Random Ramblings: Movies and Hair!!!!!

Hello all!!!

I hope this post finds you all feeling wonderful and full of life and joy!!!!

It is a glorious day here in NYC. Its around 68 degrees and the sun is shining! I went to the supermarket and decided to go with a very fall appropriate sweet potato chili for dinner tonight. And the best thing about it is that it goes in the slow cooker!!! Just chop up the veggies, put them in the slow cooker, add spices and you're done!!! If it comes out as yummy as I think it will I will post the recipe.

Well, I haven't been up to much of anything except for work since my last post, so today's will be a bit of little random things I've been thinking about all week.

The first of which is my hair!!!! Now, I'm getting very good at pin curling and giving myself vintage styles, which is totally fun and I'm beyond proud of myself! The only thing I struggle with is finding styles that are ballet teacher appropriate. Meaning, styles that I can wear when teaching. I LOVE all of my pin curled styles but let's face it, they aren't very practical if your job involves sweating. And even the rare times when I can get away with it I have to think about what age group I'm going to be teaching that day. If I'm teaching little ones, let's say ages 3-8, vintage hair can be kind of ...distracting!!! The last thing I need to do with that age group is call any sort of attention to my hair!! I would NEVER get anything done!

With the older students (pre-teen and teens) I can get away with fancier hair. As a matter of fact the LOVE it when they see me dressed all vintage-y! The only problem is with the older students I tend to sweat more because the classes are more advanced and demanding. I demonstrate a lot then get all into cheering them on and running around correcting people that I would look like a drowned rat before it was all said and done.

All of this means that during teaching season I really only set my hair on weekends...Which is a bummer for me since I actually like setting my hair. So going into the studio I feel super plain and less than glamorous. Not that I must feel glamorous everyday but I'm starting to get bored with my weekly look. So... I'm looking for vintage appropriate hairstyles that can go to the studio.

I've looked up photos of dancers from the 1940's and 1950's and think my best bet may be a simple chignon. My hair is not fully grown out since my faux middy but I tried a chignon this summer and it worked on my shorter length hair. This is the how to I used from Emily over at Livin' Vintage. It was also featured in an issue of the online vintage magazine Hey Doll! It's super easy to replicate I just haven't tried it out while dancing. I may try this one tomorrow.

Another style I thought might work was a simple pageboy. Maybe something like this...

I'm not sure that it is a pageboy since I can't see the back of the style but it gave me the idea that a pageboy might work. Especially on my shorter hair. I know that 1950's style pageboys usually last a whole day on my hair so it just may last through a ballet class.

I also thought this one was adorable and gave a real 1940's ballerina feel...

Very "jewelery box ballerina"!!!! I'm thinking its just a chignon with a braided head band. She just makes it look so graceful.

So... now help me out. Do you have any ideas for any up do's that are long lasting that I may be able to try! If so, PLEASE leave me a comment and I'll try it out!!!

On to the next thing...

MOVIES!!!!

I think I spent all last weekend watching TCM. I love that channel soooo much. It's addicting. But funnily enough the movies I watched were movies that I missed weeks past and recorded on my dvr! So they weren't movie currently showing. But, gee and I glad I saved them!!

Here were my 3 favorites from the weekend.

1. Mr. and Mrs. Smith (1941)- Carol Lombard and Robert Montgomery

This adorable comedy was directed by Alfred Hitchcock of all people. It is about Ann and David Smith (Lombard and Montgomery), a quarreling couple who one day finds out that their 3 year marriage was never really legal! David finds out first and decides not to tell Ann right who also found out without him knowing. When she realizes that he's not going to tell her what she already knows she decides to NOT marry him!!! The whole movie is David trying to convince Ann to remarry him. It keeps you guessing the whole time as to whether Ann will forgive him and marry him. She even accepts a proposal from another man!! David's business partner! Of course in the "happily ever after" films of old Hollywood they reunite. But not before some quirky situations arise! I suggest watching this one when you need a good pick me up. It will keep you smiling!!


