and a Red Damask 60s Evening Swing Coat
Its all about color this month at figure8studio
Shop here for vintage dreams and more...
Shared via AddThis
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Thursday Eye Candy at figure8studio
and a Red Damask 60s Evening Swing Coat
Its all about color this month at figure8studio
Shop here for vintage dreams and more...
Shared via AddThis
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Monday, September 28, 2009
Friday, August 21, 2009
If no one's in the kitchen, who's to see?
Seattle friends finally able to tear ourselves away from a myriad of responsibilities to see the much anticipated Julie & Julia, the movie about two foodies from different times Julia Child and the Texan living in Queens, NY, woman who with the help of her supportive and famished husband blogs through "Mastering the Art of French Cooking" over the course of a year.
We take time, sometimes once a month, sometimes more often-but never enough, to get together, smell the roses...or in this case, the beef bourguignon. I guarantee that by the time you leave the theater you will swear that you can.
I did not wear the string of pearls mom had given me years ago, its been too hot, it also turned into a balmy night. Barbara wore her cool cotton pedal pushers and was the envy of us.
Being a collector of Julia's books for a few years....
I wonder what became of our 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. What is even more mysterious is three of us are missing copies from our shelves.
Maybe they are keeping each other company.
The movie begins with Julie and husband moving from Queens NY to Brooklyn NY over a Pizza Parlor and Julia and husband to a fabulous Paris apartment.
My favorite car in the world is the 1955 Citroën DS, designed by Flaminio Bertoni it was named 'Most beautiful car of all time' by Classic & Sports Car magazine.
But I was smitten with the 1947 turquoise Buick Roadmaster station wagon used in the movie, I read Paul Child named it "Flash".
Upon further research on the web about the Buick I found a couple of discussions questioning the accuracy of the date and model.
Take for instance these convos on separate Auto Clubs.
"Mr. Mark Ricker, the film's production manager in an article written by Mr. Darrell Hartman. When Ricker was asked about the car, he had the following description to give: "A 1947 (sic-clearly it was a 1950) wooded blue Buick station wagon. They called it "The Blue Flash". We found it in France. It could have been Paul and Julia's original car, as far as we know."
"In the movie Julie and Julia, the Buick Estate Wagon is clearly a 1950 "four-holer" Roadmaster, but with a '49 style two-piece windshield. My Buick reference book doesn't mention such a configuration, and even my memory says the windshield was one piece. One web page I came across states, "Special still has the split windshield", which logically means that the Super and Roadmaster didn't."
There also seems to be some speculation the car was modified.
Back to the movie.
Streep was given Julia's height by the angles of the camera, tabletops lowered, shorter actors...like the market scenes. Also lifts were used. Not terribly attractive platform shoes or high heeled sneakers. eek.
I don't remember Julia ever wearing anything like them.
The shoes just did not seem quite right, but I'm probably just being nitpicky because, well, that's my job.
I remember Julia's enthusiastic personality watching her shows over my mother's shoulder, Julia sipping her wine as she cooked, as friend Sara pointed out, a pinch of this and that...not too worried about exact measures, sipping and cooking, chatting and laughing and disturbingly 'playing' with those plucked chickens. Julia had a way of holding them on the table in a way that it looked like they were dancing.
Ponder this story told by an esteemed acquaintance.
One evening you and your partner are cooking a special dinner for guests out of the pages of one of Julia's books, one of the sauces is not turning quite the way you expected. One of you look in the phone book and you cant believe that Julia is actually listed! After a couple of glasses of fine wine and a little courage you ring her for advice, probably doubting she will even pick up the phone, you expect an assistant or an answering machine, at best, urging you to leave a message for an appointment.
You are surprised and delighted, once again, when Julia herself answers and she does not even seem bothered or annoyed, she gladly volunteers to walk you through the process on the phone. After several tries when there seems to be no progress she asks about your impressive wine collection and suggests, if you mind, if she drops by!?
