Happy Weekend : Favorite Links

A few of my favorite links from this week to bring you into the weekend. Happy Friday!

1. This Texas house is not my usual favorite style, but I love how they decorated it.

2. Some buy me a ticket to Provence please?

3. This French Glamour editorial is so perfectly "summery".

4. This Mint Summer Salad is a fresh take on a typical fruit salad, and gives me a good excuse to use my mint plant that is overgrowing on my back porch : )

5. Loving this Love Stories lingerie set. 

Shop Talk : Finding Inspiration

As I wrote about in my last Shop Talk post, I am going to continue sharing the goals I have for my business and the resources / techniques I am learning along the way in the hopes that other creative entrepreneurs might stumble upon something useful, or are just interested. One thing I am always interested in seeing from others is how they come upon their inspiration for projects, and they way they organize it so that its useful. I interned for a fashion design team one semester while I was in college, and I still remember being in awe of their huge cork board on the wall filled with all sorts of forms of inspiration ranging from magazine cutouts to fabric to random trims to photos of faraway places. I loved how clearly it gave the vision for them of the feeling they wanted their clothing to convey. 

I myself have always been a collage maker. For me, having it all laid out on a cork board or a poster board where I can see it every day works. I think I even made one at the beginning of summer in eighth grade, to convey the way I wanted my summer vacation to go. I'm pretty sure there were pictures of surfboards (I lived nowhere near the ocean), lots of cute boys and magazine cutouts of girlfriends having fun together. And I'm also pretty sure I had a great summer that year hah! Which brings me to my next goal and the resources I use to work towards it:

Goal #2: Prioritize time for inspiration and create a visually appealing way of displaying it

1. Tumblr

As much as I love Pinterest, the collage style of Tumblr and each user's ability to personalize their page really resonates with me. If I find a someone's page with similar taste to mine, I can get lost for an hour looking through the images and leave it feeling inspired to create something new. I don't update mine all the time, but going through my saved images always makes me feel better somehow if I need a boost. (HERE if you want to check it out)

2. Getting out of town

I have been making it a priority to take a trip to New York City at least twice a year, solely for the purpose of getting rejuvenated design-wise and to be immersed in the different atmosphere for a while. Burlington has a cool style of its own, but sometimes to appreciate that you need to go somewhere else for awhile, and get out of your own space. I leave every time with so many ideas and feeling so excited to get to work again.

3. Talking to a like-minded friend

A best friend of mine who I grew up with does not live in the same town, but every time we chat (even if its just texting) I leave feeling renewed and with lots of ideas I hadn't thought about before. Just talking to someone who "gets it" can get you excited about something again, or steer you in the right direction with a project you are working on. Plus, when you work from home sometimes its nice to have a "coworker" to chat with!

A very brief summary of how I go about finding my inspiration. If anyone else has any ideas for me I'd love to hear!

Style Files : A-Line Miniskirt

1 2 3 4

Long Beach Island : Part 2

Part 2 of the vacation photos. Makes me want to go back!

Long Beach Island : Part 1

Apologies for my absence this past week, I meant to update while on vacation but I was just too darn busy vacationing to get on my computer. We had a great time at our annual get together with Owen's extended family at LBI in New Jersey this past week. This year included lots of Kan Jam, cornhole, reading on the beach, holding baby Hannah, drinking Coronas, fishing, trying out surfing, reading Kindles, building large dragons in the sand, playing cards, eating fresh crabs and clams at happy hour, and long swims in the ocean. Part 2 will be coming tomorrow if you're interested, so you're not overwhelmed with photos (hah). Hope you all had a great week!

Happy Weekend : Favorite Links

A few of my favorite links from this week to bring you into the weekend. Happy Friday!

1. 5 easy ways to keep up with current events. Definitely need to do some of these.

2. A happy Swedish home with lots of color.

3. A home tour with the most amazing porch.

4. "About a Girl"- an interview with Free People's assistant accessories buyer.

5. A featured shop interview with one of my Etsy favorites - activewear line Purusha People.

Designer Spotlight : Olgo Vilshenko

I recently discovered designer Olgo Vishenko's Resort 2016 Collection HERE, and fell in love with it! Such a romantic and feminine look without too many frills. The top center maxi dress is just perfect. You can see the rest of the collection HERE if you'd like.

Shop Talk : Organizing Vintage Inventory Resources

I have a few goals for my business I would like to accomplish over the next couple months. And when I say a few, I mean the few I have made myself narrow down to out of the overwhelming 435,765 I have written down. OK, it may not be that many, but it certainly sometimes feels that way. I have found I do much better by focusing on one project at a time, instead of trying to accomplish a ton of things all at once. It helps me stay calm, be thorough and see measured success from each step. I figured as I worked on each goal I would share the resources with you I've found helpful, in case anyone is going down the same path or working on a similar project.

The first goal I'll be sharing with you for my business will be organizing. As some of you know, I run an online vintage shop out of my home, with around 1000 pieces and growing. This means that in addition to my already full house, I have all those pieces to organize and clean as well. Luckily, we are living in a fairly large space right now where I have room for an office and storage space, so it is totally doable. But if I don't stay on top of my system every day, or at the very least every few days, I am left with piles and piles of vintage with no home and a messy looking home space for my husband and I.

My mom is an expert organizer, and has been a huge help in streamlining my inventory and my office space. We have gotten it down to a pretty good system, but it still needs some major tweaks, which brings me to my resource list as of late:

Goal #1: Organize my inventory so my shop and home life run as smoothly as possible.

