Wardrobe Wednesday - Booth Fifty-Nine

Hi everyone! Hope your week has been cruising along. I am looking forward to the weekend as usual. This weekend I am attending the flower show at Navy Pier and am pretty excited about it. I look forward to sharing some photos from that with you all on Monday. In the mean time - today I have something very special to share with you. My very good friend Angela has just opened up an etsy shop - Booth Fifty-Nine - which is full of vintage goodies and I am here today to give you a little sneak peak of what her store has to offer.

Booth Fifty-Nine first started out as a booth in an antique mall in Peoria, Illinois - hence the name. The booth quickly expanded and has now found it's way to internet. Angela's shop is full of a wide range of beautiful vintage apparel and knick-knacks. A week ago she was sweet enough to send me some items from her shop to try on and I honestly fell in love with it all.



For this first look I will be honest - this is not a dress that I would have typically bought out on my own, having said that I am even more glad Angela sent this piece my way! As soon as I tried it on everything just seemed to work. I was afraid with my body shape that it may look too boxy, but the neat pattern helped lengthen my body, aaaand can we please talk about the adorable collar? This is a dress I definitely look forward to wearing a lot more down the road.



As soon as I saw this blue and white striped dress I immediately thought of Margot Tenenbaum. I debated recreating her look but I don't think I am edgy enough - I also don't own a fur coat - but anywho... the yellow cable knit sweater went perfectly with the dress and shoes so this outfit was pretty easy to piece together. It is a classic preppy look perfect for work or a Sunday afternoon. The color palate also works perfectly for this upcoming spring!

All of the items came in great condition and looked practically new. I highly recommend you all check out Booth Fifty-Nine. I am currently eyeing the Periwinkle Vintage Belted Tanktop myself. Also, Booth Fifty-Nine has an Instagram account you can follow HERE to see even more vintage goodies that could be headed your way very soon.

Outfit Details: Dress and Sneakers c/o Booth Fifty-Nine, Brown Heels - DSW, & Purse - thrifted.

I hope you all have a beautiful day!

Disclaimer - The items in todays post were gifted to me, but all the thoughts and opinions expressed above are my own. I would only ever share items with all of you that I stand behind, and I stand behind this store. That is all.

Toy Army Tuesday - Sawdust Bear

Hi all! How goes it? It hit 50 yesterday!!! It was so nice to walk home from work and enjoy the sunset for a change. I am just going to overlook the fact that it is supposed to snow again on Wednesday, because I honestly can't take it any more. Anywho... for those of you who tuned in last week I shared bits and pieces from the Traveling Circus show opening at Rotofugi (if you missed it feel free to check it out!). The show had a group of my favorite artists from the Circus Posterus Collective, so over the next few weeks I will break down the pieces and give you a little more information about the artists themselves. This week I thought I would share with you Shing Yin Khor's work from Sawdust Bear.


(Shing Yin Khor, "Blue Sweater Scaleybug" & "Orange Sweater Scaleybug" - mixed media)

For those of you unfamiliar with Shing Yin Khor's work - you're in luck today. Sawdust Bear "sculpts awkward, charming, and awkwardly charming creatures trapped in a world of bumbling science and human fallibility. [Her] themes are inspired by historical hoaxes, old museums, cabinets of curiosities and pre-Linnean taxonomy; [Her] palettes are inspired by the more obnoxiously colourful parts of nature, especially invertebrates." In addition to sculpting Shing also publishes pretty sweet little comics, "[she] write[s] the historical fiction comic Marie and Jeanne, write[s] and illustrate[s] the shoegazey near-future sci-fi Center for Otherworld Science, and the awkward monster comic Marlowe the Monster, all of which can be downloaded for free". - For more information about her and her work please check out her website - Sawdust Bear.com.


(Shing Yin Khor, "Underwater Gravebeast Plaque" & "Curiosity Cabinet #1- Clown Jellies" - mixed media) (Shing Yin Khor, "Orange Sweater Scaleybug" - mixed media)

I love Shing's out of this world creatures who resemble bits and pieces of creatures we know, but with a whimsical twist. Their facial expressions are always priceless. They awkwardly stare at you as if they were caught in the act of something. I mean take a look at the Orange Sweater Scaleybug above for instance - how adorable is that face with his tongue flopped out like that? I was laughing out loud when I saw this piece in person. I wish so badly that I could have afforded to take him home.

