Back in Pennsylvania

- Steven Alan dress
- Madewell cape
- UO hat
- H&M tights
- Bonvelle shoes courtesy of Blowfish
- vintage Coach purse

After a few relaxing days traveling in Alabama and I finally back home to the cold and grey of Pennsylvania. I was determined to stay away from the internet as much as possible while I was down south and did just that. I didn't take any photos for the blog at all! I just hung out with family and old friends and enjoyed a bit of a break.

A few things I enjoyed while I was there: catching up with my Birmingham girlfriends over beers at Rojo (you know who you are ladies! I miss you!), seeing my former cat Stewie living the good life in his new country home, learning to use a drill press to make candle holders in my parent's workshop, taking a nap in a hammock with my one year old niece, helping lay the floor for my parent's new chicken coop and playing a game of Skip-Bo on the front porch in the unseasonably warm weather with my family.

Modern Vintage 2011

Here is the final product of our recent trip to NYC. I'm currently traveling so I'm going to keep this post short on words since it's heavy on photos. And speaking of photos, this post wouldn't be complete without a huge thank you to my partner in crime, Tom, for taking all of these photos, for humoring me when I want to do ONE MORE outfit and for designing the entire flip book.

If this thing works the way it's supposed to, you should be able to flip through the photos here on the blog, or click on the photos to view them larger. You can even download it if you want!

Beekman Place

- 60s wool sweater
- 30s wool jacket
- Steven Alan chambray shirt
- thrifted wool skirt (shortened by me)
- H&M tights
- vintage boots, belt & wool hat

Yesterday Tom and I ventured up to New York City for a day of exploring and taking photos. I mentioned a couple of weeks ago that a planned trip to NY had been delayed and yesterday was finally the day. This trip has been in the works for quite some time! A while back, Tom was invited to photograph a historic abandoned building in the financial district of Manhattan and asked me if I would like to come along. The answer was an easy yes.

The Beekman Street building was once known as Temple Court and was built in 1882. Today it is the earliest surviving “fireproof” office building of the pre-skyscraper period. It is also the third building in the city to have had an elevator installed. The elevators are still working, by the way. Words really can't do this place justice. Everywhere you look there are amazing details, from the art nouveau style stair railings to the cast iron dragons that hold up each balcony. I was daydreaming about living there the entire time I was wandering around! The fate of the building is still unknown as it sits abandoned but there are rumors of it being turned into a hotel. I want to go back and stay there someday!

Here are just a few quick snapshots I took around the place. As I walked around I found a lot of the rooms held evidence of past photos shoots; piles of hair pins, tissues smeared with lipstick, a set of prop ladders that had been left leaning in the sunlight. I couldn't resist carrying in an armload of clothes myself to have some fun with. Tom took lots of amazing photos that we are working on compiling into something (not sure exactly what yet) to present on the blog. I can't wait to show you!

Hunsecker's Mill Covered Bridge

photos by Tom b.

- Alexa Chung for Madewell dress
- thrifted J. Crew cashmere cardigan
- Rachel Comey boots
- vintage wool beret
- vintage Coach purse

Here we are at another local covered bridge! I never knew there were so many around this area. I supposed I could make this a regular feature on the blog. Ha, ha. The funniest thing about these photos is that after they were taken, I realized that the half-erased graffiti I was standing in front of used to say "this is not a photo op." I suppose I beg to differ.

Wilbur Chocolate Factory

photos by Tom b.

- Alexa Chung for Madewell sweater
- vintage button up shirt
- vintage 60s skirt
- Topshop boots
- vintage Coach purse

My plan for posting photos today was to show you my Halloween costume that I wore yesterday. That plan was thwarted by a freak snowstorm that dumped about 5 inches of heavy, wet, sticky snow all over the region. My costume wasn't as elaborate as last year's but I was still dressed up as a character from a movie. Perhaps I'll recreate it later this week and snap some photos so I don't want to give it away just yet. Do you have any guesses?

Earlier last week Tom and I stopped in Lititz by the Wilbur Chocolate factory and snapped these photos. You can tour the factory and visit a little gift shop where they sell all sorts of chocolaty treats but it was all closed when we were there. The smell of chocolate in the air was such a tease coming out of the factory! I didn't get a treat but there was a little vending machine selling food for the ducks so I figured I'd give them a treat.

A Bit of a Celebration

- Goldie London dress
- vintage 60s boots
- AA tights

I'm in a bit of a celebratory mood over here. Why? Because my Etsy shop has just surpassed 2000 sales! Some days I feel like I'm moving in leaps and bounds on Etsy and other days I'm moving inch by inch. Lately it's been more of the inching along variety so I feel like the number 2000 is a bit of a landmark. I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you for supporting my Etsy shop for theses past few years. I couldn't do it without you and y'all are welcome to celebrate right along with me! For the next 2000 minutes (that's 33 and a third hours if you're counting) you can receive 20% off anything in the shop by using the code SJV2000. Thanks so much to every one of you for helping me reach this milestone!

