Heads up, voluptuous vintage vixens!

I thought I'd give a heads up to fellow voluptuous ladies who are on the hunt for 1930s & 1940s dresses. Ebay seller 'marcy13' has several adorable vintage day dresses for sale with prices starting at $24.99. Most of these are very rare sizes, with bust around 54", some even larger! AND there's several deadstock dresses, complete with original belts and tags. It really is rare to come by dresses of this age and size in such pristine condition so I would most certainly recommend a good look around the shop if you are plus size. I am in love with the following three dresses but they are actually too big for me. Wow, you don't hear me say that often, hee! But I'm most happy for the vintage lovin' lady who does get to take these pretties home.

VTG 30'S 40'S NWT BLUE FLORAL COTTON DRESS~PLUS SZ

VTG 20's 30's NWOT BLACK POLKA DOT COTTON DRESS~+ SIZE

VTG 30'S 40'S BLUE GEOMETRIC PRINT COTTON DRESS~PLUS SZ

Tampere Vintage - November 21, 2010

Yesterday all of the most stylish people of the fair city of Tampere gathered together for the second edition of Tampere Vintage, the vintage themed sales event. Because I'm living... *ahem* ...trying to adjust to life on a student budget, I couldn't really afford to do shopping this time. I just came along to do a little bit of window shopping and, of course, to see my fabulously stylish friends from Fintage. I still kept my eyes open for a 1940s winter coat but sadly I couldn't find a suitable one. I did, however, spot plenty of gorgeous shoes, handbags and dresses. Ah, temptations!

The fine folks of Fintage

With Jirina and Rhia

With Frieda, photo from Tyylillä, Marika

Dress - 1950s vintage, Meera Brooke silk dress (via CapriciousTraveler). More about the dress here.
Handbag - 1950s vintage (thrifted)
Shoes - 1950s vintage (via Fiona Timantti / Huuto.net)
Stockings - What Katie Did
Gloves - 1950s vintage (via Etsy)
Sweater - Gina Tricot
Hair orchids - Accessorize

Cooking on a cosy night at home

Apologies for the lack of updates here at Harlean's. I've been swamped with university work and haven't really had time to post much at all. However, I've been back home for the later part of the week and thought I'd take a moment to post another recipe since my previous cooking post was so warmly received. Here is my favorite recipe for a sweet potato soup. It is the perfect food to share with your loved ones, to keep warm and happy on a dark and cold evening, like tonight here in Finland.

Sweet potato soup a la St. Lucia
From "Tofu keittokirja" by Marianne Kiskola & Sanna Miettunen
Slightly modified by myself

You need...

1 large or two small sweet potatoes
1 onion
1 tbsp ginger
2 tbsp cooking oil
1/2 tsp chili powder
1 tsp curry powder
One pack of silken tofu (soft tofu)
1 can of coconut milk
2 cups / 5dl of boiled water with 1 vegetable stock cube
Juice from 1 lime
2 tsp salt
Fresh coriander

Lets get cookin'!

1. Peel and chop the sweet potatoes, slice the onion and grate the ginger
2. Cook the sweet potatoes in water, with a pinch of salt
3. Heat the cooking oil in a pan and fry the onion and spices for a couple of minutes
4. Use a blender to blend the cooked sweet potatoes, onions, spices, grated ginger and tofu into a creamy soup
6. Add the coconut milk, vegetable stock and juice from the lime and blend
7. Return to pot and bring to a boil
8. Add the fresh coriander - and enjoy your soup!

I ended up baking some Finnish Christmas tarts for desert. Mine didn't turn out the most attractive looking of all - but they're still oh, so yummy! Some of my very favorite pastries of the season. They're like a tangible piece of my childhood and always bring to mind the endless wait for Santa all throughout December.