Five for Friday {November 13, 2009}

...Whether you count yourself as superstitious or not, today is one where you can’t seem to help looking over your shoulder every now and then, all the while hoping that nothing odd befalls you. Onwards to the weekend, it’s time to relax and unwind; perhaps you’ve got snow already or maybe you’re being blessed with an Indian summer, either way, it’s the middle of November and that means the weeks are dwindling until the winter holiday season arrives – yet there’s still enough time so as to afford you a serene weekend that isn’t jam packed with a million hectic tasks to complete. Relish these days, they tend to become fewer and further between as the end of the year rolls on...

♥ ♥ ♥

{To channel your inner Francophile via your decor}


{Iconic images of the Eiffel Tower and other well known Parisian landmarks envelop this chic, beautiful throw pillow, which would look amazing upon anything from a vintage sofa to a silk sheet covered bed. Available in various sizes, the 50cm x 50cm version of this wonderful pillow retails for €44.00 (Euro) from Bonjour Mon Coussin.}


{To satisfy both your sweet tooth and any desire you may have to nibble flower petals}


{For most of this past summer I craved marshmallows relentlessly. As to where this pining for these squishy, delightfully sweet treats came from, I really don’t know, but I kept thinking it might have hearkened back to childhood summers spent toasting marshmallows over backyard and Girl Guide camp fires. Whatever brought the desire on, there was no shaking it off and so I gave in, churning out batches of homemade marshmallows to savour slowly over the intensely humid weeks of July and August. If you too are a far of crafting your candies, be sure to give these marvelously pretty, pale blush pink hibiscus flower marshmallows a try. Recipe on, and photo from the gorgeous culinary blog, not without salt.}


{To keep you toasty on those days that call for long sleeves but not quite the full on weight (and warmth) of a jacket}


{The sweetest little collar adorns this vintage dusty rose hued wool cardigan, that sports a line of matching coloured buttons up the front. Pair this coquettish topper with pencil skirts for a Mad Men secretarial style look, with high waisted vintage trousers when headed out for a day of Christmas shopping, or over top your favourite full skirted summer dress to stretch your warm weather wardrobe well into autumn. Vintage 1950s boucle wool sweater, fits up to a 33” inch waist/40” bust, $46.00 (US) from etsy seller Small Earth Vintage.}


{To help ensure the preservation of the daisy population ;D}


{Save the petals and spin this immensely cute vintage brass necklace instead to help you determine if he really is that into your or not. “He Loves Me, He Loves Me Not” charm and chain, $30.00 (Australian Dollars) from Made It seller Suga *N* Spice (note, this item features free shipping for those located in Australia).}


{To help ensure your lips stay kissablely soft in the face of even the harshest, freezing cold November winds}


{Bedecked with an image of the brand’s creator taken in 1945, this elegant container of lip balm smells (and tastes) enticing of fresh from the oven brambleberry pie, and is sure to win you over as much for its scent as its wonderfully pretty tin. 0.8oz tin of Brambleberry Rose lip balm, $7.00 (US), from Sephora.}


Aside from having a (fortunately entirely inexpensive) glass dish of freshly peeled persimmons go flying out of my hands and shatter into a thousand (literally) tiny shards this morning, things have been perfectly normal – and in no way spooky – here this Friday the 13th. Not one to cry over spilled fruit, I’ve been in cheerful spirits all day and am optimistic that no other strange occurrences will transpire before Saturday rolls around.

How has your day been going, my lovely dears? I really hope that you’re having an excellent Friday that’s free of any peculiar going-ons!

Pretty Link Roundup {August 8, 2009}

Happy Saturday greetings, my sweet dears! How are you each on this sizzling August weekend? Things are pretty much peachy-keen on this end. The fuse box woes I’d mentioned last weekend have been fixed, the weather hasn’t been too cruel this week, and I’m still bubbling with celebratory feelings from my husband’s birthday on Thursday.

While sweet hubby’s foot isn’t quite up to a night out, he treated himself to some take-away sushi on his birthday and last night I set the weekend off on the right foot with homemade thin crust pizza (zucchini, orange bell pepper, and sweet onion for me, prosciutto for the Mr.), which got me thinking about the fact that pizza, one of the absolute most widely available foods these days, was an absolute novelty (outside of Italy, that is!) to most people before the 1940s.

Reflecting about the fact that pizza soared to popularity so quickly has got me itching to ask both of my grandmothers how old they were when they first remember trying pizza, and when, in their respective opinions, it become a commonplace culinary staple.


