Flickr Favourites: July 20, 2013

{Camille Norma Talmadge 1927 ~ Captain Geoffrey Spaulding} 



{A taste of vintage ~ hanthomas}

{Pink and green ~ saltycotton}

{52/52 pink rose ~ Clicking Mad}

{The Majestic ~ Paul Malone}
 
{Pink powder tin ~ gathering spriggs}

{White Swimsuit, pink lounge chair, green hat 1956 ~ Genibee} 

{Dina ~ Yelena Nash}

 

{Easy holiday meals ~ totallymystified}

{Pink and Green Swap ~ Rue LeClaire}

{All images above are from Flickr. To learn more about a specific image, please click on its title to be taken to its respective Flickr page.} 

♥ ♥ ♥

From rose bushes to the vegetables patch, the dinner table to the hues swirling through swimsuits at the beach, there has always been something about punchy shades of green and pink that seem so splendidly interlocked with July.

Now, given that I was born during this month and that pink is my favourite colour, one might think I was just being biased. Yet all it takes is a quick glance around during this sizzling time of the year to see that nature combined these two long before I arrived on the scene.

There is something wonderfully preppy - in an "Oh, why yes, we are summering in The Keys this year" sort of way - about this vibrant colour combination as well (which fashion and fabric designer Lilly Pulitzer certainly took note of early on). As I mentioned in this post about the many personalities of my wardrobe last September, though I don't necessarily dress in a full on preppy kind of style all that often, I have long adored the general look a great deal and find that it can go especially well with summertime, what with all of its inherent boating, deck chair lounging, and garden parties.

Of course the preppy set doesn't have the market on this inviting colour combo cornered, and it can be put to work with great success for a myriad of styles and vintage looks - not the mention in various recipes, too. Just think of a delicate salad of summer greens with a handful of (food grade safe) pink rose petals sprinkled over top, strawberry margaritas with lime wedges teetering on the rims of their glasses, and of course big bowls of fabulously refreshing rainbow sorbet.

It's a thoroughly fun colour pairing and one, I'd venture to say, that doesn't take itself too seriously. It's bubbly and youthful, sweet, passionate and joyful, much like the very month of July itself - all the more reason why I adore it!

Time for some much needed weekend R&R

At the risk of sounding like a broken record (a similar sentiment kicked off my last entry), this isn't the post I'd had planned for today. The other has already been written and could have gone live, but somehow it just didn't seem right for this easygoing, sun-drenched mid-July Saturday. The subject matter is a bit serious (it's about USPS's steep rate hikes earlier this year), and though I'm sure it will pop up here sooner or later, again, after such a fun filled, enjoyable week, it just didn't seem like today was well suited to it.

This week has been a hectic one, compounded with the fact the fact that I've not been doing too terrific on the health front this month (I was actually really not feeling well on my birthday, and wasn't able to dress up and/or do an outfit shoot that day as a result - but with the help of a mid-afternoon nap, I was able to get through the day and truly enjoyed every low-key moment of it), which stems at least in part from a very heavy new medication that I started last month.

As such, I've had next to no time to spend online so far this week, and I must apologize if I haven't made it to your own lovely blog in a few days. I suspect next week will be more in keeping with the usual ebb and flow of things, and that I'll be online a bit more.

The basement flood situation that I discussed here is progressing positively. In the wake of having to move everything out of our storage room down there (which was actually the point of entry for the water) because of it, we've decided to rent a small storage unit to house most of what was tucked away in that room (such as seasonal decor, old paper work, luggage, etc) and to transform that room into a home gym for Tony, once the flooring situation has sorted out. 

There's nothing to say we wouldn't have done this had we not been hit with a basement flood, but I'm sure it was a big push in that direction, and I must say, I'm excited to transform that room isn't something that I know my husband is truly going to love having under our roof.

And speaking of adding things to our home, last week (spurred on in no small part by the heat wave that rolled through town around the start of July) we had central air installed in our lovely little condo and are so exceedingly grateful that we won't have to rely on fans and window AC units to get us through another roasty-toasty Okanagan summer.

