Origins, Never a Dull Moment

Things a little dull lately? Boredom is actually good for the soul once in a while but dull skin cannot be left unattended!!! Origins, Never a Dull Moment facial scrub and fruit extract mask can take care of this in a jiffy. It has finely ground up Apricot and Mango seeds to gently exfoliate but what you do is after a quick scrub, you leave this on for a couple of minutes and the Papaya extract will continue to break down the dead skin cells. Once you wash this off you will be renewed, refreshed and left with skin perfectly smooth, supple and very bright indeed! I do this in the shower and keep it on the entire time I am in there. Sometime I am just too lazy to go through an entire routine of masks and scrubs, this makes beautification easy but is highly effective. Perfect for the summer when you have those grimy days when your face has that build up, you know what I'm talking about. Now through June 15, Origins is giving this away with ANY purchase and they are doing FREE SHIPPING! It is not this large jar but the 1.7 oz tube, but that actually is more convenient for the shower. I stocked up my always essential Underwear for Lashes and got this for free. There is no code, you will be give an option of this or the Checks and Balances face wash on the checkout page (but make sure you pick this options!). Full sized 4.4 oz jar is $23.50 at Origins.

Dandelion Vintage Sale!!!!

25% off of all stock!!!
www.dandelionvintage.com

From now until next Satuuday night - 5/24.
Discount will be subtracted in the shopping cart.
Regular shipping charges apply.
Discount does not apply to items already on hold.
Discount cannot be combined with any other offer.




Also, Boris is doing much better. We still don't know what was wrong with him. The vet wants to wait another week to take x-rays. It was most likely a touch of pneumonia from aspirating on something, probably food because he inhales it without chewing. He has been very active lately, must be the steroids. He's perfectly back to normal with no signs of breathing trouble.

Friday Furnishings: I'm Such A Fan!

I asked, dear readers, and you responded. You told me that you want Friday Furnishings to focus on sustainable living in small spaces and on a small budget. Perfect! That's what the DCGF knows best. But we'll still have to dream big, right? Of course...

It's been super fantastically hot in D.C. lately. Like, melt-your-ice-cream-on-the-way-home-from-the-market-one-block-away hot. And we all know how high energy costs are skyrocketing. Not every place can be as resourceful as Juneau, AK (you have to read about how they cut electricity use by 30% in a matter of weeks), or Rock Port, MO (they are laying claim to being the first 100% wind-powered U.S. town). But there are small things we can each do to stay cool and be eco-friendly, too.

Fans are a huge help whether or not you have air conditioning in your home. But I can't fathom keeping a white plastic thing around my carefully curated apartment. Luckily, there are a number of incredibly design-friendly options on the market today, at a variety of price points.

Restoration Hardware makes some of the best models out there, even though they'll set you back about $200. I had a friend who swore by his telescoping Allaire model, though. Never a moments trouble. Seen at right, the Allaire comes in two different sizes and adjusts to suit the height of your furniture and whatnot.

The best part about this particular model is that it's very, very quiet, even at high speeds. And that's key, especially in a small apartment. You don't want to have to be turning your TV up so high to compensate that the neighbors start complaining!

Oh, this fan comes in brushed nickel (shown) and black, either of which will suit just about any decor. And I know the price is high, but think about this: how many cheap fans have you gone through in the last year or two? Twenty or twenty-five bucks might not seem like much, until you shell out for a new fan at that price twice a year. Just sayin'...

For a more economical option, I highly recommend the Deco Breeze Oscillating Fan from Target. Why? Because I own it! I've had it for two years now and it's fantastic. At $50, it's still not cheap, but it's a fraction of most metal fans. And it's available in a huge selection of vibrant colors and patterns, the latter of which cost around $60.

I have the mandarin orange, shown at left, but there's also green, blue, fuschia, gray, gold, orange flowers, green flowers, and cow print (not making this up!). If you cannot find a Deco Fan to match your apartment's or home's color scheme, the apparently you have invented new colors of which I'm not aware!

Seriously, though, it's well built (and cat tested, in my household) and exceedingly efficient at cooling off my 200 square foot living room. I use it with the A/C on to circulate the cool air. So far, my electric bill hasn't exceeded $22 and change this season. Fingers crossed!

For those of us with low ceilings, floor and table fans are the perfect portable option. But let's say you have a home where ceiling fans are a possibility. And let's also say that you want only the best, most amazing conversation-starting ceiling fan known to personkind. Then you probably was the Brisa 2000 (even the name is awe-inspiring!) by Matthews Fan Company, which explains that, "Like satellites orbiting a planet, the Brisa's select mahogany blades and lunar counterweight gently orbit about its spherical gear housing."

