What the Art Teacher Wore #28

Brooklyn Bridge Monday: dress: Anthro, sale, couple summers ago; necklace: dunno, Target maybe?; hair accessory: the marvelous Peachy Tuesday

Please pardon me if I sound a little bit Eeyore-esque in this post but I said good bye to one of my favorite friends this week: Summer. On Thursday my days of traveling, estate-saling, fro-yo-for-dinner'ing ended. Don't get me wrong, I'm thrilled for the upcoming school year and our European theme in the art room. It's just that, well, I'm gonna miss all of my free time. And fro yo. 

Along with WIWTW, I'm sharing some more photos from my NYC in 48 hours. Well, with the exception of one day...I'm sure you'll be able to figure out which when you do some downward scrollin'. 

In other news, the polling has closed on the DIY Eiffel Tower Dress. If you recall, the question was: Should I bedazzle the dress some more or leave it as is? It seems the majority of you are on the side of my hubs (thanks a lot, ya'll. Humph.) and are in the please stop the tackifying camp. I appreciate your taking the time to vote and I've decided...to leave the dress as is. Partly because you are right and the other partly because my ADHD has caused me to move on to other things. Like more poodles. Possibly in tutu's. Definitely wearing berets. Is it fro yo time yet?

Such a beauty, the Brooklyn Bridge.

Traffic in NYC Tuesday: "Well, as you can see, Bob, the traffic in Chelsea is flowing along just fine." This silly photo was taken on the High Line in Chelsea. dress: thrifted, Issac Mizrahi; bow belt: Anthro

Just a glimpse of the awesomeness that is Purl Soho.

Back to School Thursday: That's right, I skipped Wednesday. It was a bit of a long day what with flying home and heading straight to the eye doc afterword (notice the glasses?), grocery shopping and unpacking. By the time I remembered I hadn't taken a photo, I was in my pajamas. And I'm not ready to share that much with you. dress and sweater: sale, Anthro; sandals: Frye

Dino bones at the Natural History Museum.

Eiffel Tower Dress Friday: This is my first Bernie Dexter dress and I love it. It's so well made and I adore the little red piping. Not to mention the Eiffel Tower print -- eep! Must make more room in el closet for her designs. She even has a dress with a Matisse print. dress: Bernie Dexter; shoes: BC, old; hair flower: made by moi

A student project with a Barbie theme on display at FIT. My fave is the Barbie and poodle on the left.

Back in Tennessee Saturday: My family (my mom and my in-laws) were in town this weekend. We decided to go see the stock car races in Clarksville which is always an adventure. This particular race track is a clay track. That means every time the cars came around the bend, they were spraying us with clay pellets. Yeah, we ain't in NYC no more, kids. dress: vintage, dyed and altered by me; sweater: Anthro; sandals: Chacos

Crazy fun. By the end of the night we were picking clay bits out of each others hair. If it looks like I have a spray tan in the above photo, I do. We call it the Stock Car Clay Spray Special.

I do believe the rules of the track apply to my art room.

My sweet students arrive this Thursday! I cannot wait to see them. Until then, it's more meetings for me. Maybe a "pill draw" window would help me make it through those. Kidding, kidding!

Enjoy your week.

Summer Adventure: NYC in 48 Hours

How does one manage to get their photo taken when traveling solo? Why, you kindly offer to snap photos of families...and immediately afterwords, shove your camera into their hands with an "okay, now you do me!"  Works every time.

 This here extremely photo-heavy post is brought to you by a 48 hour trip to New York City. Hubs often goes there for work and this time, after just a wee bit of nagging (and by "wee bit" I mean only minor kicking and screaming), I was able to tag along. The only catch? As soon as the plane landed on Monday morning at Laguardia, I was on my own. Me. The person so directionally challenged, I still have to hold my hands up to see which makes an L for left. Which got strange looks on the subway. Even from the lady talking to herself. 

Despite all of that, I managed to take to the streets of NYC and pack in as much as possible. I thought I'd share with you some of the must-do high-lights of my super-short trip. And if I managed to miss something, please let me know. I'm sure I can manage to muster up another fall-out-fit the next time hubs needs to take a trip.

I've been to NYC many times and never walked the Brooklyn Bridge. It's amazing! Although getting there proved to be quite the feat. From the airport, I had to take a bus into the city to get onto the subway. Then I took the subway back out of the city to get to the Brooklyn side of the bridge. It was definitely an adventure and I loved every minute.

After arriving in Brooklyn, I made the Must-Do rounds: Jacques Torres Chocolate for the most amazing peanut butter and chocolate cookie, Front Street Pizza for a slice and a cone of the chocolate chunk chocolate ice cream at Brooklyn Ice Cream Factory.

