Once Upon A Family…

This would be my great-grandmother, Kirsten Paulsen, circa 1912. She married Ludvig in 1915. I want her hat. And her coat.

Is it just me, or is October slipping by faster than last year? I feel as if I can barely keep up. I think those guys who invented TiVo need to come up with a “pause” button for life. I just need a few days to clean up the yard & house, finish organizing the sewing room and catch up with my reading & correspondence. That’s not asking too much, is it?

Cheer up, Kate.

Oh dear, it appears that the flu (be it swine or the regular miserable variety), is making the rounds early this year and it seems to have taken hold of my poor, dear, friend Kate (of Domestikated). Since I am a bit too far away (aproximently 4,600 miles or 7,500km) to drop off a pot of soup, I thought I would write a “Get Well Soon” post of sorts to cheer her up. Of course, if you are feeling a bit ill, I hope this helps you feel a bit better as well, but this is especially for you, Kate.

~The ever ridiculous Neiman Marcus Christmas Book has been released and I am pretty sure this fantasy gift was dreamed up just for Kate: a customized cupcake car, complete with matching hat! I think with a bit of cardboard, styrofoam & fabric, you could make your own version in time for Halloween for slightly less than the original $25,000 price tag. Oh! You should make a cupcake costume, then bake matching cupcakes to pass out—or just eat them yourself.

~Kate loves cake. Kate also loves pink. Hence, a Pink Cakes for Kate gallery up on flickr. Also, you need this vintage pink cake cover and pink cake pan. It’s not a want, it’s a necessity.

~Have you heard about The Phantom of the Opera sequel? I’ll let Liz (of The Park Bench) tell you about it:

I had no idea this was happening, but apparently, there’s a “Phantom of the Opera” sequel set to debut in London on March 9, 2010. It’s called “Love Never Dies,” it takes place after the events of “Phantom” and I swear this is what the article says, it “continues the story of the obsessive Phantom, who has moved from the Paris Opera House to haunt the fairgrounds of New York’s Coney Island.” Somewhere, Gaston Leroux is triple-lutzing in his coffin. I don’t think I’ll be seeing this show unless it stars a pantsless John Barrowman and even then, well…okay, I’d be pretty interested in seeing that.

Hahahahahahahaha! That is all I have to say about that.

~I think everyone has a list of movies they like to watch when they are sick. I reckon a few are universal (The Princess Bride) and can be found on every girls list (Pride & Prejudice or some other Austen adaptation). But one of my all time favorite comfort films is That Thing You Do!

I love the music, the costumes, the amazing one-liners, Steve Zahn and did I mention the snappy music? That Thing You Do! makes me so happy! The moment I finish watching the movie, I want to start it over again right away.

~Finally, we both know there is nothing quite like cozying up to a book with a comfy blanket and large cup of tea. But I know sometimes one is too ill and tired to lift a book much less cipher all those jumbled up letters. That is why they invented audiobooks and one of the many reasons Stephen Fry was born.

Oh J.K. Rowling. We owe you so very much.

Hope you feel better soon, friend Kate!

An Open Letter to Mad Men

Dear Mad Men,

I really love you. I think you are super fantastic and I tell all my friends to watch your show. I don’t have cable, so I would drive to my parents house to watch you during season two, but that got old, so I splurged and bought a season 3 pass on iTunes. That is how much I love your show. However, I am a bit tired of the “we’re such a stickler for historical accuracy” spiel. That is a fine ambition, but we all know you can never be 100% historically accurate. As a lover of period films, I have learned to accept that sometimes creative licenses need to be taken. I can even accept it from you, if you stopped talking about how anal you are about the tiniest detail. But until you step down from your “historically accurate” high horse, I am going to call you out when you mess up.

That cookbook looks pretty swell. Too bad it wasn’t published until 1967.

There are other things that bother me, like the Vietnam pre-draft dodger in 1963, or the pink bakery box. But I am willing to let it slide, in the name of artistic license. But only if you stop being a snob about your “accuracy”, okay? Okay.

I still love you,

Mad Men Fashion Friday: Peggy & Bows

Peggy likes plaid. So do I. Peggy also likes bows. I like bows. I like bows in my hair; on my shoes; adorning my purses; bows as a brooch. I do not like bows on my waist or hips. Sorry Peggy, you may be my favorite, but our thoughts on bows & men differ greatly.

{From 1962, Butterick 2137. Available on etsy here and here and here.

Look! No bow and it is still a beautiful dress. You don’t agree? Fine. Here are some dresses with bows Peggy might approve:

Wait a moment. The dress on the right has brought to mind one of the greatest costumes ever created and suddenly I am rethinking my stance on bows.

Okay. Bows are acceptable, but only if worn above your bust and below your hips. Audrey has declared it so.

Happy Friday everyone! Do you have any special weekend plans? This will be my first Saturday off in a very, very long time, so I plan on sleeping in until noon, laying in bed with a book for 6 hours before finally dragging myself into the world of the living for a dinner of bacon & waffles. Whatever the weekend brings you, I hope it brings a smile to your face.

