In Color

This past weekend was not only Easter, but also my littlest brother's birthday. He turned 15...it's just so weird. I'm the oldest of five, if you didn't already know, and I'm having a hard time seeing all my little siblings grow up. I can't even imagine how it must feel to be a parent!

I also had the fortune/misfortune to get a new car! (read as: used car). My old car was a piece of crap, and finally the repairs were too expensive to keep it around, so out we went to get a newer, steadier, and better car. Sadly, this puts house hunting on hold as all our savings went to the car. BUT, I have a car where all the lights work (all the time!), the horn works...I really missed that... and most importantly the breaks work, so it's ok in the end.

 So, I'm pretty much in love with this dress. I wore it a lot this winter, but it didn't get the spotlight it deserved here on the blog. I'm addicted to the Sweetie style dress on the Trashy Diva website. They have the perfect 40's silhouette, and the most amazing prints.

dress trashy diva

belt thrifted

shoes swedish hasbeens

xo,

 Em

Interview with Brynn

When Brynn of Being/Elliot asked if we wanted to swap interviews with one another I thought it'd be super fun. She is a lovely lady who has a great blog and I always love interviews. I also thought it would be interesting to interview a modern lady on vintage style. So, here is Brynn!

What is one of your favorite decades and why?

I love, love, LOVE the '60s. There is something about that decade that gets me. Maybe it was the bold stand-out patterns? The colors? Or, perhaps it was the mini-dresses and jewelry. Whatever it was, I am hooked and I always find myself buying '60s style looks. You can just call me Twiggy.

I also have an affinity for '70s Boho style. I love a good pair of light-washed bell bottoms and a wide brimmed hat.

Throw in some '20s style flapper fringe and I am good to go.

How has your style developed and what do you draw on as inspiration?

My style is in constant development. I don’t think it will ever stop changing. I went through many phases in my style development, both good and bad, but all the phases I went through helped me learn how to construct outfits and piece things together.

Through all this, I have found that style is all about quality verses quantity.

Today, I find my inspiration by looking to the past.

I love looking to female musicians from years ago like Joan Baez, Joni Mitchell, June Carter, Cher, and Stevie Nicks for style ideas.

I feel like these women were bold, and worthy of recognition both musically and style-wise. 

 
What vintage styles do you see in modern or mainstream fashion?

Oh my goodness, I see it everywhere! I feel like fashion is always in constant flux and often looks to the past for inspiration. Right now, the '60s looks are coming back with the rising popularity of period shows like “Mad Men” (a personal favorite).

While I was at New York Fashion Week in February, I also saw an outpouring of '20s stylish evening wear. If I can predict anything from the S/S 2013 shows, it seems that the glitz and glamour of the flapper era is going to gain popularity. 

What are some vintage styles or aesthetics that you incorporate into your own wardrobe?

Elements of '60s fashion are worn almost on a daily basis for me. My closet is stockpiled of '50s style day-wear, '60s style coats and jackets, and '70s style high-weighted denim.

Vintage is the largest aspect of my closet, simply because it is better for the environment, and it is a way for you to have a unique and precious item no one else will have. So it’s a win-win. 

What old movie star would you most love to dress like?

Such a hard question! There are so many total foxes, it is so hard to choose! If I had to pick, it would probably have to be Lauren Bacall. She is a total vamp with her gorgeous defined brows and tilter beret.

She would absolutely dominate on the screen with her sultry voice and cool debonair which translated on the red carpet as well.

I love her versatility.

Do you have any begone trends of the past that you wish modern designers would embrace?

I would love for the fashion industry to embrace more of the '20s style headdresses and hair bands. I love the elegant look that the intricate pieces give off. They feel very royal and distinguished to me.

 photo credit: jackie osborne

I hope you enjoyed the interview with Brynn, and go check her blog out Being/Elliot for my interview! 

xo,

 Em 

Blue

This is one of two lovely blue dresses I recently bought, with spring and summer in mind, however as I write this it has been flurrying off and on all day, so it seems as if I will have to wait to wear them as proper spring dresses for a bit yet.

