This weekends projects

Good morning from the lovely town of BeaverCleaverville!!
We gave had a very busy Father's Day weekend plus the MIC had the day off Monday so it was a long weekend. To say wrote Inge done would be an understatement!!
First up on Father's Day I took the MIC to Cracker Barrel where he spotted his treasure:

So naturally this 50s style car dice birdhouse just HAD to come home with is. We are going to place it in the back yard in hopes that another little vintage family will move in with us!!

Next up was the baby girls room. he MIC devised a way to place a rod across the room and VIOLA:

As her own vintage collection expands this will be helpful in keeping her clothes off the floor which in our hurried life is prone to happen! 

Finally (squee) came my favorite two projects! First up he finally finally FINALLY hung my clothes drying line!! I am now hanging clothes out back like a real 50s housewife!!

Finally the MICE and I have needed a place for our razors and vintage MASH unit prescription box....so he made this by hand:

So that was our amazing weekend!! Hope yours was swell as well!!

Forever stuck in the 50s

The Modern Lucy Ricardo

Vintage Father's Day at the aquarium

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!! Sorry I haven't been here but it's been a VERY busy Father's Day weekend. The MIC and I took the children (Zachary and CJ) to mystic aquarium and we had a whale of a day!

Naturally our vintage clothing on the entire family drew some attention! We even had to explain that we were NOT part of the titanic exhibit.

Up close and personal moments with the belugas, watching the penguins zip through the water, enjoying hearing my children's laughs, Hearing my son ask the MIC to pick him up and hold him. These are memories I'll never forget!

Forever stuck in the 50s,

The Modern Lucy Ricardo 

You shave with what...?

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
I thought I would dedicate a post today to one of mine and the MICs overwhelming "hobbies" as it were, and what spurned him to let me embrace more and more of our vintage lifestyle.
You see we are both wet shave enthusiasts. What earth does that mean? It means that we both use DE (Double Edge safety razors)

 You ever wonder what those really thin, flat double sided razor blades were for? The picture above would be it. The safety razor was a modern marvel when it came out. Originally men were shaving with:

 and if that doesn't conjure images of Sweeny Todd or Jack the Ripper nothing will!

Both types of razors require your lather to be created using a brush, bowl, and soap or cream.

 the process can be difficult to learn at first but once master, lathering is something that becomes the "easy" part of the process lol.

I remember when the MIC first convinced me to make the switch I figured that a DE would be complicated and as injury prone as I am I simply stated "no I don't think so." But after much convincing and explanation I tried it and haven't looked back.

Yes the shave does take more time, and some effort to learn how to master, but once done you get a closer more comfortable shave that lasts much longer than any cartridge shave ever did. The other benefit is that it is SO MUCH CHEAPER!!!

Cartridge razor blades can run you almost 14.95 for four. I pay about 10 dollars for 100 and 100 will last me about a year!!!!!!

If you think that's something straights (straight razors) don't take any blades hehe!! But they take ALOT of skill and mastery to learn!!! Take it from someone that has taken a few nicks while learning one. (both the MIC and I both know how to use one!)

Unfortunately in this day and age this form of shaving has all but been lost, or so we thought. Fortunately there are several internet forums brining this art form back and bringing it back strong. The MIC and I are proud members of one and the people on it are very helpful in getting you started.

So if you are tired of the cost, irritation, razor bumps, and did I mention the cost? Why not give a DE a try?! Its the "new" vintage way of shaving!

Forever stuck in the 50's

The Modern Lucy Ricardo

 

 

Q&A

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville!
Many people ask me what on earth inspired me to make the flip to vintage, who inspires me now, who do I use as examples? So I thought I would do a Q&A here:

1) why dress vintage?
Why dress modern? Lol honestly I get this question a lot and the answer isn't a simple one. I could simply state "why not" but it's so much more than that. I enjoy the feeling of wearing the clothes. Yes the fashion of the 40s and 50s makes me HIGHLY over dressed in every situation but I always feel classy and it makes even the simplest moments feel extravagant (maybe those ladies of the day were on to something ey?) I enjoy wearing the dresses also because truth be told they make me look thinner! Lol they naturally give you an hour glass figure me who doesn't want that? Lastly when I go to a party I am almost guaranteed no one lose will gave the same dress as me! Lol

2) how did you get into the vintage hair and makeup? Is it that hard?
I get this question ALL the time!! During the Halloween season and for theater I am a special effects make up artist (my company white noise transformations is on Facebook). I adore the idea that make can be used to fully transform the face into anything you want yourself to be. I then stumbled upon a YouTube (YouTube is the Mecca of all video tutorials) user cherry dollface who specializes in vintage makeup and hair and I was hooked!! Is it hard? Like anything new it isn't easy, yes there are "cheats you can use but stick with it and now I could do victory rolls in my sleep!!

