Modcloth Gift Guide - Part 1

That's right- Modcloth gets TWO gift guides. This first one is for accessories and apartment-ish items, the next one will be for la clothing. I'm having such a hard time even squeezing all of the Modcloth goodness into two guides, I'm tempted to do one a day from now until Christmas!

Social Club Coasters ($17.99)
Girly Girl Gloves ($12.99)

Bunch of Malar-key caps ($6.99)
Very Supersitious tape dispenser ($15.99)

In a rush stapler ($14.99)
Atomic Age clock ($37.99)

Love is All Around Wallet ($23.99)
365 Days of Procrastination calendar ($13.99)

Suit yourself necklace ($62.99)
Bow and Tell bracelet ($15.99)

Age of Industry ring ($14.99)
Bloom over gloom umbrella ($27.99)

I found The Holy Grail

... and I found it in the public library. (However, the edition I found was prettier, with Buster Keaton on the front.) I actually found pieces of my soul among its pages, pieces I thought were long since lost. My precious... Sigh.


The problem is... why do professional student literature like this demand you to sell your body to be able to afford it? I can buy it on Amazon for $75, no shipping included, and in Swedish net shops it's twice the price. How am I going to survive in the cinematic world were I long so to get a citizenship?


So, I felt the need to share my despair. How about comforting me by buying this Twiggy dress for me? It's only five left! $165 on ModCloth. I think it's cheap considering it would buy you my love.

Elizabeth's Flickr Finds: It's Only A Paper Moon

"It's only a paper moon
Sailing over a cardboard sea
But it wouldn't be make-believe
If you believed in me" --- from "It's Only A Paper Moon", one of my most favorite songs (as for the singer - Cliff Edwards or bust. Follow the link to hear his version!)

Today's Flickr Finds are themed to celebrate the first day of the moon's new cycle! In keeping with the theme, I've picked some some of those infamous photos of tourists sitting in the paper moons. Aren't they adorable?



1. Sitting on the moon, 2. Paper Moon...Invaded by Germans!, 3. Moonray, 4. papermoon 124, 5. Studio Photo, Hand-Tinted Young Girl With Paper Moon Backdrop, 6. papermoon 117, 7. Paper Moon #4, 8. Oh What a Lonely Boy, 9. paper moon

(This is really weird, but the woman in the bottom right photo looks EXACTLY like my mother. It's actually quite terrifying.)

Persephone Books

Persephone Books is a fantastic book publisher and I heart them something fierce. They are based in London and publish out-of-print or neglected books written by women. Most of their books are from the earlier part of the 20th century and before. Their hardcovers come with a simple plain grey cloth cover and a cream label with the title & author of the book. When you open the book you get hit with a magnificent shock of color. The endpapers (those thicker decorative pages inside the front and back covers) are based on vintage fabrics. They chose the fabrics to suit the book. Their paperbacks have full-color covers featuring a related piece or artwork. They have french-flaps and contain the same fabric design in the endpapers as the hardcovers, except in black-and-white. These are gorgeously designed books but they also happen to contain great writing.

Persephone Books is most well-known for reissuing Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day by Winifred Watson (it was a major movie in 2008 starring Amy Adams and Frances McDormand). It's No. 21 in their series and the endpaper comes from a 1938 furnishing fabric.

Even though Persephone Books is based in London, they are willing to send you their wonderful Biannually newsletter and catalog to wherever you are in the world. You can buy their books from their online shop or order them from your local bookstore.

from top left to bottom then top right to bottom

1st Panel
1. A New System of Domestic Cookery 2. Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day 3. The Victorian Chaise-lounge 4. Consider the Years 5. Mariana 6. Family Roundabout

2nd Panel

1. Farewell Leicester Square 2. The Children who lived in a Barn 3. The Far Cry 4. Cheerful Weather for a Wedding 5. The Priory 6. The Shuttle

