Laundry Day: This Train is Bound for Glory

Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros at the Railroad Revival Tour

So, the other thing that I did with my weekend, and my birthday present to myself, was to go to one of the stops of the Railroad Revival Tour, a cross-country train tour with three of my all-time favorite bands: Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Mumford & Sons. I met up with my very best friend (she and her sister have been besties with me and my sister since the day we were each born - they're as much family to me as any blood relative) and we donned our dancing shoes (our dancing-outside-in-the-dirt-for-hours-at-a-time shoes) and spent the evening clapping, whistling, singing, grooving, and smiling. I have literally never been to such a fabulously joy-filled event. It felt like each band was just pulsing with happiness to be there, and the vibe was infectious. I left the show on the most incredible high.

Old Crow Medicine Show with Marcus Mumford singing "Wagon Wheel"

The absolute ridiculousness that is Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros. The bottom picture has band members from OCMS and Mumford to help belt out one of the songs.

I think the highlight for me was Edward Sharpe. Alex Ebert is a hell of a frontman, and kept the energy so high throughout the set. He was writhing around, and laughing, and talking to Jade, and just being generally jovial and wonderful. For "Home", they started by whistling the first few lines with the audience; the whole festival was suddenly alive with the vibration of 10,000 people whistling. And for the festival's finale, all three bands came rushing on stage, with dozens more backup musicians, a teenage banjo player with mad skills, and a toddler in Jade's arms, and belted out the most enthusiastic, joy-injected rendition of Woody Guthrie's "This Train is Bound for Glory" that I've ever heard. And then they hopped on their vintage traincars and pulled away. The whole experience was nothing short of magical.

OCMS and Mumford on the main stage

Title song: Old Crow Medicine Show, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, and Mumford & Sons, "This Train is Bound for Glory"

The Lovely Rhona..

Thanks to the lovely Rhona who captured Ger and I hanging out with our wares at "Style at Set" Vintage Fair, 2011.

Rhona is a really vivacious character with a wonderful fashion and style blog called "Rose Tinted Uncertainty" ( Check it out!) We had the pleasure of bumping into Rhona again recently at the Vintage Fair and she was perusing the stands with her gal pal. I was reminded of a shoot that Rhona did last year with the lovely folk at ShutterBug Photography Studios, Kilkenny where Rhona rocked our large signature tulle skirt and teamed it with a full gold sequin vest, as only Rhona could do!! I fished out the image to share with you guys!

Check out Rhona's blog for keeping abreast of her fashion offerings, it's a great read! ( Rhona also did a wee write up on her Style at Set purchase too. A cute little Bonzie Silk Corsaged Hairband)Thank You Rhona for your continued support

XXX

Bonzie

Run to the Desert

Dress: c/o eShakti * Cardigan: H&M, hand-me-down from Emily * Shoes: c/o BC Footwear

The awesome thing about 90 degree weather is that you don'y have to worry much about what to wear. Dress. Sandals. Light cardigan (but only if you're going out to dinner at night and might sit inside where it's air conditioned). Done. I even forewent jewelry for most of the weekend, since it just seemed unnecessary. The simplicity of summer weather is not to be undervalued.

I wore this delightful dress out for my birthday dinner (sushi, yay!). I adore the whimsical print on my dresses from eShakti (I wore the other one here, but you can't see the photos on the post, so click here to see how I styled it...damn you Flickr...); there's something so lovely about their designs, and I can't get over the fact that each dress is fitted precisely for my body. I love the bodice on this one, and it looks equally adorable worn as a strapless dress, with the straps tucked in.

We had a wonderful birthday dinner, and my dad made me a strawberry rhubarb pie for dessert (without knowing that I've been avidly craving rhubarb for weeks now!). It's been years since I spent my birthday with both of my parents, and it was wonderful to be with them to celebrate making yet another rotation around the sun. They were also my photographers for the weekend, and these lovely snaps are courtesy of my wonderful mom.

Title song: Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros, "Desert Song"

Here's one for the crazy cat ladies.

Postcard from a Cat Box.

If an idea amuses me, I make it happen.

