Happy weekend all! I hope you are having a great lazy day doing whatever you want to be doing. I'll be spending the day knitting and watching the BBC TV series Land Girls (1 and 2), which I took out from the library. I've had a fairly busy weekend off, so I'm looking forward to laying on the couch doing nothing for a while!

Friday G and I went to Edmonton to celebrate our three-year anniversary. We went to the Telus World of Science Titanic exhibit, something we've been meaning to do for a while now but never got around to. You weren't allowed to take photos, but some are featured on the website. It was a great exhibit (we didn't do the accompanying Imax movie because it wasn't showing for another 90 minutes) but it was rather short. It's amazing how well these artifacts are preserved!

You also get a little card at the beginning that represented a passenger on the Titanic and then you look on the wall to see if you survived. G knew he was a goner right away because he was part of the band. I was a second-class passenger who was coming home to Canada after buying my wedding dress in England (I wish!) and it turns out I survived. No info on the dress, though.

After that, we went to dinner at the Keg because we had gift certificates burning a hole in our pocket. Neither of us had eaten there before but OH MY GOD was it good. Why did I wait 21 years to have fillet mignon?

Saturday we went to #yegmediacamp, which was a short day conference that brought web developers and journalists together. It was great and I learned a lot, but if you follow me on Twitter you probably heard me blather on about it enough already.

After that G went to visit a friend, so I met up with Miss Bee and we went to Sally Beauty. Again, WHY did I wait 21 years to go there? Granted I never cared about hair stuff much before I got into vintage, but my goodness it is amazing. I was not surprised when mt bill came to $95.

I went there with a dual purpose - to find a bun form so I can use it as a rat and to find some things for the Fedora Lounge Beauty Box, which is a box that travelles from lounger to lounger around the world. You take stuff out, put stuff in. I've never participated so I'm excited!

I'm not going to show what I bought for the box because there's no fun in that, but I did buy a few duplicates for myself. I still have a few of my favourite products I want to buy and put in as well.

My goodies for the beauty box

A hair comb, pony tails holder and a straight hair form

end papers, double prong clips, lottabody & bottle, butterfly clips to do waves

An incredibly soft bristle brush and a teasing brush

After shopping and dinner, we went to a Sugar Foot Stomp! I had lots of fun and I think most people assumed I knew how to swing dance because I was all dressed up. I was wearing my new petticoat, which was tons of fun to dance in! The only thing is that I didn't have appropriate footwear because I didn't know that I was going dancing when I came up to Edmonton, so I was just in my stockings.  I didn't get stepped on, but it was harder to do some of the moves because I didn't have any grip on the floor! (I didn't take any photos because I didn't have my camera on me.)

Then we went to Bee's house to watch Swing Kids (which I had never seen but was really good!) and paint our nails. She also spoiled me with gifts, that girl! She's too sweet :D

ALSO - Bee is having a giveaway once she reaches 100 followers. Have you followed her wonderful blog yet?

She found this 1943 Complete Book of Sewing and Complete Book of Crochet at Goodwill for $4. So I have to learn to crochet and sew now!



She also passed on this white trench coat, which will be a great spring jacket for me.



She also gave me her open bottom girdle. See what I said about her being too sweet? (I know this photo is way overblown, but it helps to see the detail).


Now I really need some rest. Ta-ta for now dolls!

XO Laurie

After our date night on Tuesday, G and I went to the most romantic place on Earth: Ikea.

Ok, well maybe Ikea isn't the most romantic place to go after dinner and a movie, but it's also where we spent Valentine's Day. And what's a better relationship test than wandering Ikea, picking out furniture and then trying to assemble it? What doesn't kill you will make you stronger.

My main purchase last night was a bookcase. I've been wanting some sort of shelving in the bedroom because I found I had a big lack of storage for all my beauty supplies. It seems that whenever January rolls around I have this massive urge to organize, update and clean.

Exhibit A - the before photos:



Blech. Now that I've changed it I can't believe how bad it was before! I think it looks so much better now, although G said that you can't even tell a boy lives there (that's the point dear).

Cute little retro perfume bottles also found at Ikea.

I also did a little mirror inspiration. Aside from the hair cutouts from a magazine (FLARE, I think?) I added a note from Annie Pancake after winning a giveaway of hers (she's so sweet!), the ad from the Alex Pangman Nov. 11 concert and a photo of the most glamorous 1940s lady I know, my Grandma Marchant when she was a young girl (she has amaaaaaaazing hair).

