miracle ice cream

Miracle Ice Cream Miracle's truck comes down the little avenue, Scott Joplin ragtime strewn behind it like pearls, and, yes, you can feel happy with one piece of your heart. Take what's still given: in a room's rich shadows a woman's breasts swinging lightly as she bends. Early now the pearl of dusk dissolves. Late, you sit weighing the evening news, fast food miracles, ghostly revolutions, the rest of your heart.                         -Adrienne Rich    Now Wearing: Thrifted cat-eye sunglasses Art-Owl hand-made necklace Thrifted mint-green cardigan Thrifted vintage ice-blue nylon slip Coach belt, worn as bracelet Silk black camisole Altered jean skirt Thrifted vintage brown shoulder bag Thrifted vintage brown monk-shoes

this is how you rock it!

These photos were sent to me via Facebook, and they are of two lovelies wearing Citizen Rosebud. While it is Mama Q who does the sewing in our line of re-purposed vintage, it's me, Bella who goes button crazy over everything. I personally find "button-beading" a very modern way of embellishing, and I relish sharing my life-long collection of vintage buttons, and  my button obsession with you!

The first photo is taken of Kelly, taken with her camera-phone so the picture is kind of fuzzy, but crystal clear is what a stone-cold fox Kelly is in her Citizen Rosebud short-alls. Please note the bib pocket swarming with brown buttons, and she pairs it well with a belted waist and some kick-ass cowboy boots. 

The photos below were taken by my gal pal, Kerry and the picture is of the an urban farm vixen we like to call JT. JT is wearing a Citizen Rosebud embellished LBD (Little Black Dress)  that fits her like a dream, pure Audrey Hepburn at a hoe-down. There is alternating rows of black and white buttons sewn along the edges of the ruffles and around the neck of the dress. This labor of love took me 20 hours to create. And it feels good to know that people appreciate the work and wear it so well.

Thanks, Kelly & JT for looking so bloomingly beautiful in Citizen Rosebud!

For future one-of-a-kind vintage finds & button beadings, be sure to favorite my Etsy shop!

Heart of the Party: Meet-up & Get Down

The Blogger meet-up was a blast with about a dozen bloggers attending.  It was a gorgeous bunch, a styish crew, full of friendly faces, even if more than a few were quite camera shy.

I'd like to thank all those that attended, and hope you all had as much of a good time as I did. I hope we can do this again soon! And for those Sacramento area bloggers who couldn't make it: YOU WERE MISSED! I hope at our next meet-up to see your lovely faces. 

If you'd like to attend the next Sacramento Fashion Blogger Meet-up, shoot me an email or contact me via Facebook, and I'll add your name to the list.

Here's a list of some of the attendees to the first Sacramento Fashion Blogger Meet-up and their blogs, in no particular order:  

• Natale Eve,                   Evelesco
• Kerry Lin Dolan,        Fashion Farms and Freedom
• Kara Perez,                  Porkchop Rules, Crimson & Clover
• Nicole Honeyeater,   Flaming Hag Folkwear, Crimson & Clover
• Lorena Beighter,        Sac Cycle Chic
• Kari Shipman,            Juniper James
• Jen Wade,                    Wade and Asscociates
• Laura Braden,            Girls on the Grid
• Jeanine Mengel,        Neenster.com
• Melody Stone,            It's All Happening, Mid-Mo
• Lisa McCrea,               Starship Narcissus
  
• (& me!) Bella Q,        the Citizen Rosebud, Mid-Mo

PHOTOS:

1) Kari Shipman of Juniper James drinks life straight from the bottle.  2) The camera shy Kerry Lin reluctantly poses with the camera lovin' Kari behind a polka dotted swag bag.  3) Natale Eve & Lisa enjoy the sights and sounds of the first Sacramento Fashion Blogger meet-up.  4) Bella sidles next to the lovely Kara at the sound of the hummus bowl refilling. 5) Bloggers talking shop.  6) Bella & Kara share some love.  8) Lorena shows off her amazing tail!

the Sacramento Fashion Blogger Meet-up

Yep. It happened. And you missed it. 

Last Saturday, in the early afternoon of September 25th,, a handful of Sacramento fashion bloggers met at Crimson & Clover for the FIRST EVER Sacramento fashion blogger get-together. Some brought friends/photographers. A few knew each other. Most met for the very first time.

I must say it was quite the handsome crowd. Quite stylish and smile-ish. 

Nibbling on home-made cupcakes and cookies (Thanks Nicole!) and sipping on lemonade, we made our introductions and talked.  Many of the blogs I already follow and it was great to attach a face & name to the blog. 

