May 7, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Feeding My Etsy Beast: Vintage Maxi Skirts

I posted about a Vintage Maxi Skirt that I own on Tuesday. I felt bad that I could not link to it, because it was vintage and one of a kind. I had an idea. I found some maxi skirts that I think are gorgeous in a variety of sizes being sold on Etsy. Being vintage, it makes sense that these items sell out quickly. There is only one of them. Often times buying vintage means a cost savings, as well. There are many bohemian beauties I have my eye on at retail price in chain stores, but I cannot afford them right now. Vintage can mean getting something cool for less. It means no one in your town will be wearing that garment the same day as you. It is also being green. The sizes will vary. If you click on a link and it is sold out, I am sure more vintage items will pop up soon.

I am not affiliated with the sellers of the following skirts in any way. I have always had a beautiful experience shopping on Etsy (I have purchased from over 100 sellers), but please shop at your own risk. I have had contact with each of these sellers (in requesting to use their photos) and they were lovely. I would advise reading the product description carefully before purchasing. Most vintage pieces are nonreturnable.

Suzanne, from the blog Style Files, styles vintage pieces like nobody else. She is fun and sassy. I love her style. She wrote a super helpful post entitled “Top Tips For Shopping Vintage.” In fact she has a section on her blog devoted to vintage tips. I highly recommend checking it out.

I thought it would be fun to show some pretty vintage maxis that have caught my eye lately:

Who can resist a fun green maxi skirt? This Sweet Green Floral Skirt is from Sunny Lizard. The waist for this one is thirty inches. The brightness of this skirt makes me long for days spent drinking lemonade by the pool. Great summer find.

I love this Red Eyelet Skirt from Vintage Stew. In fact, it is on my personal wishlist. The only reason I did not scoop it up was because I have a very similar short red skirt all ready in my closet. This skirt features a 28 inch waist.

I like plaid all year round. There is just somethin’ about it. This Colorful Plaid Skirt is so pretty. If only I had a twenty five inch waist to be able to wear it. It is being sold by Indie Style Society.

I saw this amazing find and if I had a 34 inch waist, I would scoop it up. I love anything sky related. This Cool Zodiac Skirt is sold from the shop Bumblebee Buck. The pattern is awesome.

Polka dots! I recently snagged a sweet white and black polka dot Free People maxi skirt at Nordstrom Rack. This reminds me of it. Except this one is vintage, so it is cooler. This Red Polka Dot Skirt has a 30-35 inch waist. It is being sold by the shop Pendulum Vintage. I love the sweet buttons on this one.

I think this skirt is the closest to my vintage find from yesterday. The waist stretches to 24-29 inches. It is the Black Floral Appliqué Skirt from Cocoandmillie. I would style it exactly as seen here. It is exquisite.

This Aztec Bird Skirt is so interesting. It is being sold from Red Hat Vintage with a high waist of twenty eight inches. I am been obsessed with pink lately. And this one is no exception.

I love this Sunshine Skirt from Brass Giraffe Vintage. This skirt sports a 26 inch waist. I love the colors. My grandma’s favorite colors were green and yellow and I have found myself attracted to that combination lately. This eye candy fits the bill.

This Strawberry Appliqué Skirt being sold from Victoria Westbury is amazing. I love the fabric with the cool design. Even though this skirt has a small fabric flaw, I think it is gorgeous. I love it shown with the red shoes here. It also has the best red polka dot ruffle underneath.

Last but not least, is this Gorgeous Green Skirt. It is just a little too big for me with a twenty nine and a half inch waist. I love the colors of this. I think this skirt worn with a black t-shirt and long green necklace with silver sandals would be amazing. It is being sold from Momo Deluxe Vintage.

Do you shop vintage? What do you look for? Do you like this feature? Are you an Etsy addict like me? I love browsing the beautiful shops.

April 23, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Hippie At Home

I know I promised pictures of me not in front of my fireplace (Sunday, I have some outdoor outfit pictures to post) , but I wanted to show what I look like on a day when I am kicking back at home. And I actually have clothes on and not pajamas.

Wrinkled. Shoeless. Beltless. Happy. Cooking.

I knew the moment I took my apron off, I was going to get flack from my husband. You think he would not give the woman making him his favorite meal grief, but you would think wrong. ; )

You see, he hates long denim skirts. Hates them. And, well, I… I love them!

So, never the two shall meet.

But I wanted to share my Forever 21 Peasant Top that I adore. And I thought it fit perfectly with my Citizens of Humanity Aja Skirt I purchased from a seller on eBay last year. I had it tailored for my body, so I know it fits the way it is supposed to… Big!

