Diamond in the Rough

...ok...well, I guess they're not diamonds...they're rhinestones...sounded good though didn't it? lol!

I wanted to show you my latest thrift find from the road. This flawless 60's rhinestone necklace!

I found it at the thrift store in Swan River. I had been Googling in search of the thrift store in town, but couldn't find the actual location until I was out shopping with my Grandmother last Saturday. We were walking down the street and a sandwich board with tiny writing on it said "Thrift and Consignment" with an arrow pointing into a building. I squealed with glee and ran in!

For $20 I walked out with this beauty, a cute (modern) denim summer dress and a vintage 60's dress. Not too shabby! :)

Lisa.xo

Outfits: Touring

I've said it before and I'll say it again: my job is not the place to be wearing vintage. This fact makes having a vintage fashion blog tough at times, as I spend most of my working days wearing some version of what I've got on below.

I love to dress very girly and while on the road I've been longing to wear a skirt and tights. Sadly, unloading and loading a van 2-4 times a day is not the place for that kind of attire.

So I'll give you what I've got. This is a typical work outfit. It's comfortable, I look nice and put together and I can move in it. And as usual, with my modern clothes is my vintage touch - this time, the beret.

I took these pics right before we left a beautiful B&B in Snow Lake. 

Grey Vintage Beret: Ruby Slipper

Mermaid Necklace: Pick Up Sticks Jewelry

Blue and White Striped Tee: Joe Fresh

Blue Cardigan: Joe Fresh

Grey Pants: Forever 21

Over the Knee Boots: Urban Planet

Lisa.xo

Hotel Time Machine

We (as in me and the cast) are currently sitting at the dining room table of the house we are renting in Gillam, Manitoba right now. We're all on our separate computers, doing our own thing and enjoying some fresh ground, french press coffee I made this morning.

Gillam is the blue dot - just to give you some perspective on where I am right now!! 

We stayed up late last night. Technically we should be on the road already, driving to Snow Lake (we have  a show there tomorrow morning). But we all slept in and are apparently quite unmotivated to get going at this point. Oh well! We'll get there eventually!

I just wanted to go back in time for a moment and show you the very 60's/70's retro hotel room we stayed in   in Lynn Lake, Manitoba (the furthest town North in the province on a regular road. There are towns and settlements you can reach by ice road - or "winter" road in this time of year). The room was a time machine, the furniture, the lamps, the bedding...nothing had been updated. And it was all in pretty good shape too!

I'm looking forward to Wednesday this week. We arrive in Swan River in the afternoon. Why am I looking forward to this you ask? This is the town of my birth and we spend about a week there. I am looking forward to seeing some of my family while we're there.

I'll stop by before then though. :)


Lisa.xo

North

Well, it's not even been a week since the cast and I journeyed out for our school tour with Prairie Theatre Exchange.

This is our cargo van which hold the set, costumes and props. We're en route to Norway House, MB here. 

It honestly feels like we've been gone for two weeks already. Our days are so jam packed with new people, new places and travelling that one day feels like three.

It's late right now, but I just wanted to stop in and say that I'm still around! Check out the link to our tour blog for all the details of our trip.

But before I go, I wanted to show you what I picked up today in Thompson at the Second Chance Thrift Store for $1!

We're on the road by 7:30am tomorrow from Thompson to Gillam, MB to perform in the afternoon! I hope the roads are good! Livin' the Dream! ;)

Lisa.xo

On the Road Again...

Tomorrow the school tour I'm working on is taking me out of town (to northern Manitoba!) for the next four weeks.

It's just past midnight (so I guess technically it's "today", but who's counting) and I'm all packed.

Here are all the earthly belongings I will be taking with me from home. I feel like there should be more considering I'll be gone for a month.

I'm really looking forward to second hand shopping in small towns I've never been to before! (Naturally..)

Lisa.xo

The Hoard is Growing

I was really hoping to show you my face today...I had planned on getting warmly dolled up, taking some outfit photos and heading out to run some crucial errands. It's my last weekend off before we start the northern leg of our tour  next weekend (I'll out of town for all of February except for a day and a half).

But, as usual, life has another plan for me. If you remember I was ill at New Years and I haven't really gotten much better. I am still stuffed up, coughing and have a runny nose a month later. So I dragged myself out of bed this morning and headed to the walk in clinic in my neighbourhood bright and early.
And thank god I did...two hours later I left being told that I have an upper respiratory infection (which is apparently different than bronchitis or pneumonia). So have a fistful of pills to take this week and have relegated myself to the couch for the day to rest. So here I am - not completing my gigantic to do list - instead I'm in my pjs with dirty hair and no makeup...not too pretty people...

So instead I'll show you some of the loot I have recently acquired for the hoard collection.

I bought clutch and this dish (which my mother tells me is the bottom of a butter dish - I plan on putting rings and other baubles in it.) in Lorette, MB while we were performing at the elementary school there last week.

More clutches (I can't resist them..). This one is 70's, I think, but I love the mesh and the size. It's perfect to take out dancing since I can throw it over my shoulder and keep my hands free.

The pearl clutch needs one half of the snap sewn back on (It's still there - it's just come off of the fabric), but I really loved the design on the front.