2. I'll Be Seeing You (1944)- Ginger Rogers and Joseph Cotten

This one is actually set during the Christmas holiday but I wouldn't really call it a Christmas movie. It is about Mary Marshall (Rogers) and Sgt. Zachary Morgan who meet on a train bound for Pine Hill for Christmas. When Mary gets off the train, Sgt. Zachary gets off too even though he has no family in Pine Hilll. Although he tells her he does. As the movie goes on you learn that the Sgt. is on leave from war time duty because of PTSD. You also learn that Mary is on furlough from prison for manslaughter!! Of course they fall in love and things get sticky as they both have to come clean about their pasts. Things work out in the end...even though Mary has to go back to prison to finish out her sentence.

A teen aged Shirley Temple is in this one as Mary's cousin. I love seeing her in this role. She's a little flirty and very innocent all in one. Adorable!!!

This one is a little sad, but I really liked it. Even though it's not totally a Christmas movie I think I may add it to my Christmas movie collection.


3. Our Blushing Brides (1930)- Joan Crawford, Anita Page, Robert Montgomery and Dorothy Sebastian

I enjoyed this one much more than I thought I would. I actually put it on as background noise while I was doing housework but got sucked in and had to finish the film before I finished my kitchen!!!

This film is about 3 roommates and bestfriends: Gerry (Crawford), a model; Connie (Page), a perfume sales girl; and Franky (Sebastian), a linen sales girl.

All 3 girls work for the same department store and are of course in need of eligible men to become their husbands. Gerry is actually ok with being single until she meets Tony (Montgomery), the son of the store's owner. Connie is in a "serious" relationship with Tony's brother, David, who keeps promising to marry her. Frankie becomes involved with Martin,  wealthy man that frequents the store and marries him after one night out together. Well, as you have probably guessed things don't go at all how the girls hoped. Gerry finds out that Tony is a playboy. Frankie's husband ends up arrested for theft. Poor Connie finds out that David is engaged to another and poisons herself while listening to the wedding ceremony on the radio.

Yes, this is a sad one but at least Gerry and her fellow end up together in the end. I loved Joan Crawford in this part. She look FABULOUS and you can see a hint of the famous Joan Crawford that is to come!!!

This movie is actually the follow up to two previous movies about the same girls, Our Dancing Daughters and Our Modern Maids. Now I want to find them. It makes Connie killing herself even more sad because the girls have basically grown up together. I'll be keeping a look out for those.


If you haven't seen one or all of these try to find them. I really enjoyed them all!!!


Well, that's it for my random ramblings!!

Hope you all have a fabulous day!

xoxo

Costumes and Pumpkins and Candy...Oh My!

Hi all!!!!

Happy October!!!!!

Yes, it is finally October. This is the start of my favorite time of the year! Even though we are having some warm weather here in NYC (which is to be expected. It never turns cold here for good until after Halloween) some of my neighbors have put out their fall/Halloween decorations, there are pumpkins being sold everywhere and all of the Trick or Treating candy is in stores for the season. Yes, Halloween season is officially here!

Although I'm not a HUGE Halloween fan, I do enjoy the day and the fun and preparation leading up to it. I enjoy seeing all of the stores full of costumes and decorations and I enjoy decorating our apartment and getting our costumes ready. We try to dress up every Halloween even if we don't have super big plans. This year, I think we're still working on costume ideas. I'm thinking of being the Gray Lady.

The Gray Lady is a name given to multiple female ghosts who have died of a broken heart. This is the ghost story my costume will be inspired by (Quick synopsis in case you don't want to click the link: A young woman falls in love with a handsome stranger on a rest stop between stage coaches. It is love at first sight but her fellow is supposed to leave the next day. As he is getting on his coach they agree that he would return and that they would be married and set a wedding date for the spring. Well, they write to one another all winter and he is set to return. On their wedding date he does not show up. The bride is dressed in her wedding gown when she is told that her groom to be had been robbed and murdered on his way to the wedding. Of course she dies of a broken heart. It is said that her ghost still waits for her groom at the station in Colorado.). There are many different versions of this story but I think this is the one I'll go with. Sad enough for you???!!!!

With all of the costume prep going on, I am definitely in the Halloween spirit!!!! So while searching the Internet I found these amazing pictures from Halloweens past and thought I would share them with you!!!

These are from the 1940s

How creepy are these little ones?

Image source

Ahh...that's better. A group of cuties!

Image source

These come from a photo collection from a man named Steven Martin. He calls them Halloween in the Time of Cholera. I love the title.

