Insta & Pinspiration

 Well, I was not planning to post today, but isn't that the great part about having a blog? You can post whenever you feel inspired! Right now I am inspired by fresh color palettes, coffee, and interior design. What I am not inspired by is my job, but thats alright because I can just daydream about those other things while I am here.  Anyway, this week I started the process of rearranging and redecorating my room a bit to help me feel inspired, motivated, and more organized with my vintage shop.  Since I run my shop out of my room, I wanted to give it more of a work studio feel in one part, combined with a bedroom.

 

A shot I took right when I woke up as the sun was rising through the picture window above my bed, which is one of the first places I decided to give a little room makeover too by 

adding pink peonies!

 

A pretty vintage dress I recently found that is going to be hung as "art"!

 

A peak of my outfit today- full post next week!

 A pin from my "room inspiration" board.  You can find the whole board, 

as long with the source here  (I'm @braidedbandit)

I don't have a bunch of money to spend, so I am doing most of it myself while keeping the basics the same and just changing the accent colors.  My room is currently grey and white with yellow accents.  I am keeping all the grey and white basics and then adding little pops of red, mint, and pink instead of yellow!  What colors are your bedroom? Do you get antsy and want to change things up often or is it just me!?
Have a great day!
xo Hannah

Shop Update - Be My Valentine!

Hi Friends,
    Its been way too long since the last shop update, so I thought I would show you guys a few of the pretty dresses I have in the shop right now!  Just click the picture or the link to be taken directly to the listing!

Velvet and Floral Lace Collar Dress // Size Small/ Medium

 

Black Jumper Dress - Sold Out!

Black Crochet Heart Fringe Dress //  Size Small

1970s Black and Brown Chevron Mini Dress // Size Small/ Medium

Navy Floral Pleated Skirt Dress // Size Small/Medium

Black and White Mod Gingham Dress // Size XS

Striped Nautical Dress with Polka Dot Buttons // Size Medium Large

Maroon and Black Gingham Babydoll Dress // Size Medium

Red Gingham Peter Pan Collar Dress - Sold out!

Sold Out!

Hot Pink Polka Dot Dress // Size Medium

Flamingo Pink 80s Mini Dress - Sold Out!

Blush Pink Lace Shift Dress // Size Medium/Large

There are or course other things in the shop besides dresses too!  I apologize for showing a few things that are no longer available as I originally drafted this post a few days ago.  I would love to know what your favorites are, and what kind of pretty things you are looking forward to wearing in Spring! Hope you're having a great week, can you believe it almost February!
xo Hannah
p.s. Happy Birthday to my best friend Gracie :)

A Denver Date

Hi lovely friends,

     Wherever did the weekend go? I blinked at it was gone!  If you see it around anywhere, please tell it I am looking for it.  

     I wore this outfit on Saturday on a little day trip with R into Denver.  Even though it is only about a 40 minute drive away from where I live, its quite ridiculous how infrequently we actually make it in for the day.  It was pretty much my perfect idea of a Saturday.  We slept in a little then drove into Denver for coffee and a late brunch at a cute little place called Devils Food.  If you live in the area, they have amazing vanilla lattes!  Then, we mapped out a few places we wanted to go to which included a Record store, Tattered Cover book store, and of course a few thrift stores.  Now that R realized he can find records at thrift stores for about 99 cents, he is a bit more game to come along with me once in awhile!  What is your idea of a perfect weekend day?

 

 Outfit Details

Dress: Vintage- for sale in shop here!

Sweater: Vintage - for sale in shop here!

Leggings: Rue 21 (old)

Boots: SO OLD!

Purse: thrifted

     This pretty if not dilapidated lion fountain we found across the street from the record and book store which seemed like a good spot to snap a few pictures.  I think I would live in a comfy floral dress like this all the time.  Cute print, check. Pleated skirt, check.  Elastic waistband, CHECK!  Topped off with a cozy vintage sweater from the shop and I was set for a day of exploring! R happily found a pile of great new (old) records, and I found a pile of new (old) dresses to fix up for the shop, so it was overall a very successful day!
Hope everyone is having a good start to their weeks, can you believe its almost February?!
xo Hannah
p.s. Does anyone read or watch Game of Thrones? (Uhm, if you don't, whatever are you waiting for?!) Every time I see a lion I now think there must be a few Lannisters nearby!
   

New Coat Tackles Winter Blues

Hip hip hooray its Friday!
You guys know I am a sucker for pretty scenery, but sometimes time doesn't allow for a trek to a scenic backdrop just for outfit photos.  I snapped these in my back yard before heading to work earlier this week, because I wanted to show off this pretty vintage coat I thrifted last weekend! There's nothing like a new coat to help tackle those winter blues! It's warm and its plaid and it has gorgeous gold buttons and blue velvet pockets!  I am pretty sure it was actually a children's coat because it is marked as a size 14 XL and the arms are a tiny bit too short.  But for $12.99 and my dream print, I'll take it!

 Outfit Details:

Red Jumper: Vintage, for sale in shop here!

