July 16, 2016

Saturday Snapshots: July 16, 2016










{Pin curls, fab outfit, adorable kitty cat, and a mile-wide smile? Yep, this delightful mid-century gal officially wins at summer.}



{"Lois Duncan Steinmetz playing the accordion aboard the shanty boat Lazy Bones, c. 1947", because Lois was just awesome like that.}




{One look is all it takes to know that this 1940s pair - and their beautiful dog - were a blast to hang out with. Plus, don’t his shades look they could have just walked off the spring/summer 2016 runway? Proof positive that designers today take styling cues from the past right, left and center.}




{Group fun in the sun while at the beach in 1937 - love the lady at the back's classic folding parasol. It reminds me a lot of the gorgeous Disney themed hand painted ones that my dear friend Janey, from Atomic Redhead, has been creating and sharing on her blog this year.}




{No convertible? No problem! Just make like these two cool c. 1940s gals, in their matching shirts/play suits, and put the trunk (boot) of your car to good use! :)}




How much do you love this beautiful 1950's woman's fabulous ombre striped strapless swimsuit?}




{Teenagers being teenagers and having a blast at their local Tallahassee drive-in burger joint back in August of 1957 (you just know the milkshakes there would have been to die for!).}




{In a perfect world every single day of the summer would be as fun, carefree and sunny as the one depicted in this fabulous American beach snap, which was taken during July, 1952.}




It's never to early in life to ensure that your warm weather style game is squarely on point, as the young misters Larry and Louie Poggenburg kindly demonstrated for us during the spring of 1965.}




{Okay, it's official, seeing these two lovely c. 1950s synchronized swimmers has got me yearning to hop into the nearest body of water pronto!}


{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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Soooo, it's been a really long time since the last edition of Saturday Snapshots occurred here. Like, a really, really long time. I went digging around through my achieves and it would appear that the last such post was in May 2015, some fourteen months ago.

Wow, I'd been thinking it was last fall, but such appears not to be the case. There's no set schedule or timeframe for these posts of course, but as I - and I know, many of you as well - really adore them, I do like to get one up periodically. Today, in the middle of July, seems like a great time for new edition of Saturday Snapshots, don’t you think?

I read the quote that kicks off today's post for the first time ever a few weeks ago and it instantly resonated with me. Though I am generally a million miles away from lazy, I don't per se think that work related activity (or lack thereof) is the sort of laziness that the man who penned it, American author and philosopher Sam Keen, had in mind when he wrote those words. No, I highly suspect that he was referring to one's pace of life and how much, from sun up to sun down, we're able to get done in a day during the peak of summertime.

I'm a major workaholic and I will burn the midnight oil like no one's business, but during these glorious dog days of summer, even I tend to scale back a little. How on earth can one not? These few brief weeks of truly hot weather will vanish with the first tumbling leaves of September and with them, any hope (short of a vacation to a far-flung destination where the sun shines all year 'round) of feeling truly warm from the sun until next spring arrives.

Summer, to my mind, shouldn't be about merely staying busy nor doing next to nothing at all, no, it should be a happy marriage of two. If ever the expression "play hard, work hard" was at home in a chapter of the year, summer is it.
 
I may still bust my hump during for most of the week, but while the temps are near (or at!) triple digits and the sunshine seems to stretch on from here to eternity, you can bet that I'll be sinking my toes into the sand, talking peaceful strolls in the early morning hours, and lapping up froyo like its going out of style, while I still can.
 

As we sit now, there's just over two full months of summer left. Fall weather often begins before that point though, so I think that's all the more reason to go along with Sam's take on things and revel in the fact that this season not only allows, but frankly encourages us, to slow down, stop and smell the roses, and practise the time honoured art of slow living for a brief while amidst our usually frenzied, fast paced modern lives.

Here's to the rest of summer and all the relaxation it has the potential to afford us!

Now, where did I put that beach umbrella? All this talk of taking things easy has me champing at the bit to spend the weekend under the open the sun. Care to join me? :)





July 14, 2016

A cute flamingo headscarf, vintage velour pedal pushers, and Canada Day camping fun




Outfit details

Vintage style square flamingo print head scarf: c/o Inkabilly
Black enamel coated metal hoop earrings: Unknown, had since I was a teenager (possibly Claire's)
Coral pink and white polka dot sleeveless button front shirt: Thrifted
Black thin knit cropped shrug: Fairweather
1960s green plastic and gold tone metal flower brooch: Clockwork Zoo
White 50s style stretch belt: Hell Bunny (via, if memory serves me right, Retro Glam)
1950s/1960s black velour pedal pushers: Frugal Frocks
1950s/1960s white tile purse: Running Rabbit Studio
Green plastic bangle bracelet: Forever 21
Assorted vintage plastic bangle bracelets: Various sorted (mostly thrifted)
Coral faux patent leather peep toe pumps: Payless
Lip colour: MAC Partyline
Finger and toe nail colour: Sally Hansen Xtreme Wear Pink Punk

