Love me some Kate Spade!

Just for fun today, I Googled "Kate Spade Blog". I was pleasantly surprised to see quite a few KS lovers there are out there! I have been a dedicated KS fan ever since my red nylon Sam bag circa nineteen ninety-something. I still have it in my attic. Although, after sitting Sam on the floor of many a bar in college it is now a lovely black-ish shade of red. Since then, I have accumulated a pitiful amount of KS gear including some 6 green bags alone. I love KS as much today as I did from the start. Although, I truly loved when Kate and Andy ruled the roost, Deborah Lloyd seems to have really kept the original Americana/preppie/eccentric/kitschy/fun/whatever-else and taken it to the next level. There are so many KS topics to blog about and I will get to them all eventually. Today I will start with fan blogs and great KS Pinterest boards. 

So much fun, check them out!

Behind the Curtain is the actual/official Kate Spade blog.

Official KS Pinterest Board

Official KS Saturday Pinterest Board

Sandee Royalty aka Kate Spade-aholic

Diary of a Kate Spade Addict

The Kate Spade Life

KS Board by Holly A.

KS Board by Carol F.

KS Board by Lisa F

KS Board by Cindy R.

KS Board by Kathryn A.

KS Board by May K.

As usual....this is just the tip of the iceberg!

You Are My Sunshine

You Are My Sunshine has always been a song that means a lot to me. I have a stuffed wind up lion from my childhood that plays the song. I really hadn't heard it or seen anything about it since my childhood, until the Pinterest explosion. Now, You Are My Sunshine seems to be as prevalent as chevron which also seems to have come out of no where. (We will discuss chevron another day.) With that said, here is a little background on YAMS and some of the many products have have popped up the past few years. 

"You Are My Sunshine" is a popular song first recorded in 1939. It has been declared one of the state dongs of Louisiana. Two versions of "You Are My Sunshine" were recorded and released prior to Jimmie Davis' version. The first was recorded for Bluebird Records (RCA-Victor's budget label) on August 22, 1939 by The Pine Ridge Boys, who were from Atlanta. The second was recorded for Decca Records on September 13, 1939 by The Rice Brothers Gang.

Of course, other than the version that my little lion circa 1977 plays, I love Elizabeth Mitchell's version from her You Are My Sunshine CD. 

Now, on to the products...

Swoozies $29.95

Swoozies $29.95

Cottage Coastal $50

 

Etsy $39

Burbon and Boots $30

Etsy $33

Etsy $20

Etsy $19.95

Etsy $42

 Etsy $15

Etsy $30

Etsy $18

Fishs Eddys - Funny Name, Great Store

We all have our reasons for naming/branding choices. You might be saying to yourself, Carolyn....this blog isn't about bungalows so why did you name it Life in a Bungalow? Well, I do actually live in a 1915 Craftsman. Now, Fishs Eddys, like LIAB (Life In A Bungalow), has one of those names that doesn't give you an instant idea of what in the world they are selling. Fish perhaps? Well, no but they do sell plates you can put fish on. Here is their explanation of the name -

It was 1986 and we were driving around the back roads upstate New York (code for lost) when we stumbled upon a small hamlet called Fishs Eddy. It was a perfectly odd name so we borrowed it for our just-opened shop near Gramercy Park in New York City.

Now that we have that cleared up, lets move on the the shopping. Fishs Eddys is an emporium of dishes, flatware, serving pieces, glassware, linens, and basically anything else you might want for entertaining. You can visit them in NYC, which is the best way to do it, of course! If you don't have 18 hours to spare for travel time or hundreds for a plane ticket you can just check them out online and get almost if not all of the same items from the comfort of your own home. Lets get started with some of my favorites. 

Cake Stands - Beautiful and substantial (I picked them up in store and they have some weight to them!) The Jadie is my fave because I am a green gal. Great vintage charm!

And if you need some polka dots in your life...

These vintage inspired mixing bowls remind me of the ultra hard to find vintage Pyrex bowls.

 

Vintage Inspired Fabrics for Little Boy Clothes

Dilemma - You have a little boy that you have to clothe. On one hand you aren't into lace collars, knee socks and $100 smocked outfits. On the other hand, you aren't into baby jeans, collard shirts and (gag) all those message shirts saying Daddy's Draft Pic, Grandma's Little Monster, 

Mommy's MVP, etc. 

Solution, make your own! 

I don't know how to sew but it is on my To Do list. I have lots of grand ideas but we will see what will actually come of them. One thing on my mind is making clothes for my little man, Jack. Most stores are full of the most awful clothes for boys. Lots of Daddy's Big Guy, Mommy's Little Quarterback kind of stuff. Not my style for my kiddo. On the flip side, the boutiques have more classic children's clothing at $70+ a piece. Yes I can do one outfit here or there but I won't outfit my child in $100 outfits. My one alternative is Zutano which has been Jack's uniform since he was born. I will post some Zutano, in case you aren't familiar with them but first, if you are into sewing or are looking into it, here are some super cute fabrics I have come across lately.  Each would be cute as some simple pants, shorts, longalls or shortalls.

Some goodies from Hawthorne Threads.

Lunch Boxes in Yellow

Elephants in Spring

What a City in Blue

 Cruiser in Vintage

Here are some great fabrics from Spoonflower.

It is hard to tell in this picture but these print of Smelly Stickers! So funny!

Traveling Brown

Circus Fun

Plastic Fantastic

This is the very tip of the iceberg! I could go on forever with these fabrics. There are so many prints that I haven't even gotten to yet.

I mentioned Zutano earlier in the post. Their things are comfortable and easy to wear. They were actually just on Zulily and I cleaned it out. Here are some current styles worth a look.

Timex Weekender

The Timex Weekender (available at Target) is so summer camp circa 1962 and I love it! The straps can also be switched out. Makes me feel so young that I must go make some friendship bracelets and a campfire asap!