vintage spring lookbook

Here it is.. Blooming Leopold's vintage spring 2011 lookbook! All of my favorite finds of the season, stored away until today. These pieces are all headed to the shop tonight, handpicked vintage from the late 1930s all the way to the early 90s. Eyelet lace, seersucker, madras plaid, chambray, liberty print cotton, creamy silk.

Photos shot by Neil at beautiful Percy Warner Park. This was a fun afternoon to spend outside, the weather was perfect and everywhere we turned was another pastoral setting, right in the middle of Nashville. The little purple weeds dotted an entire hillside, which made me think of visiting the wind-swept moors of Haworth as a kid (although Nashville is not as pretty and quite a bit warmer). All of this scenery makes me miss living in the country.

More photos here. Lookbook items hitting the shop soon!

hemingway house

Photos by Neil and I!

Floral Maxi Dress, Straw Hat, Leather Belt, Two Tone Navy Satchel - Thrifted

White Floral Hair Wreath - Handmade

Wood Sunset Sandals - Madewell

By far my favorite stop on our cruise was Key West, in the Florida Keys. There, Neil and I toured Hemingway's house then met up with the rest of my family to eat seafood and key lime pie outside. And Hemingway's home was lovely.. filled with different shades of green, wrought iron rails, and six-toed cats. Photos and trophies from his travels to Cuba and Spain and everywhere in between lined the walls, and his stories were everywhere. What a full life he led.

On our way back to the ship, Neil and I found a beautiful old home with white porches and mint green walls. We walked in to find a little bar that served microbrews, so we drank barley wine on the front porch.

You'll have to forgive my lack of words.. I'm not feeling the best tonight - this sickness has gotten the best of me. So now, I'm going to lay down on the couch and fall asleep watching cheesy Jane Austen movies. Hope you all had a great weekend!

at the beach

On our vacation last week, we sailed to ports at Nassau and Freeport and spent most of our time on the beach.

When we docked at Freeport, there really wasn't much to see - but once we found the beach, it was well worth it. While we all talked about being ambitious and going kayaking or riding a jet ski, most of us just ended up hanging out on the beach and shopping at cheesy tourist stores painted in candy pastels. And I really wouldn't change a thing about it.

What I'm wearing - American Apparel chiffon skirt and high waist swim bottoms, thrifted crochet top, black bikini, straw hat, and leather belt, and vintage leather loafers from my sister Ashley.

And rum raisin ice cream! Apparently, Bahama islanders stock up on rum.

Key West post coming up!

black blouse, gingham shorts

Peter Pan Collar Blouse - Courtesy of Ann Taylor for the Little Black Dress Experiment

High Waisted Gingham Shorts - For sale in the shop

Black Macrame Belt, Straw Hat - Thrifted

Black Bow - American Apparel

Black Oxford Flats - Etsy

Recently, I was asked to participate in a Little Black Dress experiment by Society Stylist! The objective was to incorporate a black shirt dress into an outfit that fits your style, even if that means cutting the dress up and wearing it as pants. They asked 31 bloggers from around the country to interpret the dress, and I was glad to be a part of it.

Here's what the dress originally looked like..

I'm not much of a shirt dress wearer, so I decided to cut the dress in half and transform it into a button up blouse with a peter pan collar! It was destructive fun. I paired it with gingham shorts and a straw hat, which made a comfortable outfit in the extreme heat Nashville's been hit with (which thankfully has cooled down this week).

I'm watching the Karate Kid and getting inspired by the mid 1980's plaids, high waisted jeans, and cable knit sweaters I'm seeing.

We also received lovely gifts from additional sponsors just for participating! Finding the huge box at my door was a cool surprise.. the leather satchel is my favorite and will soon become my official laptop case.

All of the gifts included A Tahitian Jelly Bean Michele Watch, Saddleback Leather Satchel, Spanx tights and slimwear, Hard Night Good Morning Facial Cream, Heelys Skate Shoes, and a Donni Charm Scarf. Thanks, all!

You can read my Society Stylist post here. To see how today's blogger, Erin of Calivintage, wore her dress, go here!