the yellow bel air

or, how a chevrolet stole my heart.

the curves, the hubcaps, the shiny chrome grill. beautifully detailed dash + creamy leather seats. sleek rear wings and white-walled tires. perfectly polished mustard yellow finish.

i think i'm in love!

laura bucci :: vintage illustration series

i first met local artist + designer laura bucci last winter at the got craft holiday show. we had chatted a little back and forth prior to meeting, and it was so lovely to greet her in person. she is as warm + sweet as she is talented.

i have admired laura's work for a long time, and am super interested in her newest goodies.
laura's new series involves vintage illustrations from the 1930's, which she has reworked + enhanced, and paired with vocabulary lists to round out her story. she has put each image together with colours that perfectly suit the vintage appeal of the series. printed in an eco-friendly manner, laura is continuing with her quest to create low-impact earth-friendly designs that are also gorgeous to look at.

the series started out with a vintage spin on her already fabulous eco cup cozies. i have the aqua bicycle one shown below [and i love it], but have a look at that exhausted laundress. how fun, i can certainly relate to that!!

laura is continuing her series with these awesome textile wall art panels. she has kindly shared her process with us here on her blog. it's really great to see what exactly goes into creating a piece, from the design to the trials, to the actual production and even marketing of a new piece. definitely check it out. i love these new pieces, and can't wait to see them in person. where would you hang them? kitchen, classroom, office?

if there's one thing i know about laura's work, it's that these pieces will be just as wonderfully made + fantastic looking as all the rest. you can find laura's shop on big cartel right here.

all images via laura bucci

a rainbow of cars

there was a vintage car show in edgemont village yesterday, just up the street from us. my little guy is a total car buff, so of course we went to check it out. it was fun, and also a great spot to practice some photography [i know i've still got a loooong way to go]. while i was editing my pics last night, i came across a veritable rainbow of cars. pretty, no?

want to hazard a guess at my favourite?

croquet party

today, i'm going to pretend that the sunshine outside my window is warm + soft + welcoming, rather than the wintery, blustery, freezing, crisp sun it actually is. in this glorious sunshine, i will go outside and have a cheerful croquet party. won't you join me?

i'll be wearing a sweet vintage seersucker dress

and a lovely little hat to top it off.

we'll have a croquet party with my painted croquet set

and pause for tea, from this delightful turquoise tea service.

we'll snack on pink macarons

and catch the crumbs with our birkin cocktail napkins.

we'll head home feeling refreshed + happy + free of worry.

wouldn't it be a delight?

the candy tin

when i was young, both my sets of grandparents had a candy tin, filled to the brim with a rotating selection of sweet treats for when the grandchildren came to visit.

nana + poppa had a black tea tin with a floral pattern, and a lid with a round knob [very similar to the top centre, below]. i can remember the slight resistance when i'd try to lift the lid, and the soft *pop* of suction as it would release, revealing the candies inside. they usually stocked a variety of hard candies, my favourites being these fruit-flavoured ones where you'd come to a soft squishy centre after you sucked for a while.

gaya + poppa 'c' had a jaunty red rectangular tin made to look like an english double decker bus. inside could be a wide range of goodies, but my faves here were the individually wrapped trebor gummies, mainly the long rectangular jujubes covered in sugar.

i trolled around etsy for these vintage candy tins today, they are so delightful. i love the idea of my kids seeing them on my parents' shelves, and wondering what kinds of treats are inside. perhaps this old tradition will continue.

vintage printed tin :: vintage daisy folk art tin :: vintage dutch tin

vintage bisquick tulips tin :: vintage art deco tin

vintage tin box from soviet union :: vtg floral tin

this past winter, i lost both my remaining grandparents within a couple months of each other. while it was a difficult time, i have had the chance to reminisce a lot about the things i loved about them, and the memories i have of growing up with them in my life. i would say i'm pretty lucky to have had almost 32 years of grandparents, and that i got to know all four. they are so unconditionally loving. it always amazed me that no matter what, they were there to listen and to love. even in those really awful + awkward teenage years, when i know i wasn't at my best.

when i think back to the furthest memories i can muster, i realize that my son is now even a little older than i was in those memories. meaning that when he's a grown man with kids of his own, he'll remember himself, at this very age, doing the things that he does. and that the time he spends with his grandparents, the special bonding moments and the everyday routines, will be etched in the far reaches of his memory.

i wonder what he'll think. i wonder what he'll remember. what he'll cherish. and i think that maybe i'll have to get a candy tin for the grandparents.

my little valentine

won't you be mine?

{image sources} top left :: top right :: bottom left :: bottom right

a day dress for me, please

i got a little carried away last night trolling through some sweet vintage dresses on etsy. some of my faves were these fun + flirty day dresses.

love them. perfect for spring. which, if you live in vancouver, feels like it has arrived about 3 months early.

images via shops as listed below, top to bottom.

vintage seersucker dress :: jessjamesjake

vintage geometric silk shirtdress by lanvin :: allen company inc.

jetsetter :: roulette vintage

snappy plaid shirt dress :: clever you