Just Checking In!

Hello there!

Well, my visit to Las Vegas is coming to a close. My flight home leaves bright and early on Tuesday morning. I am kind of sad, but also really excited, because in a short month, I will be starting life as a full time college student!

In other news, I got my haircut. It's really short! I would say just a tad longer than a bob.

This picture was taken before the hair cut. It's my adorable niece and I :)

And this is a picture of the forest fire at Mt. Charleston in Las Vegas. Thankfully, the fire is over half contained now.

So long for now!

The Bettie Page Dressing Room

Hi there!

I am still on vacation in Vegas, and today my sister and I had an adventure at Caesar's Palace. We walked around and admired the view and then had lunch at Serendipity 3. It was delicious! I had "The Full Monty", which is a chicken sandwich with bacon and barbeque sauce. I was a teensy bit skeptical because chicken can be iffy, but it was probably some of the best chicken I have ever had! Then afterwards we shared a Carrot Cake Sundae!

 I really like this picture! Photo credit to my sister Nichole:)

Ok, so after lunch we  hunted down the Bettie Page store, which is, officially, my favorite store ever!

These are pictures from the dressing room.

 I absolutely love the cut of this dress! I don't why I tried the dark navy. I liked the green so much better, but it was still really nice! This one must run small because I sized down to a(n?) L, when I would normally wear an XL in Bettie Page.

 All time favorite dress! I love the vibrant red, and paired with the white belt it's too cute!

 Back view.

 I adore this circle jumper! And the yellow polka dot blouse goes with it perfectly!

This blouse was really sheer. I'm not sure I like the two together, but maybe I do I can't decide. The skirt was really nice, but it was a Nylon or a poly blend, which I am not a fan of for skirts.

Their blouses must run really small because I wear an XL and sometimes an L in the dresses and the XXL blouse was even too small! The waist was fine, but the chest was impossible!

I wish I had some extra cash (I actually had a good amount of spending money for my trip, but I had to pay my college housing deposit, boo!). I think I would have gotten the red dress or the black jumper.



Ta ta for now!

Abbi

Las Vegas Vacation

Hey!

Yeah, it's been a while. My vacation has been really nice so far. My sister works 4 or 5 days a week, so a lot of my time is hanging out at her house with her kids, but we have had grand adventures on the weekends! Last week, we went to visit my sister Jaime in Arizona. She lives in Gilbert, which is about 30 minutes away from Phoenix. The first day we just hung out, and the second day we did a bit of antiquing (as much antiquing you can do with 4 very uninterested kids) and then had frozen yogurt. We ended the night by watching the Christian Bale version of Little Women because my sisters were appalled I had not seen it yet! The next day we drove up a mountain called South Point and took in the view, afterwards we drove through downtown Phoenix, and then we got hungry! My sisters wanted Mexican so we Yelped some local Mexican fare and ended up having a delicious, reasonably priced, and hugely portioned late lunch. Afterwards, it was sadly time for my sister, Nikki, and I to head back to Vegas.We hope to visit her again while im still here!

This was the view from Arizona headed toward Vegas. Gorgeous sunset!

 This past weekend was also a lot of fun.

We went to the Las Vegas Natural History Museum and looked at the cool displays. They had an ocean themed display with tiny baby sharks and sting rays!

And

 I went on my first hiking trip! Well, a very short and abbreviated version of a hiking trip. We didn't end up finishing the trail for a few reasons. First, we had a 3 and a 5 year old. Second, I left my brand new tennis shoes at my other sisters house and had to make do with very flat sneakers. And lastly, my sister didn't turn where she was supposed to, so we ended up hiking on a more advanced trail than we originally intended (the information called the trail strenuous and advanced). Nevertheless, it was extremely breathtakingly beautiful and gorgeous and wonderful!

I know I'm not wearing anything remotely vintage or vintage looking, but I was hiking and am also living out of a suitcase for a month.

This was Mount Charleston, and I was skeptical at first because who would want to go hiking in 100 + degree weather and in the desert! I was pleasantly surprised; nay, amazed at how different it is from the surrounding Vegas. As we drove up, the temperature dropped 30 degrees and became cool and refreshing, the scene changed from scrubby desert to beautiful pine forest, and the air was invigorating!

