The Cat and the Berry .... A Grand Reunion.

If you read the "It" post (which you probably didn't) you might know that for the past two weeks Emily and I have been together wreaking havoc on our hometown. In the case you didn't then, I feel obliged to inform you  that this has been the first time in four and a half months she and I have seen each other in person, so we have been far too busy enjoying being together to sit down and write a post about our time. Sadly our time here (in Atlanta) is coming to close. I go back to my mother's house and then school, and Emily leaves for Ol' Blighty for school.

We figured we should do at least one proper post together while we have the chance. Forgive us if you find it appallingly long and unnecessary, but honestly, this is more for us than anything else. I won't bore you with the details of our hometown adventures (especially since they were mostly mundane), but I will bombard this post with photos of  what we did. Also, as a treat for you lot, you finally get to see Emily's beautiful self! I know you're very excited to see this mystery woman, but simultaneously concerned that all of your illusions while be shattered by reality, but believe me you'll love her and wonder why she never put up any of her beautiful outfits and hair do's on the blog before. ((Emily's Edit: Ha.))

Emily wrote the photo captions:

Some of our friends (Gee in the back, me behind the camera) at a Vietnamese restaurant for dinner.  

Gee in her new (via Goodwill) purple Jean Harlow-eqsue skirt. We went to see "One Day" in theaters with a  friend, who hated it, but we liked it. 

Me in my beloved green pom-pom skirt and my new-to-me peasant blouse. We didn't get a good shot of the shoes, but they're wooden carved wedges!

Modern Desires: BHLDN

BHLDN is a company that sells some really gorgeous, and very fancy (aka expensive) things. I think I found them through Anthropologie's website, but I cannot be sure. Anyway, they are primarily a seller of wedding-esque items, but they also have lots of things that would be nice to have around the house/closet (neither of which I currently have....) also they make for some wonderful wish-list items for those of you with rich uncles and whatnot. I, however, have images saved to my computer for when I feel like looking at something pleasant and completely unattainable.

For now I will just post my very favorites of their clothing selection (I'll spare you from my picture collection of table and house decor). For a modern company I'd say they do a pretty damn good job of keeping things classy and beautiful.

Unabashedly Gloves 

It (1927)

Hi hi hi!

The past few days have been fantastically busy with the reuniting of The Cats and the Berries. Literally. Well, not literally, for as much as I call her a kitten, CJ is still a dog, but we have had lots of berries lately.  Anyway, the cats and berries to which I refer are myself and Emily, respectively. Last Wednesday was the first time we had seen each other in four and a half months! As you can imagine, we have been a bit too thrilled about getting to watch movies together, eat together, see other friends, shop, swim, and sing like there is no tomorrow to think about posting stuff. To make myself feel a little bit better I decided I ought to share with you my new found love of "It". I honestly think it is one of the most enjoyable things I have watch recently (not that I haven't enjoyed the other films I've seen as of late). I thank Netflix for recently adding a ton of silent films I've been dying to see (mostly Mr. Keaton's work) to instant watch! It worked out quite well that I discovered this the other night after dear Emily got violently ill and I was forbidden from her bed (which normally we share ... not in a weird way, mind you).  So I ended up alone in the guest room with no chatter nor ludicrous stories to entertain me and I took full advantage of finally having a bedroom with internet. Of course Netflix was where I went first because I abuse it like a crack whore abuses... well, crack, I expect. Anyway I ADORED "It", and Clara Bow, despite her horrendous hair do's in this film (no offense if you like them, I just find them odd and unflattering). Oh and super-mega-hot-man Antonio Moreno, who plays her love interest. I mean this man is my type (physically), plain and simple. Even though he has a mustache, I can overlook that. Very, very easily. I hope if you haven't seen this film and hope to that you do soon, and if you have seen it I hope you liked it as much as I.

Just so you know what "it" is.

hunk

Transportation Temptations: Cars

The reason I have never bought my own car: I have never found one I loved. I don't believe in paying great sums of money for something you do not like, thus I have yet to purchase a car. The only time I have come even a little bit close was the winter of my senior year in high school. She was a 1969 black mercedes. A real beauty. But I was a fool and got too scared she would die on me or be violated in my school parking lot, so I didn't buy her. I'll never forgive myself, especially since she was in such good condition and such a reasonable price. I'm still on the hunt for another car to love, but ones with working parts are hard to come by on my budget. For now I'll have to satisfy my desire through these photos of glorious people and their glorious rides. And a bit of propaganda... 

Vicksburg, Mississippi

Euphonic Earworms: Loveable and Sweet, In the Middle of a Kiss

I was supposed to be packing yesterday, but did a single stitch of clothing get put in any bags? Nope. Not only was a being a dirty ol' procrastinator, but the weather was making me sleepy and dreamy - it was raining hard most of the day. So I cracked open a window (sacrificing my pincurls to humidity in order to better hear the wonderful sound of rain - which can be had anytime you want, for those of you in drier climates) and lazed around in bed, feeling happy with my comfy little setup and sad that I will be leaving it in just two days.

Anyway, the late-20s/early-30s continue to dominate my playlists, and here are two songs (of many) that played softly in the background all day yesterday. The first is by the adorable and dimple-cheeked Annette Hanshaw, and the second by Connee Boswell (of the Boswell Sisters). The two songs have completely opposite tones - one a light-hearted and gay (in the old-fashioned meaning of the word) celebration of love, and the other a wistful song of failed romance. 

"Loveable and Sweet" - Annette Hanshaw 

"In the Middle of a Kiss" - Connee Boswell

- Emily

P.S - Tomorrow TCM is playing Three on a Match (1932) at 9:45 pm! I highly recommend it, I saw it a few days ago on TCM's Forbidden Hollywood set, a collection of Pre-Code films, and I really loved it. 

