When thinking up movies for Movie Monday, I've been trying to think of movies where I can re-create some sort of outfit from my closet that is inspired by a character in the movie. I feel like my Sound of Music outfit set some sort of precedent and I have to keep doing that. I doubt I'll be able to, but it's going to be fun to try! But with Hallowe'en coming up and having a dress in my closet that I got a few years back from a consignment store in Toronto, I was all set. Unfortunatetly, I've gained 17 pounds since I bought it, and it was actually too small to begin with (remember I have a bad habit of buying things that aren't my size?) There is an un-Godly amount of shapewear and fashion tape going on in this outfit. I took a pic of my underthings (not NFSW) because I look like a circus performer. Oh, the things girls go through!
As for the movie, the premise is pretty simple. The Addams welcome a new addition to the family, a baby named Pubert. Wednesday and Pugsley feel some sibling rivalry towards their new brother and go to great lengths to harm him (my favourite is shown in the clip below!)
Their parents, Gomez and Morticia, feeling the strain, decide to get a nanny and bring in a woman named Debbie. Awkward Uncle Fester is immediately smitten with her, but unbeknownst to him, she is actually the The Black Widow, a serial killer that marries and kills rich men. Savvy Wednesday is onto her scheme so Debbie urges Gomez and Morticia to send the kids to summer camp.
I actually watched this movie a lot as a kid, but I didn't remember the majority of it. However the scene that stood out to me most was the Thanksgiving scene with the fire. Mostly, because I was super afraid of fire. There are a lot of morbid scenes and lines in this movie but this was definitely the most terrifying to me.
It was really fun to re-watch this movie as an adult. So many one-liners I didn't understand as a child. Like this gem below
And another one about Fester never experiencing love and then Gomez saying something about him having Thing? Hahah, oh gosh, that's something you only catch when you're older! Wednesday is definitely the darkest character but Gomez is a hoot. I think I have to declare that he's my favourite.
If you too would like a Wednesday Addams' look, try this dress from ASOS. It says it's a maternity dress, but whatevs! It's so cute and has the perfect look.
Well, that's all for me! What movies have you been watching this week in preparation for Hallowe'en? Have you been taking any fashion cues from them?
I'll be honest - I only opened an Instagram account once I started blogging. When I hired Joyce to do my blog design, she asked me what existing blog designs I liked and what I liked about them. I pointed out a few blogs and said, "I like these types of social media buttons! Just make it like these exactly!" So she did (in my colours.) Problem was, I didn't even have existing accounts on some of those platforms. Uh, oops? But it's made me expand my online socializing so that's always a good thing! And even though my Instagram postings are boring and infrequent, I've been so inspired by what I've come across on there. So many dreamy photos! And not all cats and food photos as I had been taught to believe.
You can follow me @coinforthewell if you like!
Now for a little bit about each one!
Top Row L-R
1) At Thanksgiving, my Uncle Jeff and Aunt Susie had a million kittens running around. Over-exaggerating a little bit, but there were 8 kittens and 4 adult cats that were still pretty small (much smaller than my fat oaf of a cat!) They were trying to get rid of them and were joking they were handing them out as party favours. I was quite smitten with them but I don't even take care of my own cat - he currently resides with my ex, Mike.
2) I tired of my bulletin board display (it originally looked like this) so I decided to re-vamp it a little. Hurray for rampant Modcloth obsessions!
3) When I first started blogging, my parents were totally on board with the idea, and purchased me a tripod. Unfortunately, it was $9 and the legs only extended about a foot and a half. I have it propped up on my dining room table here attempting to try it out. I guess you get what you pay for!
Second Row L-R
4) My boyfriend and I being losers.
5) More kitty action at Thanksgiving. I brought my more compact camera and it was really slow at taking the shots with the flash off, so I typically caught the kitties just out of frame and many, many blurs. However, I thought this little mid-pounce shot was really cute!
6) There's a new shoe store at the mall that has huge stuffed sheep at the entrance. I think it's really creepy.
Third Row L-R
7) Trying out new promotional tactics for Factoid Friday. Plus, I just love trivia books that much.