Here is a GREAT video filled with fantastic vintage Halloween photos. And the music makes it even better!

This is a cute home video of a family in the 1940s getting ready for the Halloween festivities!!

And here is a good 'ole 1953 film about a family preparing for Halloween.

Are you guys getting into the Halloween spirit? What are you planning? Are you going to keep it vintage?



xoxo

Zooey Deschanel...My Vintage- Meets- Modern Style Icon

Hi Lovies!!!

Now that Autumn is back in full swing, I've been slowly becoming re-addicted to my favorite TV shows!!! Most television series are having their season premiers in the next few weeks. I can't tell you how excited I am for Once Upon a Time, American Horror Story...Grey's Anatomy, How I Met Your Mother and Parenthood (all three of these had their first shows of the season this past week), Modern Family and more!!! As you can see we have a full DVR queue!!!

One of my favorite shows of all time is New Girl staring Zooey Deschanel!!!! I totally adore this show! It is ridiculously funny, the writing is amazing!!! And the cast...LOVE THEM! They are HILARIOUS!!!!!

Of course my favorite characters is Jess, played by one of my favorite celebrities, Zooey Deschanel! Jess is an awkward, quirky but totally awesome, late 20s to early 30s something who lives in a loft with three guys. All of whom are like her family. Of course there are epically funny adventures that ensue in every episode. Some scenarios are so totally ridiculous and out there that I practically pee myself with laughter (yes, I know that that is TOTALLY not lady like but it's so true)!

I love Zooey in this role. I secretly hope that she is a lot like Jess in her real life. I love the fact that her character on the show carries on Zooey's real life love affair with vintage and vintage style clothing!

Zooey is great at pulling off a "vintage meets modern" style. While I mostly prefer full on vintage clothing I love the way she makes vintage style clothing work for her. It gives me ideas on how I can wear clothes with a vintage-y edge without going all the way. Some days it's just easier to give a taste of vintage. On those days I channel my inner Zooey.

She is always super adorable!!!

I would TOTALLY love to be her bestie... and in my mind... I AM!

I first became a fan of Zooey's when she did the Christmas film, ELF, with Will Farrell. Yes, of course, I loved her first because of a Christmas movie, hehe!

And I've remained a fan ever since. I also love the music duo she is apart of called She & Him. They make super cute old school sounding tunes. They're music is great to relax to with a good glass of wine and your favorite book.

And... If you are looking for a super cute blog/website to read that is fun and full of girl power try the website Hello Giggles founded by Zooey and two of her friends. It's a cute little site that features a host of different bloggers who write about everything from politics to relationships to off the wall DIY projects!!! It's one of my favorite things to read when I need a little pick me up. 

One of my favorite things about Zooey Deschanel I found out about while randomly browsing TV and coming upon the show Who Do You Think You Are?. This show takes different celebrities and delves into their family history and finds out their ancestry. Well, on the show about her family she came to find out that her family has a Quaker ancestry and two of her ancestors were vital to the abolitionist movement and were part of the Underground Railroad! It was quite and interesting show and made me love her even more. If you come upon a repeat episode of it you should watch it!!!

Ok, I think I'm done fan girling for the day! I just love celebrities who have great vintage style. Who are your favorite celebrities who wear vintage???

Hearts and hugs

Vintage Christmas Prep- 3 Months!!!!

Hi everyone!!!

Before I start I want to apologize for the two week absence. UGH!! At first it was just because I was extremely busy with starting the new dance school season. Then I was having trouble with the wireless internet service in our apartment. But, now everything is back to normal and I'm back!!! YAY!!!!

Well, today is September 25th (can you believe that it's the end of September? Already!!! AND Autumn is officially here!!! WOOT!) so you know what that means VINTAGE CHRISTMAS TIME!!!!

I had planned on sharing a 1947 Better Homes and Gardens magazine that I bought from ebay. Unfortunately, it hasn't arrived in the post yet so I'll have to save that for another day. I can't wait to get it!!! I've also ordered a couple of new skirts and some vintage Christmas ornaments. Hopefully it all arrives soon so that I can share.

