http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1549

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1536

Here is a little gift guide for fun…I bought some of these very goods for people on my shopping list :) All photos come from the websites I am linking.

http://bitsandbobbins.com/2009/12/14/indulge-me/

http://bitsandbobbins.com/?p=963

what keeps you coming back?

http://bitsandbobbins.com/2009/12/14/dressing-just-like-momma/

http://bitsandbobbins.com/?p=961

my daughter’s 15 months old now, nearly 16 months, and growing up fast and furious. of late she’s been completely and totally enamored with clothes and accessories. her own, but also and especially, mine. she’s been wanting to wear my shoes (see her wearing my red clogs, above!), and has even taken to grabbing my shoes (various different pairs) and carrying them around the house with her like a lovey or fetish object. she could have hours of fun just sitting in the closet amongst my pile of shoes, and she’ll often grab a pair and bring them out to me, yearning to try them on. she’s been repeatedly wanting to put on a gold sparkly pair of her mary janes in recent weeks, and has also been grabbing various sweaters and sweatshirts of hers and demanding that they be put on her, sometimes several different ones in rapid succession until she’s satisfied.

it’s no surprise, to pete and i, anyway, that one of her first words was “shoe”.

these behaviors seem adorable, if not a little precocious, no? this being my first (and probably only) child, and also, not knowing much about kids in general beyond my own…help me out, if you know: is this kind of thing normal? other fashionable mommas of girls out there: do your baby girls do this??

at any rate, i think it’s pretty funny and very endearing. i’m wondering if she’ll continue this fascination with clothes and shoes and baubles, or if it’s just a passing toddler or childhood phase, wherein one’s child wants to be “just like mommy” (or daddy, as the case may be)…?

but, taking this further, i also wonder: how much of what we wear, what we love, what we’re into, is influenced by what we see our parents/siblings/family wearing? as i see it, those around us, our families and close associates, have a big influence over us and what we wear. this can and does usually seem to go one of two ways (sometimes both, or one way or the other depending on where you are in your life or development at a given juncture): one, you can dress just like/or similar to mom and/or dad (or like the rest of your family), or you can try and do the exact opposite, as a way to exert independence and set oneself apart from whom you sprang. going with what you know, or (un)consciously going against it.

i know for me, it was like this: it went both ways. i wanted, and still want to be a lot like my parents, i have some similarities in my tastes in relation to them, but have always had a stubborn streak that made me want to be my own person, stylistically, and otherwise.

my dad’s style is very trad, very new-england in the 1960s, very collegiate, very ivy league. and he looks amazing. i definitely see myself embracing similar tastes, a lot of times, leaning back on classics as foundation in my wardrobe, albeit usually wearing them with more than a little cheeky twist (unexpected fabrics, odd yet calculated pairings of pieces, colors, textures, etc.). dad also loves color, just like moi (boy howdy!)…we’re both unafraid to wear it. as for mom, i still have a picture of her in my mind’s eye that includes her sporting a chin-length blonde bob (my hair is usually some variation on the same), and if i could get my hands on some of the things she wore in the 1970s (like that long gone, camel-colored a-line wool jumper she had!) i’d be a happy, happy woman.

but…there are a good many things i love and wear that i doubt my parents would ever consider in a million eons…and that’s what makes me *me*, my tastes mine. and that’s fine. but my parents are, in many ways, the core of me, the jumping off point from which i come, stylistically.

maybe it’s a little like this: you take a little from what you know, mix it with who you are inside, and volia…you have your own personal style statement. or something like that.

i can’t wait to see who my little poppy flower becomes. will she continue to love all the bright colors, like i do? will she still be into the shoes, the jewelry, the clothes? will she love getting dressed up as much as i do? will she clamor to wear my old things when she’s older? or will she eschew it all, in favor of her own different and delightful tastes and whims? maybe she’ll indulge in a little of both, remixing things her own way, playing with influences and trends and all of it. either way, it will be fascinating to watch her grow and watch her evolve, stylistically, and otherwise.

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1531

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1528

Without a doubt the absolute best years of my life have been spent with this man.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunday-secrets_13.html

I baked Christmas cookies with my friend the other day and I'm really scared he's going to think that I sent this in.














-----Email Message-----
I stood right where this picture was taken on the only hill in Paris this weekend and that's when I decided that I wasn't going to just accept who I've become, but instead work to make myself a better person--the one I always wanted to be, but never quite had the courage to achieve.


-----Email Message-----

The Basilica of the Sacred Heart has been the destination for my future
pilgrimage ever since my dad played the John Denver song "A Country Girl
in Paris". I know for certain that something amazing is waiting for me up
upon Montmartre, and I hope - more than anything - that what I find there
is self-acceptance. "For even in her sorrow, there's something in her
eyes.."

