I hope everyone had who celebrates enjoyed Easter/Passover/Ramadan this past weekend. We had part 1 of our Easter with Mom's side of the family. This Saturday we're doing part 2 with Dad's side. This skirt isn't the most Eastery thing in my closet but my Mom just finished making it a couple weeks before and I wanted to wear it ASAP!

 

Last year, or maybe even longer ago, I had seen someone in a skirt made out of old ties and it must have stuck in my brain. When my Grandpa was getting rid of a bunch of his old ties. I decided to rescue some and turn them into my own version of a tie skirt. My Mom & I googled a couple of guides but in the end we did it our (aka her) way. We cut the skirts to the length I wanted, Mom sewed them together and then used the thin part of one tie as the band. 

Grandpa got a real kick out of seeing the skirt, especially because I used his helicopter ties. He used to work for Sikorsky Aircraft before retiring. Grandma was shocked it came out so good - apparently she didn't have faith in our vision, ha ha!

Blazer: Jones New York

Tank: Old Navy

Grandpa Tie Skirt: Made by Mom

Sandals: Cole Haan 'Minetta' (Marshalls)

Sapphire Necklace: Grandma's

Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators

An outfit featuring a nice mix of old and new. The sweater tank has been seen MANY times on the blog but I think it's time for a refresher for those that have missed the original story. My late Grandmother - Dad's Mom - made this sweater for my Mom many years ago, I would assume when I was a baby. She also made them for my 3 aunts. My Mom had two because she asked her to make a second in a white/cream color, she still has that one. It was passed on to me back in 2012 and became a Summer staple. I love that whenever I wear this sweater it brings me closer to her (she passed away right before I turned 13.)

 

These Zara shorts are also a pretty old item - bought in 2012. I'm pretty sure this is one of my most worn tank/short combos. They go so perfectly together. When paired with my new purple Prada Cahier the purple flowers on the shorts pop even more! 

 

You can never go wrong with a pair of Ancient Greek Sandals. This time I wore the Faye embellished sandal, a pretty apt choice now that I'm writing this blog post. My middle name is Faye, after my Grandmother who made the sweater! How funny that I chose this particular pair to wear. Must be a sign.

Sweater: Made by Grandma

Shorts: Zara

Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Faye' embellished sandal (Net-a-Porter Sale)

Ring: Vintage Emerald Cut Ring with London Blue Topaz c/o Aurate

Necklace: Shashi Princess Leia Necklace c/o Shopbop

Bag: Purple Prada Cahier in Viola (Rebag via Vestiaire Collective)

Sunglasses: Gucci Aviators (bought in Italy)

 

 

This outfit comes with a long backstory. But it's necessary to share why I had to make this purchase.  Back in February 2012 I posted photos of Burberry's Autumn/Winter 2012 collection. In that post I said:

[...] ESPECIALLY the owl print t-shirts. I don't care how much they cost but I am going to get my hands on one of those! I'm an owl obsessed freak…maybe it comes from my Harry Potter obsession but I think they are SO cute!

Spoiler alert: I ended up not getting one of the owl tees. Instead I DIYed my own version because I couldn't justify the $300+ price tag. The sweater version with the beaded owl retailed for $3000.

Even though I had my DIY version I still searched for the real version. I had alerts for "Burberry owl" set up on eBay and a couple other sites. Owl sweaters & tees came and went with me resisting purchase. A few months ago I got an eBay alert that one had been posted. I watched it knowing I probably wouldn't buy it since it had been so long.

But then quarantine happened and I got an offer from the seller to purchase it for $75. How could I resist? Luckily I was able to make the splurge because my recent Disney trip was cancelled and I had a negative balance on my credit card from the refunds.  The rest of the refund money will go back into my vacation savings account.

This isn't the exact version I had posted 8 years ago, the sweater is a little lighter and the neck isn't as high, but it is pretty darn close! You can even tell that the owl I recreated was this owl - the colors I chose were very similar. I couldn't replicate the design exactly because I couldn't find small enough beads in colors/shapes I liked.

We're getting in to warmer weather now but I really wanted to post this before it goes away until Fall. Luckily last week we had some cold days so I wore it lounging around the house.

On our last night in Rome we made sure to take another walk past the Coliseum. So far on the trip we had seen it at sunset, early in the morning and then we finished off with it lit up at night. Such a great way to say goodbye to Rome!

We also found a pretty blue door during the day and took some photos. I wasn't planning on doing an outfit post with this look since I have worn it so many times but I like the pictures. Enjoy!

Sweater Tank: Made by Grandma, Shorts: Banana Republic (shop more green shorts), Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (shop Ancient Greek Sandals),  Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Natural Selection Mini Messenger Bag' (shop more Marc Jacobs bags), Sunglasses: Chanel

I wore this to do some window shopping with my mom over the weekend. I'm trying not to shop too much the next couple months but did end up picking up some cards for a few upcoming weddings. I resisted buying anything else though. Woo!

My camera was not happy the day my Dad and I took these photos, I think I messed with one of the settings and after we took the photos I was too lazy to fix and redo them, haha. But at least you can see the outfit.

Knitted Sweater Tank: Made By Grandma, Jungle Print Skirt: Carven (Net-a-Porter Sale), Sandals: Malu c/o Marshalls, Bag: Marc by Marc Jacobs 'Perfect Purse ostrich-effect PVC' (Net-a-Porter), Sunglasses: Chanel

A simple outfit for a warm day. I wore this to go grocery shopping so I didn't want to wear shorts - hello freezer section.  I haven't been wearing this pair of jeans much for some reason so I decided it was time to take them out for a spin. I wore them with one of my favorite Summer sweaters - a bit of an oxymoron but this is a tank sweater and it's perfect for hot days. I'm really liking the blue, black and brown combo; who says you can't wear them together?!

I've shared the story a few times before, but my late Grandmother (Dad's mom) made this sweater and 3 others for my Mom and her other daughters a long time ago - decades probably. My Mom actually asked for a second one in another color because she loved it so much. She passed it on to me in 2012 and it's been a Summer staple since then.

Sweater Tank: Knitted by Grandma, Jeans: Jeans: Everlane 'Mid-Rise Skinny Jean' in Black, Sandals: Ancient Greek Sandals 'Alethea' (bought in Santorini) Merces Petite Bag c/o Orox Leather Co., Sunglasses: Gucci