3) why the 40s and 50s?
Honestly this is a tougher question to answer. I looked at a lot of centuries. First off let's be honest, I don't think strolling into the local walmart dressed like scarlet Ohara and not get some really strange looks. Then I looked at the 20s and 30s and nothing really spoke to me.... Finally I just found the 40s and 50s and was sold! I love the fashion, the makeup, the hair...all of it!

4) is it hard to find clothes?
As I've approached in an earlier post it can be difficult but local thrift stores are my best friend!

5) what do strangers, your friends, or Family think of your fashion?
I find the senior generation really love my look while most just smile. My friends are sort of use to me and I think at this point the same goes for my family! Lol

6) you've mentioned having a record player, what records do you have?
The smothers brothers, victor Borge, the Beatles, les Paul & Mary ford , Andy Williams, Sarah Vaughan, guy Lombardo, Glenn miller, Jim nabors, and a few other classics!

7) who are your vintage influences?
Marilyn Monroe, Betty page, Lucille ball, Ditta Von Teese, Idda Van Munster

(Who apparently the MIC is convinced I look like)

Well I hope you have enjoyed getting to know me a bit better!

Forever stuck in the 50s

The Modern Lucy Ricardo 

Being gluten free in a non gluten free household

Good evening from BeaverCleaverville!
 As you have heard me mention in several posts, due to health issues I have recently taken on a gluten free diet. Let me tell you this is NO small task! When I started it first of all I NEVER expected my MIC or family to take the diet on so thus complicated cooking quite a bit. One of the hardest things when eating or cooking gluten free is cross contamination. The oil I use for one non gluten free item can NOT be used for my gluten free item. This also spans into restaurant ordering, which had become increasingly complicated (as my poor MIC) has found out. I can not simply go to McDonald's and order any longer and order anything I want. While a lot of restaurants are providing gluten free menus the truth of the matter us some simply haven't started yet, leaving me to use the almighty google to find out what I can order ( waitresses love that at the table or at the drive thru btw)
But while he Gould have moaned and groaned the MIC has taken it in stride. He attempts to try my different GF items to see what he would eat and switches to those to make my cooking easier. (Can't thank him enough) I've slowly learned that even the simplest items may not be GF ie. mayo or saracha sauce (bizarre right?) and slowly I'm getting the hang of living in a non GF world.
If any of you have suggestions or recipes please shoot them my way!!!
Forever stuck in the 50s
The modern Lucy Ricardo

(Real 50s ad)

Baby vintage

Good afternoon from BeaverCleaverville! I know you all have asked if I put my daughter in vintage clothes as well! This has been a difficult task to say the least.
finding vintage clothes is a hard task because generally the mindset of he generation was different. In today's generation your baby wears heir outfit outfit once and they never wear it again. In the 50s your baby wore it, your friends baby wore it, their friends baby wore it and so on! They never the anything way and as such this has made finding clothes both expensive and difficult! But after months of searching I FINALLY found two pieces I am thrilled with:

Arent they precious?? Something you would swear Shirley temple would wear!!
one theotherfront take a good look ladies and gents:

 This will be the last time you will see photos of me like this...updates soon!!
forever stuck in the 50s
The modern Lucy Ricardo

Homemade lemonade and my little "helper"

So here in BeaverCleaverville I tried to muster. I forced my way through half a sink full of dishes reached into the sink for lemonade and realized I had none. At this point my adorable baby girl CJ woke up and decided she needed breakfast, so I plopped her in her high chair with a Nutella waffle and went off to make some lemonade for us. I found a recipe so delicious I HAD to share with all you lovely people:

Ingredients

For the Simple Syrup:
• 2 cups water
• 1 cup sugar
For the Strawberry Puree:
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled (or 2 cups frozen, thawed)
• 1 cup cold water
For the Lemonade:
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 cup cold water
• ice
• lemon slices and sliced strawberries, optional

Instructions

1. In a saucepan over high heat, mix together the water and the sugar. Cook until the sugar dissolves and it becomes a clear syrup. Remove from heat and set aside to cool while you do the next steps.
2. Add the strawberries and the 1 cup cold water to a blender. Pulse until the mixture is pureed.
3. To a half-gallon pitcher, add the lemon zest, lemon juice, 1 cup cold water, ice, and lemon and strawberry slices, if using. Stir in the strawberry puree and the simple syrup until well combined. Taste for sweetness and add more cold water if needed. Refrigerate to chill through or serve over ice.

This turned out wonderfully tangy and sweet and is currently chilling in my fridge. I then returned to my one year to find..

She was so gosh darn proud of herself lol!
Well I'm off to find her under that mess!
Forever stuck in the 50s
The modern Lucy Ricardo