Thinking of Benjamin Button-ing myself

I don't know if you know this about me (hopefully it's not too obvious) but I am absolutely inspired by children's clothes. I love them when they are simple to the core but in their proportions oh so sweet. I long for the perfect skin and the soft hair, the-get-up-in-the-morning-and-look-adorable thing babies have going on. But I'll settle for the soft, breathable fabric next to my skin that they, by their very nature, seem to insist upon.

Who cares about sex appeal? Give me sweet comfort. Give me the practicality of the sweet creatures who have better things to do than strike a pose.

I love these old pictures from LucysPlace and I'd trade in my wardrobe if they had these in my size.

Wouldn't you?

Running through a field

Funnily enough it is raining again today, but yesterday was very sunny and Lane I went to the Springfield Friday Market (for strawberries) had some Thai food and did some more shopping at St. Vinny's.

I mostly got baby clothes for my girl.

Though it's grey out and I really need to stop spending all our money I couldn't help doing a little Summertime "window shopping" over my morning coffee (and juice... and fried eggs on toast...).

Here is what I would wear today if I were out running in the sunshine today, instead of home doing laundry:

Farm Fresh t shirt (made in California)

Dig Vintage skirt

and twojs vintage sneakers

Just for fun

I feel bad that my blog is sitting stagnant right now as I'm off doing all the silly little things this term requires of me so that I can graduate... not my favorite term... not my least favorite term... it's ok. The point is, I have a moment (I'm pretending. This day has been great for pretending but not great for getting much done.) so I thought I'd throw up some pretty pictures of things I have been eyeballing lately and give you some links to keep you occupied until we can both start doing this blog thing religiously. I swear, it's gonna happen.

I think I am in a very playful mood this Spring. I am loving wearing my new super-bright tops, which is extremely a first for me. And everything I have here is some degree of so-much-more... well, playful than I'm used to. But I love.

I want this t-shirt from Emersonmade. I got over the idea of getting the white ones - I know I'll ruin them, and what fun is that? Certainly not as much fun as this, anyway. So I'm putting my wanting energies and my theoretic money (it's not real money these days 'cause Tom and I want to buy a house! I think the only house we can afford is the poorhouse, but we'll see...) into this very adorably playful (which describes Emersonmade all over) gray t-shirt. It looks so soft. I will wear it some day.

And this. The cheetah belt. Again, cheetah belt? Moi? Not my us. (pronouced "youj"... or something) but I can't stop loving it. And I need a new "neutral" belt badly. I keep stealing Tom's and they're just too big!

I found this site, Curator, here. And there I found this bag:

I haven't figured out if this is made somewhere, or in some way, it shouldn't be yet, so beware... But it goes perfectly with my Beauty and The Beast soundtrack cassette tape which Tom bought me a while ago and which I've been listening to lately. My love of musicals knows no bounds, and is certainly not bounded outside of wonderful and clever Disney songs. Do you remember how the movie opens? I do. I've always had it memorized.

"Little town, it's a quiet village. Every day like the one before. Little town full of little people waking up to say... BONJOUR, BONJOUR; BONJOUR, BONJOUR, BONJOUR!"

That was always one of my favorite things to sing, and there is a reminder of that great song, in blue and red: my favorite combination.

Also on Curator is this jumpsuit:

I don't know if my particular figure could reasonably pull off such a thing (if you know me look at it from the back and maybe you'll see what I mean) but if so it would be perfect for summer. And this is made in the USA. In San Francisco. Hooray!

And I just immediately fall for anything from DiTerra.

My gosh, everything is just so beautiful and the colors and finishes melt me.

I want to become a DiTerra collector. I'm completely in love.

OK. There was my window shopping from the last little while.

Noodles are boiling in the pot so I should start preparing vegetables. I have made some very poor dietary choices today and want a piece of steamed broccoli more than I can say.

Beaucoup time on my hands

I am a compulsive window-shopper. When Lane and I were in high school and living in the little town of Central Point we used to frequently drive to Ashland and spend all day in it's extremely impractical shops. When we were in Jr. high we would asked to be dropped off at the mall (yes, the mall, I hate the mall, I used to work there, I don't like to talk about it but it seemed relevant) and spend hours among the racks - sometimes buying but mostly looking, looking, looking.

And now that I am married and not working and don't have thousands of dollars of disposable income (man, that's crazy to think about) window shopping is ever more my friend.

Thus, I am addicted to Etsy.com. I go there almost every day and I've purchased exactly ONE item. I'm sure I will purchase many more in future, or I would like to think that. Mostly, though, it is just a constant source of inspiration for me - so many different creative people in one very convenient place.