As I've touched on here and there in posts over the years, as much as I adore this season, the heat can be an extra challenge for my health (I hold up much better in the winter in this respect - and sometimes joke, as a result, that I'm going to up and more to the arctic because of how much better I fare in cold weather!), but with any luck, having central air will help significantly in this respect.

Between the heat (outside), the busyness of this week, and not feeling like a million dollars at the moment, I'm pretty spent as we kick off the weekend, which means its high time for some much needed rest and relaxation.

It's too early in the summer to throw in the (beach) towel entirely - there's easily a couple more solid months of sizzling Okanagan summer ahead of us, so stopping to recharge my batteries as often as possible, so to speak, is a definite must.




{Much like actor Alan Ladd and his wife in this 1950s photo of the couple taken by Bill Anderson, my weekend is slated to be as serene and laid back as possible - completely with plenty of outdoor lounging, reading, and time to unwind. Image source.}


Cold drinks, snuggles with Annie (who, hard as it is to believe, will be six months old next week) and Stella, cozying up with a good book (Claire McCardell's 1950s classic, What Shall I Wear?, to be exact), catching up on some of the week's many emails, and perhaps a Netflix movie or two are the name of the game today and tomorrow.

Whether you've got an itinerary so action packed it would tire Indiana Jones out, are planning to join me for some peaceful relaxation, or find your schedule falls somewhere in between, I truly hope that you each have a splendid weekend, my dears!


*PS*

Thank you again, everybody, not only for your awesomely lovely birthday wishes (all across the web), but for each and every one of your blog comments here this week (it was such a joy to read about some of your own fabulous memories of the 1980s).

Looking back at June 2013

Reflecting upon the events of this month, I'm struck by how they often seemed to parallel the weather that we experienced. Some days were gloriously sunny, gushing with with warmth, light and the kind of happiness that it takes half a year to cultivate. Others were grey, unpredictable, heavy as a horizon full of thunder clouds.

A few fell in between, and one involved said thunder clouds quite literally, as a sudden downpour that hit our town this past Wednesday with febricity caused flooding in our basement (while thankfully it didn't ruin too many items, it did do a fair bit of property damage and will require us to put new flooring into one, or possibly, two rooms).



{It didn't take anywhere near this much water to cause some of the swift rainfall that pelted Penticton on Wednesday to end up partially flooding our basement, but I can I can certainly sympathize with those pictured here who needed a boat to get around town all of a sudden. Image source.}


This unexpected basement ordeal was an odd note to (almost) cap the month off on, as I'd really felt like it was gaining positive momentum towards the end - and perhaps it still did, in spite of said flooding.

Just a few days beforehand, on the 22nd, I was thrilled to be able to attend our town's annual classic car show - The Peach City Beach Cruise - again (you may remember this post from when I attended for the first time last year), which I'll be doing a vintage outfit post about in the near future, as well as to see a movie (This is the End) at the theater for the first time in over a year, and to attend Value Village’s latest 50% off sale all on the same weekend. For some people this might seem like a fairly run of the mill amount of activity, but for me, it's exceedingly rare that my health permits me such a productive weekend, and I thought it was an incredible note to kick the summer off on!

And what of the blogging front, you may ask, well, this month saw a flurry of activity here for sure. For starters, June welcomed Chronically Vintage's first official group of blog sponsors, three of which (The Glamorous Housewife, Vintage Dancer, and ChatterBlossom) were featured in sponsor spotlight posts. You'll be hearing more about the fourth of June's new sponsors, Blue Velvet Vintage (whose site and offerings I simply cannot get enough of), in the coming weeks, just as you will some of the other sponsors that have signed on for the summer months and beyond.

I truly appreciate and wholeheartedly welcome each of Chronically Vintage's new sponsors, as well as all those who have shown interest in this regard (if you happen to be interested in sponsoring as well, please don't hesitate to see my sponsor information page and/or to email me at any time).

