Retro Beach Towel Giveaway

I have a giveaway for this vintage towel on my other blog. To enter, please check it out here

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Hello! Long time no post. I sort of just got bored with blogging and took a long break, but I've started another blog recently. It still will have vintage topics, it just won't be the total focus. I have no idea if anyone still follows me to notice this post in the first place, but if you're interested in my new blog, please check it out here http://cheapglamsugarpunk.blogspot.com/  

Ava Gardner Museum in Smithfield, NC

I was traveling for work recently, and ended up having time to stop at the Ava Gardner museum in Smithfield, NC. It had been something I've wanted to visit for years, but it's just slightly too far away to be a convenient day trip. It was fabulous! There was a film room that played a 15-20 minute movie about her life. The main exhibit room had displays of her actual dresses, jewelry, different possessions she owned, and tons of pictures. There was a "library" with over a dozen paintings of her, and a video of her on the game show "What's my Line" playing. A fair amount of people were visiting the museum that day. Maybe I'm being dramatic, but I would have been a little heartbroken thinking that no one cared enough to visit her museum besides me. The museum definitely focused on the positive parts of her life, and stayed away from most of the scandal. Even though that might not have been completely realistic, I'm glad the museum chose to do it that way. 

The gift shop had a lot of fun souvenirs that were reasonably priced. I bought a set of cards with her photo and quotes. They even sold moonshine jam! If anyone is interested in making a trip, they are having a film festival and various activities October 4-6. I'm not sure if photos inside were allowed or not, but I only took one goofy picture of me in the front.

My most unbelievable family story ever

My mom and I went to see Gentlemen Prefer Blondes at a movie theater that plays retro movies every week. Half way through she leaned over and made a comment along the lines of, "Grandpa measured her at Harvard, I think." I did not know wtf she was talking about so I just assumed she was making a joke that went over my head and didn't really think twice about it. After the movie she said that either Jane Russell or Ava Gardner went to visit Harvard, and the anthropology club took her "scientific measurements" and gave her a human skull as a gift. Um, WHAT? The only thing crazier than that story is the fact that this was the first I had heard of it, ever. That's my grandpa on the right. This post might also be a good time to mention that he was also friends with Fred Gwynne, who played Herman on The Munsters and also went to Harvard. I've heard that story since I was a kid though. I wonder what other stories my family is keeping secret from me.

US Post Office Museum in DC

I have no excuses for not blogging since January(?), I'm just a terrible blogger. Recently I spent my spring break in D.C. Nothing went as planned, but it was still fun to do something different. I had planned on going to the Sewall-Bellmont House Museum which focuses on women's suffrage. They were doing renovations and only gave tours by appointment. That was not mentioned on the website, so if anyone is interested in going, call ahead! I look forward to going back to it sometime.

Instead I ended up going to the US Post Office Museum, mostly as a "joke" because it sounded like the most boring topic for a museum ever, so naturally I had to see what it was all about. Luckily, I could not have been more wrong! There were so many old photos, stamps, and models of cars, trains and planes. There really was a lot of vintage/retro goodness to drool over. They even had exhibits about the Titanic and the Hindenburg, which I never would have expected. They had a lot of hands on activities that would be good for kids. It really was a fun museum. Going along with the "bad blogger" theme, I did not bring a camera, so these are just a couple stolen phone pictures of a cute mail dog, and me being silly.

It's not too hot for treasures

It's 102 degrees today. That's the number on the thermometer on our porch in the shade, and not factoring what it feels like because of humidity. GROSS! I did stop by a vintage store and bought this super cute kitty brooch!



I had two jobs and an internship most of May and all of June. I literally had two days off all of June. It was good for my wallet, but not for my blog. There was hardly time to do anything vintage related, and even less time to blog about it if I had. I did listen to a ton of Wanda Jackson and Patsy Cline on my commutes though. I hope everyone is having a fun summer!

