Saturday Snapshots: September 17, 2016

 

{As the days grow shorter and the temperatures chillier, why not take an entertainment cue from this lovely group of 1950s ladies and spend a fun filled evening playing bridge? (Love their outfits and hairstyles!)}




{With another school year well and truly underway again, it's hard not to feel a surge of pep/cheerleading squad spirit (like this wonderful group from 1960 had) once more, even if you haven't sat in a classroom for decades.}



{Her outfit (those slacks!), that car, even those beautifully classic glass milk bottle - how can one not want everything in this serene slice-of-life snap from 1957?}



{And speaking of style perfection, how awesomely lovely does this mother and her two young children - also coincidentally photographed in 1957) - look in their fall time finery? (This snap was taken in October of that year).}




{Summer is definitely winding down and the days of going bare armed are numbered (if not a memory already) in many parts of the world, but while the last vestiges of warmth remain, I simply had to include this awesome photo of a chic c. 1930s young lady in her fashionable wide legged beach pajama style ensemble.}



{Sister, cousins, besties, possibly even a very youthful looking mom (on the right) and daughter? Whatever the case, one instantly senses that these two lovely 1940s gals had each other's backs no matter what.}



{Two young ladies engaged in one of my all-time favourite activities - especially come autumn - shopping for Halloween decorations. Oh, to be able to go back to the 1950s and pick up some of these delightful festive goodies with them (Plus, as a side note, check out both of their seriously cool pairs of earrings!)}




{This is such an excellent yesteryear cross section of society photo. From the gents in their dapper suits to the men in their work wear, and of course the elegantly attired ladies of various ages, images like this (from December 1942) are about as close one can get to accidentally travelling back in time and landing smack dab in the middle of small town America.}



{Vintage nighttime colour photos taken by everyday folks aren't overly common, so when I spotted this lovely (undated) one - that I'd estimate to be from the 1960s or 70s - recently, given the season that we're heading into, I knew that I had to share it here on the double. This image was captured at the Autumn Festival in Rimouski, Quebec.}



{Two youngsters (from 1942) getting in the spirit of Halloween by carving a cheerfully fun jack-o-lantern. I can hardly wait to follow their lead in a few week's time!}

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

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Travel brings with it the potential for a near limitless array of gifts, and, unquestionably, this is one of the primary reasons why I adore it to the moon and back. It can - for some people at least - also have a darker side however, too (and I don't just mean things like the inherent risks – whatever their likelihood may be – of visiting a new destination, such as getting pickpocketed, having the airline lose your luggage, etc).

For those, such as myself, who tend to find traveling to be a time of intensely powerful introspection and deep thought, venturing away from home, even just for a few days, can cause certain concerns, worries, stresses, and anxieties to come bubbling to the surface. Or, if they were already there to begin with, to manifest even more strongly.

On our very recent adventure to Edmonton (which we returned home from this past Monday evening), I experienced precisely that for much of our time away.

Though I do not wish at this point in time to delve too much into the specific concerns that were at the forefront of my mind, the fact that they were there, like a heavy grey cloud hovering over the peaceful prairie landscape that was our holiday to Edmonton, rattled me and continues to do so, even though we're back home now.

It is far too early in the year to sum up 2016 yet, but over all this has been a strange one that has seen many ups and downs, curve balls and, to be perfectly frank, moments of being downright blindsided by certain happenings that have come my (our) way.

Throughout it, the elegant quote from Nelson Mandela that opens today’s post has often floated through my mind. As while many of the aforementioned issues were ones that I had little to no say in the (initial, at least) development of, certainly some of them stem from actions and choices that I've taken at various stages along the path that has been my life up until this very point.

I think that all of us, from the dawn of time onward, have wanted our choices to reflect our hopes and our dreams, the things that make us smile and keep our spirits alight.

Yet, objectively, sometimes our decisions are shaped or determined point blank, by our fears, concerns, doubts, and uncertainties. More often than not, it is these sorts of choices and experiences that tag along for the ride when we travel - and, let's be honest, when we're under the safety of our very own roof as well.

