WWII Weekend, Flashback 2012

Okay, really, if you haven't noticed how excited I am by now, there's something wrong with your vision.  But in case you happened to miss everything, I am so beyond excited for WWII Weekend this Friday, Saturday, and Sunday!

So as more preparation and to continue getting ready, I am going to share with you photos from last year.  It was a tough decision for me to share some of them, as they include my ex-boyfriend, whom I met at the event.  But some of the photos are too pretty to not post, and meeting him was a special part of the event for me at the time.

This vintage green wiggle dress is what I wore on the first day I was there, Saturday.  I love the way it hugs my curves perfectly.  The photo above was the first time I met Scott.  He was leaning against the jeep at his camp and I remarked to my mum how I thought he was attractive.  She came up with the ruse of asking for a photo with him as our meet-cute.

The pink floral dress I wore the second day I went, on Sunday.  Scott and I spent the whole day walking around and inevitably got our photo snapped by many passers by.  The above two photos are taken by a gentleman who wanted us to pose by a Jeep.

I love this car so much.  I hope one day to have a beautiful old car like this.  But I would definitely have white wall tires.

Old military Jeeps are also so sexy.  I even got to ride in one last year.  Nearly burnt myself, but it's not easy to shimmy into the seat when your dress is that tight.

I even was lucky enough to sit in this beauty.  I guess dressing up pays off.  Even though for me it isn't so much dressing up, as much as wearing my normal attire.

A candid shot of me fixing my hair in the mirror of a Jeep.  How awesome is the name of that plane?

Another beaut of a car.  I just love the silhouette of the cars back then.  Well, I suppose any from the 1950s and before.  Those are the sexiest to me.  Yes, even the Model Ts.

See?!  This one has even got the white wall tires!  So pretty.  The photo below is a little bittersweet for me.  I still love it because it's so beautiful and it's a candid.  We were listening to a beautiful woman singing "At Last" by Etta James and it was snapped without us knowing.  I was then shown it on Facebook.

From another angle and in colour.  I still really like this one as well.

Last year they even had a gorgeous statue of the infamous V-J Day in Times Square photograph by Alfred Eisenstaedt.  This is one of my absolute favourites, as I am sure it is for a lot of other people.  I was even gifted the poster by Scott when we were dating because he knew how much I love it.

I'd love to re-create it this year.  Maybe I can find myself a sailor and get the guts to do it, even though I won't be wearing white...

Only 4 more days!  The rain better hold off or else!

My Week According to Instagram

This week has been a hot one for sure.  Thankfully my mum carried down my two window AC units and put them in for me.  Or else I would be completely wilted.

It's so hard to believe that in one week, even less than one week, WWII Weekend will finally be here.  In case you haven't noticed by the amount I've talked about this- I'm really excited!  My outfits are all planned out all the way down to the accessories and now all I need to do is play the waiting game until Friday.

1-2. Last Sunday's outfit.

3-4. Photoshoot after church.

5. First time shooting a rifle. 75 yards and a bulls-eye, not too bad...

6. My great-grandfather, Norman Perley Knowlton, WWI.

7. My grandfather, Warren R. Beitler, WWII.

8. My great-uncle, Adrien 'Bud' Hilmer Knowlton, WWII.

9. My patriotic outfit for Memorial Day.

10. And the details of said outfit.

11. Fred K. Johnson, 1941.

12. Harry Bickford, 1917 or 1918.

13. Fire pit and s'mores, the perfect way to end Memorial Day.

14. Norman Perley Knowlton, WWI.

15. My great-grandmother, Winifred Coffin (nee Johnson) Knowlton.

16. Wednesday's outfit mixed florals.

17. Details of my outfit from Wednesday.

18. Ginger Rogers was this week's Style Crush.

19. Major hair envy over Rita Hayworth's luscious locks.

20. Vintage black one piece swimsuit.

21. Shared this outfit post via Instagram.

22. Thursday's outfit, apricot wiggle dress.

23. My attempt at re-creating Rita's hair.

24. UK Being Human v US Being Human, UK wins for sure.

25. Vintage nurse's uniform.

26. Vintage green and white one piece swim suit, bullet bra built in!

27. Boho-chic for Friday's outfit.

28. Shared this post on Instagram.

29. Had a dream of Jay Baruchel as a sailor. That's a good dream.

30. Happy Birthday, Marilyn! (1 June 1926)

31. Saturday's feathery outfit.

32. Rita hair turned out better the second time around.

33. The pretty roses in my garden.

34. Since I can't be at Comic Con right now, watching Fanboys will have to do.

Another reason I'm excited for next weekend, besides the obvious, is that my cousin Kathy and her husband Mark are coming down for a wee visit.  And when I say wee, I mean wee.  They are arriving Friday afternoon, going to WWII Saturday, and then heading back to Maine Sunday.  Talk about quite a ride for just a short period of time!  Either way, I'm happy to see her again.

Apparently my sleeping mind is as excited as my waking conscious for WWII Weekend, because Friday night I had a dream about Jay Baruchel in a sailor uniform.  He did play one briefly in Night at the Museum 2: Battle at the Smithsonian so that's where the image came from.  But why it sprung into my unconscious mind, I don't know.  It's certainly got me on a Jay kick though.  I had to watch Fanboys because I'm bummed about missing Comic Con in Philly (Norman Reedus is there!) and then I watched Tropic Thunder.  Jay is just so adorkable.

