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Monday, August 26, 2013

A weekend in the Mountains...

This weekend was a breath of fresh air.  On Friday Daniel and I escaped in the night to head up to the Poconos and stay at my family's cabin for the weekend.  Of course I  had to make the most of it- so I planned to visit three places and then let the rest result in spontaneous adventures, haha.  

On Saturday, we visited Peddler's village Antique Mall in Tannersville, Pa.  I love going to this place to find little treasures, and I hadn't been in years so I knew there would be a ton of new stuff.  While there isn't any vintage clothing to be found, the knick knacks and jewelry are equally interesting.  The very first booth we stopped in we found these adorable flower power vintage glasses (that were supposedly sour cream glasses originally?), and I spotted some enamel pins and a kitschy vintage pumpkin salt and pepper shaker set.  It was Jubilee Restaurant for dinner that night in Pocono Pines (love that place!) and then movies from Redbox at night. 

On Sunday, we visited the Saylorsburg Flea Market.  Wooowwwweee is this flea market a production.  There were booths as far as the eye could see- and lots of fun vintage costume jewelry.  I just wandered around in a zombie-like stake skimming and scanning my eyes across every table until I saw something of interest.  I was on the lookout for more of my favorite pins- but instead I found three funky vintage necklaces for a total of $10!  Not bad, eh?  After the Flea Market we drove down the street to the nearby Sorrenti Winery for a wine tasting, ohhhhh they have such a wonderful Cabernet, and while I am not usually a huge blush fan, their Cranberry Blush is absolutely divine!
My necklaces from the Saylorsburg Flea Market <3
We hung around the grounds of the Winery for a little while and took a few photos of my outfit.  The weather was beautiful that day and this dress ended up being the perfect choice- light, bright and so comfortable.  At first I wasn't sure how the belt would compliment it- but I like how it completed the rainbow with the purple shoes and all.  I am really getting some good use out of that belt since I had the idea to swipe it off of my high school prom dress- hehe.  Of course, it couldn't be complete without a rainbow necklace ;)
I had a jumping photo in this dress over a year ago, so I figured it was time for a new one :D I know my face is a little intense.. sometimes you just gotta laugh at yourself, haha!
Dress:  Minuet, can be found here , Necklace:  Francesca's, Pin: Vintage, Shoes:  Toms

After our adventure at the Winery we decided to take an impromptu journey to Stroudsburg and tour down Main Street to find some lunch.  Daniel and I had never been to Stroudsburg before, but it sort of reminded me of Newark, with the cute little Main Street lined with shops and eateries, there were some cute antique stores to explore as well.  All in all it was a really refreshing weekend and I am eager to get back up to the mountains, it didn't feel like we had enough time to just go outside and enjoy the scenery, lay next to the lake and take it all in.  There is always more relaxing to be done ;)

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend and thank you so much for the incredibly sweet comments on my last post, you are all so kind and thoughtful.  I am grateful to have such thoughtful readers with good hearts! 
xo, Alyssa

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

Thank you, ModCloth!

So much love and thanks to ModCloth.com for featuring me as their "Style Gallery Star Sighting" this week on their blog.  I feel so honored and flattered that they wanted to include me! You can find the feature here.

 
Images courtesy of ModCloth blog

I seriously appreciate each and every one of you that come to my blog, read my thoughts, and comment on my page.  It means so much to me, really!  I read each and every comment and try my best to reply on your pages (although I could probably do a better job)! But I would love to meet you all in person and give you a big THANKS for all of your kindness and support, from the bottom of my heart!  You guys are the best!!  Thank you for being your wonderful, sweet and amazingly talented selves!

  Also, did you see the amazing sale they are having on ModCloth right now?!?!  I snagged up a pair of cute flats that I have been eyeing for months, stuff is going fast so check out their LAST HURRAH SALE to get your own awesome deal!