There were a plethora of necklaces at Value Village when I was there. I made myself choose just one and this beauty was the winner. I love the starburst design and coloured stones. I think it's 40's because of the metal. Any insights? I'm terrible at dating jewelry..

This brooch was another VV find. I bought it a number of weeks ago. I'm not sure how old it is, but I love it's graphic deco look. It's shell inlaid into the plastic. I've worn it both horizontally and vertically and think it would look great pinned to a hat!

All summer last year I wished I had a black rattan purse, so when I found this one the other day I couldn't resist. It's a pretty decent size (I'll be able to fit my wallet, iPhone and sunglasses in it) and the beading is kinda like polka dots!

I bought this case  to store my small, but growing glove collection.(for a hat? anyone?) It's not as large as it looks in the photo - it's about 11" wide across the front)

And last, but not least, I just had to show you these jars (I bought them before Christmas at the MCC thrift store in Portage La Prairie for a two dollars a piece with lids! Love the colour...they are proudly displayed on a shelf in the dining room.

Ok...that's enough for today I think! I'll show my face again before the end of the month...once I get some more meds into me and start feeling like myself again.

Have a great weekend everyone!

Lisa.xo

Lunch Prep

The two schools we're touring to today are both within 15 minutes of my house. So I decided that we would eat lunch at my house. We had a local actor host us for lunch between shows last week and it was such a treat to be able to relax in someone's home, eat the delicious food she made for us and recharge before our next show. I couldn't resist inviting the cast over today.

I love entertaining and I've thoroughly enjoyed planning and prepping for this afternoon's lunch.
Truth be told, I didn't have time to prepare opening night gifts for the cast (it's tradition to give small gifts or cards to everyone who worked on the show on opening night) and I really love this cast so it's the perfect opportunity to thank them.

I wanted lunch to feel really special, so I decided to use all my vintage coloured glasswear and ironstone to serve lunch. I prepped and arranged everything yesterday. My crockpot, bread machine and coffee maker are all set to turn on at the correct times so lunch is hot and ready to be eaten when we walk in the door. 

For lunch I'm serving:

Homemade Crockpot Chilli 

and fixin's

Sour Cream, Green Onions, Grated Cheese and Multigrain Chips

Homemade Bread and Butter

Pickles

For desert:

Homemade Chocolate Chip Cookies

Grapes

And:

 Coffee 

Tea 

Iced Tea 

Bottled Water

Sounds like a lot, but we are ravenously hungry! We unload and load the van (which contains our set, costumes and props) as well as perform the high energy show (well, the actors do, I sit and run sound while they act) at each school. It really works up our appetite!

I'm excited to have my peeps over today. I'll be sure to post some photos from lunch later this week.


Lisa.xo

Outfits: Red Pants

Did you miss me? Here I am! First outfit post of 2013!

The Boy and I went out last Saturday night for nachos and beer with some friends and this is what I wore. I was really tempted to get dressed up in a dress or skirt, but if you live in Winnipeg you know how casual Carlos and Murphy's is so I took some inspiration from this post last week and wore my red cords instead.

It's become ridiculously cold here anyway, so cords were a much warmer option.

Sometimes I wish I was blogging from somewhere in the world that gets more daylight this time of year. I always struggle to take photos before the sun starts to set. Hence, how grainy these ones are. It was 5:00pm and the sun was quickly disappearing.
I know you'll forgive me! :)

I love this necklace. I have quite a few amazing statement necklaces I've bought from Le Chateau. This one put me back $45, but has been worth every penny. I wear it a lot and get tons of compliments. Plus, when I'm feeling less than inspired it jazzes up an black outfit in an second - instant style! Can't go wrong with that!

Pearl and Enamel Necklace: Le Chateau

Polka Dot Tee: Thrifted

Black Cardigan: Joe Fresh

Vintage Black Grosgrain Belt: from Aunt Mary

Red Cords: Forever 21

Suede Boots: George (Walmart)

Houndstooth Purse: Aldo

Lippy: Revlon Just Bitten Lip Stain in Gothic

Lisa.xo

Stalk Me at Work

I haven't really talked much about my most recent stage managing job. I am currently stage managing the school tour at Prairie Theatre Exchange called "Magical Mystery Munsch"

This is our set

Similar to the last school tour I stage managed. We will be touring in Winnipeg for the first leg (about 3 weeks) and then we're headed out of town to northern Manitoba for another 3 weeks straight, after which we'll be in and out of town for a few days at a time until the middle of March.

The cast and I will be blogging about our experiences while we're on the road. I thought you all might like a little insight into what I do.
So here's the link so you can stalk me at work! haha!

Magical Mystery Blog

There's not much up there now - we start the tour today, but keep checking in! It will get really interesting when we head up north in February!

Lisa.xo

Grandma's Pearls

Unlike last year, I have not yet done a round up of my Christmas gifts. And I don't plan to...I would, however, like to show you the best thing I got for Christmas this year though.

My Grandma Cotton's pearls.

My Mom inherited these pearls when Grandma passed away and I have always coveted them. My Grandfather bought them for her as a gift and I think they are just beautiful.

I was never even allowed to wear them when my Mom had them. I knew one day I would call them my own, but I always imagined that day to be much further in the future.

the clasp - so pretty!

I was so surprised and touched when I opened them on Christmas morning. I wore them for a week straight. Thanks Mom! Love you lots! xoxo

Lisa.xo