Please Meet TattooAnnie

I promised a special little something to my 100th follower over on the Twitter a while back, and while that didn't exactly create a stampede to the ol' poorly-updated blog here, I did sign in today to the pleasant surprise of that milestone. Thank you to fellow Etsy seller TattooAnnie for being my 100th lovely regular reader! Previously blogging about her time as an American new to Japan at Akarui Days, TattooAnnie is currently crafting beautiful jewels, hair accessories, buttons, etc. in the TattooAnnie Etsy shop - like these delicious bobbies in some of my favorite colors:

While she could surely do more than justice to her own version, TattooAnnie wins a pair of custom-made chandelier earrings in her choice of colors and finding style (and gigantic-ness). Examples of my own work here of course...

So... I have been devouring design blogs of late as I contemplate a home equity loan or line of credit with which to supplement my already-dwindling savings in order to remodel my really, honestly, crappy little condo. If you have any experience with one or the other of the options for the loan, do leave a comment! But, to that end, the only shopping I've been doing is for carefully-planned full weeks of menus (fresh produce supplemented by my CSA share) and attempts at container gardening and de-purplifying the decor so my fiance feels less like he's moved into my house and more like we've begun a new life together. Right? But yeah, not working all that well; we'd like to renovate enough to rent or sell so we can have a fresh page to start on together.

K'na mean? Have you gone through the move-in process without the benefit of a clean slate?

Congrats Annie and Thanks to you and all of my lovely readers! Happy giveaway winning!

New from Old

Long time no blog!
We realized we were wearing pretty much the same outfits we'd already blogged about, and there was nothing very exciting to share with you...

However, today we are discussing a fabulous book that we found in the reference section of our favorite used bookstore last week (because we refuse to pay full price for books, also!):
New from Old- How to Transform and Customize Your Clothes by Jayne Emerson is about to change our lives. If we get a sewing machine for our birthday, that is...

We have always been obsessed with embellishment and sought out clothes with added sequins, ribbons, sparkle, and trim of any sort... which is easy when bohemian/Indian/gypsy styles are trendy, but not so much when clean lines are in vogue. So what's a girl to do? Start collecting trims and pop-on rhinestones, we think. This book has fantastic projects from simply bedazzling a camisole to making a fabulous handbag out of a thrifted way-too-80s leather skirt! Some of the items are more complicated and probably best for an accomplished seamstress, but others were less than terrifying for a newb. Not only do we plan to use these techniques to enliven our own wardrobe and pull consignment-store finds out of the doldrums, we plan to start a line on Etsy of fabulous upcycled gypsy goth wear... eventually. We always knew we would- our storage unit is filled with garment bags stuffed with silks and satins and velvets we've amassed over many years of being unable to pass up a single-digit-$ deals on gorgeous fabric, even if we'd never wear the item itself.

In the coming weeks we'll be featuring some of the better thrift shops in the Boston area- if you have been to one recently or are able to go and take some pictures and report on what you find, please contact me to do a guest blog spot!!

Lastly, we started a twitter page so please add us if you have one, too!