Over the years, I've talked here before about how the beginning of autumn has always felt like the start of a new year for me (just as, I know, it does for many others too,) - a point that, historically speaking, has a great deal of merit, as it was just that for many different cultures. No doubt this is playing into why change and choice are front and center in my thoughts at the moment.

I know that there are presently some storms in my life that I simply have no choice, given current circumstances, than to see through to the end – a time that may be months or even years away. There are others though that, ultimately, I have a greater degree of say in and where such is involved, I know that I may need to make some serious decisions in the near future.

This prospect does not scare me per se, but it does call for some tough choices, late nights of pondering, and, looking forward, a coming year that may be at least somewhat different from most others in recent times.

I do not mean to sound/be cryptic and I assure you that nothing truly insurmountable is on my plate right now. From its earliest days, at times, I have used my blog as a place to journal my concerns and, in the process, often find greater clarity, regardless of the issue(s) at hand when I do so.

It is for those reasons that I kicked off this latest edition of Saturday Snapshots with Mandela's poignant words and speak, if only in subtle terms, about some of what I'm going through at the moment.

Though I have had some tough days recently - and throughout 2016 in general - I assure you that Tony and I are both okay. And that, hand on my heart, for each current concern, there are zillions of positive things - many pertaining to autumn itself - to help balance the scales and ensure that my natural upbeat-ness isn't snuffed out at the moment.

Far from it - if anything, turning all the more to the elements of my life that bring me joy will help to make the choices I face not only more bearable, but - I truly hope - more often than not, enable them to be reached with hope and positivity as their driving force.

New computer, new month, new approaches

March, the bridge of a month between the icy chill of winter and the first beams of spring's toasty sunlight is here and that point alone has me smiling up a storm. Add to it the fact that my new Dell laptop reached me at long last and I'm one very happy camper at the moment!

There's still some setting up, configuring and file transferring to do, but that will all get taken care of soon enough and the main point is that it's here and I was able to type these very words on it.

Naturally, I have a fair bit to catch up on from the past month and my blogging schedule for the first half of the spring has been thrown for an absolute loop (and then some!) because of the fact that I was computer-less for all of February, but as with most things in life, everything will get straightened out sooner or later and I'm trying not to worry too much about it.

Truth be told, I'm trying to worry less in general. I'm a natural worrier and I've battled various type of anxiety my whole life, so stress - especially unforeseen stress - tends to hit me hard.

During the past few weeks of being sans computer, one might have thought (understandably) that I might have taken a bit of a much needed breather, but instead I was hard at work doing as many non-computer dependent things for my blog and my Etsy shop as I could (from outfit shoots with Tony to sorting recently acquired merchandise).

Yet, in the midst of such things, I was able to find time for some areas of my life that I haven't focused on nearly enough in recent years (such as taking more outdoor walks), cataloging all of my modern books, and most importantly of all, reinforcing the concept that I simply must look at my work (blog, shop, and the other websites, such as Any New Books, that Tony and I run) as more of a 9 - 5 job.

At present, health permitting, I usually put in 40 - 80+ weeks between running this blog and my Etsy shop, plus at least several more hours for our other websites, each week. Each is a labour of love and I certainly won't be retiring off these efforts anytime soon.

When it comes to my blog and shop though, money has never been - and will never be (especially regarding my blog) the sole reason why I launched them in the first place (a love of vintage and desire to share in this passion with other like-minded people was a huge driving force behind both). It doesn't take a rocket scientist to tell you however, that such a heavy pace is not only a recipe for burnout, but ultimately a less than healthy way to approach your work.

We each need and are entitled to down-time and to have clearly distinct lines between what is work and what is personal time. Can, and do, the two sometimes overlap, you bet your bottom dollar they do - especially when, like myself, you're self-employed - but in this ever more digital world, it's important to remember that we (usually) have the ability to set boundaries and to define how we connect with things, our jobs very much included, on our terms.