Plaid Coat & Boots: Vintage // thrifted

Tights & Scarf: Target

White Blouse: Converse

     I wanted to thank everyone for your nice words and helpful advice about the lull in my Etsy shop I wrote about in the last post.  It's seriously so nice to sometimes use this blog as a virtual sounding board to bounce ideas off of and get advice from all you lovely gals, and the shop is already starting to look up again!  This adorable little red corduroy jumper is one of the items I recently added to the shop for valentines day! It even has a tiny polka dot print on it and little pin-wheel flowers. Pairing a collared shirt over a sleeveless dress or jumper has been pretty much my favorite thing to wear to work this winter as the collared shirt makes it a little more dressy and the layers add some extra warmth!
     Any fun plans for the weekend? I am planning on going on a little adventure either into Rocky Mountain National Park or a day trip to Denver, we haven't quite decided yet! I just feel like wandering around a bit going into shops, exploring, and eating yummy food! Have a wonderful weekend!
xo Hannah

Floral Tapestry

I don't like the beginning of a Wednesday, but I do like the end of one!  The end of a Wednesday means you have surpassed that half way point of the work week, and only two easy-peasy days left to go.  I have been busy working pretty vintage dresses for the shop after work each day, which does not leave time for much else! Do any of you readers have am Etsy shop or sell elsewhere online?  I am beginning to get a bit disheartened because sales are SO slow right now.  I was just wondering if anyone else was having the same experience! Granted, I did just take a three week break from the shop so it had not been updated in awhile, but I figured it may just be a post-Christmas shopping lag.  What do you guys think!? I'm hoping for a valentines day shopping resurgence!

Outfit Details

Floral Blazer: Gift from Marlen

Lilac Dress: c/o American Apparel

Headband: Gift from mom

Booties: Blowfish (won in a giveaway from The Clothes Horse!)

     So, this outfit is from before my trip, but I realized I never posted these on here! This year, my friends and co-bloggers over at Flock Together did a surprise Secret Santa clothing gift exchange.  My santa was the amazing Marlen from Messages on a Napkin and she sent me this beautiful tapestry blazer.  She nailed my style to a T sending me a vintage floral piece, and to top it off, its so comfy I was tempted to sleep in it the first day it arrived! There are so many pretty colors on it that it was hard deciding which I wanted to mix with it, but I decided on a lilac pastel because I think pastels are refreshing during the cold dreary winter months!
     Anyway, thanks again Marlen for my beautiful gift, and hope you all are having a great day!
xo Hannah

Yodel-Ay-Hee-Hoo

Hi guys! I hope you had a good weekend, and if you have today off- LUCKY!  I wish! But that's okay, I have the whole entire office to myself and R may bring me lunch so it won't be too bad!

 Outfit Details:

Dress: Vintage (for sale in shop soon!)

Boots: Bamboo via Beyond the Rack

Hat: Nixon via Swell

Vest: Tribal Vest from Taiwan

Fish purse: gift from Mom, Taiwan

Socks: Target

    So this is my first outfit post since being back in Colorado, and I feel like if you flip from the last few posts to this one it feels like you are basically time traveling.  I feel like a Yodeler from the Swiss Alps and perhaps went a little winter-layering crazy after returning from a tropical climate.  I tried to channel a "winter in Sweden" look as we were heading off to Ikea on this day when the temperature was approaching the negatives!  Both the fishy purse and red tribal vest are gifts my mom brought back for me when traveling in Taiwan this summer!
     Also, make sure to keep an eye on the shop this week! If you follow be on instagram (@ braidedbandit) you saw that I worked most of the weekend on getting things ready for a Valentine's Day shop update! Happy Martin Luther King and Inauguration Day to you, and cheers to following your own dreams!
xo Hannah

When Life Gives You Lemons

Happy Friday!
     I love this dress, but do not love these pictures. With all the rain we got in Hawaii this year, my lens kept on fogging up when going from outdoors to indoors, and most of these pictures fell victim to this. Oh well! My brother got me this RVCA lemon dress that I have long been lusting after for Christmas!  And my mom got me the cute little round straw bag and these adorable green shoes from Modcloth.  This was actually what I wore out to a little local Kauai bar for New Years Eve too, but I did not get a chance to take pictures that night. I was too busy doing a few too many Sake Bombs with my mother.

Outfit Details

Dress: RVCA via Swell.com (gift)

Straw Circle Purse: gift

Hair Bow: c/o American Apparel

Green Heels: Bait Footwear via Modcloth (gift)

     Anyway.  These were taken inside of the house we rented near the North Shore of Oahu.  It was right on the beach, or more accurately, right in the ocean since there was only a teeny tiny strip of beach left in front!  What usually would have turned out to be an amazing location proved to unfortunately be super windy and rainy, but we soon figured out if we drove to the beaches a bit North, the weather was much calmer.  These are from the upstairs living room, and I just loved the rows of books and beachy curiosities!
     I thought I'd include a snap of my mom and I too, especially since she is wearing the skirt I got her for Christmas :) Hi mom! Back to wintery Colorado posts next week! Have a great weekend!
xo Hannah