Room Rearrangement

Peter and remixed our room yesterday, partly to take full advantage of the sunlight that will be increasingly streaming in now that spring is coming. It feels so different; much more functional, comfy, and reflective of our personalities. Take a look!

I love this Toronto neighbourhoods poster, which we bought on Queen St E in TO. Good thing to learn!

Florrrraaallllsss

Nap Central over here (repurposed bunk bed mattress)

Looking forward to opening all the windows wide and napping in the breeze this summer. Perfect for reading, too. Isn't it great to be excited about where you live?

Homey

Peter and I were hoping to host some visitors over the weekend, so the apartment is still unnaturally neat and tidy right now. So here are some pictures.

The living room (with my family's dog, Mia, for the afternoon)

Sniffing around. Conclusion: yes, I do in fact live here.

 

And the sun room (or, the laundry room, I guess) - the best hangout spot in the apartment.

Orange! The table was repainted orange; thrifted Navajo-patterned rug, pillow cases, Hudson Bay throw.

You need a wool blanket if you hang out in there!

 

The JR's sign - an old bar in Charlottetown until the 90's, I think - we found at the flea market. 

Thrift Week 2012: Half Off Sales! (Also it was pay day.)

First post of Thrift Week 2012: November Edition: 50% Off Sale Edition: Ridiculously Fantastic Boot Edition.

These boots are what heaven looks like, if heaven were real and maybe a half-size too small. I have been desperately wanting a pair of flat brown leather ankle boots, preferably not a hundred dollars, preferably not too shiny and fancy, preferably vintage, preferably pointy. What a dream come true!  And, half off their 19.99 original price to boot! (huh huh) 

+ Thrifted men's leather ankle boots

+ Old Navy Rockstar Jeans in Ruby

+ Thrifted Alternative Apparel men's waffle-knit long-sleeve tee

+ Thrifted vintage London Fog Aztec-print wool coat

New items on Milk & Amber Etsy Shop

Well, it took most of my afternoon and early evening, but I managed to upload quite a few new items on my Etsy shop. Pop over to check out all my items, including this neat stuff!

*Remember, if you're on PEI, I offer 30% off your purchase if you'd like to do local pick-up. Making Islanders more stylish one vintage item at a time, haha...

DIY slouchy vintage sweater

Usually when I DIY, and even worse, when I try to DIY something with my own idea, it is really not something I ought to do myself. I burn my DIY home scents on the stove, my DIY earrings fall apart, and let's not talk about cooking and baking.

HOWEVER, I must say, this particular DIY was not as doomed as its predecessors. All I want these days, thanks to Pinterest, is a perfect slouchy sweater. But a vintage/men's/oversize sweater does not necessarily a perfect slouchy sweater make. No, there must be something of an art to it. It needs to be cut a certain way, to hang a certain way, to be too big in just the right way. Furthermore, the less slender you are, the more the sweater can just look ...baggy. Or dumpy. Or some other word that no 'curvy' girl needs to describe her apparel with.

My efforts to find said slouchy sweater have brought me many-a vintage men's sweater, so, feeling bold, I decided to get choppy with the neckline (one of the big obstacles in achieving that perfect sexy-slouchy look, a too-high crew neck) of this thrifted vintage men's Aztec/Navajo-patterned knit sweater. And, who'da thought it, it worked! No disastrous DIY here! WOOOO.

Here are a few After pics. (I didn't bother with Befores because of my aforementioned history of DIY fails). 

Day-Off Thrift Adventure

Today is just great. It's mid-November, sunny, with a high of - wait for it - SEVENTEEN degrees. You better believe I went out and enjoyed it!

I found these Vera Wang Lavender Label jeans at work the other day. I'm not used to wide legs anymore, but after about eight people told me how much they "slimmed me down" (as if you can tell in this hasty photo), I decided to give them a chance. (I guess those Rockstars aren't exactly made for my shape, but whatever.) They have a nice mid/high waist which gives them little bit of a retro feel, which works with my tastes better than a plain old trouser jean.

On to Value Village. Found lots of neat stuff, including this sweater, which I eventually passed on. Might have to go back for it, it is awesome. Peach, mint, cable-knit, vintage, made in Bermuda. Yep, that ticks off a lot of good boxes for me. But it was $9.99, which for PEI thrifting is blasphemous. We'll see!

Now for the goodies I did buy!

Woven Indonesian fruit basket ($1.99), teak Indonesian incense holder ($0.99), handmade wooden Prince Edward Island spoon-holder ($1.99). Wood!

And then we have this awesome vintage milk glass canister, complete with retro flowers and a sunburst lid. Delightful! And only $1.99!

Also picked up these great thick woven Navajo-inspired patterned cushion covers, for $1.49.

 Lastly, these vintage gold sunburst/floral clip-ons with Aurora Borealis rhinestones for $3.99 - just lovely!

Hope this inspires some thrifting adventures of your own - happy hunting!

What I Wore - Cozy Aztec

It must be fall now. I am actually starting to wear a) knit sweaters, b) pashmina scarves, and b) tights with most or all of my skirts. There are still some fabulously warm and sunny days, but they're getting farther and fewer between. So here was one such outfit recently, which incorporated all these fall staples.

+Vintage men's grey, white, and black Aztec-print cardigan

 + Heathered grey Old Navy "vintage" tee

+ Thrifted lavender pashmina cashmere-blend scarf

+ Vintage Made-in-Canada black miniskirt

+ Vintage brown leather satchel

+ Vintage Aztec/Navajo (Navatec? Azajo?) earrings

+ Thin studded Old Navy belt

+ Black Old Navy tights

+ Vintage men's tan woven leather brogues, from Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NYC

What I Wore - Vintage Levi's

Well, October has been astonishingly beautiful so far in PEI - we're talking 20+ degrees and sunny every day - so I think it's understandable that I haven't let go of my summery outfits yet. This one started with the thrifted vintage men's Levi's jeans (pegged and ripped, natch ...yes, I said 'natch'). Added a burnout coral tank, some mint green beads, some beaded navy moccasin-loafers (loafasins?), a royal blue vintage scarf, a grey cardi, and some truly Southwestern vintage earrings (silver, turquoise, coral). Comfy, sort of unflattering, but kind of cool?

The Pièce de résistance