Paulie Antiques

Saturday

Year in Review (2010)

I didn't start personally documenting my style until July of 2010. So, this will be a half year post. Hopefully next year I will have a picture from every month to show you!

JULY:

July is when I really started caring about my blog. I was also transitioning between two schools to follow my dream of becoming a costume designer.

I did a house tour with one of my most inspirational friends and collectors, Linda Zimmers. (see pictures here)

I hosted a tour of my room, here.

AUGUST:

I snapped a lot of outfits in August, I turned 21, and I bought my first dress from Modcloth :) & also transferred to the University of Illinois.

I visited Lisa's Antiques for the first time, see my visit here!

I hosted a tour of my new apartment in Urbana.

I designed my first tattoo for my cousin Heather Jane!

SEPTEMBER:

September was full of beautiful skies, wonderful weather, and a new school.

My room mate, Karla, did a photoshoot of my suitcase collection and I :D

I started making my first shirt.. and finished it.

I hosted a costume shop tour of U of I.

OCTOBER:

October was beautiful, but getting colder. I was starting to adjust to a new living situation.

I really started taking pen palling seriously (although I still have so many letters to write!)

I signed on to costume design for my first film, Once Upon a Time in 1972.

I started a new feature called Suitcase Sunday.

NOVEMBER:

November was getting pretty cold. This yellow ochre scarf became one of my favorite items to wear.

Nathan Adhikari took these photos of me in my Great Grandma Frisina's dress from the1950's (she is still alive at 98!)

Major vintage find: I found a 1953 Sears Catalogue! (more pictures here)

I wrote a fashion review on 1920's metal purses (I am starting a collection!)

DECEMBER:

December was completely freezing. I didn't get many outfits photographed due to finals, but I blogged A LOT!

I shared a story about the woman I was named after.

I did my first DIY making a vintage bow tie!

it was also featured on A Beautiful Mess as part of 12 days of hand made!

I received a very very sweet package from Elsie.

I started making a dress from a vintage bed sham (almost done, too!)

I hope you enjoyed my little projects!

love, polly :)

Thursday

1 year 4 months vegetarian guest post recipe!

Vegetable Chilli Pot Recipe

Hello, my nom de plume in the blog world is mangocheeks. I have been asked by the lovely Polly to write a guest post for her blog. Well, like a friend invited to a party, instead of bringing along cake or a bottle of bubbly to celebrate, I bring with me all the way from Scotland a spicy pot of 'Vegetable Chilli' to share.

My blog, allotment2kitchen, began initially to record my antics at the allotment plot. It was an affordable way to grow some of my own organic vegetables. However, due to unforeseen circumstances last year I lost my plot in a fire, so I now try to grow what I can in my tiny garden plot, containers and pots. This is now heavily supplemented with local and seasonal produce. I am even dipping my little toes into foraging for free ‘wild food’ such as wild garlic and rosehips. Anyway, after growing my own vegetables, I was motivated to find creative ways of cooking and eating them. I have been inspired by the many diverse 'ethnic' world cuisines and have learned over the years that vegetables are not boring, they are extremely versatile. In order to make vegetables appeal to your palette, you just need to open your mind and be creative with them and this can be done by enhancing their natural flavours with herbs and spices. My recipes are always vegetarian and many of them are suitable for vegans.

Vegetable Chilli Pot

(Serves 4 – 6)

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, finely sliced

3 – 4 cloves garlic, crushed

2 teaspoon ground cumin

2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon oregano

1 – 2 teaspoon dried chilli flakes

1 teaspoon unsmoked paprika

2 cans mixed beans, drained and rinsed

1 x 400g can tomatoes, chopped

300g Chantenay or baby carrots, whole and unpeeled

250g chestnut mushrooms, chopped in half if large

150g sweetcorn, frozen or canned

2 cans mixed beans, drained and rinsed

400ml boiling water

To serve: Fresh coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Soured cream or cheddar cheese, grated

Method: In a large pan with a lid, heat he oil and then fry the onion with the garlic until soft. Add the spices and dry fry for a couple of minutes or until the spice aroma arises from the pan. Then add in the tomatoes and cook for a few minutes for the flavours to mingle. Add the carrots, mushrooms, beans and sweetcorn and water and bring to a boil. Cover the pan and reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and cook for around 30 minutes or until the vegetables are bender. Check after 15 minutes or so if the sauce is a little thin uncover for the remaining cooking time to thicken. Serve with scattering of coriander and sour cream and cheese.

One of the impacts of growing my own vegetables was I learned to appreciate the seasonality of vegetables. This isn’t always easy, especially around the winter season when vibrant and colourful vegetables such as tomatoes and peppers are in short supply. So when winter comes, I rely heavily on my store cupboards that are piled high with dried goods (beans, lentils and grains) and tins of sweetcorn, tomatoes and beans. I know some people will only use dried beans for cooking. There are days when I will too, especially when I have plenty of time on my hands and patience. But there are also days, when i just want food on the table without too much fuss, so tinned beans are welcome. The one colourful vegetable you are guaranteed to find all year round are carrots. I picked up some seasonal Chantenay carrots for this dish, but if you can’t find these substitute with baby carrots or chop down the larger variety. This smells and colours from this dish evoke warmth and that can only be a good thing when outside it is cold.

Thank you so much for this post! If you'd like to see more vegetarian and vegan recipes, you can visit her lovely blog, here!

Wednesday

clock purse

skirt- Salvation Army

tights- cut off; from Salvation Army

shoes- $4 Salvation Army

blouse- Salvation Army

pin- vintage, bakelite plastic, gift from my Grandmother Kutch

earrings- gift from my Grandmother Kutch, vintage 1950's made in Germany

I hope you have a wonderful day, and PLEASE don't forget to enter my giveaway listed below!

Also, I would really really reallllly appreciate it if you visited My Best Friend Jules, because I am Blogger of the Week over at their chic little blog! Thanks so much, guys! :)

love, polly

Tuesday

sponsor giveaway: Feed the Birdies (CLOSED!)

(click picture to enlarge)

Well, hi, there! Thanks for visiting my little blog. My first giveaway for the new year is brought to you by Trina from Feed the Birdies. She is giving away this vintage dress from the 1960/1970's! I love the color. I think it would be smashing with my yellow beanie and a belt (some oxfords, too!)

Sorry, guys, the suitcases aren't included :P

SHIPS INTERNATIONALLY, TOO!

measurements are: bust: 15in. waist: 16 in. hips: 19 in, and length from top of shoulder to seam is 40 in.

TO ENTER:

1. follow Trina's blog, pretty please, here.

2. leave a comment on this post! :D

extra entries:

1. tweet about this giveaway! (5 points)

2. Add my button or Trina's button (10 points each)

3. follow me on google reader or bloglivin (6 points)

GOOD LUCK!

love, polly

Monday

costume design for The Glass Menagerie

For my script analysis midterm last semester each person read a play and designed for it according to their major, or interest. I picked The Glass Menagerie.. I love the story.. and the setting. It's set in the 1930's.

You can see more of my artwork here!

love, polly :)