Rocking Rockabillies!

This weekend was Mr. Inky's Big Birthday Weekend. He's a whopping 37 years old now. I wish our ages were reversed, lol.

So aside from the whopping big TeeVee he got (one inch for every year), he also got 3 new work shirts, a Spock Sock Monkey kit, a couple new funny Bradley plates (I'll show you those later), the Mister also got an overnight stay at a local Victorian era Bed and Breakfast, The Garden Street Inn.

First we met another couple for lunch at the Splash Cafe, home of the best New England clam chowder outside of New England. Then it was off to check into the hotel where they had birthday balloons, a bottle of champagne and a german chocolate cake all ready for the birthday boy (I'm a dolt - forgot to take a picture of it!). We dropped off our stuff and headed out again for a 2 hour East Coast swing dance class. After that it was back to our hotel and time to clean up to go out to a blues show at the Vets Hall. I love it when those shows start up again from September to April!

To be honest, we were pooped and sore but we had a great time! Mr. Inky wore his new "Nashville Trash (it says that on the back yoke!!)" embroidered western shirt and I wore my vintage 50's squaw-style patio dress trimmed in silver rick rack. There's a petticoat under there too - good thing I wore nice black underpants, I hadn't realized how far that skirt would twirl up when we danced!

The next morning we woke up early for breakfast and headed home, tired, worn out and sore, but happy from a delightful weekend!

Hope yours was great too!

DeluxeVille!

Folks - please check out Miss Mary Deluxe, and take a minute to visit her blog, Deluxeville! She has the most amazing house and comes across some great vintage finds, including a super cool GE Atomic 50's clock radio that she's offering a giveaway prize.

Mary is also a lovely person with a big heart and recently took in some abandoned kitties (read about them here and here) - and anyone that does this is wonderful in my book!

So give Miss Mary Deluxe a visit and be sure to say howdie-do!

I'm A Weiner - AGAIN!

I never was a lucky person as far as contests go, but this past year has been fantastic!

I am the lucky winner of a contest from one of my favorite new bloggers, Cici Speaks! She's adorable, sweet and quite a good seamstress!

She sent me a very cool vintage belt buckle (my favorite color - black!). Embroidery floss, a great button set with chain (I can see this on a knitted vest I'm pondering), a needle with it's own personalized holder (how cute!) and some fantastic "shell braid" trim in white with gold edging that I can't wait to put on a blouse I have in mind.

Thanks so much Cici, it's been super getting to know you via your blog ;)

Remembering

9-11-2001

8:46:30 - first plane hits North Tower
9:02:59 - second plane hits South Tower
9:37:46 - third plane hits Pentagon
9:59:00 - South Tower collapses
10:03:11 - fourth plane crashes near Shanksville, PA
10:28:00 - North Tower collapses

Win a Pattern!

One of my favorite new blogs to read is giving away a beautiful 40's sewing pattern - and ruffles are all the rage! Now go visit Wasp Waists and Wiggle Skirts, make a comment and you're entered in the drawing - if you win it I want a copy ;)

I'm Coming Clean

Alright, it's the start of a new month and I'm going to confess something....I've gained 14.5 pounds since May when Bella died. I could blame lots of things, but the bottom line is that I let go of myself and swallowed sadness in the form of any carb I could get my hands on. They did surgery on my stomach, not my brain, and my emotional eating got the better of me.

With a smaller stomach gaining 14.5 pounds was actually no easy task, but I stuck to it, lol, and then my pants got tight. I'd vowed to myself never to wear elastic band clothing when I lost weight, and I'm glad I did. Soon I would have to buy SOMETHING LARGER. Screw that.

I had not weighed myself since June, but I knew the ugly truth. 199.5 - OH MY GOD I ALMOST WEIGH 200 POUNDS AGAIN. Okay, hell no, this won't do. So last week I got back on the wagon and started doing the things that work for me:

Keeping a daily journal of food (i use sparkpeople.com)
Eliminating all "bad" carbs (white foods basically).
Drinking 8 glasses of water per day.

Just by doing those things over the last week has helped me drop 4.5 pounds, only 10 more to go to get back to where I was before May and then 4 more after that to my lowest weight and then let's see if I can't drop a few more, shall we?

I wasn't going to confess my sins publicly, but accountability is important and there you have it. I need to add walking back into the mix this week, add 2 more glasses of water per day and keep the calories at 1000 to 1200. I'll let you know how it goes next week ;)

Here's a good article on 9 Tricks to Eating Less that I can vouch for - these tips really do work.

So, do I consider this a set back? Of course. But was it negative? Not really, actually I learned a great deal about myself because of this. Over the last year emotional eating got the best of me and in the past I would have never stopped at 14.5 pounds....or 24.5...or 44.5...you get the picture. So did the surgery work? Hell yes it did - I'm just normal like anyone else now and struggle along with the best of you.

And for being "that kind of normal," I am eternally grateful.

Vintage Hairstyling Book Review

A few folks have asked about the new edition of my favorite hairstyling book: Vintage Hairstyling: Retro Styles with Step-by-Step Techniques., so here's a brief review.

I learned a ton from the first edition about doing my hair - and believe me, I was a complete novice. Some gals are asking if the 2nd edition is worth it. In a word, YES! The 1st edition is 163 pages, with 25 styles; and the 2nd edition is 200 pages with 33 styles, 15 of which are brand new.

Lauren Rennells has done a terrific job improving on her 1st edition with the added information on using steam rollers, soft rollers, wave clips, spit curls and "marcel waves" with a wet set or a curling iron. The pin curl section has been expanded to include an area on end control, and the nails section has been expanded as well, with better information and photographs.

The "rosie" bandana information has an improved photo, and the section on "other options," which covers snoods, scarves, hair flowers, clips, etc., has also been improved with better photographs and added information.

Six styles have been eliminated from the original edition, but as I mentioned earlier, there are 15 brand new styles, PLUS three original styles to the 1st edition have been revised.

The 2nd edition includes a great selection of hairstyles There are a couple of 20's/30's looks, a wonderful selection of 40's/50's styles and six styles from 60's, great for that "mad men" influence that's very popular.

I will happily keep my original edition, but if you're only going to buy one - buy the 2nd edition and be on your way to the perfect style to complete your vintage look!

Good job Lauren, the 2nd edition was worth the wait!!

Even Rosie Took a Break!

A day to remember all who labor in the U.S. Enjoy the day, hard workers, and hopefully you can take a rest even for just a few minutes with a nice sandwich!

September: Make Do and Mend From Men's Clothing!

A most clever little clip showing British war-time ideas for a baby bassinet (though it seems precarious and dangerous - I'd have put the baby in a drawer on the floor myself, but what do I know) and some clever re-made fashions from men's garments.



I'm off to see if I can turn Mr. Inky's suit jacket into something interesting....