Carpet bag gypsy

Happy weekend!  I gotta go out and get me some of it! Hope you have a nice one too! (and, I had a little extra time to play around with my camera last night so sorry if this is a bit overindulgent! I just really love those boots and wanted to do a proper ODE to them) (Oh and that close pic of my face is untouched and I am only saying that because before, I was chatting about my acne and stuff, but Ladies, the ones who are suffering with zits too, cut out the sugar for two weeks and see what happens.  Its a freaking miracle. No mud, no masks or special creams, just NO CANE SUGAR AT ALL.  Just honey or Agave Nectar or fruit.  Check every label, just for two weeks. After two weeks you if you don't see results, start eating it again and enjoy every freaking minute for me.  I will just be vain and continue to abstain for my clear skin.)

Dress: thrifted
Shorts (just shown): Yup, I am wearing shorts under there so my hoo hoo doesn't show.
boots: gift from a crazy ex-girlfriend
tie belt: thrifted
multi strand gold sash necklace: thrifted (I feel like this is something Merl would have made, but there is no way in hell her things will ever make it to the thrift store. Even if (when) I die, her things are going to somebody in my will)
Carpet bag: vintage thrifted
hat: vintage thrifted

random repeat

I have never done a proper "About Me" post, mostly since I feel like I write about myself and what I think about everyday.  You see pics of me and sometimes read my babble (which in some ways is more "ME" than the facts of my life), but may not know other identifying facts. I guess since there was no introductory post for this blog, and from my profile you may not be able to tell much about me except that I may be a nudist (though you see me in clothes every day so, obviously I am not.) When I got the question in my formspring asking if I could do an "about me" post, I assumed you meant, like the facts about me, like where I am from and what I have done, So I will give some of that info here now.

Hi!  My name is Christina!  I am 30 years old, a wife for the last 8 years, a mom for the last 5.  I live in a small town in Northern Nevada and have enjoyed rural life for about 9 years now.  I got my BA majoring in Ceramic Sculpture, worked in the arts industry for a few years (first a non profit organizing art exhibitions and facilitating visiting artist programs and PR, then teaching yoga and facilitating art therapy for individuals with eating disorders) and now enjoy being a stay at home mom selling vintage clothing while my son is in preschool.  My birthday is in September (my favorite month of the year) My favorite season is summer, favorite color is burnt, rusty, orange, and my favorite smells are bergamot, lemon verbena, black pepper, and wet dirt.  I wear Gypsy Water perfume.  My favorite foods are salty and crispy.  I love reading and stick to non fiction because I always want to learn about something new. My current book is "Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error," by Kathryn Schultz.  I heard about it in NPR, the only radio station I listen to.  I do love music though and I love to dance! My current obsession is The Black Keys (I downloaded every single one of their albums and have been listening to them on random repeat for the past week.  I will not stop until I am introduced to something new, then I will proceed to have sex with that new album/song/group till the next thing comes around. Random Repeat).  The only plants I have ever been able to keep alive ever are Orchids.  I have 7 of them in my kitchen window (gifts from my husband).  I am madly in love.  With my husband, my son, and myself.  I may not have any more children since I love that we are three.  I feel strong emotional urges to do things when the time is right (quit jobs, have babies, make changes) and wait for these promptings before acting.  If I don't feel it, I don't do it. I love people and love groups of people, but prefer to interact with them one on one in person.  I hate calling people on the phone generally (though I don't mind when people call me).  I am also bad at emailing or any type of communication that is not face to face.  I do not frequently feel lonely and I love time alone, though I wish I had more friends and understand that this is my fault since a part of me does sort of like not having too many.  I actually like it when girls cuss.  I think a subtle tough girl attitude mixed with humor and humbleness is so attractive.  I do yoga, though not very often lately.  I don't have television stations, but we rent shows, my favorites being Curb Your Enthusiasm, Flight of the Conchords, Little Britain, the British version of The Office, Family Guy, Penn and Teller's Bull Shit, Sea Lab, Pingu, and Shawn the Sheep.  My favorite movies are High Fidelity, True Romance, American Psycho, and very dark comedies like Your Friends and Neighbors, Happiness, and Welcome to the Doll House. I know The Princess Bride by heart. I like the smell of my own BO and farts but most people do I guess, and I use a soft, compact tooth brush, but have not been to the dentist in years (worst hate).

I mean, lets see, is there anything else?  A little over indulgent, but its a free internet space.  You don't have to read all that stuff if you are in a rush or don't really care.  I won't take it personally.  That is just how it is sometimes.

