New Blog Devoted to Classic TV!

I started a new blog yesterday - Bewitched with Classic TV. I hope you will visit it soon! If you are a fan of Bewitched I suggest you "pop in" right now!

I ♥ Autumn

 

        

Some fun things to do throughout October. My only question is, what if it doesn't rain on the 27th?

 

Check out my Pinterest board for all kinds of Autumness!!

You Have a New Code Name: U.N.C.L.E.

Last week I went to the movie theater to see Guy Ritchie's The Man From U.N.C.L.E. starring Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer. I have been wanting to go see it again since then.

 



Now if you are a huge fan of the original TV show, then you may or may not like the film. The reviews I have seen either highly praise the movie or complain at how it is not like the show at all. I have not seen the show so that did not influence my thoughts on the movie.

There is nothing NOT to love about this film: actors, dialogue, action, soundtrack, filming style, fashion, I loved everything about it. Someone pointed out that the movie seems to take place during 1953 (it shows a clip of President Kennedy) but the fashions or late 60s/Twiggy style. I tend to not let those kind of things bother me, unless its something they got horrible wrong. I watch movies for entertainment though so a few errors timeline-wise don't bother me.

Here are a couple reviews/articles that I enjoyed:

... is a Welcome Vacation From This Summer's Blockbusters

It isn't concerned with being a great, sweeping film, nor is it tethered to some hulking franchise. Sure, there's a rather dour nuclear bomb threat at the end of this tunnel, but Ritchie and co-writer Lionel Wigram are more concerned with floating the audience along on the bubbly journey it takes to get there. Even the action sequences are more concerned with style and humor than with violence.

The Clothes, the Cars, and the Locations Explained

My favorite scene

And now, Alicia 's wardrobe. I pretty much want all of her dresses. This one is my favorite.

Love her sunglasses!!

 

Really want her earrings here...

 

This dress also has a cut-out back

 

I can't wait till this comes out on blu-ray!!!!

What I Would Like To See Kate Wear

Over at Duchess Kate, one of my favorite Kate Middleton blogs, is a post where YOU get to choose how to dress Kate. You just leave a comment with a link to an item or items you would like to see the Duchess of Cambridge wear. Here's the outfit I came up. All of the accessories she already owns; only the dress is new.

I would have Kate wear this while on tour. The link to the dress no longer works but the address bar said Ariella Maral - du jour branco e floral Azul. The dress is Hobbs.

Other looks:

[dress and Kate Spade earrings no longer available; clutch found here.]

Kate would look lovely in this Light Blue Plain Pleated Cross-Over Neckline Chiffon dress.
I would pair it with Kate's Annoushka Pearl Drop earrings, her gold plated Acorn Pendant by
Kristin M London, this Tory Burch White Straw Clutch (no longer available), and the
Stuart Weitzman Corkswoon Wedges in white.

[dress, necklace and earrings no longer available]

I absolutely love this dress I found on Pinterest. I would keep the clutch and belt and pair it with either these green teardrop earrings or the Nina Teela tanzanite earrings and Kate's L.K. Bennett 'Silver' Cross-Strap sandals.

[dress, clutch no longer available, sandals]

 

[blouse, jeans, trousers, shoes no longer available]

 

 

[jacket, skirt, blouse]

 

[McQueen dress found here - click to see in better detail, L.K. Bennett Pumps found here.]

Here's what it looks like on.

 

Here's an evening ensemble. Kate already has all of the accessories. The dress can be found here.

 

And now here are some individual items

I would love to see Kate wear:

Kate would look fantastic in this Pink Collarless V-Neck 'Osbourne' Jacket  and Long Pencil Skirt in Pink Eggshell from Really Wild Clothing. I can see her pairing it with her Russell & Bromley Park Ave heels and 5th Ave clutch (pictured in first ensemble) and her Annoushka Pearl Drop earrings.

We all know Kate loves her Breton tops. Here are some from J. Crew with a spin. The middle one can be found here (shone in neon flame).

 

I can also see Kate racing William with this J.Crew Colorblock Sail Jacket wearing her 'sporting uniform' underneath.

