Wilbur Chocolate Factory

photos by Tom b.

- Alexa Chung for Madewell sweater
- vintage button up shirt
- vintage 60s skirt
- Topshop boots
- vintage Coach purse

My plan for posting photos today was to show you my Halloween costume that I wore yesterday. That plan was thwarted by a freak snowstorm that dumped about 5 inches of heavy, wet, sticky snow all over the region. My costume wasn't as elaborate as last year's but I was still dressed up as a character from a movie. Perhaps I'll recreate it later this week and snap some photos so I don't want to give it away just yet. Do you have any guesses?

Earlier last week Tom and I stopped in Lititz by the Wilbur Chocolate factory and snapped these photos. You can tour the factory and visit a little gift shop where they sell all sorts of chocolaty treats but it was all closed when we were there. The smell of chocolate in the air was such a tease coming out of the factory! I didn't get a treat but there was a little vending machine selling food for the ducks so I figured I'd give them a treat.

The First of The Collection comes to Past Perfect

 
We have recently been so pleased to be asked to handle a partial de-accession of a private collection. Like many long time collectors, our client is weeding through and focusing in on certain areas.After all, many of us start out acquiring randomly, pretty much anything that is pretty or for those vintage collectors who wear their pieces - anything that fits! I've done it myself, and not that

Whit Fall 2011

For a while there, it seemed like I was in fall-collection-posting overdrive. Every other day there would be a new set of looks I'd want to post about and even I got a bit tired of it. So... I tried to back off a bit but when I saw the new Whit collection, I knew I had to make an exception. I remember liking the fall 2010 collection a lot but when the spring collection came out it just wasn't my thing. Now that the 2011 fall collection is out, I'm back on the wagon. It seems to have a lot of the little things I love; bird prints, polka dots, lots of grey and navy and camel tones.

A Bit of a Celebration

- Goldie London dress
- vintage 60s boots
- AA tights

I'm in a bit of a celebratory mood over here. Why? Because my Etsy shop has just surpassed 2000 sales! Some days I feel like I'm moving in leaps and bounds on Etsy and other days I'm moving inch by inch. Lately it's been more of the inching along variety so I feel like the number 2000 is a bit of a landmark. I want to say a HUGE thank you to all of you for supporting my Etsy shop for theses past few years. I couldn't do it without you and y'all are welcome to celebrate right along with me! For the next 2000 minutes (that's 33 and a third hours if you're counting) you can receive 20% off anything in the shop by using the code SJV2000. Thanks so much to every one of you for helping me reach this milestone!

As for this outfit it was seriously inspired by the George Harrison documentary, Living in the Material World, that has been airing on HBO the past couple of weeks. If you get a chance, I'd definitely check it out. It's a bit all over the place and there are some key moments that seem to be skimmed over, but it's still worth a watch just for the amazing archival footage. Toward the end of the first part (it airs in two parts) there is some killer film footage of Jane Birkin that's worth it alone!

Etsy Update: Smoke & Mirrors

winter sky dress... botanical shadow dress... heathered pintuck dress

crosswalk knit sweater... athena belted cardigan... sailing the seas wool sweater

rugby striped boyfriend sweater... monogrammed navy sweater... smokey mountains sweater

captain navy blazer... houndstooth plaid pea coat... peek-a-boo black coat

levis 501 boyfriend jeans... calvin klein fitted jeans... levis 501 faded jeans

penny lane plaid mini skirt... windowpane plaid pleated skirt... perfect navy mini skirt

dove grey pintuck dress... pinstripe navy dress... smoke & mirrors dress

diamond print jacket... tabitha tweed cropped top... aspen cotton jacket

Erb's Mill Covered Bridge

photos by Tom b.

- H&M dress
- ASOS duffle coat
- Topshop boots
- vintage silk scarf

Yesterday Tom and I had plans to go to NYC for the day but at the very last minute our plans fell through leaving us with an entire day at home with no real plans. It was such a lovely fall day we wanted to get out of the house and enjoy some fresh air. We ended up taking a very touristy drive though the countryside, stopping at a couple of covered bridges along the way.

This bridge, spanning Hammer Creek, was originally built in 1847 for just $700 and was rebuilt in 1887. As we were sitting by the creek, several Amish horse & buggies crossed over the bridge. One had a teenage couple in it and the boy stopped the buggy right in the middle of the bridge making his girlfriend squeal in half terror. I couldn't help but wonder if he does that every time they cross a bridge.

Photography: Eugène Atget

The other day I was catching up on watching episodes of Boardwalk Empire. There was a scene where Nucky asks Margaret if she's ever seen Paris and she replied no. I started thinking about what Paris would have looked like had she visited in 1920. The closest thing I could think of was the photography of Eugène Atget. Atget was a French photographer that was known for documenting street scenes and the architecture of early 20th century Paris.

My favorites, which I've included in this post, feature some of the inhabitants (both living and inanimate) of the Great City, as he lovingly referred to Paris. If you delve further into his archives you'll discover many photographs that display seemingly abandoned streets and buildings void of any signs of life. It seems easy to me to imagine Nucky and Margaret inhabiting those empty spaces.