Silk Skirt: Vintage thrifted last Saturday with Paige who nearly jumped me for it.
Tank: AA
Shoes: Old Navy
Belt: gift from old friend
fan necklace: Vintage thrifted

parade around

I think maybe there are two types of people in the world:

1. Those who feel as though they are riding along in a canoe, allowing the river to take them where it pleases, laying low in smooth waters and throwing a life jacket on in the white rapids, accepting the path and dealing with the future as it comes, looking over to see what the land has provided and eating what they are given by the water. Think, passive.
2. Those who feel as though they are driving a car and are making choices at every intersection, speeding through uncomfortable neighborhoods, stopping to go to the bathroom when necessary, taking on hitch hikers when bored, feeling in control of their choices, plotting courses, looking at maps, and crashing into walls when not looking (waterfalls happen in canoes so no one is safe from catastrophe, the difference is this type may drive themselves right into it, while boaters just let them happen) Think, active. 

While both have their pros and cons, I have always felt like I was in a canoe.  My own personal canoe.  I ride along, sometimes taking smaller branches or tributaries hoping it meets back with the main source (this sometimes requires some work and paddling to get back on track) but most of the time, I just go with the flow.  I think whenever I try to be a car driver I get completely lost and freaked out and end up driving below the speed limit and people are honking and I miss the streets I was looking for.  And paddling up stream is a total nightmare filled with exhaustion and wasted effort.  I am sure some people are very good at plotting their own courses and making things happen for themselves, but when I try to decide what is best for me, I am usually proven wrong.  I find that what I need, when I need it, and how much, is decided by time and space and provided to me when it is just right (I have several examples of this from my life experience)  Sometimes I may feel just on the cusp of something big, the water swirls and rises, then sometimes recedes.  I accept it and feel fine going with the flow.  It takes the pressure off of me to not feel like I have to be responsible for making changes.  I am feeling some serious turbulent changes in my river right now though!  In a very fun and exciting way! I am reluctant to even talk about it since the water has been stirring for some time now and as of yet, has not fully transitioned.  May not be time yet.  Still, it gets a bit quicker each day! If it slows again, it will likely be business as usual here and I won't bring it up again.  But maybe I will put my life jacket on, put on my goggles and get an oar just in case.   

I love metaphors.  What type of person are you?  A rider, or a driver? Have you ever thought about it that way?  Do you think you switch it up, or do you have an inclination to one or the other?  You don't have to even comment on this obviously since you may think I am completely full of it, but maybe think about it for a minute. Maybe the way you have been traveling through life has been causing you some unnecessary stress or stagnation and it may help to switch it up.  

These shots were taken by Paige last Saturday after we watched my town's parade (my two men walked in it!). We had parked by this old barn and I had always wanted to take pictures there so we just shot a few! 

Strapless dress (a hippie skirt actually pulled up): Vintage thrifted

Members Only Jacket: Vintage, gift from a crazy girl I don't know anymore

shoes, belt, hat: Vintage thrifted

too legit

I wore this for a day of thrifting with Paige last Saturday.  I had been wanting to wear this top for a really long time since it was a gift from a substitute teacher / Artist that I see frequently at the high school I volunteer at occasionally. I always wanted to do like a skirt or shorts or something, but it never felt right, then these AA pants were just shoved in next to it in my closet and a little spark happened over my head.  PERFECT.  I love having my shoulders out this time of year with my hair tucked in my hat.  It has just been feeling so easy breezy, you know? Mmmm Hmmm.

Revelations were made last weekend and I feel this huge serge of creativity and gumption!  I decided that blogger meet ups for me should be totally legit from now on.  We spend a weekend together. Just living. In our own environments (yours or mine) doing the things we normally do.  Sounds risky I know.  Real shit might happen.  Protocols must be put in place of course (to be sure we are all real people for starters), forward planning, budgeting for travel, extra suitcases for getting thirfted stuff back home, but screw these bulk people meet ups man. I kinda want the real experience from now on, you know!  How do you get to know someone over drinks or brunch in two hours! Its ridiculous!  I feel so spoiled now! ROBBED by the short time I got to spend with people I met in New York for the Chictopia conference back in February (and I stress MET).  If we are gonna go through the trouble to MEET we are going to make it worth it.  Do you follow?  Yeah.  You get it.  Thats right.

Shirt: vintage gift
Belt, Hat, Shoes: Vintage thrifted
Pants: American Apparel

Paige

Paige from Barefoot & Vintage flew into the Reno Airport at midnight Friday night, and between then and now, I feel like she has become one of the closest friends I have.  It is very rare in this world to meet someone you feel an instant kinship with.  I feel like she knows everything about me and I feel like I know everything about her.  Its bizarre actually.  I am still sitting in this really peaceful awe about the whole thing.  She has not left yet.  I will be sad when we say good bye.

