Day four…

 

Get uncomfortable.

So day fours plan was to secretly bless someone. My plan, to ding-dong-dash bless someone! ( you know that awful dare game everyone made you play…ring doorbell and leg-it!)

 

The twist? Instead of leaving the door-opener with annoyance at the empty doorstep, they find a gift. I left a typed note attached to some flowers.

 

The execution of the action? He-he talk about thrills! It's like you've a licence to be naughty, without really being naughty.

 

Go on…why don't you have a try? Seriously, it's a rush AND you are totally making someones day.

 

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Day three, make a list

Today we were asked to create a list of the things we were thankful for. To put them up on places like: the fridge, in my purse, on my mirror.

 

Doing this list made me realise the things I take for granted.

 

Also, after recently suffering a fire and losing “things” it hit me…things are things!

So simple I know. But its as if reality slapped me in the face. A favourite piece of clothing, photos, books. They are valuable, yes, but why? The memories, like strings, woven into them. Clothes, for me, have memories. Like a certain top…a sunny day, wonderful times I spent in it.

 

Yet, the memories remain. The fire ate so much. But it didn't eat me ( thank you Lord) or my family ( you are so gracious) or even the cats ( well…that's cool too- beasts mostly destroy stuff fir a living but, that's cool)

 

What i'm babbling on about really is…my gratitude has grown with the realisation that value can't be housed in items, but in the people we enjoy them with.

 

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Day two…Valentines day.

They say love is a verb. That it is an action. True. I say it's also a proverb! Listen to this :

I love those who love me, and those who seek me find me. Riches and honour are mine to give. So are wealth and lasting success. What I give is better than the finest gold, better than the purest silver. I do what is right and follow the path of justice. I give wealth to those who love me, filling their houses with treasures. (Proverbs 8:17-21 NCV)

So if we live with love as our output, our input will become a vast treasure trove.

 

My love in action today was acting on peoples needs. One such moment occurred when my sister said, “oh I missed pancake day! ” Opportunity! I grabbed a cute heart shaped frying pan, whipped up some american batter ( recipe link below) and made her some 1950's pancakes. This seemed to go down very well…squeals of joy to be accurate. Of course everyone else in the house wanted to join in the delightful munching feast.

 

With the batter, I would say double it. As these are meant to be thick beasts. It made about 8 little hearts and to be honest you will totally desire more! I sprayed mine with gold sugar, maple and blueberries are good too!

http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/fluffyamericanpancak_74828

 

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A belated day one.

 

SORRY, these posts have been delayed due to a fire I had in the home. On the positive, it has made me a very grateful person! Key in this season of Lent 🙂

 

Day one: Act one.

The generosity bag…

…the challenge, to create a bag of goodies to give away at a moments notice. But, with a vintage twist. It was difficult.

At the moment I have :

• 3 vintage handkerchiefs.
• Aloe vera lip-balm ( in a tin…well, it looks cute!)
• Box of bobby pins.
• Gum, a variety of.
• 1920's playing cards.
• Bandaids tin (soon to have plasters inside).
• Handmade snood/scarf.
• Vintage purse with lots of change to give.
• Chocolate rationing!

 

Trouble is, as you can see, my handbag is quite small ( see above)…I need a Hermione Granger purse!

 

Hmmmmm.

If you had one, what would you put in?

 

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The bullet bra…worth a shot?

So who can, and who can't, embrace 'the bullet', or is it a roulette too far?

The bullet, It's a tricky look to pull off. Some women look stunning, their pert points enhancing gorgeous hourglass figures; like Marilyn Monroe, Rita Hayworth and Elizabeth Taylor. Yet other images on the Wacky World Wonderland have shown me that pyramided points in the breasted region can go…well…tit's up!

 

As a child I believed that women's breasts of the 40s and 50s had gone through some form of evolution. That they in fact used to be cone shaped (insert childish imagination of woman with ice-cream cornets stuck to her chest), thus we peer into the bizarre understanding of my former self!

 

Right, so is it a smoking gun? (Yes, I am enjoying how pun-tastic this article of clothing is!) Looking at some images I feel that ladies with smaller breasts would find it possibly a bit disheartening; it can make them look less fulsome and more angular. They also look as if they might desperately attempt their own rocket-launch skywards (three-two-one…thunderbirds are, well you get the picture). Larger 'gals' looked like their chests could become overly dominated, looking like they'd had a fight with a couple of traffic cones and lost!

 

Yet, I feel so curious (dangerous ground there, Alice!) How did the belles of by-gone days do it? Monroe only ever looks glamorous and Hayworth was only ever HOT! What gives? Is there some sort of 'pert imparting fairy' that bestows the best endowment on a rare few?

 

No my darlings, it is tailoring!

