An Evening of Glamour Awaits...

I made the decision to list my wild faux parrot hat in my Etsy store.  As much as I love it, the hat isn't quite "me."  I'm hoping it will fly off to a wonderful new home, and be worn about the town often.  It pairs perfectly with a glamorous evening dress...

We got some really fabulous pictures of it while photographing my new millinery studio.  

The tilt hat is constructed of a black felt base, and the colorful faux parrot is surrounded by a swirl of vintage pink veiling.

Decorating Projects

Beginning to get the new millinery/craft studio set up...My top three "must haves" for my new work space are: a red fainting couch, a vintage faux bird hat, and a canvas print of "Vallecita's Leopards" (1906 image available through the Library of Congress).

Speaking of decorating (or in this case REdecorating), here's a close-up of the birdie hat. 

It's my latest restoration project.  It is a 1930s/1940s blue felt tilt hat by Maretta Feeley.  Overall, the hat itself is in decent shape.  The feathers are the main problem (a common issue for hats of this age) - they practically disintegrate upon being touched.  Ideally, I would remove all of the feathers, check structural stability of the bird body frames, and then attach all new feathers.  However, I have been absolutely unable to closely match the lovely blue-grey ombre hues of these feathers.  I adore that color scheme, so I made the decision to remove all feathers, salvage what I could, and re-glue them onto the bird frames.  This meant that the birds continued to appear a little more raggedy-looking than I would have liked, but it preserved the original colors of the hats.  

I recently wore the finished hat (along with a gorgeous matching 1940s power suit) to the annual JPR wine-tasting & auction event in Ashland.  I received numerous compliments on my lovely hat!

"Fur & Feathers" Luncheon - S(outhern) O(regon) S(tyle)

I was incredibly disappointed that we were unable to attend the annual "Fur & Feathers" Luncheon put on in Portland by the lovely Julie of FabGabs fame.  Thus, we decided to hold our own "Southern Oregon" style right here in Jacksonville.  So we got all dolled up and went out to dinner in order to provide visual entertainment to the masses.  

I wore a vintage fur coat (in keeping with the theme of the event), but will refrain from posting pictures as I know people are very sensitive about issues concerning fur.  Let's just suffice it to say that I was spotted.  Due to the current craft room demolition, I was unable to create anything complex for myself as far as a hat goes.  However, I had a black felt tilt hat base that I had made before the destruction of my studio, and I had an enormous supply of colorful parrot feathers (I even saved one feather to tuck into Ryan's hat so that we would match!).  So I made a bird hat.  Of course.

I'll post better pictures of that hat in another blog post.

You may recognize the "Jillian Garrett Original" fedora from my Etsy shop.

Demolition Derby!

(Admittedly, one of my favorite guilty-pleasure video games)

Long story short - we decided to close the smaller B&B guest room, and instead demolish the wall between that bedroom and my ridiculously tiny craft.  Thus, two small rooms became one giant super room!  Finally, I had space to work in!  My loom could actually be set up and ready to go, instead of being closed and used as a hat rack (not very conducive to weaving).  Needless to say, I am absolutely in love with the new space!  I'll post a more in-depth photo tour soon (because I also want to show off some great remodeling ideas that we came up with).  In the meantime, I'll leave you with some pictures...

OK, who let the Oompa-Loompa in here?!

Painting the new craft room in a far-too-large-for-me Tyvex suit.

We also closed off the old doorway into the old craft room...Now I have more space to hang a painting! 

This is what keeps the men going during a remodel...

My new craft room LED lights may look like spaceships, but the lighting they put out is absolutely perfect both for working and for photography.

Punk'd Hair & A Mink Coat

As I'm sure you've seen from previous posts, I tend to wear my hair on the longer side of short.  That is to say, I generally wear my hair about mid-neck to shoulder-length.  When I was in high school, I used to wear it super-short in a pixie cut, but haven't had it that short since then.  Well, when I went in to my much-talented hairstylist at Salon Selah V, I asked for something short enough to be "low maintenance," but long enough that I could still do pin curls for a vintage style on date night.  Beyond that, I left it up to him.  Well, this is what came out!  What amounts to a pixie cut on one side, transforming into a longer bob on the other...very edgy and punk rocker (to me, anyway).  At first, I have to admit that I wasn't quite sure I could pull it off.  My personality tends to be more "quirky" than truly "edgy."  But my hairstylist always knows best, and after a few days of living with it and realizing how easy it was to style (shampoo & quick blow dry for a simply ready-to-go-out hairdo, or a few extra minutes with some spike gel for a super punk rocker look), I was pretty much in love with it too.  I actually had women stopping me on the street to compliment my hairdo.  And I found that having a more edgy 'do actually made me wear my vintage more often when I went out, because instead of saying "Oh, I'm too tired to do my hair today to match my pretty clothes," it was "hey, my hair already looks awesome, so let's add a killer jacket, red lipstick, earrings, and heels to match!"

