I was taking photos of some vintage items yesterday for a flash sale I have coming up in June and I noticed that things look completely different depending on how close-up you get.

If you zoom in too close, things will get blurry. If you zoom out too far, you lose all of the details.

But there’s a optimum distance for a picture that balances the best of these two extremes and pulls everything into focus.

And how do you find this perfect shot?

You zoom in and zoom out. Zoom in and zoom out.

The perfect shot is always easy to recognize when you see it through your camera lens.

Well, it’s important to go through this zooming in and zooming out process in life, too.

Often when we’re facing a problem or feeling stuck, it’s easy to focus on what’s sitting right in front of our noses. From this viewpoint, though, we may think that there’s no solution or that we’re in an impossible situation.

That’s when it’s time to do some zooming.

First, zoom in.

Really get up close and personal with your issue. Examine every minute detail. Ask the silliest, dumbest questions you can. Put your problem or concern under a microscope and drill down until you understand it on a cellular level.

Then, zoom out. Way out.

See how the problem relates to the whole. Where does it fit in the bigger picture?

Consider its impact on your family and friends. Its affect on your business and your customers and your industry. Its relationship to your community, your country and the planet.

Try to see your issue from a bigger proper perspective. Maybe your problem really isn’t the end of the world as you know it after all.

In fact, maybe from this zoomed out perspective the problem you’ve been wrangling with doesn’t seem so huge. Maybe now it’s clear that your obstacle is really the beginning of something new and better. Or maybe it’s not worth worrying about anymore at all. Or maybe you realize that you’ve actually been worrying about the wrong problem this whole time and now that the actual problem is clear as day you can zoom in and out on that.

Zooming in and zooming out.

It’s not just for photographers!

As for today’s VPOD, whether you zoom in close to see the pearl trim and the Indian feather print or you stand back and admire it from afar, this vintage 1980s Zandra Rhodes silk chiffon dress is simply stunning.

It’s a quite a lovely find from the perspective of a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Vintage Textile.

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We women are givers, aren’t we?

We’re always so happy to help out our families, our friends, our co-workers, our PTAs, our churches, our you-name-its.

But I’ll bet at some point that you gave until it hurt. Until you were so exhausted that you couldn’t give to one more person. Or until you felt burnt out. Or fed up.

Because a lot of us women are also particularly good at forgetting how to give to the most important person of all: OURSELVES.

So let me ask you this: When was the last time you gave to YOU?

Are you giving as much priority to yourself and your own needs as you give to all the other people in your life?

Because if you’re not refilling your own energy tank with love and affection and care for your body and mind and soul, you’ll eventually reach a point where you have nothing left to give.

My personal coach recently gave me the mantra: More Mary, More Mary, More Mary.

And I sticky-noted this little ditty to my computer so it would always be on my radar.

Because it’s true the world could use More Mary as well as More Jane and More Ashley and More Linda and More Kathy and More Eleanor and more Sandra and More YOU!

But don’t ever forget that you’ll only have more to give to the world if you are allowing yourself to RECEIVE as well.

So accept help when it’s offered. And if it isn’t offered, don’t be afraid to ask for what you need.

Claim the gift of an uninterrupted 10-15 minutes a day that’s just for you.

Nourish your mind with enriching and uplifting sounds and images.

Take a break from depressing news reports then close the books and turn off the TV shows that are filled with violent, frightening or horrifying storylines.

By the way, have you noticed that giving always feels best when you expect NOTHING in return?

Wanna know why?

Because if you expect something in return, it’s really not giving at all. It’s TRADING.

Now I promise that I’ll be sharing More Mary with you this year as I have some exciting things planned in the months ahead. But if you need a little more Mary in your life right now, check out today’s VPOD.

Mary McFadden may have designed this lovely quilted jacket in the 1980s but it’s still quite a pretty find to wear on the Spring days that are right around the corner.

And it’s a lovely treat for a giving Vintage Crusader!

Available at Monday’s Child.

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I’m at ASU this week doing a speaking gig and I’m thoroughly enjoying two engrossing reads during my downtime: Then Again, Diane Keaton’s memoir, and Steve Jobs, the biography of the tech giant by Walter Isaacson.

And coincidentally, in the first few chapters of each, the subject turned to…fruit!

In Steve Jobs, we learn exactly how Apple Computer was named and we’re reminded how important names can be.

As the tale is told, Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak had one day to decide on a name for their new company. Since Steve Jobs had just returned from a visit to All One Farm, where he used to prune and tend apple trees, and since he also happened to be on a fruitarian diet at the time, it seems he had apples on his mind and so Apple Computer was born.

And this disjunctive moniker was genius at boosting brand awareness. As Walter Isaacson explains:

“The word instantly signaled friendliness and simplicity. It managed to be both slightly off-beat and as normal as a slice of pie. There was a whiff of counterculture, back-to-nature earthiness to it, yet nothing could be more American.”

The men considered other names, of course, like Matrix, Executek and Personal Computers, Inc., but I can’t imagine any of these names inspiring a logo that would have become as iconic as the bitten apple we all recognize today.

