polish trick

My grandmother used to tell me that when she was a girl, in the 1940s, it was the style to leave your "half-moons", or the area by the cuticle, unpolished when doing your nails. I always thought that sounded very difficult, verging on impossible, so I didn't try it. But a few days ago I read that it was also the style in those days to remove a tiny hairsbreadth of polish from the ends of your nails by running the edge of your thumb along it. Taken together these two tricks were supposed to make your manicure last longer since the polish is prevented from peeling at the cuticle and chipping when you touch things with your nails.  I never bother painting my nails lately since I hate how quickly it looks chipped, so I had to try it. And it totally works!

This picture was taken days after I painted my nails, the manicure lasted through daily showers (always a culprit in my nail chipping), dish doing, tub scrubbing, lots and lots of typing and who knows what else, with only one touch up. After a week I took it off for another colour. I'm so impressed how this works! The chips are barely existent and way less noticeable and I think my nails look longer too.

It's not at all hard to leave the half-moon unpainted, just paint three strokes, one in the middle, then one on each side that starts a little further down. It's easier to get the shape smooth on
the second coat, and it takes a little practise to get them all even.

Strange hobbies

I tend to go through phases - sometimes really long ones - where I just can't bring myself to buy clothes. I love clothes, I love looking at magazines and online and in catalogues and in second hand stores and on etsy and pinterest and - well you get the picture! I like looking in stores too, but even if I find something I like I usually end up thinking "meh, I'd rather sew a dress myself", at least right now.

It's not always less expensive to sew my own, but on the other hand I can be choosier about fabric. And I really do enjoy the process of sewing, choosing a pattern and fabric, cutting it out, fixing all the little details. I suppose I just like spending the time sewing, and have a few things slowly, rather than have lots of clothes quickly.

But time! Boy does it take time. Especially the last few weeks, my school schedule has been really demanding. I started a dress, the perfect fall dress, ages ago, by the time I finish it'll be winter! Today, for example, I sewed and hemmed the sleeves but now I think I have to cut out new ones and start over because I don't like how the plaid matches, or rather doesn't match.

Oh well, it'll be great when I finally finish!

Building a wardrobe

On Thursday I saw Julia Biel at the Stockholm Jazz Festival. It was an amazing concert and extra fun because I had a press ticket - I'll be talking about it in my radio show on wednesday so more on that later.

Getting ready to go though, I discovered an big hole in my wardrobe: I have nothing to wear for an evening out that's not either very casual or quite dressed up. What does one wear to a jazz club, or any concert for that matter where adult people are? My wardrobe right now is very collegiate (hey, if you're going to be a student, milk it I say!), with lots of nice-casual things for day and dresses for dinners and balls. I should edit that to say very Uppsala-collegiate, I think there's more dressing up here than a lot of other schools.

I really like the idea of having a 'complete' wardrobe - of course it would never be completely complete but I like working towards having something for every occassion (the same something works multiple times of course) rather than having tons of clothes and nothing to wear. One of my hobbies is really thinking about clothes, thinking about wardrobe staples and building up "the compleat wardrobe".

So not only did I see a great concert, and go to Stockholm, but I also get to start thinking about the next addition to my wardrobe: What does one wear for a weeknight concert (or theatre visit) in the city? 

fantasy outfits for autumn

As you might know, I'm a Canadian transplant to Sweden. I've been here for a year now and I love almost everything about it. Almost! The one thing I don't like is that my sewing has suffered since I've been here. I have a great sewing machine, a Husqvarna from the '60s, but I have not figured out the fine art of fabric shopping a la Sweden. Fabric is sooooo much more expensive here! I have a fantasy of going to Canada for two weeks with an empty suitcase and spending the whole time sewing and eating Canadian pizza and doughnuts (another thing I miss).

This whole year I've only sewn one blouse, a dress, and a pair of shorts. To satisfy my sewing itch I spend a loooooooot of time on Etsy looking at patterns and imagining what I want to make. Here's a look at some "perfect outfits" I've put together recently.

 I've been admiring this pattern for ages. Oddly enough I ran into a friend a few weeks ago and she was wearing exactly this outfit! (the blouse and red slacks). This confirmed that it looks equally good in real life.  Find it here if you want to snatch it from my fingers.

Summer is very emphatically over and the only thing that could possibly help me to cope with/enjoy fall is the introduction of a Pendleton into my wardrobe. Failing that I could use this pattern to make my own knock-off. From wearevintagesewing's etsy store.