 

 

These striped espadrilles would be a cute alternative to her Sebago 'Bala' Boat Shoes. She could wear them with her signature skinny jeans and this Polo Ralph Lauren 'Julianna' cable wool crew neck sweater.

 

 

Some other casual shirts she could wear:

 

 

Anthropologie Green Gingham Blouse

 

 

Palimera yarn dyed striped shirt

Mint Velvet Stripe t-shirt in ivory & silver

 

Office 'On Tops' Red Patent Leather Heels
Asos Embroidered Cutwork dress
Louboutin Yellow Heels
Sergio Rossi Single Sole Pumps - woven raw silk, 4" heel

Michael Kors Stretch Wool Cigarette Pants
Ink Spot Cigarette Trouser
Maverick Blazer
Denim Blazer
Alexander Military Blazer
Yellow Cropped Blazer
Tod's Leather Trimmed Wool Blazer
Tropical Print Shirt Dress

L.K. Bennett Flo Textile Fold Over Clutch Bag

Michael Kors Sleeveless Belted Fit and Flare Dress in Khaki or Duffle
Michael-Kors-Evie-Metallic-Snake-Print-Sandal-Gold
Michael-Kors-Giovanna-Leather-Espadrille-Wedge-Sandal-Luggage
ariel-wedges-michael-kors

alexander-mcqueen-crystal-spine-embroidered-gown

Stella McCartney Skinny Ankle Grazer Jeans
stella-mccartney-falabella-zigarette-denim-crossbody

Birthday of Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother

On this day in 1900, Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who would eventually become Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, was born. She lived to be 102. Here is what was posted on the British Monarchy Facebook page today:

Her Majesty was Patron or President of some 350 organizations. She was Commandant-in-Chief of the Army and Air Force Women's Services, and for Women in the Royal Navy, and held other Service appointments.

For many years she was President of the British Red Cross Society, and she was Commandant-in-Chief of the Nursing Division of the St John Ambulance Brigade. She was also Colonel-in-Chief or Honorary Colonel of many UK and overseas regiments, and Commandant-in-Chief of the Royal Air Force Central Flying School.

And on her 100th birthday Her Majesty received, like other centenarians, a message of congratulations from The Queen.

In another post they wrote:

Following the outbreak of war in 1939, there was some suggestion that the Queen and her daughters should evacuate to North America or Canada. To this the Queen made her famous reply: "The children won't go without me. I won't leave the King. And the King will never leave."

Thus throughout the Second World War the Queen and... her children shared the dangers and difficulties of the rest of the nation. She was in Buckingham Palace when it was bombed in September 1940. She and the King visited badly damaged areas throughout the country after the air-raids, and toured Britain visiting hospitals, factories and troops.

If you are interested in learning more about the Queen Mother, I highly recommend Counting Ones Blessings: The Selected Letters of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother by William Shawcross. It contains letters from when she was little girl all the way up into the end of her life. Her letters are a delight to read and offer a fantastic look into her life. I only wish they included more scans of the actual letters. Shawcross has also written her official biography, which is on my "To Read" list.

So July Was a Busy Month..

Sorry for the lack of posts in July. It was a busy month. We had a big family reunion that took out a good two weeks and then I had to catch up on my online TCM Film Noir class. I promise this month will be better ☺

Patriotic Aprons

Here are three lovely patriotic aprons for Independence Day.

 

Parade Float Kit

Here is a cool, vintage ad for a parade float kit from Vaughn's Inc. As you can see, they are:

• Professionally Planned
• Practical to Produce
• and you can Parade with Pride!

British Books I want to Buy

I "like" several Kate Middleton and British Royalty Pages on Facebook (as you could have probably guessed) and recently one of the pages announced that two fascinating books have been published. The first is a never before published Sherlock Holmes short story that was written specifically for Queen Mary's dollhouse. It is titled, "How Watson Learned the Trick."

Here is the product description from the site:

Queen Mary's Dolls' House at Windsor Castle is the largest and most famous dolls' house in the world. It was a gift from the nation to Queen Mary, consort to King George V, and was built by master craftsmen between 1921 and 1924.