-----Email Message-----
My boyfriend makes me use a wheelchair. He says it's the only way he's attracted to me. I wish I could fly away.













See More Secrets. Follow PostSecret on Twitter.









PostSecret Events for 2010 are being arranged now. Enter your email below for a full schedule of dates, schools and performance centers.

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/12/wall-street-journal-postsecret-video.html

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunday-secrets-coming-later-today.html

PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1525

http://bitsandbobbins.com/2009/12/11/wardrobe_remixers-o-the-week-112/

http://bitsandbobbins.com/?p=959

late, yes, yes.
rough week around these parts, cranky me, cranky baby. ugh.
also: crazy cold temps around here in chicagoland, was 3 degrees F yesterday morning! ACK!
anyway…
trying to get into the winter spirit. you?

do enjoy!

love,
tricia

this here is the ORIGINAL and OFFICIAL weekly wardrobe_remix recap of the latest and the greatest from the wardrobe_remix community, from yours truly, the creator of wardrobe_remix!

any wardrobe_remix photos that find themselves here showcase great style + great photography = the two meet and merrily marry to make a perfect expression of YOU and your singular personal style! and i’ve said it a million times before, it’s not what you wear, it’s how you wear it…the ticket is the confidence and sureness you exude when you express yourself the way that makes YOU feel most comfortable. that confidence shines through and is captured on film. so whether you’re wearing couture clothes from the finest designers, mass market threads, stuff you made yourself, thrifted finds, or even a shirt you stumbled across on the side of the road…rock it! it’s ALL GOOD and it’s ALL WELCOME at wardrobe_remix!

andulce:


sunshineupton:


PixieRosa:


fraxinilucia:


bijouxdejais:


double-speak:


idee_geniale:


Jennoit:

thanks to everyone who’s been posting about wardrobe_remix or featuring fashions and folks from the group in their own blogs or websites. thanks for getting the word out. i am glad that wardrobe_remix inspires you! remember to give credit to the people in the aforementioned photos (if you use them in your blog posts, etc.) and to wardrobe_remix itself. it’s good internet/blogging karma! (plus it actually goes with flickr’s terms of service and a little thing called copyright!)

remember: you can click on the photo of any of these terrific wardrobe_remix(ers) to learn more about their photo or outfit, explore their flickr photostream, and beyond. all of the photos are owned by the awesome people who are depicted in them, of course!

join us over at wardrobe_remix and show off your awesome EVERYDAY trendbusting and trend-SETTING personal style!

spread the word!

and see you there!

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1520

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1515

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1508

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1503

http://www.mypapercrane.com/blog/?p=1497

http://bitsandbobbins.com/2009/12/07/colette-patterns-new-retro-loveliness/

http://bitsandbobbins.com/?p=957

have you seen the new patterns from colette patterns, the brainchild of the incredibly talented sarai of sweet sassafrass? as of this past few weeks, she’s added the stunning oolong dress, lady grey coat, and sensha blouse you see above (and several more patterns!!) to her already gorgeous, vintage-influenced, figure-flattering pattern offerings. i love how each of her patterns come packed inside a little booklet that’s lovingly designed and jammed full of incredibly thorough and well-written instructions. the patterns themselves sit nicely in a little built in fold in the back of said booklet…totally smart packaging design, sarai!

i’ve made the beignet, a high-wasted button up the front skirt (in a navy blue pique) and i love it! so i can say that as far as i am concerned, colette patterns come highly recommended!

have you made any of the colette patterns? which ones? how did it go? are you a fan too?

a related aside: wouldn’t it be wonderful if there were more indie pattern companies out there, offering things to suit different whims and tastes, that maybe the big pattern companies can’t reach or address (because they are perhaps pursuing more average tastes?)…what a wonderful idea, no? do you know of any other great, small, stylish pattern companies? do share!

http://bitsandbobbins.com/2009/12/07/outsapops-amazing-trashion-diy-sweater-cape/

http://bitsandbobbins.com/?p=955

take a gander at this glorious patchwork DIY sweater-cape made by finland’s outi of outsapop trashion, above! the sweater-cape and instructions on how to make one for yourself were recently published in the helsingin sanomat. she graciously re-printed the instructions on her blog, in this post, along with an english translation. how AWESOME. thank you, outi!! the project looks complicated, yes, but really, all it takes is some time and a little effort, and whoa, are the results stunning, or what??

(back in the bronx, in a storage unit, i’ve got some piles of felted sweaters that would be put to good good use using this pattern! if i ever get around to using them and making one of these, you’ll be hearing about it…)

http://postsecret.blogspot.com/2009/12/sunday-secrets.html