Wardrobe wise it was a busy month, too. I debuted my fabulous Jitterbuggin' pinafore jumper dress here for the first time, and shared what I wore on a glorious sunny Easter Sunday back at the end of March (and was thrilled and honoured to have one of the photos from that same shoot appear in the latest edition of Hey Doll magazine, where you'll also find an article I wrote about all about vintage glove sizing, collecting and storing).





I sported sunglasses for the first time ever on my blog in a fun series of shots taken at Knox Mountain in Kelowna (one of which appears above), and last, but not least, I christened Mother Nature "Marie" in the spirit of my own middle name and a darling vintage wirework name pin that I donned along with a palette of earth tones recently.

Lists abounded here throughout June, including Ten Warm Weather Wardrobe Staples, 12 of my top vintage fashion wish list items, Ten classic menswear pieces that will never go out of style, and 7 steps to big 1950s eyes.

Celebrations of summer's return were also plentiful throughout June, with posts devoted both to going on a vintage picnic and tons of suggestions for what to serve at a vintage ice cream sundae party. This month's Vintage Fashionista Friday and Flickr Favourite's posts were both thoroughly in keeping with the spirit of the season as well.

You may notice that this month in review post is going live on the 29th, not the 30th, which is technically the last day of the month. The key reason for this is that here in Canada it's a holiday long weekend (as we celebrate Canada Day on July 1st), and between the festivities of said weekend and contending with the situation downstairs in our waterlogged basement, I wasn't sure how much I'd be online over the next couple of days (though I do have a post slatted for the 1st), and didn't want to miss out on recapping June before it had taken its last bow.

And speaking of floods, I want to take a moment to express my deepest sympathies to all those who have been affected by the flooding this month in Alberta and Ontario as well. Having lived in two of the hardest hit areas (Calgary and Toronto), and adoring them both, I was moved to tears multiple times over the past couple of weeks as the photos of the water damage there poured out across the internet and evening news broadcasts. I am truly sorry for what those in these areas have experienced and know that the what we dealt with firsthand pales in comparison. We need new floors, but many people - especially in Alberta - have lost their whole homes and all of their belongings, and that is something that no one on earth should ever have to endure for any reason.

There's always the hope of a brighter (and much drier) tomorrow though, and on that note, some of the positive, exciting things that are in the works for July here on the blog include a look at the life and work of Vancouver's most famous (mid-century) street photographer, a post devoted to none other than west coast legend (or is it? :) ), the sasquatch; the results of a fab (vintage related) phone call, and - in the spirit of my upcoming birthday on July 10th, a look back at some of my very favourite things from the decade that gave me life: the 1980s!



{I utterly adore everything about this 1950s gal's darling gingham summertime ensemble - which reminds me, come to think of it, a fair bit of what I wore last year for Canada Day. I'm not too sure what I'll be decked out in this coming Monday, but you can bet your bottom dollar than red and white - the colours of Canada's flag - will be involved again. Image source.}


July is, by it's very nature, often a terrifically fun filled month. Yes, it's hot enough to give Death Valley a run for its money at times, but it can also deliver sublimely beautiful mellow evening breezes, hour after hour of beach fun, thirty-one days solid of wearing sundresses (if you so desire), ice cream cones a plenty, and countless other things that help ensure the seventh month of the year is not one that's quickly forgotten.

June was a mixed bag - as so many throughout 2013 have also been - and though I'm not happy about what befell our basement, the situation could always have been a great deal worse, and hopefully we'll be able to get things cleaned up and looking tip-top again well before summer comes to a close. Instead of focusing on that, I much prefer to think ahead to the exciting times - beginning bright and early with Canada Day on the 1st - that this month holds in store, as well as what lies even further afield in the second half of the summer.

Here's to the hope that July brings nothing but sunshine, blue skies, dry streets (and basements!), and happiness your way, my dears! I can't wait to enjoy my birthday month with all of you once more, as well as to celebrate all of the amazing points that makes this coming month so endearingly wonderful.