Graduation Outfits and Flashing People

My great friend/roommate graduated today! This was at her art show, and we both wore outfits (unplanned) with a little bit of a 1950s flare. I also wore a pair of bloomers I just bought. It's like I could tell the future, because a little old lady that was sitting in front of me pulled her jacket off the back of her chair along with my skirt while I was standing up after the ceremony was over. Keeping it classy, as always.

Ava Gardner > 14th Century Social Classes

I always find the best books when I have tons of school reading to be doing. Ahhhh! This biography of Ava Gardner was at the thrift store. It's been really good so far, but it's a big book and it goes on some strange tangents every now and then about the most random people. It's weird thinking about how awesome old Hollywood actresses seem on the surface, when in reality they were often so tortured and unhappy. It's kind of sad to think about.

These bangles were also picked up on the same thrifting trip.  

This was a coloring book that teaches children that it's OK to say no. The writing is tiny, but the first page asks if the man shown was a bad person. If I knew someone who looked that cool as a child, I would have hung out with him every day. Just look at his outfit, he's obviously nothing but pure class and good style. That parrot on the other hand, is a total creepster. Everything about this coloring book makes me laugh.

I'm sure a lot of people reading this blog are also going into exam/finals season, so good luck! Summer vacation (hopefully) is only a few weeks away!

Oh, This Weekend...

My sister and I went to a vaudeville show on Saturday with some friends. Then my other sister and I went to a drag show on Sunday with some friends. Then I had to write a paper for school that almost killed me. Despite almost being murdered by homework, it was a great weekend. Oh yeah, and my brother found a baby bunny den in our garden. It was all I could do not to snatch them up and put them straight into my old guinea pig mansion.

This picture reminds me that I need to "dress up" more often for no reason. I've gotten very lazy these days. My sister won the classic movie trivia contest, and ended up giving me that poster. Woo hoo!

I know I will never be as glamorous as a drag queen, but I feel like whenever I take a picture with one, I look like a stoned hunch-back. This was amazing because the drag queen with her hand on my shoulder actually demanded that I take a picture with HER because she thought I looked like Abby from CSI and it is her favorite show. There is nothing more flattering than a compliment from a drag queen.

Can anyone else tell how punchy I feel right now? Time to get my ass in BED! I hope everyone had a fun weekend.

A Divine Vacation

As 100% expected, "kitsch week" totally got away from me, but I plan on doing a few more posts like that soon. I took a quick day trip to Baltimore on Thursday to do some John Waters sight-seeing!

Divine's Grave

A close up of the painted nails. I also am unsure of what the "TATG" is a reference to, are there any Divine fans that have an idea?

A theater where many of JW's movies have premiered

JW's and Mink Stole's old house, Pink Flamingos was filmed here

Everyone knows how much I like flamingos by now, so this made my day

I'm a huge John Waters fan, so this was pretty much the best trip ever. I can't wait to go back and see even more areas related to his movies.

Kitsch Week: Flamingos

There are a lot of things that can go along with liking vintage. One of my favorite components of vintage would be kitsch. Just in case there are some people that don't know what that means, Webster defines kitsch as:

1.Something that appeals to popular or lowbrow taste and is often of poor quality

2. A tacky or lowbrow quality or condition

Basically it's the, "It's so tacky, it's good" mindset. At least that's how I think of it.

Those plastic flamingo yard decorations are probably one of the more iconic examples, and I'm totally a sucker for them. Here is some of my flamingo collection:

My Awesome Zombie Kitten skirt (that kitchen skirt my friend is wearing is pretty kitschy too BTW)

Plastic yard decorations. Sadly, I can't keep anything cool in my yard because almost everything will be stolen at some point. I couldn't figure out how to display them in my bedroom so any suggestions would be loved.

The coolest bed sheets ever. I also have matching pajamas in winter and summer styles

Cute wall ornament

I also had some great flamingo socks which sadly ripped beyond compare. The last time I wore them was at a John Water's speech, so that was fairly sad but totally appropriate!