 

Clothes used to be driven by darts, everything was stitched for an hour-glass. The bullet shot to fame because it was all about maximising this shape (there is also a possibility that the points were to emulate nipples, therefore giving them a more sensual image). Clothing nowadays is less about enhancing and more about revealing, trouble is sometimes it 'reveals' that your not a curvy, Gilda, but more like a boxy Keira.

 

Trouble is some people simply kill their looks with them, while others just look drop-dead-gorgeous. It's about what other 'equipment' you have in your arsenal *wink-wink*.

 

In my opinion? Bullets are for belles with slightly bigger bosoms, but you have to be careful that you don't end up looking like you have weirdly floppy fun-bags, staying up-right by prayer alone. Also having curves helps, Monroe was the human equivalent of an hour-glass, she was able to enhance and in someways reduce her plentiful bosom.

 

Clothing, if you are wanting to get 'the look' of the 40s/50s, then go for it! Find your nearest Vintage store, as ordering online is fine but I prefer to try things on before I buy. If you're near Beccles : http://www.vintagemischief.com/ it is the ONLY place to go. Great people, lovely atmosphere, they even off a fitting service! Check it out, you won't be disappointed.

(Above: Gossard Oh La La, longline…I much prefer the looks of this, it still has an essence of vintage! But is far safer, lol. )

Another thing is to make sure your 'bullet' is fitted correctly. Go to : http://www.investinyourchest.co.uk/ a VERY awesomely wonderful person suggested this WebBlog to me for discovering how to, like the title says,'Invest In Your Chest'.

 

So…yes or no? Not a clue. I would want to try one for fun, just to see. Because, let's face it, we all just wanna know! But I doubt I would make it a staple. Why? I want my chest to impress not impale any suitors.

 

So Pip-pip, darlings.

 

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Betty Grable and gumption.

If I said, 'Million dollar legs' what would be your first thoughts? Dancing star with gloriously beautiful pins? Betty Grable was one of the most talked about pin-up's of the 40s. Hosiery specialists all over proclaimed her lovely legs to be a thing of beauty for stockings. She was also well-known for her glamorous hair-do's, her long locks were nearly as envied as her lush legs.

As I was typing this, my sister was curling my own red locks, in the attempts to create Betty's well known up-do, commonly known as the Peek-A-Boo Do… I was dotty over the name alone!

10 minutes of curls and sisterly banter later, I was ready for phase two of this intrepid undertaking. My hair was so curly I looked like a Parisian poodle parlour pooch (try saying that nine times! Actually…please don't, I doubt the screen could take that much spit!)

I had to leave my barnet to cool for a few minutes. Why? Because we cheated and didn't use rollers; if the ladies of the 40s had curling tongs at home, they would have done so too! Cheating is absolutely imperative when it comes to beautification! If not when would we have the time to groan about how fat we feel, how much we hate skinny girls and how we have finally realised our true calling…to be an uber hot curvy woman who munches and lunches, darling!

When my hair cooled I brushed out the curls to make it puffy. Boom! Fluff ball attack, I really did look like something the cat hacked-up. Never fear, I told myself, I'm sure it's all part of the process (I was internally screaming at this point.)

Betty had victory curls at the front of her do. My first attempt went a little flat, but undaunted I tried again. They were doing these during the Blitz, how hard can they really be?

Utterly fatal words. Thirty minutes later I was still attempting curl one…fifty minutes…an hour and fifteen minutes.

At one hour and forty I was close to chucking the brush at Grable's smiling face. The woman wasn't even in England during the Blitz, she'd had hordes of people dressing her hair and was making masses of movies!

Close to tears I decided to have a coffee break, before trying again. All the while I kept referring back to Betty's picture, the lightness of her hair, it's ice-cream swirled front curls whipped me up into a frenzy. I had to try again,*cut to Darcy in BBC version in sweaty shirt after fencing lesson, breathlessly saying…”I will conquer this!”*

 

My real problem? Too O.C.D about precision. Everyone's hair moves and handles in a completely different way. Obviously mine was going to sit differently compared to Betty's. Once I realised this, it went a lot faster.

 

It's pretty much hair sculpture. I rolled a small front section of hair towards my crown, then twisted it slightly to the front so that I could see the curl. Wonderfully simple in the end! My advice, make sure you have loads of bobby pins, hair spray, and time!

 

To finish I simply: brushed my hair up at the back, twisted it, and pinned. If it looks a little fuzzy, curl the ends and pin with a little hair spray. My love for Grable was restored! I feel I wrestled a wild beast today and…maybe…on the way of taming it a little.

 

Pip-pip, darlings!

 

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High brow?

The frames of the face, without them the features would be nothing. I recall the shock we had when a sibling of mine ( who shall remain nameless) snipped off her brows. She was left with a startled expression for months, we had to lovingly draw them in. Never underestimate the power of the brow. Just look at our vintage ladies!