This versatile shirt pattern would work with my fantasy-Pendleton and I love the sweater trims! Imagine how great they'd be for all those sweaters I always imagine myself knitting! It's here.

Speaking of knitting sweaters...

I adore this fair isle! Knitting sweaters actually seems like a more economical prospect here than in Canada, actually - I'm always finding wool on sale - but my slow knitting skills and total lack of stick-to-itiveness when it comes to big projects means this one will almost certainly remain in the realm of fantasy.

Sigh. A girl can dream...

Have you been sewing much recently? What's your fantasy outfit of the moment?

I'm gonna kick his ask

 New haircut! I went back to my old hairdresser in Toronto and she did a great job on my bangs but I think I pointed a little too high when indicating the length. It came out a bit shorter than I wanted and now I think I look kind of like this girl:

Life could be a dream, sweetheart

Here is how I looked today when I stayed at home studying and trying to organize all the many things I need to do this month.

This blouse is made by me, from a vintage pattern from 1957.  The shorts are from H&M and the watch is my dad's. It's so sunny that I couldn't keep from squinting!

My favourite part of this blouse is the double-pocket.

new purse!

This wonderful new purse came for me in the mail this week. It's small and cross-body, the perfect replacement for my big, floppy purse that I was quite tired of always holding on my shoulder.

Now is the time to show you what's in my purse!

• a couple of fresh hankerchiefs
• flash drive
• a little zippered pocket for holding cards
• sunglasses, my beloved vintage Ray Bans
• The best pink lip gloss
• tictacs
• violet pastilles
• my metropass and student id in a Mumin card case
• my iphone
• cash and coins wallet. I found it at a flea market in Dortmund, Germany where I was practicing my great German bargaining skills, which consist only of saying "I'll give you that price for two of those!"
• I usually have a compact mirror somewhere too... 

I take everything else I might need in my school tote bag, which I'll show you another time.

♥

A thoroughly modern Thursday

My tennis practice was rained out for the second week in a row, so I did what any modern, 21st century girl would do. I sat down and hemmed some handkerchiefs instead. (and waited for a sunny day to photograph them, of course!)

I use cotton or linen, 1 foot square (30x30 cm). With cotton I usually machine-hem them, but with soft fabrics like linen it's almost as easy to hand-roll the edges, and it looks so elegant. I prefer white, because it's so easy to wash all your white things at once and stick them in the sun to dry. Otherwise I like to use fabric scraps from cottons I've sewn with, as in these green ones. Sometimes I initial or monogram them, but I don't always get around to it. The pattern for these initials comes from an old book of my grandmother's.

Handkerchiefs are one of those things I love because they are so perfectly practical, as well as being a little bit old-fashioned. Not to mention their versatility as an accessory. But I love things that are perfectly simple, designed to suit one purpose very well, and with no superfluous bits. Things like Converse sneakers, white t-shirts, and sturdy handkerchiefs.

It doesn't hurt that they are reusable, and it's so much nicer to pull one out of your purse or pocket than it is to use a kleenex!

Hej!

Working in the library on this sunny day! I am reading about Roman freedmen, it's interesting at least!

♥

lounge

I took the life-affirming decision this morning that even a girl with a thesis to write can have a lazy Sunday now and then. I'm not sure I can call this a conscious decision. When I saw that I'd slept in almost two hours past my dutifully set alarm, I took it as a sign and kept my pyjamas on, lounged around and listened to Radio Deluxe with John Pizarelli, the jazz guitarist, and Jessica Molaskey.

I sewed these a while ago from a vintage pattern. They have this beautiful yoke and little puffy bloomers.

Yesterday I dried my white laundry in the sun. There's no feeling like sleeping in fresh pyjamas in a freshly-aired bed. These ones make me feel like I fell asleep in the 60s and just woke up, which is a sensation I like to cultivate whenever possible.

Sorbet shades

I am definitely going through a pastel phase. My Lisa Frank-loving inner eight year old is ecstatic.

Belt: ESI.
Shorts and t-shirt: Gina Tricot.

♥

DNA

If there's one thing I love, it's monograms. I put them on almost everything I sew, and I want them everywhere else. I found this great post over at College Prep about where to find everything with monograms, and I am in looooove with these monogrammed notebooks.

You know I'm going to be ordering some first thing tomorrow!

Hello

My boyfriend sent me this super cool vintage brooch for Valentine's Day.  It got here a bit late.  I love it!