edwardian hair and gunne sax red velvet

Photos by Neil!

Red Velvet and Lace Gunne Sax Dress - Thrifted

Black Lace Up Zodiac Boots -Tennessee Antique Mall

A Tennessee snow today!

Recently, I was looking at my sister Rhi's blog and came across this great old post of hers about the Edwardian actress Gabrielle Ray.. Ray's hair bewitched me a bit, so I wanted to try something similar with my own. It was surprisingly easy - I just twisted chunks of my hair and pinned them loosely to the top of my head.

The dress I'm wearing is a Jessica McClintock Gunne Sax dress that is ridiculously petite - I couldn't get it on until I trimmed the sleeves - but I absolutely love the red and white velvet and lace mix (especially with Valentine's Day coming up!). I thought it would be a perfect dress in the snow, so Neil and I did a mini photo shoot with it this afternoon.

When it snows in Nashville, everything - literally EVERYTHING - shuts down. Moms go to the grocery store the day before to stock up on food items, schools close sometimes 24 hours in advance just in case. I did some shopping for my store update on Monday this morning, and it only took about three blocks before we saw a car turned painfully on its side in the ditch. Two miles later and we had seen a total of five cars beaten by the roads.

But man alive, was it beautiful! It was one of those light, slushy snows that makes everything it touches seem weightless. And I love what snow does to the nighttime.. it's almost as bright as day out there. The sky's a reddish peach color and the ground is a stark white.

So besides a bit of shopping and some picture taking, Neil and I had a lazy day. Neil made a homemade chicken pot pie and we bought some light red wine to go with it, and I baked more muffins for dessert. Today was definitely a chicken pot pie and baked goods kind of day.

Do you have any fun weekend plans? (and random last note.. have you guys heard about Alexa Chung designing for Madewell? Velvet dresses, high waisted pants, peter pan collars, vintage children coats as inspiration.. does it get any better than that?)

summertime crafting and picnics personified

Photos by the pretty amazing Neil Edward Winter.

Mexican lace dress, 70s heels - thrifted

Ivory belt, stirrup leggings, earrings - Forever21

Floral hair pin - handmade

Neil had a day off today and we took it easy, going to Trader Joe's to buy some pizza ingredients for a movie night we're having with some cool friends tomorrow and watching Orson Welles films and documentaries. We've been on an Orson Welles kick lately - we watched Jane Eyre this past week, The Third Man yesterday, and Citizen Kane today.. and The Lady from Shanghai is on our queue! I can't wait to get some Rita Hayworth 40s fashion inspiration.

So while we watched movies, I crafted it up. I made two hair pins, one with yellow lace from that great Hohenwald fabric store and one with red felt and an old checkered tablecloth I found at an antique store. The red tablecloth hair pin was definitely influenced by Lulufinder's perfect Nashville Picnic Dress.

The dress I'm wearing in the pictures is a great handmade dress found at a Goodwill someplace.. It's very bohemian and perfect for this time of year (the lace and the floral detail on the skirt are fantastic). Everywhere I look, I see these lovely off the shoulder dresses with ruffles at the top, so wearing this is my version of paying homage to all of the feminine ruffles around.

I don't think I've ever dressed as girly as I have lately. I love big skirts, flowers, lots of lace.. wasn't it me who wrote about finding an edge and a fine line between masculine and feminine in your wardrobe? Well, I need to practice what I preach. I fell in love with the new Dead Weather album this past week. I think I'll post this weekend about how gorgeously mannish rocker girls like Alison Mosshart can be.

It was such a beautiful day today.. I have gone through the past couple of months blindly, not too aware of the season, the overwhelming green, the heat. I know I have awhile to still enjoy it, but just to make absolutely sure we live this summer to its fullest, Neil and I are going out tonight and getting some ice cream.

Enjoy the beginning of your weekend, whatever the weather might be like!