Wednesday, August 31, 2011

Product Review: Nutrisse Ultra-Color, Shade R3


I am pretty much an exclusive at-home hair colorer. I rarely go to the salon to get my hair done. This is probably because I am pretty particular what I choose to spend my money on. Plus, I feel if done right, you can achieve the same results coloring your hair at home as at the salon.

In comes this hair dye. Several months ago, I attempted to go red, without the results that I was hoping for; after which I finally accepted that I would not be able to get these results without lighting my hair first. However, a few months later, I got another bee in my bonnet to give it one more go. While strolling the hair dye aisle, I came across Nutrisse Ultra-Color Shade R3 which claimed to be formulated especially for dark hair. I figured, why not? and bought the dye. For less than $10, I felt it was a safe gamble.


Well, to my surprise, it actually did what it said it would! I've had it on for about two weeks+ now and haven't really noticed any major fading. Although, for the first few days it continued to wash out, which really concerned me, since most home dyes I have used tend not to do that.

I left it on my hair for the max amount of time, to ensure that I would get the best results. What is nice about this dye is it comes with a small vile of olive and avocado oil to mix in with the dye, plus a conditioner to put on after you wash it out. I felt that my hair was left smooth and silky after the dying process and my ends seem to be the same as before I dyed my hair.

Overall, I would give this dye a 9.5 out of 10. I had to take a half point off since this dye is harder to get off your skin than any other dye I have used before. It's pretty potent.

I plan on keeping up with the color with manic panic. Anyone have color suggestions or advice for using it? I have never used manic panic before, but have heard good things.

Emily

Tuesday, August 30, 2011

Sabrina at The Redford

Last weekend, Jesse and I went to see Sabrina (1954) at our local historic theatre, the Redford, which plays classic films all year long. Detroit is lucky to have a few theaters that pay tribute to their past by playing old films. I love that at the Redford, they have the ticket booth outside the theatre. I always feel a bit like I have transported back in time when I there.

You also might have noticed that I have dyed my hair. I had been toying with the idea of going red for weeks, many even months, and I finally took the plunge. I really liked the dye I used and will be posting a review on it soon.


The only jewelry I wore that evening was my newly acquired vintage watch, which I had gotten the day before for the mere sum of $3.75. I always check out the jewelry tables at estate sales because you never know what you will find. I normally don't purchase a lot of jewelry at estate sales because lately they have become quite expensive (anyone else noticing this?). Anyway, I spotted this watch, gave it a quick twist at the side and hear it running, so I figured it was worth the $3 gamble.

To my surprise it kept (and keeps!) really good time. An added bonus was discovered when I was looking on the back for a hallmark to look the watch up online. It said it was 10kt gold face and when I flipped it over to look more closely, I discovered two tiny diamond chips that I didn't notice when I purchased the watch -- they had just looked like part of the scroll work at the time! This is probably one of my best bargains in a while!!

Emily



50s Swirl Dress: eBay

50s Watch: Estate Sale

Thursday, August 25, 2011

Red, White, and Swirl


Have you seen The Help yet? I am a sucker for any kind of costume drama or period film, so I just had to go see The Help. IFrom a vintage fashion standpoint, it was really good! I thought the costumes and sets were very spot on. I even have some of the glasses that they used in the bridge scene! I'm not surprised at the execution of the costumes, Sharen Davis was responsible for them. Davis has worked on other period films such as Ray (2004) and Dreamgirls (2006). I would totally recommend you check out this film if you are into vintage fashion. My favorite character from the film was Celia. I love her look and think she was a sweetie, even if it wasn't totally realistic. If you have seen the film, who was your favorite?

Emily



50s Homemade Swirl: etsy

Tennis Shoes: Target

Wednesday, August 24, 2011

Deal of the Day

I have missed sharing my deals! While I may not blog about it often enough, I do hit up a lot of estate sales. And, although I don't always buy, it's still fun to see homes in different towns and just generally take a gander at what that person had. One of my most recent deals was this vintage quilt, which I am thinking dates to the 30s or 40s, due to the feedsack fabric. I bought a lot of stuff at this sale, about 10-12 items, for which I paid $50. So, I paid about $5 for this quilt, if you average it out.
[backing]

I found it in the basement. I swear, my best finds are found in the basement or the attic. It really pays to check those areas! It was on a bed down there that had tons of boxes and things laid about on top. I had to take most of it off to free the quilt and some nice old gentleman helped me to pull it off the bed.
Most of the squares are a bit wonky and don't follow a ridged pattern. From the contents of the home, I could tell the lady of the house was a seamstress, so this might have been one of her first projects? There were also several other quilts, but they were up front with the people running the sale and were pretty pricey. I was quite surprised that I got this one for the deal I did. The sale also yielded me a large picnic basket (maybe a Redman?), a set of 60s silverware, vintage fabric, a metal bathroom shelf, and a lot of other smalls.

This is the third vintage quilt I have added to my collection. Coincidentally, all three are roughly the same size (twin). I blogged about one of my other ones here. I would love to someday have a whole chest of vintage quilts. Until then, I will continue to pick them up here and there when they are $25 or less.