Stuffed to the gills, I walked the bridge. Do you know anything about the tragic history of this bridge? It goes a little something like this: It's creator, John Augustus Roebling, managed to crush his foot before construction of the bridge even started. The amputation of his foot lead to tetanus infection that caused his death. His son, Washington, took charge of the bridge but later suffered from the bends which left him bedridden. Under his guidance, his wife Emily took over the completion of the bridge. Not long after the opening, a rumor was spread that the bridge was going to collapse. This caused a stampede at which 12 people were crushed.

The NYC skyline from the bridge. Lady Liberty was off to the left, just a tiny patina green speck in the water.

Just a peak at the Manhattan Bridge that runs parallel to the Brooklyn.

Once off the bridge, I left the Tribeca area (Museum of Finance? Um, no thank you) and took the subway to one of my favorite areas: Nolita. You've heard of Soho? That means South of Houston Street. And Noho? You guessed it, North. Nolita is in between Little Italy and Noho. It also happened to be where they were filming...wait for it...PROJECT RUNWAY!

Purl Soho, how I love thee. I have been a huge online fan of this shop forever...so to finally venture inside was wonderful. But the best part? Walking out side and seeing TIM GUNN! That's right! All done up in a sharp navy suit with his silver hair gelled back. And just when I was recovering from that, I see ANNIE LEIBOVITZ. Yes, I'm shouting. Because that's what you do when you see genius like that walking the streets. I managed to get THE BEST PHOTO EVER of the back of her head. Yeah, picking my jaw up off of the ground proved to take a mighty long time.

I did my shopping rounds in Soho: Madewell, Topshop, the vintage shop Screaming Mimi's, and my fave shoe store John Fluevog. After all of that shopping, I met up with hubs and some of our favorite New Yorkers (thank you Al, Laureen and Vito!) for an amazing dinner at Becco on Restaurant Row. The food was incredible but I dare say the company was even better.

The next day, I had hubs to accompany me so no more harassing strangers for photos. Our hotel was in Chelsea so we decided to walk something called The High Line.

The High Line was created back in 1999 from an old freight track. Instead of tearing the track down, the city decided to create it into this amazing walkway. It rises above Chelsea and the Meat Packing District. Planted along the line are wild flowers.

A view of a mural from the line.

Near the end of the line is The Chelsea Market. Housed inside of the old Nabisco factory, this place is filled with the yummiest of delights and...an Anthropologie. Which seemed a little out of place...but I was sucked into it's evil vortex and came out with a shopping bag nonetheless.

I took that Big Apple and made it my, ahem, new friend in 48 hours, yo!

Hubs and I on the High Line. Where we managed to find a stranger to take our photo. This time, we didn't have to play any mind games, this kind local offered to snap this herself.

 Thanks for putting up with my endless photos and blabbering commentary. Enjoy your week!

What the Art Teacher Wore #27

Monday in Paris: Well, not really. More like Monday-in-St.-Louis-Outside-of-a-Parisian-Themed-Shop. Which happened to be closed on Monday. Figures. But when I return (not on a Monday), I will venture into Gisele's, what with my current Paris obsession and all.  top: Banana Republic picked up at a yard sale; hanky skirt: made by me, tutorial here; belt: made by me; sandals: old, Target

Hey there, kids! This past week, while hubs was on vacation, we took a road trip to St. Louis to visit some friends. I had this nutty notion that it might be cooler in St. Louie since it's north of Nashville. Yeah, not so. It was 110 degrees. Hubs said he could feel his eyeballs roasting in his skull while I felt like I was walking around inside the mouth of a fire-breathing dragon. Thankfully that mouth was chuck full of great vintage shops...complete with air conditioning. 

I thought I'd let you in on some of my favorite vintage shops and restaurants in St. Louis. Sadly, we didn't stay long enough to visit all of the shops, so if I've missed any gems, please leave me a comment and let me know. I'd love to plan another road trip to this great city...once it's cooled down to a low 98 degrees, of course. I'll be sure to bring my sweater on that trip.

I hit as many vintage shops as I could including the gem Retro 101/Cherry Bomb. This place is packed full of vintage awesomeness and I spent close to an hour pouring over the racks and trying things on. I found their prices to be very reasonable and I walked out of there with a couple of dresses (one of which I'm wearing on Tuesday) and a beautiful full butterfly skirt with a matching butterfly brooch.

A peak inside the shop. I also hit the very cute Vintage Haberdashery but didn't manage to get a photo. That shop was just as lovely. Some of their cuter items were for rent as costumes only. Both places had the kindest of ladies working there which is always a plus. Ruth's Vintage was also on the same street as Retro 101 but was closed. Sad face.

Pizza by the Pound Tuesday: Hubs has decided to become a Pizza Connoisseur. As such, he's taken it upon himself to find the best pizza joint in each town we visit. In St. Louis, that meant we ate at Pi Pizzeria which had an amazing deep dish on a cornmeal crust. When driving home, we stopped in Paducah, Kentucky at Pizza by the Pound where the owners proudly displayed their vast Marilyn Monroe and Elvis collections. dress: vintage from Retro 101/Cherry Bomb

Sweet. Appropriate given that my summer began with a trip to Graceland.