8) When I broke the news to my boyfriend that he could no longer borrow my laptop to take to his parents when he went to visit them, he asked if he could take the TV instead. I obliged. I thought the empty space was hilarious though (because I'm random?) and had to share it with the entire Instagram community.
9) Wore this monochromatic outfit out to Acapulco Delight (a Mexican restaurant) with my friends, Candice and Kevin. Meant to take pics while we were actually out instead of selfies at home, but we called it a night early. Probably a good thing though - there ended up being multiple stabbings right outside my building!!!
Fourth Row L-R
10) Just a fun promo pic that I opted to use on Instagram instead of the blog, mostly because my mom cut my shoes off anyways.
11) Guess who's being a burger for Hallowe'en? THIS GIRL!
12) More blog/Pic Monkey fun.
Speaking of Hallowe'en, the lead-up to Hallowe'en is always a fun time to reflect on favourite costumes of years gone by. My absolute favourite costume ever was a Titanic victim. I rocked it when I was 14, 15 and 16 years old and then brought it back and made it a couple's costume with Mike, my ex when I was a 23 (did I mention that I went trick or treating all 4 of those years?)
Another couples costume I did with my ex was Slave Leia and Jabba. All I can say is I'm happy burgers don't have to go on diets.
Photo Credit Sergio Mazzotta
I won't be able to do any fun couples things this year because Logan works at the Loop, the bar we frequent (he would have made such a fun hot dog! Or ketchup bottle!) but it's okay. What are some fun costumes you all have been? Are you all prepared for the big day? For those who aren't, stock up on Hallowe'en goodies at the Hallowe'en sections in these stores!
Blogging is never ending work. Whether it's taking photographs, editing those photographs, researching future posts, writing the actual blog post, promoting, networking, picking products for wishlists, etc., etc., it seems like I'm never running out of things to do. Which is why my discovery of Stumble Upon couldn't have come at a worse time. I found it originally because the Independent Fashion Bloggers site, the place that is guiding me through the initial steps of all this blogging business, suggested submitting my very best blog entries to Stumble Upon to get more blog traffic. Well that indeed worked, but my productivity has also gone out the window. It's seriously addictive. Between that and Etsy (oh God, Etsy) I'm getting absolutely nothing done.
I decided however that maybe I could post some of the links where I learned stuff and start incorporating them into Factoid Friday. In between some of the silly pointless stuff, Stumble Upon is a wealth of knowledge (depending of course on what you choose as your interests.) I've linked some of my favourite articles at the bottom of the post for you to check out!
The book I'm pulling my facts from this week is called "Let's Bring Back" by Lesley M.M. Blume. It's a book recalling things that have gone out of style that never should have gone out of style - because they are totally rad! They talk about historical trends that were popular from Roman times, through the Renaissance, to Victorian, 1950s through the 1980s. Basically if it's gone out of fashion but practical or nostalgic people would still be into it, it's listed in this book.
A Cocktail Edition is also available from PlasticLand as well as a Language Edition being available from Modcloth. If you are interested in learning more about the series, visit Lesley M.M. Blume's official site.
Things I Learned From This Book
In the first half of the 19th century, something called a "courting candle" was used. When a man came to visit a lady he was attempting to woo, the parents would leave a candle burning in the room with them. When it burned low, it was time for him to run along. Greta Garbo was as low-maintenance as they come in the beauty department. Her bathroom toiletries consisted of a toothbrush, a comb missing several teeth and half a bar of Lux soap, according to biographer Diana McLellan. If I could wake up looking like that, that's all I'd need too!
I mentioned in an earlier blog post that fans held many secret meanings but so did flowers! What kind of flower and where it was worn said volumes in Victorian times. If you received a flower from a fellow and placed it by your heart, it meant true love; by the waist indicated interest but not commitment; in the hair signaled a rejection. But men could communicate by what flowers they gave as well. Red roses indicated love, white roses indicated not looking for love and yellow roses indicated jealousy. There are also some that just make me laugh such as carnations (disdain), violets ("modest worth") and scarlet geranium (stupidity.) Who knew flowers could be so fun?
Victorians loved to play parlour games, some which resembled the modern day "20 Questions," Brainteasers, charades and musical chairs. Other games included having one person smile and then having them try to get others to smile by any means possible. That sounds pretty tame, but one game involved bobbing for raisins. That were on fire. With your mouth. Let's not bring that game back, okay?