Blah, blah, blah. It just looks freakin' amazing! Although it comes in a variety of finishes and blade combinations, my favorite is this, the bronze and mahogany version. The mahogany is ecologically harvested and the fan knob is crafted of marbleized Bakelite. Truly awesome. But here, of course, is the rub: it's gonna set you back anywhere from $850 to $1200!

Figures. Certainly the price doesn't diminish its lust factor. It just makes the Brisa 2000 that much less unattainable. That and the fact that it would probably give me a serious haircut were I to install it in my own basement apartment. Stay cool!

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

Here I am

I haven't done a regular post here since Memorial Day Weekend! I guess I've just been busy, I don't know what I've been doing! Working on vintage, going to the shore, spoiling my dog, etc.
I usually work 7 days a week in the Winter, but in the Summer I actually takes some time off and go to the shore every weekend. So squeezing my Winter schedule to get everything I normally do in 7 days, done in 5 days, takes a little adjusting to. I think I'm caught up.
It's been super hot here, and going in and out of air conditioning usually gives me a headache. Since I've been on my vitamin routine to lower my blood pressure, I find that my headache and sinus troubles aren't as bad. So that's something that I'm very thankful for during the heatwave (now watch, I'll be in bed all day with a migraine tomorrow)
I can't be in bed tomorrow though, because I have a vintage appointment! But it's with my gal who usually cancels 2-3 times before we finally get together, so we'll see if the meeting takes place tomorrow (she already switched from today til tomorrow) This gal usually brings me lingerie and purses. I'll post some preview photos when I get my hands on the stuff.

Here are some photos. Here's our pretty yard with the Laurel all in bloom. We're back in the woods and our driveway is so pretty to drive down because it's lined with wild laurel on both sides. That's my Dad's car. I'm baking a cake for Father's Day.


My Dad also bought an orange truck. Yeah, orange. It has a yellow bumper and Tweetie Bird floor mats! If you look close, you can see that Boris likes it.



Boris is doing fine by the way. No signs of any trouble now, it's like he was never sick. Although a chunk of something blew out of his nose the other day. It looked like a piece of dog food. He's such a goober.

Bye for now, Carol

Whose Shoes Wednesday

Manolo asks, whose shoes?

Congratulations to the Winner of Contest 4!

Congrats to notjustanyprincess for winning Customized Girl's Fourth Design Contest! She wins $200 and her design will be featured in the May 23rd issue of US Weekly.

We like the design because it stands out, with very big text and nifty use of the soccer ball clipart to replace the “O”. We also like the personalized touch with the name and jersey number. Very nice. On top of all these cool qualities, it also happened to coincide perfectly with our “sports” theme this week. If you're joining a rec league or just cheering for your favorite player, you've come to the right place for custom shirts!

Thanks so much to all who entered! You guys are doing a terrific job on these designs, and we are very happy to continue with these contests.

And with that, Contest 5 is launched. Simply create, save and tag your design “contest 5″. Please see our post about Contest 4 for more details.

Thanks again, and congrats to notjustanyprincess.

.

.

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Edited to add:

Contest 5 ends on June 16th! The contest winner will be displayed in the June 27th issue of US Weekly.

The contests are now on a monthly schedule. A new winner is announced in the middle of every month. As soon as a winner is announced, the next contest begins.

The winner should appear in US Weekly two Fridays after the announcement.

Thanks so much, a lot of the Contest 5 entries are looking super fantastic!

page six

If you're lucky enough to be in Australia (instead of being trapped by blizzard #40 in the Northern Hemisphere), check out The Cloth Issue of map magazine for a short q&a with me. It's also available to read online, and on flickr.

Memorial Day Weekend

Happy Memorial Day Weekend! It's big deal in Jersey because it's the official start of Summer here! and I'm at the shore for the weekend.
On Friday we went to an antique dealer's pole barn to see a china cupboard. We didn't buy the cupboard, but I nosed around and spotted this cool old wicker desk. I also went through a few bags of textiles and got some slips, smalls and this cool vintage beach towel -
The desk has already been scrubbed, stained and squeezed into the cottage here, with my laptop on top and the sewing machine tucked underneath, waiting for me to use it to sew all those dresses that I promised it I would be sewing. I put the towl over the cedar chest that's in the kitchen. Yeah, there's a cedar chest in the kitchen. There's no storage here, so I need the chest and there's just nowhere else to put it.