It Feels Like Gravity

Oxford shirt: thrifted * Skirt: Anthropologie * Tights: We Love Colors (charcoal) * Wedges: Target * Cameo necklace: ModCloth * Ring: Forever 21 * Belt: thrifted

I'm home, and pretty exhausted. Because I had a layover in Denver on my way home yesterday, I was en route for 8 hours, so I happily fell into bed at 9:00 pm. I have a crazy busy (albeit short) week at work, so my little mini-hiatus might continue through the week. I'm hoping to spend at least part of this weekend catching up on blog reading, posting, and commenting (though it will probably be pushed aside in favor of belated birthday celebrations with Joe). But despite feeling a bit behind on everything, I'm so glad I was able to get out of town for a few days. It was wonderful to hang with my family, and I feel like the desert air rejuvenated my tired mid-spring self. I'll put together a few posts to recap all of the awesomeness, though they probably won't do justice to the lovely time I had.

I've had this post on the backburner for awhile now. I've worn this outfit twice, documented it once, and managed to put off actually posting it for weeks. Honestly, I loved everything about this outfit, from head to toe. This is the skirt of my dreams. Soft, floaty, warm, lovely, cozy...I couldn't invent a skirt I'd love more. I stalked it at Anthropologie all winter, and finally found it for a hell of a steal on eBay. And I love how lovely it looks with these short suede wedges and simple oxford shirt.

I also love the lighting in my little courtyard after work. Certain angles have such incredible contrast from the setting sun, while others create the dreamiest backdrop for showcasing a romantic outfit. I managed to snap pictures in every corner of the courtyard on this day, so you can see how different each space is, depending on which way the camera is facing.

Okay team, I'm off to work, hopefully to catch up on the work I missed in the past few days, and tackle the to-do list for the week. This is probably the busiest week of the year for us, and it's particularly manic since I missed a few days. Nose to the grindstone!

Title song: Joss Stone, "Jet Lag"

Absolut Style at Set Vintage Fair

Bonzie Staff Sammy getting a breath of fresh air!!!

The lovely Rosa in her new Bonzie Coquette Scarf!

Mother and Daughter combo that arrived at the fair for a browse. An absolutely darling couple with a really terrific energy, we loved these gals!! Decked out in a vintage style ensemble too!

These gorgeous little ladies arrived on the Sunday with their Mom for a browse through the fair. One of our absolute highlights of the weekend. The little gal on the left is an aspiring designer and she made her own Easter Bonnet with Tulle, Easter chicks and nestling eggs. She was a vision! Check out their little red shoes!!!!

Here's me getting my Victory Rolls from Paula of Lady Pearl Vintage Hair Specialists in Cork ( More about this fabulous new company later!!)

These ladies need a post all of their own!

As you can see we like to be comfie at work!!!!! lol Ger wearing her day wear shoes!!!

Ger was keeping hydrated..... it was an awfully warm weekend!!!

We kidnapped Brendan Courtney from "Off the Rails" for a picture and he was absolutely fabulous. A really funny and warm character, it was lovely to meet him. ( No TV presenters were harmed in the operation, honest!)

New Bonzie Beaded Necklaces for sale at the Vintage Fair...

The stunning Lauren Bejaoui modelling a bonzie ethereal cape over a stunning antique wedding gown by "Vintage Bride" in Dublin. Lauren was doing regular shoots at the fair featuring items from the stallholders, it was a terrific idea and we all got to have fabulous photos afterward. Photographer Ciúin Tracey captured the shoots all weekend. Will be sharing those shots soon too!

A side view of our stand at the fair.

Organizer: Blanaid Hennessy

Sammy joined us over the weekend to help out with the set up and stall hosting. We had a great time and she got right into the spirit of things. ( see example above!!! lol) We managed to hijack a pair of "high nellie" bikes from gorgous Dutch bike company, This Old Bike!

So we are back from our road trip at the weekend.... We had the most amazing time at this year's Absolut Style at Set Vintage Festival. The Fair was organized by Blanaid Hennessy ( a fashion and Interiors dynamo from Kilkenny!) The stalls this year were amazing and we had a chance to meet some of our gal pals from online that we have only ever spoken to through facebook etc. It was a lovely weekend and we really enjoyed meeting everyone. I will let the pictures do the talking...

xx

Enjoy

bonzie

Laundry Day: She Never Finds No Trouble

So here's the thing: I skipped town for a few days to celebrate my birthday with my parents in Arizona. I've been spending the weekend soaking up the rejuvenating powers of the desert (I'm already sunburned, so I think I'm off to a good start). I'll be back in full form on Wednesday, assuming I don't get eaten by a rattlesnake, gila monster, or javelina. The desert ain't messin' around.