(Shing Yin Khor, "Drab Fairybug" - Watercolor, Ink, and Acrylic - For sale Here - photo from Leanna Lin's Wonderland) (Shing Yin Khor, "Dragonwinged Fairybug 2" - Watercolor, Ink, and Acrylic - photo from Leanna Lin's Wonderland)

In addition to overly sweet sculptures and neat comics Shing produces beautiful hand drawn studies of her creatures. The pieces above are from her latest show the Supahcute Science Fair at Leanna Lin's Wonderland. You should definitely check it out because there are still some affordable pieces available.

Last week I was lucky enough to score a monthly subscription to her work on Patreon, which means that each month I will receive a care package from her with pieces of her work - from prints, to pins, postcards, and maybe even a mini resin piece! I could not be more excited. I can't wait to see what she produces this year and I hope to eventually add a fattybug or scaleybug to my collection someday soon. I will be sure to share with you all what I receive from the subscription somewhere down the road.

I hope you enjoy her work as much as I do.

Take care everyone!

SawdustBear.com | Supahcute Science Fair | Shing's Patreon

Seeing Red

Hi all, happy Monday! The weekend sure flew by, huh? Losing an hour yesterday threw me off a bit, but it is so nice to have more sunshine - so ready for spring. My weekend was pretty low key. I went out with a group of friends Saturday night which was a fun change of pace. I feel like I have been cooped up way too much this winter. It was nice catching up with everyone. Other than that I don't have too much to report.

I am still in a bit of limbo when it comes to my blogging. I am trying to get back in to the swing of things while planning out new things to cover. Once things warm up a bit I would love to do a ongoing series about neat places to visit in Chicago. There are so many interesting shops, parks, etc. in my neighborhood alone that I would love to share with you guys, so I am hoping to make that happen soon.



As for today I just have some random snapshots. I go through strange phases. Over the summer I was obsessing over crazy prints and now I find myself drawn to the color red. I am not sure what it is or why I get on the kicks that I do but right now it is all about red. My life is currently valentine themed, and I am a-ok with it.

The color red is the color of energy, passion and action. I suppose my wardrobe reflects my current state of mind. I sure could use a little more of the above going in to this new year.

What are you currently drawn to?

Have a lovely day everyone!

Wizard of Awesome

Hi guys! I definitely hi-jacked todays post title from the dress I am wearing in this post - just a heads up - too darn cute to pass up. Speaking of Awesome - last week I won a $100 gift card from ModCloth for taking one of their surveys - how lucky am I!?! I am saving the funds for a rainy day :] Aside from that, how is everyone's week going? I am frankly exhausted and it is only Wednesday. I am really looking forward to the weekend, however, because a few of my close friends are coming up to the city Saturday night and I don't see them enough which needs to change - ASAP. I am hoping once spring weather hits travel will be easier.

Anywhoooo... today I thought I would share with you one of my favorite dresses that has me desperate for spring. Isn't the poppy pattern pretty neat? Feeling sleepy? I can't help but think of that scene from the Wizard of Oz every time I put this dress on, sorta weird...not going to lie. Maybe avoid wearing this dress while operating heavy machinery...haha, alright, I am just rambling here since it is nearly past my bed time.



Outfit Details: Dress - Bernie Dexter via ModCloth - Wizard of Awesome Dress, Boots & belt - ModCloth.

Please excuse the hair straightner on the floor in these photos - whoops, blogging fail. It is just too darn cold out to snap outfit photos so I have brought the show indoors. I still haven't worked out all the kinks. Does anyone have tips on combating overhead lighting? I haven't mastered my flash yet...

Until next time my lovelies! Have a beautiful day :]

Toy Army Tuesday - Traveling Circus

Hi everyone! Today I have something very exciting to share with you all - the Traveling Circus (show opening) by Circus Posterus at Rotofugi.

WARNING: This is about to get geeky.


For those of you who don't regularly tune in to my blog the Circus Posterus Collective is a group of (my favorite) artists. Their home base/gallery - the Stranger Factory is located out in Albuquerque, New Mexico, making it very difficult for me to attend any of their shows. Over the past few years I have tried attending a handful of their shows and workshops but unfortunately my plans have always fallen through. Thankfully, my dreams came true when CP decided to have a show at Rotofugi - my local designer toy shop and gallery.