It was a wonderful first hiking experience (despite improper footwear, and two little ones). I want to go again, minus the kids and with some real shoes!

We ended the day with a trip to the thrift store and cupcakes from a delicious place called Retro Bakery. I got a cupcake called "Milk and Cookies" and boy was it good!


Meanwhile, I am really tired, so goodnight!

Greetings from Las Vegas!

So you guys may know from my last post that I was going to Las Vegas...and I'm here! I flew in on Sunday morning. Here are a few pictures.

The outfit pictures were actually taken right before I left Ohio in the morning, about 6 am.As you may notice, I am wearing bright, new tennis shoes. The reason? Well, not only did I need them, as my old gym shoes were getting holes, but my reasoning was that if the plane had to crash land I could run to safety/to get help. Smart, I know.

This is my sister's view!

And the picture above is from the airport.


I am hoping to make a trip to one of the 2 Bettie Page stores here in Vegas. We went last year, but didn't stay very long (in my opinion, long enough would have been until I tried on everything in the store). :)

A Pretty Party Dress

 Yay! My new dress is finished. I was going to wait until I had somewhere fancy to where it, but I just couldn't wait!

I think it turned out really well!

I got a book from the library a few weeks ago called, "The Party Dress Book" by Mary Adams. She is a clothing designer who specializes in dresses. It really inspired me. There happened to be a template pattern in the back already cut out in my size so I went for it.

If you like rigid instruction, you would probably not love it, but if you have general sewing knowledge, or like to do things your own way, then the pattern will probably work for you. The ruffle was added as an after thought because it was way too short for me (I knew it would be though because I was only working with a small amount of fabric; a fitted sheet).

The bodice does not have boning, but I lined the bodice with a light blue fabric. That's why it looks slightly two toned. The skirt is unlined. Thanks to my very adept mother, I have a lapped zipper instead of the intended centered back zipper. And then there are halter straps, and thats it! I personally loved the pattern (minus a few fit issues) because I have always been one to stray from directions. Like, really. In middle school, I tried to improvise while I played the flute. I knew how to read music, I just thought my way sounded better. Little did I know I was playing Jazz Flute a la Ron Burgundy.

Anyway, I am really excited to have a new dress. Sewing is extremely gratifying.

You can't really see the zipper, but my mom did a really great job with it!

Yay for sewing!

Have a great day :)



Outfit
Dress ~ Made by me (using The Party Dress Book)
Keds wedges ~ Kohls a few years ago

Sneak Peek of My "Party Dress"

Well, it's super late, so I am going to do a super short post. I mentioned last post that I was working on a party dress. I finished it!!!!...okay, well almost finished it. All I need to do is make a small bust adjustment, and sew the straps on.

 My kitty Sneezer. She likes to sew too :3

 And here is the peek at the dress. I used a vintage 50s/60s fitted sheet that I found at a thrift store.

 Cute right?

A Day in May

Well hello there!

Today was one of those those spring days that reminds you that it is still, in fact, spring and not summer. It was about 52 degrees today so I took the opportunity to wear stockings, tweed and wool.

 I had to run some errands involving school today, and after I was done I  stopped at a thrift store and got a few things for the shop. I was in the mood to go garage sale-ing, but there were not very many today. Instead, I browsed the realtor websites looking at homes in my area that I can dream about fixing up. One of my very favorite things to do is look at fixer-upper houses online. I think it probably has to do with the fact that there are endless possibilities.

 This sweater is one of my favorites, it's warm wool without being too itchy/scratchy. I believe I have featured all of these articles of clothing on here before, but never altogether. Having separates is really nice, and it's one area of my vintage/retro wardrobe I would like to increase. Anyone have an extra few thousand dollars laying around so that I can dress well? If so, let me know please :)

 Kitty kisses!

In other news!

I am working on a party dress! I think I may finish it tonight, and post about it soon

I am going to Las Vegas for a month! My sister, Nikki, lives there and I will be gone for about 6 weeks. I am bringing my camera with me, and hope to blog while there, but if I am slow, that's why. :)

Have a great day!


Outfit
Red Pendleton Sweater & 40's Skirt ~ Thrifted
Stockings ~ Gift from my sister, Jaime
Shoes ~ Modcloth