Baby doll mugshots and On With The Show

February 1st marks the start of the We Work For Cheese 30M2D Writing Challenge in which Nicky, Supreme Goddess of the Internet and others (including me, one of the lesser minions) embark on a cheesy challenge.

Before the challenge begins and the blog hopping starts, I am posting Friday's frock ~

The sweater coat is a recent thrift shop find and it picks up the color in the skirt to a "T."  

All three pieces - sweater, shirt and skirt are thrifted.  

This round of baby doll inmates from shopgoodwill.com include the mugshot of this cutie.  I lost her description and bid price on my watch list - I don't know if anyone adopted her.

American Character Tiny Tears from the 1960s, no bidders at the posted price of $5.

Vintage Ideal sleep baby doll, currently bidding at $6.95.

My very own cutie - my daughter - wishing her a Happy Birthday!

Blogging from A to Z Challenge signups - April 2013

Signups have started for the A to Z Writing Challenge!

The brainchild of Arlee Bird, at Tossing it Out, the A to Z Challenges to post the letter of the alphabet every day during the month of April, with Sundays off for good behavior. We will start with A on Monday April 1st. Whether you go with a theme or freestyle, your post must match the letter of the alphabet for that day.


Here is the link for signups and more information:  A to Z

Pink Saturday - PS26

I have a slew of pink images for you to link up with Beverly's howsweetthesound.

ÚBOK, Žena a Moda, April 1969

Audrey Hepburn
Costume sketch by Edith Head by Marge Champion for ‘Mr Music’, 1950

1950s Pink Royal Typewriter ~ JoeVintage
Ann-Margret, 1962
And seal it with a kiss!

The San Francisco 49ers are going to the Superbowl!

Upcoming challenges and hops:

February 2013:  We Work for Cheese 30 Days Minus 2 Writing Challenge weworkforcheese.

February 14, 2013:  Vampire Bite blog hop at preciousmonsters.  No content warning before entry but the blog author does caution:

 Jolie Du Pre is an erotica author. Therefore, some other erotica authors might be drawn to this hop. For that reason, if you have a problem with erotica or if you're under the age of 18, you probably shouldn't be joining this hop.

Blog about vampires. You decide. (Except see No. 4 and 5.) Some ideas?

Your new vampire book release
Twilight
Why you love vampires
Why you hate vampires 
Sexiest vampires
Vampire movies
Best vampire characters
Interview with a vampire novelist
Real-life vampire stories
Vampire survival tips
Your vampire short story or flash fiction

April 2013:  A to Z Writing Challenge http://www.a-to-zchallenge.com/. #atozchallenge

Any fun hops or challenges you would recommend?

Grow Your Blog - hop and Friday's Frock

Vicki at 2 bags full is hosting:
One of the "rules of the road" for this hop:  

1. You must have a dedicated blog post that relates to the Grow Your Blog party--Introduce yourself and let the readers know a little bit about you and your blog. You might want to include a photo of yourself -- its not a requirement -- just a thought.  

Please visit my "Moi" page for more about me.

I have decided I post waaayyy too many pictures of myself, so my stand-in is Platinum-haired Mod doll, a shopgoodwill.com inmate that recently sold for $8.40. 

Who am I kidding?  Today is Friday's Frock!  

Worthington long sleeved collared shirt and Mui Mui skirt (previous thrift shop finds)

Pearls, full-length cashmere coat and Joan & David pumps (retail)

And some Friday funnies ~

What I am listening to ~

Greetings to all of the GYB hoppers!  I will have a giveaway the first week of February.

Once a musician, always a musician?

I listen to CDs on my commute to work.  Having been a violinist, it pains me somewhat to hear that instrument being played and not be able to perform myself.  Granted, we all have to give things up with only so many hours in the day.  I miss the violin - the weight of it against my chin, the tone of the instrument.  What caused this angst?  Listening to the violinist Joshua Bell performing songs by Gershwin.

Is there some activity or pursuit you've had to give up or put aside for the time being?

Sundays in my City and 30M2D Writing Challenge Rules and Topics

I have been in a clothes-buying mood.  After I went through my wardrobe and ruthlessly culled all of the marginal pieces - those I hadn't worn in the past year - I just HAD to replenish.

Last day of the work week, I went to the Sacramento Goodwill on 16th Street.  There were racks and racks of the 99 cent clothes.  Every once in awhile, a quality piece will surface.  I purchased the Briggs slacks and a full-length Allison Taylor silk skirt.

