Neck Candy : Found : Vintage Original vs New

I've been sort of lusting over all the long pendant necklaces from my Neck Candy post and last week while perusing The Sherman Oaks Antique Mall again, I spotted this amazing gold circles necklace with little dangling plum colored stones and what could have most possibly been the inspiration behind Theodora & Callum's Majorca Necklace retailing for $350 at Neiman's.

Admittedly, I've been on-and-off thinking about its vintage predecessor which I actually spotted prior to seeing the new version online, all week. Finally, yesterday afternoon on the way home from the gallery, I stopped back in and had to go see it again . . . and made a little deal with myself ...if it were under $100, I would buy it. So when the super nice salesman said it was $96, I just had to stand by my word and take it home with me.






In-store there was a bit of a debate of whether it was from the 60's or the 80's ...but really, I think it's somewhere in between, more like the 70's. And for the record, I LOVE it, regardless.




* And if you're in LA you should FOR SURE check out The Sherman Oaks Antique Mall because it's huge and every single little nook and cranny is filled with magnificent treasures.

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Club Tropicana Drinks are Free . . .fun and sunshine, there's enough for everyone!

What I'm Wearing ...every piece is a different color! So unlike me really ;)
* Vintage Tahari green blazer ...last seen here
* Leyendecker coral dress ...last seen here ...and is not the best choice for sitting at a desk at work
* Boutique 9 nude cut-out anklestrap heels ...actually quite comfy and last seen here
* Chloe "Belladone" gray sunglassess
* Vintage Castlecliff lobster pendant necklace ...seen once here with different chains. From The Sherman Oaks Antique Mall

* Title: lyrics from Wham "Club Tropicana" - I know I say this almost every outfit post but I love this song! It's RIDICULOUSLY hilarious, especially if you watch the video where George Michael is still in his "pretending not to be gay" phase {wherein my mother totally believed it - was IN LOVE with him in the 80's sorry mom, but truth be told}. I seriously LOVE the two girls' "outfits" in the first scene but the bartender with the mustache really steals the show. It's just straight comedy ...but also, such a fun song ;) If I'm being totally honest, I kind of want to use it as my title for every outfit post, lol.

Sooooo did everyone in the US stay up all night to watch the Royal Wedding?!?!?! ...me either. I figure they're going to play it and replay it and r e p l a y it for all eternity so why bother risking precious beauty sleep? Don't get me wrong, I'd be watching it if it wasn't on at a ridiculous hour here but again, I'm sure I'll watch it tomorrow, or the next day, or next year.

Update: I mistakenly turned the TV on when I got in bed directly after posting the above statement and now I am finding it terribly difficult to stop watching. Who knows if I will get any sleep tonight. Seriously, what was I thinking??!?!? I had a PLAN!!! lol ...it's really kind of fun though ;)

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Take Your Curtains from Drab to Fab!...and my Ikea dressers makeover

The other night as I was trying to fall asleep, I caught the beginning of Sex and the City 2 for the 10th time and was inspired by Carrie's tassel fringe trimmed curtains . . .




. . . so while at JoAnn's the other day I picked up some black tassel fringe trim thinking maybe it would add that needed punch of black to my window treatment.



 

Needless to say, I went with the white silk curtains. And although I did love the metallic as well, my original idea for this room was very white and black and very girly


* * * * Before * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * After * * * * *

 





* I love them *

My Ikea Dressers Makeover

* * * * Before * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * After * * * * *

 

The husband and I bought these {there are two, one on either end} from Ikea years ago when we lived in the condo and they both resided in each of our separate closets. The before photo is horrible and I'm kicking myself now for not doing a step by step process of how I upgraded these two dressers you can see another shot of one of them here in my closet post ...but here's a step by step of how I took them from boring to super fun ;)

1. Removed/unscrewed original handles
2. Since they are laminate, I had to hand-sand them to add a bit of texture so my paint would adhere.
3. You're not going to like this but I used gloss white spray paint {because that was all I had at the moment and I needed to get them done} ...and I painted right over the plastic fronts.
4. After they dried, I took the same sanders I used prior to texture them, now, to scruff up the paint giving it a vintage/shabby chic look
5. Went to OSH and found these hilariously awesome little lion's head pulls and purchased 20 of them {the original handles had 2 screws each}. You can find the lion's head pulls HERE. And you can see a close up of them HERE





* CLICK HERE to See My Finished Home Office/Dressing Room *

* FACEBOOK * TWITTER * BLOGLOVIN' *

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Baby, when I think about you, I think about love.

