A Classic Broad At A Classic Car Show

I mentioned in my last post that I live within walking distance to shopping and dining in downtown Burbank.  Being still very new to the area, I'm always looking for local events that we can attend to better know the community.  At the end of August was one of those local events - the Burbank Car Classic (http://downtownburbankcarclassic.com).

What a fun afternoon!  I'm not much of a gear head, but I can appreciate the beauty of automobiles that have been lovingly restored, preserved or rediscovered from the past.

And I finally got to wear my retro-inspired dress that I bought last year at a vintage shop in Newburyport, MA.  If seeing a 50-something parade around in a pink dress with black cats on it distresses you then, please read no further.  But personally I was thrilled to debut my Atomic Kitty dress (by Voodoo Vixen).

Clockwise from left:  Mach 5 from "Speed Racer" movie, Mach 5 and me in the "Atomic Kitty" dress; Bob's Big Boy;  Vintage Burbank police care; VW Bug from "Austin Powers-The Spy Who Shagged Me"; 1971 (can't remember the make or model, sorry)

Fabulous baby blue Ford Thunderbird that I fell in love with...

I'm looking forward to more local events to attend in my new hometown.  This weekend is the "Burbank Beer Festival"  (http://burbankbeerfestival.com/). I doubt I'll do much partaking in sampling (lightweight that I am.  And wine is more my thing), but there's a street fair for us non-suds types. Can't wait to check out the offerings there!

Until next time...

Gastronomical Adventures

One of the many great perks about moving to a new city and state is exploring the neighborhood for shopping, dining and entertainment.  And although the Instigator and I haven't gone so far as to eat out every meal, we have stumbled upon a few gems within walking distance from our apartment. I have to be honest - we are walking distance to downtown where there are a plethora of shops and restaurants and three movie theaters. 

But there is one restaurant that we are particularly fond of and that is Granville Cafe.
(www.granvillecafe.com)

We had visited Granville several times before we moved here, but just recently discovered their breakfast/brunch on Saturdays and Sundays.  I plan on eating my way through all of their breakfast offerings...

Let's start with French Toast... I could easily gain back the 7 pounds I've lost from the process of packing and moving 3,000 miles by indulging in this treat regularly.  I don't recall the type of bread they use but I do know that their X-Factor is using orange zest in the dipping mixture.  And of course, served with pure maple syrup.  TD4! 

Ate every morsel.  Would have licked the plate if I could.

The Instigator had pancakes with bacon on the side.

The walk home was challenging...

Pacing the Floors No More

At least there will be less floor to pace.  The movers are coming today! I've spent the last 10 days making paper patterns from the measurements of our furniture to make sure everything will fit and to play around with arrangements.

If you squint real hard, you can see a spinet piano here.

Or a desk and chair...

Or even a lovely sage green sofa...

As excited as I am about furnishing the interior, I am REALLY excited about having outdoor living space.  We have TWO patios at our new home.  One off the master bedroom and one off the living room.  I have plans to make the one off the bedroom a little European flavored terrazzo using furniture from our east coast apartment that we don't quite have room for inside here. 

My writing desk will fit perfectly in this space to use as a sideboard

And our former kitchen bistro set will go here

...because this is the view we will see. The Verdugo Mountains.

And don't think I won't be using real table linens, china or glassware.  With those Cypress trees as a backdrop, you're going to think we're living in Italy! 

Until next time,

Happy Independence Day!












 

Westward Ho With No Snow!

It seems that my previous attempts at consistent blogging have been an epic fail. But ya know, I'm going to keep at it because now I have good reason to stay connected with family, friends and whomever may take a peek at my posts while searching for something else.

After living nearly all my 50 something years in New England, and after the most brutal winter on record, the Instigator and I have moved to Southern California. Oh yes, we did!  The instigator started a new job in May and I spent the past 5 weeks packing up the apartment in preparation for the move.

But we are finally here!  And lovin' it!  My first official week as a California resident has been very exciting... 

I've bought a trash can...

and a grocery bag dispenser...

Here they are peacefully coexisting under the kitchen sink...

