If money/time/family/work constraints did not matter, what would you do?

I was extremely flattered when I was asked by Jamie over at Easily Dunn to participate in her Big Dreams feature.  Jamie believes that we all have big dreams brewing inside each and every one of us. Her new feature hopes lets other bloggers tell their stories of how they are working towards their big dreams. What a better way to start my 25th year, so I graciously accepted the offer. Hop on over to see what I had to say.

I have big dreams inside my heart, inside my head, that are just desperately trying to claw their way out. I want to give them life, to coax them out gently. And I want to know that when they’re born into the world, they’ll meet equally big, equally earth shattering dreams…so that they aren’t alone. Dreamers should never be left to dream alone.  -Easily Dunn blog

Hi guys! Today is day two of the chit chat with the two girls of School of Vintage. I hope you enjoyed yesterday’s post that featured questions about coming up with the “big idea” and ways to work  to make it happen.

Today’s post will hopefully give you a few behind the scenes secrets of HOW to actually run a small business. These are the things you don’t necessarily consider in the beginning stages, but are really important in making the whole adventure successful. Let’s get started.

Q: For me, the thrill of the hunt is what keeps me going back for more. Where are your go-to trusty places to track down product for School of Vintage? Are there certain people out there that help you track stuff down?

A: We build our inventory by shopping at local thrift stores, not-so-local thrift stores, estate sales, yard sales, flea markets and, our personal favorite, the trash. We are a consignment business so some of our inventory is from outside sources but we’re very discerning with what we’re willing to sell. Jeannine’s fiancé, Chris, has consigned a lot of really great things with us and friends and family (and even some strangers) are always trying to give their “vintage” items away to us. Even though we don’t sell just anything, we always jump at the opportunity to check out what people want to give away. Always.

It’s so much fun!! If we could do this for our living without needing other jobs, then our dreams would come true. Even when we’re at our busiest with School of Vintage (hunting, listing, marketing, packaging, cleaning, answering messages, remedying issues, etc.) it never feels like work. And that’s when you know you’ve found something you really should be doing with your time.

Q: I noticed that both of you gals have other pretty full time jobs, when do you make time for School of Vintage and do you have any time management suggestions for new shop owners?

A: Yes. We both have other jobs (but hopefully not for too much longer). Erin works a full time schedule but she has flexibility and Jeannine just went from full time to part time (she could seriously do a whole interview on how momentous that was for her).  But, either way, we work on School of Vintage ALL THE TIME.  Literally. Before work, during lunch breaks, after work, weekends, holidays…all the time.  We are completely aware that if we want to have a successful business, we have to put a lot of time and energy into it.  There’s no other way around it. However, we certainly make time for ourselves and for our loved ones as well.  That’s also super important. But when you own a business, you don’t clock in and out. You’re always clocked in. It’s just the way it goes.

Our advice for time management would be to maybe schedule a day or two a week that you’d like to have off and stick to it. Set limits for yourself. Everyone is different and learning how much personal time is needed to stay sane is a very individual process.  Sometimes people are good with knowing exactly what they need and others need to go through some trial and error until they get it right. One thing is for sure…if it’s making you unhappy…something’s not right. You’ll have to find the right balance for yourself.

Q: Starting a shop and running a shop can be extremely expensive endeavors. Do you have any tips on keeping things balanced so you aren’t spending more than you need to and that you are able to make a profit in the end?

A: Start with a set amount in your business account and don’t touch it.  Also, don’t ever buy anything that is overpriced to begin with. This takes us back to the question about doing research and how it’s very important. Make sure you know what you’re buying so that you know how much you can sell it for. If you have to dip into your reserves just to purchase something, you might want to hold off on that for a while until your business is profitable enough to afford it. When you make purchases, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll ever sell it. It sounds extreme but if you shop with this in mind, it’ll really help your business expenses – especially at first. Keep a very detailed log of how much you spend on every piece of inventory, sales tax and all business expenses.  Always weigh the amount you spend, to how much you can lose, to how much you think you can make.  (We’re sure there is a technical term for this but we haven’t learned it yet.)

Q: I tend to gravitate towards containers, anything that can hold something else while out at the thrifts and antique malls. Are there certain items you guys go goo-goo gaga over?

A: We each have our own niche. While we both share a passion for all things vintage, Jeannine tends to gravitate towards mod-style shoes and clothing while Erin has an eye for mid-century housewares and linens.