It's warming up in Delaware again, so it looks like time to bust out those colorful mini dresses once more!  Stay cool out there!

xo, Alyssa

Monday, August 19, 2013

Some 50's flair

     Happy Monday!  I hope you all had a wonderful weekend :)  Last week was such a crazy, busy week for me.  Tuesday night was yoga night with my mom, Wednesday I did an impromptu photo shoot with the Delaware News Journal (our local Newspaper) and after work I attended a long meeting for an event I help organize every year called "Kids Runway for Research", Thursday night I modeled for the store for Newark's first annual "Fashion Soiree Night" and Friday ended with a (thankfully) easy night playing games with friends.  So I was definitely looking forward to a low maintenance weekend- with no regimented schedule, just some fun plans and relaxing.  Originally, Daniel and I had some family plans for Saturday but they fell through, so we decided to head to the beach!  We ran into lots of traffic, but luckily with "no schedule" we didn't let it bother us too much, (it should have taken about an hour and a half, it took almost 3!)  We laid on the beach, did some reading, walking in the sand and basking in the sun..
And then we stopped by this charming antique store called the "Millsboro Bazzar".  I haven't been to this amazing vintage mecca for a few years now, and since we were only about 20 minutes away (and the water was cold) I just had to check it out.  I wasn't really expecting to find anything (though I thought it would be nice), to my surprise I REALLY lucked out.  Not only did I find this amazing pink and white 50's eyelet dress (with not a speck on it!) but I also stumbled upon this amazing straw purse.  That made all of that crazy traffic SO worth it!  And the prices were more than reasonable, making the find that much more amazing.  As you probably know, I am mostly an all out colors girl, but I am in love with the classic 50s design, quality fabric and amazing fit of this dress.  I would really love to grow the 50's collection in my closet, but they are hard to come by, and can cost a pretty penny.  I was so lucky to come upon this.  Ahhh, the rest of Saturday my head was in the clouds...
Even Daniel lucked out!  After the Bazaar closed, we checked out an antique store down the street and to Daniel's amazement, there were two comic books he had been searching fervently for- sitting on the shelf in a box that he just happened to pull out and look through.  Amazing.  They were in perfect shape too, like they had never been read!  I had a very happy hubby, who was now more than happy to let me browse and "ooo" and "ahhh" at all of the pretty vintage things, haha :D

The weather has really cooled considerably over here in little ol' Delaware.  It's a little strange since the month of August is usually hot and humid, and pretty muggy.  I am enjoying the little break, but also kind of missing the warm, sunny, weather. But it totally has me thinking about the fall now, and yummy pumpkin and apple flavored everything...hot cocoa, the windows open and warm blankets <3
Dress, beads, earrings, pin & bag- vintage, bracelet- Forever 21, Belt- from my senior prom dress
And in other news...the dress that I am working on is pictured below (I wanted to finally show a snippet) this is the bodice and I am working on the skirt too.  I am just waiting to meet up with Daniel's grandmother (her birthday is today!!) to put all of the pieces together and finish it up.  And on the right is part of the article (in my scrapbook) that came in the paper from the photo shoot last Wednesday.  Pat Benatar (super 80s rocker chick!) came to Longwood Gardens for a concert and the looks we did in the photos were all from the shop I manage, Clothes in the Past Lane, all genuine 80s and totally Pat Benatar inspired!  It was a really fun and quick photo shoot that we sort of just threw together last minute, and I am really glad I got to be a part of it, even though I was super nervous about how the photos would turn out, haha.
I hope you are all having a wonderful week and thanks for checking out my post!!!  If you are also on the lookout for a pretty 50's dress, be sure to check out WhenDecadesCollide- an amazing Etsy dress shop- they are having a great summer sale right now!  I will be sure to check back in with you all soon.  Have a wonderful day! 

xo, Alyssa

Monday, August 12, 2013

Groovin through the weekend

 Wow, that went fast!  This collage sums up most of my weekend (in fashionable snapshots)- pool time and hanging out on the Chesapeake Bay with family.  I also wore the fun pink/orange/yellow floral print dress Friday night when Daniel and I also went out to our favorite Asian Restaurant- Bamboo House- Yum!  I got this dress at the boutique where I work, but if you super love it like I do (and you don't live in Delaware), you can find it here at ModCloth.com on sale, woohoo! !   Please excuse the wind-tossed hair by the way- I had just gotten off a jetski ride courtesy of my dad (who has the need for speed!) haha.