A very Fred Flarey Holiday

Ice Cream Kitchen Timer, $10...Elephant Cutting Board, $14...Table Saw Cake Cutter, $9...Measure Your Love Cups, $14...French Toast Stamp, $6...Mini Panda Skillet, $26...Pop Friend Spatula, $6 each...Giant Cupcake Mold, $40


Recession Coin Purse, $8...Sparking Toothy Earrings, $12...The Crazy Cat Lady Game, $22...Silly Face Stickers, $9...Frozen Smiles Ice Cube Tray, $10... Hello Kitty Band-Aids, $9...Space Ice Cream Set, $9 (I know Kate loves these!)...Tchotchkeys Key Caps, $8


USB Tulip Hub, $22...Lights, Webcam, Action! USB webcam, $40...LOMO Diana F+ Camera Kit, $99...The Keepsake USB turntable, $149...Pink Princess Phone, $49...Tetran Headphone Winder, $14

The Spiffy Urban Outfitters Gift Guide

Over the next few weeks we'll be posting some suggestions for holiday shopping at different online shops-- first up is Urban Outfitters.


The fashion emergency kit ($12) contains a nail file, elastic hairbands, blister bandages, a mini sewing kit and more-- a fantastic stocking stuffer!

Neff knit headphones ($42) These look like the most comfortable headphones ever!


Pet Playhouse ($32) I have two cats, and I know from experience that they will choose an ugly cardboard box over a pretty cat house every day of the week. But what about a cute cat house that's made out of cardboard?! I am SO getting this firetruck for my kitties - little will they know that I've finally outsmarted them. (They also carry one that looks like a tank)

Faux Fur Muffler ($28) UO carried this last year, and I decided not to get one despite my years-long search for a faux fur muff. Once they sold out I realized my mistake and spent endless hours perusing the listings on ebay for a used one. As soon as I saw this posted on their site today I knew I'd be regretting it for the rest of my life if I didn't cave in and purchase.


Cateye Readers ($6.99) I've always had 20/20, but when I was little I wanted glasses so badly that I'd pretend to read the wrong numbers & letters on the eye chart at the doctor's. I never fooled them, but I eventually realized that bad eyesight isn't necessary to sport a cute pair of cheaters.

Chunky Bow Beret ($34) This perfectly adorable hat would look perfect with just about any winter ensemble but I'd prefer to see it wrapped neatly in red and green and waiting under the tree for me on Christmas morning.


Oui Posts ($12) I think these are delightfully French, even though I'm pretty sure that real French people would never wear them.. (would we wear earrings that said "yes, yes"?) Nevertheless, I think they're adorable.

Fish Plaque Sculpture Ditsy Floral ($9.99) Not quite sure if this is really awful or out-of-this-world-awesome yet. What do you think?

Elizabeth's Flickr Finds: Soldiers and Their Sweethearts

When she invited me to be a part of Spiffy, Kate asked me if I would kindly do a weekly feature of vintage photos I've found on Flickr, because any and all vintage Flickr photos are not safe from me. I will hunt them down like a lion on a baby gazelle - I leap, I click "Add As Favorite" and then brag about my fabulous find to whoever will listen. I've chosen to make my Flickr Find day Monday, because I do my best hunting on the weekend.

This first Flickr Find is themed "Soldiers and Their Sweethearts", because the 11th is Veterans Day, and I thought it would be nice to honor with with some antique photos I've found!

1. Chéri Hérouard - La Vie Parisienne - Le Tour Du Heros, 2. Two Ladies Visit The Cavalry [1], 3. No. 10 - home leave?, 4. Two Ladies Visit The Cavalry [2], 5. No. 4 - The lovers, 6. Sailor of HMAS "Australia" fondles woman's string of pearls, c. 1929 / by Sam Hood, 7. WWI U.S. Sailor and Wife during 1918 Flu Pandemic, 8. Spring 1917, 9. McCalls, December 1917