disneyland-ish.

well, we are not quite in disneyland, but just about as close as you can get...and, when in rome...(or just about as close as you can get)...

channeling minnie mouse to be best of my abilities.

vintage glam.

a little vintage glam flower for a little vintage glam town.

first day in california!

merry christmas!

And the Grinch, with his Grinch-feet ice cold in the snow, stood puzzling and puzzling, how could it be so? It came without ribbons. It came without tags. It came without packages, boxes or bags. And he puzzled and puzzled 'till his puzzler was sore. Then the Grinch thought of something he hadn't before. What if Christmas, he thought, doesn't come from a store?What if Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more? Dr Seuss

Merry Christmas!!!

lovely.

earrings make great flowers, too.

earring flowers instead of a pin for wednesday's flower adornment.

great find. forever 21 for all of $5.00.

silk scarf? yes, please.

taking a hint from vintagebouquet on etsy, I paired one of my favorite flowers with my new love, silk scarves. this coach-esque blue scarf with gold chain links matches perfectly with the vintage two-toned enamel flower pin.

"Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box."

so here's the story. Madeleine Albright, first female secretary of state, which makes her kind of a badass anyway, was called an "unparalleled serpent" by saddam hussein. she decided to strike back (get it?) in what better way? vintage brooches. that's right. badass. she went to meet Iraqi officials donning a pretty little vintage snake brooch.

all of a sudden, wearing a brooch, got very deep.

my favorite?

"hear no evil, speak no evil, see no evil" pin worn to meet vladimir putin.

so, she decided to write a book, "Read My Pins: Stories from a Diplomat's Jewel Box."

and, her pins were displayed in the Smithsonian this year.

and I love it.

here's more info

etsy treasury

etsy treasury!!!

so you don't have an hour (or two) to cruise etsy for the best vintage flowers out there? don't worry...I do.

not only that but in my search I found a great etsy seller...vintagebouquet...

for only about $20.00-$25.00 a piece, vintage bouquet has paired gorgeous flower brooches with silk scarves. need I say more?

christmas-ish.

poinsettia take 2.

I often get swept up in the christmas spirit early...some may say too early.

around the beginning of october, I am ready to decorate. I love that target puts out their christmas decor in july so I have plenty of time to plan my holiday festivities. each room deserves it's own christmas tree, in varying themes and colors. you can never have to many stockings. we have approximately ten (not including those for the animals.) you never know---santa might need more room and you must always be prepared. twelve days of christmas are not enough.

this year, though, something funny happened. a few weeks into november, no christmas tree in sight and with a strange feeling in my tummy, I asked myself "where is christmas?"

it was at target. the isles and isles of holiday cheer staring back into your soul. it was at lowes. the garden reindeer nodding knowingly, "you do not want us". it was on our street. the christmas light balls hanging, sighing, "you must hate christmas." all while our little house sat christmas-less.

depressed yet?

I'm not. this might be one of our best christmas' yet. in our avoidance of "christmas" (due to crammed schedules, or speeding time, or low budgets, or just plain scroogy-ness with the whole mass-marketed idea) we might actually discover what it's really all about.

instead of loading up on lots of presents, kyle and I are limiting it to one gift, and saving the money to fulfill new experiences over the next few weeks. (come on, we couldn't say no presents, that would just be ludicrous.) instead of exchanging gifts with friends, we are going out to beautiful dinners---memories that will last longer than ipods (unless you were actually going to get me an ipod and then I might reconsider the whole dinner thing).

most importantly, though, instead of the traditional one-day of holiday cheer, we are spreading out the joy of the season to be the witness to a wedding and the start of a new life together.

so, I wear my poinsettia proudly. and I am lucky enough to say, this year, I don't need a thing.

holiday cheer.

a very special holiday gift.

beautiful topaz rhinestones and a light chocolate pearl center.

formed resin or bakelite petals.

perfect.

more dots.

personally I do not think you can ever have enough polka dots. three in three days? yes, thank you.

black and white again. fabric. probably hand made.

mom's.

red white and fantastic.

continuing with the polka dot theme, red and white this time. this enamel pin is in beautiful condition. minnie mouse in flower form.

the picture doesn't do it justice. this is pure apple red. no orange tones.

found: thrill of the hunt

70% off. so excited

glam take two.

so in my research about my new favorite flower pin, (see prior post) I came across these---the matching earrings---on etsy! so excited.

yes, I bought them. in, like, all of 30 seconds.

they had me at NIB.

in addition to this marvelous find, after multiple google searches, the real news is that this glam collection is the avon "spectator flower" circa 2002.

adore.

snowy date night. glam.

black and white polka dot flowers with fabulous rhinestone centers.

avon made.

etsy found.

perfect condition.

love vintage avon. more information needed.

hello love.

no flower here. today is all jj telephone pin in gold and rhinestones.

could not be happier with this find.

not only is the pin so fantastic, there is actually a good amount of information out in the world about jj and all it's vintage glory.

in fact, here's an entire blog dedicated to the collection of jj pins....