 

Clara Bow 20s 'It' girl, her brow were nearly completely straight with just a little curve near the bridge. Very striking and I would say difficult to do.

 

 

 

Jean Harlow in the 30s took over the mantel and the curving brow blossomed. You can see the high thin arch mooning above the eye.

 

 

 

 

Rita Hayworth in the 40s, love this woman, so darn sexy (the first time I saw her was in Shawshank Redemption, she was the woman the prisoners watched in the movie who flicked her hair.) Her brows are arched and a little thicker, this gives a softer look overall. A far cry from the twigglet thin brow of the 30s.

 

 

Marilyn Monroe, finally gave them a subtle quirky triangle look in the 50s. Widening the eyes without giving her a startled look. Utterly beautiful!

 

Looking back you can see the experimentalism of women. How they used their small freedoms to express themselves. The brow lines show a mini revolution, I feel, stating 'I define myself!'

 

I tried and tested the Marilyn brow myself look. So can you! Don't worry, no plucking required!!!!!!

Get yourself a brow pencil with a brush, some clear mascara a well lit room and a large glass of something lovely. Because these things are supposed to be fun.

Brush from the centre upwards (the natural ridge of your face towards your hairline.) From that point brush down, this will create a triangle. Gently stroke over with a pencil to fill in the blank places (I have curly brows so even drew in the point). Use the mascara as glue so they won't fall back into their natural curve.

I live by the Urban Decay: Naked 2 palette…an outstanding investment! I used a little bit of foxy (creamy white/yellow) followed by a dusting of bootycall (shimmery pink) underneath to give a freshly plucked looked.

Go experiment, see what looks good on your face. I have the pointed arch just off centre, where as you may find it better further away i.e more Monroe.

 

A few brow-tips:

 

• If you are plucking why not cool the area you intend to do with an ice cube, this way it will numb the nerves and hurt far less.
• Use sharp tweezers. They do lose their plucking power. Slanted, stainless steel are the best. If you can get hold of some by TweezerMan: http://www.tweezerman.com/store/product/slant-tweezer/#
• Brow pencils are brilliant. Try to work with the colours in your hair, this will give you a good natural look (unless your going for a full-on Monroe!)
• If you have curly eyebrow hair, like me, clear mascara can set them in-place without fear of them fuzzing.
• Don't pluck just before a big date, give yourself 24hrs, as some people can have red blotches or even find it causes some pin-head spots. Wipe lemon and water over these and they will reduce.
• Less is more, don't over do the plucking. You can do so much with a sweep of a bow brush and a pencil!

So enjoy but don't over employ the tweezers…

Pip-Pip Darlings!

 

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House rules.

The 1950s brought us some wonderful things, such as: the rocking ra-ra skirt, 5 o'clock cocktails and even gave birth to Huey Lewis so that in the 80s all may know the joys of The Power Of Love.

 

It was also the decade of the housewife. The days when food was ready on the table for 'Jim dear', along with a well shaken Martini, while the wife looked lovingly on in an hour-glass creation that, 'no way on earth did she cook in!?'

 

While trailing the tepid tracks of the internet, I discovered that in 1955 Housekeeping Monthly, there was published an article of helpful 'how's' for the doting darling wife.

 

For some reason I hear the following in the Crabbies Ginger Beer lady voice over:

 

• So that your beloved know's you've been thinking of him all day, have dinner ready for when he arrives home. His favourite meals are a positive prospect for him and are essential.
• Be prepared! Before your husband arrives home restore your make-up, have a few minutes rest and maybe even tie a ribbon in your hair. He has been surrounded by weary co-workers all day and doesn't need to see you looking haggard.
• Listen to him. His conversation points are far more important *cough* than yours, so don't rattle off your worries. He'll just ignore them anyway.
• The evening should be his. Don't even think of complaining if he is late, if he goes out for dinner, stays out on the town…or even stays out all night. As he may have gone through a lot more than you could ever understand, and the mild distress you may suffer is nothing compared to his…*eye-brows hit roof*.
• (So if the bum does turn up) Arrange his pillow nicely and offer to remove his shoes ( or his face whichever you prefer). Speaking in a soothing and pleasant tone, call 0800 for examples, and offer your beloved a drink.
• You should never question him. Why? Because! He is a man, he is therefore never wrong! His will is exercised with fairness and truthfulness *choking* you, my dear, have no right to question him.
• A good wife always knows her place (in this case I'd say on a cruise sailing away from the slovenly turd! Because if he's going to allow you to be used like that, he's not worth a well plucked eyebrow!)

 

I'd think it would be far to say take these pointers with a pinch of salt, darling. But I feel we can all glean some loving tips from these overly 'here I am your living door-mat' thoughts.

 

Pip-pip darlings!

 

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