Mind??
That evening she is your 'private chef', to the shock and surprise of your guests who are probably still pinching themselves after all these years, she joins the guests and you are able to enjoy her company till the wee hours of the morning.
I'm guessing Julie Powell would not be terribly pleased with this story as, according to what has been told, her goal was to attract Julia's attention. Sort of like when there is a fan at a rock show who is constantly yelling the musician's name, except Julie's method was subtle.
Isn't that life though?
Sometimes, when you least expect it, the stars align perfectly and magic happens. Unplanned.
Totally by chance.
And sometimes we simply live with our dreams.
Streep is one of our favorite actresses, we felt she played Julia to a T.
a Streep cooking tip from one of her interviews about the movie: 'You can remove the odor of garlic and onions from your hands by rubbing them with salt and cool water, It actually works better than hot water and soap.' she said.
The scene of Julie in Dean & De Luca made my heart skip, those tiny tins, treasures in any serious foodie's kitchen shelves, they found their way, to my delight (and wallet relief) in (gasp) discount gourmet places. Stores where a poor college student could afford a bit of luxury, or as Julia would have said 'Those without a cook'
The post war Paris scenes and fashions were a delight, another reason I was looking forward to seeing the movie, being in the vintage business and all.
I confess I cringed and even closed my eyes during most of the lobster scene.
'LOBSTER KILLA!'
But simply couldn't help cracking a smile during the one where they are sitting at the table and Julie is wearing a lobster pin. I am a lobster pin collector, my favorite found in a Woodstock NY gallery, red enamel with black marcasites.
My NYC kitchen happened to be painted turquoise, as I now realize so was Julia's, with many red lobsters on the walls, that's where the similarity ends. After a few years my collection morphed into all sorts of lobster items as friends gave me anything lobster. Ashtrays, key chains, magnets, pot holders, dishes, candle holders, bottle opener...even Lobster Man!
Here he is, happily riding on Godzilla's tail
A gift from a special friend
A "star aligning perfectly" moment in my life.
What fun it must have been to shop for this movie! The thrill of the hunt one hundred times over.
Some say more should have been made of the Julia vs Julie's blog snub but I 'got it' and I thought the movie did just fine without adding to the already rather awkward situation.
The movie had an excellent cast. The love depicted between Julia and Paul was heart warming.
After we exited the theater we chatted about it for some time, comparing our childhood and early adulthood Julia memories. Barb, being the excellent cook that she is, told us she was actually able to conquer the Aspic recipe without making soup and that her prize dish, prepared in Chicago from 'Mastering the Art' was the Veal Prince Orloff.
The movie has lit my fire to dig through my collection for fashions of the era.
A quickie
Vogue Trend Reports the recession was still Topic A in the front rows of fall shows, maybe that's why they also announced the 40's is 'in'
Vintage will always be a smart investment.
Follow this link to an article found in Country Living mag with interesting tidbits about Julia's kitchen and the movie.
I highly recommend this movie, even those unable to boil water will find it charming.
Bon appetit!
We take time, sometimes once a month, sometimes more often-but never enough, to get together, smell the roses...or in this case, the beef bourguignon. I guarantee that by the time you leave the theater you will swear that you can.
I did not wear the string of pearls mom had given me years ago, its been too hot, it also turned into a balmy night. Barbara wore her cool cotton pedal pushers and was the envy of us.
Being a collector of Julia's books for a few years....
I wonder what became of our 'Mastering the Art of French Cooking'. What is even more mysterious is three of us are missing copies from our shelves.
Maybe they are keeping each other company.
The movie begins with Julie and husband moving from Queens NY to Brooklyn NY over a Pizza Parlor and Julia and husband to a fabulous Paris apartment.
My favorite car in the world is the 1955 Citroën DS, designed by Flaminio Bertoni it was named 'Most beautiful car of all time' by Classic & Sports Car magazine.
