Enthusiastic Adjectives: Mooi Vintage

I'm delighted to welcome a new sponsor to the Daddy Likey sidebar: Mooi Vintage! This stylish and well-stocked Etsy boutique is based out of Amsterdam and full of unique vintage accessories.

After taking a look around this shop, it's not uncommon to sit down with your current jewelry collection and say, "You know, I've realized you're sort of boring, and I've found someone else. Actually I've found quite a few someone elses. And they're Dutch. Jealous?"

Here are a few of the many beautiful pieces that have me longing to cheat on my jewelry, along with carefully chosen adjectives to describe them:

Fox belt buckles (set of 2) by Mimi di N: Foxy!

Trifari black stone earrings: Mysterious!

Trifari lucite button necklace: Whimsical!

Lucite butterfly wing earrings: Aerodynamic!

Three-toned wood bracelet: Wood-tastic!

Please show this awesome shop some love, and thanks as always for supporting Daddy Likey sponsors!

P.S. I have sponsorship spots available for June, July, and beyond. My rates are super affordable and I love to partner with independent shop owners, artists, and bloggers. Please send me an email for more information! daddylikeyblog@gmail.com

"Look at these cute floral hair accessories!"

I know I should probably just go ahead and change the name of my blog to "Look at these cute floral hair accessories!" but, ummm, look at these cute floral hair accessories:


I was visiting my parents last week, wearing my yellow rose bobby pins (featured here) because I wear them everyday, when my mom grabbed me by the shoulders and said, "I need to get in on this cute hair clip thing. Teach me the ways!"

We spent the next hour or so browsing Etsy, cooing and shrieking over thousands of adorable clips and headbands. My mom ended up buying a couple different colors of these pansy clips from Lucy Goosey. She generously gave me a few, and I love them.


They look striking in my mom's black hair and my blond hair, and I'm hoping they're cute enough to distract her from wanting grandchildren. At least for a week or so.

Thanks, mom!

Five Things I Bought at the Gap This Weekend That Made Me Love the Gap Even Though I Usually Hate the Gap

I hate the Gap. There, I said it. I can never find anything there and their jeans make my butt look like a moose face (don't ask for clarification, just trust me on that, OK?). Every time I have actually bought something at the Gap it has disintegrated in a matter of days, in the most dramatic way possible, like while I'm doing a book reading and my Gap cardigan suddenly implodes into a little pile of ash, leaving me in my bra in front of a large crowd, mumbling about how important it is to invest in high quality pieces.

Yet, despite all this, I walked into the Gap this weekend. I was desperate for some new basics, had exhausted all my other shopping options, and couldn't help but be drawn in by a giant red sign in the window screaming, "Buy any top get one free!"

I walked out with these five new things and I love them all and only one of them is starting to disintegrate:

Lace-Trimmed Cami: Few things get me as excited as a towering stack of colorful tanktops with white lace trim. Add in the buy-one-get-one-free thing, and I was definitely crying joyous tears in my dressing room, slapping myself in the face and whispering, "Keep it together, Winona, for the love of god!"

Boyfriend Banker Shirt: This breezy button-up is flattering, perfect for work, on mega sale, and also a little Debra Morgan-ish, no? (Yes, I'm obsessed.)

Favorite Ribbed Tank: Completely necessary for summer.

Boyfriend Sweater: I think out of everything I bought, this is gonna be the piece that I regret. I wore it today to a Celine Dion pizza dance party (again, please don't ask for clarification, just trust me), and it's already looking awkwardly stretched out. Curse you, Gap! Curse you to hell! Actually, JK about that, because I really like this next thing I got:

Cropped Utility Anorak: I've been looking for a lightweight spring jacket for what seems like an eternity (and in the meantime, donning my bulky North Face down coat to ward off even the slightest breeze or sprinkle of rain). As soon as I saw this sassy little number, before I even tried it on, I knew it was The One, and I've worn it pretty much constantly ever since: rain or shine, day or night, inside or outside.

Monday Night Martin!

Every so often Martin Sheen, raccoon fashion blogger extraordinaire, stops by to review shiny and/or furry fashion items. When lovely reader Laura sent me this interesting specimen, I knew just who to call.


Take it away, Marty....

This reminds me of my days on the rave scene, all technicolor fur and candy necklaces and ecstasy pills. In fact, I think I danced to trance music with this purse at a charming little warehouse party once upon a time.

I wonder if she remembers me. Most likely not. I had a goatee at the time.

xoxo
Martin

Deer Tail Bandolier Bag, $75

Awesome Affordable Etsy Find of the Week!

Vintage(ish) Band Medals, $9

I had my first drum lesson last week. I walked in with big dreams of becoming the next Meg White or Dominic Howard, but then I was so nervous I forgot my own phone number and told my teacher I was going to vomit. My greatest achievement in my first half-hour as a drummer was banging out four 8th notes in a row and not puking in the trashcan.

