Happy Birthday to Me!

Ok, it's not actually my birthday today, it was over a month ago, but given I was sick on my birthday and then bombarded by the holidays I am just now getting around to showing off my 40th birthday present haul. CollectoratorOne is the best gift giver and this year's birthday gifts were so fun! First is this lovely red quilted robe that is just my size, small and petite, and would definitely fall under a "do" in the Fashion Do's and Don'ts for the Short Girl booklet that CollectoratorOne gave me a couple birthdays ago. That booklet is so funny by the way, all the badly dressed short girls are also depicted as "bad" girls, as if "bad" fashion leads to "bad" behavior. You never know, maybe it does!!!! I scanned in a few pages of the booklet on my flickr site if you want a laugh check it out.


Second, are these awesome shoe protector boots for rainy weather called Drizzle Boots!!!! Instead of having to commit a fashion "don't" and wear ugly rain galoshes, you can slip these on over your regular shoes and still be styling! They even have a space for the heel of your shoe! I can't wait to try these out. I think these will do a way better job of rain protecting than my disposable footguards, although they are a quite humorous I must say. I am not sure if the art work, or the fact that they come on a roll like foil makes me giggle the most. They haven't ever been opened but I am dying to know what they are like. They look they wouldn't help keep the rain out at all! Too funny.



Of course I had to buy a present for myself which was this neato sewing basket. I just love the star on it. I outgrew my other sewing basket, and given my sister wants to learn how to sew, I filled it up with all the basic sewing essentials and sent it to her for Christmas. She doesn't know, but that's exactly how it came to me from my mom. She bought a new one and gave me hers filled with new gear, so it's been passed down again in the same way. That ought to fill you with warm fuzzies!

Lastly but bestly, my husband gave me four vintage pins, one for each season, he said, but I think he was being cute and really meant one for each decade. There is a Christmas tree with pearls as ornaments, a plastic one that is a spray of spring green flowers, a gold filigree style butterfly, and a rhinestone leaf. He knows how much I love pins!!!!  I am so thankful for my loved ones and that they know me so well! Thanks you guys for turning a lousy birthday into a happy time and thanks for all the years of friendship and love!!!!

Playsuits, Jarts, and Badminton... Oh My!

Playsuits, or "onesies for adults" as CollectoratorOne calls them  (ha!!) are a very utilitarian clothing staple that has unfortunately gone by the way side. Yes, we still have shorts and tops, but do they often include a matching overskirt or wrap that you can don so you can go just about anywhere comfortably? Nothing against shorts, I have my fair share of cute shorts, but you are stuck being casual without the overskirt or wrap. See, with a playsuit with an overdress/wrap, I could take a walk around the lake in the morning, brunch with a friend on her veranda, go by the grocery store to pick up some food for the early evening lawn party, prepare and serve the food, and then off comes the wrap, and I am ready for a game of Jarts or Badminton just like that! Tell me another outfit you could do all that in?

CollectoratorOne officially endorses playsuits as the most comfortable thing to cook in as well so we should all give that a try! Of course, some playsuitss, like the ones pictured here from CollectoratorOne's collection, are more akin to one piece bathing suits so probably not the best thing to go grocery shopping in, BUT I think they'd still get the husband stamp of approval for cooking in! CollectoratorOne and I have vowed that as soon as we have grass again to play lawn games in that we'll play Jarts and Badminton often in our playsuits. Unfortunately, I don't own any playsuits (amazingly enough if you've seen my closet) so I an going have to make my own so i can join in the lawn game fun!

I have been collecting vintage playsuit patterns for awhile like my favorite one pictured here, and I found this nautical fabric that I think is just a big enough piece to make it. It's been a long while since I sewed anything, mostly due to lack of time, and excuse, after excuse, after excuse. I should probably concentrate on packing up things in my free time instead of creating more things to pack, but if I start working on the pattern now maybe I'll actually finish it by the time the grass grows back! I don't have any coordinating fabric to make the wrap though which means I'll have to buy more fabric! yay! I told myself if I made something I could buy more fabric so that should be extra motivation to get started! Stay tuned!