🤓 Montana thrift haul, new glasses, and affordable ceramics
Plus a question for the dry skin girlies.
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What I’ve bought, worn, and read recently.
☕️ Montana thrift hauls
When we visit Billings, where my husband grew up, we always make an effort to go to Montana Vintage. Sherry, the owner, runs a tight ship with a nice mix of Western wear and good, old-fashioned vintage pieces (mostly 50s to 70s). Prices are reasonable, and she has a lot. I purchased a men’s button-up ($22, my favorite section to browse), a red Peter Pan collar vintage top ($18), and a gorgeous ring ($24). Montana Vintage’s collection is so refreshing in contrast to the well-curated, but usually overpriced, shops in New York, Portland, or LA.
While downtown, we popped into the antique mall. I was on the lookout for stoneware, vintage cookware, and jewelry. I ended up finding this beautiful stoneware bowl ($35) and a wooden spatula ($6).
My other required stop in Montana is the Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge (about an hour’s drive from Billings). I’ve slowly collected pieces from their showroom over the years, and often check in on their site’s store from New York.
Unlike my graphic designer forebearers, I have little interest in making ceramics myself, but I love being a collector. Usable art! Their pieces are accessibly priced, and some of this work is art. The Clay Center is where I discovered Ann Tubbs and Derek Au’s work.
Vintage leather jacket, $40 — Matt Long bowl, $40 — Nathan Goddard mug, $60 — vintage ring, $24
On this trip, I purchased a “sauce bowl” by Matt Long, which I’m using as a salt well, and a gorgeous mug by Nathan Goddard (his work is available for purchase on the Clay Center’s website). I also just remembered I bought some weird eyeball earrings by Teresa Larabee that I haven’t worn yet.
On our way out of Red Lodge, we drove the backroads and stopped into Stone House Antiques. Most of her store’s wares, and her sister’s store in town (Minnie Van Winkle’s Antiques), are early colonial American, but I found a fantastic (vintage, not antique) black leather jacket for $40.
I did a big antique and thrift haul while in Idaho, which I’ll share in an upcoming post! I have a lot of thoughts on the state of thrift stores.
🤓 New glasses
In a mad dash to spend my FSA before I left my job, I picked up new glasses from Moscot. I had tried on the Shindig’s ($340) months ago and was waffling between getting the plain glasses and the prescription sunnies with a subtle purple/pink tint. I ultimately decided to go classic, lest I become known as the woman with purple lenses.
I wear glasses about 10% of the time, and it’s an easy way to mix up my look (albeit, less in the summer when I won’t leave the house without sunglasses).
📚 On my shelf
I read The Hypocrite by Jo Hamya, which I ended up choosing for my July book club book because it’s a talker. I don’t know if I loved it, but I did scarf it down in a matter of days.
I also read Health and Safety: A Breakdown by Emily Witt. While I didn’t find it challenging to finish, I generally find the drug and party scene kind of… boring? What was interesting to me was her reflection on reporting during the early Trump era (while I was also immersed in the news cycle), and what it revealed more broadly about the state of news/journalism/activism.
I’m in my World War II era and eager to read and watch anything about it. I picked up The Monuments Men: Allied Heroes, Nazi Thieves, and the Greatest Treasure Hunt in History by Robert M. Edsel at the WWII museum gift shop in New Orleans last October. I loved this book! The chapters read like a movie. I think I’ll read his other books on the stolen art of Italy next (this book focused solely on northern European artwork).
Right before I (famously) quit my job, I read The Pathless Path by Paul Millerd, which was clarifying and affirming. I particularly liked the sections on religious work ethic and the historical context that has defined what a “typical” life should look like.
“These Catholic and Protestant perspectives on work are deeply embedded in the modern default path view of work that spans the globe but has become detached from the time periods and traditions from which they emerged. Religious scholars point out that the Protestant “work ethic” is more than a blind obsession with work. It is paired with thrift, self-discipline, and humility. Yet as fewer people look to religion for wisdom on how to navigate life, they are only left with the watered‑down version of these views.”
Fascinating!
🛒 Checked out
I ended up purchasing the thin-strip Teva shoes in “Evening Primrose” from my last post about the 15 things I’ve almost added to cart. I love these sandals. They are available, still on sale, from REI ($41).
I also nabbed a Y2K halterneck top, which was recommended to me by eBay’s algorithm (the old girl is getting good), a pair of vintage Guess jorts, and this necklace from Turkey via Etsy.
eBay top, $30 — Etsy necklace, $27 — Teva sandals, $41 — eBay jean shorts, $20
👡 I went shoe shopping for you
I’ll be sharing random shopping edits and finds on my Instagram. Follow me there!
💍 ICYMI
🙋♀️ A question for readers
I have dry (acne-prone) skin. I finally have my skincare routine on lock to survive winters and tretinoin, but I always struggle when I leave New York’s humidity and visit the West, whether it’s LA, Montana, or Idaho. Other dry skin havers, what’s your secret product for dry climates? I’ll pack anything.
hello! once i year i go from regular life in glasgow, scotland (very damp) to phoenix, az for 3 weeks (hot, dry, obvs). i find oils work well for my skin. i use plain jojoba or rosehip on my face and buy a big jar of plain coconut oil from the supermarket for my body (a treat to be somewhere ambiently warm enough for it to be soft; rock hard in chilly glasgow!)
Going to second the Weleda Skin Food recommendation, it’s a green tube of magic for my dry skin. A little goes a long way so I don’t feel like it’s too much in the summer!!