The second-from-the-right photo from the magazine actually annoys me every time I look at it because the heading is 'Victory Rolls' when the photo is clearly a pompadour. Sigh

My little cleaning frenzies make me so happy. I also cleaned out the fridge yesterday which was very disgusting and very rewarding (and we have so much more room now). Do you love organizing like me or would you rather hide away from it all?

I hope you all have a marvelous Christmas, that Santa was good to you and you gorged yourself silly on treats. I had a most excellent holiday despite being away from Saskatchewan for the first time (but we have to share!) and do not want to return to work tomorrow. Le sigh....

Christmas Eve morning G and I woke up and opened the presents my parents had sent us. We were heading to his mom's house later that day and didn't want to haul extra stuff up with us to open (which was smart, because there was a lot to haul home). I'm not going to show EVERYTHING I got (because there was a lot!) but more of the vintage-type things.

My mom sent us both a gift bag full of our stocking stuffers, as well as another small present - both books - and our main present, a $100 pre-paid Visa.We were spoiled!

I got the book Vintage Fashion: Collecting and Wearing Designer Classics by Emma Baxter-Wright. I had actually look through this book before at my friend Nicole's house and was excited when I got my own copy. I'm only skimmed it so far, but it's wonderful - it breaks down styles by decade and goes over the hallmarks of each era, as well as shopping, dating and care tips for vintage.

(warning: photos of me that follow include no make-up and headscarves.)



I also got a really soft, cozy cowl from my sister in our not-so-secret Santa draw.


Here's the rest of my loot: I also got a duster, two hosiery hangers (THE BEST THING EVER!, a vintagey-dress form necklace hanger, a knitted headband (very 20s-esque and will be great for bad hair days), bath bombs, a keychain and a new notebook.



G got a cocktail book, beer glasses and a martini shaker as his extra gifts (among others). He was excited.



Then after this I went dressed to cover a fire downtown that destroyed a historical building. This sucked on so many levels, but at least no one was hurt!

That afternoon we drove to Jan and Gregg's farm to spend the next few days with G's family. Christmas Eve was really relaxing, and G made dinner and then we all waited for Santa. And boy oh boy, did he deliver!


One of the things I got from Santa was this tray with vintage bathing beauties on it:


I was also spoiled rotten by G. A few months ago he showed me a listing on Etsy of a 1940s cigarette case with the original monogram LMC, which are my initials. I totally forgot about it until Christmas morning, when low and behold:

And inside was one of the best gifts a girl can get - back rub and house cleaning coupons:


After I use up all the coupons we are going to design Retro Reporter business cards for me. I'm not sure if other bloggers have cards, but I have been in many a situation where I've been wishing for one!

He also had slipped down to Twig, one of my favourite stores, and had remembered a dress I had been eyeing up. How lucky am I?

On Boxing Day the Christmas money had I been given was burning a hole in my pocket and I couldn't take it any longer, so I hit up some crazy sales with Miss Bee.

First we hit up Mars and Venus on Whyte Ave in Edmonton. There was a small line up to get in because they only have one sale a year and only allow so many customers on the floor, but I like it that way - it was less crowded. I snagged two Heartbreaker items, the Dolly top (~$30 sale price, ~$60 sale price) and the Jolene dress (~$58 sale price, ~$116 regular price).




Then we went to Rowena's down the street, which was also having a 50% off sale. I bought another Heartbreaker dress ($40 instead of the regular sale price of $80) and a Rock Steady dress with a real cowgirl vibe ($42 instead of $84 regular price).


(I'm going to ask my parents nicely to keep an eye out for teal cowboy boots when they go to Nashville - I think they'd go great with this dress!)

Oy vey, I think that's all for tonight. I have a lot of blog post ideas so hopefully I will get to them soon. Until then I think I will toddle off to bed as I have to work in the morning.


Did you have a good holiday?

I normally don't shop for myself around this time of year (unless it's winter tires or dental work, it seems) BUT since I got a huge haul from my sponsor Imagine Vintage, it doesn't really count, right? Right. (Besides, I'm about halfway through my Christmas shopping I think, which is rare for me at the end of November).