Which brings us to the mink coat...oh, the mink coat...*dreamy sigh*

I purchased this amazing GLMA ("Great Lakes Mink Association" - the makers of the "Blackglama" line) dark brown mink coat from a local estate.  It had the previous owner's name "Jackie Thompson" embroidered on the lining.  I'm guessing the coat was from the 1980s or 1990s, so it was vintage, but only just barely.  The coat was in pristine condition, and so soft it was a dream to wear.  The coat fit me perfectly, and I was sorely tempted to keep it.  The problem is that (1) I'm so petite that I tend to drown in full-length coats, (2) I like the earlier coat styles of the 1930s thru 1950s, and (3) the coat - though amazing - was almost too decadent for my personal style.  It needed someone far classier than my quirky self.  So, I ended up selling it on Ebay, and bought myself some new hats and vintage furs (that I'll actually wear) with the profit.  It was hard to say goodbye, but I know it's going to a loving home where it will be worn and adored...

Sexy Storage Space

After years of listening to me complain about how terrible my bedroom closet was for storage, the amazing Mr. Garrett finally built me a custom cedar-lined box of mothy death!  Hurray!

He started by dismantling the shelves of the old closet.

Then, he paneled all the walls in cedar (with cedar moulding).

He built me a custom wooden bracket.  Not only will this beefy piece support my massive vintage addiction, but it also makes sure to hold my clothing the proper width and height.  This ensures that my wide swing coats and long dresses are properly situated off of the floor and away from the cedar walls (you don't want your clothing touching cedar, as the oils in the wood will stain the material).

He built me a poplar shelf on top for storing massive amounts of hat boxes (FYI - still not enough storage space for my collection!  I think I need a larger closet...maybe in the next house...?), and a wide enough hidden shelf along the back walls to host a Noah's Ark of shoes (they proceeded two by two).

There is also a small shoe shelf on the floor, with enough space underneath to store a few more hat boxes.

And here's the finished design!  As you've probably guessed, I'm one VERY happy camper.

Flapper Friday

I went to an interesting estate sale a couple of weeks ago - lots of (sadly, overpriced) vintage clothing, but hidden away in a corner of an upstairs closet was the most amazing 1920s wedding dress I've ever seen! 

Decorated with what I believe is handmade Flemish lace, this dress is exquisite in its simplistic elegance. 

I even managed to find the original white stockings that went with the dress too!  The dress is currently listed in both my Etsy and Ebay stores, and will make the perfect dress for that Gatsby-style wedding.

Cheers to Eight Years!

Eight years ago, on October 22nd, Ryan and I reluctantly agreed to be set up with each other on a blind date.  Neither one of us wanted to go, but in the end we agreed.  I think it's safe to say that the date went well, and neither one of us regretted our decision to go!

We had been trying to think of a fun way to celebrate.  In the end, we decided that, instead of going out to a fancy restaurant and spending a lot of money on one meal, we'd cook ourselves a fancy multi-course meal at home (and have leftovers for several days afterward!). 

We came up with a menu, purchased the proper wines to compliment each dish, and spent most of Saturday happily cooking together at home.  

We set the table with our finest china, crystal, and silverware.

 Saturday evening, we did farm chores at the usual time (and there was no mad rush to get through them and catch a dinner reservation - so nice!), and then we grabbed our "date" clothing and went into different areas of the house to change.  We had decided not to show each other our date outfit until we were ready to actually start the date!  Unbeknownst to me, Ryan raced through changing, ran outside, and picked me a pretty bouquet of red roses (which he cutely bound with blue painter's tape).  Just as I was finishing up, he rang the doorbell and surprised me with flowers.  I was so touched and so happy (as I am sure you can tell by the picture).

It's probably hard to tell in the pictures, but I wore my amazing metallic gold 1930s dress with fishtail hem/train that I purchased from that antique store that was going out of business. 

Also purchased from that same store was the amazing art deco white fox fur wrap that I am wearing.  It's falling apart, but I love that wrap!

Our first course was a lovely Roederer Brut and an assorted local artisanal cheese platter with my homemade pork liver pate and bread crackers.

We decided that we would each act as waiter for two courses.  I picked the soup & salad courses, and Ryan chose to do dinner and dessert.

For our main entree, Ryan chose to cook his classic Cabernet-braised beef short ribs with gorgonzola polenta and mixed herb gremolata.  The short ribs were locally raised, the polenta was our own homegrown & handground cornmeal, and the herbs came straight out of the garden!  

Not only did the dish look amazing, but it tasted out-of-this-world delicious!

Some people might laugh at us, but honestly it was the best, most fun, evening we'd had together in a long time.  It was so nice to get all dressed up and have a fancy meal without worrying about driving home, or getting to a restaurant in time, or trying to find parking.  We could relax and enjoy ourselves!  We spent the same amount of money that we would have at an upscale restaurant, but we had several days' worth of delicious leftovers, and lots of amazing wine & food pairings.  It was the perfect way to celebrate eight years of happiness with my soulmate.  We have decided that we are definitely going to "eat in" more often!

Indian Summer

It's been an odd fall here - very much Indian Summer weather.  After a couple of bad frosts, the weather warmed back up again.  It's in the low 30s in the mornings, and the high 70s in the afternoon.  Very strange for this area.  The good news is that it has made the fall foliage around Jacksonville absolutely spectacular!  Last weekend, Ryan and I went for a walk around downtown and enjoyed the lovely colors.  

I wore my 1940s "His Girl Friday" suit and a Frank Palma feathered tilt hat.

 

The Jackson County Courthouse in downtown Jacksonville is one of my favorite buildings as far as local architecture.

Look at the gorgeous detailing on the columns.

They even have their Halloween ghost decorations up!

Just a gorgeous time of year!