in which i wear the flags of our fathers

Today, in the U.S. of A., we celebrate our presidents. (I celebrate by going to work, as usual, but I'm not bitter...) So thank you, George, John, Thomas, James, James, John, Andrew, Martin, William, John, James, Zachary, Millard, Franklin, James, Abe, Andrew, Ulysses, Rutherford, James, Chester, Grover, Benjamin, Grover (again), William, Theodore, William, Woodrow, Warren, Calvin, Herbert, Franklin, Harry, Dwight, John, Lyndon, Richard, Gerald, James, Ronald, George, Bill, George, and Barack! (I was very tempted to leave a few of you of the list, but for the sake of naming everyone I decided to include you... you know who you are.) The making of this list made me realize how completely hopeless I am at U.S. History. I am rather ashamed to admit that I have never heard of half these people, but whatever, remembering names and fact/figures was never my forte. (When my friend Steph and I visited my friend Catherine in D.C. we were trying to make a reverse list of all of the presidents while we walked around the National Mall, and I must admit that my contributions were slim after a couple of decades.) Basically the only way that any sort of historical facts stick in my head is if I watch a biopic that makes the person seem interesting. Whoops. Anyway, Happy President's Day! This outfit is sort of an accidental homage to the flag--I didn't plan it, but we've got stripes and shades of red, white and blue, so I'm calling it patriotism.

(shirt/skirt/belt/scarf: thrifted; necklace/slip: urban outfitters; shoes: lulu*s)

I had a pretty good weekend, which went by too fast, as usual. On Saturday I did myself proud by finally taking myself on an "Artist's date"--first to see "The Artist" (which I thought was appropriate), and then to Goodwill, where I went a little spring-crazy with pastels and floral prints. I enjoyed the movie, and it was a treat to sit in the dark theater by myself in the middle of the afternoon. I'm glad I saw it at the cinema instead of waiting for it to come out on DVD--the effect definitely wouldn't have been the same without the old-movie-house feel. The rest of my weekend was spent being lazy and trying to squeeze in some time with my fellow.

And now, welcome to the week!

saturday style icon(s): ziegfeld follies

From 1907-1931, Florenz Ziegfeld's Follies reigned supreme on the Broadway stage, and his chorus girls were notoriously eligible and adored young bachelorettes. Inspired by the Parisien Folies Bergère, the Ziegfeld Follies was a theatrical revue that combined vaudeville and what we consider musical theatre on Broadway today. Not only were these women known for their beauty, but they were decked in elaborate costumes designed by the great sartorial minds of the early twentieth century. These were the original showgirls, and the sense of fun and excitement in their merry lives is something that I don't think will ever be recaptured in contemporary entertainment. Sure, their sex appeal was exploited (most of the photos I found of these girls were [tasteful] full nudes), but there was an energy and vivacity in their eyes that I find enormously inspiring. And the fashion?? Fantastic.

(most images found here)

the theatre, the theatre, what happened to the theatre??

So, I had a pretty lazy weekend (what else is new??). When you're broke you've got to make do :) On Saturday, K and I had intended to go thrifting, but we unexpectedly had to replace our busted DVD player so funds were a little low. We were just driving rather aimlessly around Burlington (I finally got my first pumpkin spice latte of the season!) and ended up at Fort Ethan Allen, where K works. He showed me this old theatre and I couldn't resist having him take some photos for me there.

(dress: Marshall's; trench: H&M; scarf: Goodwill; sunnies: Battery Street Jeans; tights: Kohl's; socks: stolen from mom; shoes: Seychelles)

That evening we went to see Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps, and I actually really liked it (K forced me to watch the original last year and I was surprisingly a fan, so that probably helped). We took our movie ticket over to Moe's to get a half-price burrito (pinching pennies... :), loaded up on the fixin's (I loooooove Moe's--I always get the Art Vandalay burrito with roasted veggies and guacamole, and they give you sooo many free chips!). On Sunday K wanted to wash his car (he's like that), so we went back to FEA for free car-washing water. I went along for the ride and read, which turned out to be a little bit less pleasant than I had anticipated because the autumn chill has decidedly set in! We saw so many geese flying south, it almost made me wish that I could fly south myself! It's actually really incredible how much the leaves have already changed--the foliage came out practically overnight, and fall has definitely arrived! K and I have been drinking hot cider and taking afternoon strolls through the crunchy leaves. That's all I want to do this time of year :)

two hearts tie the knot at hartness house

Hi all! Here are the wedding outfit photos from Saturday--any excuse to get a little bit glam is a-okay avec moi! If you recall, I opted for this summery number over my dress-prize for several reasons (not least of which = laziness), and I'm glad I did! The ceremony was outside in the sunshine, and a Marilyn-inspired red frock would have been a bit shocking for early-evening.

