Wednesday, July 29, 2009

Just Etsying around the house

This morning I have been just Etsying around the house, taking photos, listing new items, and try to be productive. I've also been enjoying my new dress, which I just thrifted on Monday and have hardly taken off since!





Dress: Thrifted
Scarf: thrifted
Shoes: Crocs

If there is anything better than a vintage dress, it might just be a jersey dress! I really like my brown jersey dress, which I bought about a year ago, but it requires a bit more work to make it cute. The top is a wrap style and extremely low cut, yet the empire waist sits a bit too high to be flattering on me. Plus, the jersey is a bit too clingy for my taste! This new dress succeeds where the other one fails, I love it!

Anyways, speaking of Etsying, here are a two new items that are up in the shop today!


I am loving this apron, but I just have to tell myself I can't keep everything I find! Please, make it yours before I regret my decision!!

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

7.25.09- My first mini remix!

I don't know about you, but once I started photographing my outfits I have become a LOT more picky about what I will wear out of the house. I'm worried I'm becoming high maintenance! For example, last Saturday evening I was meeting up with some friends at a bar that hosts an awesome late night 50s dance party. I love to get dressed up for this event, but I don't like to take it too literally for fear of looking costumey. Here is what I tried on first:

Shirt: Vintage, thrifted
Skirt: Vintage, thrifted
Shoes: Vintage, etsy
Belt: Vintage, free

I really liked this outfit in theory and I still liked it once I photographed it, but something about the red shoes and bold shirt screamed "this is a little bit too much" at me. Or maybe I was just scared that I might actually look a bit ridiculous. So, I remixed it!


Shirt: downtown boutique
Skirt: Vintage, thrifted
Shoes: Ross
Belt: Vintage, free

This is what I actually wore out of the house. I like that the shoes match the shirt and the shirt matches the belt. Plus, I obviously love this skirt because it makes me feel like a 1980s tennis player, and I love feeling 80s preppy! Looking back on these photos, I actually like outfit number 1 the best, even though I ended up wearing outfit 2! Sometimes I think I tone it down for fear of looking silly, even though the original outfit probably looked best. Do you ever do that? Which outfit do you prefer?

Monday, July 27, 2009

Makeover!

Not for me- I wouldn't be so bold! I just made a new banner for the old blog and redid some of the color scheme. I think its a bit more modern and fits my aesthetic better- but I'm no designer and am learning as I go. If you are viewing me in reader, pop over and check out the new look! What do ya'll think? I would really appreciate any advice!

I also changed the banner at Green Violet Vintage and am working on getting a more cohesive look to the shop. If ya'll like this new style, I think I'll work on updating The Green Violet shop as well. Or maybe I'll combine them? I have a few new things I would like to do with photography as well... oh, the choices!! I was never too good at making decisions, but there seem to be quite a few that you have to make along the way to building an online empire (ha- maybe one day)!

7.27.09

Ok, I'll admit it. I only fake wore this today while trying out my brand new shoes!! I love to dress up and accessorise new things, it makes them feel like they are really mine and helps me think about how they might fit into my wardrobe! Oh, and in case I freaked anyone out with that whole unemployment thing, what happened was that my year long job with AmeriCorps (its like the PeaceCorps, but you don't get to go anywhere cool) is over. I'm unemployed and loving it, but I guess I'll have to get a real job soon... though I am considering busting my ass on GVV to see if I can make it a for real, profitable gig rather than just a fun hobby!

Dress: Ross
Belt: Vintage, free
Bag: Vintage, thrifted
NEW SHOES: J.Crew clearance center

I don't know how some of you ladies wear three inch heels everyday, but I can tell you that I will probably only be wearing these for about two hours for a wedding this weekend before they come off and some flats go on! I have to brag though, I got these shoes for $30 and they retail for $265. I also love that a belt that I found at a 'free store' matches them perfectly. If anyone out there lives in or around Asheville and doesn't know about the super secret J.Crew Clearance center, give me a holler and I'll hook you up!



Oh, and while we are on the subject of admitting things, let me go ahead and mention how excited I am for The Bachelorette finale tonight! Even though this season has mostly been a snooze-fest, the stupid surprise twist ending gets me every time! Am I alone in this? Back me up here, ladies!

Saturday, July 25, 2009

7.25.09

Whoops, so its been a while and a whole lot has happened. I got unemployed (yay) and then my parents came to town and we have been busy, busy, busy. More details and photos to come, but here is what I wore today to a big festival in downtown Asheville and a photo of a waterfall in DuPont State Forest!


Shirt: Ann Taylor Outlet
Pants: Ross
Shoes: Birkenstocks
Bag: made by me!
Hedgehog necklace: Etsy

Today I went to Bele Chere- a huge festival with music and art and crafts and food and drinks in downtown Asheville. I needed something I could walk miles in the oppressive heat in, and this fit the bill!