(Wall of work by Amanda Louise Spayd.)

I was beyond excited when I got word that CP was headed to town! It was my first time attending one of their shows, and even more exciting was that a handful of the artists were going to attend the opening - of course I had to be there. I have been a member of "The Sideshow" which is their fan forum/chat boards just shy of one year and I have been using it to keep on top of news in the CP world as well as meeting fellow fans. The CP forum is a bit like family, I swear, next thing I knew I was being invited over to a fellow boardies home to have dinner with some other boardies as well as with the artists!! I went back and forth that entire week debating if I should go or not, thankfully, I mustered up enough courage and headed over there. Everyone was so nice and down to earth, it was so surreal. I still can't believe it happened.


(Work by Kathie Olivas & Brandt Peters)
(Work by Stephan Webb.)
(Work by Valency.)
(Work by Ferg, Travis Louie, and Brandt Peters.)
(Work by Jen Musatto and Travis Louie.)

The morning of the opening - Saturday, February 15th - my room mate and I camped out in front of the store at 5am in the lovely -6 degree Chicagoland weather and waited for the store to open at 11am so that we could be the first two people to receive tickets to purchase art from the show. Haha. It was a bit overkill, but I wasn't sure what to expect. The next person to show up in line didn't arrive until 8am. I thought my room mate was going to kill me. By the time the doors opened only 8 people were standing in line - I honestly regret nothing.


(Work by Chris Ryniak.)
(Work by Shing Yin Khor - Sawdust Bear.)
(Work by Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters.)
(Work by Joe Scarano.)
(Work by Time Lee.)
(Work by Stan Manoukian.)
(Work by Katie Carillo.)

I am continually blown away by the work these artists produce. It was nice to inspect each piece in person for a change as opposed to looking at them from fellow boardies photos in the forum. I have to make it out to one of their shows in New Mexico some time soon.


(Work by Kathie Olivas and Brandt Peters.)
(Work by Amanda Louise Spayd.)
(Work by Shing Yin Khor - Sawdust Bear.)
(Work by Valency.)

I fear this post is becoming borderline overwhelming so I will stop for today. In upcoming posts I will break down the pieces by artist and give you more information about them. For more information about each piece please visit Rotofugi's Gallery - I will re-update this post later with the title of each piece, honestly, I am just up way past my bed time at the moment. As for today - I just wanted to give you a glimpse of what the opening was like. These last few photos with the artists are my personal faves.


Kathie Olivas and I.

Amanda Louise Spayd, Fiddlesticks (my Dust Bunny!!), and I.

Chris Ryniak, Brandt Peters, and I while being photo bombed by Amanda :]

For those interested: the show runs from February 15th through this Sunday, March 9th. Oh, and click on any of the images above to see more shots from the show!

Until next time! Have a great day everyone.

Life Lately - Ch-ch-changes

Hi all! How the heck have you been? I have gone and disappeared yet again, and let's be real - no surprise there. Life on my end has been a bit bumpy and slightly chaotic, but I think things are finally beginning to smooth back out. The first few months of this year have been a whirlwind, but I am so thankful for the lessons I have learned and adventures I have been on so far in these few short months.

This past weekend I spent a lot of time reflecting on things and jotting down a list of personal goals for the upcoming year. I hate New Years resolutions, we all get so hyped and jazzed up on it, but rarely stick with it. We just jumped on board because everyone else had. Now that the confetti has settled and the excitement of the new year has worn off a bit I have been able to breathe and figure out what I really would like to accomplish.

This year I am going to... improve my health both mentally and physically, get my projects up and running, travel - I am thinking Nashville and a crazy weekend in Vegas, explore my surroundings, help out in the community, and open up to new people and possibilities. I feel like I have shut myself off from the world for too long. It is so easy to retreat and come up with endless excuses not to fully live. This year I will be present and in the moment. If I accomplish one thing this year - that would be it.

Anywho... enough about that positive mumbo jumbo. What have I been up to? Aside from working my bum off I decided to do something slightly daring and go back to blonde for the time being. It took a couple of weeks to get used to it, but it is growing on me.



A few weeks ago I also attended my favorite group of artists opening show, which I will share with you all tomorrow for Toy Army Tuesday.

Take care my lovelies :]