I know that in order to keep on thriving, and moreover, genuinely enjoying, my time online and the world that I've built here, I must continue to have better defined work and off-time hours and that, at least once in a while, I have to take full days off and not feel almost cripplingly guilty (generally for zero legit reason) about doing so - and if you're in the same boat, too, I truly hope that you'll be able to do so as well.

I don't say all of this to lead up to any sort of announcement about radical changes, retirement plans, or complete overhauls of my life - not in the slightest.

I say it, in no small part, to help hold myself accountable in terms of separating work from off time more frequently. To remind myself that I am less stressed and far happier when I create time to take nature walks with Tony and Annie, curl up with a good book and Stella on my lap, spend a whole day just visiting friends, rearranging my closet, cooking meals to freeze for future dinners, or who knows, maybe even finally crafting again.

{This matters just as much, when all is said and done, as this does...}

{First image source & second image source}

In doing so, I am able to give more of myself - in terms of the quality of the focused, clearly defined work hours that I put in - and to create an ecosystem that, hopefully, holds far more longevity than burning the candle at both ends until there's nothing but a fizzled out wick stump left.

I believe that we work better, smarter, and healthier when we balance the drive and goals of our career with the other passions in our lives, and though I've rarely been a shining example of practising such in the last few years in particular, I'm vowing - even as a natural born workaholic - to work on changing that.

It's not so much that I plan to work considerably less (I don’t), but rather that I will better define when and how I work, and set boundaries. If I need to post slightly less often here to do that, so be it. If I photograph a few less items for my shop each month, so be it. If I take a little longer to reply to never-ending mountain of work related emails in my inbox, so be it.

These things matter, undeniably, but they aren't the only ones that count and when the end comes for each of us as we look back on our lives, it won't be that we didn't have time to post anything on social media on some random Tuesday in August or the fact that we were five minutes late to the office on Friday January 12th that we'll regret. No, it will be the moments with family, pets, loved ones, nature, travel, great books, our spiritual paths, and our passions that we'll wonder, could I have made more time for?

Chances are, the answer is yes and it doesn't have to mean a total 180 of how you live in the slightest. And that is the beauty of it all. We're here now and we can continue to balance the scales, give a better version of ourselves to both areas of our lives, and find, in the process, that we're happier, healthier, and far less stressed.

I walked away from a month of being computer-less with this concept at the forefront of my mind, and I will embark on life spent with my new laptop better equipped to delegate my time spent on it due in no small part to this unplanned hiatus.

Lessons are everywhere, we just have to keep our hearts and minds open to them.

Lately I've been...

Spending this summer living on my own (while my husband has been away working in the States) has been a unique, fascinating experience (I haven’t lived solo since 2004). Many elements of my daily life are the same, or very nearly so, as when he's home by my side. Others have been more, or conversely, less, challenging, and some have come as total surprises (such as that I've had an even greater degree of difficulty sleeping than usual).

Ultimately though, I'm made the most of this summer and while I've missed Tony - who will be home in about three week's time - with every last ounce of my heart and soul, I've still been able to do a lot of work, a ton of introspective thinking, and also made some time to simply relax and unwind, even if it was just for half an hour at the end of the day while I painted my nails and watched Netflix.

Last month the smart, lovely, inspiring Madison from the blog Minnie Muse shared a fun list of things that had/have been filling her thoughts and days lately. This entry really spoke to me, especially since I've had such a great deal of alone time with my own mind as of late, and thus, inspired entirely by her post, I thought that I'd take a few mid-August moments and pen one of my own.






Dreaming of: Traveling. Realistically, if possible, to somewhere in BC or Alberta. In my totally hypothetical daydreams, to any one of a dozen or more countries in Europe that I've always longed to visit.

Moving back to: A greater degree of work-life balance, with actual days off (yes, I'm still struggling big time to create those for myself), an ongoing emphasis on more time spent outdoors, and not letting myself get so wrapped up in my job in the moment that I forget about the bigger picture that all of my tomorrows hold.

Reading: My usual – about five books, all history/vintage or science related, all on the go at the same time.