Q: Let’s be honest here…If you are a lover of old things it’s incredible hard to part with a great find. Is this something that passes over time or am I doomed? Haha

A: We have a rule.  If we love something enough, we won’t sell it.  We’ll keep it.  All of our finds are filtered through us first.  But, from time to time we can’t fit something in our house or on our bodies so we’ll have to sell it and, yeah, it’s hard and the feeling never really goes away.  But it’s also nice to know that someone else appreciated it enough to buy it so there’s definitely some solace in that.

That wraps everything up and I hope you found a little nugget of info that was worth tucking away. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know these ladies and if you want to support other small business owners, go check out their stores and blog. I guarantee you’ll be pleased with what you find.

Twitter, Ebay, Etsy, Facebook, and Blogger!

I’m so lucky to bring to you guys 2-part interview with the brain children behind School of Vintage, an online vintage shop selling all my favorite goodies. Jeannine and Erin have been tag teaming their adventure and I was able to chit chat with them about how they started their business and how they work to maintain it. Starting your own business, no matter the scale of the project can be extremely daunting. I hope the suggestions and insights from these ladies will make things a bit easier. If you AREN’T starting your own business, it’s still nice to hear about how much passion goes into what these gals do.

The first part of this feature will mention the idea and how to evolve that idea into the earlier stages. Part 2 (tomorrow) is more about the logistics of making everything happen. Enjoy

Q: Sounds like the both of you met in college and had a shared love for cute vintage things. Who had the idea to start a vintage shop and how long did it take to get the project moving in the right direction?

A: Yes, we met in college. In microbiology class to be exact. Our shared love of vintage was realized at that time, but we didn’t open School of Vintage until recently. We had been collecting vintage for years and years when we met and actually attempted to open a shop on eBay, but it didn’t last long since life got in the way.

When we started to get more focused, we opened separate Etsy shops (Jeannine focusing on clothing and shoes and Erin focusing on housewares) then quickly realized that our dream from eight years earlier was still alive and thriving and decided to take it much more seriously. It took about three weeks from when our collaborative idea was born until we were a registered business. We even had a commercial space picked out in that time frame as well. We were not messing around.

Q: I’m an extremely impatient person and one of the hardest aspects of starting my own business has been that I want things to happen NOW. What has been the hardest aspect of starting School of Vintage and do you have any suggestions to call our impatient hearts?

Hahaha. A: We are both the definition of impatient.  We like to say that we’re not necessarily impulsive but that we know what our guts are telling us and we listen to them (immediately).  So, our advice for patience is to listen to your gut. Really listen to it. If something doesn’t feel right, it probably isn’t. Sometimes your gut won’t talk to you for a few days.  It’s trying to work some things out. While that’s happening, you have to wait. A lot of times it’s your brain and gut battling it out. But that’s what patience is: waiting (quietly) for your gut to tell your brain what to do next.

We’ve also learned that it’s hard to wait for other people.  And when you start a business you inevitably have to deal with other people. But, again, you have to be patient. We realize that we’re both definitely ‘Type A’ personalities and we like to get things done right away and we like to do them well and have a lot of control over what we do. But we’re finding out that not everyone else operates like that so we’re learning how to deal with it all as patiently as possible. It’s a learning process like everything else.

Q: One of the hardest parts of dreaming up my online shop was coming up with a name that would allow my company to evolve over the years. How did you come up with the shop name School of Vintage and how do you see the brand evolving over time?

A: The name has meaning going back to our early days.  We met at school, so we wanted our name/brand to encompass a lot of that.  Deep to our core, we are science nerds, and since we both majored in biology/biochemistry/chemistry, we wanted to incorporate that into our “brand”. We got together for a business meeting one night and high on our list of things to do was pick a name. We came up with things like Chemistry Vintage (which actually is a really cool name) and Vintage University (not so cool) until one of us said, “School of Vintage”.
We both became immediately silent and then started screaming like little kids.  That was the name. We had found it. We hope for it to evolve into exactly what a school is.  A place to learn. The most fun is researching items and learning about their pasts, who made them, their value, the inspiration behind them, etc.  Perhaps it’s our background in research, but we want to be a wealth of knowledge on all things vintage, for us, and for others.  The name makes sense as a literal sense since we met in school, but it actually means a lot more to us than just that.  A school is a place where you learn and grow as a person, so symbolically, we want our business to mean that. We want to have community involvement in the future and include artists and other small businesses. We want it to almost be a safe haven for fashion, art, music…an institution. It means a lot for us.