The best spot for clothes of the Amador County thrift shops is Amador Hospice, not only are they open on Sunday, the clothes are priced at thrift shop levels.  This J.R. Roppers camel-colored dress length sweater was $5.50.  A good sign that it had never been worn, the extra button was still attached to the tag.  The mustard colored long sleeved collared Worthington shirt was $2.50.

I literally gasp when I find high-end labels at the thrift shops.  I could not ask for a better fit in this True Religion brand jeans ($5.50), I know those go for around $100 retail.  The red Tweeds 100% cashmere sweater is in perfect condition ($5.50).  I had just been complaining to Mr. VZ that all of the cashmere sweaters sold out before Christmas so I wasn't able to do my 1/2 off retail cashmeres - now I have found two this month at the thrift shops.

Weekend sunset through the tangle of oak tree branches.

Linking up with unknownmami for ~


As an aside, the We Work for Cheese 30-minus-2-days-of-writing challenge topics and rules have been posted - a must read!  

30 Minus 2 Days of Writing

On February 1st, the challenge will begin. On February 28th, the challenge will end.

Because I would be the first one to break them, there are  NO RULES. What does that mean? Well it means:

• There’s no minimum or maximum word limit. You can write five, 500 or 5,000 words. But please don’t write 5,000 words.
• You determine the writing style of each post. Poems, essays, anecdotes, articles, fact, fiction, knock-knock jokes, drunken ramblings, porn… all of these are acceptable.
• While this is a writing challenge, re-posting an older post on occasion is permitted – providing it’s in keeping with the prompt.
• There is no specific time to post. I’ll be scheduling my posts for 8 o’clock in the morning, Montreal time, and you will find a linky-thing at the end of my post where you can link up.
• You do NOT have to post every single day. Life happens and sometimes it takes a couple of days until you sober up. Trust me, we understand. Hell, CheesyMike only managed a piddly 15 posts last time around. The wuss.
• Again, this is a creative writing challenge. The prompts are guidelines and do not have to be strictly adhered to. If the prompt is “Nicky is to be revered” and you use “Nicky should be worshiped as the Supreme Goddess of everything, everywhere.”, that is perfectly acceptable.

Now that we’ve got all that out of the way, here are the themes:

1. Cheesy
2. Hold on
3. And the next thing I knew
4. Friendship
5. You better put out
6. Haven
7. Texting
8. French
9. 15 minutes
10. The mayor
11. Road trip
12. The day I met Abraham Lincoln
13. Unintended
14. Where can I get a good blintz?
15. Or else
16. Music
17. Whatever, dude
18. Home at last
19. Little things
20. The other shoe
21. Last train
22. Compulsively
23. Absurd
24. Confucius
25. Fact or Fiction
26. Deal with it
27. And that’s why I got drunk
28. Is that all

Friday's Frock and Baby doll mugshots

I linked into Visible Monday this week - my heart is more into Friday's Frock.  Fridays, for me, are for dressing up.  There was a January 3rd WSJ article about dressing up on Friday, a backlash of sorts to casual Friday.

I had one of those mornings I must have changed my entire outfit at least five times.  The frock finally came together with this entirely thrifted ensemble of a Jones New York jacket, Daniel Bishop paisley cashmere sweater, Rafaella cream colored collared short sleeve shirt, and a Perry Ellis dark brown skirt.

I continue to be fascinated by the baby doll inmates that appear on shopgoodwill.com.

This Iowa City vintage comp baby doll is bidding at $5.

Kewpie, in her handmade knitted hat and clothes, hails from Omaha, Nebraska, bidding at $6.

This little gal has led a rough life.  She is actually offered up for bid with another roughed-up dolly, both from Reading, PA, bidding at $8.  

Blog hopping with ladiesholiday

Beginnings Blogfest and Welcoming Home the 49th

L.G. of lgkeltner.blogspot.com invites:

Do you want to share the events that inspired you to start blogging?  Perhaps you'd like to recall that first awkward blog entry where you tried to introduce yourself to the blogging world.

Or maybe you'd like to write about what inspired you to embark on your career path.  When did the passion for this career choice begin, and how did you go about making it a reality?

You could even start at your real beginning and talk a little about where you were born and what the times were like.

Or, if you'd rather not talk about yourself, you can write about the origins of a favorite book, movie, artistic movement, or pretty much anything else.  After all, I'd feel bad asking you to adhere to any strict guidelines since I'm asking you to write something original.