Hardcore, right?

This week's lesson went much better. I successfully drummed a rock beat and wept with pride (I've only known my poor teacher for a cumulative hour and he has already seen my entire range of emotion). Now I want everyone to know I'm a drummer. Carrying my drumsticks around in my purse and accidentally dropping them at parties is a good first step, but I think clipping a few old school band medals to my favorite black blazer would be even better.

I have to go practice headbanging.

Advanced Fashion Quiz

Which of the following items is more effective at treating depression?

A. Prozac


B. This rainbow unicorn maxi dress:

The answer is B.

P.S. Huge thanks to Beth for alerting me to the glory of this dress!

Top 5 Most Important Things I'm Packing for my Florida Vacation and Why

In a couple weeks my dad is taking two of my brothers and me on a trip to visit his homeland of southern Florida. The main goals of this trip are eating key lime pie, hunting invasive Burmese pythons, and "bush busting," which, from what I've gathered, means parking your car on the side of the road, then walking out into the everglades and trying not to die.

I'm starting to formulate my packing list, and I wanted to share my top five suitcase priorities:

1. Debra Morgan Shirt
I'm obsessed with the show Dexter. Obsessed. Like, sometimes I sit at my desk at work and daydream about what it would be like if I were friends with the cast, and I laugh quietly to myself about our silly antics and witty repartee. One of my favorite characters is Debra, Dexter's sassy sister (I'm constantly trying to get my brothers to compare me to Debra but they insist I'm more like Vince Masuka. Hmm...). Anyway, since the show is set in Miami, Debra is always wearing these simple linen button-up blouses with the sleeves rolled up, and she looks so cool, in both senses of the word.

This style of shirt looks really, really bad on me, but that didn't stop me from buying a $14.99 version at Marshalls yesterday, and it won't stop me from wearing it everyday in Florida and swearing like a sailor.

2. Bush-Busting Boots

Hopefully these will help me achieve that "not dying" goal.

3. A Small and Sensible Pocket Knife

When I told my friend Katie about my upcoming vacation and our snake stalking plans, she immediately replied, "When I was a kid this missionary came to our church and told us that if you're ever being eaten by a python you should let it swallow you up to your chest, then use the pocket knife you have stashed in your pocket to slice up the side of its belly and escape."

So I said, "What if it eats you head first?"

"They didn't mention that."

"Oh."

In summary, I need to bring a knife. Preferably in a Tomb Raider style thigh holster. And I need to practice crawling into a snake's mouth feet first. And if TSA agents stop me at the airport and are all, "Umm, ma'am, you can't take a 3 foot gold-plated dagger on the plane," I will tell them the story Katie told me, and they will be like, "Godspeed, brave traveler, godspeed."

Alternate plan: wear this gorgeous Wendy Brandes sword necklace and let the snake eat me up to my neck before exacting my revenge.

4. Vintage sunglasses

Because I treasure any excuse to buy another pair of vintage sunglasses.

5. My Esther Williams swimsuit

For taking a refreshing dip in the ocean oil slick.

Any other ideas, tips, or suggestions? What's the weirdest vacation you've ever taken?

Don't Show-cha Your Chocha!

Happy Don't Show-cha Your Chocha Monday! Please take a moment away from your important work duties to peruse these lovely examples of hemlines gone up, up, and away. If you're new 'round these parts and would like to read the very first installment of this feature, click here.

And if you're ready to jump right in, let's kick things off with this quintessential DSYC moment submitted by reader Elizabeth:

She says: Uh oh, looks like Brittany from America's Next Top Model Cycle 14 is having trouble keeping her chocha in check...

Next up, one from Alex:

I love her explanation: I was contemplating on buying this dress, and was looking for the cute belt to match using the zoom feature. Instead of finding the belt, I realized I had found a chocha!

Here's a chocha and a "joe-cha," if you will:

Says Claire: Saw this photo and thought, 'Don't Show-cha Your Chocha double whammy.'

Speaking of Joe-cha:

Martha puts it simply and politely: Oh dear.

Reader E submitted the following dramatic chocha shot and hilarious caption:

Don't know 'bout you, but personally I always like to get fully dressed, yet forget my pants entirely. Then hang around the docks in my granny undies, introducing people to my chocha. Just like this lady.

Anna sent me an email titled, "Chocha-flashers can be animal lovers too:"

She says: Despite a somewhat risible and half-hearted attempt at the knee-clench, this model is flashing her white knickers through her short'n'sheer dress. Shocking. Even more so because it was from the Saturday suppliment of The Guardian (a supposedly medium-to-high-brow British paper).