Here's the wall in the livingroom of the cottage. Decorated with framed vintage images that I copied, and a hatbox that I hung on the wall with a hat on top.



Two more hatboxes hung with the tops open and my mermaid dolls stuck inside of them. I thought this was a pretty clever idea!




OK, I ended up buying anoher vintage cover for my sofa cushions. I am happy with the final results.



Finally, I looooooove the way my table looks in the kitchen. I still have to paint two of the chairs and the white underneath of the table. Plus I am going to pinstripe the chairs. I keep looking in there and loving it. But now, the carpet in there looks crappy next to the pretty table. The floor will be a project for next year, because I don't have the time now that Summer has started (or the money)

Juicy Couture Jewelry

Juicy Couture



Once upon a time, two women created the cutest velour hoodies and matching drawstring pants. The line was called Juicy Couture and every starlet in Tinseltown had to have one. Soon after, so did the rest of the world. Now the once little brand has blossomed into a fashion empire, complete with clothing, shoes, jewelry, handbags, and most recently, fragrance.





Juicy Couture Onyx Geometric Ring

Geometry is easy to master - pyramids and angled bands create striking linear effect.

14-karat yellow gold plate.

Black onyx.

$92



Juicy Couture was founded in 1997, by Gela Nash-Taylor and Pamela Skaist-Levy, as premium designer, marketer and wholesaler of sexy sophisticated basics. The California-based company is known worldwide for its casual-chic designs, high quality materials and superior craftsmanship. Juicy Couture is embraced by fashionistas from all walks of life, and is also a celebrity favorite.





Juicy Couture 'Vintage Estate' Chain Bracelet

Five linked chains in various finishes and widths comprise a vintage-inspired bracelet centered with tiny heart charms.

Width: 2"

Bar closure.

Length: 7 1/2"

14k gold-plated brass/enamel.

$128



Juicy Couture started out as a women's sportswear line but quickly branched out, and began offering a full line of products. Juicy Couture brings their signature style to their extraordinary line of women's shoes and girl's shoes. For women, Juicy Couture offers a wide array of pumps, sandals, ballet-flats, slippers and boots. Trendy young girls can enjoy a wonderful selection of Juicy Couture sandals and flats.





Juicy Couture Buckle Bracelet

Faux buckle gives a unique look to a wide bracelet.

Magnetic bar closure with clasp lock.

14k gold- or platinum-plated brass.

Width: 1 1/4"

Length: 7"

$128



Juicy Couture embodies all that is chic and glamorous, but lends itself to a relaxed and comfortable way of dressing. Juicy Couture is all about being happy, feeling comfortable, and looking gorgeous.

See full article.





Related Entries:

Juicy Couture Handbag - 22 October 2006

Spring/Summer 07 Jewelry Colors - 27 January 2007

Warm it Up & Be Juicy - 10 February 2007

Couture Jewelry Awards - 04 March 2007

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Color Theory

Our junior year of high school, my BFF Rachel and I took a color theory class at the local community college. Our teacher was possibly insane, and spent a few classes quietly crying in the corner. Rachel and I spent every class getting inadvertently high on Sharpie fumes and screwing up our assignments so bad that I failed a gray scale project (translation for those of you unfamiliar with the art world: I failed mixing white and black paint). The one thing I do remember from that class, the one thing that wasn't lost in a haze of permanent marker chemicals, is that blue and orange are opposites on the colorwheel, and therefore, they look mega good together.

Whenever I pair my favorite blue tights with my new orange shoes, I feel like that class was maybe worth it:

Tights: We Love Colors (Read my WLC rave review here)
Shoes: Nine West, from Marshalls

p.s. Does anyone else hate summer solely because you can't enjoy colorful hosiery without guaranteed death by heatstroke? I'm moving to Antarctica.

My Workout Picks!

