i'd like to, please

Hope #16.

Have a vintage wardrobe.

And I mean inside and out.

I love vintage---I really, really do. After years of watching my sister collect pieces, I have finally grown into the idea. I love the styles, the fabrics, the history. I love the fit, the flatter, the fun (of searching and quite often, being well-rewarded). I like the originality of it and the idea, as I have mentioned before, that I am creating a little less waste---not funding the sweatshops or the one-wear market. These pieces, pieces that have lasted for fifty, sixty, seventy years---they have longevity. And they are so often the marker of just how to make things well.

And if I could have an entirely vintage wardrobe, I most certainly would.

Right now, though, I'll settle for a majority. And I am getting there---slowly---piece by vintage piece.*

*I bought two new vintage things a few weeks ago (and no, I probably shouldn't have)---a fifties polka dot skirt and a fitted green sundress (broderie, too). Both were beautifully hand-made---and beautifully fitting---and they were sold to me by the loveliest, warmest of shop assistants I have ever, ever met. Sometimes I forget that I live in such a city, with beautiful, independent shops.

(I'd Like To, Please posts are inspired by Someday Hopes---a blog about the little (and the big) things we want in life. And the picture above came from this blog. Oh, I am a little bit smitten with those hints of fabric---the colours and the textures look divine).

new shoes?

No, not quite.

Well, almost.

Well, possibly---if they fit and I fall in love with them when they arrive.

You see, I was in the market for a new pair of shoes for a wedding I am (extremely) excited to be going to later on in the year*. And when I saw that they did shoes similar to these...

...with scottie dogs and stitching and a whole lot of colour? Well---much like the tea yesterday---I simply couldn't resist.

But I can't lie: there is a little bit of guilt attached to them---and usually it comes, fast, with the realisation that job interviews are difficult and I am simply, simply not conjuring much success.** Fingers might need to be crossed for that, too...

But I wanted to share them, just in case. Just in case, I don't quite keep them.

*One of my closest university friends is getting married to a gentle giant of a man---a man who moved one side of the country to another, just for her. I will be so happy to watch their lovely day unfold---and it will be my first wedding as a friend and not family. Rumour has it, too, that there will be a sweet buffet and vintage china...

**Kaylia, the other day, blogged about being a grown up. Things like this make me realise just how young, naive and (potentially) irresponsible I can be.

(Beautiful, beautiful shoes courtesy of Irregular Choice).

i'd like to, please

Hope #11.

Have a beach day.

I had one last year---with my love and with friends and a whole lot of sand. But all this warm weather is getting to me, making me crave another all over again.

A few things need to happen, first, though.

The sea needs to warm up a little more. I need to get back into swimming---so I can swim further and harder against the waves. And something else I'd really, really like? Some vintage (or vintage inspired) swimwear. I just love those flattering, fitted silhouettes and lovely, lovely patterns.

(My I'd Like To, Please posts are inspired by this blog. And the above picture, of vintage ladies in their vintage beachwear, can be found here).

sailor chic

I am a little bit smitten over this dress by Kate Spade.

The colour, the distance, the shape? All beautiful---with a lovely little hint of the fifties.

(Image courtesy of Kate Spade).

miniature baker

I am so absolutely smitten with these baking-related necklaces.

They're so tiny, so proportioned and oh-so-very appealing.

(The spoons/pan can be found here, whilst the measuring cup can be found here).

I will be baking again soon---first with something a little healthier and then, with the Easter weekend, a little more indulgence. And I couldn't be more excited. Simple things, eh?

just to let you know...

...I am a little bit smitten with Mad Men. Yet I can't put my finger on exactly why that is.

(Source).

Is anybody else watching it/given up watching it? I'd love to know your thoughts.

midi

I am growing increasingly fond of Topshop's midi-length---mini-skirts and maxi-skirts have been around for far too long.

(All of these can be found at Topshop).

alice (II)

I seem to be fascinated by book related accessories, lately. I think these Alice-inspired necklaces are lovely---and as an amateur baker, I love the idea that exactly what you get inside isn't known until you are sent it.

(All seen at Modcloth).

I hope you are having a relaxing weekend.

I have almost achieved all that I needed to today---but I might have had a little bit of a baking disaster.

pretty little wrists

Is it terribly superficial of me to say that I am a little smitten over this bracelet*? I don't mean in love---no, not that---just smitten. It is a thing of whimsy, you see, and a little collection of the things I like. Only, immortalised in miniature. And it's a little tacky, too. I like it. And if I was into buying things right now---into buying new things that I don't really need---I probably would. The fact that I'm not doesn't mean I can't look at it, though.

(Courtesy of Accessorize).

*Does anybody know a sure-fire way of securing charms? I have a charm bracelet that my mother gave me but I am always, always too scared to wear it. I'd like to get it out again.

summer's past

This was taken in a 1940s Blackpool. How beautiful are those dresses?

And it may be a little premature, but it makes me think of the summer---I hope it will be a summer to remember. I hope, I hope, I hope.

(Actual image found here).

this is what...

...a little light procrastination looks like: beautiful dresses I will never afford.

But my, isn't it beautiful?

(Found at Kate Spade).

(Essay count so far? 97 words. But a whole heap of research).

a wall of the imagination

I would like this on one of my walls.

You know, on that wall that doesn't-quite-and-probably-won't-for-a-while exist yet?

Just saying.

(From Anthropologie).

quickquickquick!

I am supposed to be getting ready for a lecture---but I stumbled across this ring wanted to share its cuteness.

(Courtesy of Modcloth).

I hope you have a lovely day!

...

With thinking about the future, I sometimes try and visualise the house I am one day going to buy. (Or rent.) I like to think it will have walls covered in things like this.

(All found at this Etsy shop)

Especially that cameo one.

timing out

I roughly get to this time of year and almost long for the summer-time. And here I really do emphasise the almost. Because as much as I long for much sunnier, grassier days, I also long for essays* and exams to have been undertaken and marked already, lulled into the excitement, then the freshness, of a new academic year. But at the very same time, I long for time to go slowly---as soon as those things are here, I am yearning for the next little pack of events and seasons, for the next adventures and the next breath of tasks. I guess this is what they call wishing your life away and I am guilty of it, every-time. But it isn't that, not really---it isn't so much as wishing as it is to looking forward---it is quietly anticipating the next few challenges.

This dress makes me think of summer-time.

(Courtesy of Topshop).

*I have an essay to write for next Wednesday and I cannot find its source or spark anywhere---I suppose it is that, more than the dress, that got me thinking.

on vintage

I whole-heartedly believe that buying vintage saves the planet---even just a little bit.

playing, suiting

Sometimes I wish I could rock the playsuit---ones like this, at least.

Courtesy of Topshop.

tanning up

Continuing a little with my penchant for dresses (something, I feel, that will never, ever go away).

And to think that I have never really liked tan before now...

Both can be found at Topshop.

Sometimes I like to obsess over shoes a little bit.

Last year it was red boots (and I confess they are something that will probably never leave me).

Right now, it is brogues.

Can be found here.

Writing short stories feels much harder than it used to. I cannot find that starting sentence; that springboard; that piston to set the syllables in rhythm.

Naturally, I am procrastinating. (I sometimes think I should disconnect my wireless; the cursor thrives near Google Chrome too often).

I am quite fond of Paper Plane accessories, especially that wash bag.

(Found at Amazon).