My birthday is coming up this week so I thought I would celebrate by giving a gift back to my readers! I couldn't think of a better thing to do than sharing my love of Modcloth. I'm giving away a $25 gift card to one lucky reader! It's the perfect time for this gift card with Modcloth's 50% off sale (it goes on until the first week of January.) You can really get a lot of bang for your buck! I was able to buy some cute pug earrings and an adorable cartoon style skirt that I've been eyeing forever for $30 shipped (I had a coupon as well.) I could have gone a little crazy on some navy coats (I've been dying for one) but opted that maybe I will get one after I actually get my birthday money!
Anyways, to enter, all you have to do is enter the Rafflecopter widget below! Since it's just a gift card that is e-mailed out, the contest is open to everybody! International peeps included. Contest ends December 27th (on my birthday.)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
In other news, I went out and hung out with some peeps at the bar, which is so, so great. I've been such a recluse that it's great that I got out. I didn't take any pictures because that would be weird if I haven't seen any people in awhile and I suddenly bombarded them with wanting to take pictures for blogging purposes. But we just hung out and played darts. I can't believe I won at darts last time I played! I could barely get any to hit the board. Even the board AROUND the board. They just kept bouncing off and hitting the floor.
For New Year's, I would love to host a flapper themed party. I have so many flapper style dresses and I'm super into the music right now. So is my boyfriend! That is why I'm super bummed that Baz Lurhmann's Gatsby didn't go that route. Boardwalk Empire is much, much better in that regard. My boyfriend plays several video games that has old timey music and I just eat it up. It's so good! I made a playlist featuring some music so hope you enjoy it!
And just for fun, I thought I would post this video! It's 100 years of fashion in 100 seconds! Neat right?
Back on the flapper train today for this edition of Factoid Friday! I haven't done a Factoid Friday entry for a little while, mostly because it's the most time consuming type of post to do (plus I think it's the theme that has the least interest.) First I read a book start to finish, then take that book and skim it again for facts (I thought of flagging pages while reading it to bookmark tidbits, but that just takes away from reading and felt too much like work. I usually read to unwind!) Then of course, I have to find things that happened that day in history and find interesting articles. For the articles, I usually bookmark them as I go along while playing on StumbleUpon, but if it's been awhile since I've visited that site and have no new material, I panic and go to Buzzfeed and MentalFloss and just post whatever articles on the front page look interesting. So not really ground breaking stuff, but I try my best! And I guess if it's posted on the first page, it would be a "trending" article, but probably also making the rounds on your Facebook newsfeed. Who would have thought that outfit posts would be less work?
The book I'm pulling my facts from today is called Bright Young Things by Alison Maloney.
Product Photo via Modcloth
Things I Learned From This Book
*note, some entries are taken verbatim from the book - credit to Alison Maloney*
The word flapper originally meant a very young girl, likened to a young bird that is learning to fly. In northern slang, a flapper was a girl with flapping pigtails. "Flap" was also an ancient term for prostitute. These combined origins came to describe the 1920s flapper, who was known for smoking in public and wearing short skirts. "Bathtub gin" wasn't distilled in a bathtub at all. It was nicknamed that because the bottles used to hold the liquor were too tall to be topped off with water from the sink so they had to use water from the tub instead. The Moulin Rouge was destroyed by fire in 1915 but was re-opened in 1921. Teresa Jungman, daughter of artist Nico Wilhelm Jungmann, a popular fixture of 1920s newspaper gossip columns, once disguised herself as a Russian royal at a party and approached a respected general and his wife. She announced that she would never forget the night they had together in Paris. Rather crossly, he told her he was only there for one night, during the war. Her response? "Zat was zee night." The fashion forward cut their hair in the 1920s, either straight and glossy, or shingled (meaning cut shorter at the nape of the neck in a V shape.) Newspapers were so outrage that headlines shouted "Shingles Leave Girls Single." Mary Pickford moved studios (to First National Studios) in the early 1920s for $675,000, the equivalent of over $10 million today.