We had a pretty full weekend but it felt really relaxed and easy.  A little thrifting, a parade, the lake, sitting up late, laughing, little champagne, being silly, playing dress up (and a combo of the last four shown in these photos! We are both a bit toasted in these!)   We very surprisingly shopped very well together (though I wanted to scratch her eyes out for her bolo, sweater and bracelet in this post. Just kidding. You can see more details on her blog.  They are really great pieces.  DANGIT!)  I was so happy she encouraged me to get this one piece suit since I nearly passed it up, and when I got it home and styled it up I decided I REALLY liked it. I will talk more about our weekend and show more of our pictures soon, but right now I just want to get my last few minutes with her before she has to leave! I am so sad right now.

night light

I spent the day with my oldest friend (known her since like second grade, introduced me to my husband, maid of honor, lived together for a short time, yes I actually do have a couple friends in real life that I have not done wrong or slinked away from!) and we ended up at my parents house of all places, infiltrating my youngest brother's first dinner with his new adorable girlfriend (they are 15, and the rule is that they can't officially date till they are old enough to drive themselves, but can have dinner with the fam any time, just like when I was a kid!) and had such a fun time laughing and telling old remember when stories (like the time I choked on my spit just after finishing a bowl of clam chowder and proceeded to cough so hard that I threw it all up and filled my bowl again without spilling a drop on the table. sick, I know, but super humorous if you were there to witness it. Two things I am known for: too much saliva, hence drooling and choking unexpectedly, and being tidy, wrapped up in one perfect incident!)  Ah!  These are the good old days!  Anyway, I didn't get home till after sundown and thought I would just try to shoot a couple of quick shots to see if I could at least salvage the outfit.  I think the flash turned out fine. and actually, that moody blue gray color in the clouds is my second favorite color so I was pretty happy to get the shot!

My visitor arrives about midnight tonight!!  There will be a huge fireworks show at 10:00 pm right over my house which is just before I have to leave to go pick her up so it's going to be a pretty exciting evening!  I LOVE SUMMER SO MUCH!  I live for the way things are RIGHT NOW.  Oh so happy!

Jean jacket: vintage LEE thrifted
dress: Cooperative, urban outfitters
shoes: vintage thrifted
belt: vintage, gift from my old friend

personalized copy

I found all of these items (with the exception of the bracelets) at two of my home town thrift shops yesterday and when I got home I realized that I must have totally been under the influence of Haiku Ambulance while I was shopping.  Maybe I would have still purchased all of the items, but would I have thought to put them together this way?  Maybe not.  Its hard to say really, and once you have seen something, a style or a certain fashion combo, its hard to erase the appeal of it in your head, inevitably resulting in a personalized "copy cat" version of it even if you forget the original source.  This happens all of the time really, I mean, enough copycats adopt a look and it becomes a trend right? I am not stating anything profound, just that this outfit is so similar to an outfit that was on her blog recently, (and I am not going to track back and torture myself by seeing how much chicer hers looks!) one that left such an impression on me, that I unwittingly bought items to reproduce it and only realized it once I saw the results put together in my bedroom.  I am having this conversation right now, not only because it feels a little weird to have subconsciously copied someone (my shirt and shoes are slightly different, I think her shirt was black, BUT I DID buy a black shirt as well yesterday) but also because I would have felt really foolish if I had not caught it and just pretended like this was all me!  I feel like if an influence is almost literally interpreted, a gentle nod in that direction is probably a good idea (especially if there is a chance she might see it!).  I am lucky the reference was fresh.  I remembered where I saw this and who to thank.  This time.  Truth is, the more you browse the more you see and the more you get shaped!  Faces and blog names blend (at least they do for me.  Maybe I need to get my head checked though!)

Shorts: Vintage LEE thrifted
Scarf top: vintage thrifted
woven navy belt: vintage thrifted
two tone pumps: vintage thrifted
bracelets: china town shop

Bridge

I love this bridge.  I don't go down to it as often as I wish I did and when I do I always wonder what my problem is that I am not there everyday!  I should be doing yoga on this bridge and throwing rocks off of it and making it bounce and stuff Every DAY!! My husband asked me to marry him on this bridge and we did just on the other side of it (you can see a black thing sticking up from the ground in that nature shot, right there).  It was in the fall so all the trees were really pretty, glittery leaves were falling all the time and there was a blanket of leaves on the ground.  Like a fairy tale for me. I'll show some pictures some time. It is really nice right now though too.  Warm and the water under the bridge is fast and high.