Here is the commentary coming from my photographer as I tried to smile for the camera:

“That skirt is ginormous!”

I was not phased.

“That skirt is Duggarific!”

An explanation of this word my husband gleefully made up, derives from one of my favorite shows on t.v., “Nineteen Kids And Counting” (their last name is Duggar. I love the Little House On The Prairie vibe to it even though their lifestyle and choices are very far from mine). My husband is sometimes ~~trapped~~ in the room when I watch the show. The women all wear long skirts. A lot of the time they are denim, because they do not wear pants. Or short skirts.

This brings this question to my mind, “If a long denim skirt is the opposite of sexy, how the heck did they have nineteen kids?”

Hmmmmmm.

“Be careful, you might expose your ankles!”

To which I did this.

And then this.

Yep. It was a typical day in the Gnome Lover household. And this model is going to go add a little something extra to that meat on the stove.

Just kidding. That little somethin’ would just be love. My husband and I have a good time. Just don’t tell him that.

Do you have an item in your closet your partner does not like? Do you wear it anyway? Do you wear shoes at home?

* Please excuse my wild hair! It was a day at home. And, yes, I see that hair brush on my fireplace. It is my daughter’s. It never occurred to me to use it. ; ). It’s hard to think when you’re bein’ heckled.

April 16, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

A Day Of Falconry

Did you know that you can now take a falconry class (it used to not be available to the general public)?

Well, you can.

And I did.

In November, I found a coupon that was half price for a falconry class. I was intrigued. So, I purchased a spot in the class for each person in my family.

I knew I wanted to do it over spring break. The excursion is run by West Coast Sky Falconry out of Alpine, California (near San Diego). We got to do this amazing event two weeks ago.

When we arrived at the falconry class, they had three birds on low perches. The class of ten people was taught by the nicest falconers, Kirk and Denise.

They started the hour long class by teaching us some cool facts about hawks. We were going to be working with a Harris Hawk. I thought we would be working with a falcon, but it turns out the term falconry can be applied to any raptor. The Harris Hawk is ideal for falconry training, because it lives in a group. This is very rare for a raptor bird. Because of this, the Harris Hawk is used to anticipating the body language of others. The one we were privileged to meet that day was named, “Steam.” He looked huge, but weighed only two pounds.

We also learned that hawks tend to fly only fifteen to twenty minutes a day, so if you see one circling the sky, it is a rare moment. Now that I know this, it feels more special to me when I see the beautiful creatures in the sky.

We took turns having Steam fly onto all of our gloves. It was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. My son was terrified and asked if he had to do it. To which I replied, “yep.” Because that is the kind of mom I am. And because I knew if he always let fear win, he would never know the joy of success.

He loved it.

I mean, he loved it.

We all did.

If you have any classes like this near you, I highly recommend it. The class that we did was for ages seven and up. My friend did this with her family on another day, too. They all could not believe how amazing the experience was.

If you chose to, you could do tricks with the hawk. That was a bit more than my heart could take. But my husband threw food into the air for the hawk. And both of my children had the hawk walk quickly up to their foot and take food off of it.

At the end, we were able to pose over the beautiful valley and take pictures of Steam, the hawk, on our arm.

It was such a joyous moment. It was made even better by Kirk and Denise, who answered every question we had for them with passion and love for their birds.

During the summer, they also offer courses at the Torrey Pines location. I imagine that would make for gorgeous pictures.

I would love to do this again. It was educational. It was exhilarating. It was interesting.

I cannot say enough good things about it. What a fun way to spend quality time with a loved one that does not involve sitting or crowds.

Have you ever done this? Had you heard of it before? Aren’t those hawks beautiful?

I am enamored.

With a bird.

Just don’t tell my husband.

April 13, 2014 by gn0mel0ver

Spinnin’ Jennin’

Last Wednesday it was cold. It was dreary. I wanted to stay inside, but I could not. I had many errands to run. What’s a girl to do?

Put on a fun, flirty dress with some bright colors that will beat away the grey day, that’s what!

I had been lovin’ this Anthropologie Midday Dress online, but I knew I was going to wait for a good sale price on it. When I went to do reviews at the end of March, I tried this dress on and fell in love.

It is such an easy, comfortable, flattering fit. Many other women were buying this dress the day I was there. In fact, one woman wore it up to the cash register and asked if they could cut the tags off after she paid for it, because she wanted to keep it on for an event she was going to. I loved that!

I also love the spin factor of this dress.

It is fun!

May I never grow too old that I cannot enjoy a good spin! Oh! The rush!

Back to Earth. I’m graceful.

Do you have a dress you love to spin in? A way to beat a dreary day away? Please share.

P.S. More photos of this dress can be found here.

and

I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!