(dress: Modcloth; shoes: Charlotte Russe; earrings: gift from mom; necklace: antique shop)

I bought this necklace on a whim on the way down. We stopped in Waterbury for a bagel (me) and a sandwich (him) and I dropped in to the Antique shop to see if I could find something suitable to break up the wide expanse of my bare chest. This lovely necklace was perfection.

And of course, the most fun (and arguably, most important) accessory of all: a dapper lad on my arm :)

The wedding was held at the Hartness House in Springfield, Vermont. This Hartness fellow was a pretty fascinating guy. He was an inventor (he patented 120 different machines) and telescope enthusiast who socialized with the likes of Charles Lindbergh and helped advance Springfield into the industrial age (apparently it used to be such a significant manufacturing center that it was number seven on Hitler's "Cities to Bomb" list during WWII--now, all of the old abandoned factories are picturesque in a nostalgic sense, but you'd never know that it was once a bustling industrial city).

The coolest part of the house wasn't accessible on the big day, but speaks volumes about Hartness' character. While working, he was tormented by even the slightest auditory disturbances, and when building a separate workshop behind the mansion didn't solve his concentration problems he decided to build a workshop underground! As we strolled across the lawn on Saturday, we were walking over a series of rooms: a library, workshop, lavatory (so much classier than "bathroom"--I'm going to have to use that terminology from now on!), study, and lounge... all connected by tunnels, equipped for electricity, and ventilated.

(source)

Today, the underground apartment is a museum for Stellafane (a group of amateur telescope-makers who started an official club back in the 'twenties), which sounds incredibly awesome--I'd love to visit again someday and actually see all of the antique gadgets below the ground. And while I'm on the subject, Stellafane is a pretty nifty organization in its own right. The club was founded 75 years ago by Russell Porter, an arctic explorer and amateur astronomer who decided to teach telescope-building to a group of coworkers at the Jones & Lamson Machine Company. Thus began the first "star parties," where groups of builders got together to gaze (in order to be a card-carrying member of this elite club, you have to build your own telescope mirror). Pretty neat-o, yes?

As for the wedding itself, it was lovely and I wish we could have stayed longer but the Universe was kind of conspiring against us. The bride was beautiful (no surprise there), the vows made me cry (no surprise there, either) and it was a beautiful, sunny summer evening. Perfection! I wish the happy couple everything that their little hearts desire (and more).

...and then we went back to the hotel and caught up on the late-night replay of "Jersey Shore," which just made everything absolutely excellent.

the new and the old

Whew! My weekends won't slow down and I love it! On Saturday my mom and I took a trip to Conway for some serious outlet shopping. It was great, but next time I'm going to make sure I have more money to spend! On the way through New Hampshire we stopped in a quaint little town called Bethlehem. My mom stops there en route to Conway every year because they have some awesome antique shops. I only ended up buying a midnight blue velvet blazer (because of my lack of funds) but could have spent an entire day there and definitely intend to go back.

When we got to Conway I was overwhelmed! Luckily (and surprisingly) there were very few people at Settler's Green, so our fellow shoppers weren't much of a hindrance. Because I usually avoid J. Crew, Banana Republic and others because the usual prices are a wee bit too steep, I never realized that most of their clothes don't fit me anyway! Unless I miraculously grow five inches, I'm destined to shop at H&M and F21 for the rest of my natural life. Adult sizes just don't work for my childlike figure, even at more child-sized prices. So that was kind of a disappointment. Still, it was a fun (albeit long) day. Mom and I had some yummy nachos and dacquiris for lunch, chomped on divine Lindt factory seconds, and I did manage to spend every last dime in my piggy-bank, which usually signifies success!

This is what I wore on Sunday to the Vermont History Expo at the Tunbridge Fairgrounds (guess whose idea that was...). I love going to the fair, but for someone who isn't totally enthralled by the history of Vermont, the Expo was rather silly. K got a bunch of pamphlets, we watched a laughable parade, raised our eyebrows at the Civil War soldiers standing guard over their miniature camp, ate free cheese, and lingered longest over the enormous pig and the precious baby chicks. We stayed only for a couple of hours before taking the scenic route home.

On the way, K stopped to take photos of this old abandoned bed and breakfast, so I seized the opportunity to document my outfit. Carpe diem.

And now, hi-ho, it's back to work I go. Blech.

I just want to take the time to thank all of you for following/reading my blog! I wish I could be more of a presence in the blogosphere, and if I can't reply to all of your comments it's not because I don't want to! I don't have a computer of my own and blog-time is very limited. So thank you all for stopping by! Your comments make my day every time!!!