We hung out at the side patio of the Crimson & Clover boutique. Our lovely hostesses, Kara and Nicole had set up the space with tables  covered in gorgeous vintage linens, and fresh flower bouquets. There was a lovely array of finger foods to snack on while we chatted. One of the bloggers brought a bottle of wine, which we quickly opened up and as we sipped, we opened up. Nothing brings out the social in a social like some good ol' libations.

There were swag bags for the bloggers. My favorite gifts were the hand-made pins and rings from Kara & Nicole as well as a 20% off coupon. Most of the crowd used it right away. I bought yet another fabu rose ring made by Porkchop Rules. A couple of the bloggers bought and immediate wore their finds: Eve of evelesco came out looking smashing in a lemon meringue chiffon nighty, worn as a top, and the always breath-taking Lisa of the Starship Narcissus changed from her vintage blue goddess dress into a surprisingly understated over-the-top '80's floral chintz print.

Expect to see  a few more posts about the event, and I'll be sure to add names, links to blogs and a little info about each blogger who attended. But for now enjoy a quick glimpse of Sacramento Fashion Blogger glamour!

Mac is Back

Dear Readers,

Ack, my computer's hard drive crashed recently, and I was offline for most of  the week. It was like losing my hands. And eyes. And ears. I love my MacBook, and since it's my home-entertainment center, (no T.V., just Netflix, an occasional hulu.com, ) newspaper and online conduit rolled up into one, my life was pretty pedestrian. 

I was reduced to...READING MAGAZINES! 

So, I've missed you. 

But, this morning, my Mac all fixed up and back, and since I was unable to recover the contents (goodbye writings, goodbye pictures, goodbye important documents) I am intent of focusing on the future. 

Outfit post: going for a Fall Floral look, if you couldn't tell. Still zany about old-fashioned floral prints.

The skirt is a converted dress, and it is a lovely thing, with layers of blossoming chiffon over a built-in tulle slip. It once lived a life as a very elegant vintage dress, but the back zipper wonked out, and I decided it would live a fuller life as a aeparate.  I am considering posting it on Etsy, so let me know if you're interested in acquiring it for yourself. 

Now Wearing:

• Thrifted vintage wool beret w/rosebud, Salvation Army
• Old cotton tank top w/ruffle (bottom of top drawer)
• Crimson silk belt (from vintage bathrobe)
• Re-purposed floral chiffon skirt, the Citizen Rosebud
• Thrifted '90's grunge booties, Thrift Town
• NEW Jantzen Plaid back-pack, Amazon.com

the blossoming night

Yes, yet another post about that Ballet. This time it's an outfit post of what I wore to the Concerts 4 Charity event that took place last Saturday. It's a bit springy- (oh yes, I am chomping for Fall clothes) but was perfect for the warm mid-September evening. 

Classic Citizen re-mix. You've seen the dress here. 
And the rosette headband and broach here. 

Now Wearing: 

• Thrifted, 1950's pink/blue reversible satin silk jacket
• Target, floral print cotton summer dress
• Copious Couture, hand-made rosette head-band and broach
• C&C, Porkchop Rules handmade zodiac ring
• Thrifted, 1980's vintage gold lame shoulder bag
• Target, gold leather goddess sandals

So I was going to hoot & holler that I am now one follower shy of hitting 150. But then, today, I lost a follower. I'm now back to 148, and I KNOW! I shouldn't let it bother me, but y'know? It does. There goes someone I disappointed, and I work very hard at making this a a good blog. But you do what do, and I do what I do. 

PS: 9 hours later: I lost another one! LOL. I'm now down to 147. Back to the drawing board. When I reach 150 followers, I'm going to have a happy give-away!

A big virtual hug and thanks to those who do follow this blog, and for all of you who email, comment and show your support. I really am grateful and feel honored that you read this thing. So until tomorrow: have a beautiful one!                                                  xo. -Bella Q

outfit post: Polka-billy

Ahhhh, it's finally cooling down in Northern California, so I'm layering a bit, Under my 1950's polka dot print cotton dress, I'm wearing cuffed jeans for a little rockabilly flair. The dress is a dream, but unfortunately, one of the sleeves tore (the price of wearing old fabric, it's very fragile at times) so I just made the dress sleeveless with a pair of pinking shears. My favorite polkadot rectangular scarf, which often serves as a belt, matches PERFECTLY with this dress. All that's needed is a few random button pins, my shades and some animal print slip ons, and it's time to run some errands around town.

If you think about it, polka dots are sort of the urban animal print. A zebra, cheetah or panda may wear its dots and stripes for camouflage in the wilderness, and is that not what we do in our civilized dots? Look how well I blend into the dappled shade with my polka dots. Urban camouflage.