Q: I’m about to launch my new shop in June and I’m looking into ways to promote what I’m doing. What have you found to be the best ways to promote your shop? Digitally and traditionally?

A: Digitally, we use Twitter, Facebook, and blogging to help us promote our business.  In person, we use business cards, promotional magnets on our cars and we put ads out in local newspapers. So far, promotions via blogs and twitter definitely have brought the most traffic to our store.  We have found that networking with other vintage dealers is a great way to cross-promote.  f you come across as sincere and truly believe in what you’re doing, then it’ll go a long way – not only in the vintage community, but in the business community as well (and any other community really). Be willing to help and promote others. All the positive energy you put out there, more positive energy will come back to you, two-fold. We promise.

Q: For me, one of the most fun aspects of starting my new project is researching the market and learning about the history behind a variety of old items. How do you guys research your products to make sure you are selling your products around the right price range with the correct story behind it?

A: We’ve both been very much into vintage for about fifteen years now so there are definitely aspects to pricing and branding that we are already familiar with. But, we certainly don’t know everything. There is a wealth of information on the internet and in books specific to whatever we are researching. We’ve acquired a lot of books on the topic ranging from clothing to furniture to housewares. If we’re unsure about something, we’ll usually thumb through our resources or surf the web until we find a price we’re comfortable with.

But, overall, when pricing something, it all comes down to the label, year and condition. Those are the three MAJOR things that need to be researched before a product is given a price tag. If there’s a range of prices that we find, we usually tend to go with the average or low average. We try to be fair and not purposefully overprice things.

We might sell vintage goods, but we’re also very much vintage consumers.  And if there’s one thing that puts a bad taste in our mouth, it’s when people overprice things just to overprice them. That type of practice can alienate potential buyers and that’s exactly what you don’t want to do.

That’s a wrap for today. More greatness tomorrow and if you’re anything like me, you’re thinking WOW…these girls rock. I thought these questions were perfectly answered, specifically the answer to the patience question. Come back tomorrow for some more!

You can find these girls on Twitter, Ebay, Etsy, Facebook, and Blogger!

Oh Lula! You crack me up on a daily basis and I just love ya. Lula’s blog Lulapalooza is about life’s nonsense, art, style, and a little bit of everything else. She’s able to capture the personality of her life with snapshots of this and that. I’m always amused. I also envy the fact that she lives in DC and is constantly surrounded by greatness.

What better way to introduce you guys to Lula than to show you what she is dying to wear for the first day of spring.  Her and I have partnered up to show you our Spring Essentials. I know you’re curious, so let’s chit chat and “window shop”. I’m over at Lulapalooza today and she’s here. Dontcha love it. Blog Love!

Let’s get to know this chica just a smidge more…

What’s the day in the life of Lula like?
My days are pretty boring, nothing really exciting happenin’! I wish I could entertain you and say {with a pretencious hairflip and roll of the eyes}: “yes, dah-lings, I do stunts for a living. ‘Why’, you ask? Let’s just say I don’t mind being paid to have adrenaline rushes. -Oh, you wanna know about the time I had to jump off the Brooklyn bridge in a gorilla suit for King Kong 3? Okay fine, I’ll tell you –” BUT unfortunately that wouldn’t be true now would it? I made all that up, in case you hadn’t noticed.

So, a day in my life would kind of look like this: I have the world’s best schedule so I never have to wake up at 8 (jealous much?) and all my classes are during the afternoon. It’s pure bliss because I like to stay up late, for some reason I get more stuff done at night! When I get home for school I’m in shark mode and I go straight to my computer to read blogs and to play on Photoshop. My latest addiction. A word of advice: don’t buy Photoshop, if you’re like me, you will get sucked into the Photoshop vortex and you’ll waste countless hours of your life. Like The Sims. But then again, if you wanna be a graphic designer, this addiction could actually, potientally work for you! Apart from that, I study. Ocasionally. Oh wait, I can’t believe I forgot to mention Spot (my jack russell) in here! He’s my sunshine. Sunshine of the SPOTless mind, ha, get it? Like the movie? Whatevs. But yes, he’s my boy and every time I come home we do a little happy dance together, it’s realllllll cute. I’ll film him one day and share it with the world, if you want.

