Later, 2009....Hello 2010!

Happy New Year!

I can't believe 2009 has come and gone already! But being in my line of work I'm always working ahead of myself, I've been writing 2010 since October, so I'm ready for it!

Being my hubby and I had off today, and it's quite yucky and rainy out, we decided to go to a casino about an hour away. Was a nice drive and I came home $120 richer! Not bad for a day's work! :)

Jacket: Ann Taylor Loft

Blouse: Target

Jeans: Old Navy

Sneakers: Payless

Bag: Elliott Lucca

Necklace: Vintage from eBay

The After-Holiday Glow

I do love relaxing holidays and this was definitely one of those! Five days off of doing nothing but hanging out, watching movies, making cookies, and basking in holiday cheer...good times. :) I'm back to work today, but it's a short week...only 2.5 days! Nice!

This cardigan from The Limited is one of my favorite pieces right now. It's double-breasted, which I just think is cool! And I'm carrying my beloved Elliott Lucca bag...this was my first high-end bag and started the love. :)

I'm also wearing my fabulous new owl necklace...this was a vintage piece I had found on consignment at my favorite local jewelry store. I had it on lay-away until January, but my fantastic hubby surprised me on Christmas morning! I couldn't believe he paid for the rest of it...I'm still shocked and just touched at his thoughtfulness! Unfortunately the photos don't do it justice at all and my camera sucks, so I was unable to get a close-up. The necklace is a gold medallion with a raised gold owl in the center sitting on a branch with purple and orange jewels on each end of the branch.

Cardigan: The Limited

Tank & Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Payless

Bag: Elliott Lucca

Watch: Skagen

Necklace: Vintage consignment piece

Ring: Vintage from antique fair

Bracelet: Vintage from eBay

Close-up of the cardigan.

Close-up of my bracelet

Website Wednesday -- eBay

eBay is hands-down one of my favorite Web sites of all time. Without eBay, my vintage jewelry collection would be nothing that it is today! I just have had extremely good luck when it comes to purchasing vintage and antique jewelry off eBay. Now, I'm not really a "collector" -- I'm not looking for signed pieces necessarily, or expensive ones. I love vintage/antique costume jewelry. While I do have some more expensive pieces, the ones I've gotten for $1-5 off eBay are the ones I get the most compliments on!

People ask me all the time how I find such great stuff. There's really no hidden tricks or method...I just know what to search for, I don't mind searching through endless lists of items, and I also save sellers that I know offer things I like and I check their stores on a constant basis. It's like any great hunt...you have to put the time and effort into it! :)


The following are a few photos of my favorite vintage/antique jewelry finds on eBay to date. 

This was the one that really started it all...a black vintage locket I scored on eBay for $5 a few years ago. It's my favorite piece and I wear it tons!

 

 This was a major score on eBay...this photo really does not do this watch necklace justice. It's in absolutely superb condition, works, and was like $12. 

I feel in love with this bracelet the first time I saw it and knew it was to be mine. I love that it's a double-bracelet, so you get this awesome effect, but they're one piece!

This silver bracelet I really wasn't sure about when I bought it off eBay, but for $5 I took a chance. For some reason, I get more compliments on this bracelet than any other jewelry I own! 

 

 And lastly are screw-back and clip-on earrings. I had to let my pierced ears close up when I was in college due to infections and such. And let's face it -- clip-on earrings in places like Claire's and such suck! LOL But that all changed when I started looking into vintage screw-back and clip-ons and my collection grew quite a bit! Below is my current collection...one board has gold-tone and the other are silver-tone. The majority of my earrings were purchased off eBay, with others from local antique shows and stores.

Got to Love Casual Days!

I love our Executive Director...we normally can dress casual (aka jeans) on Fridays, but since it's the holidays she's letting us dress casual this week and next week. So much fun! :)

I'm really loving this outfit today...I'm still not 100% from my flu last week, plus I'm feeling rather bloated, and I feel this outfit is nicely streamlined and slimming. I'm feeling good today! 

Jacket: NY & Company

Tank: Newport News

Jeans: Old Navy

Boots: Payless

Necklace: Cost Plus World Market

Earrings & Bracelet: Vintage from eBay

Watch: Skagen

Dresses, How I Love Thee...

I definitely have more dresses in my closet than anything...even shoes! Why do I love dresses so much?

• For my body type, dresses are extremely flattering.
• Putting one on in the morning makes getting ready in the morning a snap! It's just an instant outfit...throw it on and go!
• They're so comfortable, much more than pants. 
• Most dresses can be dressed up or down with ease, just with a change of accessories.
• Living in Northern CA where it's warm 9 months out of the year, dresses are great transitional pieces...I wear them as-is with sandals during the warm months, and for the few cold months we have I just wear them with tights, boots and cardigans over them.

This is one of my favorite dresses...I don't normally wear cuts like this as they tend to accenuate my hips (I normally like sheath or more fitted dresses), but the fabric of this dress is substantial enough that it works for me. And I just love the pattern and the pockets! You can see the pockets better in the side view.



Dress: Purchased at Marshalls

Boots: JC Penney

Tights: Assets by Target

Bag: Lockheart

Watch: Anne Klein

Ring: Vintage Avon

Bracelet: Vintage from eBay

Locket: Vintage from eBay

Two for One!

Wow, these last few days at work have been absolutely insane and I've had know time to post to my blog. So I'm making it up with photos of both yesterday and today! :)

Monday's outfit...it was freezing! And parts of Northern CA had snow...craziness!

Sweater: NY & Company

Pant: Ann Taylor Loft

Bag: Hoakon/Helga

Boots: Payless

Necklace: Cost Plus World Market (awesome cheap find!)

Watch: Anne Klein

Frames: Lulu Guiness

Still freezing today!

Top & Pants: Ann Taylor Loft
Jacket: Target
Bag: Lockheart
Boots: Payless
Watch: Anne Klein
Broach: Thrifted vintage
Earrings: Vintage from eBay
Frames: Lulu Guiness

Here's a close-up of the earrings...I love these!









 

I've Come to Realize...

That I have a lot of purple and black in my wardrobe. Since I just realized I'm wearing the same exact colors top to bottom as I did on Tuesday. LOL I guess I know what I like!

Sweater Dress: From a no-longer-existing retail Web site

Tank: Old Navy

Tights: Assets by Target

Boots: Payless (from last season)
Bag: Isabella Fiore

Watch: Anne Klein

Necklace: Elizabeth Cole

Earrings and Braclet: Vintage from eBay

Frames: Lulu Guiness

A Chilly Day in November

Wow, today was chilly! Plus today was my "Friday" as I'm off for six days from work! Yay! So I wanted to be comfy and cozy, which to me equals soft boots and tights.

Dress: Nine West

Tights: Assets by Target 

Boots: Payless

Necklace: Vintage locket from eBay

Watch: Anne Klein

I got my dress for a total steal on Gilt Groupe ... I'll be talking about that site plus others like it in my "Wednesday Website" post tomorrow.

However, I'm not still sure if I love this dress or not. I don't normally wear stuff that's so Bohemian-looking...my boss calls this my "gypsy look." LOL But it's very comfy and I love the pattern.