Crystal Springs, Mississippi & Outfit Post

 Last weekend my dad and I went over to a town called Crystal Springs to visit the Robert Johnson Blues Museum, but as my luck would be, it was closed. So instead we walked around one of the streets with pretty old houses still around and I took some shots. I would have taken more, but I got really horrid blisters on my feet and it was like 1000 degrees out so I called it quits pretty early.

Incredibly pretty house in C.S. Probably my favorite, but not just because it's huge.

Artist Feature: Enoch Bolles

My blogging may be rather sparse over the next two weeks as I'll be moving back to Atlanta and then immediately heading out to Oregon for a few days for my cousin's wedding... 

So - I'll leave you with some eye-candy: the gorgeous and, ahem, very naughty artwork of Enoch Bolles! One of the most successful earlier glamour artists, he did cover art for tons of magazines in his heyday (the nineteen-teens through the 1940s), but he also did a lot of advertising work - an interesting and unfortunate little piece of trivia is that his "Windy Girl" work for Zippo lighters is often mis-credited to Alberto Vargas (who was in fact very influenced by Bolles).

While gathering up some pictures from around the web for this post, I happened across a fabulous blog dedicated to his artwork! Check it out if you like his images, there is a lot of good information (and tons of rare images) there. 

I just love the utter richness of his work: the jewel-toned color palates, the "overripe girls" (a perfect description from the folks at the Bolles blog), the impossible/ridiculous but wonderfully fantastical poses and situations of the Bolles girls. And as it is with any pinup work, his portrayals of the female figure are unrealistic: the girls have cartoonishly beautiful faces and impossible curves that could make Rita Hayworth look boyish, but that doesn't spoil it for me - in fact, its part of what I enjoy about his work, and good pinup art in general. It's not supposed to be realistic, its idealized and over-the-top and it doesn't take itself too seriously. 

But enough talk, here are just a few of the many beautiful illustrations done by Bolles. Believe it or not, I actually tried to choose his less-naughty/suggestive pieces - Google his name and there is some much more blush-inducing work of his out there! 

Enjoy!

1941. This gorgeous lady reminds me a bit of an inflated Hedy Lamarr... inflated boobs, inflated lips..

1916. "Look before you leap this year!"
This is definitely one of my top favorites! Because the first time I saw this I laughed out loud, very loud. And I still audibly chuckle most times I look at this. The guy's face is priceless, and it's a moment perfectly suspended in time, both sentimentally beautiful and genuinely humorous, something that I think is very difficult to pull off in images and is thus very impressive to me. I know the feeling of the guy in the water - I always get afraid of getting accidentally jumped on by friends at the pool, and I also always check the water before I jump off a diving board!

Amusing Annuals #2

Hey!

More pictures from the past for you all, because I dont have much else to offer. Enjoy!

A Wonderful Weekend & Down Argentine Way

Hello all!

This past weekend was grand, with lots of vintage-related goodness packed in and some merrymaking (that involved lots of yummy food, always a plus) with friends last night. 

Saturday I had a shoot that was somewhat hastily planned with a girl I know from work - me taking the pictures, of course (I say this because if you know me, you know how I get extremely uncomfortable in front of the camera - behind it, however, is where I love to be). I just had this urge to play dress up with somebody, and Emily (yes, we have the same name, but that's not too exciting since it's the most popular girl's name for people born in the 90's) is pretty and has this really long wavy hair I was dying to vintage-ify, so I thought, hey, lets do a little vintage inspired shoot! It's been ages since I took pictures so I was a bit nervous that my "technique" would be rusty, and it was, but practice makes perfect, right? I went over to her place the night before and pin-curled her hair, then came over on Saturday and did her hair, makeup, and brought some clothing, and away we went! She was actually really great, even though she'd never done a shoot before - no awkwardness, really relaxed, so that was great. I'll try and edit some soon... I need to get Photoshop but for now I'll have to make do with Gimp.

On Sunday I got up early and headed out to the SoWa Open Market that happens every Sunday in Boston, because it's located right by Bobby's and the market also has a market-within-a-market vintage section, and it's been weeks since I last went. And boy, did I hit the jackpot (and my wallet... really hard. Meh.)! More on that in a later post. 

Then I came home, took a cold shower (something I have to do all the time here, it being so hot and humid and my apartment with no A/C), and hunkered down with baking for a friend's dinner party that night, where everyone was supposed to bring a little food/drink to contribute. I made a cheese & croissants recipe I learned from Gee, and then made chocolate croissants too, but those were an utter flop as the chocolate I used was wayyyy to bitter. Not bittersweet. Just plain bitter.

But the party was a blast, lots of good food, good people, good times. 

Anyway, if you haven't dozed off by now, I'll leave you with some pictures from Down Argentine Way (1940) with Betty Grable and Don Ameche, which I watched a few days ago, and really loved, not that I'm surprised! There was some marvelous fashion in this film, and Technicolor never fails to dazzle me!

First up: there was some really cute sportswear and equestrian clothing in this film!

Betty Grable at the races. 

Amusing Annuals

Gather ‘round guys and gals, 


Today is the introduction of my 5 part series of yearbooks from grandma Ella. I figured going in chronological order would be the best so here is 1948 when Ella was in 6th grade and her future husband (my grandad, Jim) was a high school senior! Yes, he was seven years older than she, but dont get too creeped out, they didnt know they would be married yet. In fact I even took a picture of his high school girlfriend, Faye, for you folks. Almost every trip to my grandparents’ house since I was a kid I would look through these and my dad’s yearbooks for kicks. I hope these entertain you at least a fraction as much as they do me.

Neat cover, dontcha think?

That's my grandpa in the center (because you couldn't figure out he isn't the lady or cartoon...)