Now Wearing: 

• Thrifted 1950's polka-dot print cotton dress, SPCA Thrift
• Mui-Mui sunnies
• Thrifted vintage polka dot scarf/belt
• Cuffed jeans
• Thrifted Animal print wedges, Thrift Store Outlet

stage right

It wasn't just the ballet troupe that dolled up for the occasion last Friday night. Sacramento's kreative kulture was out in full force looking irrepressibly, well, creative. I was having such a grand time, swilling Modelo Negros & Pyramid IPA's and chatting with the lovely Kerry Dolan, that my camera, brought along for the ride, stayed snugly nestled in my back-pack most of the evening.  I didn't feel like viewing my evening through a lens, but wanted to fully participate in it, and sometimes, being chronicler of an event keeps me from that. 

But I did manage to capture some creative souls on life's catwalk. 

This lovely lady was one that Kerry kept pointing out- her style at once fresh and effortless and stylish. Kerry snapped a few pics, paparazzi style after the show, and hopefully you can see what beautiful poise and elegance this woman possesses, the crisp sway of her walk, the gentle swish of her beautiful full skirt.

Note the amazing sleeves of her shrug. The mixed prints on the skirt. Gorgeous. 

And this wouldn't be the first time Kerry captured her for the Rosebud. We also shot  her in her incredible style at the LAUNCH a while back. See her amazing detailing on the back of her top, below.

Here, you see the talented but camera shy Kerry. She's pretty good behind the camera, but a bit squirmy in front of one. Still cute as a button, ya?

 And speaking of talent, here's a quick shot of musician Ruben before the show. I was so busy admiring his mariachi pants, that I didn't even realize that I knew him until after I asked to take his picture, LOL. He was a pretty good sport about it. Ruben is a band member of Drifting Shapes.

 Memo to self: get yourself a pair of bad-ass mariachi pants.

Live Music, Local Ballet

Last night was one of the most enjoyable and inspiring evenings I've spent in a very long time. I was one of the lucky folks who packed into the Crest Theatre to see the Pamela Hayes Ballet Troupe perform to live, local music. 

This charitable performance far exceeded my expectations. Beautifully choreographed (by Zara Hayes) and wonderfully danced, the performances were dream-like, poetic and dynamic. It was mind-altering to see classically trained dancers move to the pulse & rhythm of contemporary music, and what could have come off as awkwardly arty instead breathed new perspective in the future of ballet. 

The stand-out musical performances were, in my opinion, Exquisite Corps, and Sister Crayon, sounding lush and melodic, reminding me of early '90's sounds like David Sylvian, the Cocteau Twins and This Mortal Coil. The audience and the dancers seemed to have the strongest response to the Exquisite Corps, but Sister Crayon's soaring soparano is destined to haunt us long after the stage curtain falls. 

l

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The photographs are courtesy of the multi-talented Dana Gumbiner, who sat front row with his gorgeous family and captured much of the artistry and beauty of the show with his shots.

Not-So-Strange at the Midtown Bazaar

Last Saturday, I made my first visit to the Midtown Bazaar. Think of it as your friendly neighborhood food stand/flea market, sans fleas. Every Saturday since last June, the parking lot on the corner of J and 16th turns into a wonderful local market, and the tables are loaded with fabulous finds, from vintage clothing, collectibles to a plethora of hand-made goods and and food, all local, fresh & affordable. I had such a fine time!

outfit post: Going Places

I'll admit, sometimes I'm a little more fixed on where I'm going next than to what I'm doing now. So I forget to bask and savor the pleasures of the present. Usually my mind is headlong into the plans of my future. So today, I'm going to sit back and smell the coffee. Take a real day off. Enjoy. 

Wearing some transitional Fall layers with my gingham seersucker romper. Only in California folks: leggy seersucker, a sweater AND knee-highs. Alas, the day warmed up, as Septembers are still summer in Sac-town, so I wore my cotton striped sweater as a scarf, and cruised around the alley-ways of Curtis Park to burn off some of the jet from my second double latte.

Wishing you all a happy Thursday, 

and remember: Style Over Speed. 

 

 Now Wearing: 

• Thrifted: Houndstooth Fedora
• Mui-Mui sunglasses, now over 5 years old
• Target: Striped Cardigan, bought on clearance
• Target: Gingham, seersucker romper
• Thrifted: vintage Red leather shoulder bag
• Target: grey knee-high socks
• Thrifted: vintage Black leather slouchy boots

FEATURING THE COOL RIDE OF A DAHON CIAO P7  BIKE