thrift therapy

to escape some annoyances, i took a short trip up to rhode island last weekend to clear my head. the very best thing that i love to do when i go there is thrift! the thrifting here in the city is pitiful, and i always love to score cheap finds when i'm home.

so let's have a look at what i found on my last trip...


first up were these gorgeous bowls.



i fell in love with the beautiful green color, and decided i couldn't leave them behind. the cashier told me these were depression era glass, and congratulated me on my find. there was actually a stack of about 13 serving plates that i grabbed as well, but i couldn't fit them in my bag to take home. $4.



here's a simple plaid shirt i picked up ($3)- a staple i've been meaning to find. and this cute little sweater ($4), which i can't wait to start wearing in the winter time!





i also couldn't believe it when i found this pair of bloomers!



i picked these up at a place called the owl barn. i wish i had the camera, because it is a thrifter's dream. cobwebs, warped floors, and packed to the gills with amazing vintage stuff. the shop keeper actually gave these to me for free, since she was an old friend of my mom's!



amazing pillow that looks handmade, but never used. $3




and last but not least, these metal cat wall hangings from the 70's! my parents picked them up a few weeks ago, and gifted me with them upon my arrival. so technically, *i* didn't thrift them. but they're pretty awesome, so i thought them worth a mention.




have you found anything amazing lately while thrifting??



and ps, my anklet and candle giveaway ends today, so make sure you've entered!!

worker bee

photos by matt panton





i've been living in casual skirts and shirts this summer. i thought for sure it would be sundresses, but i've been tending towards the separates, instead.





shirt- from mom
necklaces- thrifted, f21
cameo brooch- thrifted
skirt- anthropologie
belt- thrifted
shoes- swedish hasbeens for h&m





i know this isn't like a super awesome blog-tastic outfit, but i like it just the same. matt said i looked like a "worker girl." perhaps it's the skirt that gives that feel. i like and wear it because it's so simple and classic.

i used to buy *only* the crazy shit. now i look for more everyday items, to pair my more eccentric finds with. even if i am just a crazy cat lady, no use LOOKING like it.






xo

sponsor giveaway

Jewels for Hope and GirltaristHan have teamed up to bring you an awesome giveaway here at ChantillySongs this month. Luckily for me, it falls around the same time that i hit 150 followers!! So it's a celebration of sorts as well!


First up is this lovely Peridot Crystal Anklet from the Jewels for Hope store.




Next is this adorable teacup candle provided by GirltaristHan!




Winner takes all!



How to enter:

step 1: follow chantillysongs on google friend connect or bloglovin

step 2: leave a comment. tell me any random thing you want, but make sure to leave your email address so that i can get ahold of you if you're the winner.
(you will be added to my totally non-annoying email list, from which you can unsubscribe at any time.)


that's it!!



then, once you fulfill your madadory entry you may also do... bonus entries!

+ follow me on twitter
+ follow stevie (twitter and/ or gfc, one entry each.)
+ follow hannah (twitter and/ or gfc, one entry each.)
+ tweet something to the effect of: "enter to win this sweet giveaway on @chantillysongs, with prizes from @girltaristhan @jewelsforhopect (then the link)"
+ subscribe to my channel on youtube

please leave a comment for *each* bonus entry.


the giveaway is open internationally and ends on thursday, july 28th at midnight est. the winner will be picked at random and announced a few days later.


this is so exciting! thank you so much for being readers, and being my motivation to do it!

xo


if you are interested in hosting a giveaway on ChantillySongs please email chantillysongs (at) gmail (dot) com.

simple summer tutorial :)

is everyone out there experiencing the record-breaking temperatures? here's a little trick to make you a little more comfortable, if you own nothing but pants, like me...

+

=

xo

wistful

you guysss, being home in rhode island last weekend made me totally homesick.



misquamicut beach, pictures from last summer


i especially miss the beaches, and specifically this one. after 6pm is the best time to go :)

i grew up there. i spent every summer since i was born there. and whenever i return, i realize it's something i'd been missing that i hadn't remembered until that moment. it cleanses me, and it's a part of who i am.





more than that, i wonder what would've become of me if i'd never been ambitious enough to move away. would i be married? would i have a house? kids?

the idea of those things bored me to tears once upon a time, and sent me screaming into the arms of an artist's lifestyle. and well, they still bore me to tears. and i wouldn't change my decisions one bit. i've always made the best ones i could given the circumstances.

but sometimes... just sometimes... i wish for the simple charm of a simple life with simple goals.



when i go home, i am reminded that i could've had these things, and chose not to.

and i have to ask myself... am i done here yet? what do i hope to accomplish? what do i hope to prove? what is it that i'm looking for? and finally, when is it time to "settle?"

i'm not sure. i wish i knew. seeing other people live their lives the simple way used to completely repel me, but now i see the value in it.

on the other side of the coin, i can romanticize all i want. but if a magic genie made it so that i could move out of the city, get my old bank teller job back, and work there for the next 40 years in exchange for a house and "security," i think i'd choke myself to death.

still, i can't help but think that someday i'll just be an old lady... walking the beach every night, collecting shells. maybe with a partner, maybe not. maybe with a daughter or son. maybe with a dog. maybe still updating the ole' blog (if blogs are still in style.) maybe, maybe, maybe.



"what ifs." they do no good...


