A long time ago I owned a silky, floral-print vintage blouse that I had found in one of those upscale secondhand stores. It was beautiful, but I ended up giving it away because I'm not really a blouse person: I always think I want to wear one, but then I put it on and within minutes I'm tugging at the sleeves and neckline and wishing I was wearing a t-shirt instead.

Except the second that particular vintage blouse was out of my hands I wished I still had it…mostly it was just really pretty. And as (literally) buttoned-up as blouses can feel, there are times when you want to dress up your denim just a bit - like when you've invited over a ton of people to celebrate your son's third birthday and to meet your daughter.

Anyway, I'm done mourning the loss of my blouse, because I found a gorgeous replacement for a crazy-good price, and no time-consuming hunting through racks of vintage clothing was required. (I love vintage shopping as much as the next girl, but I do not love the fact that the first thing my son does when he steps foot into one of these places is to hide under a rack of leather coats and give me a heart attack.)