Since I don't have the magazine yet,  I thought I would share some of the recipes I want to try out this holiday. Since we are trying to do a late 40s Christmas I want to put away some of my trusted new modern recipes and try some older ones. Honey is not too keen on the idea but she's willing to try it. I figured I would do mostly baking recipes since those are the ones that seemed to work best when I did the 50's Housewife project

So here they are:

The first ones come from Gourmet magazine. I was so lucky as to find a list of some of their Christmas cookie recipes from the 1940's. A recipe for every year in the 40's!!! This is a great list of cookies. It states on the website that these are all authentic recipes from their 1940's issues. All of the recipes were retested but none of the recipes were altered in any way! FUN!

Gourmet Magazine Cookie Recipes from the 1940's

The next recipe is a 1946 recipe that comes from an unpublished book on British food written by George Orwell. The book was never published because of the severe rationing during wartime. I've always wanted to try a traditional Christmas pudding but always chicken out at the last minute. I've decided to be brave and just go for it this year. 

George Orwell's Christmas Pudding

Here is a leaflet of food facts from 1945. It also contains recipes that are made with rationed ingredients. I'm thinking of trying the Mincemeat recipe.

Food Facts Leaflet

Here are some Honey Filled Cookies from a 1940s Women's Day magazine. They look a little labor intensive but YUMMY! I don't think I've ever had a honey filled cookie!

Women's Day Honey Cookies

These last few recipes are from the Edith Adams website (Edith, I've found out, was a fictitious food writer for the Vancouver Sun. There were actually 5 different women who made up Edith. Fun huh?!?). How yummy do these recipes sound?! I think I'll try them all!!!

Last Minute Christmas Cake

War Christmas Candy

Bachelor's Yule Cake

Never Fail Creamy Fudge

So there it is. The start, of my Christmas baking list!!! I usually start gathering recipes around this time every year. Then I start practicing baking new recipes in October. I MUST do a baking trial because, as you may have noticed, I'm a little particular about baking. It has to be perfect, especially for holidays. There is nothing worse than trying out a recipe on the day you need it and it turns out a bust. UGH!!! A pre-bake is a complete must in our house!!!


Don't forget. Only 91 days! Don't let it sneak up on you!!!!



xoxo

Technical Difficulties

Hey guys!

Just letting you all know that I'm  having technical difficulties with my internet service. I hope to be back up and running by Monday (I'm writing this from my phone!! Grrrr...).

Dont worry! I'm still working on posts. Just the old fashioned way! Pen to paper!

See you all next week!!!

Xoxo

September 11, 2001

Today, I don't have a blog post for you guys. 

As you all know, today marked the anniversary of September 11, 2001.

As a transplanted New Yorker who remembers the day vividly, it still makes me emotional to think about. Luckily, I was at home that day. But had it been a week earlier I would have been in the building at the time the planes hit the towers ( I had just finished my first ever summer teaching job in NJ. I walked through the World Trade Center to get to my train).

I remember my roommate's parents calling all the way from Italy asking if I was watching the news. I was trying to sleep in that day so I wasn't. My roommate was already at school and the television was off. I turned it on...it was around 9am, just after the first tower was hit. I watched in total disbelief and was quite honestly terrified. I had only been in the city for 2 years by that point and knew no one but the dancer friends I had made while training.  I had no clue what to do.  Or what was going to happen. It's a helpless feeling to watch that all by yourself in an empty apartment at 20 years old. So I just sat there, and watched the news, watch the second plane hit the remaining tower. And saw them both go down... and cried. That's all I could do. It really was a terribly painful day. The city came to a stand still. Not only because the subway stopped running and businesses closed up but...the city just got...still. 

But in true NY fashion, New Yorkers were able to pick up the pieces and trudge ahead. Although there were some scares left on the city, it was never broken. 

So today, I salute all of those who lost their lives, who lost loved ones, those who risked their lives to try to help and those who still risk their lives to keep us safe!!!!

To the heroes!!!!

Hug someone today and let them know how much they mean to you. It's important!!!

xoxo

Midcentury Pink's Summer in Review

Well, we're already 4 days into September! Where did the summer go?!? It really did go by really fast. But as you all know, I've been super excited to get the summer over and jump head first into fall. With autumn not officially starting until the 22nd of the this month, I'm well aware that it is technically still summer but I'm already in a fall kind of mood.

