have tried on a few times before in the H&M shops, and now I finally came to the conclusion that I must want it, as it keeps catching my eye time and time again...The shoes are mail-order H&M, with blue and white stripes which means that they are likely to match about 50% of my wardrobe and thus, totally acceptable, even thought they are one size too big and will probably hurt my feet if I wear them for very long...Everything else is old stuff from my closet.

This is no so bad you may think, but wait for it, apart from the items I'm showing here I also bought some other stuff,  such as a basic white tank top and a black and white dotted umbrella from H&M. And from a flea-market recommended by Tiina I ended up buying things such as a couple of stripey jumpers, a basic black short sleeved shirt, a black skirt (modern) and two modern summer dresses and a book on basic pattern making. Get why I'm now wondering about the success of this trip?

I blame our upcoming trip to Grand Canaria. You can never have too many of those summer dresses, right?

Plaid and zebra stripes

Remember this skirt? Well, since it was too big for me to begin with, there was a strip of fabric left after I took it in. And you know how I like to use every last bit of the fabric when I make something...So, I made something from the leftovers. A hat! And it feel like I'm getting better at hat-making too, this one turned out pretty well I think.

I've made something else as well, from a piece of a zebra-striped car-seat-cover. Something to vary my winter boots with. Detachable fur trims! And I'm thinking about making a whole set of matching items, detachable trims for the sleeves of one of my coats, a collar, a bag, maybe make a matching hat? Or maybe I should save a piece and make some furry cushions for the sofa? So many ideas, such a limited piece of zebra striped fake fur...

At the moment I'm working on a bigger project, but I think I might have to take a break from it this weekend, my arm is a bit overworked from certain tasks at work and I think it needs to rest. I don't want to end up with a tennis-elbow...What about you readers, what sort of projects have you been up to lately?

Challenge accepted!

For the first time ever I've won a give-away, and my prize arrived in the post last week...Pin-up shopping related post-its! They are just too cute, and perfect for someone like me who likes to write lists, hah.

Zizzi, who's give-away I won, also gave me challenge, to show what odd things we have in our flat. Well, I had a look around and took a few pictures of things that you might not find in the average persons apartment...

First I should warn you, there's shoes and hats and dresses and thing all over the place, take this bookcase for example;

If you turn about 90° and look towards the kitchen, you'll see another pair of shoes (no, there's not enough room in my closet) a vintage 60's dress and a vintage clock, as well as my aprons.

A few steps forward and another turn and there's another vintage dress, and a fancy mask which I bought with the intention to steal the feathers and use them on a hat. And I will. Someday.

Back in the living room there's another book case not containing that many books. Instead it holds my vintage camera collection, some bags and, yes, shoes.

There's another book case with shoes and dvd's and actual books as well, but I don't want to make this post too long and make you loose interest now do I? So on to the next odd thing;

By the door to the balcony there is a garden-elf waiting for it to get warmer outside...And in a flower pot up and to the right is his much smaller distant cousin busy...fertilizing?

Hope you enjoyed this little peek into our flat, and that you've all had a nice Valentines day!

Alive and shopping!

I haven't gotten back to sewing yet, but I'm definitely back to shopping, especially at flea-markets and charity-shops. In fact, I did some thrifting earlier today! One of the items to come home with me was this pretty negligee...I'm not exactly sure I'll wear it (it only cost 50 cents and it's kinda fragile) but I'm thinking I might have it hanging on a wall somewhere, along with the rest of my collection.

A couple of weeks ago I also found this retro plant holder, a perfect match to my flower pot table!

I don't know if it's because it's winter now, and x-mas coming soon, but I'm having a thing for red, black and white at the moment. I wouldn't mind our whole apartment decorated in those colours, checkered floors, black sofa with red cushions, kitchen cupboards in shiny red and so on. Maybe this will be the case someday, in a couple of rooms at least. I'm gonna start with making a cute cushion out of this retro fabric, and maybe hanging something nice on the retro hanger...

Last but not least, I have adopted yet another pair of shoes. Who knew you could "need" so many?


Done any thrifting lately?

Lady in Gray

Sometimes when I go thrifting I get lucky (or stick to tight rules perhaps?) and I end up bringing home a bunch of clothes that all seem to magically match...

Jumper+skirt, looks good with red accessories (bought or thrifted earlier).

Same gray skirt matches black shirt with white stripes, black shoes and red hat+jumper.