Welcome Home Wednesday: On the drive home, hubs plotted out a path of thrift shops to hit along the way. This handmade peachy gem was one of Tuesday's finds. dress: handmade vintage, thrifted; sandals: Target; belt: Pinky Otto, New York

Now if you find yourself in St. Louie, there are two things you MUST do. You MUST go to Ted Drewes for the most amazing custard in the universe and you MUST visit TFA which stands for The Future Antiques. The best part? The two are right down the road from each other. So you can go get jacked up on custard and then shop your retro heart out. 

What I loved about this place was that it wasn't just random bits and pieces of vintage but entire sets. It was like a vintage museum. The owner explained that nothing in his shop dated beyond the 1950's.

This is totally where Pee Wee Herman shopped to deck out his Playhouse. Totally.

More Thriftin' Thursday: That's right, the fun never stops. And on this day, I had a total thrift score: a beautiful 1950's stripped dress AND a 1960's cropped pants/cropped shirt ensemble. I feel a little bad that I had to knock a kid down to get to it but ... well ... a kid's gotta toughen up sometime, right? dress: last season sale rack Anthro

Our friend took us to this great area in St. Louis called Maplewood. Gisele's, the french-themed shop in the first photo, is there as well as this incredible guitar heaven called Eddie's Guitars. I don't even play guitar and this place had me reeling. The owner's son was kind enough to take us into the basement of the shop which I swore I heard angels singing when we descended the stairs. I have my heart set on the turquoise AND the salmon pink guitars.

Pizza and a Matinee Friday: If only every Friday could be spent that way. We rolled with laughter at The Watch. dress: sale, Anthro; sandals and belt: made by me

Just a few of my favorite things from TFA.

Poodle Perfection.

Dude, seriously?! I think I feel a new collection coming on...

Thanks for reading, kids! I hope if you are in St. Louis you'll check out some of these hot spots. And, pretty please, if I've forgotten any, lemme know!

DIY: The Embroidered Eiffel Dress

Bonjour, ya'll! 

As you might have guessed from my art room windows and my French poodle dress, I'm on a bit of a Parisian kick. I finished the embroidery for this dress during our last couple of road trips and, despite a wee bit of a disagreement between the hubs and myself (which I'm going to need your help settling), I'm excited with how it turned out. Especially since it began it's life looking like this...

This little hook in my sewing room usually holds half a dozen of work-in-progress, in-need-of-TLC, please-iron-yesterday dresses. I moved the mound so you could focus on this little bitty dress.

I spotted this dress at Goodwill. I recall this style from a couple years ago, you know, that elastic-waist-band-thing. Most of the tops of these dresses where usually tanks, which I never cared for. The sweet yellow blouse is what drew me to this dress. It's tragic flaw was the fact that the skirt was, like, 14" in length which is just a wee bit of a problem for this never-shave-above-the-knee-caps gal.

I began by letting out the hem and removing the pockets. I found this formerly-a-curtain vintage floral fabric in my stash and decided it would look lovely at the bottom of my dress. I had this idea that I wanted it to look like I was walking through a flower garden. Or being eaten alive by vintage fabric. Which, with my hoarder ways, the latter is more likely the case.

Before adding the vintage fabric to the skirt, I hemmed it and created a circle of fabric that was the same circumference as the bottom of the dress. Then I pinned it to the dress and appliqued stitched around  the edge of the flowers. Once that was complete, I had the super duper fun pleasure of trimming all of the excess fabric off the top. I managed to cut into the skirt accidentally only once...which I promptly patched after saying a few naughty words and throwing a couple of things.

Hubs and I have been enjoying some road trippin' during his time off. My favorite car-traveling craft is embroidery. I've worked on my Naughty Nautical Girls dress, my Pin-up Cowgirls dress and my Presley Poodle all while on the road.

Can you guess my inspiration for the dress? You know I love to go all Miss Frizzle what with my clothes matching my teaching unit. I drew out a sketch of the Eiffel Tower on paper, traced it with a Sharpie, pinned that drawing under my dress and (gasp!) drew the tower onto my dress in pencil before embroidering the Eiffel.

Aw, look at young Brigette Bardot in front of the Eiffel Tower wearing what looks to be a vintage Snuggie. This is actually the hair do I was aspiring to. With flowers, of course.

Okay, remember that disagreement between the hubs and myself? Well, I think I needed to add something to the top, to balance out the dress. My idea is to applique some of the flowers onto the left side of the blouse, as seen in the photo on the left (if you click on the photo, I think you'll get a better look). 

Hubs seems to think I need to leave it alone as seen in the photo on the right. I say it's too "business on the top, Parisian party on the bottom". He says I have a habit to taking things to another (read tacky-er) level.

So, dear reader, what do you think? I'd love to hear your input in the poll at the top of this post on the right (which took me far too long to figure out how to install!)...and a comment if you have the time. Thanks for playing!