But I was smitten with the 1947 turquoise Buick Roadmaster station wagon used in the movie, I read Paul Child named it "Flash".
Upon further research on the web about the Buick I found a couple of discussions questioning the accuracy of the date and model.
Take for instance these convos on separate Auto Clubs.
"Mr. Mark Ricker, the film's production manager in an article written by Mr. Darrell Hartman. When Ricker was asked about the car, he had the following description to give: "A 1947 (sic-clearly it was a 1950) wooded blue Buick station wagon. They called it "The Blue Flash". We found it in France. It could have been Paul and Julia's original car, as far as we know."
"In the movie Julie and Julia, the Buick Estate Wagon is clearly a 1950 "four-holer" Roadmaster, but with a '49 style two-piece windshield. My Buick reference book doesn't mention such a configuration, and even my memory says the windshield was one piece. One web page I came across states, "Special still has the split windshield", which logically means that the Super and Roadmaster didn't."
There also seems to be some speculation the car was modified.
Back to the movie.
Streep was given Julia's height by the angles of the camera, tabletops lowered, shorter actors...like the market scenes. Also lifts were used. Not terribly attractive platform shoes or high heeled sneakers. eek.
I don't remember Julia ever wearing anything like them.
The shoes just did not seem quite right, but I'm probably just being nitpicky because, well, that's my job.
I remember Julia's enthusiastic personality watching her shows over my mother's shoulder, Julia sipping her wine as she cooked, as friend Sara pointed out, a pinch of this and that...not too worried about exact measures, sipping and cooking, chatting and laughing and disturbingly 'playing' with those plucked chickens. Julia had a way of holding them on the table in a way that it looked like they were dancing.
Ponder this story told by an esteemed acquaintance.
One evening you and your partner are cooking a special dinner for guests out of the pages of one of Julia's books, one of the sauces is not turning quite the way you expected. One of you look in the phone book and you cant believe that Julia is actually listed! After a couple of glasses of fine wine and a little courage you ring her for advice, probably doubting she will even pick up the phone, you expect an assistant or an answering machine, at best, urging you to leave a message for an appointment.
You are surprised and delighted, once again, when Julia herself answers and she does not even seem bothered or annoyed, she gladly volunteers to walk you through the process on the phone. After several tries when there seems to be no progress she asks about your impressive wine collection and suggests, if you mind, if she drops by!?
Mind??
That evening she is your 'private chef', to the shock and surprise of your guests who are probably still pinching themselves after all these years, she joins the guests and you are able to enjoy her company till the wee hours of the morning.
I'm guessing Julie Powell would not be terribly pleased with this story as, according to what has been told, her goal was to attract Julia's attention. Sort of like when there is a fan at a rock show who is constantly yelling the musician's name, except Julie's method was subtle.
Isn't that life though?
Sometimes, when you least expect it, the stars align perfectly and magic happens. Unplanned.
Totally by chance.
And sometimes we simply live with our dreams.
Streep is one of our favorite actresses, we felt she played Julia to a T.
a Streep cooking tip from one of her interviews about the movie: 'You can remove the odor of garlic and onions from your hands by rubbing them with salt and cool water, It actually works better than hot water and soap.' she said.
The scene of Julie in Dean & De Luca made my heart skip, those tiny tins, treasures in any serious foodie's kitchen shelves, they found their way, to my delight (and wallet relief) in (gasp) discount gourmet places. Stores where a poor college student could afford a bit of luxury, or as Julia would have said 'Those without a cook'
The post war Paris scenes and fashions were a delight, another reason I was looking forward to seeing the movie, being in the vintage business and all.
I confess I cringed and even closed my eyes during most of the lobster scene.
'LOBSTER KILLA!'
But simply couldn't help cracking a smile during the one where they are sitting at the table and Julie is wearing a lobster pin. I am a lobster pin collector, my favorite found in a Woodstock NY gallery, red enamel with black marcasites.