High Falls, Dupont State Forest, NC (unedited)

Sunday, July 19, 2009

7.19.09


Dress: vintage, just thrifted!
Shoes: just got from Ross
Bag: Vintage, thrifted

I just found this dress at the fanciest Goodwill in town and I couldn't have been more excited. I love it! Its a great length, it has sleeves, and buttons up the back of the bodice. The only thing I'm not sure about is the color- its ok from afar but the plaid is a bit 1980s cheesy when you see it up close and personal. I'm thinking about dying it- what do ya'll think?

Wednesday, July 15, 2009

The LAST Peer Training

So, for AmeriCorps we do these peer training days every month during which some of our peers train us. Go figure! Anyways, they are generally pretty awesome and this Monday was no exception. We went to a local college, Warren Wilson, and learned all about forestry and even got to go swimming! It as the last peer training, which was kind of sad, but I only have FOUR days left of actual work until I am done with AmeriCorps. I can hardly believe it! Anyways, I took lots of photos and here are a few. I'm trying to take myself more seriously as a photographer (or something like that) so I added a fancy-schmancy border and my name to my photos this time! It's a learning process, right? Enjoy!




Sunday, July 12, 2009

7.11.09


I feel like a 1970s ballerina in this outfit!

Shirt: ??? but I've had it forever
Skirt: worn as dress, thrifted and vintage
Shoes: jellies from Ross
Bag: vintage and thrifted macrame!

I wanted to play with my decades here and not get too literal with my vintage like I often do by just wearing a vintage dress. I paired and 80s bridesmaids skirt worn as a dress with a modern top and shoes and spent all night feeling like a 70s ballerina! The only actual 70s item is that thrifted macrame handbag. I think Petey approves! And, p.s. I love this new photo location, I don't know how I was missing it before because its my back porch! What you can't see is the trash can and piles and piles of boxes behind me!

Thursday, July 9, 2009

7.9.09- Thrifting Adventures!

I was feeling a little sorry for myself this week what with my bike getting stolen and all my photos getting deleted from my computer. Whats the perfect solution? Thrifting! I found a great new thrift store in a ritzier part of town and it was pretty awesome, though I think someone else shopping for a vintage store was leaving as I was coming in because she had a ton of awesome dresses- but there were a few amazing ones left for me!




























Tshirt- Gap, altered by me
Skirt- New, vintage and thrifted today!
Shoes- Dansko Mary Janes
Amazing mushroom jar- thrifted today, also!

I am totally obsessed with this mushroom jar- maybe even more so than the new skirt. Though, I do love the sweet little buttons down the back of the skirt! I guess it's a toss up! I only got to wear this skirt around the house tonight, but you will certainly see it in a few more remixes soon. Then, I may have to pass it on to the shop. I'm running out of room in my closet! Speaking of, here are two more dresses that I found that fortunately don't fit me, so as soon as I get them photographed they will be up in GVV!




















100 hearts!

Disregard if you aren't into the whole Etsy thing- but I wanted to give a special thanks to Lauren of Piggy Went to Market for giving me the 100th heart for Green Violet Vintage! It's especially nice because it's from such a lovely and stylish lady! I had secretly been planning to do a surprise giveaway to my 100th heart- so Lauren, if there is a shirt or skirt in my shop that stikes your fancy, its yours for free! Send me a convo on Etsy and we can discuss the details!

Wednesday, July 8, 2009

The Beach... Part Two

Tune in for the riveting Part One here!

Ok, so we made it to the ferry. Then we made it to the island. Then we hiked a mile to the beach. Good work. Once we got to the beach, it looked about like this:


Please note that there were only a handful of other people on the beach- far off in the distance! Awesome! Then, we hiked up and over the massive sand dune to our campsite, the view from the top looked about like this:


So we set up camp and swam in the lovely ocean! Then we trekked up to the bath house and pavilion for showers and to make dinner away from the sand. We learned about rip currents, which are apparently both dangerous and funny!


Then we took cheesy pictures of ourselves with the sunset. 'Cause thats what you do at the beach.



The we went to bed. Though we were warned by numerous signs that looked about like this:


I was still in total shock when a raccoon put its CLAWS ON MY FOOT in the middle of the night while trying to get to our food. Thus ended day 1. Day 2 was mostly uneventful, we swam, we battled the wind, we layed around in the sun, and.... oh yeah, we were caught in a thunderstorm. So we went and hung out in the pavilion with a bunch of very colorful rednecks.


We were sad and cold (as you can tell from the picture). Then Shawn's bikini bottoms got stolen, but thats another story all together. Then we did some illegal sleeping and I could tell you about it but then I would have to kill you, so lets just suffice to say that we got up super early, saw the sun rise, and captured this super cheesy moment while walking down the beach at 5:15 AM.