I hope you all had a lovely weekend!

Black and Blue Do Go Together

These photos were taken right after I cut about 5" or so off my hair.  It's amazing to see how bouncy and springy the curls got with my hair this short.  It actually is past my collar bones when pulled straight but up to my shoulders after the roller set.

I feel like I already need another haircut since these photos were shot.  But I'll hold off a bit because I don't want to make it too short.  I like to hold onto some length.

I remember this day was a very hot, early spring day.  That day is nothing now compared to the heat that's making its way to stay.  I'm nervous about the weather next weekend for the big WWII event.  It almost always rains at least one of the days for a little.  I think I'd rather deal with the heat than the rain though.  At least with some anti-humidity hairspray I could hope my hair would stay nice.  Rain would otherwise just kill it.

I've been eagerly awaiting next weekend all year now, as some of you know.  The past couple of weeks Ive been slowly whittling away my outfit choices and have finally now settled on the three I will wear.  Now I'm just picking out the hats, gloves, handbags, and jewellery that I'll wear.  I think I've got it pretty much all sorted out.

Outfit Details:

vintage dress, vintage hat, belt, handbag {thrifted}

wedges {eBay}

vintage jewellery {Grandma Charlotte}

I've also been playing around with hair and makeup; trying out techniques that venture away from my norm.  I usually do curl sets and vintage inspired makeup, but I really want to be authentic for the event.  So I did some research into the type of makeup and styles.

I got especially nervous when it came to my hair.  I've been fine doing my hot roller sets and finger combing the curls loose.  But the idea of taking a brush to them freaked me out because I know how crazy my hair can get.  I finally bit the bullet one night and brushed out the curls I had put in earlier the day.  After the initial shock, the hair sort of settled down with some finger combing.  Then I put the rollers in again the next day and brushed it out straight after taking them out.  The result got even better.  But then I think I got a little heavy-handed with the hairspray and it ruined the soft Rita Hayworth effect.  So I'm going to try again tomorrow with not quite so much hairspray.

Memorial Day Memories

This past weekend was a long weekend for Memorial Day on Monday.  I stayed rather busy but it was good.  On Saturday I watched my nephew.  We played his Wii a bit (with him mostly beating me, at the age of 6!) and even walked down to his local pizza place for lunch.

On Sunday, after church, a friend took me out shooting for the first time.  I got to shoot a couple rifles and a few handguns as well.  It was really fun and I hope I get to go again sometime.  I especially liked shooting the bigger guns since I was much better at them.

On Memorial Day, my mum and I went out and got some flowers for my garden bed.  We got all sorts of lovelies and spent some time planting them.  Afterwards we headed to her house and my stepdad fired up the grill for a yummy cookout.

In the evening, we sat outside by the fire pit and roasted marshmallows for smores.  That was my favourite part.  I hadn't had a smore in the longest time and it was so tasty.  I cannot wait to make some more.

The temperature is really starting to heat up and I've now had to turn on my window AC unit for the first time today.  I guess summer is starting to make itself known a bit.

Outfit Details:

vintage skirt, vintage hat, top, belt {thrifted}

vintage jewellery {Grandmas Ruth and Charlotte}

wedges {eBay}

All this week it's supposed to be really hot and some days reaching past 90F.  So suffice to say I most likely won't be venturing to take outfit photos.  I don't feel like having melting makeup and 80s hair band fluffy hair from the heat and humidity.  Thankfully, I've got a little backlog of photos to post for when I can't make it out.

What do you do when the weather gets in the way?

Style Crush: Ginger Rogers

In preparation for WWII Weekend coming up June 7-9, the next two Style Crushes will be old Hollywood starlets.

This week is one of my favourite classic actresses, the lovely and amazingly talented triple-threat, Ginger Rogers.

Ginger, to me, can pretty much pull off any look and look flawlessly in them.  In Top Hat, she's a desirable model being pursued, in Stage Door she's a no-nonsense actress, and in Primrose Path she plays a tomboy.

Her wardrobe in films and for photos is just so amazing.  The gowns, the two piece suits, the hats!

I absolutely adore this casual trouser look she's wearing above!  I need to recreate this.  Ginger is sheer perfection here to me.  I have lots of vintage and vintage looking dresses, skirts, and shirts; but I don't have trousers like this!  Thankfully I've got a Butterick pattern with four different high waisted looks that I need to get on making.  And we must talk about that hat with the snood!

I don't know what it is about her in casual looks, but she just looks so amazing in them.  The polka dot halter top and white shorts with tennis shoes is just such a cute summer look!

This green gown is the sweetest confection!  I love the colour to start, since green and purple are my favourite.  Then throw in the lace and ribbon trim and it's just so lovely.

Ginger and her films will always hold a special place in my heart and serve as style inspiration.

And now I will leave you with Bob Thaves' famous quote about Fred Astaire and Ginger: "Sure he was great, but don't forget Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards...and in high heels!"