The kids are all starting to return to the classroom in the NYC area and I'm finishing up the last of my summer ballet classes this week. Monday marks the official start of the 2013-2014 dance school season for me. I can't wait! I'm hoping this dance season goes better than last. I was so tired and burnt out and didn't feel creative at all. I felt like I was just scraping by and didn't feel like I was being the best ballet teacher that I could have been for my students. My end of the year dances came out great and my bosses LOVED them but I wasn't happy with all of them. So...I'm well rested and ready to take the year by the horns!!!

With the end of the summer staring us in the face,  I wanted to take stock of the last couple of months. Personally, I didn't do nearly as many fun things as I wanted to do. With me working less, our monthly income was slightly lower so all of the fabulous things I wanted to buy and do had to wait until the end of the summer. I even just realized that I didn't do ANY outfit posts this summer!!! How is that possible??? Well, I never really went anywhere so fun or fancy that I thought a outfit post was in order. Sure, I went out and did things in my vintage but...taking photos of it was really the last thing on my mind. And the BIG thing I wanted to take pictures of, A Midsummer Night's Swing, got totally rained out the day we were supposed to go! I'm talking thunderstorm!  WHOOMP!!! The rest of my days were spent at home in day dresses or in the dance studio in leotards and tights. So...really, fashion was kind of boring for me this summer. Which was kind of a disappointment. Mostly, everything I bought were vintage wardrobe staples and not terribly fascinating...but at least I have them. So now, the wardrobe is starting to fill out. That makes me happy and excited!

But, I was able to get plenty of fun posts this summer. Even without the fashion. Which I'm actually super proud about! When I first started the blog I wanted to chronicle my vintage fashion journey but it has molded into something more than what I thought it would. I have discovered that I LOVE to research random things in history that happen to spark my interest. And it seems like everyone else likes those posts too. They really are some of my most read, so be expecting a lot more of those! I'm excited because I get to marry all of that information with my striving to be a "vintage girl" in modern NYC! FUN!!!

One thing I was excited about was the Housewife series I started. Goodness, that was so much fun. I got to live as a 1950s (or as close as I could get to the 50s) Housewife for 12 days. It was definitely an interesting process. It was weird to be home most of the day just...cleaning...grocery shopping...doing laundry... all of of the other millions of things that were on that housewife list. In the end I had to admit that I enjoyed it much more than I though I would. I really think I would be content to stay home and take care of my family when the time comes. I definitely had a since of accomplishment at the end of the whole project. The series will continue with other posts related to things of the "housewifery" (I think I just made up a word) nature.  Not all of them will be of me doing housewife things but they will be related to my quest for vintage domestic perfection.


My favorite history post of the summer was Growing up Strong on PET Milk.This post was about the Fultz quadruplets who were the poster children for PET milk in the 50s.  It was a story that I had never heard before and I'm not sure why! It's a great (but sad) tidbit of American history that should be told. I'm sure there are quite a few stories just like this one that have yet to be made public. It would be quite interesting to find them and research them.

My second favorite history post came just a few days ago. Black and White... was simply a photo post but it seemed to spark a lot of interest. Not only among you guys, my sisters in vintage, but with my family and friends. I even had a childhood friend comment on the post and share a great story about her mother seeing a black woman in a public restroom for the first time. And in our hometown! The post really resonated with people and I'm beyond proud of it!

Some of other favorite posts of the summer were:

Visions of 1950s Coats Dancing in My Head

A Cape Cod Home to Call Our Own: Window Shopping

Vali Myers: Painted Lady

and OF COURSE

Vintage Christmas Prep: 5 Months Til Christmas

Vintage Christmas Prep: 4 Months Til Christmas


So there you have it. The blogs summer in a nutshell. Although a mostly uneventful summer, I have to say it was a good one. I'll take a nice relaxing, relatively cool, summer break over a stressful, busy, hot one any day!!!

So, I bid adieu to the summer and welcome my absolute favorite part of the year with a new dress!!! YAY!!! Fall really inspires my wardrobe choices which makes me want to shop, Shop, SHOP!!!! Hurry up cool weather!!!!! I'm starting to become impatient!


How did your summer turn out?????


xoxo

PS! Jessica over at Chronically Vintage has an amazing giveaway going on!!! She is giving away a hat from Blue Rose Vintage! A free hat?? Ummm... yes please!!! How faboo is that? Head on over so that you don't miss out!!!!