See, I told you it was an exciting first week!  There's more to come and fingers crossed the moving truck comes!

Until next time,

(I need to come up with a tag line)

I Like That Shirt. Can I Have It?

The Instigator likes his shirts.  And he's not afraid to wear color.  I like that about him. It's not that he's obsessed with buying them, it's just that sometimes they don't fit after a period of time because inevitably they progressively shrink after so many rides in the washer and dryer. 

Lucky me!  If the shirt happens to be a color or pattern that I like, I'll politely ask if I can have it before he puts it in the charity pile.  (He will argue that I already had dibs on it even before he took it out of the package, but that's not true...most of the time.)

This refashion is the first one I ever did.  I don't have a before photo, but suffice to say it was your basic men's long-sleeved shirt.  I had picked up New Look 6563 at a fabric store in Boston from their dollar section quite some time before.  So when I was "gifted" the shirt, I knew the exact pattern for it.

 I pretty much took apart the entire shirt seam by seam and started from scratch. Instead of purchasing ruffle trim for the neckline and peplum edge, I made it from leftover strips of fabric and used a narrow serged hem.

I don't know if I'd choose this pattern for the next shirt remake, but one thing's for sure; The Instigator will not be asking for any of his shirts back once I get me hands on them.

I See a Pattern Here...

Several years back I bought this IKEA Aneboda 3-drawer storage chest to organize my patterns.  

It wasn’t until just recently that I decided that the plain frosted plastic drawer fronts weren’t doing it for me anymore.  Having assembled the piece myself, I knew that the fronts were not removable, so replacing them was not a viable option.  An internet search for inspiration came up with gluing wallpaper or fabric over the plastic fronts.  After examining the drawers a little closer I discovered that there was a little play in the slot area were the plastic is inserted.  Hmm… if I could find some heavy decorative card stock, it might just be the ticket to dressing up an otherwise utilitarian piece of furniture. 

Then I remembered I saved this:

An Haute Couture wall calendar by Lang.  Too pretty to throw away after 2013 had ended, I stashed it amongst the stash in the studio.  I measured the drawer front opening and added 1/8” on each side.  The paper stock of the calendar was heavy enough to not wrinkle but thin enough to be flexible so I could insert it without difficulty.

Here’s the end result:

I am so pleased with it that it motivated me to start organizing the patterns in it. Every time I see it, I’m inspired to flip through the patterns and start planning the next project.

IKEA also has a wardrobe from the same collection that I want to purchase.  

 There’s plenty of leftover calendar – guess what I’ll be doing to dress it up?
 

New Year, New Look 6731

I knew when I started this blog that there would be long stretches between posts.  Yeah, a year seems about right for me.  I guess I'm one of those people who gets so absorbed in the now moment, that remembering to record them for posterity never occurs to me at the time.  But I'm trying to change that.

I finally bought a new camera that has a remote shutter release, so I can take photos of my projects without having to bother the Instigator. I just need to be more consistent in my photo taking.  It's a work in progress as am I. So without further (yearlong) adieu, I bring you my latest make - New Look 6731.

I used the View A tunic pattern and I lengthened it several inches to dress length. The fabric is a stretch rayon blend jersey knit from Fabric.com (2011) from one of their many clearance sales when I was building a stash.

 

My favorite pose of this series.  Not bad for a 50 something!

 

I really like the 60's vibe of this dress. I lined the dress in self fabric from the neckline to the waist and used a knit tricot in a beige shade for the bottom half of the dress. This gave it a little more weight and slip so that I could wear it with tights without it clinging.

Next up on the project list is Vogue 7427 circa 1969. Found in a thrift shop for 50 cents, it has all the pieces in tact.  Its previous owner cut the short version, but was thoughtful enough to save the length from the maxi version. I'm working on a fit muslin for the short version and plan on making it in a dark green and white 1/2" window pane fabric. (Of course I don't have a photo of the fabric...baby steps, baby steps...).  But here is a pic of the pattern. The dress is a step-in with snap closures and underlined. I really like the fact that the belt pattern is contoured as opposed to straight lines. I'm really looking forward to making this pattern and hope that another year doesn't pass before I post again!