The book has a lot, lot more! It's mostly about the celebrities of the era and the antics they got up to. They were honestly just as bad as some celebrities today! The book also goes into details about how to whip up some 1920s alcoholic concoctions, some 1920s jargon you can throw around in your daily conversations, tips on how to throw a 1920s scavenger hunt (apparently they were all the rage!), recommended reading, viewing and listening, and theme parties to throw (my favourite is "dress as you were 20 years ago." Even if you were wearing diapers back then!)
17 Really Strange Pinterest Boards - Mental Floss (a must see! I haven't clicked on the actual Pinterest boards but the article itself is really cool! Hey, everybody has their own interests. I have a Pinterest board of Modcloth items I own. It's nearing 300 items. I'm sure some people would think THAT was crazy!)
Then vs. Now - 1920s New York City - Buzzfeed (some areas look completely unchanged! Goes to show you how much development occurred in the 1920s.)
Two Times a Lady - lovely brown and black look by Rebecca of The Clothes Horse.
100 Pieces of Advice From 100 Year Olds - Mental Floss. Some of the advice is sound but some is so bizarre! It goes to show you that different things work for different people and you have to live your life in a way that's best for you!
Today is the anniversary of the release of It's a Wonderful Life. I read the synopsis on Wikipedia. How have I still not seen this movie? On my to-do list!
If you'd like to check out my other flapper related posts of the week, they are posted below!
A few months ago, when my sister was making the switch-over from paper books to an e-reader, she let me take a look at her library to see if I wanted any books before she donated them. Most of the items I felt apathetic about (except the "how-to" books, I'm ALL ABOUT THOSE.) A few books I took because I figured I would at least read them before donating them myself. One book that fit this criteria for me was Marley and Me. However, the book exceeded my expectations and so did the movie. It will legit make you bawl. I think the book is even sadder, however it's not a tragedy exactly. Ninety percent of the book/movie is straight comedy, detailing instances of a dog so bad, you'd think it was made up. The "make you cry" segments, sadly are just a part of life, dealing with aging pets and *spoiler* the eventual loss of them.
I thought Jennifer Aniston was perfect casting for Jenny (and not because they share the same name!) Just looking at the pictures of Jenny Grogan in the insert of the book, it was a really good pick. I was kind of enh when I first heard it was Owen Wilson. (Well "re-heard." Reminded myself I guess. I vaguely remembered he was in the movie from all the tabloid gossip I read circa 2007 but had forgotten.) Turns out he did an alright job in the end. The Marleys did a good job (apparently there were 22!) although I thought a lot of them looked too different to be the same dog.
I'm a dork and while reading the book, I kept dreaming of the show, Dexter. It's also set in Florida and when the Grogans originally lived in their shoddy neighbourhood, it's shown in a horrible light. I'm pretty sure there were multiple murders and robberies on their street. They did make mention in the movie of the huge event of their neighbour girl being stabbed and John going to her aid, but I liked imagining it all gritty and Dexter style. When they moved to Boca, I would picture my grandparent's house in Florida because they live in a gated community and although it's no Boca Raton, to me it's a pleasant idea of Florida.
I also took this gem out from the library but ended up not watching it. I think I made the right call.
Once upon a time, I had my own "Marley" - a clearance puppy (although she was nearly full grown by the time we got her) that we not only threatened to give away to a farm, but actually did.
Scanner technology was crappy 15 years ago
Her name was Emily and we had purchased her from the Classifieds in the newspaper. She wasn't scared of thunderstorms so much as being left alone. She chewed through all of my dad's new woodwork that he had just put up, my sister's toe shoes and all sort of other things. We had her less than 2 months and didn't have the patience for the expenses she racked up. It takes a special kind of person to be able to do that I think, but my dad is the type who jokes about me not being able to come over anymore because I'm such a slob. Watching Marley and Me reminded me of Emily so much. I think if we had kept her, our lives would have been just like that. The scenes that reminded me most of Emily were when Jennifer Aniston was walking Marley. Yep! Been there.