As for this outfit it was seriously inspired by the George Harrison documentary, Living in the Material World, that has been airing on HBO the past couple of weeks. If you get a chance, I'd definitely check it out. It's a bit all over the place and there are some key moments that seem to be skimmed over, but it's still worth a watch just for the amazing archival footage. Toward the end of the first part (it airs in two parts) there is some killer film footage of Jane Birkin that's worth it alone!

Erb's Mill Covered Bridge

photos by Tom b.

- H&M dress
- ASOS duffle coat
- Topshop boots
- vintage silk scarf

Yesterday Tom and I had plans to go to NYC for the day but at the very last minute our plans fell through leaving us with an entire day at home with no real plans. It was such a lovely fall day we wanted to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air. We ended up taking a very touristy drive though the countryside, stopping at a couple of covered bridges along the way.

This bridge, spanning Hammer Creek, was originally built in 1847 for just $700 and was rebuilt in 1887. As we were sitting by the creek, several Amish horse & buggies crossed over the bridge. One had a teenage couple in it and the boy stopped the buggy right in the middle of the bridge making his girlfriend squeal in half terror. I couldn't help but wonder if he does that every time they cross a bridge.

Pumpkin Patch

photos by Tom b.

- thrifted silk shirt
- H&M shorts
- Rachel Comey boots
- vintage Coach purse

This time of year Lancaster becomes covered with orange polka-dotted fields. It seems like everywhere you go there's a field full of pumpkins just begging to be carved into jack-o-lanterns. We stopped in this field just before sunset on our way to eat Thai food in Willow Street.

The Skinny Barn

photos by Tom b.

- UO dress
- vintage Edwardian era jacket
- UO chelsea boots
- Madewell acorn necklace
- vintage Coach purse
- vintage silk scarf

Tom and I have driven by this skinny barn lots of times and every time we do, we wonder aloud what in the world it was used for. Last night we finally stopped to check it out up close. Now it's used as a haven for all sorts of birds, mostly barn swallows that have built their nests in the rafters. But its original purpose escapes me. Our best guess is that it was used as a tobacco barn where farmers hang and dry the tobacco that is commonly grown around this area. Any guesses?

Alive & Well

- vintage Diane von Furstenberg sweater
- Madewell jeans
- UO chelsea boots
- Alexa Chung for Madewell hat
- vintage Coach purse
- Madewell mail bag

Hello! I am alive and well despite not showing my face around here very much lately. I stopped on the way to drop off some packages at the post office today (thus the big mail bag I'm carrying) to prove that I'm still kickin' and also to show you that you haven't been missing much as far as what I've been wearing. I've worn some variation of this outfit everyday that I've left the house for at least the last week. Keepin' it casual! But really, I think the cooler weather has me thinking about things like camping and hiking so I've been dressing like I'm preparing for a trip into the woods when really I'm just hiking to the post office.

photos by Tom b.

- Could've Woodland Cape courtesy of Modcloth
- UO skirt
- vintage silk blouse
- UO boots
- vintage Coach purse
- sunglasses courtesy of BonLook



How was your weekend? Ours was quite nice. Here are the rest of the photos that I was too tired to post last night. We took them along a foot bridge on our way to eat dinner at Iron Hill Brewery. We don't typically go there to eat but Tom had a gift card so we thought we'd check it out. We split the biggest plate of nachos I've ever seen, then a pizza made with local mushroom and topped it all off with creme brulee. But the best part? The beers! They make their own craft beers on site and last night we had two of the best I've tasted (that didn't come straight from Belgium). After dinner we headed home to watch the season premiere of Boardwalk Empire. The episode itself wasn't that great but I know it's just setting things up for the rest of the season so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it's a good as last year's.

photos by Tom b.

- 60s cotton dress
- vintage denim jacket
- Rachel Comey boots
- vintage wool beret

I've just added something to my wardrobe. Something I've been searching for, not quite sure which one was right for me. Can you spot it? It's a watch! Someone commented to me years ago that wearing a watch was becoming obsolete. If one needs to know the time they simply consult their cellphone. So true! However, my disdain for cellphones is a constant joke to my friends. I have an little flip phone with some prepaid minutes in my purse that I save for emergencies. I check it about twice a week to see if anyone has called it (they never do, I don't even know the phone number for it). If someone texts me, I usually return the favor about three days later. I just don't know how people function with them constantly in their hands!

OK, enough of sounding like an old fogey. The point is, I don't ever know what time it is... so I bought a watch. It took me forever to find an affordable option that I really liked. There are some seriously tacky watches out there folks. Since I couldn't lay down enough cash for my dream watch I settled for a Swiss Army Garrison. It's simple, classic and goes with everything.

photos by Tom b.

- silk blouse by Alexa Chung for Madewell
- vintage dirndl borrowed from Iron Orchid Vintage
- Topshop boots

One of my sponsors, Iron Orchid Vintage, was kind enough to send me a box of clothes to play around with. In the box was this vintage dirndl which somehow seemed perfect for the slightly fall weather we've been having. I paired it with a silk blouse from last year's Alexa Chung collection and ended up feeling like I matched my surroundings with the blue sky and the golden corn fields that fill Lancaster county.

photos by Tom b.



