Roaring twenties

For my birthday this year I'd like to have a "Roaring Twenties" party -- both to lesson the sting of crossing over into the second half of my 20s and to celebrate the fact that I'm officially in the throes of my very own roaring 20s. I realize this is still months away, but I'd actually planned to do it last year and then never got my act together. Maybe posting it on the internet will make me keep my word!

Some inspirations for this speakeasy meets flapper fest:

Willpower, activate!

{$110 at the Gap, of all places...}

Want. Need. Must ignore.

Object of my desire: card catalog

{As spotted at Brimfield.}

I realize I actually need to find an apartment before I buy any more furniture, but I assure you as soon as I have the space for it, a library-style card catalog will be on top of the list!

Get thee to the shoreline

Forecast for Boston says mid-90s today. Stay cool friends!

Best of: The Sartorialist

The Men: Let's hear it for the boys

Rockabilly on my mind

I've been listening to a lot of rockabilly lately: The Blasters, The Living End, The Reverend Horton Heat, just to name a few. And as much as I love the music, I also dig that retro, 1950s Americana style that goes along with it.

{The Sartorialst}

{Wanda Jackson}

{Johnny Depp in "Cry Baby"}

Love a good yard sale

Found these womens' church gloves at a yard sale in Hanover today -- paid $3 for the lot of them. Thinking I'll try to bleach them so they're bright white and then frame them.

T-shirts for luddites

{All $20, and from the etsy seller ladylotus}

Piperlime wants me to have these

They call it "All-American, With a Twist."

GET OUT OF MY HEAD, PIPERLIME.

Twin beds anyone?

I jokingly suggested to my soon-to-be-roommate (Hi Kiersten!) that we should get bunk beds, since we had them the first time we lived together while studying abroad in London. But maybe twin beds would be the way to go -- how cute are these!? (Okay kidding, but still... this room is pretty rad.)

Strawberry fields forever

Went away for the weekend and came back to this...



...my sad, sad strawberry plants. I diligently tried to nurse them back to health (thus the light) and by the next day they'd totally perked up!

Check it out:

Sit on this

I have to give my friend Lauren Zimmerman over at second coat design all the credit for this find -- she knew I was in the market for a couple of occasional chairs, so when she saw these on craigslist she shot me an email right away. Less than 5 hours later and they were mine, all mine! Many thanks to my roommate for driving me over and hauling them back to our place.

Don't they look pretty with our things? At first I was intent on recovering them (in a thick, navy and white verticle stripe, something like this) but now that I see the green in person, it's starting to grow on me and I'm having second thoughts. What do you think?

Happy Birthday scarlet&sterling!

{Let them eat cupcakes!}

It's been exactly one year today since I started scarlet&sterling -- it's been such a blast and I can't wait to see what the next year brings!

Required reading

{As seen on dooce.com}

I am totally judging this book by its (very beautiful, awe-inspiring) cover. Ever since Domino Magazine (RIP!) folded, I've been trying to fill the void it left. Lonny Magazine does a pretty good job of giving me that home-decor fix, and so do all the blogs I read -- see the right side of my blog for some great ones to check out. This book looks like it just may do the trick, especially since my small wallet necessitates that I live in a small space. I think I'll pick up a copy this weekend!

Cool style at the Blogger's Ball II

The well-heeled Boston bloggers came out to play tonight at the Blogger's Ball II, where Erin Gates of Elements of Style, Liana Peterson of New Brahmin, and Jessica Sutton of Daucus Carota talked about their experiences keeping blogs -- everything from cultivating an audience and best practices for balancing a day job and blogging to how to handle the haters and developing your own voice. As my own blog nears it's first birthday, it was great to get advice from such talented (and stylish!) ladies.

{oh hello there!}

I met Amanda (of red bird vintage fame) at the event, which was held at the gorgeous Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams showroom in the South End and hosted by The Design Salon. Amanda and I bonded over our mutual love for vintage (I was sporting a 70s era silk shirt under a black dress.) I really dug her look -- the stripes with the cheetah-print scarf plus the structured jacket and frames. Apologies for the crappy quality of this photo though -- I took it with my iPhone. Amanda, you say there are good iPhone photo apps out there? Please show me your secrets. Also, I'm totally stealing your look. Hope you're okay with that.

Scenes from Brimfield: May 2010

Had a great time at Brimfield with Mom over the weekend. We long ago learned the value of going on Sunday (the last day) because that's when all the vendors are packing up their stuff and are therefore more likely to cut you a better deal. Haggling over the price still totally freaks me out though, I have to admit. Something about the confrontation of it. Plus it involves money, which really just elevates the awkward. I learned a valuable lesson this weekend though....




...The tabletop file above (pictured at my parents' house) was originally marked $45. I was prepared to offer the seller $30, thinking that was a good deal. But instead of offering a price right up front, my mom suggested asking "What's your best price." It's a good thing too, because I walked off with it for $25. What a bargain!

I also bought this suitcase (for $5!!!)


Check out some of the other cool finds we spotted at the fair:

{Victorian era student's chair -- built for ideal reading comfort}

{I bought a mirror from this seller a couple years ago -- one of these days I'll buy one of the really BIG ones}

{Tables made from reclaimed bowling alleys}

{I SHOULD have bought this}

I didn't buy this eagle mirror (above) because it was a bit scratched. Later in the day we went back for it but the seller was already gone. Sigh. That's the gamble you take from walking away though!

{Mom and me!}

See all Brimfield posts on scarlet&sterling