It's definitely fall here in Camrose. The leaves are turning all sorts of gorgeous colours and it's finally starting to cool down a tad. If it could stay fall all year round I'd be a happy girl. In Saskatchewan when I was a kid it seemed like it would go straight from summer to winter (a blizzard on Halloween and the like) so I'm really grateful for the nice transition.

Fall and Spring mean layers, cozy accessories and the like. I'm about to dig out my sweaters again and tuck my summery clothes away, but I stopped in at Twig Designs today to see what Lindsay had in store for fall accessories. I surprisingly refrained from buying clothes but I couldn't help but pick out a few cute things to freshen up my wardrobe.

I've seen a few bird brooches pop up on FL so I snapped this one up quickly!

I see anything teal and I'm sold right away.

A huge pink polka dot scarf, perfect for fall.

Lace adds a touch of daintiness to any outfit.

LOVE these coasters, and I needed something to keep the beer rings off my mid-century furniture.

I made a little scarf clothes-line so I always know what I have on hand. Typical me, it's crooked.

I also stopped by to see my sponsor, Imagine Vintage, to see what Peggy has in stock as well and also picked up a bunch of accessories as well as a very cute '60s dress:


And bangles! The blue one is a 1980s Lucite and I think the top ones is from the mid-fifties.

That's all for now folks! xo

Greetings from Hurricane-free Camrose! We are back at home, weary and recovering from our trip.
We headed to the airport at 4 a.m. to catch our 8 a.m. flight, and it was a good thing we did. The baggage check line for Air Canada snaked around the corner, almost to other airline check-in spots, causing some confusion for travellers on other airlines.

We got through everything with an hour to spare at the gate, so we grabbed some coffee and relaxed. When we boarded it was foggy and a little rainy, but no hurricane weather yet. I think we were probably one of the last flights out before they shut the airport down. Because of the rebooking, G and I were seperated. I spent the flight watching Bringing Up Baby (1938) and trying not to laugh out loud, in case I frightened the woman seated next to me who was scared of flying (poor thing!).

Cary Grant - hubba hubba

I really enjoyed the film - it sounded famillar to me and I instantly recognized the story line as soon as the opening credits rolled, even though I had never seen it - except I fell asleep at 18 minutes to the end when they were all in jail (which is a key scene apparently and I missed it. Movie fail) and when I woke up, Katherine Hepburn and Cary Grant were just proclaiming their love in the Natural History Museum, so I may have to go back and revisit that progression. :)
Sidenote: Cary Grant is so so so sexy in this film. Watch it for that if nothing else.

After the flight we landed in Calgary, where we had to go through customs, grab our bags, go through security and board within 30 minutes. PANIC. I had assumed that we would go through customs in Newark, not Calgary and so I was a little stressed out for that time. Also, Calgary airport (like the city) is sprawled out and huge, and the customs is so far away from the connections. Luckily we made it just as the line as going through for our boarding. Phew!

Then, we were one our plane (a Air Canada Jazz Dash 8, which is one of my favourite planes because it was teeny-tiny and has propellers) for the incredibly short 38 minute flight to Edmonton (beats a three-hour drive!). What was not on that itty-bitty-plane were our bags. Because of weight restrictions on such a tiny aircraft, our bags were left in Calgary but were later flown to Edmonton and dropped off at our place in Camrose last night around 9pm. That was totally fine with me - one less thing to haul around!

We spent the rest of yesterday and most of today relaxing and just lazing about.


One exciting that I found when I got home was my birthday present from G sitting on the kitchen table.


It's Vintage Hairstyling by Lauren Rennells! Lots of other vintage bloggers have bought and reviewed the book, so it was on my birthday wishlist (yes, I made him a birthday wishlist) and I was so happy to have received it. I'm a complete hairstyling noob so I'm looking forward to the tips and inspiration. I also happened to find Motions Foaming Wrap Lotion in the grocery store today. Ashley from Lisa Freemont Street recently did a review on it (I have yet to watch the video portion, actually) so I'm excited to have found it.



I am currently using another product by Aveda, but I didn't want to pass up this stuff as it is so hard to find stuff in Camrose. The 100 ml bottle of Aveda Be Curly - Style Prep cost me $26 at the salon and is still quite full since I bought it in June, but I'll be trying Motions tonight to see what it's like!

Well, that's all for our New York vacation. Even thought it was cut short by a day we had a blast and I hope you enjoyed following along. If not, well this blog will return to its regular programming.


xx
Laurie