Style Station in Elm Mott, Texas

Having a boyfriend from Dallas and my dad and step-mom in Copperas Cove means Lennon and I get to make trips home easily and semi-often.  We've driven to Dallas a few times now, and I've never once noticed this store until I started looking for it.  Actually, that's not true.  I noticed it after I started looking for it, turned around three times, and finally ignored Google maps and used the directions on their web site, (word to the wise: ignore Google if you go here, it lies!)

I read about Style Station on Indiana's site Adored Austin and decided we needed to make a pit stop in Elm Mott, Texas to do some treasure seeking. 

I'm 98% certain the building is an old gas station, which only adds to the charming Americana that permeates the store and everything inside it.  The first thing you notice once you get past the exterior display is BOOTS.  Boots and pearl snap cowboy shirts.  We knew we were going to like the place when we saw, sitting on top of Art, the owner's, CD pile was an autographed copy of Hayes Carll's album Little Rock.  Lennon didn't get much chance to browse, though.  Indiana mentions Art talking your ear off: this is accurate.  I slipped off after a while to browse and let Lennon be the sacrificial ear.

Elm Mott must have had a riotous square dancing scene at one time (still?), as there was a large selection of vintage square dancing dresses and petticoats.  Lennon found a white, James Bond dinner jacket he kept taking off the rack and putting back.  It was slightly out of his price bracket, which gives me birthday idea fodder.

I bought the white dress on the right from Style Station with contemplations of having it altered, but after trying it on I decided the only thing I need done is to have the waist let out an inch, if that's possible.  I need the same thing done to the vintage gold medallion dress I found at the Dallas Buffalo Exchange.  That one is missing some sort of belt, so I bought a navy ribbon from Wal-Mart to go through the belt loops. 

That Dallas trip was our Valentine's Day date, and if you missed my aquarium adventures and photographs, you can find those here.  I loved the walk-through shark tank tunnel.  It was dreamy and dark and surreal... until one of the fifty toddlers sharing the experience with us started screaming, (I need to go back on a week day - or work at Sea World).

Good & Bad News

I got this wonderful Valentine in the mail last week from Sam!  It was so cute and had such a sweet note that I had to share.  It's now on my bulletin board over my computer and it reminds me why I love the blogging community.

In more good news, I also found these last weekend at Buffalo Exchange:

I haven't owned cowboy boots since I lived in Texas in the third grade, so I felt weird trying them on and walking around the store with my blue jeans rolled up.  At first I decided against them, but when I went to re-shelve them, I just couldn't do it, so they came home with me.  They were $25.50, and at the register the clerk told me they were really nice, nailed in (??) boots (tags still on!) and should have been priced higher.  Score!

So when I wore them I felt like this:

Although I tried to tone it down to be in public:

Boots: from Buffalo Exchange
Skirt: free from Beauty Bar Clothing Swap
Beatles shirt: from a boutique in Little Rock
Long sleeve tee: J. Crew
Cardigan: Gap
Butterfly necklace: Dallas Buffalo Exchange 50% off

The sad news is that my great-grandmother died yesterday at 94 years old in Prescott, Arkansas.  But I don't know if this is really sad, because 94 is quite stellar, and she had a great, healthy run.  I hope I make it that far!  Sadly we don't share a gene pool as she's my step-great-grandmother, but I didn't even know that till college. 

So as soon as I hit publish, I'm headed to HEB for pumpkin seeds, work to finish up my time sheets for the week, and then hitting the road for an eight hour drive to Little Rock.  I probably won't get in until midnight - my high school curfew when I lived with my grandmother (great-grandma's step-daughter) my sophomore year. 

There's no wireless there, and I'll be busy with family, so I apologize if I don't visit or comment on blogs for a few days.  But I'll be back this weekend and hope you all enjoy the same sunshine I'm seeing right now!

Mohawk Fashion Freakout

I know I'm not really a heads-up-neat-event type-blogger, but I'm really excited about this one!  My after school program runs a sewing class called "Project Runway" and our girls were invited to a Go Green Fashion Show at the university in San Marcos before Christmas, and I didn't get to go.  I was quite sad, (but not about missing the long car ride).  That show was a vintage revamped extravaganza as well, and my girls got to model some skirts they made from old jeans as well as walk in some of the clothes made by the university students.

Having missed out there, I do not plan to miss out on the Fashion Freakout at Mohawk tomorrow night.  I even twisted Lennon's arm into going by promising him we could hit the Dog & Duck Pub after, (not exactly a sacrifice on my part....).  I bought our tickets in advance, but Tolly is giving away two tickets at her blog, and winning those is way more cost effective than purchasing online, (although there's only a $2 difference between buying online and buying at the door). 

