The white face of the winter day came sluggishly on...

It may not technically be winter yet, but lately it's been positively freezing and raining and all kinds of nonsense (which is nice because I've mostly been curled up inside, knitting and watching Buffy).

I don't know if this counts as an outfit photo-- I think it's more of the "look at my pretty new coat!' variety. The day before Thanksgiving we went to a 50% off thrift sale and I picked up lots of good things, this purple scarf being one of them. The coat was from another thrift shop and only $9. And it has a hood! I don't think I own anything else with a hood. Not a bad experience for my first time thrifting here. I've said it before, but I have such a thing for vintage children's coats.

Thanksgiving was excellent. It was our first time cooking a Thanksgiving meal on our own, and we pulled it off! And there was snow! Actually it was more of a snow/rain/ice mixture but it doesn't matter, it's November and there was snow and that's exciting. I was thankful for my family and friends and dogs and the fact that I didn't have to work retail on Black Friday this year.

This morning we braved a few of the sales (not crazy early, just around eight/nine a.m.) and things were mercifully calm. We kept shouting "DOORBUSTERS!" at each other because those commercials are so ridiculous.

Thrifted vintage kid's coat
Vintage rain boots, Ebay
Vintage luggage bag, Etsy
Thrifted scarf
Target gray sweater tights
Jeremy's scarf- knit by me

Busy busy

Lately all I've been doing is hooping and knitting. Hopefully I'll have a hoop practice video up sometime this week.. I think I'm getting better (I know tricks!) but it's putting it all together that I need to work on. (Isn't that hoop gorgeous?! My instructor made it for me last week. For my color preferences I just wrote, "something pink and sparkly!")

I have so much Christmas knitting to do it's ridiculous! I think I can get it all done if I space it out properly. Right now I'm working on a Christmas stocking for Jeremy-- up next is one for my nephew and myself (and the dogs if I have time!), a couple of pairs of socks, and a few other random things. The stocking pattern is the Cascade Christmas Stocking from Ravelry. I love it because it has a several pattern choices for each section, so there are tons of possible combinations. It's so fun!

What I'm Reading: Zeitoun by Dave Eggers

"What makes you angrier--the authorities' handling of Hurricane Katrina or the treatment of Arabs since September 11, 2001? Can't make up your mind? Dave Eggers has the book for you... Zeitoun is a warm, exciting, and entirely fresh way of experiencing Hurricane Katrina... Eggers makes this account completely new, and so infuriating I found myself panting with rage."

- Dan Baum, San Francisco Chronicle

Let me switch gears for a second and talk about something completely different. For a while now, I've been wanting to incorporate short little book reviews on the blog, just in a "What I'm Reading" sort of way. What I'm actually reading at the moment is Kathy Griffin: Official Book Club Selection, but-- no offense Kathy-- this is the one I felt compelled to write about.

My love for New Orleans, the fact that I rage against the discrimination of Muslims in America and the widespread misinformation about Islam, all of that emotion contributed to the utter frustration felt while reading this book. Don't get me wrong, it's ultimately a beautiful (and tragic) story-- but so very emotionally draining. Zeitoun is the true story of a Muslim American family of the same name with a successful painting and contracting business in pre-Katrina New Orleans. When the storm hits, Abdulrahman Zeitoun stays behind while his wife and children escape to another state. As the city floods he finds an old canoe, and what follows is the inspiring story of a truly caring, effortlessly heroic human being.

The overwhelming military presence after the storm coupled with an inept government and a country still riddled with post-9/11 prejudice is a recipe for disaster, and I'm going to shut up now because I don't want to spoil anything. Eggers' writing style is brilliant in that it beautifully narrates the Zeitoun family's appalling ordeal without feeling dry or detached. You feel like you're with him in the canoe, going from house to streetcorner to overpass, delivering food and water to those left behind.

Zeitoun is a super quick read-- I think I finished it almost in one sitting-- and the only reason I had to take a break was because I kept crying. But it's worth it. If you don't know much about what happened after Katrina (or only have a vague idea), or if you don't know much about Islam and maybe have a few prejudices of your own-- I urge you to read this story.

Has anyone else read it? What did you think? If you haven't, I hope you'll give it a shot. I picked it up on a whim just because it was written by Dave Eggers, and I'm so glad I did.

“Just tell yourself, Duckie, you're really quite lucky!”

I know I look even more awkward than normal in these photos, but it's because I was slowly freezing to death! The weather here is a bit unpredictable (which is more similar to North Carolina than I originally thought). It was in the 70s during the strawberry sweater photoshoot and the 40s during this one! We had to swing back around to the apartment and grab our big coats before going grocery shopping.