What I'm Wearing
* DIY Maxi Dress into a Maxi Skirt
* Forever 21 green T
* Victoria's Secret open cardigan ...can't get enough of these, seriously, sorry if I'm boring you with them, lol
* Steve Madden wooden wedges ...I have them in black too {they were on sale for $60 & couldn't pass it up!}
* Cynthia Rowley "Constance" bag
* Vintage bangles, my leather lanyard bracelet -there's one left but I have more leather to make a few more if anyone is interested & D&G gold watch, Rachel Roy earrings, Clover Necklace {my affordable Van Cleef} from Etsy. I forgot all my rings today save my wedding band. I pulled out of the garage and remembered but couldn't run back as I was already pushing it for time. I hate that though ...as I find my fingers unconsciously feeling my fingers for them, like when you bite the inside of your cheek and you can't stop tonging it all day.

* Title: lyrics from Bad Company "Feel Like Makin' Love" - I die for the harmonies on this song ...dyin', dyin' all the way

I have to admit that I LOVE this skirt. It's ten times better as a skirt than it was as a dress and will get 10x's more wear. I love it. I love the length because I can wear it with flats or these ridiculously high wedges and you know I love options. The outfit's a little boring today ...totally casual but pulled together. It will be fun to see what else I can pair with this skirt ...my one problem is with a draw-string waist, you can't really wear it AT your actual waist {unless you're teeny tiny} because it's not really flattering ...I mean, who wants to look bigger at the waist? Boobs and butt? Bring it ...waist, not so much.

...feel like makin' love?
Happy Hump Day ;)

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DIY A Maxi Dress into A Maxi Skirt

. . . how I wore it

 


. . . it's a cute dress BUT . . .

1. It's too short. I can only wear it with flats. 2. The top doesn't stay up.

I altered this caftan/maxi dress below because it was too short as well {flats only} and makes for a much better skirt than dress. However, this one had an elastic empire-ish waistband so I just snipped off the top section and called it a day. Easy!

 





* Cut off the top {if there is an elastic waist band, carefully cut right above it and you're done ...unless you'd like to hem it under to finish it.



* Fold under the top of your "skirt" creating a channel large enough for whatever "string" you'll be using to cinch it. You may also use elastic if you'd prefer ...and pin in place. If you'd like to get pro about it, you can do a proper hem, but since this is a stretch jersey, and no one is going to be examining mine, I'm leaving mine with raw edges.


 
* If I had a Serger, I'd use that but since I don't, I just hand-stitched {a very messy, I may add} loose, base-stitch all the way around ...and then around again to secure it. Keep the stitches nice and loose so as to not break the thread when pulling your skirt on and off.


 
* Find the center of your skirt and snip a little slit in the front. Again, since my skirt is jersey, I'm not worried about finishing this up nicely ...it will stay in tact. Safety pin the end of your rope or ribbon and slide it through.


...you have a skirt



DIYing an old maxi dress into a maxi skirt gives life to an old dress you may never wear again ...and it's really simple given it's already in the shape of a skirt. You may want to keep this in mind while vintage shopping as well ...if a dress is too small on top but has a great lower half, it could be your new favorite skirt!

Have Fun!

See how I wore it HERE




* This Little was No Help At All! *

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* Nothin' Lasts Forever but the Earth and Sky *

What I'm Wearing
* See by Chloe yellow blouse ...seen here with the shoes actually, and ruffle socks ;) ...also see here, belted.
* Black wide leg pants {ancient} . . .seen here
* Black open sweater vest
* Vintage hat {was my grandma's} ...seen here
* Sunglasses ...unknown, found recently while redoing my office/dressing room
* Pour la Victoire nude/yellow tassel platforms ...from a few years ago ...last seen here
* Vintage black beaded necklace with tassel . . . DIY I threw together as I was running out the door.

* Title: lyrics from Kansas "Dust in the Wind" . . . such an amazing song. But seriously, watch their performance and if you can get past the violinist's ginormous head of hair, please imagine Will Ferrell, Danny McBride, John C. Reilly, Zach Galifianakis ...maybe Seth Rogen, James Franco and Paul Rudd could join in too . . . I dunno, but it would be even funnier than it is now.

I hope you all had a wonderful Easter, or at least a joyously relaxing weekend! We had planned to visit the entire family at my Aunt's house but because my mom had eye surgery last week and had to stay in and finish her recovery, I just felt too bad leaving her all alone on Easter, a day she likes to spend with the family. So instead, the bro & sil & niece, and the husband and I surprised her with our company, lunch, laughter, and her very own yogurt pie ...and she was happy. We had a wonderful time.

Happy Monday ...boo

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