beautiful machines

because i was a sport-playing teenager, i learned to loathe exercising indoors or without a ball-chasing purpose. as a twenty-something, this has meant that most of my cardio has come from walking/hiking/bicycling. but last week i sucked it up & joined the gym across the street. i've been feeling a little bit dark at the edges (my brain curling like burnt paper) & thought exercise might be a way to feel less stressed/ more motivated. so far. so good. this morning i had the mandatory meeting with the personal trainer. & though i was not excited (can't a gal just get her cardio on without someone watching?!) it wasn't so bad. i'm actually not unhealthy! plus, the trainer agreed with my cardio to clear my cluttered writer's head plan.

(i can't decide if i'm thrilled or disappointed that none of the machines i used today were as intricate as the 1920s exercise apparatus above. and my workout clothes? way less classy.)

{via exerciseproper}

not clocking the bartender

in my opinion, there is nothing better than a glass of scotch to celebrate the end of a monday. the week has successfully begun & it was a productive day. the day after tomorrow we're heading off to italy for research & to visit Z's sister. shizam. anyone have suggestions of things to see/do/eat in rome or florence?!

(for the record, at the fanciest wedding i ever attended i ordered a scotch on the rocks & the bartender replied: are you sure? that's a tall order for such a little lady. i had to literally restrain from myself from clocking him. i mean i get it, i was kicking it in a black fifties cocktail dress, but in my mind that fit the situation even better).

{via djdasmeg}

unexpected wedding dresses: blue dahlias

can someone please scoop up this number? another beautiful non-white option, with more than enough whimsy--the flowers, the detail, the crisp green ribbon!

{dress via timelessvixenvintage}

ringing in spring, dream jobs

some of the best parts about spring: the return of ballet flats, light-weight jackets, & less layers (there's nothing better than throwing on a dress & being all set to go). the ever-rocktastic 13 bees is at it again, with some killer new spring-ing pieces just-added to her shop (& the extra delight of now offering international shipping). this criss-crossed dress makes me want to hop on a ferry to france & have mid-afternoon cocktails on the beach. sigh. someday i'd love to combine my obsession with books & vintage dresses, and open a well-curated shop with in-store tailoring. what could be better than writing poems surrounded by language & beautiful pieces of history--leather spines, metal zippers, & buttons oh my! just imagining racks of dresses next to color-blocked books makes me swoon.

penguined postcards

these penguin postcards, with their one hundred covers of total vintage glory all in one kicking box, had been tempting me like crazy for the past few weeks. saturday, stuffed full of sugar at the london-fields market, i finally broke. as someone who goes through miles of postcards for applications, having a set on hand will totally save me from anymore late night mad-dashes out to the corner store for the inevitably terrible london tourist ones. and for the price, these babies are actually a steal--only fifteen pence a postcard. that's way better than pretty much anywhere around islington. though i have to admit, it is a little hard to let any of them go. they really are that cool. (never fear statesiders, they are available in boatloads of places).

{via designmuseum}

an apple a day

wouldn't this make a lovely place to stash those earrings & rings you wear more often? or maybe some paperclips & tiny office supplies? truthfully, i really need a place to keep my bobby pins so they're not always finding their way into the floorboard cracks or trailed out the front door.

{via modishvintage}

bicycles built for two-timing

for the record, it's not a bad idea to invest in vintage/antique furnitures while living in a teeny town of gorges & greenery (& buckets of snow). if you've got patience & a good eye, prices can be unbeatable. but here's a funny story involving our favorite antique place in ithaca and a rather big blog: there was once a sensational bicycle built-for-two in our ithaca antiquery and Z & i wanted it very much. we wandered around the store a hundred times, kept glancing at it coyly, scheming how we could bend our budget to buy it. but we were good. we left without purchasing, thinking we'd think a bit before taking the plunge (food or bicycles is never a good debate). in other words--we hemmed. and when we returned? it was gone. the antique mall had helped a couple dismantle it into a compact car to take to nyc. we were heartache-y, but this is sometimes for the best when your pennies can't really come out of the jar just yet, even if it is the most amazing bicycle and it looks just like the rusted-dysfunctional one that you had as a child.

then, a few weeks later, we saw a too-similar bike up over here--a couple was riding it around joanna goddard's neighborhood & she left them a note. wouldn't you know--they said it came from an antique mall in ithaca! oh, how painful to see it again being ridden by hot new yorkers!! but also quite small-world funny. in the end, as you can see, we found a mint-condition green schwinn which Z's parents gifted us as a wedding present. we road that puppy around the winding streets of ithaca like champs (& then completely forgot to bring it to our wedding--we had loved the idea of our guests riding around the park). this afternoon, amidst the first sunshine in days, i am daydreaming of our built-for-two awaiting us at home & being glad i haven't seen anyone attempting one on the traffic-ed streets of london!

absolute vintage in the city

just before paris, i finally bit the weather-bullet & realized i had to find a pair of boots to wear with skinny jeans (i had taken to just wearing dresses once it was too cold for sneakers or my brogues). on the way to bricklane to scout out a few stores (such as rockit, where i got my fabulous high-wasited men's pants for the 30s party) we happened to walk by absolute vintage. shizam. it's a must go if you are in london: floor to ceiling vintage--incredible bags & shoes & beautiful dresses galore. it's listed as one of the top 100 must-visit stores in the world. and, apparently, some pretty fancy celebrities shop there (we didn't see any, but we did catch some ridiculous paparazzi shots around the corner). the sheer selection makes the close-quarters & mirror-hogging ladies worth it. i left with the perfect pair of inexpensive heeled black leather boots. i admit, it's oh so dangerous for me to live in a city where you can just happen upon vintage stores.