The latest period drama that you should be watching is Global's new mini-series Bomb Girls.
Set during WWII (but before Pearl Harbor), the show chronicles the lives of the workers at Victory Munitions in Toronto, their struggle for equal treatment in the workplace and what it was like living during the war.

Marco, Kate, Lorna, Betty, Gladys. Photo found via Google

I'll admit, I had some low expectations for the series. "Another Mad Men imitation attempt," was the first thing that popped into my head. Well, so far the first two episodes have surprised me - I hope that it can gain momentum and grow into a full-fledged series, maybe even with a second season.

The Pros:
This is a show with some beautiful dresses! According to a short on the Bomb Girls website (which is amazing and full of great extras, I recommend checking it out). I especially love Kate's blue dress here:

From The National Post

Bomb Girls is a Canadian show! There is very little programming filmed and produced in Canada, so to have a show like this in my country gives me hope to the entertainment industry. The show has also featured some Canadian music, including my favourite gal Alex Pangman as well as Canadian retro songstress Jill Barber.

I also feel like there is a lot of diverse characters: the rich girl, the tormented runaway, the Saskatchawanian-lesbian, the super hot Italian - the actors and characters, for the most part, all have great chemistry. The story could go anywhere from here.



The Cons:
I must admit, the acting in pretty forced in parts. When Gladys tells James that she wants to be a bomb girl, it was almost painful to watch. Speaking of painful to watch, I am going to get a ulcer from this show. Maybe it's just because I am a giant baby but I sit there and freak out the whole time I'm watching it, waiting for somebody to blow up!

In short, I give Bomb Girls a 4/5, but there are still four episodes left before its finale. Who knows what will happen. Have you watched it yet (if not, visit their website - the episodes stream online starting from the day after its air date)? What are your thoughts?

XO Laurie

I can't believe it's been three months since I learned to knit. It took me just as long to finish my first project.


It's so funny to look at this scarf - you can definitely tell which end I started at and which end I finished at! I knitted it very tightly with heavy yarn, so it's very warm (which would be great except it hasn't been cold here).

But it took me so long because in between I was knitting six beer coozies for stocking stuffers at Christmas.


It was my first project knitting in the round and I really enjoyed it! I've vowed to try something new with every project I undertake. Now I'm onto my next scarf, which I will be donating to the Special Olympics when they are in St. Albert.



The something new I added in this scarf is stripes! I am really enjoying knitting this: it's easy enough that I can knit and read my blogs at the same time, or watch TV, but challenging enough that I don't get bored and have to pay attention, lest I knit too many rows (I've done that twice!).

The only stipulations for this scarf is that it had to be blue and white, 7 inches wide and 6 feet long. I decided to do 10 rows of each colour, and each stripe ended up being ~1.5 inches - meaning I will have to knit 48 stripes to finish! I am on stripe 21 now, so almost 1/3 being done.

I have been working on this scarf during Knitting at Knoon, which are Thursdays at noon at the library! It is so nice to walk over to the library and sit and chat with Deb and Anjah, who not only love to knit but also love to read - they've even convinced me to try and get on the library board because I have too much spare time (not). If anyone else in the Camrose-area is looking for a knitting getaway during the lunch hour, please come and join us! I know there is a Tuesday evening group at Augustana, but I prefer the daytime one just because I am one of those people who like to stay home once I get home from work.

(It's also great to be friends with a librarian - I'm going to give Deb a long list of books I think she should consider adding to the catalog, like A Stitch In Time :D)

In case you're interested, here's what I wore to knit today:

blouse and skirt: Imagine Vintage

I tried out bigger rollers on the top section of my hair and I liked the result, I just need to tweak it a bit.

I already have my next projects lined up, thanks to my family. My sister Dea picked out some Bernat Roving yarn in Bark so I can try to whip up this oversized scarf for her. I have the same yarn in Clover (a light green) so I might whip up another for my sister-in-law Meredith, who loves anything green.


Again, I don't have a pattern so I will just have to fake it. The new skill I will be trying is ribbing and making a button hole. I need to find a good, big button for it.