I'm officially declaring it kitsch week. Midterms are coming up though, so I can't promise kitsch week won't turn into kitsch month, but get ready for some more kitschy fun here! :D

Rodeo Vacation

Source

Growing up in Tucson, school kids always got a three (maybe four?) day weekend in February because of the rodeo being in town. There was a friend on facebook still living there that mentioned that the rodeo was in town so that brought back some fun memories. I haven't lived in Tucson for over ten years, but now I'm in the mood to watch some ("girly") Western movies today! If you have Netflix, these are some movie suggestions that are all on instant play (for the moment):

-The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend with Betty Grable

-The Outlaw with Jane Russull

-Foxfire with Jane Russell (this isn't exactly a Western movie, but it is set in Arizona)

-Calamity Jane with Doris Day

Now break out your cowgirl boots and six shooters and have at it :)

Skeleton Gingham Valentine

Even being chronically single, I've always thought Valentine's Day was super fun. This year's wasn't great because I am sick, and had a ton of school stuff to do. Just another fussy day, but hanging out with the roommates was fun, and I did get this cute Valentine. A skeleton with red gingham...my roommate knows me too well :D


These are pictures from a Fairy Tale themed Valentine's Day party my friend had a few years ago. That would be Prince Eric (Little Mermaid), Prince Charming, Puss in Boots, an Ugly Step-sister, Little Red Riding Hood, The Frog Princess, Prince Charming (again), and Rapunzel. Yes, that IS the Frog Princess and Rapunzel getting into a girl fight over their "man."

This is from a Valentine's Day tea party I had even longer ago where everyone had to dress up as a famous couple that was no longer together because of divorce, a break up, or death. My friend was Yoko Ono, and I was Nancy of Sid and Nancy.
Have a Happy Valentine's Day everyone! <3

My two favorite things...

are drag queens and 1950s style bad-"girls." Just a warning, this isn't super nasty, but you might not want to watch it at work, or if you have delicate sensibilities ;)

Yes, I'm still alive!

Where have I been these days? Well, I spent winter break at my parents' house. I hardly posted anything over break because I (almost literally) did nothing but work and watch Gossip Girl. Now I'm back at school and my Internet/computer always has something going wrong. I haven't really been doing much other than school either. The funny thing is, I seem to get a lot more followers when I'm not posting anything. So thank you for that! :D I really want to try to get back to posting more regularly. I did get this cute ashtray though, and who doesn't love hippos?

My Friends are Gross Enablers!

Just kidding! Between my birthday, Christmas, and a couple just-because gifts, I made out like a vintage bandit! Thanks so much to my lovely friends that help me stay stylish!





Look at the details of this purse! It's the perfect combination of gaudy and adorable. I also live with 4 cats, and this matches half of them.

Flapper and Pinup Makeup Tutorials

This dude's makeup tutorials are awesome.

Happy New Year everyone!

It's been years since I've gone out for New Years. Tonight I saw The Sound of Music at a theater that plays old movies, played board games with friends, wore sparkly shoes, while still getting home by 1am. This broad knows how to party. I hope everyone stayed safe, and had a great night!

Vintage Fate!

THIS is why I ended up not being able to get that wonderful pink couch for Christmas. Wonderful fate! I've been looking for the perfect vintage cape/cloak for YEARS. They have all either been too expensive, the wrong size, or not quite right for whatever reason. This is the first thing I laid eyes on in the vintage store I went to yesterday, but it seemed too good to be true! Everything about it is perfect though! Thanks Mom!

Does anyone here know the actual difference between a cape and a cloak? I asked my mom in the store, and her answer was, "I don't know, a cloak has to be shrouded in darkness?" I burst out laughing so hard, but I like that distinction. There was no real reason to wear it yesterday, so I ended up just wearing it around the house, over pajamas. It was pretty stylish!

What vintage goodies are people hoping for this Holiday?