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Sunday, March 31, 2013

Happy Easter Everyone!

Being that I am a Christian, Easter is the most important holiday of my faith.  It celebrates the resurrection of our Lord, three days after his death by crucifixion.

As a young girl, Easter meant a new outfit to wear to church.  Many times my mother would coordinate my sisters and I and a couple of times our dresses even matched our mother's.  We always had hats and purses to go with our outfits as well as a new pair of shoes.

I thought it would be interesting to look back at some pictures of Easter finery.  How about you, do you get a new outfit for Easter?  





















Friday, March 29, 2013

Easter Bonnets

Easter is a Christian holiday that coincides with the beginning of Spring.  Many of the customs and traditions of Easter symbolize the new life that is emerging following Winter.  And I don't know about you, but I'm ready for some new life following this long dreary Winter season.  But, back to my point about Easter. 

Ladies and girls used to don decorative hats to wear with their new Easter finery to the church service.  This is still done today, just not as often.  The original Easter head accessory wasn't a bonnet, but women would celebrate the arrival of Spring by decorating their heads with wreaths of fresh flowers and leaves.  This was to symbolize the cycle of the seasons and the coming of Spring.

Later on in history, you will find the "Sunday of Joy" which is the Easter after the end of the Civil War.  On this Easter Sunday the women and their daughters traded in their dark, mourning clothes and veils for pastel colors and fresh Spring flowers.  They adorned their hats and bonnets with ribbons and blooming flowers.

New York's Easter Parade began in the 1870's, after attending the church service, women would then parade down 5th Avenue, proudly showing off their new Spring clothing and Easter Bonnets.  With each passing year, the hats of the Easter paraders would become larger and more creatively decorated.  Think about hats that include live bird nests, pets, and whole flower gardens!

Today, Easter hats are not seen as often at the church service, though they still can be found, mostly on well dressed little girls.  But, I say, in the midst of hatching eggs, baby lambs being born, and budding flowers and trees, why not don an Easter bonnet to symbolize the new life, warm weather and religious celebration.  Most of the Easter hats that can be found today are typically light weight, straw hats, decorated with ribbons, lace, and artificial flowers.  Just a small shell in comparison to what these hats used to be.  Here are some grand examples of Easter bonnets of the past.

Easter bonnet

Easter bonnet

Easter bonnet

Easter bonnet

Easter bonnet

Easter bonnet

Easter bonnet






Wednesday, March 27, 2013

Navy Linen Shirtwaist

I found a cute linen shirtwaist dress.  You can't really see in the photographs but it has embroidered polka dots set into a triangle pattern, all over the front of the dress.  The Mister said it had a very June Cleaver feel to it.  I'm ok with that, I liked Barbara Billingsley and her style as the Beaver's mom.


Navy Linen shirtwaist dress

Navy Linen shirtwaist dress

Navy Linen shirtwaist dress

3 strand faux pearl necklace

Embroidered polka dots

Retro Gran hairstyle

Retro Gran hairstyle


*Outfit Details*
Dress - Thrifted
Shoes - TJ Maxx
Faux Pearl Necklace - Gift from my Mom
Earrings - Premiere Jewelry



Monday, March 25, 2013

French Country Office Space



Recently I shared with you in this post, that our office building was doing some renovations and switching offices around. It is still going on as they are only doing a couple offices at a time, but my new space has been completed and I have already moved in. I decided, since I was getting a new space, that I was going to redecorate as well. I haven't totally finished decorating, but I thought I would share what I've done so far with you guys.  *Sorry, this is a picture heavy post*

Office Space
Move in day, starting with a blank slate.

Office Space
These cabinets were oak and I requested that they be painted.

Office Space decoration

Mercury glass lamp

Office Space decoration

1950s fan

Clock collection

Rooster decor

Rooster decor

Clock collection

antique typewriter

Wrought Iron wall hanging

Office Space decoration

Office Space decoration

Milk glass pitcher

Office Space decoration

Globe bookends

Office Space decoration

antique camera collection

Ceramic birds

Antique kitchen scales

burlap decor

Office Space decoration

Office Space decoration

Office Space decoration

Office Space decoration


I'm pretty pleased with how it's coming along, just a few things left to do and a little tweaking.  Overall, I'm pretty happy being in my new space.  I think it has a very French Country feel to it, what do you think?