THEN I will be making a beer coozie and matching tablet sleeve for my mom (again, no pattern), who was upset that she didn't get her own beer coozie for Christmas. Instead of camouflage wool I'll be using Red Heart Cherry Cola, which is brown, pink, orange and green. It's not a soft yarn like the satin, so it will (hopefully) be better for things that need a little grip.

And then if I don't have full-fledged arthritis by then, I may tackle the famous three-hour sweater. By then it will probably June and it won't even matter that it will take me much longer than three hours to knit it. I should probably knit something for G too...

If you're interested, I am on Raverly - I would love to be your friend, please add me!

What knitting, crochet, sewing or otherwise crafty projects are you working on?

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?

Last night I cashed in one of the coupons G gave me for Christmas for a dinner and a movie date. We went to go see The Artist in Edmonton before having a late dinner at Earls.


If you haven't had a chance to see The Artist, PLEASE do a favour to yourself and go. It was phenomenal!

The acting was superb. Since it is a mostly silent film, the actors all rely on their body language to do the talking, with music complementing the scenes. The costumes, hair and set are all fabulous (I wish I had Peppy Miller's hair!) and the dancing is divine. From the filming techniques to the music, I felt that I was watching a silent movie from the 20s.The only thing reminding me that it was a modern film was the fact that John Goodman was in it. Using French actors relatively unknown to North American audiences also helped with the authenticity. And that dog! What an actor.

Since the movie was so silent, we could hear sound from the other theatres in our theatre, which definitely took away from the experience. But it also made me realize how important sound is in film and how much it's overused (Also, movie theatres are too loud! Yeesh).

Overall, I give The Artist a five-star rating. I would watch it again in a heartbeat.

Growing up in Saskatchewan, I feel that I had several hometowns. Flaxcombe was where we get our mail and is the closest to us; I tell people I'm from the Kindersley-area when they ask me where I'm from; Marengo is where I went to all 13 years of school; and Alsask is where we went to church and I worked as a teen.

Yellow is my farm // Alsask is the blue marker on the far left, the white line is the Sask/Alberta border

In terms of photos, Alsask is the most interesting as it is an abandoned Canadian Forces Detachment. It was opened in 1963 as part of the NORAD Pinetree Line (a full list of sites is here) during the Cold War. The base comprised of three radar towers, a school, pool, barracks and mobile homes, and a rec centre with a bowling alley, snack shop, arcade and beauty parlor - among other things. The detachment was disbanded in 1987 and the radar tower became a designated historical site in 2002.

When the base was active, it was huge. The base had it's own school for a while, but when my dad went to school (the same as me, in Marengo) in the 70s, the base kids went to Westcliffe (and dad said they were pretty cliquey). Actually, I think all the towns in the school area were pretty big - my dad's graduating class in the 70s had about 30 kids, compared to my graduating class of 6.

Alsask itself as a hamlet of the R.M. still exists with homes and a church and a few businesses (like the best Chinese food I have ever had!) but all that remains at the base are a few buildings, all abandoned with a very creepy, distopian aura. I worked at the Gopher Dip Pool (which I think is closed now due to a boiler fire but I'm not 100% sure) and I hated being the last one to lock up at night. It was so creepy being there in day, let alone at night (but I'm a scardey-cat).

When I was home for the weekend I took the time to stop in Alsask to take some photos of the base before carrying on into Alberta. I would love to go in the buildings to do photos like what you would see on How To Be A Retronaut but I would want to be accompanied by someone who knows about the base (and I'd need permission from the R.M. too).

Entrance building

The Gopher Dip Pool

Back of the pool, radar tower in the distance

Administration building

Administration building

Recreation Centre with bowling alley, snack shack etc.

Abandoned playground

One of a few mobile homes still standing

Driveway to nowhere.