At midnight it's my birthday so if you're there come say hi to me :)

Rockin & Swappin

Saturday night was the Austin Rock N'Swap at Beauty Bar, hosted by Tolly of Austin Eavesdropper and Sarah of The Year of Living Thriftily.  I got to go with another one of my favorite bloggers: Michelle of Wicked Whimsy, and aside from great company, you know it's a good night when you have a free rum and coke in one hand, a free chocolate, caramel-stuffed cupcake in the other, and are juggling the two between shuffling through racks and stacks of free clothes that are up for grabs.  I also got to meet Indiana of Adored Austin.  Everyone I met was so warm and kind that it made it difficult for my extreme case of "the shy's" to take affect. 

These are the clothes I took in tow - two beaded shirts, one being a bit too peek-a-boob for my taste, three shirts I shrunk and can't squeeze around my expansive rib cage anymore, one dress that zipped all the way up on me many moons ago, a shirt so sparkly that Lennon laughed at me when I brought it home, and three necklaces that haven't seen daylight in over a year. 

And this is what I brought home!  Two swirly skirts, a halter top, (with quite the plunging V-neck, I may need to invest in a bandeau top), a jacket and t-shirt for Lennon, and the dress of my dreams.  I didn't bring home ten things, as I wasn't quite fast enough to grab everything that was put on a rack and made me salivate.  There was some stiff competition going down, and I feel lucky to have nabbed the finds I got. 

This is the dress I wore for the event, and it doubled as a baby shower ensemble prior to the swap.  Elizabeth, my co-director, and I, are friends with the very sweet custodian, Aurora, who has our section of the campus.  She brings us breakfast tacos and teaches me Spanish.  Her daughter-in-law is pregnant with a soon-to-be grandson, and Elizabeth and I were incredibly excited to be invited to the family event.  We got to eat spicy salsa, queso fresca, home made tortillas, and guacamole.  Our present was bi-lingual baby books from Book People, but I doubt that baby will need it, as I spent most of the afternoon being taught Spanish phrases from a 100% bi-lingual eight year old.  When I think of my high school Spanish "C," I cringe.


Dress: Jakura, from a boutique in Little Rock
Cardigan: Old Navy
Boots: Steve Madden, clearance
Brooch: from my grandmother
Necklace: ordered from Delia's in ninth grade for Izmir American High's homecoming formal

Lennon is modeling the t-shirt and jacket I brought home for him atop his PJ pants.  Being a Dallas-ite, Lennon was teased in Arkansas for his "damn state pride," so this Texas tee seemed fitting, (haha, see what I did there?).  This Gap jacket is a size large, but he'd wanted a mechanic's jacket like this from Target that didn't quite fit right.  "Doesn't fit right" is an issue at $30.00, but at $FREE, it is not.  A little hot water should fix things right up.

And remember how I said I found the dress of my dreams...

I didn't waste any time playing dress-up.  I added the scarf since the belt loops on the dress were empty, and the red brooch and heels seemed the perfect accompaniments.  I was holding my breath the whole way home that it would fit, and it did, like a charm.  I'm debating whether to keep the length or take it up, as I'd probably wear it more if it was shorter and less formal.  Any votes on the subject?

Did you go to the swap?  And if so, what'd you find!? 

Thrifting at Savers, Austin, for the Perfect Place Settings

I love pretty table settings, and watching Julie & Julia over and over has only added to my desire for an open air dinner lit by fairy lights, candles, and the reflections off colored glassware.  My Austin apartment might not be conducive to dining al fresco, but it doesn't have to hinder my search for pretty tableware.  The thing that does hinder it, though, are two male roommates who have already broken several pint glasses and a few pieces of my beloved Fiestaware.  Sigh.

I've been reading blogs, though, that focus on thrifty shopping and yard sales.  Indiana at Adored Austin frequently mentions her love of Savers for clothes, and living nearby the North Austin store, I decided to swing by and make my own assessments.  When I got in, I was too distracted to even notice the clothes, because look at what I found!

First, there were these blue glass tumblers that look exactly like the green ones my Ma Maw Mary from Pine Bluff, Arkansas had in her cupboards when I was little.  With the casualties of my Bed, Bath & Beyond pint glasses in mind, I didn't feel bad picking up the lot of six, especially after I saw the price...

.99 cents!  That's right up my alley.  It's especially sweet when I do a little internet searching and find this:

Anthropologie has similar blue tumblers for sale at a not-so-bargain price of $10.00  a piece.  Purchase satisfaction increased ten fold!

I was also drawn to these cute dessert cups.  They'd be perfect for holding soft boiled eggs, candy, decorations, ice cream, or...

berries and cream (yogurt for me), just like this similar dessert cup from Crate and Barrel.  I could pay $25.00 for a set of twelve from them, or I can be happy with the price I paid:

.99 cents a piece again.  I got six and could still afford to buy myself dinner out.

The last thing I found may need a little work:

I've seen several blogs post craft ideas for silver serving trays, mostly to turn them into chalk board wall decor, like at Bless Our Nest.  I'll have to hold on to this and report back once I decide what to do with it, but for this price:

I couldn't just leave it sitting there.  So, for a grand total of $15 and pocket change, I got all of the following:

I think I may have caught the thrift bug beyond just the clothes rack.  This is potentially dangerous and potentially wonderful.  Right now, the wonderful outweighs any potential risk.