In a speakeasy, if the lights flashed on and off 3 times, the cops had arrived and it was time to skeedaddle.
In the 1960s, color themed menus were all the rage. What might you be served? A sample menu from the time listed "a smoked salmon starter, a cold rose-tinted cherry soup, roast beef with a hot puree of beets, sliced tomato salad, a centerpiece of radishes and raspberry sherbet topped with ripe strawberries."
Half doors are called Dutch doors (hey, that's news to me!)
In 1938, an Archbishop from Iowa, Francis J. L. Beckman warned that swing music is "a degenerated musical system... turned loose to gnaw away at the moral fiber of young people." Luckily people ignore him, swing perseveres and music continues to evolve, much to the dismay of religious leaders.
On this day in 1962, Nelson Mandela is sentenced to life imprisonment for sabotage and conspiracy to overthrow the government.
In 1400, Geoffrey Chaucer, author of the Canterbury Tales is believed to have died. His cause of death is unknown and the date is not verified either - his tombstone wasn't erected until 100 years after his death!
Katy Perry blows out her birthday candles today. She's a 1984 baby - just like me!
Vincent Price died this day in 1993. So Wikipedia says. Thanks to The Simpsons, I still don't know if he's dead or alive.
And my last "it happened today" piece of news is that it's the birthday of 7 year old conjoined twins, Krista and Tatiana Hogan. Read their amazing story here.
Some of my favourite links from Stumble Upon (aka, internet crack) this week are:
Hi there! So sorry for the lack of blog entries. My number one, go-to photographer (my boyfriend, Logan) has been busy helping out with his parents who have both recently had surgery. My mom was kind enough to let me purchase my Christmas gift early today (a tripod, woot!) but being pressed for time and not sure how it was going to work out setting up each shot and waiting 10 seconds with the sun quickly setting, my mom took these photos. I'm going to have to invest in one of those clickers that take photos too! My mom did pretty good, except she's reflected in the window in a few and I had a hard time convincing her she didn't have to frame me perfectly, as long as she stood back far enough for me crop it. There's a few tops of heads cut off and shoes cut off, but whatevs! We'll make do.
Even so, yesterday's theme was "Treasure Tuesday." I haven't had many treasures in my life! Mostly because I haven't been thrifting lately. The treasures I've mostly been coming across lately is finding money. I swear, I find more money than I earn. I found two $20 bills this week alone! It's because I'm always looking at the ground and always closely inspecting little bits of trash that most people would ignore. Last summer, I found $60 outside the pizza place I worked at when there were dozens of people around. It was right by a trash can with lots of gross pizza crust around it and everyone was ignoring it. But not me! I'm always searching for that stuff. People say I'm lucky but not really. It's the same with the lottery. You can't just wake up and win one day. You have to buy a ticket!
I got this super cute vintage dress from Value Village around Hallowe'en a few years ago. For $6! Hallowe'en is the best time to raid thrift stores for amazing vintage deals. People questioned me if this was actually a vintage piece and not just a modern reproduction. Number one, the tag is barely readable, it's so worn out. However, I just was able to make it out now and it says "Georgia Griffin" which pulls up all circa 1960s results on Etsy (which fits in nicely with this style as well.) Also, it's labelled a size 12. I'm a size 6. I have a few other vintage items that use vintage sizes and they are all size 10 (but too small for me, ha) so that would be right on too. Either way, authentic or not, $6 for an adorable dress is fine by me!
The glasses are Hello Kitty and the necklace is a working Rubik's cube. How snazzy am I? (Details of the glasses can be seen in this earlier blog entry.) The shoes are in near mint condition because they aren't that comfortable. They kind of rub me the wrong way. My absolute FAVOURITE shoes from Stitches (which were only $5 and would have fit in perfectly with Thrifty Thursday) have been worn to shreds. Literally. All the fake leather has worn off and there is only mesh in some parts. I have 3 black pairs, a nude pair, a purple and a blue pair and they are all destroyed. I bought this black pair from H&M hoping to re-create the magic, but alas, no dice.