Vest: Ribbed Tank Top, $6.50, www.wetseal.com; Hoodie: Stripe Tunic Hoodie, $39.50, www.delais.com; Sneakers: Puma Women's Complete Magnetist, $129.99, www.footlocker.com; Shorts: California Athletic Short, $10.80, www.forever21.com; Gym Bag: adidas Ultimate Rendezvous Duffel II, $60, www.ebags.com

Top: Nike Paris Tennis Tank, $55, www.nike.com; Skirt: Nike Control Pleated Women's Tennis Skirt, $41.99, www.nike.com; Bag: Nike Premium Shoulder Bag, $21.99, www.nike.com; Sneakers: Nike Free, $76.50, www.activa.com; Cap: Nike Feather Light Reflective Women's Golf Hat, $25, www.nike.com

Pants: Gray Yoga Pants, $30, www.laduchess.com; Hoodie: Halter Hoodies, $24.50, www.oldnavy.com; Top: Champion Powerlite Seamless Empire Tech Tank, $36, www.championcatalo.com; Headband: Vinyl Headband, $4.80, www.forever21.com; Sneakers: Asics Metallic Ultimate 81, $29.99, www.urbanoutfitters.com; Gym bag: Puma Women's Phantom Grip Bag, $64.99, www.footlocker.com

It goes without saying but pick the most appropiate outfit for your exercise of choice. Skirts and yoga don't go well together - we don't need to see all of that! Similarly, wearing pants to a tennis match may cause you to heat up prematurely. I'm a big advocate for looking good on and off "the field" so throw on a cute hoodie, grab your stylish gym bag and strut home with the new found energy your workout has given you!

Daily Ensemble for 09.06.2007

Since I currently have nothing interesting to blog about, and I haven't done a daily ensemble in coon's age, that's all I'm submitting for today.



Everything is vintage except for the shoes, they were on clearance at Wal-Mart (shudder). I'm pretty sure this dress was made for me, it fits gloriously. The waistband and the stripes around the bottom have little white polka dots on them, neat-o burrito. :] I thrifted this beaut for a piddly $2 because there was a tiny stain on the white part, which came right out in the wash! Yes, the thrift gods are good to me.

The bag is vintage Nine West from the flea market and was a mere $2, it seemed to beckon to me from beneath a pile of hideous and highly tacky bags.

I wore this to the mall and my friend's house, and I've discovered that I have to re-learn to walk in heels, apparently you can forget how to do so.

I think this outfit was inspired by June Carter Cash. I've been watching Walk the Line too much.

Blog Break

Due to some personal issues I'm working through right now, I'm taking a break from the blog. When stress and depression are present, inspiration is not.



I'm going through a pretty rough time currently and I need to focus on getting better and attempting to enjoy the holidays and my family.

Peace, love, and bulletproof marshmallows,
The not-so-Happy Hippie.

Limited-Edition essie Neon Collection!

I know, I know everyone has already heard that this season is all about the neons, so I hate to bring it up, buuuut I absolutely love essie's new line of neon colors. Just released, the limited-edition collection consists of--

Short Shorts, a flamingo pink
Mini Shorts, a vibrant orange
Shorty Pants, a lemon yellow
Bermuda Shorts, a bright purple


My fav is Short Shorts which I’m currently sporting on both my toes and fingers and last night, I matched the shade with these crazy Betsey Johnson shoes and a fluorescent Deborah Marquit bra!


...no worries the rest of my outfit was perfectly demure, which is why I love these shades...they're the perfect way to add some light-hearted summer-fun to a classic outfit, especially for those of us not ready to splash on some purple lipstick!

The New Shorts And Tee

With temperatures an unheard of 80 degrees near the beach, it's the perfect time to wear the quintessential southern California uniform - shorts and a T-shirt. While I've never been a big fan of shorts, there are a few dressier styles that appeal to me. For example, I adore my high-waisted style from last summer. I paired the shorts with my new zebra print tee and some fun, bold accessories like this vintage red bow tie, a corset belt, and some purple patent pumps.

© 2008 Fashion Trend Guide

Why you so cagey?

*Cue biggest evil laugh ever* Wuhahahahaha! Angie Montreal is collaborating with me to co-ordinate the mass world domination of the cage skirt. Behold, as she offers the cage skirt on her Etsy in black, heather grey, brown, floral and possibly more. It can be any length you want. You can have studs, pearls or nothing at all. The zippers can be metal or plastic. Oh and there are buttons galore as she has many many options. Have a wee Etsy convo with her and groovy magic could happen. In the meantime, I'm going to get up to some renegade tricks and start hanging up some cage skirts sneakily in Topshop Oxford Circus Cheap Date style...

Get caged, people, get caged...

A Model Society

They're baaaack! As you've probably heard, dear readers, our favorite supermodels of the 90s are showing up in more ads now than possibly they did then. Claudia Schiffer has signed on for fall campaigns at Chanel and Salvatore Ferragamo, Linda Evangelista will be parading in Prada, Naomi Campbell (assuming she stays out of trouble!) will be layering on Yves Saint Laurent, and Christy Turlington will be ensconsed in Escada.