My outfit is SO plain and very casual today, and that is really really on purpose because I have just decided (even though I decided a long time ago but never implemented my plan) that I am just going to wear my Clyde's Rebirth Harness with anything.  The lower the outfit, the better.  Trying to channel Erin Wasson or something (though I am sure she would wear sky high heels and short cut offs instead of pants and sandals, but hey, I am not a super model apparently and this is an actual location where I have to really walk to, Soooooo.) Is this outfit blog worthy without the harness?  Meh.  With?  Absolutely in my opinion obviously or it wouldn't be here! I just think that special details make all the difference, you know.  Plus, I have just been wanting to dress plain lately so I really have to rely on accessories until I get back to dresses and skirts (which will probably be this weekend since that is how it is with me. Plus I have an exciting guest coming out this weekend so we will likely be doing all kinds of funness! Tee hee hee!!  I can't wait!)

Again, thank you so much for all of your honesty (good, constructive, or super super sweet) yesterday! I really respect your opinions and hope you continue to give them to me.

hat: thrifted vintage
harness: Clyde's Rebirth  More shots of this lovely in this post
tank: American Apparel
jeans: American Eagle
sandals: vintage thrifted

New look?

Hi!  Going with my current addiction, I am contemplating a new look and format for my shop (or maybe a new shop all together) what do you think if I do my main shop photos like this and my detail shots with a high res camera? Don't you think these look cool!!?? Would you click on them though if you saw them in a sea of other items?  I think I would. Do the pics lack without an actual PERSON in the clothes? Any feedback is welcome!  Thanks!  

{EDIT:  Ahhhhh!  I get it!  Some of you HATE this and some of you love it!  Most of you would rather see a human body in the clothes to be sure they are not doll clothes or whatever, and some of you think these are creepy and cool but inappropriate! I will likely stick to the standard! Don't fix what's not broken I guess? I am a little pout faced about this actually!  I have to admit I was expecting and overwhelmingly positive response (in my head these are brilliant so you can imagine the blow to my perception of brilliance, 'what? not everyone thinks like I do?'). But alas, honesty (especially anonymous honesty) is welcomed here, even if it breaks my heart!  I am happy that some of you do see my vision though! That's encouraging (and secretly I love you!)  It just stinks that negative feedback somehow carries more weight than positive! Why is that? Like one bad thing can blacken the mood! Oh well. I had better be hardy if I ask for feedback from these very honest and honestly helpful readers!  I went to art school (APPARENTLY NOT FOR DIGITAL IMAGERY OR DESIGN, Ahem, ceramics actually).  I can accept a critique.  Any more suggestions while you are at it about the blog or whatever? 

I have my eyes closed, my head turned, stomach clenched, and my chest puffed out to take the blow if you want to swing. Seriously, I can take it. PMS was last week so I am all tough and gristled right now. Though I do challenge you to use at least your first name so I can put you on my list of RAW people to contact next time I need to come down a few notches.  Any takers ;)} 

two bodies, one brain, good times

If it seems like I am totally addicted to the Hipstamatic. . . its because I am.  If I look absolutely ridiculous and lazy eyed in that close up of my face. . . its because thats what champagne does to me! Truth is I had my once a month cocktails and din with my friend P. last night and I was a little worried I wouldn't get home before sunset to get my shots so I asked her to take them for me with my phone and I was still a bit fresh from the bottle! (I drink my champagne from the split bottles, real classy like) Good thing since I totally missed the golden hour by the time I got home. Any hoo. I will probably be back to real pics tomorrow.

I was having this fantasy while I was in the shower today of how amazing it would be if I had an extra body that was completely linked to my single mind.  I could be doing something mundane but productive with one body, shaving, cleaning, folding or whatever and my other body could be doing something relatively unproductive physically but mentally stimulating, reading, emailing, communicating, math (just kidding) and the bodies would just trade off doing body maintenance and whatnot, but then I started thinking of all the food and products and shave cream that body would consume.  our bed would suddenly be way too small, my unsweetened (wet dog) soy milk would disappear twice as fast.  But still.  It would be pretty dope to have a twin with the same brain and live like a split screen life once in a while.  I am sure it would get over stimulating, but, you know its impossible, so, Ya, fantasy is fun.  Not very zen, or present or whatever, but think of the possibilities!

Now, The Etsy Register!! Annie and Annie have created the absolute coolest space (LOVE THE SUITCASES!!) and it is launched and ready to go!! To post or be involved email theetsyregister(at)gmail(dot)com.  Seriously, when you get a chance, go and check it out!  There are these adorable buttons to download and you can post and get your shop link on the site free of charge!  I have to admit I am completely inept at creating shop buttons for my own shop to put on there but I will ask someone to help me and get mine on there soon.  I will also be loading a button for the register on my blog as well (They are really stinkin cute!) and hopefully posting an etsy update preview for my shop this week! Such a fun and welcoming space!  Its really exciting!

Shorts: thrifted golf shorts
shoes: old navy
Scarf and tank: American Apparel
Purse: Vintage Thrifted
Bracelets: Street vendor Honduras