Oh The Interesting Things You Can Find In The Basement

 I love my grandmother's dress.

 I found my grandparent's wedding announcement. She is so beautiful.

 I love their style. Those glasses and that veil make for an amazing wedding.

After rummaging through my grandparent's basement for an hour, I came out with three family photo albums. I love vintage pictures, but when they are of your family they are so much more special. Obviously times have changed since the 60s, and people are getting married later in life. It seems like all of my grandparent's friends got married right out of high school, so there were tons of wedding pictures. I'm not one of those girls who have been planning their wedding since childhood, but I think that if I ever do get married I will use these photos as inspiration. 

Until next time, Mandy

Do I Look Like A Waitress?

hat: urban outfitters. shirt: thrifted. skirt: urban outfitters. shoes: target. bag: vintage

So when I first put on this outfit, my friends told me I looked like a waitress. I added some buttons and a hat to mix things up and I ended up really enjoying the outcome. It was a fun outfit for a day in the city. We spent the morning taking pictures in the unbearable heat. I know that I have posted pictures of my friend Erin before, but now I want to introduce her because she just started her own blog. I met Erin freshman year of high school. At first she was scared of me, I guess it's because I'm so quiet, but then one day she asked me if I wanted to walk to class together and we have been friends ever since. She is the strangest, but most amazing girl I know. I am going to miss her more than anything when we go off to school, but I know that she will always be in my life. I admire her sense of self and I enjoy all of the strange looks we get when we overdress for every occasion. Make sure to visit her blog.
Until next time, Mandy

My Latest Romper Obsession

romper: thrifted. boots: urban outfitters. bag: vintage. socks: gift.

Lately, I have been buying some very interesting thrift finds. One of my favorites is this skort romper. I have never been one for rompers, but after I found this one I have been on the search for them. So far I have only been successful in finding one more, but it's from the 60s and it's perfect. The only problem I have with these skort rompers is that you have to take them completely off to use the bathroom. They do not make for a very convenient outfit, but I love them nonetheless. 

Girls Rock Chicago

Besides zine making and hanging out in the record shop, Rookie Mag planned a meetup at the Girls Rock concert in Chicago. Girls Rock is a musical camp for 8 to 16 year olds who love music and love being themselves. I was so astonished by the level of confidence these little girls had. I wouldn't even be able to get up on stage in front of a crowd of people now, let alone when I was 8. They sang songs about individuality, confidence, and girl power. I appreciated every second of the show and was jealous of the musical talent these girls had. I'm sure I've mentioned it before, but I have no musical talent whatsoever. I've tried multiple instruments and have had no luck. While at the Chicago Music Exchange the other day, one of the guys who worked there even attempted to teach me to play the shaker. Is it really that hard to shake a plastic egg thing? Apparently, because I couldn't keep a beat. So I've accepted that my talent is just appreciating people who have musical talent.
Until next time, Mandy

Rookie Road Trip

Tavi Gevinson, the most amazing, inspirational, impressive girl I've ever met.

Yes, I creepily took a picture of this girl. I couldn't help it, her hair was just so perfect.

Tavi with the gift I made her.

One of my favorite sites to read is Rookie, so when I saw that the girls of Rookie Mag were taking a road trip across America, I was more than thrilled. For those of you who don't know about Rookie, it is an online magazine created by Tavi. She started blogging when she was 11 and her impeccable style caught the eye of the fashion world. Tavi is now only 16 and her magazine is soon to come out in print. I have admired this girl for over a year now, so meeting her was one of the most exciting things I've ever done. On Friday, the staff and readers met at Saki, a record store, in Chicago. Right away, Tavi came up to introduce herself and thank us for coming. She was so sweet and easy to talk to. We spent the afternoon making zines, eating popsicles, and listening to the Tiny Fireflies perform. It was an amazing afternoon with the coolest girls I've ever seen. As a teenage girl, especially in high school, I know how difficult it is to always be yourself. The amount of judging and bullying today is ridiculous, but being in a place with about 40 girls who weren't afraid to be exactly who they are was a beautiful thing to see. I wish I could have gotten to know every single girl there because they seemed just like the people I could be friends with. Thank you Tavi and Rookie for such an wonderful event. 

Until next time, Mandy

My Unplanned Hiatus

shirts: c/o Sugarlips. dress: urban outfitters. shoes: dsw

I'm back! After an unplanned blogging hiatus, I am finally starting to get back into the swing of things. I don't want to go into much detail, but my first breakup and a stressful family vacation do not make for very interesting posts. I spent a week or so living in my sweatpants, so there were no pictures to show you all. I think it was a good decision to take a few weeks off, but I am finally feeling back to myself. I want to apologize to all of my readers and sponsors for my lack of responses this past month. I promise to return all emails, read all comments, and visit all of your blogs, because my readers mean so much to me. July seems to be shaping up to be a good month though. I have some good posts in store, including updates on my move to Boston, vintage events, and the start of my art classes. 

Upon my return from vacation, I found this beautiful shirt from Sugarlips Apparel waiting at my door. I opened it and immediately fell in love. The color and pattern are absolutely fantastic, and I love anything with pockets. I don't own anything else like this shirt, so thank you very much Sugarlips. 

Until next time, Mandy

I Caught the Sun

dress: H&M. tights: target. shoes: thrifted. necklace: vintage. bag: vintage.

Hello lovely readers. I've been without internet for the past few days, so my blogging has been nonexistent. But it is finally back, so I thought I would share with you my outfit from yesterday's Frank Lloyd Wright house walk. Before I begin talking about the event, or even my outfit, I want to share a little story with you. Many of you know that I am quite a shy person. I am perfectly fine with my shy nature, until I am put into an awkward or uncomfortable situation, then I just don't know how to act. However lately, I realized that I have been reacting to all of these situations the same way, by closing my eyes. I don't know how this is helpful, and I am well aware that other people can still see me, but I just pretend I'm not there. Yesterday, when I was in an alley taking the first couple of pictures, a car turned in and almost ran me over. I believe alleys are for picture taking, but I guess that's not their real function. Anyway, I moved over to the wall and closed my eyes. I'm sure the driver thought I was a complete nutcase, I know I looked like one. So I just want to thank my timid behavior for all of the strange looks that I have been receiving lately. 

Enough about my odd behavior, let's move onto my shoes. I found them the other day while thrifting, and I couldn't be more excited. It's not that often that I find flats that I like. Well really, it's not that often that I find flats that I like that are cheap. I'm not really a big spender on shoes. I either get them as a gift, or buy them when they are on sale, but thrifting these multicolored flats was exciting. I wore them to a house walk I went to last night. I always find it interesting to see other people's homes, but these were some of the fanciest places I had ever seen. I think every one had a whole room for just the piano.

I hope you all are having a wonderful Saturday.
Until next time, Mandy