And would you believe it, the old ladies at the charity shop gave the dress above (again matching gray) to me for free, after I discovered a small hole at the side. However, this dress is quite big on me (and a bit itchy) so I thought I'd ask if anybody else is interested in it, they were going to throw it away! Waist measures 43 when lying flat, bust 52, hip 55 at widest part. The collar also looks big on me, so this might not look good on other petite ladies either...But if anybody is interested I'd be quite happy to for example trade it for something else, make me an offer!

Pair 60-something of shoes (closest to camera) cost 2 euros and came home with me from a thrift shop last Saturday. They are lined and warm, great for winter and the sort of temperatures we are having at the moment (there's even some snow!) On Saturday we also began the winter bathing season, but before we went my hair looked like this;

This is day five of the same set of pincurls, no need to wash often when you don't use shampoo anymore! But after this picture was taken my hair had to handle hydro-cortison-creme to fight my scalp rash, getting sweaty in the sauna and getting dipped into sea water when winter bathing...

And for some strange reason I decided to use considerably less baking soda than normal when I got home and finally washed it. Needless to say, my hair didn't feel quite as clean as I would have liked it afterwards...But now, after I've washed it again with more baking soda, rubbing it into all of my hair and not just the roots, and rinsing with the apple cider vinegar-mix, it feels as if I'd washed it with shampoo. I've also gone and gotten myself a different medicine for my atopic scalp rash, which hopefully won't interfere with my hair experiments.

My conclusion is that baking soda is indeed very likely to wash away all sorts of products from your hair, if you use enough of it (!) and spread it out from root to tip. However, I will be trying this again with hairspray or something to make sure, and report back...

My vintage Nokias

Did you know that before Nokia made mobile phones, they made rubber? Nokia is still one of the most well known rubber boot brands in Finland. Apparently they made other types of shoes as well, such as these;

My dad found them when they were cleaning out an old shed where my great grandfathers house once stood. They have been in my possession for a few years, but I haven't used them as I had no appropriate not too bright white laces. Until I took a trip to a local flea-market last Sunday.

I wore them out yesterday, with my matching (now with waistband!) sailor style trousers, when I found these sunglasses;

They are slightly too big for my little head, and not as cat-eye as I would want, but for the price of 1 euro...Close enough.

Saturday in Vaasa

Last Saturday was spent in Vaasa, I had arranged to meet a fellow blogger and seamstress, TuunausTiina, to go thrifting with her. This is what I wore, note the hat!

(Sorry for the cameraphone-picture quality)

I rather enjoyed thrifting with someone who knows what vintage is about and who knows sewing and can see potential in items other see as trash. Sadly, we didn't find anything vintage to fit our tastes and budgets apart from this one hat which I bought;

But none of us went home empty handed either. Lucky for me these granny style winter boots were too small for Tiina;

Tiina found at least one skirt and a dress and we both found some fabric (mine just a plain dark blue, nothing exiting). I also found a couple of cute tops;

The last of the tops I bought ended up matching my newly finished sailor inspired trousers perfectly;

However I'm still considering adding a waistband to the trousers, to get a bit more...waist. Tomorrow I'm back at work again, so it's back to sewing only when I have energy left after work. Being on holiday was fun while it lasted.

5 x shoes

I've done it again. Bought more shoes that is...Two pairs in Bulgaria (red and white ones) and the rest last weekend, including a pair of black suede shoes from the 40's!

Unfortunately they where not exactly mint condition, one of the straps going round the back of the foot was missing (cut off?) but I recon that can be fixed...I hope. For the pictures I've used a piece of black elastic.

Check out the leather sole!

Also note that none of my new pairs are in the same colour- I've been on the hunt for shoes in blue and brown, and now I found some! The shoes from Bulgaria are new-new and the rest second hand-new. Four euros I paid for the three pairs of shoes over in Kauhava, where I also spotted a potential piece of furniture for our home. I just need to go back and pick it up in a car with a big enough trunk. If it's still there...

Weddings and dresses

On Saturday my brother finally got married. I really liked the dress his bride is wearing, suited her really well. Such a lovely couple!

I finally got to wear the dress I've been working on pretty much all summer...

By the end of the day those shoes were absolutely killing me, I ended up walking barefoot back to the car.

Today I'm working hard on keeping my spirits up, as I'll be going back to work tomorrow...Wish me luck!