Here are a few of the gems of the moment, spotted this morning:by Old World Primitives. I may just have to buy all of the ornaments in this shop - they are hilarious and awesome... and reasonable! My mom might love the Halloween ones.

Tom can't do perfumes and flowers most of the time - so sensitive - but he does burn incense more than most people. I can't really get behind the Buddha head and other super New Age or Hippie holders he has come to own. I have a plain upright wooden one he never uses. But whata'ya think about this cool, modern, cement number? I think it's a winner.

by DrCraze.

by Jessica Johnson.

This Ms. Johnson has a few really cool things in her shop. You should look at her wire and glass pendant lamp and colonial red chandelier. I can't afford this bed but what inspiration for when Tom and I finally build the bed I'm always talking about! I love the simple lines and the drawers. You can't see here but the drawer pulls are a very rock'n'roll pyramid shape.

Shall I make it? For some reason I think I could!

This is a great outfit and these skirts are a great idea. They're called snowskirts - they're thick and can fit over anything and probably make you feel like a queen... I would guess. A bit out of my price range, but it's a pretty picture.

by fantasyworldheroes.

Well, I just want this. Even though I can't wear red (just trust me, I can't), even though I'm not tall with beautiful red hair (like my daughter will be). The cut is adorable, as is the red wool and I want it, okay? I want it.

But, yes, it's over 400 dollars.

by Kcoline.

I hope this was a bit of instant inspiration for those of you who can't peruse Etsy endlessly. Don't worry, I'm not going to do it either. I'm off to really start my day now.

More Etsy

I just had to show you the things my friends are making right now that I love.
Below is a picture of the pillowcase dress my friend Davina made among so many other sweet baby clothes that I want to own. She won't be selling them on Etsy much longer but don't lose her number because she will still be making things special order (like when I become an aunt and need a monogrammed jumper, for example).

toddlertailoring@gmail.com

Another friend of my, Brielle, who is a more permanent fixture on the site, as far as I know, makes handy things for sale on Esty - so if you have many hands you should look her up, while you're brushing your hair or making a phone call or something. The picture I've posted links to the ponyup design shop.
I own some things Brielle's made. I have a travel flatware set for two :) Perfect for a romantic picnic.
Also would have been perfect on our honeymoon at the bed and breakfast. We brought all the leftover cheese from the wedding and some avocados to eat between breakfasts and dinners out but didn't have the presence of mind to pack it (we didn't even bring proper shoes). So lunch was messy and creative - a knife and napkins would have been very handy.

I also commissioned Brielle to print a very specific design on some vintage handkerchiefs for Tommy for Christmas and they turned out so incredibly well - she was so generous to have done it and she definitely has some life-long fans in Tom and I.
And she made us a cool drawstring bag as part of our wedding gift and Tom used it this Christmas to wrap my gift in a very eco-friendly way.

The fabrics she uses are so awesome. I'm not ladylike enough to use a tissue holder like this (I don't carry a purse or anything) but I do love it. It reminds me of something my Grandma Humphrey would use and she was tres tres chic and ladylike. I am much more likely to get the reusable produce bags, tres Dinahlike.

Every good thing and no studying?! No.

Mmm. Heaven. Salt and Pepper Kettle chips and black coffee - for some reason I love this combination. Tommy's on the couch wrapped in a blanket reading comic books - this is a good afternoon. I'm still feeling pangs of guilt due to a embarrassing admission to my Spanish instructor - never let them know you haven't been studying, they take offense and start assuming you're a slacker. I'm just adjusting! Anyway, the disapproval of my superiors is always the best motivation so I'll be a great student now.

Today is fun though because aside from some errands that must be done, and, as always, the reading I have to do, I'm free as a bird. I have nothing really pressing and only one 50 minute class that I'm already home from. I did have to wake up at 7 to finish la composicion uno but Tom woke up too and made coffee and it ended up being really nice and relaxing.

I was doing a search yesterday and came across this fellow, Mattson, on etsy.com. I love Etsy. I can't afford anything non-essential right now but I keep an eye on artists I like and get inspired by the very clever people who contribute to the site. Anyway, look at how great this is:
He writes, about the piece, "Perhaps they fell from the same tree, perhaps from different trees. They will help each other, no matter what." It's so charming and hilarious. It's just a series of ordinary objects painted with little faces and the colors are so gorgeous. There's a nice one of a plastic sandwich sword and a twist tie looking at each other - much as these guys are. You just have to see them.