Then, we packed up camp, hiked back out to the marsh side of the island, and waited for the ferry. And, waited and waited and waited. And then I slept for an hour while waiting for the ferry. Then it came and we got on and then it spun in some circles and went back to the dock, because of course it was broken! So we waited for another ferry. We finally made it back to land, changed into some classy attire, and went to a little town nearby in search of some seafood. We found seafood, and we also found this in the bathroom:

I didn't realize it, but apparently the North Carolina coast is inhabited by parrots and palm trees. Too bad we didn't see any of those on the island! Then, to end this much too long and boring because it doesn't translate well to blogging story, we headed home! A good time was had by one and all, if you ever find yourself with a hankering for an unpopulated island, a run-in with a raccoon, or three days of sand in parts of your body where the sun don't shine, be sure to check out Bear Island!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

Make my.... UGHHHH

Ok, I couldn't bring myself to make my Monday yesterday. You want to know why? Because I somehow deleted ALL MY PHOTOS off my hard drive. Saddest day in the history of ever. That includes the Grand Canyon (three times!), Spain, weddings, Sewanee, all sorts of things! At least many of them are on picassa/facebook, but I won't have the original high resolution files.

To ease my troubled mind, let me share with you my new favorite photography thing: the F-STOP. Seriously, how did I even live before I was able to manually adjust the apeture of my camera? Now, I'm a total novice with no photo skills except for what I've read on the internets, so don't judge me too harsly when I share these photos with you! Plus, you can learn from my mistakes!













Waiting for the fireworks on the 4th
left photo: Exposure: 8.0 sec, Aperture: 7.1, Focal Length: 29mm= bright as day!
right photo:
Exposure: 3.6 sec, Aperture: 13.0, Focal Length: 29mm= dark and mysterious!



Downtown Asheville
Exposure: 10.0 sec, Aperture: 13.0, Focal Length: 29mm= streetlight flare!

Petey!
Exposure: 1/3 sec, Aperture: 5.3, Focal Length: 38mm= shallow depth of field= bokeh (I think I acheived it)= you can't see my messy floor!

Now the only think I adjusted in these photos was the aperture, I let my smarty pants camera do the rest of the work for me (determining shutter speed and ISO). I would love to take a photo class one day, but for now trial and error is turning out to be very educational!

Sunday, July 5, 2009

Daily Outfit Update

I haven't done any personal style posts in a while! Whoops! I guess this is because I've either been working or frolicking in the woods. Or both. Take Tuesday for example, I spent all day standing in a river holding a survey rod. Good times! But I'm pretty sure ya'll didn't want to see me soaked from head to toe and covered in mud, certainly not my most stylish moment!

From sometime last week....
Dress: New!! via Etsy
Belt: Thrifted
Classy taste in wine: inherited!

I'm super excited about this new Mexican dress. And, by "dress I obviously mean "mumu which I try to pretend is a dress by belting it". I've been looking for one for ages (seriously, like 6 years) but they were all too expensive to justify. Fortunately, this one popped up for a great deal on Etsy and I had to snap it up! Also, please note the awesome ability of my new camera to take indoor shots. This was at about 10 pm with only our very dim overhead light on. I think I'm in love!

From the 4th!!
Shirt: ??
Skirt: Vintage, thrifted (I think this was my first vintage find ever!)
Shoes: Vintage, Etsy

I love the 4th because I get to wear my ladybug red, white, and blue skirt! I think I will love this skirt for ever and ever.


Bonus!!

I have to share my new dress with ya'll! I got it at the most awesome J.Crew clearance center ever for about 70% off. My mom didn't want to me to look like a total bum at this fancy wedding I'm going to, so she bought it for me! Thanks, Mom! I love the dress and how it fits, but if ya'll know me, then you know that black is NOT my style. BORING. I'm trying to figure out how to style it up and make it a bit more interesting. Any suggestions?

Saturday, July 4, 2009

The Beach: Part One

Estrogen Tour '09: The Recap

Bright and early last Thursday morning, Wren, Shawn and I took off on an adventure.


Wren drove. And, ate chicken salad in the car. Which, in the interest of photodocumenting every second of the trip, I took a picture of.


We saw a lot of military stuff, because apparently thats what happens on the east coast of NC.


Eventually we saw some water. It was exciting because we had been in the car for 7 hours. Sadly, it was just the marsh.

Thats OK though, because we had made it to our destination! Hammocks Beach State Park!


We packed up our backpacks and our cooler and boarded the ferry, which would take us to Bear Island! Please note that Shawn and Wren chose to dress as matching soccer moms for our trip. Good work, ladies.

More later, I must go enjoy some hiking and swimming on this our day of American Independence! Happy 4th to you all! Whether you live in the U.S or not, be sure to eat some hotdogs and shoot off some fireworks, because that is obviously the American way.

Wednesday, July 1, 2009

Can I just say...

that I love my new camera? And, that I got it for a sweet deal? I love a deal!





The story of my beach trip coming soon!