- H&M dress

- UO fatigue jacket

- Hunter Wellies

- sunglasses courtesy of BonLook







This weekend we were all prepared for a visit from Hurricane Irene. Fortunately all we saw was a lot of rain and wind and a few branches down in the backyard. Yesterday when the rain finally stopped we walked downtown to the Spring House Taproom to celebrate a friend's birthday. I wore my rain boots in hopes of splashing in some puddles but everything was already dried up. The wind, however, was still going full force which made for some pretty interesting photo-taking.



I was also wearing my new sunglasses from BonLook. I am blessed with good eyesight so when they offered to let me try out a pair of their glasses, at first I almost declined since I don't need to correct my vision. Then I realized they also offer nonprescription lenses and sunglasses so I gladly took them up on their offer. I'm wearing the Weekend @ Bernie's style. If you check out their site and see something that catches your eye (no pun intended!) you can use the coupon code BONLOOKGIVE to receive $10 off your purchase.

Mt. Gretna

photos by Tom b.



- Topshop sailor shirt

- Fletcher for Lyell shorts

- Topshop boots

- Fieldguided tote



Earlier in the week Tom and I took part of an afternoon off (a pretty novel idea for the two of us in the middle of the week) and drove up to Mt. Gretna. We'd been there once before the first summer we moved to PA for an arts & crafts festival which was packed with all sorts of, well, arts and crafts. This time the place was a bit more subdued and reminded me of the summer resort where Baby and her family stayed in Dirty Dancing. That's a good thing, by the way. There was a little man-made lake with a diving platform built in the middle. You could rent a canoe or a paddle boat but Tom and I just opted for a walk around the edge of the lake. After our walk we treated ourselves to an early dinner at the Jigger Shop. We had the only two vegetarian options on the menu, a portabella sandwich and a hummus wrap. Or course we were still hungry after that so we added a scoop of chocolate almond and butter pecan ice cream.

photos by Tom b.



- 60s cotton dress

- vintage hat

- Topshop oxfords

- Field Guided tote



Tom and I were out for a drive and decided to check out a trail we'd heard about that leads to an observation tower. It was one of those beautiful days that felt more like fall than summer with bright blue skies and big puffy clouds. We found the trail with no problem but not long down the path we discovered a long fence with a blocked gate. Fail! We weren't able to make to the observation tower so we just wandered around through the fern covered paths for a bit. I could have stayed out there all day!

photos by Tom b.



- vintage dress

- Topshop boots

- H&M sunglasses

- vintage Coach purse



Yesterday Tom and I walked downtown to Character's Pub for brunch with his family to celebrate his mother's birthday. I had the wild mushroom and parmesan omelet with an heirloom tomato salad. Yum! I wish I had another one today. On the way home we stopped to take a few snapshots.



This outfit came about in a backwards sort of way since I was determined to wear these boots but couldn't pick out a dress to go with them. I ended up throwing on this vintage one that I've been wanting to wear for a while. The colors are a bit more fall than summer so it's perfect for how I'm feeling right now.

29 Palms

photos by Tom b.



- vintage dress

- H&M sunglasses

- vintage Aigner flats



I just realized I have a couple more sets of photos from our trip to California in May that I haven't posted. I better get to it before summer is over! These were taken on the day that we drove from Los Angeles to Joshua Tree. We arrived at the motel a bit too early to check it so we took a short drive down to 29 Palms to waste some time. While we were in 29 Palms we discovered this abandoned motel so we stopped to take a look around. Mostly what I remember about this little event was how incredibly hot it was out there! I had just picked up this gauzy vintage dress at Wasteland on Melrose the day before and was soooo happy to have something so light and airy to wear. It's been my go-to dress for the rest of the summer on days when it's been too hot to think.

- H&M blouse

- thrifted silk skirt

- vintage hat

- 70s Thom McAn WoodWorks sandals

- vintage woven tote



Today we woke up to what felt like could have been the first day of fall. We quickly opened up all the windows in the house to enjoy some fresh air after weeks of living in the air conditioning. Even though it quickly warmed up outside I knew it would be the perfect day to finally wear this fall-hued silk skirt. It sat in my shop for ages and no one snatched it up so I decided to keep it for myself after I saw a similar one in Secret Squirrel's new Botanica collection. I'm sure it's going to be a favorite this fall.

photos by Tom b.



- Half Moon Bay Dress courtesy of Modcloth

- H&M hat

- 70s Thom McAn WoodWorks sandals

- thrifted jute tote



Last night after dinner Tom and I decided to walk downtown to Carmen & David's for ice cream; dark chocolate for me, pistachio for Tom. It was a really perfect summer evening. I took my denim jacket in my bag for some reason, thinking I would need it as the sun set but it was still way too hot for that. On the way home we walked by the farmer's market where they have a piano sitting out for anyone wandering by to play. I've taught Tom to play the top half of a couple of duets while I play the bottom half. Afterwards we headed home just in time to catch the new episode of True Blood. This season is so much better than the last one!