Are you curious to see what I’d wear for the first day of spring? Stop over to my dear friend’s blog and take a peek! (just click the image below to take you there)

As you may already know, I’m in a current position where I am working at an advertising agency during the day, blogging and freelancing in the evenings, and trying to find time for everything else. Story of everyone’s life, right? I feel like all I do is work, but I LOVE BLOGGING and I LOVE DESIGN. I’m currently reassessing my priorities and striving to create a better work/life balance.

*Image is one of Kelly’s favorite Flickr images. Original image is by Anna Amphigorously.

I had a chance to sit down with Kelly Ann over at The Flowerchild Dwelling and pick her brain about how she balances this and that. (you’ve got to check out her Music Mondays!) Everyone is responsible for creating their own sense of balance and I found it interesting to see how another blogger with a similar audience does just that. Hope you find this interview useful. Enjoy!

The Veda House: How did you get into blogging and how has it changed since you first launched The Flowerchild Dwelling?
The Flowerchild Dwelling: I’ve had some sort of online journal since I was 14, but I created my blog in 2008 when I was a senior in college. I feel like a lot of bloggers say this, but I seriously had no clue what this blog would turn into… I’ll be honest, I kind of started it out of procrastination. I really wanted a place where I could post/write about all of the things that inspired me, whether it be film or photography – and a few friends suggested I start a blog to share my favourite music. I started calling it The Flowerchild Dwelling last year (Flowerchild is a nickname), and it just seems to fit. To watch the readership go from a few college friends to hundreds and hundreds of people from all over the world has been mind boggling… I’m incredibly humbled and grateful!

TVH: Congrats on the new job as a Freckled Nest Designer! I’m obviously jealous! How does your day play out on the days you work for Freckled Nest?
TFD: Thank you, dear! Honestly, everyday is different, as least for right now. I also work on photography projects part-time, and since I started working with Freckled Nest just recently, I’m still trying to find a schedule/routine that works for me in the most efficient, yet enjoyable, way. So far, I really love alternating between design work and photography everyday. it keeps things fun and the inspiration flowing consistently.

TVH: There seems to be a constant struggle to keep life balanced,(at least for me) how do you balance your day job, your hobbies, and anything else you deem important to your well-being?
TFD: I like having some sort of routine, but if I have a super strict schedule every single day, I get bored and burnt out. I think setting weekly goals is really great, and one should always invest in a day planner! I like to have a planner and a calendar on my computer, because I tend to forget things sometimes. I’m also a sucker for to-do lists… I make one every single day. (Sometimes I make two. In college, it became very apparent that I can be a HUGE workaholic. I was constantly on the go and I would double/triple book myself until I barely had enough time to eat and sleep. By the time I graduated, I was completely burnt out. And that’s so unhealthy! I’ve realized that I’m the type of person that MUST have down time/fun time set aside, or I will go crazy. Even if it’s just dinner with a friend, painting for a few hours, or catching up on my favourite television shows, I have to put the work away and just breathe for a while. It can be a challenge to create that “me-time”, but everyone should do it. It’s a process, and I’m not perfect at it, yet… but I’ve noticed how much happier I am when I’ve taken that time away from work. If you truly make it a priority, it will happen. I think having weekly goals helps tremendously. OH, and… learn. to. say. NO. That’s a big one!

TVH: Your Blog, The Flowerchild Dwelling is gorgeous! Do you have a design background and how do you decide what content you’re going to post?
TFD: I actually have a film production background! I took a basic photoshop class years ago, and I think that gave me a really good foundation to start with. Besides that, I’m self taught… aka I’m a huge nerd who loves to figures things out on my own.

As far as content, I really just post whatever inspires me. I have a list of musicians and playlists that I pull from for my Music Monday feature, and I spend a small amount of time every week researching music for future posts. I also have a “favourite things” folder on my computer that I add to throughout the week for my Tuesday feature. I also like to share my photography every so often, and I hope to do more of that in the future. I’ve been making it a habit to write down blog post ideas the second I think of them, which has been super helpful. There will be some content changes on The Flowerchld Dwelling in the near future, and I’m really excited about it! I have lots of ideas in the works, as well as a new blog design, and I’d like to get back to blogging almost everyday. That hasn’t been happening lately, and I miss it.