The dog we got right after Emily is my current dog, Skippy. He's mostly well-behaved (although a little cranky in his old age) but he's what my boyfriend calls "high maintenance." He's definitely a prissy little thing, has a preference for pillows, needs to be carried up and down the stairs (but that's only because he's blind) and always has to wear his kerchief.
He's also definitely a solo type dog. He didn't really like my hamster and he doesn't like my niece and nephew or my sister's dog, Freddie. I think it's partially because of his disabilities though and he can't see or hear them come up behind him and it scares the crap out of him.
The reason that I bring up Skippy though is because reading Marley and Me and watching the movie, it reminds me that Skippy is not going to last forever and it makes me so sad. He's 14, deaf and blind and limping a lot. His deterioration is a lot like Marley's in the book and seeing it so plainly in print made me sad, even when Marley still had years of living yet to do. Because you always know what's at the end. I guess I'm a bit in denial because I haven't had to deal with death very much, and I find myself making really immature wishes (like wishing Skippy could be a vampire or something equally impossible) but I guess I'll cope with it when it comes.
Wow, downer post! But to sum things up, Marley and Me - thumbs up. Having pets - thumbs up. Them having a shorter lifespan than humans- thumbs down.
I guess that's all for me! What did you all think of Marley and Me? Have you ever had Marley type pets? Talk soon!
I've been feeling meh about everything. Maybe worse than meh. To be honest, I'm sooo not excited about writing this entry right now, but I try not to leave the blog for more than a week, no matter how I'm feeling. It's gray outside, I feel run down and sick and everyone around me is cranky too. I'm also in full hibernation mode. The other day, I slept all night, then took a "nap" at 2pm. That lasted 11 hours. It was legit a nap too, because I went back to bed "for real" a few hours later. It's 7pm right now and I just woke up. I slept all last night too! It wasn't even like I suffered from insomnia last night. I just really like to be all snuggled in bed and not doing anything. Plus, this might be emotional, bi-polar Suzy, but I keep crying at the drop of a hat. I cried in the mall food court the other day and on the bus. I look really pulled together! Woot!
But let's focus on the positive. I finally went out and took some pics at the thrift shop for Treasure Tuesday (well not so much AT the shop - it was swarming with employees and customers for the holidays, but at least I got out, bought some things and have some material for upcoming Tuesdays) so I can cross that off my list! Also, Modcloth has been going crazy with the sales. I don't know if that makes me happy or sad. They had a "find Winston" promotion, where a coupon code was your reward, Stylish Surprises and an early Black Friday sale! In the course of just over a week! Having no money personally, I had to have my parents sponsor me for early Christmas gifts (also purchased my mom's Christmas gift in the Black Friday sale) and I'm really hoping they don't mind too much! I'm hoping the next sale can wait to drop after I get paid.
The book I'm pulling my facts from this week is called "100 People Who Made History - Meet the People Who Shaped the Modern World" by Ben Gilliland (with Philip Parker as a consultant.) I got it from the library and I'm almost certain it's a children's book, but I learned quite a bit from it and it's perfect for pulling random facts.
The book is really cute and has a lot of pictures (so it makes for a quick read.) It is also really good to put a face to people you might have only heard about. Look at these lovely page lay-outs!
Nelson Mandela's great grandfather, Ngubengcuka ruled as king of the South African tribe called the Thembu people. LEGO
were not the first block toys. Wood block toys were invented in 1840.
Interlocking blocks came next in the 1860s. In 1882, Friedrich Richter
invented his wooden Anchor Blocks and in 1908, BRIO launched their line
of interconnecting wooden trains. LEGO the company was founded in 1934, but the toy as we know it today came along in 1958.
Thomas Edison was almost completely deaf by the time he was 12.
The Greek philosopher Democritus (460-370 BCE) suggested that everything
was made up of atoms which means "indivisible" in Greek.
Suffragette colors were purple (for dignity), white (for purity) and green (for hope.)