On Sunday the family celebrated my pop-pop's 92nd birthday- 92ND!!  I can hardly believe he is that age.  I keep thinking of all the decades he's seen- most of the 20's, 30's, 40's, 50's all the way through today!  How crazy it must be living in the world today seeing all of that change.  I really value him and what he means to our family- only sad that he is starting to forget things and get confused.  But we are doing everything we can to keep him comfortable and to remind him how much we care.

I was supposed to meet with Daniel's grandmother on Friday, but our plans didn't work out so hopefully we will make some sewing time this week.  I am really excited and feel determined.  I also have a new toy- a bike!!! Daniel got it for me from the Newark Bike Project, and it needs a little TLC (and some new tires) but he's been working on fixing it up for me and I've been having so much fun riding it around- it's been years since I've had my own bike and I SO missed it.  I got spray paint at JoAnne's this weekend and plan to paint it fun rainbow hues this week, and spruce her up with a  basket too- I will definitely share a before and after shot in a later post! :)

Hope you are all having a wonderful start to the week!!!! How did your weekends go? :)

xo, Alyssa

Monday, August 5, 2013

The Brooklyn Flea-Philly

Happy Monday Everyone!  Last week was a little stressful for me so I was REALLY looking forward to going to the "Brooklyn Flea, Philly"  this past Sunday.  Saturday I spent the day grocery shopping, visiting my grandfather in the hospital (he is doing much better now!) and picking berries at Milburn Orchards.  I was a little irritated at the weather because as soon as it got sunny it would start going gray and rainy again, so it was hard to plan out the day, but it all worked out in the end.  And what a breath of fresh air Sunday's weather was, ahhh!! Anyone who lives in the Philly area can appreciate the lack of humidity and the near perfect temperatures we had; and not a rain cloud in sight!


So the Brooklyn Flea Philly- I am so glad I went!  I had a really great time par-oozing all of the vintage racks, jewelry, and knick-knacks, but all in all I only came out with one gem- a vintage flower power suitcase from the 60s.  I have to admit that even with all the fun I had looking around I was a little surprised at some of the prices.  The gorgeous dresses I am looking at above were just so fun and colorful but most of them ranged from $65-125!  Yeah...above my price range.  But I couldn't beat my suitcase bargain at 10 bucks- it was worth the trip just for that! It was also the weekend for ice cream at the Piazza- and being a non-dairy ice cream eater, I was ecstatic at some of the vegan ice cream options.  Daniel and I got absolutely delicious scoops from Alchemy Creamery (based in New York)- his was a raspberry chocolate chip cookie variety and mine was a salted almond Vanilla- YUM! 

While we were at the Flea Market we walked through "Once Worn Vintage" which is a charming boutique right off the main drag outside the Piazza and I found an adorable flower pin.  I really enjoyed browsing around the store- which was a mix of both old and new consignment clothing and shoes for men and women.  There were also some really cute little housewares and a small jewelry section.  We also went over to our usual haunt, South Street, and toured down fabric row (some of my favorite little independent shops are over that way) and Daniel and I found a bow-tie and cotton dress at a little vintage shop (whose name escapes me at the moment) before heading home. 
 Outfit Details:  Flower crown- Francesca's, Necklaces & pin- vintage, Dress- vintage, suitcase- vintage, Brooklyn Flea Phill! Shoes- TOMS. 

A special thanks to my friend Bridget from work who helped to bring my visions for this funky vintage polyester dress to reality!  It was a long maxi dress with a turtleneck before we devised to hem it and fix the neckline- she did an AWESOME job fixing the neckline for me- hopefully I'll be able to tackle altering necklines and etc.. after I get a little more experienced on my sewing machine.  Speaking of which- I am halfway done my sundae and polka dot print dress that I started constructing so long ago!  It should be done by the end of this week, wooohooo!
By the way- yesterday I was complimented by a gentleman on my "Diadem" I just smiled, shook my head, glanced at Daniel and said "Oh thank you so much!" I walked away and thought "what is a diadem?" Daniel had no clue either!  I got home and looked it up online and it's another word for "crown" (the definition actually said a crown worn as a sign of royalty, haha!)  Wow, I had no idea..I guess you learn something new everyday!  Are any of you already familiar of that term??  Maybe I'm just out of the vocab-loop!  Enjoy your day and thanks for reading!

xo, Alyssa