Already ads by Louis Vuitton (like the one at right) have reminded fashion magazine readers what a fashion ad with professional models looks like. Could this possibly signal an end - or at least a diminishment - of the incessant celebrity-driven advertising campaigns of the 2000s? The UK's Independent traces the demise of the model in fashion ads to Donna Karan's Fall 1996 campaign featuring Demi Moore and Bruce Willis, reminding readers that by the end of that year Calvin Klein claimed people "just aren't that interested in models".

Maybe there was some fallout from the media saturation of the so-called Big Four: Christy, Cindy, Linda, and Naomi. They were practically everywhere in the fashion and pop-culture world, including music videos and full-length documentaries. Remember Unzipped? And then they settled down, got married, had kids, or just found other pursuits for awhile, many of them philanthropic. And Hollywood seized the opportunity to use fashion as a medium for promoting everything from the casts of television shows to A-list movie stars to celebutantes who had no discernible skills beyond the fact that they could fit into a sample size.

I recently stumbled upon an Allure Magazine dated March 1998 in a pile of vintage fashion periodicals that were donated to me, and who is on the cover but Jennifer Aniston! Aside from the incredibly awkward pose and unnatural airbrushing on her face - or maybe because of it? - this magazine could be from last week. It has all the hallmarks of the current fetishization of celebrity found in most fashion magazines: "Special Issue CELEBRITY BEAUTY" in the upper right hand corner; "PRIMPING FOR THE OSCARS" in the lower left hand.

Because knowing about "The Stars, The Experts, Their Top Secrets," somehow made one more fashionable in 1998. Just like it still does today. Doubtful!

Anyway, I thought it was just fun to see a magazine that's now over 10 years old and to realize how little has changed since the seismic shift of the late 90s. But I'm ready for something new, or maybe just a return to what was before. I'm ready to see a model on the cover of a fashion magazine again.

Vogue attempted a trip down memory lane with their April issue this year. On the cover is - gasp! - Giselle Bundchen. You know, a model. Sure, she's posing with LeBron James, but it's the "shape issue," so having an athlete on the cover seems perfectly reasonable.

Unfortunately, what made headlines about this cover was not the fact that it was absent a movie star (thank goodness!), but that there might have been some racial undertones to the pose of the two cover subjects. While that debate raged on, the DCGF quietly smiled, crossed her fingers, and secretly hoped that this might be the change I'd been hoping for. Tragically, the two subsequent months of Vogue featured Gwyneth Paltrow (new movie in theaters!) and Sarah Jessica Parker (new movie in theaters!).

-sigh-

Same as it ever was.

Even if we never again experience the beauty and magic of the heyday of the supermodel, perhaps there's still hope for fashion magazines and their increasing collaborations with the art world.

I'd love to see Lucien Freud or Takashi Murakami commissioned for some cover art on a major fashion magazine. I know this sometimes occurs on international versions of these same periodicals, but why can't we see it here? If the Gap can get Jeff Koons to design a t-shirt, then anything is possible.

Check out the Vogue cover to the left, from October 1957. It's stunningly beautiful. And painfully simple. Something like that would never fly today, I know. We need all of our little headlines telling us how much slimmer, prettier, hipper, chicer we'll be after reading 300-some-odd pages of shiny copy.

But maybe, just maybe, there's a shift out there, back toward the fashion industry's roots. Back to beautiful clothes and accessories, and not just the touched-up celebrities who are lucky enough to get to wear them.

I look forward to what's in store for us...

Goodwill’s fashion blog provides detailed knowledge and insight on vintage and contemporary clothing and accessories that are valuable to fashion shoppers. The facts and opinions shared present readers with entertaining, exciting and value based information on vintage and contemporary fashion and shopping trends.

Black & White with a Punch!

Every store I go into, I am seeing Black & White. It seems that the absence of color is the new color for Spring. I think its actually a really sleek look, and can be very flattering on plus sizes, if done in the right proportions. However, I recommend adding a real punch of color with your bag or shoes if you are going to go this route, otherwise you will look totally drab. Here a couple of my ideas:



Franco Sarto Knotting Hill Large Bag
$141.95 at Zappos.com

Gabrielle Rocha Ellie Shoes
$69.95 at Zappos.com

Above: Satin Tie Halter, $38 at Torrid






Chinese Laundry Bucana Heels
$62.95 at Zappos.com



Guess Collection Vixen Flap Handbag
$161 at Zappos.com