TVH: Lastly, What is your favorite thing about blogging? Are there any pros/cons?
TFD: For me, it’s the people. I love the friends I’ve made through this experience, I know so many of them will be friends of mine for life. I love that I’m able to connect with some really amazing individuals all over the world – I have dear friends in Seattle, Chicago, Canada, New Zealand, Ireland, Germany, and Australia – just to name a few. I think this entire community is something very, very special, and I’m beyond grateful to be a part of it.

Sometimes being a blogger can take up a lot of time and energy out your life. While I so enjoy the time I spend in the blogging world each day, it can get really tiring at times. You lose focus and the whole thing can become really uninspiring. There have been a few instances where blogging felt like a chore, and that’s when I realized I had to take a break. You must take breaks!

TVH: Any last words?
TFD: When feeling blue, frustrated or uninspired… put on a vinyl record and have a spontaneous party. Works like a charm.

I really appreciate the time Kelly Ann spent with me at The Veda House and I hope all of you were able to take a little snippet or two away from the chit chat. Hearing how experienced bloggers run their day to day operations is beyond valuable to a new blogger.  Stop by her blog and send some “Get Better From The Flu” kind of vibes.

How do you balance life, day jobs, families, blog world, and everything else in between? I’m doing some serious soul searching and would love your help.

Post Update as of 2:40pm Tuesday
You must read this article. Quitting your day job? Is it right for you. (Thanks Etsy for this amazing little interview) GO TO INTERVIEW and the interview over at Mucho Bueno!

Hey guys. Today’s a good day. It’s supposed to be another warm one here in St. Louis. I’m also excited that I have a fabulous blog feature to share with you today. I love featuring other bloggers because I learn a little bit from every one of them. Oh, Mishka was one of the first blogs I found and it has made my daily reads list because the content is as real as it can get.

Michelle blogs about life as a student living in Wyoming with her boyfriend, Jordan. She’s a fashionista at heart but loves to write about day to day going. Stop by and check out her site, I know you’ll fall in love like I did.

TVH: How did you get started in blogging and how has your adventure evolved over the last 2+ years.

OM: When I first started blogging, I was working for a local clothing design company and started my blog as an outlet for my fashion and design obsessions. At first, I only posted photos of others’ work and never talked about my personal life. Eventually, I started working details of my personal life into my blog and got such a great response from readers that I made that my primary focus.

TVH: I love how personal your blog is and how you blog about your life in general. The variety makes for a great read. How did you decide on the specific content you wanted to share? Have you tailored your blog over the years?

OM: As I mentioned, I definitely didn’t start my blog to be about my life. However, now that I do blog almost entirely about my life, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else. A great bonus about it is that I’m constantly motivated to become better, at cooking, styling my outfits, photography, or tailoring my design interests, so that I’m always giving my readers something new to read about. My blog really drives me to improve myself which, in turn, improves my blog.

And since I did start my blog initially to be a fashion/design blog, I like to talk about those things still. Now my interests have drifted from large fashion houses to small business and independent clothing designers, as well as vintage sellers. Similarly, I like finding DIY design projects to do instead of focusing on large home renovations or unrealistic kitchen styles. My 7 Things I Love Saturday feature is predominately about Etsy shops I love or art pieces by up-and-coming artists.

TVH: I‘ve been following your 25 Things to Do Before I’m 25 and I LOVE the idea. We are the same age, both 24 and I love the idea of setting 25 very specific/achievable goals to accomplish this year. What made you think of doing this and how’s the process going?

OM: My 25 Things list is one of my favorite things I’ve ever done. Like you said, having very specific goals that are somewhat achievable (some more easily than others) is really nice. Essentially, I’m spending my entire 24th year working towards something. It’s great to feel so productive, plus, by my birthday, I’ll have this whole list of things that I’ve accomplished. I got the idea from a blogger I adore, Sarah Von, who writes Yes and Yes. She’s been doing lists like this for the past couple of years and I just thought it was a great idea. As far as tacking the actual list, it’s going great! I’ve only been able to cross a few things off my list so far, but that’s mainly because a lot of them require quite a bit of preparation work, or are a huge process to do. For example, one of my goals is to run a half marathon, so I spend quite a bit of time every week working out and getting in good running shape so I can really begin training. Some of my smaller goals are pretty easy; the struggle with those is just making time in my day to do them!

TVH: As an antsy new blogger myself, I struggle with wondering whether or not my blog is being received well in the blog community. And although I started my blog as a simple online documentation of the things I do, I always love the confirmation that all my time is worth it with the addition of a new follower. One day I hope to turn my blog into a mini business of sorts. Do you have any advice for new bloggers? Anything you’ve learned along the way? In your opinion how do you get on someone’s “Daily Reads” list?