Charles Darwin wanted to be a doctor, but hated the sight of blood. He
instead decided to study Natural Theology, which is the study of how God
designed life on Earth. But we know how that turned out for him. Queen Victoria's 42 grandchildren occupied the thrones of most of Europe, earning her the title, "the grandmother of Europe."
*Note - several of these facts were pulled verbatim from the book, as it was already written as a "factoid," and didn't give much information to re-write it. Of course, I could have wiki'd, things to get more information, but I already alluded to how lazy I am today. Also, I wouldn't have exactly been learning these facts from the book. So credit goes to Ben Gilliland for some of these facts.
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?
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:
Woot! Writing my first entry of Movie Monday! Only took 2 months after my blog launched to do it. Like I was saying the other day, watching movies is... well, a bit of a chore for me. It's really strange. I practically have to be forced to sit down and watch them (mostly because it's impossible to get me off the computer) but even while watching the movie, my mind wanders or I focus on really stupid things in the movie that serve no part of the plot (I'm really good at finding editing errors and plot holes. However, if someone asks me afterwards what the movie was about, I couldn't tell them. It's almost like I can tell when the movie doesn't add up while I'm watching it, but I can't see the big picture once it's done.) It's really frustrating because I often don't understand twist endings or when things are supposed to be a metaphor for other things, even when it's glaringly obvious. I actually did pretty well in an English Media class in high school and I'm not sure how because I've always had movie attention problems. I much prefer reading because there's less stimulation (aka distractions like costumes and music) so I can actually focus on what's going on. The funny thing is when I do sit down to a movie and I actually like it, I watch it excessively. I only like a handful of movies, but those dozen movies have all been watched 50 times a piece.
So I figured an easy introduction to Movie Monday would be to talk about a movie I know well. Less pressure that way! The one I chose to focus on this week (this year? Ha) is Sound of Music. Growing up, the amount of play this VHS got was only rivaled by Dirty Dancing and Big Bird in China. Dirty Dancing still gets a lot of action. Big Bird in China does not. I actually just found out Big Bird in China was a TV movie my mom taped and we added to our regular viewing rotation. No wonder none of my friends have heard of it!
But back to the movie at hand! I always wanted to be Liesl growing up. Her 16 going on 17 song and dance number is the stuff little girls' dreams are made of!
Another highlight of the film for me is the puppet show. I tried to look for a YouTube video of it and was only able to find a version where someone had videotaped their tv and another that was film stills with subtitles *sad face.* But there is a bright side to the story! I stumbled upon a really cute version of Julie Andrews singing the song with the Muppets. It more than makes up for not being able to find the film version.
Another thing I really love about Sound of Music is the clothes. To be honest, many of the movies I love have awesome fashion. The only ones that aren't fashion centric seem to be Christopher Nolan movies (I really like those!) but the rest seem to have a fashion element to them. Some would argue that Sound of Music has bad fashion, but I just bought a dirndl recently, so I would beg to differ.
My favourite dress would probably be Liesl's purple one pictured above but another dress (more like dresses) that I really liked were the ones Maria made out of curtains. A few years ago, I went to a local fashion show and I found a dress that reminded me of them. Now that I have the pics side by side, they actually don't look similar at all, but at first glance, you're totally like, "OMIGOD! Sound of Music dress!" I had actually worn this dress to Easter a few years ago and my sister had said the exact same thing.
I'm so sorry in advance. Pic Monkey is really fun.
I've had the top underneath forever. I don't know what it is. I can't let it go. It's a baby-doll top and legit makes me look pregnant. It's pilled like crazy and has butter stains on it from eating popcorn at the movie theater. It's survived so many closet clean outs and I have no idea why. But maybe it's a good thing because I had nothing else that would have worked under this dress! Of course the dress is cute worn alone too but the whole point was for it to look like a dirndl.
I should probably lay off Pic Monkey a bit but it's fun. Maybe I could just be the blog known for seriously obnoxious photo edits? Is there a niche for that? That's all for me! I promise to queue up some movies in my Netflix! Talk soon!
If you'd like to see all my best looks from the season, check out my wardrobe wrap up post!
