Vintage Green Love

IMG_1625.JPG

I have been holding out on you.

IMG_1622.JPG

That sounds worse than it is. You see, I just assume that after I write a story, you have read it and will know what I mean even before I have published it here. But there are so many stories I need to publish and maybe then I will be understood… Or not.

IMG_1664.JPG

Same with my closet. I think that you must know what lurks in the depths of it. But how could you? When I, myself, often overlook things.

IMG_1619.JPG

Like this dress.

IMG_1628.JPG

I bought it at the beginning of the year. Felt bad about buying it. Stashed it in My Closet of Guilt and never wore it.

As one does.

IMG_1623.JPG

But I came upon it last week and fell in love.

It is a vintage dress purchased from Etsy. I love shopping for vintage clothes on Etsy. There are a plethora of beautiful pieces. With so many different sellers, the prices vary, so it is a good idea to look around. I cannot believe the prices some sellers ask for both low and high. Check the seller’s feedback for reviews. Check their social media and Etsy home page to see if they are running any coupon codes. My dress was $64 and I thought this was fair.

IMG_1663.JPG

It is the very best color. An odd shade of green that takes on different hues depending upon how the light hits it.

It has the most amazing embroidery of deep blues and bright pinks tickled through with tiny mirrors. Yes, tickled.

The bracelet is from World Market a few months ago (similar here). Have you been to World Market lately? They are killing it in the jewelry department.

IMG_1620-0.JPG

I took these pictures at my dad’s house. I liked how the Juniper Tree matched my dress. My husband, the photographer, did not like the matching. He wished for more contrast.

I feel the same way about the model’s thighs.

You work with what you have.

IMG_1629.JPG

The only thing I can remember about Juniper Trees growing up is that coyote feces is full of Juniper berries. And so I avoided any and all Juniper Trees as a child, positive that there were coyotes lurking beneath each and every one.

Speaking of coyotes, I am no longer afraid. Our cluster of homes sit upon the edge of our town. This means frequent coyote spottings as we venture out. Two days ago, it was pouring rain in California. My husband saw a soaking wet, miserable looking, coyote dart into the bushes in front of his car.

It was all that he spoke of that day. He said it was the saddest sight. The coyote looked thin and bewildered by its wet surroundings.

There are not very many Juniper Trees here.

IMG_1630.JPG

Did you grow up around wild things? Do you own a vintage dress? Do you store it and not wear it or wear it all of the time? Do you know odd facts about animal feces? Or is that just me?

*I shared this on The Pleated Poppy and Reasons To Dress.

“This Is Not Really Happening

Yaaaaaaa-wow.

You bet your life it is.”

That is the song by Tori Amos that I am sure was playing through my dog’s head the moment I picked him up for these pictures.

In fact, I think he even sang that weird twangy part, “ya-wow.” Or he growled. One can’t be too sure.

I don’t blame him.

20140307-194956.jpg

I finally got to wear my Forever 21 Utility Jacket that I purchased a few weeks ago that I thought was a fantastic representation of Elsie’s jacket from the blog, A Beautiful Mess.

I was trying unsuccessfully to copy Elsie’s wonderful picture of her holding her tiny pug in her dining room.

But my dining room table was cluttered with children’s art projects.

And my tiny dog. Well, he ain’t so tiny anymore.

20140307-195028.jpg

This picture makes me laugh so hard. Look at the pathetic look on Murphy’s face.

I love it.

20140307-195323.jpg

20140307-195428.jpg

My hair wouldn’t do an up-do that day. We had gone and seen “Catching Fire” at the discount theater the day before and my hair thought it was channeling its inner Katnis.

So, this is what I get for my sad recreation.

A dog practically singing to be put down.

And my hair that thinks it is much more bada** than it actually is.

20140307-195849.jpg

I felt like “General Jenni” in this jacket.

There’s only one thing to say about that:

“Ya-Wow.”

I mean.

“Grrrrrrrrr.”

20140312-001500.jpg

* P.S. I shared this on The Pleated Poppy!

The Lazy Mom’s Salad

Who knew? Who knew my kids would have a fondness for spinach? Certainly not me.

I did not try spinach until about five years ago. I was terrified of the stuff. Here is what I knew about spinach that prevented me from trying it:

When eaten your body would become grossly disfigured causing monstrous veiny muscles to spontaneously burst out upon your arms.

When cooked it would shrivel away into a slimy green paste that resembled nothing of its former self.

It is green.

So I stayed clear of spinach. No thank you. “Olive Oil go rescue yourself and stop being so annoying. And, no, I am not eating spinach. Especially to save you.” There I said it. Oh, you know you were thinking it.

20140119-225944.jpg

But I tried it as a salad. I loved it. It is so velvety and mild. I thought perhaps my children would love it, too.

And they did.

And they do.

More than me.

More than my husband.

More than Pop…

No, not more than him. Their bodies don’t combust for the stuff.

Thank God.

I won’t make a salad unless it is easy. Dinner is all ready so time consuming. Here is how I always make my salad, 3-4 times a week. We never get tired of it.

Ingredients:

5 – 6 oz. of prewashed baby spinach (best flavor I have found is Safeway or Vons O Organic) or prewashed romaine lettuce
1/3 cup Italian dressing (whichever is cheapest)
1/3 cup feta cheese

Optional for the less lazy:

Chopped red bell pepper
Chopped sun-dried tomatoes

Directions:

20140119-225402.jpg

Dump salad in a bowl. Sorry. Forgot to take a picture of it in the bowl. But here it is before that step. All innocent. It doesn’t even know what’s going to happen to it.

20140119-225450.jpg

Measure feta. Dump feta in the bowl.

20140119-225536.jpg

Measure Italian dressing. Dump the dressing in the bowl. Toss.

And try not use the word dump while you are cooking. Just a thought. A suggestion. Don’t take offense or poke my eye out! “A-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!”

20140119-225838.jpg

That’s it. Three ingredients. If this salad could talk it would say, “I am what I am and that’s all that I am. Or all that’s in me.”

You could also dump (Sorry. Couldn’t resist) in the optional ingredients at this point. But be warned that most kids don’t like the extra ingredients.

Now go rescue Olive Oil take a nap. Cause that was exhausting.

“A-ga-ga-ga-ga-ga!”