It's a Profoundly Loved Blog Party!

A little earlier this year my good friend Seanna from the blog Seanna Approved tapped me to take part in a fun blogging Q&A called The Profoundly Loved Blog Party.

As with most of these kinds of posts the premise is as simple as can be. There's a series of questions which one answers and then they nominate a handful of folks to respond to the same queries themselves.

On this lovely first weekend of April, a mere day away from Easter Sunday, I thought that now would be a great time to spend a little while delving into this group of get-to-know-me-even-better questions before heading out to lap up up the prospect of a sunny springtime day and all the joy it’s bound to house.

It's 'Profoundly Loved Blog Party' Time!

1. Tell me about something you love and why?
Learning. I absolutely, passionately adore learning about just about anything and everything I possibly can. I've been this way my whole life and love perpetually lapping up knowledge anywhere and everywhere I go. Doing so brings me joy, helps me in every area of my life, and ensures that I've always got a stack of books a mile high waiting to be read.





2. What is one thing you do that makes you feel like "I could do this forever"?

Sharing my life with my wonderful husband.




3. What do you love about yourself?

The older I get, the more entries land on this list, which I think is a great thing because we should all love as much about ourselves as possible. Some of the things that really jump out at me are my passion for the past, my caring spirit, that writing and creating bring me tremendous joy, my unending love of reading, the fact that I've always had a lot of common sense, that I feel a profound connection with nature and the animal kingdom, my ability to make a million and one recipes from memory, that I'm (humbly) a great wife and daughter, that I'm an incredibly hard worker, that I'm extremely opened minded, and that I can almost always find the silver lining in even the bleakest of situations.




4. What advice would you give to someone who doesn’t believe he/she is beautiful?

This one cuts to the core and makes me draw in a long, heavy breath, exhaling it slowly and proceeding as though walking on eggshells with my reply, because this is something (as discussed in posts such as this one) that I've seriously battled with my whole life.

Honestly, my gut reaction is to say that I don't know. That if I did know, I could repeat it often enough to myself and have an easier time believing in my own (physical) beauty. That said, coming from a place of immense understanding, I would tell that person that external beauty is profoundly overrated and yet at the same time, that they are likely a thousand times lovelier looking than they've ever been kind enough on themselves to see. That a good heart, honest soul, and caring spirit trump "looks" any day of the week and that there is, without a doubt, someone out there who will think they're the most beautiful person on earth because they view them though the lenses of love.




5. What is the best piece of advice you've ever received about confidence?

Objectively, I wouldn't say that I've been given a lot of advice in this arena throughout my life. A good deal of what I have heard though has come from my wise husband and certainly one thing he's said to me numerous times is to remember that chances are people are not thinking about you in a negative, judgmental, or unkind light nearly as often as you might believe they they are, let alone that you think about yourself in the same way. Therefore, don't waste your time and happiness worrying that they might be!




6. If you were your own daughter/son, what important things would you tell yourself/them?

Interestingly for me, this ties somewhat into question #4. I would tell my child (err, myself), first and foremost that I loved them unconditionally. They I always will always have their back and would believe, at face value, anything they told me. That I would defend them with my life and fight to the death to ensure they they were as safe and healthy as possible in any setting. That if they needed dental work done, as I always did growing up (but which my parents weren't able to provide me with) and still do to this day, I would literally sell everything I owned (to raise money) and work five jobs, if that's what it took, so that my child never had to live with the disfigurement and self-confidence crushing embarrassment that comes from having a mouth full of teeth you're perpetually ashamed of, even though you (they) didn't do anything to cause that situation to happen. And I would tell them, often, that they were beautiful/handsome, unique, valuable, talented, creative, worthy of respect always, capable of amazing things, and that, last but not least, I would support them and their life choices no matter what (so long as they didn't harm themselves or others).






7. A verse, poem, sonnet, ancient-old proverb that inspires you to love yourself and others?

This classic poem entitled "Dreams" by Langston Hughes was one of the first pieces of poetry I remember learning by heart as a child. It has stayed with - and at times even guided - me through life ever since.

{To learn more about a specific image, please click on it to be taken to its respective source.}

♥ ♥ ♥

There are so many fantastic bloggers out there that I'd be delighted to have take part in this blog party posting game, so if you aren't named specifically here, please don't feel excluded. You have my blessing to tag yourself and answer these seven thought provoking questions as well, anytime you'd like. If you play along, be sure to come back here after you've posted your answers to leave a comment letting me know that you've done so, as I would love to read your seven replies, too.