When the building was ready, the foremost writers of the day were asked to contribute miniature works for the library. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wrote How Watson Learned the Trick, an original Sherlock Holmes story, especially for the library in 1922. This lavish cloth-bound edition contains a miniature book measuring just 38.5 x 30mm, a faithful facsimile of the original handwritten book in Queen Mary's Dolls' House.

In the story, Watson tries to mimic Holmes's mastery of the art of deduction with very funny results, making this a book for both adults and children to delight in.

Alongside the miniature book, the edition also contains an informative booklet with a transcript of the story and information about the Dolls' House.

As a big fan of the Sherlock Holmes stories, and being on the last book, I was very excited to learn that there was one more "new" story out there. It costs £12.99 (about $20).

Here is a link to an interactive site of Queen Mary's dollhouse. It is really neat!

The second item comes from the same site. It is a children's story written and illustrated by Queen Victoria titled, "The Adventures of Alice Laselles." It costs £9.95 (about $15.50)

The description:

Queen Victoria wrote this charming story about the adventures of Alice Laselles at Miss Duncombe's school for girls, and the mystery of who put the cat in Miss Duncombe's kitchen, when she was just 10 ¾. This tiny gem in its little red notebook is now kept safe in the Royal Archives. It is published here for the very first time, and is illustrated with characters created from Victoria's own collection of paper dolls, drawn for her by her governess and then delicately coloured in by Victoria herself. A delightful and unique children's story, which will still enchant and captivate every little princess today. With an introduction by Jacqueline Wilson.

 Here is a link to an interactive version of Queen Victoria's scrapbook. In the section on her childhood, it has pictures of more of her paper dolls. It's a great resource if you want to learn more about Victoria's life.

My "Happy" Place - the Beach

One of my first posts on this blog was on Exotic Beach Inspiration. I love the beach, but unfortunately I don't live on it or even near it. I was given the opportunity to go with friends for a week two years in a row, which was amazing. I just wish I could go every summer for two months!! But, since I can't do that, I must be content to share some 'beachy' pictures off of Pinterest with you.

I have two different Pinterest boards devoted to the beach. There is one called Beach House in Cape Cod (which I hope comes true one day) and Beach Stuff, which has all kinds of beach related things: décor, vintage swimwear, art, books, crafts, etc. Check them out! Here's some of the pictures from my boards that I decided to share with you here.

Beach Fashion - wow your friends at the beach with these retro looks!



Left: Short knitted beach coat with toggle fastening and bell shaped sleeves, 1955.
Right: Swing-back terry cloth beach coat pattern, 1950.

Don't forget your beach bag!

Australian Home Journal, 1949.

 

If you want to look like Gidget...

(Check out my post on Gidget for the Beach Party Blogathon here)

 

Don't forget to have fun!

 

Beach Houses - nautical motifs, pastels...

Every beach home needs a look-out room!

 

 

Library-by-the-Sea. Must. Have. This. Room!

 

 

Some Crafty Ideas...

Build yourself a little beachy shelf to hold your favorite books.

 

May I suggest Cinda by Janet Lambert, Paintbox Summer and The Scarlet Sail by Betty Cavanna, *Misty of Chincoteague and *Stormy, Misty's Foal by Marguerite Henry (must be illustrated by Wesley Dennis), *Sailor Jim's Cave by W. J. Pat Enright, The Treasure of the Coral Reef by Don Stanford, Dolphin Island by Arthur C. Clarke, and for the little kids (and adults; who am I kidding) *Annie Pat and Eddie by Carolyn Haywood (all of these are teen/children's books but I love all of them - the ones with stars the whole family will enjoy).

 

Journaling idea: put sand, shells, and other finds from the beach in little clear pockets and affix them to a page in your journal.

Nature has long been linked to elevated moods. At the beach, the sound of the waves and the feeling of sand beneath our feet can help the stress of everyday life fall away. The beach house, by its very location, is an agent of nature, and a key place for getting back in touch with the environment. The water, shells, dunes, beach stones, sea grass - each one speaks to us and soothes the soul.

 Coastal Living - Beach House Happy: The joy of living by the water. Antonia Van Der Meer. 2015.