Title song: Tori Amos, "Rattlesnakes"

Course by Course, One by One

Sheer blouse: thrifted * Blazer: thrifted * Jeans: H&M * Booties: Payless * Belt: thrifted * Necklace: gift from Gina

This coming Sunday is my 26^th birthday. As a testament to just how busy my life has been lately, I have only recently begun to think about the day and its potential festivities. I am usually a plan-everything-four-months-in-advance-and-remind-people-daily-that-my-special-day-is-coming-up kind of gal, but this year I just haven't had it in me. Proof that I'm really a grown-up, perhaps. In any case, the big 2-6 is this weekend, and my gorgeous friend Jess took me out last night to celebrate my pending oldishness.

We went to MK in the near North Side of Chicago, and it quite literally blew my  mind. They have a "wine on Wednesday" special, where for $25 you get a three-part meal, with a triple flight of perfectly-paired wines. It was divine. I wish I remembered the intricate details to each dish, because they were the kinds of dishes in which each bite surpasses the last in delectability. There were ferns (delicious ferns), with shaved parmesan and roasted red peppers, grilled fish with sea beans that made me unbelievably happy, and a giant sea scallop with black rice and mango chutney. We happily lingered over each bite of food, and delightedly appreciated each perfectly smooth sip of wine, and had an altogether lovely time.

I decided to dress in a sort of "uptown cool" style (don't ask me what that means, it just came to me). I was worried that I'd be a bit underdressed in jeans (though it ended up that I was definitely not the only one in denim), so I classed it up with my sheer floral appliquéd blouse, some blingy gold, and my fitted navy blazer (pro tip: this sucker came from the little boys' section of the thrift store). And, of course, a heavy dose of my new favorite lipstick, which is the perfect deep ruby red. To be honest, I felt classy as shit. Jess and I posed it out under the El tracks after dinner, so all these photos are courtesy of her mad skills.

We sat and ate at the bar in MK, and our bartender/waitress was just phenomenal. We each ended up with a glass or two of complimentary vino, based on what she thought we'd like, and she gushed about the dessert options with such genuine passion that we couldn't help but order a couple of treats to share. When they came out with the dessert, they surprised me with a plate of fresh house-baked cookies, a lovely birthday message, and a candle to blow out. So cute! My dessert was simply incredible. Lemon sugar dusted fritters, lemon confit and custard, and cilantro syrup with candied coriander. Oh, and sour cream and black pepper ice cream. Best. birthday. dinner. ever. It was lovely to hang out with Jess, gossip about life, and enjoy a truly incredible meal. Thanks, doll!!

Title song: Beauty and the Beast, "Be Our Guest" (damn straight, Disney!)

Have My Own Conversations

Oxford shirt: thrifted * Sweater: H&M * Pants: Gap * Belt: thrifted * Necklace: Tree & Kimball (Serpentine necklace) * Scarf: UO * Boots: Steve Madden

I'll be honest. I have loads of blogger-crushes. With the endless inspiration floating around the interwebs, it's inevitable that a bunch of these fashionable women will end up in my "arsenal of awesomeness to emulate" (that's the name of my inspiration folder). I have the distinct pleasure of calling one of them my roommate, and have the geographically good fortune to live near a few others. Seeing these ladies every few weeks has been one of the absolute highlights of my year. But there are so many bloggers outside of Chicago that have so distinctly enriched my life since I started this project two years ago. One of them, and one who I've yet to have the pleasure of meeting, is Morgan.

Today's post, fittingly following my two-year-anniversary, is my "entry" of sorts for Morgan's one-year-anniversary giveaway. Since day one of Morgan's blog, I have been consistently inspired by her style, her words, and her photos. At the risk of sounding like a rabid fangirl, I simply have to gush about the sheer awesomeness that is Morgan's blog (and, by extension, Morgan herself, I'd assume). I cannot tell you how many times I have finished reading one of her posts feeling as though she had somehow managed to write the words that I had been thinking that day. She's lovely, of course, and has killer style, but it's her writing, and her reflections, that make her blog so powerfully real.

Sorry Morgan, it's coffee, not mate...

I have found, looking through some of my archives, that I emulate Morgan's style more often than I thought I did. My casual weekend wear often includes some of the Morgan-esque staples: a scarf, casually-thrown together yet totally complimentary layers, comfortable shoes (preferably ankle boots of some variety), and long dangly necklaces (I'm actually wearing a piece by Tree & Kimball in this post, which is one of the fab ladies offering up the goodies for Morgan's giveaway!). So it's been easy for me to conjure up a post wherein I pay tribute to Morgan's casual cool aesthetic. And I hope that some of my posts can, have, and will strike a chord with some of you the way that so many of Morgan's posts have affected me in the most timely and true of ways.

Title song: Bright Eyes, "Lua" (well of course I would use this song!)