Kate Winslet once wisely remarked that “There’s more to life than cheekbones.”

Don’t I know it!

Recently, I’ve become intimately familiar with one particular beauty among the other 205 bones in the human body: the scaphoid.

It’s one of 27 bones in the hand nestled between the thumb and the wrist and I unknowingly injured mine this past weekend.

I wish I had a good story to go along with the injury, but I don’t. It just happened. No big thing. It just felt like I jammed my thumb a bit while I was getting out of bed. And life goes on.

Until two days later when I noticed the hand swelling and started feeling pain.

In my right hand.

My dominant hand.

The hand I type with.

The hand with the thumb that hits the space bar between every word.

Aaargh!

Enter the doctor-prescribed wrist brace that has taken my right-hand out of commission.

It’s forced my left hand off the bench and into the game. Yes, the ol’ benchwarmer is being asked to jump in and save the day not only by typing but also by grasping, twisting, lifting and pinching, too.

And while it’s frustrating to see that she can’t do nearly as good a job as my Star Quarterback right hand can, it’s already very clear that this replacement player has the same ability to be an All-Star if she’s just given some time and the same amount of coaching, attention, and practice as her fellow teammate.

And isn’t it truly amazing how much quicker we adapt to change when we have no other choice?

We are definitely creatures of habit. For instance, try this:

Cross your arms in front of your chest.

Now switch’em so the other arm is on top.

How weird does that feel?!?

We all tend to cross our arms one way all the time and the other way just feels…unnatural.

But many books on creativity suggest the benefits in switching ordinary things like this up a bit.

They often recommend messing up your routine by using your less-dominant hand for activities like eating or brushing your teeth. And though I admit I tried it myself once or twice, I always got frustrated and never stuck with it for more than a minute or two.

Now, of course, I have no other choice.

After tomorrow’s MRI and next week’s doctor visit, I’ll know if surgery will give my left hand a spot in the starting line-up for the rest of the season. But I’m crossing my fingers — my left fingers! — that surgery won’t be necessary.

So, with bones on my mind, I present today’s VPODs. First, a vintage 1960s Louis Guisti skeleton fish modernist necklace which truly celebrates the beauty in bones.

And, for those of you who find skeletal bones a tad too macabre for your taste, a vintage chenille wrap sweater in a neutral bone shade that may be more your style.

They’re both fine finds for Vintage Crusaders!

Sweater available at Miso Vintage Supply. Necklace available at Orbiting Debris.

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Let’s face it. We live in a consumer culture where we are bombarded by messages that try to convince us that we need another doodad, an improved something-or-other, a better whatchamacallit or the latest thingamajig if we ever want to be truly happy, content, or satisfied.

But being acquisitive isn’t the way to inner peace.

As soon as you do finally get whatever is was you were hankering for — a new car, a bigger house, that vacation to Hawaii, the new It bag — you’re bound to begin hankering for something else.

And any of those things you work so hard to acquire can literally be swept away in a heartbeat — as was so painfully proved with the Midwest tornadoes last week.

So I say it’s far smarter to be inquisitive.

To spend your time questioning, learning, relating, and gathering up as much knowledge, insight and wisdom as one person can possibly hold. To be curious. To be interested in other points of view. To collect ideas instead of objects.

This too will be a lifelong quest. After all, there will always be something more to learn.

But unlike the quest for more and more shoes, the practice of being inquisitive instead of acquisitive actually makes you a better person.

Which isn’t to say a gal has to resist every call from the online mall!

Today’s vintage 1960s silk coat from Holt Renfrew makes a lovely and glamorous Spring accessory for the inquiring mind of a Vintage Crusader.

Available at Mod-Chic Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD via email along with detailed size, price and purchase information, sign up for my growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

I’m not the biggest fan of polka dots in fashion. For me personally, I tend to find them a bit, well, polka-dotty! And the older you get the harder it becomes to pull off this whimsical print.

But don’tcha just love a challenge?

Me, too!

So with a wee bit of internet surfing, I discovered today’s VPOD. This lovely summer dress mixes dotted swiss with a bold geometric print for a combo that’s not too sweet, not too flashy, but just right.

Of course, there are other simple ways to add a few extra servings of polka dots into your fashion diet.

If you can’t bear the thought of wearing the print from from head-to-toe, try sporting a polka dot scarf for the day, grip a polka dot clutch or grab a fun piece of jewelry that will have’em seeing spots.

And don’t forget about your humble abode which might also benefit from the quick style boost a few polka dots can bring. One dotted pillow, lamp or throw may be all you need to bring a smile to your face.

Plus I love this idea for making the boring, ho-hum job of storing year-end documents a little more fun. Head down to your office supply store and pick up a packet of colorful round price stickers to brighten up those plain ol’ cardboard document boxes. Who says filing can’t be fun?!

This is the power of polka dots for Vintage Crusaders.

Dress available at Great Lake Outfitters.