....

garden party

heyyyyy.


so right now, i'm currently on a greyhound bus with wifi!

i can hear that someone is listening to "rude boy" by rihanna on headphones behind me... the woman's child is singing along with the music. i've also been chatting with a dentist named arthur, and working on cover art ideas for the EP.

always an adventure.


so from my cramped seat, i give you these pics, which were taken in chris's backyard at his bbq.




even though i couldn't miss an opportunity to get some shots in his gorgeous yard, almost none of the pictures we took were useable. you know, due to the awkward nature of taking outfit pictures in front of a bunch of random people at a party...

but at least this one here turned out alright!





tank top- thrifted
shirt- urban outfitters
scarf- beacon's closet
pants- uniqlo
shoes- blowfish jeno boots







xo

bbq week- aww, friendz

i've been chilling out in rhode island for the last few days. after the week i've had, i needed a serious time-out. without getting too specific: too many projects, too many financial stressors, too much fretting over where life is going. i can't tell you how wonderful escaping the everyday annoyances of the city has been.


the good news is we're getting reaaalllly close to completion of the ep! i know i keep saying that, but there are stages, ya know? the last time i posted, we were only done tracking. now we are doing mixing/ mastering. saul came over the other night, and we listened to the tracks in comparison with some similar artists. we want to make sure everything is right before it goes out there into the world :)


anyway, i wish i had some more recent pictures for you, but alas, no camera. so instead, here are some more gems from the 4th of july... of me and my friend maeve :)

looking at these make me feel better, so maybe they'll brighten everyone's day!











"so a priest, a rabbi, and a graffiti penis walk into a bar....... wait, there's totally one behind me, isn't there?"









have a lovely day :)

bbq week- tiki time

remember chris from this post? no? well he's awesome and he hosted the most chill bbq EVA last weekend.


grillmaster b.





chris is just one of those people that the universe wants me to keep in touch with, for some reason. i can't tell you how many times i've bumped into him in the most random places. we were almost supposed to be roommmates last year.

but instead, he lives in an awesome apartment with his girlfriend and two other friends. complete with basement, and the most GORGEOUS backyard i've ever seen in an nyc apartment that costs less than $5,000. it was literally a dirt mound when they first moved in, but now there's grass, flowers, stone steps, and a garden!

we sat on blankets in that backyard, surrounded by tiki torch lights all night long, listening to bluegrass, talking with whoever happened to be next to us. everyone was friendly :)









now for the fun part: the party was called the "bushwick hat trick competition." a bushwick hat trick is as follows: swig of moonshine, followed by swig of whiskey, washed down with shitty beer o' choice (they had black label.) when i first heard this, my stomach and i flat out REFUSED to partake.


i ended up doing four....

but i did NOT take big gulps like some people.

i think kadie came out on top with 6 hat tricks by the end of the night, with chris's girlfriend danielle trailing slightly behind at 5. they were supposed to make a drunken game of thrones recap video for youtube (which i guess is a thing now.) i would LOVE to see how that turned out.


okay, time for me to stop sounding like a frat guy, with all the tales of OMG CRAZZY shots and getting tootally wasted, bro...

MEOW!

hey all!





today i'm guest posting over at miki's scrapbook. if you love kitties (i know you do!) definitely mosey over to hear the cute story of my little brood!


xo

the long hall

my bangs are getting super long, and i'm starting to feel a little too cool for my own good...


photos by matt panton



if they ever had indie rock idol, i'd totally win.

(do you hear me, subpop?!)

(...)

(...no?)

(eh.)








shirt- ebay
scarf- beacon's closet
belt- anthropologie
skirt- urban outfitters
shoes- blowfish jeno boots






anyway, we shot these in the hallway on the 4th of july,. i'm psyched to have figured out a new location! i was trying to think of something other than the roof if i'm still shooting photos in say, december. this is perf.

and the natural lighting is soooo great! even though it makes everything so bright, you can't really see my skirt. it's either blending in with the white walls or my white legs. lol.





hope everyone's monday has started off as well as a monday can...





xx

bbq week- summertime food

i may as well just go ahead and declare this whole week "bbq week" on my blog. seeing as matt's off in costa rica with the camera, and i won't be able to snap any new shots. i've got bunches of summer party pics that i haven't been able to post for various reasons...


so here's a few from our rooftop soiree a few weeks ago. and well, mostly, it's just pictures of the food we ate. because it was just that dang delish.


for instance, check out the pulled pork natalie made in the crock pot!




the pig's name was eddie. natalie bought eddie's shoulder from the union square farmer's market, and the farmer who sold it to her told her that he had a very happy life.

i also had a picture of the raw pork shoulder, but thought it a little macabre to post... seeing as we were on a first-name basis and all. although i hope it's not too macabre to say, eddie was fucking yum.



fresh fruit bowl.





limeade and rum...




if you are a fan of rum, you MUST try this.

it was so good that we tried to recreate it another day, without natalie's supervision. but we ruined it by putting way too much salt, even though the recipe's pretty easy: 1 big bottle tropicana simply limeade. 6-ish shots rum. salt to taste.



conversation...





again, erin's radiant smile...






what are everyone's plans this weekend??


xx

late to the party

i know, everyone has already posted their 4th of july pics. and i have to admit, i have pictures of bbq's and rooftop parties practically coming out of my ears!

but i've been a bit stressed in the last couple of days. i won't bore you with the livejournal-esque details, so instead i'll just offer up a couple of pretties from the 4th.

we'll catch up again soon. (who knows, maybe tomorrow!)



photos by matt panton














xo