 I wore this on a date night where we ate tasty food at Taco Mamacita's and went and saw Stoker at the Belcourt. Whooo, it was good and creepy, and now I want all of Mia Wasikowska's clothing. Even if a movie is quite scary (which I don't do the best with) if it is aesthetically pleasing I'm sold.

dress hip zipper

tights target

shoes nine west

I hope you all have had a lovely start to your week. Has anybody else seen Stoker? Yay or nay?

xo,

 Em

At the Zoo

 Most of this week my hubby has been out of town. I've had a few days of spring break (since only one of the preschools I teach at is having spring break this week, the other one next week) and so my wonderful family went on a jaunt to the Nashville Zoo. I went a few times as a child (though I remember preferring the Memphis Zoo), so I was super pumped to be going once again with almost all my family. Sorry Ty, I promise we'll go again this spring!( He's been wanting to go to the Zoo since we moved to Nashville.)

 I'm trying to be a better blogger and take my camera with me when I go somewhere. Here's hoping I'll remember more often!

 It was a lovely day, even though it was a tad chilly. Our Tennessee weather has been jumping around like crazy, going from 75 to 43. I'm more of a winter person myself, but I find myself actually longing for spring and summer. Come on Tennessee, make up your mind!

xo,

Em

It's The Little Things

I'll go ahead and start this off with our bad news, which is...we didn't get the house. In the end it was such a stressful situation and it put way too much strain on Tyler and I. How it happened was how it was supposed to happen and we are at peace about that. I also got sick in the process, which is never fun. I think my body takes it out on me majorly when I'm stressed, good job body, good job.

Tyler and I had the best weekend though, being joyful, at peace, and relaxed. We went to a St. Patrick's Day Festival in East Nashville and indulged in some good ol' retail therapy.

Sometimes it's the little things in life that pick you up when you are down. These jeans fit again, not exactly how I would want, but they fit, and that has been a goal of mine. As silly as it might sound that made my day.

jeans freddie's of pinewood

blouse american apparel

shoes jessica simpson

scarf the hip zipper

cardigan anthropologie 

50's cat pin gift from a lovely lady

I went shopping at this lovely place called Wonders on Woodland and went to buy this darling 50's cat pin and the lady gave it to me for free. She just gave it to me and proceeded to give me a fantastic hug. It seems small but it really lifted my spirits.

I'm enjoying this time of peace and focusing on the little pleasures that make life so sweet.

xo,

 Em

Recently

I've dissapeared a little longer than normal, because things have gotten crazy and busy (as everyone's life does). I told you all how Tyler and I decided to start hunting for houses, well we found one we just adore and today we put an offer in for it. I know full well this could all fall through so I'm trying to keep a level head emotionally and not get too excited, but it is kinda exciting...

This is one of the first houses we visited...it was a pitty the inside was crazy and really cramped.

I had some fun with what might be the last of our cold weather here dressing up in some nice men's type apparel.

This is sweet Anne, one of my students (don't worry her mom works with me and is ok with me putting her pic up) She is the biggest drama queen (in the best sense of the term) and runs around making up songs and generally acting like she's in a play. I constantly want to take her home with me and hope one day to have such a cutie pie of my own. She always wants me to do her hair, sooo I have a good time with that.

I have recently gotten sick and have been consoling myself with hot toddies and awesome movies. 

That's just a little update on what's going on in my neck of the woods.

I hope you all are enjoying your weekend; it's quite lovely here in Tennessee.

xo,

 Em

Colorful and Big Steps

I received this dress for Christmas this year, and it is probably one of my favorites to wear. It's chock full of color, and I think it's just super fun.

In addition to the dress being one of my favorite items, this jacket is as well. I purchased it from The Loved One while I was in California on my honey moon (so it also has lovely emotional memories to go along with it), The color is incredible, and I had never really seen anything like it before.

dress trashy diva (gift)

40's riding jacket the loved one

tights target

shoes anthropologie (gift)

 

Lots of good and stressful (in a good way) things are being worked on in the Litton household. We are considering buying a house (super big step!) and are going through all the lovely paper work and loan officers and whatnot trying to see what we'll be doing. I'm very excited and even if we don't end up buying until next year we've started the process and it's going to be great! I'm also starting the process of applying to schools here for music positions (not that any schools know yet what the openings will be, but it's good to get in there early). Please send us your prayers and thoughts. I know that whatever happens in this next season of our life happens for a reason. If I stay at the preschool that's where I'm supposed to be, and if it happens we wait another year for a house we're ok with that. It's always exciting to work toward something though.

I hope you all have had a good start to your week!

xo,

 Em