CONTEST!

remember me mentioning a giveaway.....?

here it is!

my lovely friend laura, blogger of "For the Love of Clothes" and manager of the store jbandme are giving away TWO full size aspen bay candles.

Laura --->

how do you win? it's simple. 

become a follower of both of our blogs and your name will appear on our "followers" list. 

one winner will be announced from each blog this friday!

good luck!

a blanket a beach and a boyfriend

it's hard getting back into the routine of the week once you've disappeared for the weekend! we had a wonderful time at "couples retreat" (the second annual). we went wine and beer tasting, sight seeing, ate a ton and just had a silly time. its good to be with friends but it's better to laugh with them. the best feeling in the world is when you laugh until your stomach hurts. and yes, i do consider that a workout.

my friend carrie is a great photographer and owns her own photography business, check  it out!

here are some photos of our epic weekend!

fish town on the Leelanau penn. is a place that was a new adventure for me! it has remained (almost) un changed since the late 1800's! i must recommend the cheese shop here. yes...an entire shop dedicated to cheese. my hubby and i went here on Sunday alone and sat and watched the fish.

this is the entire gang! the boys all knew each other in high school and when we all got married we all just kind of meshed together. this is a photo of us in front of the inn. we were all asked about 13 times which one will have kids first...i have my money on a particular couple...

the boys were busy playing cards so us gal's had a little fun with the camera...strange.

a glass of yummy delicious sangria!

i'm a sucker for little amenities. my friend brooke was pretty geeked about the poo-pori. that is perfume you spray before using the restroom. yeah brooke!

we usually go out the first night (we went to Shorts) (i recommend the dips!) the second night we grill this year it was the yummiest steaks ever!

the gang all left on Sunday afternoon but joe and i decided to stay just one more night. we started off the morning at Good Harbor Coffee (best mocha EVER)

we then went wine tasting all over the Leelanau penn. together. the best part of wine tasting was we went to off the map tasting rooms and got to talk with the actual vineyard owners.

one of my favorite stops was Tandem Ciders. i'm not much of a cider drinker but this was amazing! the bottles too are so cute and vintage style fun. my fav was the smackintosh brew. sooo yummy i'm saving it for some friends.

The last winery we went to that day was joe's favorite Good Neighbor Organic Winery.  we sat and talked with the vineyard owner (who was quite the jokester). we talked about what led him to start a vineyard and what drove him to be organic. he was so fun to talk to that we just ended up....staying. you could actually taste a difference with organic wine. the flavor was so crisp. we ended up with a bottle of the apple crisp white. i love to cook so i like to find out what people pair their wines with. i asked the owner what he would pair the wine with. his response?

a blanket, a beach, and a boyfriend

i love people like that.

well back to the real world just thought i would share my staycation adventures with you!

xxoo abby

the most beautiful people in the world

i like to consider myself a garment treasure hunter. i dig through some pretty icky places to find that piece of hidden treasure, but every now and then i get really lucky.

last week i was fortunate enough to meet a fellow former treasure hunter. i could tell the minute i stepped into her square 50's style home decked out in an eclectic mixture of primitive antiques, mid century pieces and colorful folk art wall pieces...she was my kind of collector. she collected whatever was beautiful.

before we even started talking shop i HAD to have a tour of her house which included a history of her pieces. her parents had been dealers so many of her pieces were family heirlooms.

i was quickly drawn to two pieces.

the first was her amazing, elegant and not to mention HUGE entry tree. it was this large deep colored wood mantle looking piece (but no fireplace). it reached all the way to her ceiling. from the top it had a large mirror that reached all the way to the desk piece in the middle. on each side there were 6 hat hooks (on which she had a vintage hat hanging on each one). then was a beautiful engraved desk piece with two oval shape holes on each side to hold your umbrellas with removable drip pans underneath to catch the water. along the bottom of the piece were several places to place your shoes. i was in love.

the second piece that i was drawn to was a large piece of folk art in her living room. it was a life size alligator head made out of what looked to be papier mache. it was huge and bright green it looked so odd yet still inviting.

after my grand tour and a yummy glass of sweet ice tea, she took me to the back of her house to talk shop...and i about fainted.

in front of me was the most beautiful vintage collection i have EVER seen. the colors, the cuts, the beads unbelievable. the best part? they are all sizes 4-12! yes that is right 4-12.

3 hours of digging and ooing and ahhing i was walking out with the entire collection. i couldn't leave anything behind it was too beautiful!

here are some of my fav's!

 30 dresses, 12 tops, 40 slips, and 2 pairs of shoes later her collection is almost ready to be put on the floor.

meeting people like this is some of the most rewarding parts of my job. she was so elegant, gracious and a true kindred spirit.

i can't wait to go visit her again because next time she is going to teach me to make bread!

come in and view the most beautiful things from one of the most beautiful people i've ever met (should be ready by Wednesday!)

xxoo Abby

it's the little things that mean the most

i've never prided myself on a person who pays attention to details when it comes to things like spelling, knitting or engine lights. (maybe that is why i've always run into trouble with those things). but there are times when i do pay attention to detail and that is when i am buying something.

when i am out shopping i am looking for something special. it has to be eye catching and then it has to have some sort of interesting detail. i have to find something that makes me feel like i have a connection to it.

one of my favorite shirts is by a brand called Odd Molly. my shirt is a gray boho top with pink rosettes. cute...but what made me fall in love with it was the little details that you have to study the shirt to see. the first one is a hand embroidered butterfly near the seam on the right side of the shirt. the second detail is an embroidered phrase in the back neck part of the top saying "come mess up my hair". and anyone who has seen my hair knows that makes a lot of sense.

drawing inspiration from my top today i found a few pieces in the shop that have wonderful little details that make them special. what little details do you look for?

i encourage you while out shopping this week (and beautiful Saturday) look for those little details in each object.

xxoo abby

dress for success

ok so we have warm weather but now it's raining. i think i'll savor the warmth.

about a year ago i stumbled across a blog/newsletter called The Daily Candy which highlights the latest and greatest fashion, food and fun of the big cities. i was very inspired by their post on Coachella and the modern day woodstock fashion surrounding it. here are some of my fav's.

i'm loving the polka dot dress and wide straw hat on ms. osbourne, i had to get one too.

i am smitten with the vintage dresses, the maxis, the lace, fun fun fun.

here are some of my Coachella inspired dresses that are featured in the store now

since it is supposed to rain.....all week! show this post and receive 20% off any one regular priced dress at FOUND from right now until saturday close!


happy shopping!

xxoo abby

London Calling

i'm not sure what it is about the mod style that makes me think spring but i thought on a sunny day like this...it was time for a mod post. i think its the bright colors, sleek shapes and light fabrics that make me happy and geared up from warmer weather.

a little history:
mod was born in London, England in the late 1950's and peaked in the early-to-mid 1960's. the fashion was inspired by people breaking from oppression and restriction and resulted in short short short mini's, minimal makeup, platform heels and your boyfriends trouser pants. mod was sleek and sophisticated and produced fashion icons such as Jean Shrimpton and Twiggy.

yesterday as the sun was shining into our corner of 8th street i decided it was time to bust out the mod. the oranges, yellows, and greens and reds brightened my mood and i hope they do the same for you!

xxoo Abby



orange Mini $25, white necklace $7

teal striped dress $20

green mod mini $35, white necklace $10



amazing vogue original yellow mini $35





orange mini $25, navy mini $20, necklace $7



white tunic $15







orange and white swing coat s/m $45