I'm nominating the following seven awesome ladies to take part in the Profoundly loved blog party:

Brittany from Va-Voom Vintage

Candice from Vintage Current

Daffny from A Vintage Nerd

Esther from Dolly Creates

Marija from Purple Pinky Honey

Michelle from Delightful Handiwork

Porcelina from Porcelina's World

♥ ♥ ♥

So often I find that with these kinds of blog tag/blog Q&A posts, I'm nominated - which I sincerely appreciate - but it usually takes me several months until I get the opportunity to answer them. I didn't want to wait anywhere near that long this time around, as I really do like it when my fellow bloggers and online friends tag me to play along with these kinds of fun posts.

It's been less than two months since Seanna did so, and while that might not break any blogging land speed records, so to speak, it's still pretty quick in my books. Who knows, perhaps the next time someone kindly tags me for a game like this, I'll post my answers that same month. (Knowing myself and my blogging schedule as I do, though it will likely be more like half a year, but hey, stranger things have happened! :))

The Dog Days of Vintage Summer Fashion

Right this very moment it’s early August, and for the vast majority of us in the northern hemisphere that means means the temperature outside is currently trying to give the surface of the moon a run for its money.
While I do thoroughly love many aspects of the most sizzling season of the year (a topic that I delved into last month in this post) and am grateful for every moment of summer we get in Canada, there can be times when these stifling days with their glaring sun and 100+ degree temperatures leaves one, well, a little frazzled and beat.

This problem is anything but new - much like the dog days of summer themselves (the name of which has been in use since at least the time of the ancient Romans, who associated them with Sirius, also known as the Dog Star), who called them diēs caniculārēs. Though, even to this day, debate continues as to which days of the season officially fall under that heading, it's generally excepted that much of July and August make the cut for sure.

Even though I've experienced the toastiest Canadian heat waves of my life in July (while living in Toronto), if you were to stop me on the icy street in January and ask what I thought that hottest month of the year was, I'd always answer August. Though, technically, July can sometimes be the hotter of the two months (depending on where you live and what your weather is up to in a given year), there's just something about August that makes it feel skin tinglingly hot and, at times, a bit hard to slog through.

During these wildly warm days, it's important - one might argue vital even - to have plenty on hand to help take our mind off the the heat, the staggering, mind-blowing heat. To that end, in the spirit of celebrating the name of these scorching August days, I thought it would tons of fun to gather up fifteen of my favourite vintage images and ads that just happen to include fabulous fashions and darling dogs in them.

{The combo of a red wiggle dress and darling white pup is bound to ensure you take home best in (fashion) show!}






{Model Anne St. Marie and her sweet little Yorkies shine in this elegant image from 1957 featuring a Jaguar.}

{One of my favourite dog breeds, the Boston Terrier, stars in this lovely photograph from 1952 that first appeared in Glamour Magazine.}






{It's safe to say that no other dog calls to mind the fabulous fifties quite like the iconic poodle, especially when you see ones as adorable as the pink bow adorned duo in this beautifully illustrated Pepsi ad.}






{There no need to beat around the bush (or fern), this chic, lightweight spring suit is thoroughly beautiful - as is the wee little corgi pup.}






{Spots of both the fabric and fur kind abound in this immensely pretty Harper's Bazaar image from 1952.}

 





{A teenage Shirley Temple and a beautiful black spaniel give RC Cola their vote of approval in a 1944 colour photo and illustration filled ad.}







{Hailing from 1937, this image of a blonde model and shepherd type dog is the oldest featured in today's post. I adore the casual elegance of her look and am especially fond of the stack of blue bangles on her wrist.}





{Calm poise and riled up excitement stand side-by-side in this fashion shot of a woman sporting a wool day suit as she walks her Boxer through town.}






{Another image featuring a completely cute Yorkshire Terrier, this time partnered with a lady decked out in a stylish autumn look from 1961.}






{Though it took a little searching, I was delighted to find an illustrated 1940s ad featuring my all-time favourite breed: the British bulldog.}







{Whether you spot the poodle or the woman's shocking hair colour first, there's no denying this pinky-mauve filled paint ad  is definitely an eye-catching!}






{The ravishingly sophistication and mid-1950s beauty of this wonderful autumn ensemble is only heighted by the presence of a preciously sweet little furry friend.}






{For just about as long as there has been cars, there have dogs who loved riding around beside their owners in them, whether they were pint sized pups or colossal canines like this fellow!}






{Completely cute chihuahuas, stylish pleated skirts, and pointy toed shoes all ad up to oodles of late 1950s glamour.}


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







These photos and illustrations are not all summer themed by any means, but it's my sincere hope that the cuteness overload - and distracting enjoyment of the sublime mid-century fashions - they offer up will help to distract you enough that you're able to forget about the searing heat, if only for a few delightful minutes.