My NYC kitchen happened to be painted turquoise, as I now realize so was Julia's, with many red lobsters on the walls, that's where the similarity ends. After a few years my collection morphed into all sorts of lobster items as friends gave me anything lobster. Ashtrays, key chains, magnets, pot holders, dishes, candle holders, bottle opener...even Lobster Man!
Here he is, happily riding on Godzilla's tail
A gift from a special friend
A "star aligning perfectly" moment in my life.
What fun it must have been to shop for this movie! The thrill of the hunt one hundred times over.
Some say more should have been made of the Julia vs Julie's blog snub but I 'got it' and I thought the movie did just fine without adding to the already rather awkward situation.
The movie had an excellent cast. The love depicted between Julia and Paul was heart warming.
After we exited the theater we chatted about it for some time, comparing our childhood and early adulthood Julia memories. Barb, being the excellent cook that she is, told us she was actually able to conquer the Aspic recipe without making soup and that her prize dish, prepared in Chicago from 'Mastering the Art' was the Veal Prince Orloff.
The movie has lit my fire to dig through my collection for fashions of the era.
A quickie
Vogue Trend Reports the recession was still Topic A in the front rows of fall shows, maybe that's why they also announced the 40's is 'in'
Vintage will always be a smart investment.
Follow this link to an article found in Country Living mag with interesting tidbits about Julia's kitchen and the movie.
I highly recommend this movie, even those unable to boil water will find it charming.
Bon appetit!
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
I've got cling cling fsssss steam heat
Steampunk:
Victorian Sci Fi. Anything that involves ingenuity and creativity without further waste. That which redefines time should be celebrated and deserves thoughtful consideration.
Jules Verne. H. G. Wells's The Time Machine. Art Nouveau. Whimsical fantasy. Victorian England. Romanced technology coming alive with a heartbeat and misapplied technology.
There are no hard and fast rules for Steampunk style, its why it is possible for British adventurers, sky pirates, neo Victorianas, mad scientists to exist under the same moniker.
Militaria, top hats, industrial Gothic leathers, corduroys or 'cords' as we call them in the States, velvets, browns, antique black or lightly touched with antique white laces, any color can be steampunked with perhaps the exception of neons. Gogles, monocles, skeleton keys.
Even Tiffany jumped on the bandwagon
Goes to show you how powerful this movement has become.
...Marching band jackets paired off with Victorian skirts, riding boots, docs (as in Martens)...
Oscillating antique fans lull me to dreamland...
My favorite aspect of the steampunk movement is how it combines technology with sustainability and DIY aesthetics
A Steam Powered Ipod Charger
from:
steampunkworkshop
In my Cañones cigar/jewelry box you'll find 80s earrings from recycled watch parts.
An example of colors used in steampunk. Designer Nikki Fizer
Stripes.
Plaids.
Alexander McQueen, one of the first designers that took steampunk to the fashion runways.
Dots.
Even white can be made into steampunk.
In my store:
30s BLACK LACE DRESS
Victorian Style Dress
Victorian Inspired Dress
Other fine offerings:
Suzy Creamcheese Velvet Edwardian Style Suit - magsrags
Armani Vintage Jacket on etsy = sold.
Gloves on etsy - sold.
rogueretro hat on etsy
The possibilities are endless.
All you need is imagination.
hmm...all this talk about steampunk reminds me Im overdue for a visit to one of my favorite parks in the Emerald City; Gas Works Park
fssss...
Victorian Sci Fi. Anything that involves ingenuity and creativity without further waste. That which redefines time should be celebrated and deserves thoughtful consideration.
Jules Verne. H. G. Wells's The Time Machine. Art Nouveau. Whimsical fantasy. Victorian England. Romanced technology coming alive with a heartbeat and misapplied technology.
There are no hard and fast rules for Steampunk style, its why it is possible for British adventurers, sky pirates, neo Victorianas, mad scientists to exist under the same moniker.