An unconventional submission from reader Becky:

She says: An upcoming trip to San Diego made me desire a new bathing suit, something basic and nice, American Apparel! OH MY GOD what a mistake.

I got a few emails about this one:

Cal asks: What's better than a velour Don't Show-cha Your Chocha?

And Elise says: The description says it 'hits above the knee.' Above knee? I don't think that approaching chocha = above knee.

I think someone needs to cross out "dresses" here and write "long-ish shirts:"

Says Kay: This clearly shows a very miserable and uncomfortable girl contorting herself into a position so that when her momma looks at the picture she doesnt see her chocha.

This one is just so, so awesome:

That is an impressive clench, right there.

And finally, here's a classic cupcake chocha:

Says reader Katharine: The model looks so awkward! The poses on the designer's Etsy are even better. I'm very very glad it's not everyday wear!

Thanks so much to all my diligent chocha-spotters around the world! I always welcome DSYC submissions (email me at daddylikeyblog@gmail.com) but I'm currently working through quite an impressive backlog, so don't be alarmed if it takes awhile for your chocha to get its turn in the spotlight, ummm, if you know what I mean.

Platypurse

I'm really excited that this metallic leather platypus clutch exists, and that somehow, even with those little webbed feet, it's sort of elegant.

Handmade platypus purse available at this awesome etsy shop.
(Shop found via Sara Zucker)

Ecosystem Accessory

I normally hate rings (one of my greatest fears, besides tsunami and sarlacci, is getting a ring stuck on my finger), but when I saw this monster peeking out of a sale bin on a Mother's Day road trip this weekend, I forgot about my phobia:

I mean, first of all, just look at the thing. I could stare at it for days and still not fully comprehend everything that's going on. This ring has a more complex storyline than Avatar.

Secondly, the band is stretchy, so when I slipped it on there was none of the hyperventilating, crying, and phantom finger swelling that usually occurs when I put on a ring. Besides the fact that it weighs approximately eight pounds, it's quite comfy and accommodating.

I walked over to my mom to ask her opinion. She grabbed my hand and shrieked, "That ring features two pollinators! Your father would be so proud!"

So I bought it. Duh. Plus it was only ten bucks.

When I dropped my mom off at home that afternoon I asked my dad what he thought of my new purchase.

"Good god," he said.

Good enough.

P.S. I don't see a brand name, but I found it at my favorite jewelry store in the whole world: Accessory Appeal (520 Northeast 3rd Street in McMinnville). Seriously guys, if you ever find yourself in Yamhill County, Oregon, have a glass of pinot noir and then go to Accessory Appeal. I love everything in the store, including the adorable owner, Hollyanne.

Happy Mother's Day!

My mom taught chimpanzees sign language and she taught me how to shop and she taught my brothers the importance of a good bra. To say she is amazing would be an understatement.

I love you, mom!

And a very happy mother's day to all the other mothers out there. I hope you never forget how strong and beautiful you are.

Awesome Affordable Etsy Find of the Week!

Vanilla Lavender Goat's Milk Soap, $5

Every year for my birthday and Christmas I ask for a baby goat. And every year, like my pleas for a Mighty Ducks DVD gift pack, this request is ignored by my family and friends, who insist that I couldn't fit a goat in my apartment (I could) and that I don't really view Coach Bombay as a father figure (I do).

Last night, at my birthday dinner with my family, one of my wishes kinda sorta came true.

When I opened my little brother Bob's gift, which was artfully wrapped in a stained brown paper bag and sealed with 15 hidden thumb tacks (thanks, kid), I found a framed "Certificate of Goat Milking Prowess," good for a lesson in basic goat care at a local farm.

At first I laughed nervously, thinking this was payback for Bob's 12th birthday, when the entire family pretended we had pooled our money to buy him 6 months of beekeeping lessons instead of the video game he so dearly desired. But then I looked around the table. No one was yelling, "Gotcha!" My brother Tona wasn't doubled over in hysterical laughter like he was for the beekeeping incident. My mom was beaming with excitement.

Finally Bob said, "I got it at the high school auction. Isn't this what you've always wanted?"

I laughed and clutched the frame to my chest. "Yes, Bob, it's exactly what I wanted."

p.s. Currently planning my perfect goat-milking outfit. Any suggestions?

Brief Birthday Blog Break--BRB

Hey everyone!

Sorry for the light posting schedule these past few days--Sunday was my 25th birthday and I've been drawing the celebrations out over a full week so there's not too much pressure on any one event.

To that end, I've been busy with tea parties, beach trips, racquetball, carousel rides, facials (more on that later), and whatever my brothers have in store for me today.

Playing dress up at the beach to showcase my newfound maturity and wisdom.

I'll be back to blogging regularly ASAP (hopefully/possibly tomorrow)!

Lots of love,

Winona