Little Bits of Random ~September 30th Edition~

~I am enamored with this series of reminders from local Austin artist Recovering Lazyholic. Be sure to check out the Need to Want Less set up on flickr. {via Austin Eavesdroper}

~The majority of all the crafty skills I’ve picked have been due to the fact that I am a huge nerd. I wanted to dress up for the Lord of the Rings midnight show; I taught myself how to sew. I wanted a Harry Potter scarf; I learned how to knit. This awesome elven brooch requires simple crochet skills, so I think I just found a reason to pick up a new craft. {via Geek Central Station}

~This series of photos from a Disneyland pancake flipping contest is highly amusing. Who knew flipping pancakes required such concentration! I am also quite taken with the two girls in the back in the plaid skirts. I think I may need some of those for my fall wardrobe.

~I know I’m not the only one who yells “Accio!” when I’m searching for my phone, keys or the TV remote. So what could be better than using a wand to turn up the volume during your favorite part of Harry Potter & the Sorcerers Stone? Hmmm, let me think about that. Aside from actually going to Hogwarts, nothing comes to mind.

~For Buy A Friend A Book week, I suggest the new “classic couture” edition of Pride & Prejudice from Penguin books. I have seen it in person and it is exquisite; the illustration extends to the inside flaps and the pages have a lovely rough, uneven texture which I find to be a lovely touch.

Hope you all had a lovely Wednesday. I can hardly believe September is over! October is going to be good—I can feel it.

Read-Alongs, Book Clubs and Crafty Swaps.

I am a homebody. Given the choice to go out or stay in, I will choose to stay in, especially if there is a book calling my name. I reckon I will be even more of a hermit this October with all the read-alongs and online book clubs I’ve decided to participate in this month. I know it is a bit last minute, but anyone care to join me?

~I know I said I wasn’t going to participate in the Meet Me At Mikes book club this time around, but I lied. It’s been years since I read Jane Eyre and I am thoroughly enjoying revisiting Thornfield Hall.

~Have you been hearing a lot about “The Elegance of the Hedgehog”? It seems to be popping up on recommending reading lists everywhere as of late and if you want to discover what all the fuss is about, might I suggest joining the book club in the Pink of Perfection forums? I tried to place a hold on one of the copies from my library and discovered there were 95 people ahead of me. Wow! I suppose I’ll just have to buy my own copy now.

~Infinite Summer was such a success, the community has decided to continue on with more read-alongs, hurray! Quite appropriately, we are reading Dracula during the month of October. I’ve never read this classic, so I’m really looking forward to the discussions and commentaries.

~(Right, I know this isn’t related to books, but this is the last day you can sign up and I wanted to let you know about it. Okay? Okay.) Do you like getting mail? Are you intrigued by the idea of a crafty pen-pal? Quick! Join the Meet Me At Mikes crafty pen-pals swap! My best friend and I started out as pen pals over 10 years ago, so you never what kind of person you could meet.

Finally, apparently the first week in October is Buy a Friend A Book week. It’s pretty self explanatory: buy a friend a book for no other reason other than books and friends are awesome. That is an idea I can get behind.

Happy reading!

And Now For Something Completely Different.

I’m going to change things up a bit and move Mad Men Monday to Friday. This should give me more time to watch the episode and gather photos, patterns & links and actually write a coherent post for your reading pleasure. Hope you don’t mind the slight delay. In place of Mad Men Monday, I shall be sharing a picture of my relatives from the early 20th century for the next few weeks. I think they are lovely, but I’m a bit biased.

My great-grandfather, Ludvig Bernard, who immigrated to Los Angeles from Norway in 1911. Or was it 1910? I’m sorry, mom, I’m getting my dates mixed up again. But back to the photo. I love the Norwegian flag on display in between the California & Los Angeles pennants hanging on the wall. This may sound silly, but it makes me think about embracing both the past & the future; the old & the new. So often we cling to nostalgia or go running blindly into the future. Personally, I like having one foot firmly planted on either side.

In A Hole In the Ground There Lived A Hobbit.

Today it is the 22nd of September, or as it is known in my world, Bilbo & Frodo’s birthday, hurray! This is also the day our beloved Hobbits set out on their adventures through Middle Earth and to commemorate the occasion, I have started a re-read of The Hobbit as it has been far too long since I read Bilbo’s story from start to finish.

Happy Middle Earth Day!

What I’ve Been Doing All Week

Oh, hello! Apparently, today is Sunday. Huh.

I find that plans, schedules and routines are useful and helpful in my life—but sometimes you need to ditch them for a bit. This explains the shocking lack of posts this week. For one reason or another, I felt that my time was better spent watching Battlestar Galactica with my brother & helping out during the final stretch of Operation Convert Storage Shed to Studio. I am happy to report that progress has been made and with a little luck, it may even be finished by the end of next week, hurray!

This week, I also learned…

~While I do like Jane Eyre, I will never love Charlotte Bronte like I love Jane Austen. Also, I think the chapter when Mr. Rochester dresses up like a gypsy is absurd.

~Grapes are the perfect late night or tv watching snack.

~When you finish watching season 2 of Battlestar Galactica at 11:15 and you have to know what happens next before you can get any sleep, living 1.3 miles away from an independent video store that is open until midnight is awesome.

~Battlestar Galactica is awesome and I’m sad it’s over. I will miss speculating who the final 5 cylons are with Daniel (he was positive Starbuck was a cylon & I was positive she was not) but I am definitely looking forward to the new prequel movie being released next month. This essentially brings me one step closer to becoming Dwight Schrute (Bears, check. Battlestar Galactica, check. Beets? Eh. Not a big fan.).

~Family is important. Friends are nice. Having your brother as your best friend is the best of both worlds.

So say we all,

Today, it rained.

Everything is going to be okay.