(Image Credit: Storage boxes discovered in Metropolis magazine. Disclosure: Zuburbia is an affiliate member of the eBay Partner Network. To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Two Saturdays ago, I woke up at 7:40am when I heard a knock on my front door. I peeked through the blinds and saw an LAPD officer.

Uh-oh.

My heart started pounding because police officers never knock on doors to deliver good news like winning the lottery.

In this case, they were checking to see if I had noticed anything missing or had seen or heard anything suspicious the night before. It turns out that my next-door neighbors living in the house attached to mine had been robbed overnight.

“What time did it happen?” I asked.

“Well, they went to bed about 11:30 or so…” he started to reply.

“Wait! They were home?!?!”

Yes! They were fast asleep in their bedroom while their home was invaded and their electronics and wallets stolen.  Neither they nor their dog nor their parrot –  who squawks non-stop all day long — heard a thing.

Even more surprising was that they have an alarm system. But the thieves found an unarmed window and let themselves in.

As you can imagine, this immediately put me on high alert and the last two weeks have seen all kinds of improvements to my own security like padlocks for my garden gates, additional outdoor dawn-to-dusk lighting, a new security system, timers for lights, and blinds for all the windows.

Perhaps because crime and security has really been on my mind, I was particularly affected this morning when I read the Canon4Kids ad on the back page of USA Today.

It had pictures of 32 missing children and reminded me that more than 2,000 children are reported missing in the United States every day. Two thousand children per day!!!

My heart breaks thinking of these children and their families. Even more shocking is that, according to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), the majority of these children aren’t taken by strangers but are taken by people they know.

So if you have children, I strongly encourage you to visit www.missingkids.com for information and resources on how best to protect them.

If you’re still teaching your kids the old-fashioned “stranger-danger” message that NCMEC deems ineffective, you need to learn how to deliver more relevant, age-appropriate messages that will empower and protect your children in potentially dangerous situations.

As my neighbors recently discovered, after you or your family is the victim of a crime it’s too late to prevent it.

So please don’t put off having another chat with your kids. Do it today. Yes, your pre-teen may roll her eyes and cry out “Mommmmmm” but that annoying conversation may someday save her life.

And be sure to do a quick security assessment of your own living quarters pronto.

Everything I recently did to better protect myself were all things that I should have done four years ago when I moved into my home.

How, I wonder, did I let them keep getting pushed off?

How did I find the time and money to get my hair done, go to Pilates, buy gifts for family and friends and yet not find the time and money to do these critical things for my own safety?

How? Because we never think it will happen to us.

Oh, if only it was as easy to protect ourselves from crime as it is to protect ourselves from the weather!

Today’s VPOD features a fabulous vintage 1960s leather coat that will keep all the nasty elements at bay.

It’s a safe and secure fashion choice for a Vintage Crusader.

Available at Rock and Roll Vintage.

(To receive the VPOD free via email with detailed size and price information, sign up for the growing email mailing list here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)

Going, Going, GONE!

CLICK IMAGE TO GO TO EBAY AUCTION

(Auctions all end within the next 5 days.)

Vintage 1970s Lace Mini Dress (hellhoundvintageclothing) | Vintage Hattie Carnegie Elephant Brooch (vtg_treasure_hunters) | Vintage 1950s Beaded Sweater (paris.vintage) | Vintage 1960s Fringe Cropped Pants (thriftwares) | Vintage 1950s Ostrich Handbag (badger201143) | Vintage 1970s Icelandic Wool Sweater Coat (ttlg2quit) | Vintage 1950s Rhinestone Belt (badger201143) | Vintage 1950s Silk Dress (weatitsatvintage) | Vintage 1950s Lace Cocktail Dress (peeweekatz) | Vintage Italian Figural Tomato Purse (just-a-dab) | Vintage 1950s Romper (nhal6856) | Vintage 1960s Malcolm Starr Evening Gown (divinefinds) | Antique Petit Point Purse (2c2bid) | Vintage 1950s Brocade Evening Coat (thriftwares) | Vintage 1970s Trifari Lucite Necklace (sugapea) | Vintage 1970s Tooled Leather Handbag (vintage317) | Vintage Trifari Matsumoto Lucite Bracelet (getreadygo2) | Vintage 1940s Crochet Clutch (stencilwoman) | Vintage 1970s Alfred Shaheen Jumpsuit (thekissingtreevintage) | Vintage 1960s Leather and Brass Belt (beltsandbling) | (Disclosure: Editorial selections are made by Zuburbia without direct promotional consideration from Bay sellers. Zuburbia is an affiliate member of the eBay Partner Network).

PLEASE NOTE that Zuburbia does not endorse the use of fur, feathers, leather or animal skins in fashion. These selections are offered only as more thoughtful and eco-friendly alternatives for contemporary fashionistas who have not yet eliminated animal products from their wardrobes.

(To receive Going, Going, GONE or any of Zuburbia’s other Vintage Roundups for FREE via email, sign up here. Your information will never be sold or shared and you can easily unsubscribe at any time.)