Militaria, top hats, industrial Gothic leathers, corduroys or 'cords' as we call them in the States, velvets, browns, antique black or lightly touched with antique white laces, any color can be steampunked with perhaps the exception of neons. Gogles, monocles, skeleton keys.
Even Tiffany jumped on the bandwagon
Goes to show you how powerful this movement has become.
...Marching band jackets paired off with Victorian skirts, riding boots, docs (as in Martens)...
Oscillating antique fans lull me to dreamland...
My favorite aspect of the steampunk movement is how it combines technology with sustainability and DIY aesthetics
A Steam Powered Ipod Charger
from:
steampunkworkshop
In my Cañones cigar/jewelry box you'll find 80s earrings from recycled watch parts.
An example of colors used in steampunk. Designer Nikki Fizer
In my store:
30s BLACK LACE DRESS
Victorian Style Dress
Victorian Inspired Dress
Other fine offerings:
Suzy Creamcheese Velvet Edwardian Style Suit - magsrags
Armani Vintage Jacket on etsy = sold.
Gloves on etsy - sold.
rogueretro hat on etsy
The possibilities are endless.
All you need is imagination.
hmm...all this talk about steampunk reminds me Im overdue for a visit to one of my favorite parks in the Emerald City; Gas Works Park
fssss...
Monday, March 30, 2009
Confessions of a Mad Idol Addict
If someone had told me 5 or 6 years ago that I would become an avid viewer of the show or that I would be programming to record this show when I am not home, I would have probably laughed. Back then I thought the show was strictly for the younger crowd. 8 seasons later I can barely wait to see what new songs will be performed. This season I dared to pick my top Idols from the beginning, so far they are still there and going strong.
Last week as a double treat Idol showcased the sounds of Motown a few of the contestants wore vintage style, I say vintage style because unless I see the item or confirmation that they were indeed vintage I cannot say for sure but was that a shark skin suit worn by Adam Lambert?
I was VERY impressed with the singing as well, Adam is showing more maturity as the show progresses, he is one of my top faves.
Another stunner and talented performer is Lil Rounds, she wore an Ombre fringed dress, also loved the 60s hairstyle.
Here is a green fringed dress coming soon to figure8studio.com
White Fringed Dress in our store - SOLD!
a few 60's beauties from our store
Turquoise Silver 60s Dress
Audrey Lil Black Dress
Periwinkle Paisley Dress
Thanks for reading and see you around the bend! :)
Last week as a double treat Idol showcased the sounds of Motown a few of the contestants wore vintage style, I say vintage style because unless I see the item or confirmation that they were indeed vintage I cannot say for sure but was that a shark skin suit worn by Adam Lambert?
I was VERY impressed with the singing as well, Adam is showing more maturity as the show progresses, he is one of my top faves.
Another stunner and talented performer is Lil Rounds, she wore an Ombre fringed dress, also loved the 60s hairstyle.
Here is a green fringed dress coming soon to figure8studio.com
White Fringed Dress in our store - SOLD!
a few 60's beauties from our store
Turquoise Silver 60s Dress
Audrey Lil Black Dress
Periwinkle Paisley Dress
Thanks for reading and see you around the bend! :)
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Shades Of Green
Beannacht / Blessing by Joe O'Donohue
On the day when
the weight deadens
on your shoulders
and you stumble,
may the clay dance
to balance you.
And when your eyes
freeze behind
the grey window
and the ghost of loss
gets in to you,
may a flock of colours,
indigo, red, green,
and azure blue
come to awaken in you
a meadow of delight.
When the canvas frays
in the currach of thought
and a stain of ocean
blackens beneath you,
may there come across the waters
a path of yellow moonlight
to bring you safely home.
May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
may the clarity of light be yours,
may the fluency of the ocean be yours,
may the protection of the ancestors be yours.
And so may a slow
wind work these words
of love around you,
an invisible cloak
to mind your life.
Lover and Beloved
Moon
Water
Thanks Barb!
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