Watching: Some of favourite 80s and 90s sitcoms (like Home Improvement, Fraser, and Roseanne) on Netflix and YouTube. I can happily rewatch those over and over again, without ever tiring of them.

Eating: As much locally grown summer produce as I possibly can!

Creating: Aside from blog posts, not nearly enough. This is something I need to work on (and this isn't the first time this year, I've mentioned as much, I know). Crafting has always been vitally important to me, yet I struggle immensely to find time for it in the context of my current daily life, where work and family almost always seem to win out for me when it comes to what I spend my time and limited energy on.

Photographing: Flowers, the sun-kissed Okanagan landscape, and the occasional selfie, especially since my sweet photographer hasn't been here to help me document my outfits (see my Instagram for plenty of those things and many others, too).

Wearing lots of: Shirtwaist dresses, turbans made from long scarves, and the colour pink, which usually comes out in full force for me during the summer.

Writing: Blog posts, Etsy shop listings, email replies, and blog comments - the usual, really. :)

Listening to: Oodles of great classic rock, Motown, and big band - all genres of music that go hand-in-hand with summer for me.

Painting my nails: I seem to be hopping back and forth primarily between different shades of coral, red, and blue this season.

Loving: My friends, my family, my pets, and all of the other blessings in my life. Also, the fact that it's almost pumpkin-spice-everything season again! :D

Wishing I had a...: Way to inject hundreds of hours more into each day! As well as a self driving car (so that I could finally experience driving on my own). A few more months of summertime weather would be pretty fabulous, too! :)

Planning: This year's Halloween costume and party - there's less than 2.5 months to go and I can scarcely wait!!!

Thinking about: What, ultimately, really does matter to me at this stage in my life and what is just familiar routine (that could use some shaking up, I mean); some of my blog posts and outfits for the fall; how much I miss Tony; and about taking lots of nature walks while summer (and then autumn) is still out in full force.

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

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Thank you very much for writing your great "Lately post", Madison. I love the simplicity and relate-ability factor behind it and think that I may have to repeat this idea with new answers down the road one day - perhaps at this same time next year. We'll see!

It's always wonderful to have a snapshot of where your thoughts and days are at at any given point in time. I don't keep a journal or diary, yet I've long viewed my blog as such and genuinely adore recording views into my world here to look back on and see both how far I've come, and what has remained the same, since then throughout my site's more than six years of life.

If you've never written a "Lately" style post, I wholeheartedly encourage you to do the same, be it a one off event, an annual post, or even a far more frequent occurrence, such as every week or month. It's important to capture the present and let it help guide and inspire us in the future, and I really feel like today's entry will do just that for me.

Long after my husband has returned home and even more of the usual ebb and flow fills my days, I'll have this post to remind me of where my thoughts and dreams were at in the midst of a summer spent alone, but never lonely, thanks to my family, my work, and of course, Tony's love which keeps me company in the most beautiful of ways, no matter where in the world we each are.

I woke up like this

Time and time again, my lovely online friend and fellow vintage blogger Lindsay Lane posts something on her blog that I am so inspired by, I know that I simply must follow her wonderful lead and do an entry on it myself one day as well.

This occurred again last November when Lindsay penned a post called, called #Iwokeuplikethis, in which she answers a series of questions (of the same name/hashtag) that Vogue magazine had been posing to various celebrities about their daily AM routines.

Now, it should be stated, completely matter-of-factly, for the record before we delve into today's post that I am not, let me repeat, NOT, usually a morning person in the slightest, and in fact I'm taking a certain degree of liberty by answering these questions in so much as I define my mornings.

You see, even at the best of times, my health and chronic pain levels makes getting much sleep or staying asleep for long periods of time (a medical phenomena called painsomnia) a serious challenge, and years ago, to give my weary mind a break, I stopped trying to sleep and be awake in the same standard patterns that most folks are able (or opt) to. Of course I do still try to a degree, but unless I absolutely must be awake at a certain time for some sort of important reason, I rarely worry about my sleep schedule any more.