OM: My biggest advice for new bloggers is to keep blogging! So many people hit a wall around month 3 of blogging where they question their blog content or struggle to find the motivation or inspiration to write new posts. And it’s really easy to get discouraged when your blog doesn’t immediately take off, like most people expect when they start a blog. Instead, treat it like anything else in life. You have to work hard, you have to push through the hard times, and always ask for help if you need it. The blogging community is overwhelmingly wonderful about helping new bloggers out, so if you have questions about blogging, just send an email to someone whose blog you admire and see if they have any advice.

One important lesson I’ve learned along the way is that it’s impossible to please everyone. If you try to write a blog that will make everyone happy, you’re shortchanging yourself and your real readers. Instead, write strong, quality content. Maybe not everyone in the world will enjoy it, but the people who do like it are going to REALLY like it.

As far as getting on someone’s Daily Reads list, the best way to do it is by making friends. My Daily Reads page is mostly populated by blogging friends of mine. I love them and I love reading their blogs daily to see what’s going on in their lives. I also have a lot of people on my Daily Reads who I admire in some way, whether it’s their fashion sense or what they’re doing with their life, so I read their blog to inspire myself to become as wonderful as they are.

TVH: I’m a religious list maker and spaz out a bit if things aren’t organized. Have you established a blogging schedule? How to you find the time to blog with a busy student schedule?

OM: It’s definitely been an adjustment going back to school and keeping up with my blog! I’m sure a few people have noticed that I’m awful at responding to emails in a timely manner lately. 🙂
Honestly, I don’t have a blogging schedule. I try to post every day, but if I miss a day every now and then, I don’t worry about it. I know some bloggers who write all of their posts on the weekends and have them scheduled throughout the week, but I’m just not that organized. I wish I was though!

TVH: Your Etsy shop is pretty darn cute. LOVE the hair accessories. What made you decide you wanted an Esty shop?

OM: I have a hard time spending money on things that I could make on my own, which is why I started making the felt owl coffee cozies in my shop. Then I found some hair accessories that I love and decided to make those too. A lot of people really loved them, so I opened my shop. Unfortunately, I’ve had to cut back on some obligations so I can work as hard as I need to in school, and my Etsy shop was one of those things. I’m having a closing sale in my shop right now and it will end this weekend, when I’ll close my shop until I’m done with school in May.

TVH: Photography Question- What does your camera set up look like? I’ve noticed you make visual edits/apply effects to your photos, would you like to share your secret?

OM: I use a Konica Minolta, which used to be my mom’s husband’s. I love it, but Konica was bought by Sony, so they aren’t made anymore. I’ve heard that the Sony Alpha is pretty comparable, but if I were going to upgrade, I’d probably get a Nikon. As far as photo edits, I use GIMP because Photoshop is too pricey for me! I mostly play with curves when I’m editing. I’ve also downloaded a few curves settings that I found online that I like.

TVH: I always like to ask this question…What is a day in the life of Michelle like? (you’d be surprised by some of the answers I get on this)

OM: Oooh…I like this question! It kind of depends on the day, because on Tuesdays and Thursdays I’m in class all day and don’t really have a chance to do anything else. Every other day though, I hit the snooze button once or twice in the morning, then get up and make coffee. Then I do some blogging, read emails, and catch up on stuff online. Then I spend pretty much the rest of the day studying and doing homework.

Once my boyfriend gets home from work, we make dinner and watch Jeopardy! together. Literally, we watch Jeopardy! every night. We get super competitive with each other about it too! Then I either spend the rest of the night doing more school and/or blogging stuff, or, if I’m pretty caught up, I hang out with my boyfriend and do absolutely nothing at all (and it’s glorious!).

TVH: Lastly, do you have any fun things planned for Oh, Mishka in 2011? Anything to keep our eyes out for?

OM: My big plan is to do a lot more outfit posts. I’m big on making an effort to look nice every day, which has earned me some odd looks from the other students on campus who seem to live in their sweatpants. I really feel like I’ve come into my personal style lately and want to do more posts that reflect that. Mostly, I’m excited to show off some cute vintage pieces I’ve purchases lately!

It was such a pleasure getting to know Michelle just a little bit. I hope you’ve enjoyed a little peek into Oh, Mishka!