In Diane Keaton’s story, the fruit under discussion was the lovely pomegranate. In Then Again, she writes:

“When I was nine, Dad taught me how to open a pomegranate. He took a knife, sliced around the circumference, laid his hands on either side, and popped it open. Inside was a chestful of garnets—my birthstone. I bit into the pomegranate. Fifty red gems came crashing into my mouth all at once. It was like biting into both heaven and earth.”

I know I’ll think of this lovely description, “biting into both heaven and earth,” every time I sprinkle glistening pomegranate seeds onto my salads, oatmeal or yogurt! If you are as intimidated by this fruit as I once was, here’s a link to easy play-by-play instructions for releasing the 600 seeds in the average pomegranate in minutes.

Of course, neither of these stories counts toward your recommended four servings of fruit per day. And neither does wearing a fun and fruity vintage 1980s romper like today’s VPOD.

But fruit-print clothing can certainly remind and encourage you to reach for apples, pomegranates, grapes and bananas over processed snacks filled with salt, sugar, additives and preservatives.

And this beauty definitely has plenty of style vitamins for a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Decades on Etsy.

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A smile is the prettiest thing you can wear.

Actually I think it’s more accurate to say that a genuine smile is the prettiest thing you can wear!

In a study published in the Academy of Management Journal last year, scientists tracked bus drivers, who smile at a whole bunch of people every day. It turns out that when they were “fake smiling” their moods deteriorated, but when they thought about pleasant things and offered genuine smiles to their riders, their moods improved and their productivity increased. And the effect was even greater for women than for men.

But while it’s possible to control your own smile and thus affect your mood, how good are you at detecting fake smiles in others?

The BBC has a quick test to see just how good you are at detecting a fake smile from a real one. I scored a 19/20 but I already knew the trick. And I’ll share it with you after you click the pic below and take the test yourself.

How did you do?  Did you figure out the secret?

Paul Ekman, a recognized guru of facial expressions, says that a genuine smile involves two facial muscles, the zygomatic major and the outer part of the obicularis oculi. Fake smiles only involve the zygomatic major.

Since the obicularis oculi muscle contracts spontaneously and only when you’re actually enjoying yourself, there’s just no way to force the movement. As Duchenne de Boulogne, a French neurologist who pioneered work in this area back in the late 1800s put it, the obicularis oculi muscle is “only put into play by the sweet emotions of the soul.”

And since this obicularis oculi is the muscle that pulls down the eyebrows and pulls up the skin below the eye, it makes it easy to focus on someone’s eyes and detect if they are faking a smile. If you still find it challenging to notice the difference, try taking the test again and covering up all other parts of the face except the eyes.

This newfound ability to detect fake smiles can certainly give you an edge with your relationships and negotiations moving forward, but don’t forget that others may be looking at your eyes and judging your own authenticity, too!

Of course, as a vintage fashionista, differentiating fake smiles from genuine ones is actually easier than differentiating fake handbags these days. And while you could take a whole lot of time learning all the distinguishing characteristics of all the different designer brands, it’s far simpler to just make any purchases from trusted sources who do the authenticating for you.

Grab either of today’s VPODs, two fab vintage 1980s Chanel handbags in classic camel or navy, and they’re guaranteed to put a genuine smile on the face of a Vintage Crusader!

Available at Portero.

(Image Credit: Akbar Sim, Flickr | 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 4 days.)

Vintage 1940s Floral Dress (vintage_vixen_nyc) | Vintage Miriam Haskell Necklace (discountsportcards) | Vintage 1980s Knit Sweater (tinroofvintage) | Vintage 1950s Chiffon and Ribbon Cocktail Dress (holly_yama) | Vintage Christian Dior Necklace (urbantiques) | Vintage Little Black Dres (rosie27) | Vintage 1940s Nightgown (miso_vintage_supply) | Vintage Fringed Leather Poncho (windfallfarms) | Vintage 1960s Givenchy Caftan Top (maxamillionvintage) | Vintage Gucci Leather Jacket (thevintagezone1) | Vintage Modernist Brass and Turquoise Ring (space.dwe) | Antique Irish Crochet Gown (heartnsoul1) | Vintage 1960s I Magnin Blazer with Chain (pamh23) | Late 1990s Chanel Boucle Pencil Skirt (claireinc*) | Vintage 1960s Kimono (vintage_american) | Vintage 1960s Pucci Scarf (lmel1951) | Art Deco 18k Sapphire and Diamond Ring (clares1225) | Vintage Don Loper Llama and Alpaca Coat (robynosa) | Vintage 1970s Tooled Handbag (kristin_bolton) | Vintage 1970s Nipon Coat (luckyvintage) | Vintage Vollbrach for Sofere Pop Art Top (macade9) | Vintage Lucille Ostrich Handbag (christoper31) | Vintage 1960s Fox Collar Swing Coat (bustownmodern) | Vintage Whiting & Davis Mesh Top (jooana) | (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 via email, 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.)