Photography by Tony Cangiano (with photos of us two together taken by my mom)


{Please forgive the various little fuzzy "dots" in these photos, we were inundated with no-see-um bugs while taking these pictures and they photobombed us big time that night!} 
 



















































Before launching into the heart of today's fun new vintage outfit post, I want to take a moment to sincerely, wholeheartedly thank each and every one of you bestowed happy birthday wishes on me over the past few days. Whether here on my blog, Facebook, Instagram, via email, snail mail, or anywhere else, I was super touched by your beautiful wishes and can't convey how much they helped to make my 32nd b-day all the more fabulous!

While - to no one's surprise here locally - we had scads of rain on my birthday, for the Canada Day long weekend at the start of July, we were treated to a bit of sunshine and tons of wind! It was then that we snapped the photos seen here today.

My folks took their camper trailer down to a beautiful campground in the nearby little town of Osoyoos, which is located on the British Columbia side of the BC/Washington state border. A large campground with, I'd estimate, a few hundred camping spots for RVs, campers, trailers, and tents, located on a picturesque lake, this park always teams with Okanagan locals and tourists alike during the summer months.

I've been past it many times, but this was my first time visiting that park. As I've blogged about before over the years (such as in this 2012 post), I'm a massive fan of camping and while the more rugged version is, sadly, out of the question for me these days due to my health, I'll still jump at the chance to go glamping anytime I can and that's just what Tony and I did when my mom and step-dad (pictured below) invited us to spend time with them on the Canada Day long weakened.




For a day of outdoor fun, I knew that I wanted a comfy, festive outfit and started with a fabulous new vintage style flamingo print headscarf that I recently received as a review gift from a great British vintage/rockabilly/pinup inspired housewares and fashion company called Inkabilly.

This scarf is wonderful! Unlike many contemporary vintage style headscarves, this one is a proper square, not a long, skinny shape (nothing against that style - I love it, too, and own several, it's just extra handy to have a square shaped one sometimes) and can - depending on your head and/or hair size - be worn WW2 worker style or folded to various widths, as I've done here.

At just £6.99, this vibrant flamingo print headscarf (which is also available in a purple version; this being the aqua one) is refreshingly budget-friendly, especially for those in the UK.

It is is well made from sturdy, soft 100% cotton. The colours are crisp, the design clear, and the size a very versatile 54cm X 54cm. I really adore this scarf and want to sincerely thank Inkabilly - who I will be teaming up with, and sharing more about, here on my multiple times again in the second half of 2016 - for this handy, stylish vintage inspired accessory.

As many a fellow hourglass and/or pear shaped lady will tell you, finding pants that fit both your hips and your waist can be trickier than tracking down that proverbial needle in a haystack, and this pair of 1950s/1960s black velour pedal pushers is no exception. But that's okay - with the help of a big safety pin and a Hell Bunny stretch belt, it's fairly easy to wrangle the excess inches in the waist, and no one who sees me fully dressed is the wiser.

I picked these classic pedal pushers up two or three years ago from my favourite vintage store in the Okanagan, Frugal Frocks. This is the first time they've appeared here on my blog though, and I'm delighted that I finally got the chance to share them with all of you. Though a very summery garment, the fact that these pants are made from black velour makes them a great choice for balmy spring and autumn days as well (you could even layer them over tights, if need be, for added warmth).

I own very few pairs of pants and of those, not many are genuine vintage, so this pair - even if they're too big in the waist - are a firm favourite. They're super comfy and go with a zillion different tops, including this vintage appropriate punchy pink and white sleeveless button front skirt.

Camping isn't the time for a ton of accessories or delicate pieces, but that doesn't mean I skip jewelry or pretty shoes (I also had black flats in my purse that day for walking on rougher terrain) when the Coleman stove and sleeping bags come out.

Classic black hoop earrings, various bangle bracelets, the aforementioned white stretch belt, my beloved 50s/60s white tile purse, and a pair of recently thrifted (this past spring) coral peep toe pumps (plus a black cropped shrug) round out the mix - and helped to keep the wind at bay.