That being said, if you've already written a post on the subject and you'd rather share that, feel free!  Sometimes posts are received better the second time around.

That's it!  Try to keep your post a reasonable length, but I won't give you any exact word limits for this.  Sometimes self-expression revolts against word limits.  I know this from experience.

A 2013 Beginning

I have mentioned a house I purchased in midtown Sacramento.  It seemed a good idea, at the time.  I started buying real estate when I was 21 (some 30+ years ago).  I have made money on some and have lost money on others.  This one will probably go down in the losing column.

I had followed all of the tenents of buying real estate, location, location, location, and the 1915 house had good "bones."  The surprises turned out to be (1) a nonfunctional fireplace that was missing a flue and had a cracked exterior chimney, (2) original hardwood floors with one section hacked away and replaced with a plywood board, and (3) the last, most devastating discovery was the house was not connected to the city sewer (as was represented on the listing).  Cost to remedy - approximately $20,000.

My advice?  When you are buying in a specialty niche area, get a referral to a realtor who is familiar with the area and have all of the inspections suggested.

While I did live in the area where I eventually bought, it wasn't exactly that neighborhood.  Had it been, I would have discovered I am allergic to the trees that line the street.  I suppose I will laugh about that someday.

A blog post wouldn't be complete without a throwback image to the 1960s.  This is Edie Sedgewick (photographer unknown).  I have worn eye makeup and a hairstyle similar to that one.

As long as we are lingering in the 60s, here are some rescued slide series images from a parade welcoming home "The 49th" (date, location and photographer unknown).  I believe the images I purchased were shipped from Jackson, Michigan.  I will update this post to include any information submitted by my readers.

My happy dance for the upcoming WWFC Writing Challenge!

On a totally different topic - some of my favorite bloggers will be joining in the We Work for Cheese Writing Challenge weworkforcheese.  Nicky and Mike hosted the 2012's challenge in June - guess they are missing all of us and are hosting a few months early.  This group was my first blogging challenge EVER and I had so much fun!  The comments alone were hilarious.  Now, I don't profess to be much of a writer, more of a photog with random bits of text.  It will remain to be seen what I can come up with.  Give it a looksee if you would like to join in.  

Visible Monday and the upcoming Traveling Yellow Skirt Freak Show

Showcasing today's frock on Visible Monday hosted by notdeadyetstyle.  It is a subdued Monday for me.

Jones New York Navy Blue Jacket

Banana Republic Platinum Shirt

Koret paisley print skirt

(all previous thrift shop finds)

The weekend's thrift shop finds were this professionally framed print of vase full of flowers ($6.50).  I thought it was headed for my office at work, but it landed in one of the rooms in the house.

A NWT platinum Banana Republic short-sleeved collared shirt ($4.50) AND finally some cashmere, a Charter Club long sleeved pullover ($4.50).  

This Fio lime green sweater ($4.50) and Insane Clown Posse belt (50 cents) are in preparation for the Traveling Yellow Skirt Freak Show instituted by bagandaberet.  While I am not a fan of ICP's music, I think they've chosen a great name.  

H O W    I T    W O R K S

1. Request the skirt by email to the current skirt-holder, who will announce its next stop.
2. If you like, alter the skirt with paint, sewing, markers or other means. Please try not to shorten the skirt much because the length is part of its charm, and please maintain the skirt's flexible sizing. 
3. Post a photo of yourself in or with the skirt as real wear or inspirational wear and I shall post a photo here too as part of a Global Compilation (GC).
4. If you are REALLY inspired, post a short video clip of you twirling or dancing in the skirt so "Just Bad Enough," my art project band with Sandra, can include it in a "music video" GC.
5. Announce who the next skirt-holder will be on your blog. If you do not receive any requests, it will be time for the skirt to fly home to me.

You can put the logo below (or in my sidebar) in your blog if you'd like.
(the woman is modeled after Sarah)

Yes - my yellow skirt is flying around the world and it wants YOU to style her as part of a I-surrender-to-positivity celebration. The globe-trekking was Sarah's idea (from Misfits Vintage) and I think it's too much fun. Plus it's much easier than mailing a gnome - or myself considering how gnomish I look.

1. Sarah@Misfits Vintage – Australia

2. Helga@HELGA von TROLLOP – New Zealand

I believe Edie Pop http://factorymom.blogspot.com is up next, then Me and then Amber of butaneanvil.