His Eye is on the Sparrow

I did something yesterday that I swore I'd never do. I got a tattoo. I've never thought tattoos were morally wrong but I hated the idea of having something that permanent on my body. However, life has a way of changing our beliefs and desires sometimes.

I'm going through some very difficult things in my life right now- things that I swore would never happen to me. I have scars on my heart that the world will never see, but the world CAN see this swallow engraved on my back. I chose a swallow because it represents freedom and hope. In the days of sea travel, sailors tattooed themselves with swallows to denote long distances traveled. "...Legend holds that since swallows return to the same location every year to mate and nest, the swallow will guarantee the sailor returns home safely. A sailor would have one swallow tattooed before setting out on a journey, and the second swallow tattooed at the end of their tour of duty, upon return to their home port"(taken from wikipedia.com). Life is a long hard journey, but God's care ensures that we will return safely to Him someday. 

The process of tattooing involves puncturing the skin with needles and injecting ink into the dermis, the second layer of skin below the epidermis. Tattoos are permanent because they are embedded deep in the skin. Getting a tattoo is painful! It not only hurts during the process but for days afterwards.

Much in the same way, God often has to puncture our hearts beneath the surface, deep into our souls, in order to refine us. The trials He gives us hurt deeply, but it is the trials that hurt the most that teach us the most. I like to think that God is tattooing a beautiful design on my soul, and that even though the pain right now is almost unbearable, someday His beautiful design for my life will be finished and my pain will end. 

Hear Me Roar

Today's look is all about animal prints! I snagged this super faux fur coat at Miracle Hill last week. The dress and boots came from Safe Harbor Resale Shop, where I just started working! That's right, I'm working at a thrift store(big surprise right??). Safe Harbor isn't just any thrift store though. It is a boutique style resale shop with a curated collection of pieces including designer brands and vintage! Safe Harbor benefits women coming from abusive situations. I'm so glad to be working for this cause and am absolutely loving my new job.

70s faux leopard coat: Miracle Hill

70s knit dress: Safe Harbor Resale Shop

Modern Rampage boots: Safe Harbor Resale Shop

Peggy Sue

Usually my posts focus on life-size fashion but today's edition is on a much smaller scale! My grandmother passed down her treasured childhood doll to me a few years ago and I decided that it was time to share this darling with you all. Here is her story, told in my grandmother's own words.

I think I was around 7 years old and we lived at 2535  Warren St. Covington, Ky.  She was a Christmas gift.  My parents and grandparents always opened their gifts on Christmas Eve when I was SUPPOSE TO BE sleeping but it was hard to sleep so often I crept down the stairs part way to take a peak. They were always around the dining room table opening gifts and the gifts under the tree were all mine as I was an only child for 10 years.They told me Santa brought them and I always left hot chocolate and cookies on the breakfast nook table for Santa. Of course he always ate them.

Well she was a treasured doll for me.  I may have gotten the doll bunk beds that year also. Anyway, she has her original dress and apron on. We had to replace the shoes and she had pig tails  but her hair got so bad over the years we had to get her a new wig.l  I always tried to take good  care of her.  I had the doll clothes wardrobe which  you or your mom must have. It came with only 3 wooden hangers built in and over time I had more clothes which I had made and some were bought, but no way to hang them  up.

My Grandpa Gordan Wesley Setty ran a bicycle store  (Wesley Supply Store) at 1730 E. 5th St. Dayton, Ohio and I often watched him put wire through the hole in long rubber tubing for tricycle, wagon and baby buggy tires.  He  cut  the ends and pressed  them together on a machine which he had invented and made up for that use. He kept big rolls of wire hanging in his shop so one day when I was visiting my grandparents I asked Grandpa if he could make me some clothes hangers for my doll clothes. He looked at a full size hanger and then at the wooden ones  and the clothes and came up with doll size clothes hangers for me.

Then Grandma said  "You know those might just sell in the store"  so he made up several more and painted a sign which said "Shirley Ann Doll  Clothes Hangers." It was red and blue.  I can't remember the price but it was something like 3 for 5 cents I think. He put them in the front window of his store and sure enough they went over very well. I still have the original sign at home in Ohio and copies of the hangers in my genealogy book.

   Grandpa was very inventive and made several tools like spoke tighteners (for bicycle wheels) and hand tools needed in his business.

I guess that is the story of Peggy.  I named her that because I just thought with her pig tails she looked like her name should be Peggy.

I hope everyone has a wonderful Christmas weekend!

Sarah

Collaboration with Aerial Jay Photography

Several months ago a barista (who also happens to be a photographer) at my local Starbucks mentioned that he would love to capture my personal style on film. Anyone who knows me knows that I would never turn down an opportunity to get dressed up and immortalize my vintage dresses on film! We created a collaborative photo shoot and it was such a fun experience! Paul is not only a great photographer but also a very kind person with a passion for people and their stories. Special thanks to Hannah for helping me pose my best!

Here is a sneak preview but please go to Aerial Jay Photography to see the entire shoot!

Photographer: Paul Jacala Aerial Jay Photography

Posing: Hannah Lyn Roe

Film Noir Look

1940s Dress: Wayward Collection

1940s Hat: Ivy Mae Vintage

Vintage gloves: Kate DiNatale Vintage

Summer Citrus Look

1950s Catalina Dress: Simplicity is Bliss

1970s shoes: Capsule Vintage

1950s needlepoint box purse: thrifted

Folk Style

For today's post I'm wearing a German Trachten dress that I found at a thrift store a while ago. I don't think it's vintage but I fell in love with the 50s silhouette and detailing on this dress as well as the print. Trachten dresses are used traditionally for equestrian events and worn sometimes at Oktoberfest, probably with a blouse underneath but I love it as a sleeveless dress! This dress was made in Italy- I've found a few other modern made in Italy dresses in thrift stores too and I have to say that they are always very well made! 

In other news, we just adopted another puppy! She is a sweet black lab mix named Luna and we adopted her from our animal hospital. It's a little (ok a LOT) crazy having two dogs! Hopefully things will calm down soon. 

Let me know what you think of my German folk dress! I also finally found the perfect fringy bag(way to go Target!). 

Summer Solstice

Wheewh! It's been hot this weekend. Nevertheless Nate and I went to Sunrift Adventures and bought some bikes so we can do some trail riding! My sweetie was nice enough to snap some outfit pics of me while we were out. This dress was for sale in CarlaSue Vintage for several months but I thought it was such a shame that it was just sitting on a rack collecting dust all summer so I decided to keep it...ooooops. I mixed navy and black accessories (I love breaking fashion "rules") for this outfit. I have another black and navy outfit I'm dying to share! Hopefully soon. Hope everyone stays cool!

1950s Dress: CarlaSue Vintage

60s raffia clutch: Hey Roxanne Vintage

Hat and shoes from Target.

Photos by my sweet husband.

This dress is a fantastic number made by Loomtogs- something about it is so timeless and I love it! Loomtogs specialized in women's sportswear; this dress definitely has an easy quality about it. The fabric is glazed cotton- glazing was a popular technique in the 1950s-60s and makes the fabric wrinkle resistant (and yes, it really is practically wrinkle free!)