We had a wonderful holiday long weekend - eating al fresco, soaking up the moments of sun we did receive, and filling our lungs with fresh air. Relaxing and thoroughly welcome after a rocky June, it was also a ton of fun - just like this outfit itself - and hopefully it will be one of many sunny days we'll get, interspersed amongst the rain, as summer continues to unfold.

No matter what Mother Nature gets up to though, there's always vivid colours and tropical themes like the flamingos on this lovely Inkabilly headscarf to keep one in the summertime spirit, and that is well worth cheering about as well.




July 12, 2016

REVIEW & GIVEAWAY: An art print prize pack (complete with a custom portrait of yourself) from Inky Notions


If a genie, fairy godmother or other benevolent imaginary being with the ability to bestow wishes - or perhaps more accurately in this case, talents - came along, I've always maintained that high up on my list would be the ability to draw and/or paint like a gifted artist.

I like to joke that even my stick people don't look like stick people and while that is a bit of an exaggeration, as much as I adore art, did well in art class, and consider myself to be an artistic person in general, I am by no means a talented drawer or painter.

Thankfully however, there are plenty of folks in this vast, wonderful world of ours who have been blessed with this fantastic talent. One of them who resides in our own online vintage community midst in none other than Sabrina from the lovely, photo filled blog Vibrant Vintage.

Earlier this year Sabrina took the exciting step of launching an Etsy shop by the delightful name of Inky Notions, where she sells prints of her original artwork, much of which is deeply imbued with a charming, memorable old school quality mixed with a distinctly appealing style all her own.

Around the time that Sabrina launched Inky Notions, she became a Chronically Vintage sponsor and very, very kindly offered to create and send me a custom print of my own. As Tony and I were on the cusp of celebrating our next "loveiversary" (the date that commemorates the day that we first meet back in 2004) around then, I instantly knew that I wanted my custom print to be a present for my beloved.

While a drawing of me might have seemed like a natural choice, as Tony already has tons of photos of his vintage wearing wife, I suggested instead that the portrait depict our two adorable pets, Annie (a black and white Bulldog dog) and Stella (a grey tabby cat).

I wanted an illustration of such for Tony not only for its own merits, but because while Annie loves everyone and everything on the face of the planet, shy little Stella is not as keen on her canine sister and the likelihood of an actual photo of the two of them “playing nice” in the same frame is exceedingly unlikely to ever happen.

Sabrina was game for this idea and did a marvelous job, using photos of the two of them (separately), to create an image on paper that will probably never be captured on camera. The piece is a true joy and testament to Sabrina's artistic talents (see the iPhone photo that I took of it below).




Tony loved it to bits and was so surprised by this hand drawn present (you just about could have knocked him over with the feather!). We're still looking for the perfect frame for it, but for now it is carefully displayed sans frame on a tall bookshelf – safely away from the inquisitive critters that it depicts.

We're both so honoured to have this custom piece of art in our home, and today I'm thrilled to be able to offer one lucky winner the same opportunity, as I've teamed up with Inky Notions for a great giveaway. Read on to get all the exciting details!


Giveaway Details:

This giveaway is the winner's choice of any three art prints that are currently available in the Etsy shop Inky Notions, as well as a custom 5 inch x 7 inch sized self portrait of yourself or someone else to be included with the three prints of your choice.

As per the sponsor's guidelines, this giveaway is only open to those in the US and Canada (though international readers are welcome to comment on this post still, if so desired).

The giveaway will run from today's date (July 12, 2016) until 11:59 PST on Monday July 18, 2016. The winner will be drawn using Raffle copter's random winner selection tool after the contest has wrapped up and will be notified via email shortly thereafter.



{A sample of three of the more than fifteen different original vintage inspired art prints that are currently available in Sabrina's shop, Inky Notions. If you're the lucky winner of this giveaway, you'll be able to choose any three prints of your choice, plus you'll receive a custom original 5" x 7" portrait as part of your prize as well.}



There are 11 different ways to enter this giveaway, the only one of which is mandatory is that you share with me what your favourite print currently available in Sabrina's shop is. The more ways in which you enter - all via Rafflecopter - the greater your odds of winning become.

If you have any questions about this giveaway, please don't hesitate to email me.






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Sabrina was a true joy to work with on my own custom print. She not only "got" my vision, but executed it to a tee and created an adorable original piece of art that my husband and I will treasure for the rest of time.

I really appreciate and want to thank Sabrina for so generously offering up this prize pack, including a custom portrait print, to one lucky Chronically Vintage reader, and likewise want to sincerely thank all those who enter this fun giveaway.

Best of luck to everyone who takes part!