(I shouldn't complain, though. I do love the cold. I was just ill-equipped.)

You know how every now and then something amazing pops up in a thrift shop and you can't believe your luck? People with good memories will recall that I thrifted this dress earlier in the spring. I think it was exactly as the hot weather kicked in, so all I could do was hang it up and wait for.. well, now. I remember that it was just hanging on the rack, surrounded by unfortunate denim and corduroy dresses, and I felt like maybe the whole thing was some kind of trick. The condition is pretty amazing for its age.. I think it's missing a belt, but that's all. And it fits perfectly! Usually I'm reluctant to wear longer hems because I'm so short (5'3"), but there's no way I'm altering this thing. And it's just so soft.

This picture is so Brady Bunch. "Hi, we're the windswept hair family!"

Thrifted '70s wool dress
Target tights
Seychelles heels

Etsy Love: Puppy Dogs & Creepy Girls

I've been on an Etsy ban for a while (it's an addictive habit, yikes!) but art prints and jewelry are two of my absolute favorite things to heart and favorite on there. Especially if they feature creepy little girls and adorable doggies.

Katie Necklace by Dilkabear

Pinky Novak by Lucysnowephotography

A White Rabbit by thelittlefox

Wooden Tile Pendant by elsita

Envy Portrait Locket by HidenSeek

Strawberry buttons & sunsets

No news to report here, I've just been doing lots of hula hooping and knitting for the swap. Last week I took my first hoop dance class with the St. Louis Hoop Club and I'm in love, so expect a proper post on that soon! Of course I'm probably the least graceful person in the world, but I'm working on it.

In St. Louis, two of the main parks are Tower Grove and Forest Park. Normally I prefer Tower Grove, but these were taken at the latter-- it's huge and has a golf course and all sorts of things. We drove around for a few minutes while looking for a nice photo spot, and ta-dah! The Grand Basin at sunset.

I feel like I've worn this outfit a million times, but apparently I haven't put it on the blog yet. This little girl's cardigan is my favorite.. I think I paid about a dollar for it in some hole-in-the-wall thrift shop in NC. It's pretty much the definition of whimsical-- strawberry buttons, embroidery, and little scalloped cuffs.

I was very happy with all the craft swap emails, by the way! All the packages will go out next week-- I hope you guys love the bows and wear them lots.

Jovovich Hawk for Target dress
thrifted vintage cardigan
thrifted bag
Sock Dreams tights
Seychelles heels
DIY knit bow
ring from some little shop in Wilimington

Calling all crafty people!

So obviously I've developed a thing for these little knitted bows-- I wear one practically every day now! Several weeks ago, I got a comment from Andrea of The Art of Staying Up All Night who asked if I could knit her a bow in exchange for a little something from Spain. The swap was really fun-- I had an excuse to sit around and knit more bows, and it made her happy to get one from me. So I've been thinking.. if anyone is interested, I could knit you a bow (they have barrettes on the back) in exchange for a little crafty something. If you can't knit or crochet it could be a photo, drawing, collage, embroidery.. anything, really. Just a little something thoughtful and fun.

Top to bottom: Pumpkin, Pea Green, Hot Pink, Red, Cream, Multi, and I recently (finally) picked up another skein of black. They're about 3.5" long.

This is just a little experiment, I don't know how many of you would be interested in doing this, but if you'd like to participate just drop me a comment below and/or email me at pansylanelove@gmail.com. International people are welcome. I'll leave this up for a while, depending on interest and growing shipping costs. ^_^

CLOSED! THANKS EVERYONE!

Back to school, ring the bell.

Again with the leaves, I know. I can't get enough.

Obviously I'm not in school anymore, but if I were I could imagine walking to an early morning Shakespeare class in this outfit. (I actually did have a Shakespeare class at eight a.m., and despite my love of Shakespeare I do not recommend studying him that early. So maybe this is a late-afternoon Shakespeare outfit.) A black hair bow would have been perfect with this but I'm out of black yarn.

The little velvet bow is my favorite thing about this top-- it makes me feel kind of buttoned-up and Victorian. I love anything that looks like a school uniform without crossing into creepy territory. The top was sent to me by Sophistix (along with my lovely '90s style dress) months ago and I've only just worn it on the blog! I feel so bad because it really is lovely, but I kept waiting to create the perfect outfit around it. I think Kater wrote once about the problem of saving outfits, and I'm so very guilty of that.

Tuxedo cream blouse, c/o Sophistix
Forever 21 cardigan & skirt
Target tights
Thrifted boots & bag

PS: I have a little interview up over at a new blog called Eight Biscuits!