JJ Pins Collectors Club

want one?

amazon etsy

love.love.love.

back to blogging.

fantastic.

after taking a thanksgiving break from work, greensboro, and blogging, (but not from actually wearing flower pins) I am excited to be back in cyber space (and greensboro-space).

before this flower I had never seen a metal daisy done up in all black. as soon as I saw it, I had to have it. now, I have to admit, I am about 99% sure that someone spray-painted what was once a cheery yellow or orange hue to come up with this ebony creation, but they did such a fantastic job, you would think it is the original form. there are no yellows or pinks peeking through for me to doubt that it wasn't always in it's unique shiny black glory. in fact the only reason I think it was spray painted is that the back clasp is black as well, which is very very rare.

found: adelaides on spring garden.

black is the new black.

monday. and tuesday.

another great design archives find. vintage. signed cathe'. unfortunately I couldn't find much information about this signature but more research will be done!

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thrifting.

vintage flower pin turned into fabulous necklace.

found: adelaide's on spring garden.

locally made.

love.

lotus flower.

channeling buddha.

wednesday's flower.

one of those beautiful flowers kyle gave me for my birthday. gold with yellow petals. one of my absolute favorites. definitely vintage.

found: design archives on tate st.

love.

reminds me of her.

"I still remember the day the world took you back & there was never time to thank you for the thousand scattered moments you left behind to watch us while we slept."

Brian Andreas

for mom...on her birthday...

monday.

and that's all I need to say about that.

where are these flowers found?

here are a few of my favorite places to buy flower pins...(or just explore in general...)

design archives

338 Tate St

website

etsy

one year, for my birthday, kyle gave me a collection of flower pins, all bought at design archives. they were all beautiful and very unique. my best friend ginni also found a few treasures there last year that remind me of the 70's and I love them.

here are a few they are selling on etsy now (just a few of them..there are so many great choices!)...but I highly recommend visiting the shop in person...you never know what you may discover!

love! shop local!

vintagealcove

etsy.

i have had a great experience buying from vintagealcove's online etsy store. they have very unique flowers, priced right. here are a few they are selling right now...(again, this is just a few...there are many more to be found on the site.)

berryisland.

etsy.

one of the neatest etsy sites I've found. so original and unique. what better way to take these little pieces of art and turn them into...well, art! these handmade mosaic pictures with added flower pins (wow) range from $40-$45.

brilliant.

jennypickle.

etsy.

local! (to greensboro and the surrounding areas)...these flowers are so unique and beautiful...made to be headpieces (what a great way to wear a flower) they are the perfect bridal addition...or, let's be honest, a perfect everyday addition.

love and love.

huge thank you to everyone who allowed me permission to post their great finds!

date night.

getting to be a girly girl. love.

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enigma.

this blog allows me to do a few things I love. one of these loves is researching a little piece of history each and every day. with every post, I do at least a quick google search about the flower. sometimes it ends with this, just taking a moment to see if there is more information about this little flower of mine.

sometimes it turns into more. sometimes there are questions that must be asked...where did it come from? (obviously)...when was it created? what was life like during this time? who would have worn this? and, sometimes most interestingly, why and how did this particular flower end up at this particular shop in this particular town? (yes, I do work in an elementary school and, yes, those are the 5 W's)

for some reason, this particular flower has me questioning all of the above. perhaps because I can find absolutely nothing about it. it is an enigma. of the poinsettia variety...

What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear?: Day 129 - Lima Loser Challenge

from one of my favorite blogs out there...

a little inspiration to make everyday a special day...

What Would Emma Pillsbury Wear?: Day 129 - Lima Loser Challenge: "That historic day I tackled the UPS man and proceeded to rip open a box to reveal my very first pair of Penelope mary janes, a single tho..."

Vintage Enamel Flower Pins

fun reading for a day off of flower pins. two great ideas for displaying...which is exactly what I'm working on now. right now my pins are attached to a scarf on my closet door (a vast improvement from the boxes they were previously stored in). however, as the scarf loses strength and the flower collection grows, I am looking for better ways to display a preserve these flowers...

Vintage Enamel Flower Pins

first friday.

this is yesterday's flower. I found this flower last week at Jules on Elm Street during First Friday. I always seem to find one there. (Jules and First Friday). gold calla lilly (my fav) and leaf with a pearl drop center. good things come in small packages.

handmade.

last year a very sweet student gave me this flower. one of my favorite gifts ever. light blue chiffon and thread. perfect.

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saturday and sunday

saturday and sunday's flower (yes, it’s that good). this was a very special gift. definitely vintage. a thrift store find. gold petals with four beautiful diamonds in the center. perfect condition. love it forever.

the find.

this doesn't happen very often. every once in a while I will see a flower pin unlike any that I have seen before, and it will be for sitting in a nice little case, in a nice little thrift store, with a nice little price of $12.00.

this is friday's flower. the picture doesn't do it justice. last year I saw it in a shop, had to have it, then immediately came home to research my find.

the information that is most probable for this flower is that it is a lucite resin flower pin circa...I have no idea! after hours of google-ing, I still have no specific dates.

lucite resin first came around in the 1930's but what does that mean for the flower pin industry??

in the mean time...here are two sites to compare...

Jazzle Dazzle

Worthopedia

one says it's from Germany or Austria...the other says Japan...

help!

big girl meeting.

big girl flower.

vintage for real. thrift store find. was told I looked like fall and that made me happy.

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the color of fall.

"there is a kind of beauty in imperfection..." Conrad Hall

first days of november...

let's keep this simple...

one of my favorites. thrift store find. pearls and diamonds against yellow acrylic and gold. perfect.