Emily

Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Wannabe Vintage


Even though I am a vintage gal at heart and try my hardest to "dress the part," some days, I just feel like changing it up and wearing something that isn't exactly vintage. In the past I have written about some of a woes of being a vintage loving girl in a modern world. Whether its the weather or the fast pace of our modern world, it can be hard to make the effort to put together that vintage look every day. And beyond that, I find myself still wanting to dress "with the times," with my own vintage perspective. So, somedays, I dress like this. The only thing in my outfit that is vintage is my skirt, which is late 70s. I fell in love with it a few months ago while on a thrifting trip and really love the look I finally came up with for it.

I am also really smitten with my "new" yellow flats. I've been looking for a pair for a while now. And, while they are not exactly vintage either, (they are Liz Claibornes from probably the late 80s-early 90s, I'm thinking more 90s), they really want to be! When I saw them at the thrift, they just screamed 60s mod to me. I've been getting a ton of wear out of them since; totally worth the $4.00.

Emily




Top: Target

70s Skirt and Yellow Flats: Salvation Army

Belt: JC Penny

Tuesday, August 16, 2011

Back from Camping!

I'm back from my three day camping trip to Garrettsville, OH; which is just outside of Cleveland. Jesse and I had a wonderful time, despite the rainy weather. Because of the weather, I wasn't able to take as many pictures as I planned... so it's a good thing I got a few in the first day, which was the best weather wise.

On our way to the camp ground, I spotted this antiques mall and Jesse, being the sweetie that he is, agreed to stop so that we could look around. They had a lot of neat items, but most of the stuff I liked was either more than I wanted to spend, or too big to fit in the car with all our camping gear. I would definitely stop at this mall again! I did find two sweet things to take home with me. More on that in a min...


When I was packing for the trip, I found this dress that I forgot I had. Seems like a lot of that has been going on here lately. Yay for new old dresses! I got this dress at an estate sale and fell in love with the big patch pockets that sport tulips. The pockets reminded me of my Swirl dresses. I'm a gal that loves big pockets on dresses. They are so convenient, especially when traveling.

So I bet you are just itching to see what I found at the mall, aren't you.....

The first thing I spotted was a booth with tons of vintage textiles. This piece of barkcloth jumped out at me. The dealer had several pieces, but I chose this half yard sized piece for only $2! I figured I could always scan it in and have more printed if I needed more in the future. I always feel so bad cutting into vintage fabrics.

The other item I purchased with this little guy above. I had recently just lost out on a vintage elephant planter on eBay, so when I spotted this and saw the $4 price tag, I knew he would have a new home with me. Elephants are one of my favorite animals (pandas and birds/owls being the others) and I knew that every time I glanced over at him, I would remember my great trip with my beau. In case you are wondering, I planted an avocado tree in it, which is from Jesse. He has quite the green thumb too!

Emily





50s Dress: Estate Sale

Tennis Shoes: Target

Handbag: Dooney and Burke

Thursday, August 11, 2011

This Weekend....

(Click to enlarge)


....I will be tent camping in Garrettsville, Ohio. I only hope I can look as glamorous as those ladies above this weekend!

Today was spent baking some banana nut muffins and putting together a greek pasta salad. I plan on taking lots of pictures while I am there and can't wait to share my trip with you all when I get back.

Have a lovely weekend!!

Emily

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Swirls and Stripes


When I spotted this Swirl on eBay, I knew I had to have it. And, fortunately, I was able to score it for a song!

In other news, as summer approaches its end, so does my summer vacation. For the first time in a long time, I am not excited to return to school. Although, the good thing about this fall is that it will begin my last year of graduate school. In April, I will graduate and will hopefully have found a teaching job. I am hoping that by that time there will be some openings here in Michigan so I can stay in the state. April cannot come soon enough! ;)

Emily




50s Swirl Dress and Carved Bakelite Bracelet: eBay

Sandals: Kohls

Monday, August 8, 2011

A Forgotten Dress


One of the nice things about moving is rediscovering things you forgot you had. Such was the case with this dress. I bought this dress last year to have something new to wear when I was in Chicago visiting Leilani. Since then, this dress got shuffled to the back of the closet and hasn't been taken out for a spin. It was a nice surprise to find it and create a new outfit around it. Last time I wore it, I paired it with different shoes and a different belt. This thinner white belt and 40s peep toe pumps look much better than my last attempt (sorry no pics of that).

Have you rediscovered anything lately?

Emily


P.S. I bought some new glasses and they finally came in the other day. I splurged on a pair of Ray Bans! I wanted a pair of glasses to match my vintage style and I felt these fit the bill.





40s House Dress: Lost and Found Vintage

Belt: JC Penny

40s Peep Toe Pumps: eBay

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

A Recent Thrift Find


Last week, I used my 50% off coupon for Value World to score this cute dress for only $2!! (Originally $4) It's a late 60s number from Sears made out of a heavy cotton. I must really be into the tent shape right now because this is at least the second dress that I have purchased in the last month that is in this shape. I debated on whether or not to belt this dress, and the non-belted look won out. Isn't the flower print darling?

Emily


60s Sears Tent Dress: Value World

Sandals: Michael Kors

Bracelet: Grandma's