I'm so happy about any sleep that I get, that I don't mind one iota if it occurs at 12 am or 12 pm, and am extremely grateful that being self-employed allows me to work, for the most part, on my own schedule, when I'm awake and feeling well enough to do so.

Okay, that fact clarified, let's proceed with answering these fun questions (again, using my definition of morning, which to me just means anytime of the day in which I wake up and then stay awake for at least a few hours).

What is the first thing that you do when you wake up?

I thank the universe for the fact that I woke and try, no matter how I'm feeling or what's weighing on my mind, to greet the day with a smile.

Early bird or a night owl?

Goodness me, am I the poster child for night owls everywhere. Not only do I love nighttime and feel like my body wants to stay awake when the sun goes down, I find that it's often when I have both the most energy and the most creativity, so I put that to good use and pen the bulk of my blog posts, emails, and other types of writing (such as Etsy shop listing descriptions) under the cover of darkness.

What time do you like to get up in the morning?

As touched on above, I do not usually have a set time of the day when I wake up. That said, if I am aiming to be an early riser, I like to start the day around 5 AM so that I can really get to experience the morning in all its sunrise-kissed beauty and potential.

Do you press the snooze button or jump right up?

I try to get up right away, as I can't stand the sound of any alarm clock or cell phone alarm, plus I find the jolt of such going off really propels me up and on to my feet.

What is your morning beauty regime?

Take my first meds of the day, wash my face (I usually shower or bath in the evenings), brush my teeth, have a glass or two of water, do my make-up (if I'm putting on a face that day), put on my wig, get dressed, and spritz on some perfume.

What do you do to prepare mentally for the day?

I try to set out a detailed schedule, be it in my head, on paper, or on the computer, of what I hope to accomplish for the day, aiming to get the most challenging and/or time consuming things completed first. Then I say a positive affirmation or two and remind myself that anything I get done that day is better than nothing, spend some time with my pets, and have a lovely chat with my husband, as doing so always helps to better my day.

When it comes to deciding what to wear in the morning, do you plan ahead?

Generally speaking, yes. I absolutely love planning my outfits in advance and try to set aside a whole day every now and then (usually at lease once a season) to play dress up in my own closet for this very purpose. Of course I don't come up with all my outfits for a given chunk of the year then, but I find that it really helps me to have some ready and waiting when I need to get dressed on the fly or aren't feeling all that inspired for whatever reason.

What is your breakfast of choice?

I eat very lightly early in the day due to medical reasons, so if I do partake of breakfast, it's usually a little bit of lean protein and/or a small portion of nuts, fruit or natural yogurt. That said, if I am going to go all out for breakfast, it's lean bacon and gluten-free chocolate chip pancakes, pumpkin spice waffles, rice pudding with raisins, or toast with peanut butter and jam or bananas for me all the way!

How much time do you give yourself to prepare for your day in the morning?

Usually about 45 to 75 minutes, just depending on how much time I need to get ready in terms of my makeup and outfit choice for the day.

Outline your routine for a typical morning

On top of the beauty related points mentioned above, my early morning routine involves feeding the cat and cleaning her litter box, checking my email and phone for important messages, printing off packing slips for any Etsy orders that have come in while I was asleep (and often packing up such orders, too), doing a little bit of housekeeping (such as folding freshly washed and dried laundry from the day before), making Tony's breakfast, and planning out the rest of my day as much as I can in advance.

How important is a morning ritual for you?

It's nice, but not absolutely necessary by any means. I'm a pretty easygoing person and am used to my morning - and whole days - not going as envisioned in the slightest. Sometimes you just have to go where the wind blows you and make the best of it!

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

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By all means, if you want to take a page out of both of our (bedtime story) books and do the same, please have at 'er (then come back here and post a comment letting me know that you have so that I can pop over and read your post right away).

Though most of us share certain elements of the morning, afternoon, evening, and night in common, we have unique points to these elements of the day as well and I really enjoyed how this series of questions let me publicly share some of the ones that apply to my mornings, whenever they may fall. :)

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.}

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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

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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! :))