{Click on the image to see a larger version and get the 1959 recipes for “baby pizza” and “American style pizza pie”. Vintage cookbook page from Eudaemonius’ Flickr stream.}


Just as pizza is a true modern day classic, so too are great blogs, and this week’s gathering of links is teaming with fantastic stories from some of the coolest vintage sites around. With posts spanning topics from lovely black and white photos of people relaxing at the beach to a handy tutorial for refilling a vintage powder compact, there’s plenty of yummy old school goodness for everyone to enjoy!


♥ ♥ ♥


* Vintage Life Magazine: The lovely MaryDeluxe brings breaking news for vintage fans everywhere in this recent Deluxeville post. Turns out that a new magazine devoted to the vintage lifestyle in on the cusp of releasing its first edition (scheduled for October ’09). “Vintage Life” as the publication is known, is a UK based glossy spanning the decades of the 1920s through to the 80s, that will be published six times a year. Subscriptions can already be placed and are available to people worldwide. Here’s wishing this fledgling magazine tons of success!


* Hosiery History – 1940s Fashion: A thoroughly pretty array of vintage ads (some colour, some black and white) for ladies hosiery fill this post from Glamour Daze.


* 40s hair accessories: This week Casey highlights an interesting topic that appeals to me a lot: what beyond flowers, were used as hair accessories during the 1940s. Full of beautiful images and inspiration, this post is a must read for anyone who loves to adorn their locks.


* Pretty Dress and Thoughts on Vintage and Retro Fashion: Blogger Angel shares a pretty dress she’s recently acquired and writes about some of her thoughts on what drives her love of wearing vintage styles (many of which I’m sure the majority of us echo as our own reasons).


* How to refill a vintage powder compact: If you yearn for the days when I lady was often heard to say “I just need to powder my nose”, than you may be a fan of old school powder compacts. Fortunately for vintage fans these charming containers can still be found from a myriad of sources (online sites, estate sales, vintage shops, etc). If you’d like to refill one that you’ve unearthed with fresh powder, follow the five easy steps in this post to ensure your powder compact functions as well today as the first day it was ever used. (*1:30AM, August 9th. Please note, by sheer coincidence I just happened to discover that a very similar post to this one that appeared in November of last year on Vixen Vintage, and thus I feel that Solanah deserves to be mentioned here as well.*)


* Tom Sawyer Champs: A series of absolutely adorable, well taken photos of some of The Snail and The Cyclops’ blogger’s favourite vintage toy finds. From an abacus to a precious brown teddy bear, there is certainly something to make everyone nostalgic for their own childhood playthings in this post.


* Let’s go to the beach: With temperatures breaking record highs in some parts of the world this past week (such as Washington State), it’s clear that autumn is still just a distant dream for most, which is all the more reason to head to the beach for some respite from the heat. If that’s not possible for you however (goodness knows I won’t be able to dig my toes into the sand this year), you can still imagine visiting the beach with the help of these wonderful vintage photos from Life magazine.


* 50s Italian Summer: This week The Cupcake Diary channels the crisp, clean looks of late 1950s Italian tourists and locals alike through images from movie The Talented Mr. Ripley.


* Golden Hollywood Glam | Jeremiah Goodman: Some of the absolute most gorgeous watercolour paintings of 1940s home interiors I’ve ever seen are posted in this beauty-filled entry from the terrific blog, Nest Party. I wish I could have prints of these glamorous rooms to put on my walls for endless daydreaming inspiration.


Vanity Fair’s “Ain’t we got style”: Karen highlights pages straight from the August issue of Vanity Fair in which modern day stars replicate looks from classic movies such as It Happened One Night and My Man Godfrey. These spreads have been expertly styled and shot, and really do a marvelous job of paying homage some of Hollywood’s most timeless films – and actors.


Unparalleled elegance flows through this week’s Youtube feature, a true gem of a compilation video with clips from various 1950s fashion shows, magazine photo shoots, and Hollywood movies. Not only are the women and the gorgeous looks they spot breath-taking, but the video’s poster has done a superb job of pairing background music with these images to create a soulful film-like atmosphere that further adds to the undeniable allure of 1950s ladies wear feaatured within.


{1950s and Women’s Fashions}




I always love putting together the weekly link list. It’s a way to share with you some of my favourite recent blog posts and also for me to draw inspiration a second time around the things that are catching the eyes of my fellow vintage lovers this week. I hope that the links above captivate you, too! Please feel free to share any articles or images that have filling your heart with bliss or your mind with inspiration lately with me, too.

Wishing you each a joyful, serene, beautiful weekend!