Another playground

Tumbleweed Chapel

the Retirement Villa

Craft centre / baseball diamond

Craft Centre

Barracks

Barracks

The Radar Tower

Hello all! I just spent the most relaxing weekend away at the farm in Saskatchewan, doing nothing but visiting with family, reading and knitting (a post updating you on my knitting projects is coming soon!). I feel so great! Here I am, about to embark on the four-hour trip to the homeland. Nothing comfier for driving than loafers and roomy skirt.

beret: Joe Fresh | blouse: H&M | cami: Ricki's | wool skirt: Imagine Vintage  loafers: Imagine Vintage | wicker handbag: Imagine Vintage

I really missed getting to see everyone over Christmas, but it was nice to come home during a random weekend - there was no pressure, no where to go and it was all very quiet! I got to visit with both sets of grandparents too, but I could have been there for much longer than I actually was. I feel that my vintage and historical interests have brought me so close to my grandparents, who were growing up and raising families in the 40s and 50s.

My grandma Callsen had a few gifts for me. Last winter at this time my paternal grandparents and my parents went to California to settle my grandpa's cousin's estate. Dorothy had a lot of beautiful things, and my grandma is now passing some of those down to me.

I can't be sure of the date, but this is a silk Christian Dior dressing gown. I wish I had an art deco vanity to sit at every morning to wear this and do my makeup in.

I meant to do a close up of the label and embroidery. Trust me, it's Dior ;)

Grandma also passed on this Prada handbag! I know a little bit more about this, thanks to the authenticity certificate inside. Dorothy bought this in January 2002 at Saks Fifth Avenue for $426 (marked down from $610):


My mom also passed down some brooches to me.


The heart and the lady with the dog are more modern ones that she bought (I think I will pin the heart on a beret, it is too cute!). The Christmas tree was my great-grandmother's and I remember always seeing it in my mother's jewelry box as a kid, while the cameo brooch was given to my mom from my dad's mom (it has a photo of my dad in it). I am just so in love with them - I'm turning into a real brooch person, fancy that.

Happy New Year everyone! I hope you had a great weekend full of festivities. I ended 2011 and started 2012 by shopping, visiting friends and family, and getting the flu. Aside from the flu, I had a great weekend.

I kicked off Friday by buggering off of work early (but I was done all my work, I swear) and then heading down to visit my sponsor, Imagine Vintage. Here are some of the things I picked up (note the self-portraits - I'm working on my resolutions already!)

I didn't spot these pins until I was at the till, but aren't they just darling?!  I first saw the poodle ($4) and squealed out loud, and then Peggy directed my attention to the Scotty ($10). I just had to snap them up!

While this 50s brush isn't a direct companion to the 50s mirror I picked up last time, it's a pretty close match and looks great with the rest of my collection! ($16)

More hats! I think this brown turban will be great for lazy days ($16)

... while this coral hat ($35) will be fantastic for dressing up (come to think of it, it went really well with this outfit)

Another warm pencil skirt, this time in pumpkin ($20). Worn over my Diane wrap dress.

These are the COMFIEST shoes ever. Bright red, never worn loafers in my size? Yes please ($18)

Black oxford high heels, need I say more? ($20)

How adorable is this purse? It's a 1960s wicker handbag in great conditions. I can't wait for summer to roll around so I can wear it with sundresses and big floppy hats!

Later that night, G and I went to a farewell party for a friend of his, who is going to school in Hong Kong fir six months (Good luck Dan!). We failed to take any more photos than this one of me, which is a shame because G looked very handsome.

Diane wrap dress | scarf worn as bandeau

New Years Eve I did some newspaper work before heading down to Bentley to visit my aunt, my parents and my younger sister to ring in the new year. My almost one-year-old cousin Willow had given everyone the flu around Christmas time, but it had seemed to be gone by the time G and I and my parents got there.

This is the little flu culprit, reading magazines with my dad. Isn't she adorable!



Alas, someone was still carrying around very resilient germs because on Jan. 2, G and I both woke up at home sick and my mom was sick on their way back to Saskatchewan. I've certainly have had worse bouts of the flu (I still remember how terribly sick I was last year at Christmas and then woke up NYE with pick eye - belch!) but it's still no fun!

I thought I was better today but when I got to work I realized I would be more productive if I stayed home a day and got better.The latter part of today was spent drinking ginger ale and working on my resolutions of reading more and following the 30 day cleaning guide. How are your resolutions going?

XO Laurie