"Design a friend" dot com

what would it be like if you could go to a website and design the prototype of an awesome friend?

 if i was the engineer, my perfect friend would:

-possess intricate knowledge of fine chocolate, and teach me to make homemade hot chocolate.
-be incredible at gift giving (you know, those people who give you the thing you never knew you needed but now your life is so much better?)
-be super intelligent (maybe with a degree in something fascinating, like archeaology)
-encourage me to be a better mom, and understand when being a mom is hard.
-speak french fluently
-have incredibly warm and inviting eyes that always put you at ease.
-be ever so easy to talk to.
-have an eye for beautiful old things
and
-give really great, tight bear hugs.

oh WAIT! i have that friend!!
her name is emily. and you all know her as "duff", the proprietress of Jean Jean Vintage

i met duff a few years ago when she came through Kansas city to visit some family. i remember being SO nervous because i am possibly the shyest person you will ever meet. She INSTANTLY put me at ease. we had a wonderful dinner, and have laughed and talked at many a table since then.

when we met we were both on a journey to become mothers. both of our journeys were rather heart-wrenching in their own way... and ended in two of the most incredible little boys that we could imagine.

in october, Duff, Soren and Severen came to visit us. we talked about being moms and being shop owners, went antiquating, ate wonderful food, watched our baby bears play and duff even did a chocolate tasting for us! it was wonderful. and it felt like family.

Today is Duff's birthday and I just want to wish her a happy one!
duff,
you are such a dear friend, and i'm so thankful and amazed that i get to know you.

maria

Autumn Instagrams

here's a little snippet of my autumn months :) 

if you'd like to follow me on instagram, my name is mariacasteel 

1940's meets 1970's

This past weekend we traveled to Dallas to my cousin's wedding. I wore this crepe 1940's dress from Lost Boys and Lovers that has a beautiful gathered swag on the shoulder, which is mirrored on the opposite hip. These 70's shoes (that have a nod to the 40's) are from No Carnations Vintage, which is one of my favorite shops.
    i don't get geeked out over shoes very often, not like i do over sweater dresses or something. But when i saw these, i knew they had to be mine. i love the 2 colors in them, and i love them together. plus, they are wedges so i can walk! i just love them.  (she also has some amazingn 70s platfoms in her shop right now. )

I'm so happy for my cousin, who has truly found the love of her life.
it was an outdoor wedding, with a meadow and hay bales and the sun was dancing on her perfect auburn hair.

also, asher rode a hay bale, and ate some of it, too! and we forgot to put shoes on him. oh well.
Asher had a blast. we have dance parties all the time at home but when he realized that a LOT of people could dance together. he squealed and bounced and kicked his leg like crazy. pure joy. he was 8 months old on the 5th, by the way. :)


thanks for reading,

m

Shop Preview!

all of these items are coming to the shop soon :)
if you see something you are keen on, just send me an email at mariacasteel@gmail.com

cheers,
maria

intervention needed.

 yeah that's right folks, i got out of my jammies twice this week. winning at life!

hello, My name is maria. and i'm addicted to stripes.
i wear them almost every single day. and because asher is under my control, HE wears them almost everyday (insert evil laugh). my dear friend and neighbor, danielle, goes thrifting with me a lot and every time i pick out another striped item, she says "mariaaaaa, put it down! or i'm going to have a stripe intervention"

they just seem classic, and easy. This particular stripe dress belonged to my mama. in the 80s.
i really like the buttons down the side, even though i can't button them.
this was the perfect outfit for grocery shopping, and photographing, and being a gosh darn mom.
and though really its just a cousin to jammies, it looks at least a LITTLE more put together :)

shirt: stolen from my mom's attic (hi mom!)
grey leggings: target
vintage moccasins: thrifted.

what about you? is there a trend / pattern / style you just can't say no to?