1. The Life Changing Power of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo

If you haven't heard the praises of this book sung by someone you know by now, I'm sure you will soon. I just ordered this book on Amazon to read on my beach vacation next week. 

2. Inventory Tracking by Design Sponge

This part will take me a little more time to figure out how to apply it to my business. As most vintage items are one of a kind, inventory management is a little different, but it will be good to get a start on brainstorming.

3. Closet Organizing Checklist by Real Simple

Meant for your home closet organization, but good tips for clothing inventory storage as well!

4. 53 Seriously Life Changing Clothing Organizational Tips by Buzzfeed

Again, meant for your home closet, but has some unique tips and visual inspiration. 

5. Pinterest

Pretty straightforward. If you are a visual person like me, seeing how other people organize things really gets me motivated. Search for "organization", "clothing" and "closet" to see how some super organized heroes have done it.

If you have any more you'd like to share with me, I would love to hear them!

Exploring : Montpelier, Vermont

Last week I took a day off and drove south with my parents to check out Vermont's capital city of Montpelier. I had been wanting to explore it for a while now, but hadn't gotten around to it, and am so glad that I finally did. We started out at the Visitors Center, which has all sorts of great information, free Green Mountain coffee, Cabot cheese samples and the nicest lady you'll ever meet to give you ideas of what to do. Plus they have a sweet swinging hammock chair you may want to sit in for a while and then steal because it is so comfortable.

Happy Weekend : Favorite Links

A few of my favorite links from this week to bring you into the weekend. Happy Friday!

1. Another sort of "denim on denim" look I love.

2. Kinsey's photos of Colorado make me want to take a road trip. Or at least buy a hammock ; )

3. Relieve stress with these three breathing techniques.

4. Planning on making this cold brew coffee for this weekend.

5. Have you written down your summer declarations?

Vintage Inspiration 20

Image Source Shirt Tee Sneakers

Image Source Tee Shorts Bag

Summer Cottage Inspiration

Kayaking around this weekend and last, I had a ton of fun peeking in at the camps and cottages nestled in along the shores of Lake Champlain. I grew up going to a family summer camp on the lake with all my cousins, aunts, uncles and grandparents every summer for a week or two, and when I see a cozy, comfortable looking lake house it reminds me of the great times we would have all together. Playing cards, water-skiing, making s'mores by the campfire on the beach; time just seemed to slow down and everything seemed a little more special. I got a little caught up on the internet dreaming up what my future lake cottage might look like, so I'm sharing some of my inspiration with you guys. These three places have some great details to them that would look great in any summer place, with lots of vintage additions (duh). And apparently I have a thing for blue. Enjoy!

1. A relaxed bungalow in Portland, Oregon

2. A Swedish "Kolonistuga"

3. An elegant cottage in Muskoka

Weekend Recap : July 4th, Kayaking & Waitressing

This weekend was spent working a lot at the restaurant (gosh darn service industry schedule), but in between shifts we had some fun times. Friday night we met friends out for drinks after work to celebrate July 4th (Burlington does their fireworks on the 3rd every year). It was nice to be out downtown after a lot of nights at home with Netflix on the couch lately. Saturday afternoon I read my book and took a long nap with the windows open and a light breeze coming in. It was glorious, and followed by a busy night at work so was well needed. And Sunday morning my mom and I struck gold at an awesome estate sale, where among other items I found a wedding gown in pristine condition from 1939. Vintage heaven. That afternoon was spent floating in tubes with the fam and kayaking before heading into another shift at the restaurant. And today folks, I am tired. But feeling good. Lots of cleaning and mending are on the schedule in preparation for a ton of new listings this week. Hope everyone had a great holiday weekend!

Recipes : Gluten Free Dairy Free Pancakes

Owen and I have had a lot of guests stay in our home ever since moving into a larger rental last summer, which has been so much fun. After living in a teeny tiny apartment it is nice to be able to host people while having enough room for everyone to be comfortable and have spaces of their own. Over the course of the year I have learned a few tricks for having guests over, one being having certain go-to recipes that will work with whatever guests are visiting. It can be difficult to choose the right food to have around that everyone likes while being mindful of different food allergies. I discovered this banana-oat blender pancakes recipe from my mom, who whipped up a batch at a Father's Day brunch we had at my house last weekend. These pancakes are both gluten and dairy free, two necessities for different people in my family, but also completely delicious for those with no food allergies as well. The original recipe was found HERE, and I figured I would share with you in the hopes it makes your lives a little easier as well : )

GF/DF Banana-Oat Blender Pancakes

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups gluten free oats

1 1/4 cups vanilla almond milk

1 large ripe, organic banana

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 heaping tablespoon local honey

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1 large organic egg

coconut oil or butter for cooking

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Place all ingredients, except egg and coconut oil in the base of a blender and blend until smooth. 

Add egg and pulse a few times until egg is fully incorporated.

2. Heat a griddle or large saute pan over medium heat and melt a teaspoon or two of coconut oil. 

When hot, pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. 

Brown on both sides (about 2-3 minutes per side) and serve hot with maple syrup.

3. *If batter becomes too thick to pour easily, add a tablespoon or two of almond milk to thin.

Enjoy!

This and That : Life Lately

Babysitting my niece Hannah, dressed in red, white and blue to cheer on the US women's soccer team

New porch plants : mint, basil, succulents and some large purple plant I got on clearance at Lowe's last year hah