I tried to find a modern day equivalent of this dress, but it was pretty tricky! This dress from Ruche was the closest I was able to find. However, Etsy is a treasure trove of yellow, polka dot goodies.
Also, this is unrelated to being thrifty but Modcloth is running a contest where you can go to their offices! I actually had the chance to visit their offices before (I simply asked and they said yes. How cool is that? It helps that I'm super obsessed and I think they are aware of that, hahaha.) Check out the contest details if this sounds like a dream come true to you too! I would enter, but it's not open for international (which is understandable given that the flight is paid for and the US has different policies on taxing prizes.) I will live vicariously through one of you!
In Modcloth thriftiness news (that's what this is all about!) they are having 25% off outwear with code BRRR25 at check out (ends 11:59PST 10/25.) Go shop and warm up!
If you'd like to see all my best looks from the season, check out my wardrobe wrap up post!
I'm an exclusives snob. I'll admit it. I love to shop vintage because the item I pick out is one of a kind and I love to buy limited edition things so it's less likely that my friends will have the same thing. I'm not the type of girl that will see my friends with certain things and will want the same stuff. If I see someone else with something, it makes me NOT want it. I don't want to be like anyone else. For instance, I bought this really cute Reverse dress from Urban Outfitters a year and a half ago (that's an approximation but I'm pretty sure that's when I bought it.)
Within a few months, I saw several girls around town wearing them. I complimented them on their good taste, but I never wore mine again. This style has pretty much taken over and now I want nothing to do with it. I guess it's my way of rebelling. I once went to a birthday party at a club in Detroit called City Club. The style of the club is kind of sexy gothic. Most people wear black and very little clothing. I do have items in my closet that fit this style. However, just to go against the grain, I wore jeans and a pink shirt. I dress how I want!!! It's almost like I intentionally dress to stick out like a sore thumb.
However, back to the point. Dressing in Modcloth's Bea & Dot and Myrtlewood won't make you stick out like a sore thumb. But you will definitely look unique! I've been asking on Modcloth's Facebook for a long time for them to put a separate "Exclusive" section and they finally did. I couldn't be happier. I actually had it bookmarked for awhile because I tended to buy those pieces - I knew if my friends didn't know about Modcloth, that I for sure would be the only one with these items. I tended to favour Be the Buyer items (since those have always been Modcloth exclusives) because I knew they wouldn't show up at discount shops like Winners (Canada's version of Ross and TJ Maxx.) I told you, exclusives snob! I love feeling special.
Being a board game lover, I really loved this dice printed dress from Bea & Dot. It's one of those dresses that looks really adorable from far away too, when you can't identify what the print is.
If you are as enamored with this dress as I am, you can purchase the Just Roll With It Dress from Modcloth.
Another dress I really love from Bea&Dot (for the same reason - fun, silly print but that looks pretty and vintage-y from far away) is the Rock and Bowl Dress.
I just love that colour of green. It just seems so retro. I'm not much of a bowler (I place dead last every time!) but this dress is still perfection in my books. Available at Modcloth.
My last pick from Bea&Dot is this cute dachshund sweater. I originally thought it was by Louche (they have a ton of cute sweaters) but I'm happy to see Modcloth jumping on the cute sweater train. I'm super into cute sweaters lately. I have the kitty eyeglass one by Louche and I think this doggy one would make a nice companion.
Everybody needs sweaters like this because even when it's cold outside, they warm your heart! (At least that's what I try to tell myself.) Available at Modcloth.
The other brand Modcloth has created is called Myrtlewood. They have some lovely pieces as well (although overall, I'd say Bea&Dot is a little bit more quirky but both lines have some really stand out pieces.) I've been eyeing the Maraschino Cheery Dress for awhile. The colour is bold but sophisticated and the details are subtly pretty.
I saved my absolute favourite for last. I'm buying this dress. I'm not sure how I'm going to afford it but I'm getting this dress somehow.
Isn't this so adorable? It's so perfect. It's called the Fabulous Flapper dress and it's available (where else?) Modcloth
The great thing about these lines is since Modcloth is producing them themselves, they have a huge range of sizes. If you are interested in looking at the rest of the collection, check out Bea&Dot here and Myrtlewood here
What are your favourites? Have you purchased anything from Modcloth's new line?
